SOS552: Wood is Good

It's time for the new challenge at Shopping Our Stash and this time we'd like to see cards and projects which feature woodgrain patterned paper, wood-look stamps, or wooden embellies. Because, this fortnight, Wood is Good!

I don't think I've ever been in the same room as woodgrain patterned paper and not bought some. I have every color, every style, every variation you can think of. This card uses two of them: a chippy-peely blue-painted background (from Crafter's Companion) and a more subtle tannish brown that I diecut into a frame (from Simple Stories). I also probably own ten different woodgrain washi tapes, and I was tempted to use ALL of them, but settled for just one dark brown, somewhat translucent strip, running vertically behind my focal grouping, under a few wraps of natural twine. The grouping consists of a 1964 Porsche illustration, set atop a vintage map of London, framed by the aforementioned tan woodgrain Nestabilities label shape, over a Tim Holtz Picture Wheel, layered onto another vintage map of London. 

There are more Good (and inspiring) Wood-centric projects from the SOS Crew over at Shopping Our Stash, so be sure to check those out! SOS552: Wood is Good runs until the evening of Monday, July 28th.

Home and Away

The brand-new Eyelet Outlet Camper Brads are as adorable as they are inspiring. Where will you take them? This one is off to the mountains, under some Cloud Tape with Sun and Cloud Brads, surrounded by Pine Trees and framed with Wood Washi.

Happy Camper Shopping List:

Eyelet Outlet Camper Brads
 Pine Tree Brads
Sun and Cloud Brads
Cloud Tape 
 Wood Washi

All of the new Summer 2025 Eyelet Outlet brad releases are now available in the EO Store; plus the EO Booth will be visiting Trade Shows all summer; check the Schedule to find out when we'll be in YOUR town!

Smooth Sailing Father's Day Card by Lauren Bergold

Shocking True Confession: I used to find masculine cards very challenging to make, but Simon Hurley has designed so many fabulous stamps and stencils that mix and match to perfection; now it really is "Smooth Sailing"! Hop over to the Ranger Project Tutorials Page and find my step-by-step process for the thoughtful and colorful Father's Day card you "SEA" here; featuring Ranger Archival Inks, Embossing Powders and more!

This is NOT a Drill!

Father's Day is nearly here, but luckily Eyelet Outlet has everything you need to make an awesome card for Dad. This one features: Saw and Tool Box Brads plus Tool Brads flank the sentiment; Screw Brads adorn the corners; while Wood Washi and Tape Measure Washi panels make the perfect masculine background.

Shopping List:

Saw and Tool Box Brads

Tool Brads 

Screw Brads 

Wood Washi 

Tape Measure Washi

 The Eyelet Outlet Store has ALL of the above and so much more!

Texture Paste plus Summer Vibe

Ranger Texture Pastes add dimension and interest to cards, journals and more. Whether you're looking for gloss, matte, opaque, transparent or crackle, you can find the perfect option for every project. Add a few drops of a Ranger Reinker to any variety and your options expand even further. Head over to the Ranger Project Tutorials Page and follow along as I use Transparent Gloss, Opaque Matte and Transparent Matte Texture Pastes on this colorful card inspired by Summer Adventures... past and future! 

My childhood vacations involved my brother, sister and myself sharing the backseat of the family car (semi-harmoniously), spotting license plates from as many states as possible, and looking forward to our destination. The adorable critters in Simon Hurley's "Road Trip" Stamp Set capture that excitement and nostalgia; Ranger Texture Pastes and Archival Inks let me convey the feeling in full color!

Coincidentally these three varieties are available in a Texture Paste Sampler Pack in case you'd like to try them out before choosing full sizes!

SOS546: Outta This World

This fortnight at Shopping Our Stash we've gone absolutely universal and thus we'd like to see cards featuring Aliens (or Monsters), Stars, Moon or Planets. Here's my card:

I've raided my happily hoarded stash of classic Basic Grey papers, including Oh Baby Boy (from which I've fussycut the fab retro rockets and small stars) and Color Me Silly (used to diecut the large stars). Most of the other items in my space-themed collage card came from an equally ancient set of October Afternoon's Rocket Age ephemera and papers. The tiny blue star brads are from... ok, I have to confess those are so old I have no idea whence they came but they were perfect for this. The sentiment is computer generated in a free font called Dear Sunshine.

Be sure to check out the rest of the SOS Crew's cards, which really are "Outta This World". This challenge (Sos546) runs at Shopping Our Stash until the evening of Monday, May 5th.

Ahoy, Matey!

Pirates LOVE a good party, especially when it comes to birthdays! This pirate has brought along a treasure chest full of gold (aka Eyelet Outlet Glitter Enamels) as well as his trusty Compass Brad and a Parrot pal (from our Tropical Birds set). Setting the scene, Sun and Cloud Brads, a Tall Palm Tree and the Crab from our Crab and Lobster set; while Wood Washi and Map Tape make great accents.

Pirate-Friendly Shopping List:

Compass Brad

Tropical Bird Brads

Sun and Cloud Brads

Tall Palm Tree Brads

Crab and Lobster Brads

Wood Washi

Map Tape 

Glitter Gold Enamels

Visit the Eyelet Outlet Online Store to find the perfect embellishments to enhance your favorite stamps and dies!

Car Card, Redux

Here's another version of the "One Door Closes" card I made for an Eyelet Outlet post about a month ago. I have a few "Car Guys" on my birthday list and coincidentally, two of them happen to celebrate within a week of each other, though they've never met. This is why I always save the file when I've formatted a sentiment on the computer; I might want to revisit an awesome idea! 

In this case, it's just the sentiment and a bit of (now sadly out of print) Eyelet Outlet Tire Track Tape, with a background of actual vintage maps; mounted on a glossy black A6 card. Oh and I found an illustration of a vintage Volvo, which is personal to the recipient, and he noticed immediately. 

As you may know, I LOVE fancy giftwrapping, and here's a bit of a cheat on that score. I wrapped coordinating map paper around the gift (it's a dvd as you can probably tell) and added the card (sans envelope) to act as decoration. A bit of measuring tape twill and some twine et voila!

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!

Masculine Christmas Continues

At Jingle Belles we're still making holiday cards with a masculine vibe, and since we're still teamed up with the Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge, if you add some coffee, tea or cocoa you can link up on their blog as well. Did I mention there are (randomly awarded) prizes on both sites? CCCC's is from their Super Sponsor, Rubbernecker Stamps and at Jingle Belles we've got some fun Penny Black goodies!

Meanwhile, here's my card:

I added lots of distressing to my journal card, three mats and two accent strips for extra texture and interest, plus an Eyelet Outlet Pine Tree and Deer Brad, then finished off with a sticker sentiment. It's not the fanciest card I've ever made, but it's flat and mailable (possibly needing an extra ounce, lol!) and it's another addition to my holiday card stash while we're still only in June... so I'm callin' it a win! 

Be sure to visit Jingle Belles and the Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge for more inspiration and details about those cool prizes!

EVERYBODY'S on the Naughty List?!

As you know, this month at Jingle Belles, we've teamed up with the Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge. This fortnight the prompt at Jingle Belles calls for Masculine Christmas cards and we have a fun little prize. If you add Coffee, Tea or Cocoa to your card's design, you can also link up at CCCC where they also have a completely different prize, theirs is from their super-sponsor Rubbernecker Stamps!

Here's what I made:

I used Rubbernecker's Coffee Bean Background, stamped in a deep rich brown, then added their Coffee Cup Die pieced in black and white, adorned with a strip of festive red and green holiday plaid, and accented with an Eyelet Outlet Santa Brad, a Sleigh with a couple of Gifts and some Coffee Bean Brads. My sentiment is taken from a meme I spotted somewhere on Pinterest, I used my classic Dymo Labeler to create the text!  

So Remember: if your card is Masculine + Christmas you can link up with us here at Jingle Belles; if it's Coffee + Christmas, you can link up with Caffeinated Christmas; if you incorporate Masculine + Coffee + Christmas you can link up on both blogs for a chance at two different sets of prizes!!! Our Jingle Belles prompt will wrap up at 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, June 28th and the keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB2313.

SOS498: Let's Hear it for the Boys

If you've guessed that the new challenge at Shopping Our Stash is to create a card that features a man OR a masculine card for one of the the men/boys in your life, then well done you! Since we have a grand nephew with a birthday next month, I've literally made a BOY-ish card; but yours can be for a dude of any age. 

I found half a sheet of Doodlebug stickers featuring these adorable dinos, which is about as "on point" as one can get for a little boy, right? He is turning five and technically, I think these might be older than he is, which makes them quite stashy! The foliage dies are from two different (older) Lawn Fawn sets (Tropical Leaves and Happy Hibiscus); the Nestabilities ovals are some of the very first dies I ever purchased when my Cuttlebug was brand new; the papers are all older and none were full sheets, so I'm calling this a win in terms of using up older things!

Whatever age YOUR favorite "man" is, why not have a trawl through your stash of masculine goodies, then hop over to SOS and join this fun challenge, "Let's Hear it for the Boys" which runs until Monday evening, June 19th.

A (Masculine) Caffeinated Christmas

For the month of June, we Jingle Belles will be teaming up with the amazingly talented gang at the Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge, for their "Challenge #18: Coffee + Masculine" to make holiday cards that feature both a caffeinated beverage (coffee, tea or cocoa) and a masculine vibe. This month their Super Sponsor is Rubbernecker Stamps, so you'll definitely want to link your cards at Jingle Belles AND at CCCC for a chance at some cool prizes!  

Here's what I made:

I used darker colors, concentrating on neutrals and deep blue, plus lots of texture. My focal point is a "snowflake" made of Eyelet Outlet Coffee Cup Brads, interspersed with various shapes and sizes of Pearl Bling, surmounted by a Snowflake Brad. The sentiment stamp and Cable Knit Embossing Folder are from Taylored Expressions; the woodgrain vellum is from Lawn Fawn.

Head on over to Jingle Belles to see what Stephanie has made and get a glimpse at a tiny prize one lucky Jingle Belles linker will score this fortnight!

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! :) 

Masculine Merry Christmas

We're making holiday cards for the special men in our lives this fortnight at Jingle Belles, and we'd love for you to join the fun!

I based my card around a postcard-sized pre-printed panel from Penny Black, called Masterpieces Made Simple, which I got at Paper Anthology. These little cards are semi-glossy and slightly textured, so they are a gorgeous centerpiece; you just add stamping, diecuts, embossing or... in my case... an Idea-ology sticker sentiment, some Eyelet Outlet Brads and a few mats! This card was so fun (and FAST!) to make that I decided to use the other three cards in the set right away. I've used Cardinal and Female Cardinals, a handsome Moose, several Snowflakes, plus Bluebird and Robin Brads; as well as a variety of patterned paper scraps and solid cardstock to complete my A6 card designs.

Be sure to visit Jingle Belles, where Stephanie and our lovely guest star Beverly, have made marvelously merry masculine cards to inspire you!

Go Wild!

Is it just me, or are masculine cards actually harder to make than feminine ones? Maybe it's a sign that I rely too heavily on kawaii and floral images, but I definitely have to think a bit harder to make an awesome "guy card". Luckily, Dare 2B Artzy's Slim Tropical Leaf Border die set makes it very easy to create a jungle setting in slimline form! See more pics of this "WILD" card and read about the process on The Ink Pad Blog!