SOS554: Hot, Hot, Hot

It's time for a new challenge at Shopping Our Stash and if you've already guessed that the title, "Hot, Hot, Hot!" means we want you to make a card inspired by something HOT, such as weather, food, fire, etc; then you are absolutely right, and we can't wait to see your interpretation. I went with weather, as you can see:

I've had Honeybee's Flippin Fabulous stamp set for two or three years and I've used all the shells and most of the sentiments LOTS of times, but somehow never inked up those fab flipflops? How is that even possible? To make up for lost time, I stamped them twice (on blue floral and yellow geometric patterned papers) then cut them out and paper pieced them. Oh and I added a couple of Eyelet Outlet Colored Daisy Brads to make them extra fancy. In the storage envelope with the stamps I found a bunch of pre-stamped shells and a couple of hibiscus flowers (from a different set) that were pre-stamped and pre-watercolored; so I basically had my whole focal collage. I raided 49 and Market's Vintage Artistry Sunburst collection and found the perfect background; then added the sentiment, inked and machine stitched around the edge, and called it good.

SOS554: Hot, Hot, Hot runs until the evening of Monday, August 25th and we'd love for you to link up with us. Meanwhile, check out the inspiring cards from our uber-talented Crew at Shopping Our Stash.

SOS534: Time for a Hot Drink

It's time for a new challenge at Shopping Our Stash and this time we'd like to see (as the title implies) cards and projects which feature your favorite hot beverages. Mine is (surprise!) COFFEE!

I'm fairly proud of my stash usage here, I've gathered a bunch of sadly neglected items and given them some love. Fair Warning: the three lynchpin items are sadly out of print. The Caffeinated Flamingo was one of my all-time favorites from The Rabbit Hole Designs; the Coffee Pots Embossing Folder from Darice seems to be similarly unavailable. The former was a prize I won in a Coffee Lovers' Blog Hop a few years ago; the latter a gift from my friend Michelle. I don't use either of these enough, and somehow I've NEVER used them together, so it was especially exciting to combine the pair. I stamped, colored and paper-pieced the flamingo, and I'm taking bonus points for remembering to stamp the legs onto my background paper so that I wouldn't have to cut them out. (Go, me!) I embossed the coffee pots on watercolor paper and then painted them a bit wonkily, mightily resisting the impulse to outline all of them with a .01 Fineliner. The "blahmingo" sentiment came with the flamingo; the second sentiment is from Honey Bee Stamps' Perfect Blend Stamp Set, which... you guessed it... is also out of print, but that's ok because the point of Shopping Our Stash is to unearth the older things YOU already own and I bet --like me-- you've got some awesome goodies you've forgotten all about and will enjoy reviving again!

Completely coincidentally, this theme lines up perfectly with the 2024 Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers' Blog Hop (they have some AMAZING prizes, if you like that sorta thing; their hop ends on Friday, 11-8-24) so you can enter both by making just the one card, woohoo! The Time for a Hot Drink Challenge (#SOS534) runs until the evening of Monday, November 18th.

Bloom!

Eyelet Outlet Flower Brads are ALWAYS a good choice for adding color and charm to a card, plus they pair really well with stamped or diecut vases, jars and planters; in this case Honey Bee Stamps' Bud Vase Die Set. Here we have a vase full of Rose Brads and one of White Daisy Brads which have attracted the attention of a Mini Bee Brad. The background is Wide Sky Washi; the sentiment is diecut from Grass Tape; and the base of the planter is a single strip of Wood Tape. A scatter of white Round Sequins completes the design. 

Visit the Eyelet Outlet Online Store to see ALL of the amazing brads, washi tape, bling, sequins, enamels and more! 

PS: I'm currently obsessed with Ranger's Cottontail Embossing Powder which gives LOADS of subtle texture to the background without being overpowering.

Cruisin' Into Your Birthday... In Style!

Eyelet Outlet Classic Car Brads let you cruise into any birthday or occasion in fine style! Paired with our Driving Brads and set atop Tire Track Washi, Road Tape, Wide Map Tape and Car Washi, you've got a card that's ready to race off to your favorite Birthday Guy... or Gal!

Check out all the fabulous embellishments in the Eyelet Outlet Online Store and consult our Tradeshow Schedule to see when we'll be visiting a town near YOU!

JB2407: Cookies for Santa

This fortnight at Jingle Belles, we're asking you to create a card inspired by this fabulous collection of holiday cookies from Kristen's Cookies. When you share your card, make sure you let us know which cookie you chose and how it inspired you!

I chose the cookie with the Charlie Brown-ish xmas tree inside a snowglobe...

...and I have to confess that part of the reason for that choice was that when I saw it, my Cardmaker's Brain kicked in and went, 'you've got Memory Box Nested Globe dies and Spellbinders' Bottle Brush Trees!' Then, when I was retrieving said dies, I found my Honeybee Layering Holiday Bells set, which has that cool two-part bow, so all that was left to do was find some teeeeeeeny Hero Arts enamel dots, a Doodlebug sentiment and a coordinating blue scrap of patterned paper for the background!

Be sure to check out Stephanie's super sweet card at Jingle Belles and then start planning what cookie-inspired  deliciousness you'll link up with us this time!

TREE-Mendous

At Jingle Belles we're still celebrating the iconic evergreen in bough, branch or tree form; and you're invited to join the fun!

My card features Honey Bee Stamps' Layering Holiday Bells diecut in pink and gold, dangling from an evergreen bough, on a pierced background made with Pinkfresh Studio's Ornate Medallions Coverplate die, with a fun accent of pink argyle washi tape. Coincidentally, this card is the sample for August's Paper Anthology Holiday Jumpstart Card Kit, which you can read about HERE. ;)

Head over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's beautiful card and then start planning what YOU will link up with us!

You're Not Old...

...You're a Classic! Eyelet Outlet Driving Brads are the perfect accent for masculine cards. They pair beautifully with our Classic Car Brads of course and there are lots of terrific Washi Tape selections to support the theme. In this case, a panel of wide Map Washi is framed with strips of Road Tape; then that panel is offset on a slightly larger one made of Tire Track Washi framed in Glitter Black Tape. A Compass Brad is the perfect finishing touch.

Check out all of the wonderful Brads, Tapes, Bling, Flowers and more in the Eyelet Outlet Store!

Cruisin' Into Your Birthday...

...with the brand new Eyelet Outlet Driving Brads, which feature the super-sporty tires used in the corners, as well as the steering wheel that's below the sentiment line. Pair them with Map Washi, Tire Track Tape, a Compass Brad and our Classic Cars for a birthday card that your favorite Gearhead will love!

Visit the Eyelet Outlet Online Store to see all of the new Summer 2023 Brad Styles and keep your eye on the EO Blog to see the fabulous creations our amazing design team makes with them!

It's a SHELL-ebration!

Join me at Paper Anthology for a new three-card class that’s BEACHY keen! 

We’ll color images from Honey Bee’s Seashells stamp set with Distress Watercolor Pencils (wait until you try them!); and add sentiments from Honey Bee’s Flippin’ Fabulous set. Make a splash with papers from Photoplay’s Beach Vibes collection, fall in love again with old-school round eyelets when paired with May Arts Burlap String, then finish off with colorful diecut foliage and golden sequins. The only question is, will you send these sunkissed cards to your favorite folk, or be SHELLFISH and keep them?

Visit the Paper Anthology Blog for details of dates, times, etc.; I'd love to see you there!

Life *IS* Better at the Beach

But if you can't make it there this week, here's a little bit of beach in card form. Featuring Eyelet Outlet Shells, Shell Corners and Sea Shore Brads, clustered with stamped shells and diecut coral, augmented by elegant White Pearl Swirl Bling. A double helping of washi tape backgrounds complete the design, with Wood Washi and Shell Tape teaming up for the perfect finish.

Be sure to check out all the Vacation and Summer Themed Brads in the Eyelet Outlet Online Store, and check out our Tradeshow Schedule to see if the EO Booth will be coming to your town!

Cruisin' in to Your Birthday...

...In Style! And it doesn't get much more stylish than Eyelet Outlet Classic Car Brads, paired with beautiful wide Map Tape, and accents of Tire Track, Road Washi and Skinny Glitter Tape. There's also a Compass Brad to guide our travels and it's all held on with EO Screw Brads.

The Eyelet Outlet Online Store has all of the brads, bling, pearls, enamels, flowers, eyelets and washi tape you could possibly imagine; but so does the Eyelet Outlet Booth; check out the Tradeshow Schedule to find out when we're coming to your town! 

Are We There Yet?*

Rev up your engine and race to join me at Paper Anthology this March, for a brand new, fun-fueled FIVE Car(d) Class featuring Honey Bee’s Car Show Stamps and Dies, called (as you may have guessed) "Are We There Yet?" 

We’ll color the cars, add them to simple collages of pre-cut map and patterned paper shapes, add washi tape, then construct the easiest ever presentation folder (seriously, it’s two score lines and one cut!) to hold them. 

The only problem will be deciding whether to send the cards to five different friends… give them as a set to one special person, or… keep them for ourselves! 

Cruise on over to the Paper Anthology Blog for details and dates available!

♥♥♥♥♥

*When I was working on this class, I was mentally using the title, "VROOM with a View"; luckily Elisabeth talked me down, lol! :)