Bold and Splashy Mandala Monday

It is a fact, universally acknowledged, that a crafter in possession of new inks (in this case from the latest release of Stellar Inks from Simon Hurley and Ranger) must test them out, ASAP.  And thus I have done so, in mandala form, obviously:

I chose five of the newest shades: Roar!, Red Flag, Siren Song, Overzealous and Cold Shoulder. I used one of my favorite watercoloring methods to create the basic shapes; by smooshing each ink pad (sequentially) onto my craft sheet and using a waterbrush to pick up the ink and paint with it in my Dina Wakley MEdia Watercolor Journal. Then I flicked clear water over the design and blotted up some of the color, for a fun mottled effect. When the whole thing was dry, I added black and white outlines (with a Letter It Fineliner and a Posca Paint Pen, respectively) and at the very end I flicked some Dina Wakley White Gloss Spray onto the design.

I hope your week is off to a bold and colorful start! ♥

Bags and More Bags

I've made a lot of fancy giftbags using my cardmaking supplies: patterned paper, washi, stickers, diectus, you name it, I've probably used it on a card and also on a bag or wrapped gift at some point. At the moment I'm a bit obsessed with stencils, and here are a few examples:

Stellar Inks, blended through a big big Donna Downey (I think) flower stencil; pen outlines around the whole thing and Stickles Glitter Gels for the center.

Stellar Inks blended ombre style, through an Anna Griffin stencil; Eyelet Outlet Swirl Bling plus miscellaneous florals and a butterfly from the big box store.

Stellar Inks plus Stickles Glitter Gels through an Anna Griffin Stencil; with small flower bling throughout the design.

Stellar Inks blended outward through a Paper Smooches Succulent stencil that I turned into a stylized flower; outlined and studded with tiny pearls.

Two-toned Stellar Inks through an unknown stencil, with ancient Prima gems placed stragegically. (This isn't my favorite bag but... I love the positioning of the patterned stencil as a diamond that stretches to all the edges of the bag; so I'm going to remember that trick, at least!)

 

ICAD2026 Wrap-Up

Hard to believe the entire 61 days of the 2026 edition of the @IndexCardaDay Creative Challenge have already elapsed, but the calendar says August 2md, so I guess we have to believe it's true. I am so grateful to Tammy @gypsy999 for starting this inspiring shindig sixteen years ago; and I am proud to have completed the last fifteen years. But honestly, the numbers are really the least of it; the point is to co spend some time prioritizing process over outcome, experimenting, and just generally making art on a regular basis for oneself. So if you participated, whether you made 61 cards or 16 or 6... I salute you!

Many thanks to all who followed along, left comments, dropped hearts and generally acted as cheerleaders to your fellow ICADians and ICADettes. I didn't do as well at that part as I had hoped to, but I truly loved seeing all the cards that came up in my feed and interacting (however limitedly) with this fab community!

Here's my #icadeverything photo. Each year I like to make a small ring-bound mini-book, which I fill up with finished cards as the challenge progresses. I like this format because it allows me to keep my cards together and in order as I work; also, on days when my time or energy is limited, the thought of adding another card to the ring kind of keeps me going. Plus I confess I really love taking this "fan" photo of the finished book each year!

PS: I'm already looking forward to #dyicad2027 ♥♥♥

Here are the last few cards from the past not-quite-full week of ICAD2026!

Day 62: Bonus Card

I always like to finish the ICAD festivities with a big bold THANK YOU (on an index card, obvs) to Tammy @gypsy999 and all my fellow ICADians and ICADettes for making this June and July the best @indexcardaday event so far! ♥

Day 61: Off-Prompt

Could not resist making one more freestyle collage that combines ink, a little stamping, some ancient rub-on transfers and a few vintage goodies.

Day 60: Beatles' Song

Octopus' Garden is one of my favorite Beatles' songs, not just because it's one of a very few written by Ringo, although the older I get, the more I appreciate his sense of humor and whimsy. I made a "smooshed" background with Isopropyl Alcohol and some analogous shades of Stellar Ink, then added bubbles and ripples and coral and flowers. (The last is not technically correct, but if an Octopus had a garden, I think there'd be flowers in it. So there.)

Day 59: Cobblestones

There is something really soothing about filling an entire index card with a semi-realistic pattern, then adding depth and color and shadows, etc and these cobblestones were especially fun to draw!

Day 58: Off-Prompt

This card combines three different half-finished, temporarily abandoned pieces that serendipitously added up to more than the sum of their parts. The sewing pattern lady collage layer was part of a bigger piece that I didn't like much... so I tore away the "excess" and started over. The layer beneath that is a  flower(ish) illustration from a book of fabric designs that I had outlined but then got a bit stuck, and set aside. Oddly enough, the colors match the SPL's flower perfectly. The tabbed card has some Perfect Pearls doodles that (once again... almostly spookily!) match really really well. You can't see much of it, but both structurally and design-wise it makes a perfect base for the rest. 

JB2616: Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe

This fortnight at Jingle Belles, we're playing Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe, which is a bit like "Beach Blanket Bingo"... but much more Christmassy... and with a lot more embellishments! We'd love for you to join us; all you have to do is pick a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) and create a lovely new holiday card featuring all three elements in that row. (Please note that you can, of course, use more than one snowman, more than one diecut, etc. etc.) Sound like fun? We thought so! 

Here's how I played the game this week:

I chose the center horizonal row, which gave me: Flowers + Red or Green + Ribbon. I couldn't wait to use my new Simon Hurley Festive Holly Layering Stencil set for the "red or green" portion; I used Simon's Iced Out and Tropical Tango Stellar Inks for the holly leaves and stems, with Prom Queen for the berries. My "flowers" consist of the single white silk poinsettia I had left, stacked with two layers of Tim Holtz's Tattered Poinsettia die, which I cut from deep pink felt and held on with an ancient holly themed brad. For "ribbon" I used two different patterns from an older set of Doodlebug Design holiday ribbons. At the very end I sewed around the perimeter (those ribbons are ON THERE lol!) and added a couple of mulberry paper ivy leaves of unknown origin.

JB2616: Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe runs until 6pm (Eastern) on the evening of Wednesday, August 12th. Link your totally terrific Tic-Tac-Toe cards at Jingle Belles!

ICAD. (Again)

We've just completed the last *FULL* week of @indexcardaday (though the official wrap-up is not until Friday) so here are seven more cards from my own personal ICAD-iverse:

Day 57: Off-Prompt

(Mandala Monday)

I've had so much fun with my Posca pens this summer. One of my goals was to use them more often (check!) and... more difficult for me... NOT to outline all of the colors (also check!). This design made me think of a tagline Tammy G (aka @gypsy999 on IG) wrote for one of her mandalas early on in my ICAD participation. She called it a, "100% free-range, cruelty-free, organic mandala" and I think this fits that description pretty well!

Day 56: Board Game

When I read "Board Game" I flashed back to playing Candyland with my brother when we were very young. Something I didn't really notice or appreciate until I was much older, is the brilliance of Candyland's logistics: there's no reading; and you really don't even need to be able to count reliably, as the spinner and board direct you to advance to the next square on the board that is the correct color.  Whoever thought that up was both a genius, and a person who understood that kids will enjoy playing a board game together without adults, it's the reading and strategy that makes many games "too old" to play without a grown-up. I'm guessing a MOM invented Candyland?! 

My card is inspired by both Candyland and another game we (or possibly our neighbors) had, which I can only remember very vaguely; but I know you drew a card and then advanced to a place on the board which had the matching symbol. I have no idea what it was called... it's even possible I am retrospectively making it up, lol (But I THINK it was a real game; does anyone else remember it?!)

Day 55: Mirror(ball)

I made a nice dark inky background with three of my favorite shades of Simon Hurley's Stellar Inks, using Isopropyl Alcohol instead of water, so my flimsy index card would not get warped or pilled. When it was dry, I added slightly darker ink around the edges; then went wild with ancient white rub-on transfers. I cut that cool rose sticker into three parts for maximum coverage, then added a vintage ballerina and what I think might be the best caption ever. I generally try not to pick "favorite" ICADs based on the finished product, rather than process, but... I have to admit... I *really* like this one!

Day 54: Diagonal

Last year during ICAD, I made a bunch of pretty random backgrounds; some of which did not get used. Including this one that has skinny blue and green washi tapes arranged in a diagonal plaid pattern. Tonight I added some funky fruit illustrations and a daffodil. I feel like it needs one more thing, but since I have absolutely no idea WHAT that thing might be; for now, at least, I'm calling this (provisionally) done.

Day 53: Unwind

I glued the car, the flower, and the foliage to a plain white index card and then got stuck and set it aside. Later I thought, "Maybe the background should be zen doodles?" I'm still not sure if that was the right idea or if these are the right doodles but they were quite relaxing and fun to do; thus I count this as "Unwinding".

Day 52: Season

I think I've used my Posca Pens more consistently in the last two months than at any time previously, and it feels really good. I had intended to add all four seasons to this... but I got carried away with Spring and Summer, and ran out of room for Fall and Winter, lol. Maybe later I'll make a Part Two?!

Day 51: Off-Prompt

Here's another collage where the three background elements (a large photo of malachite, yellow flowers with stripey leaves, and green butterflies) almost blend together too well. But whenever Alice in Wonderland joins the convo, serendipity tends to reign, right?!

Unicorn Holiday Color Inspiration (week 2)

It's the second week of our Unicorn Holiday Color Challenge at Jingle Belles, so here's a reminder of the palette. You don't need to reference the photo... or the unicorn... as part of your inspiration; just use three (or more) of the colors placed below the graphic. You can add in neutrals, too, of course.

I couldn't decide between recreating Stephanie's amazing card from last week or using my new Simon Hurley create Tangled Lights Layering Stencil Set; so I did a bit of both! I used Simon's Inks in Piggyback, Prom Queen, Love Bomb, Over Zealous and Cry Baby for the lights; with some Black Widow for the cords and sockets.

Then I used a set of nested dies to make the four graduated circles from Stephanie's design. I considered a yeti... or a narwhal... even Hello Kitty; but in the end I chose the snow person from Simon's North Pole Sentiments set from Spellbinders, and had fun dressing him up using scraps from the same colors of cardstock that make up the circles.

Be sure to check out Stephanie's latest card over at Jingle Belles. JB2615: Unicorn Holiday runs until next Wednesday evening, July 29th, so you have plenty of time to join the fun!

Flatlands (Week 2)

Just a reminder that for this fortnight's Flat Feliz Navidad prompt at Jingle Belles, we're asking that you make a one layer (some call it "no layer") card; which means that everything should be directly on the card base, with no additional layers on top of that. If you're not sure, you can't go wrong by NOT taping or gluing anything on. We're looking for completely flat cards this time! Which is quite challenging for some of us, but a great skill to practice periodically.

This week, I got out my Simon Hurley Bold Holiday Blooms background stamp. It’s one of the great Ranger "Peel Apart" stamps that you can use either as a whole 6x6 background; or remove some of the flowers out and stamp them on their own; which is what I’ve done this time. I stamped the big poinsettias in Simon’s Prom Queen Stellar Ink; and stamped the smaller ones in Rosy Cheeks. I’ve got a small branch from Penny Black’s Nature’s Garlands set; and a sentiment from Taylored Expressions’ Flip the Snowflake set. When I finished stamping, I added some big and small dots with my Zig Dot Markers, et voila! Job done.

This challenge runs until next Wednesday evening, June 17th. Link up your fabulous flat cards at Jingle Belles!

JB2611: Ombre Wonderland

This fortnight at Jingle Belles, we're asking you to walk in an Ombré Wonderland with us, by creating a card that features an Ombré blend. Ombré is literally French for "shaded"; a gradient effect where colors smoothly blend into each other, usually transitioning from light to dark or between different hues. 

When I found a white-embossed snowflake panel in my UFOs box, I immediately knew it'd make the perfect start to an ombre emboss/resist background. I blended four shades of Simon Hurley pink inks (Piggyback, Rosy Cheeks, Stupid Cupid and Prom Queen) over the embossing; added some Eyelet Outlet Snowflake Brads and then loaded on lots of adorable Doodlebug Design stickers. Job done!

JB2611: Ombre Wonderland runs until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, June 3rd. Hop over to Jingle Belles to link your Ombre Offerings!

Flowery Bags Are My Bag, Baby!

I have always loved elaborate giftwrapping, stencils and inks... so here's a post that combines all of the above:

I used an ancient hollyhocks stencil on an 8 x10"(ish) white gift bag from the big box store. I applied Simon Hurley's pale pink Rosy Cheeks dye ink from Ranger to the entire flower and blended some darker pink Prom Queen into the centers. 

To make the flowers stand out more prominently, I put a soft shadow to the righthand side of each stalk with a medium grey brushmarker, then added messy outlines with a Letter It Fineliner. Sunflower Stickles centers and a scattering of Eyelet Outlet Clear Jewel Bling; because let's face it, a little bling is almost ALWAYS a good idea!

Pink ribbon, white tulle, a sparkly butterfly and a card with a coordinating envelope complete this Mother's Day gift bag design.

SOS573: Man's Best Friend

We're celebrating PETS this fortnight at Shopping Our Stash, so we'd like to see a card featuring a critter you might designate as such. Before you see my card and think, "I doubt anyone has bears and giraffes as pets, Lauren!" please note, there is a doggy in the back seat! 

One of my favorite things about SOS is the fact that older products are not only ok, but actively encouraged! Having said that, I didn't realize that Simon Hurley's (2020ish) Road Trip stamp set was out of print at Ranger* until I started writing this up; but I still love it and it fits the challenge. I like to paper-piece the car, but to color the critters; so I stamped the whole thing twice... (once on plaid paper** backed with cardstock and once on plain white cardstock) ...and layered the finished pieces. I'm pretty confident ALL of the scraps and partial pieces of patterned paper I used are out of print, too, actually. Muppets fans may enjoy the fact that, being in a hurry, these guys are traveling by map!!!

You, however, don't need to hurry, because SOS573: Man's Best Friend runs until the evening of Monday, May 18th. Hop over to SOS to see what the rest of the Crew have made and to link your own pet-centric creation! ♥

*I did still see a few available in various online stores, so if you love the cute critters in their little retro car, you might be in luck.

**Note to auto manufacturers worldwide: I would happily buy an ACTUAL plaid car. Just puttin' it out there...

Stellar Blooms

Simon Hurley's Stellar Inks from Ranger are, of course, outstanding for stamping and stenciling, but I also love to use them for watercoloring! I painted these big bold blooms by (sequentially) smooshing Stellar Ink (in Rosy Cheeks, Prom Queen, Slippery When Wet, Later Gator and Fore!) onto my craft mat, picking the color up with a waterbrush, and splashing it around on Simon's smooth, bright-white Watercolor Paper. When my blooms were dry, I added a dotty background plus a few outlines and details in similar shades of marker. 

Chicks and Eggs and Flowers

Spring officially begins this weekend, and Easter is just around the corner; what better time for a bold and colorful card featuring Eyelet Outlet Chick Brads, Sun and Cloud Brads, Bright Fresh Flowers and Colored Daisy Brads?

The bold background is Simon Hurley's Egg Hunt Background Stamp which I embossed with Ranger White Embossing Powder, to act as a resist for a rainbow-inspired blend of Simon Hurley Stellar Inks that match the brads reallllllly well!

Egg-cellent Easter EO Shopping List:

Chick Brads

Sun and Cloud Brads

Bright Fresh Flower Brads

Colored Daisy Brads

Eyelet Outlet makes Easter cards (and all other cards, too, actually!) easy and fun!

In Winter...

...you have to paint your own flowers. So I did! In my Dina Wakley Watercolor Journal from Ranger. It's got really sturdy watercolor paper that has jusssssssst enough texture and stands up to watercolor, inks, glosses, pastes... basically anything you can throw, spray, scribble or brush onto it!

I smooshed some Simon Hurley Stellar Inks onto the craft sheet and used a waterbrush to paint swirls of pink and triangles of green; with a few splatters of both because I can never resist, lol! When the page was dry, I drew swirly rose(ish) shapes with a Letter It Fineliner and  et voila!

Wishing you a warm(ish) and wonderful day in which you get to take a little time out to play with your art supplies! ♥

Ornament-al Mandala Monday

My mom and I always decorate the Vintage Ornament Tree on Thanksgiving weekend* and of course it reminded me how much I love Christmas ornaments generally, vintage ones specifically, and whimsical zendoodle ones in my imagination!

I used my Letter It Fineliners to create all the shapes and doodles; and my Simon Hurley Stellar Inks with a waterbrush to add the bold, saturated color.

I hope your December is off to a good start and that it'll just keep getting better!

*The tree is artificial, bought several years ago during a BIG Black Friday sale at Balsam Hill, so there are no worries about it lasting until January; btw, we do also get a real tree in December because who can resist the scent?!