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!)

 

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!

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!

Make-It Stamps: Fun with Fruit Card

What's fun, fresh and full of summer flavor? Make-It's Fun with Fruit Stamp Set! I'd love for you to visit the Ranger Project Tutorials Page and follow along as I pair the fabulous fruit with seven (7!) shades of Ranger's colorful Embossing Powder (there are over 50 in total); then create a dynamic gingham background using the Make-It Slanted Stencil with bold Archival Inks on this super summery card. ♥

Color + Pattern

It's a bold and bright Memorial Day Mandala Monday featuring lots of gorgeous Archival Inks, a few of my favorite Make-It Stencils, and plenty of Posca Pen and Letter It Fineliner details... all in my Dina Wakley Watercolor Journal.

If you're having a cookout today... save me a burger, k? ♥

MM18: Bold Shapes

It's possible that I am the only crafter who, upon seeing Ranger's new Make-It Bold Birthday Stamp Set and Bold Shapes Stencil, immediately thought, "Those would make a FAB mandala!" but I did think that, and I stand by my opinion. See?

For the most part, I stenciled the big shapes, outlined them with a medium tipped Fineliner, and cut them out with scissors. Then I added details and embellishments with the stamps; using (mostly) pale to medium shades of Archival Ink for the bases, and darker shades for the detail. At the very end, I came in with some additional Fineliner details and a White Posca Pen. I cut out a large circle of black cardstock to help me arrange the shapes more symmetrically, intending to discard it once the spacing was complete... but then I quite liked the way it grounded everything, so it stayed, lol!

I hope your week is off to a BOLD start. And May the Fourth be with you, Star Wars fans!

Make-It Stencil Page

What's the first thing you do with new stencils? If you're anything like me, you want to try ALL of them IMMEDIATELY. Which is how I came up with the idea of a stencil page. Just lay those babies out, one by one, choose a few common colors... or go crazy with random shades! No need for a particular plan or even a solid idea, but the patchwork effect makes it all come together.

The new Make-It Stencils are: Bold Shapes, Bubble Mix, Slanted and Wavy Lines, and every single one is fun, fab and (maybe my favorite part!) very useful.

I used a bunch of my favorite Archival Ink shades, and did a little blending within the stencils. Then I did some outlining with a black Letter It Fineliner. I love how some of the printing on the pages of Dina Wakley's Ledger Journal shows underneath the translucent colors.

Check out ALL of the new Make-It Stencils and Stamp Sets... (ooh and there's a new, perfectly-sized Acrylic Block in the collection now, as well!) ...in the Ranger Online Store!

Stencil Testing Pages

If you're anything like me, when you get new supplies you want to use them IMMEDIATELY upon unpacking... which is often considerably before you've actually got a plan as to HOW you want to use them. So here's my solution: the stencil testing journal page! 

This could not be easier, because it's literally just stencils in my Dina Wakley Watercolor Journal. Yes, I made an attempt to line them up somewhat neatly; and yes, I used shades of ink from the same family; so it makes the double-page spread look quite decorative. 

Technically, only three of these Simon Hurley Layering Stencil Sets are brand new, namely: Happy Arches, Star Tile and Trellis. I filled in the rest of the page with some older sets: Geo Leaves, Geo Circles, Deco Diamonds and Tiny Diamonds, to be exact. To make the page look more cohesive, I used Archival Inks in greens and blues: Avocado Toast, Olive, Emerald, Best Dressed, Beach Cruiser and Seafarer... with a little bit of Graphite to anchor them.

Next time you open that box of new goodies, have a journal or sketchbook handy and have some fun!

It's a Big BIG Mandala Monday

I have to confess this started out as an ordinary-sized Mandala; it grew to cover about half of my two-page Dina Ledger Journal spread; and finally I thought, "Just fill both pages!" So I did. All of which happened on three or four evenings over the course of maybe two weeks.  For the record, most of my mandalas are not completed in a single sitting; I typically have 20-30 minutes at the end of the evening for "freestyle" art and usually I start a mandala or a collage... or a collaged mandala if I can't decide which, lol.

I used a Mini Ink Blending Tool and Domed Foams to apply rainbow shades of Archival Inks in concentric circles; then added black Letter It Fineliner details; then some messy stenciling with Dina's Coaster Stencils. At the end, I got out some Posca Pens and used a detail blender or marker to tidy up some of the rounds if the colors split in a weird way.

The biggest impulse to keep going came NOT from something I did well; au contraire. Actually, it was a Big Mistake! When I was about halfway across both pages... (around where the ring of purple tabs with white hearts are... though they didn't have much detail yet) ...I added those 1-inch blue and green circles with Letter It's Polka Dotting Stencil. And I haaaaaaaaaaaaated them. I added more colors, tried to blend them out, tried to disguise with white, etc... nothing really worked. I closed the book and mentally added this one to the "unfinished" pile. 

But the next time I saw the unfinished spread, I remembered that when you can't manage to cover up something you hate, the answer might be (rather counter-intuitively!) to ADD MORE OF IT. Yep, I know it sounds nuts but... sometimes the "ugly" thing just needs more context. And in this case, I do believe it worked! Which is not to say that I love those dots but... I like them more and was able to finish the page. And thus another Mandala Monday is complete. 

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Too Much?

I'm putting the "psycho" into "psychedelic" this Mandala Monday. I started out with a fab mix of Archival Ink colors and Simon Hurley's awesome two-part Sunrays Layering Stencils. I probably should've stopped at ONE mandala ring and made the petals more consistent though; the combination of sunrays and offset circles is a bit dizzying, lol. Ah well.

Is this my favorite mandala? No. Did I "waste" my paper, ink and time? Also no! I tried something new, I enjoyed working on it, I learned a few things to do... and a few things not to do next time. All of which adds up to a successful art session, if not necessarily a beautiful finished piece. And I'm absolutely fine with that. Hope your week is off to a good start!

Forever and Always Card

What's better than using Ranger's awesome new line of Make-It Stamps and Stencils on your cards and projects? Combining them with six brand new Archival Ink colors and eight gorgeous new shimmery shades of Liquid Pearls. There's a step-by-step tutorial for this card on the Ranger Project Page, I'd love for you to hop over and check it out!

Use ALL the Colors

This *might* be the most colorful art journal page I've ever made... and thus it's currently my favorite! I used ALL of the new Ranger Archivals and all of the new Liquid Pearls; some of the Make-It Stamps and Stencils, plus lots of lovely Dina Wakley MEdia Collage Sparks.

There are eight brand new varieties of shimmery Liquid Pearls (Firecracker, Sweet Potato, Rubber Duck, Kiwi, Emerald, Blue Velvet, Royalty and Truffle) and the reason they've been applied quite randomly on a double page in my Dina Wakley Watercolor Journal, is that I'd been using them on other projects, and this is what I did with the extra Liquid Pearls I dispensed. I often use up extra paint, ink, paste or watercolor on a journal page rather than throw them out. Sometimes they add up to an interesting background... as I felt they did here; sometimes they just make mud and later I cover them up.

As for the six new shades of Archival Ink (Avocado Toast, Sweet Treat, Big Plans, Dark Roast, Best Dressed and Sandcastle); some was applied randomly when I cleaned off my Pegboard and Sprinkle Hearts Stencils; some got there quite deliberately when I stamped the numerals from the Make-It Chic Birthday Stamp Set and the big stars from the Charmed Set, to which I added some White Gesso. I also used an ink blending tool to splash a little extra color over any areas that were blank, so the entire page would be covered. 

At the very end, I felt like there needed to be some larger elements across the center of the spread, so I raided my collection of Dina's Collage Sparks and cut out lots of circles and hearts that had similar colors. PS: If you're thinking that I *should* have taken a photo before I embarked on the intentional portion of the pages, I agree!!! But alas, I forgot. Next time!

Another Year Wiser

Ranger's new Make-It line of Stencils and Stamps, combine brilliantly with my favorite shades of Archival Ink, to totally streamline the cardmaking process. 

This card features the Bow Lattice Stencil applied in rainbow diagonals of Vibrant Fuchsia, Coastal Coral, Sun Dazed, Sea Grass, Aquamarine and Aubergine. Then the numerals from the Chic Birthday Photopolymer Stamp Set were added in the same colors, between the bows, for even more color and detail.

The sentiment, candle and tiny hearts were all stamped in Emboss It Clear Ink and embossed with Ranger White E/P; then covered with a nice bold coat of Aubergine Archival that was flicked with Isopropyl Alcohol to create a fun mottled effect that's duplicated on the background mat. The rose stamp is the only element that isn't included in the Chic Birthday Set; it's from the Wild Hearts Set and is embossed in Magenta Powder on scraps of Stark White Cardstock, then cut out and scattered around the card. 

Skinny green mats and a bit of wonky machine stitching complete the design of this colorful and exuberant birthday greeting!

New Stamps and Stencils (WOOHOO!)

I'm so excited to get my hands on Ranger's new line of Make-It Stamps and Stencils. There are (so far) three high-quality photopolymer stamp sets and three nice sturdy 6x8" stencils. The stencils are: Pegboard, Bow Lattice, and Sprinkle Hearts. The stamp sets are called: Chic Birthday, Charmed and Wild Hearts. I made some ATCs to test drive them.

I decided to make one ATC for each stamp set, without mixing them, so you could see that each set has more than enough images and sentiments to make a bunch of different projects. I did add some stenciled details in the backgrounds, though.

Here are the full sets; as you can see I barely scratched the surface, there are many ways to use each of them!

I did a rainbow version of each stencil so you could really see the patterns well. I love the size of these (6x8") as I often make A6 or A7 cards; and I have a couple of biggish art journals. But as you can see, the scale is still great for smaller items like ATCs. You could even add pattern to the front and back of an A2 card.

One of my favorite things on the "Cheers" ATC is the rounded panel under the martini. I made it by stenciling the Bow Lattice, moving it slightly and changing colors over and over; until I got a pattern that reminds me of funky "space age" 1960's Formica. 

Stay tuned for more ideas coming soon. In the meantime, be sure to check out the full line of Make-It items as well as all the inspiration on the @ranger_ink Instagram Page!

Thank You Bouquet Doodles

I love how many ways there are to use Wendy Vecchi's Thank You Bouquet 3D Emboss and Cut Folder and Stencil Bundle from Spellbinders. You can (as the name implies) easily emboss, cut AND stencil; but you can also choose to do any of those options alone, for a different look. This time I used just the stencils with Wendy's Ranger Archival Inks and then added wonky outlines with a Letter It Fineliner.

The MAKE ART Stay-tion is ideal for effortlessly lining up layering stencils; the magnets hold them securely so there's no need for tape. For even more precision, I use Wendy's Tip Tuesday trick of employing the magnetic Perfect Stamp Positioner if I want to place the design on a smaller or oddly shaped panel. (That wasn't needed this time, though.)

 

Speaking of lining up... when I started to assemble the card the design panel was centered on the lacy diecut mat, and the whole thing neatly lined up in the center of my 5.5" square card. Then I accidentally bumped my table and everything slid a bit. Recognizing a Bob-Ross-style "happy accident" when I see one, I attached the layers crookedly, instead!

If, like me, you're in the path of the massive snowstorm brewing up here in the Mid-Atlantic region, I wish you a sturdy shovel, a strong back and accumulations lower than expected!

Dylusions Reusable Nesting Gift Boxes

One of my favorite ways to stretch my supplies (and my budget!) is making my own "fancy" gift bags and boxes. It's a lot of fun, and let's face it, I already have ALL the ingredients, because papercrafting supplies are ideal for gift wrapping, too. Today I'm up on the Ranger Project Tutorials Page, using Archival Inks, Stickles and Liquid Pearls to adorn a set of three Dylusions Nesting Boxes. I'd love for you to check it out!

Stenciling on Burlap? (YES!)

A while ago I saw Wendy Vecchi do some stenciling on burlap and it was kind of mind-blowing to me, I had never thought of that! Recently, I found half a roll of sticky-back burlap ribbon and I thought, "Aha! This is my chance!" so of course I broke out the six piece stencil set that comes in the Spellbinders' Thank You Bouquet Bundle from the Tabbed Classics Collection and had a go. I used Wendy's Archival Inks from Ranger. They're translucent, which means that the color of your substrate will subtly influence the color of your finished project. Since my burlap was about the same shade as kraft cardstock, that meant I chose darker shades of reds, greens and oranges, so they'd show up well and coordinate nicely. I used the awesome Tip Tuesday trick that Wendy demonstrated for us in this video, where she brilliantly used her MAKE ART Stay-tion and the magnetic corner square from her Perfect Stamp Positioner to line up the stencils perfectly, meaning that you can position them in ANY direction without having a hard time on subsequent layers.

I chose to mount my strip of burlap on a coordinating layer of Dina Wakley Kraft Cardstock that I had debossed with the Polka Dot and Posy Duo Embossing Folder. I used the one step Emboss and Cut feature of the Thank You Bouquet Folder to make a few textured blooms and added a bit of delicate foliage from the folder with my Christmas Add-On set; part of last year's Not Your Ordinary Card Collection. A super-skinny mat of ivory cardstock sets off the whole panel, and a bit of machine stitching ensures that my burlap won't fray or come loose. 

I'd write more, but I'm pretty sure that somewhere in my craft stash I have some colorful burlap and I suddenly NEED to go and find that!!! :)

Stenciling on Perforated Paper

One of the coolest ways Wendy Vecchi has been using her new Thank You Bouquet Bundle Stencils from Spellbinders is stenciling them on that perforated paper you can use for needlework. The question that raises is: HOW do you attach such a panel to your card? Of course you can use spray mount or any other invisible adhesive; or you can add a couple of diecuts on top of the design and hide a visible adhesive behind them. But... you can also "show your work" as they used to say in math class, and here are a couple of ideas for doing that:

Idea #1: Brads! I've added three Eyelet Outlet Dragonfly Brads, pretty evenly spaced, towards the center of this panel. I placed my stenciled flower panel on top of the pale blue mat, secured it very lightly with low-tack tape at the corners, then pierced holes through the holes of the perforated paper, threaded the brads through and opened the prongs at the back. Job done. Secure your thread ends at the back of the cardstock panel with tape.

Idea #2: Stitches! Perforated paper was literally designed to be used for stitching, and if you happen to have some laying around, chances are you have some embroidery floss, too. This time I didn't need to secure the corners because I had my brads in place, but if stitches are going to be your only attachment, you will want to keep the panel from wiggling while you pierce your holes.

Bonus Tip: How to pierce holes for stitching or brads if you don't have a paper piercer: A push pin is absolutely perfect for this, and you almost certainly already have one somewhere in your home or office. Pointed tweezers also work. Spellbinders' Tool n One (more commonly used for poking diecuts out of intricate dies) is good, as well. I actually have an ancient Heidi Swap Paper Piercer and I use it ALOT atop a piece of an old mouse mat that I saved especially, but any piece of semi-stiff foam or an old padded envelope works well to put underneath. 

(Just FYI: Yes, you really do need to pierce holes; a needle or the brads' prongs will probably not be able to go through your backing cardstock without bending or marring it. Ask me how I know!!!)

A few other ideas that I haven't shown here: Staples, either regular or decorative (especially cool with a grunge aesthetic); Eyelets; Machine stitching; and possibly... I haven't tested this but I suspect it will work... A wax seal applied on top of your design? Experiment and have fun!

Hearts and Flowers

It's a Very Vecchi Mandala Monday! I'm using (somewhat non-traditionally) the stencils from the Thank You Bouquet 3D Emboss and Cut Bundle*, which is one of my favorite elements from the Tabbed Classics Collection that debuted on Friday from Wendy Vecchi and Spellbinders. For this creation, I used only the first three stencils in the set, because basically I just wanted the petals and the centers this time. I did, however, move the stencils a few times, so that I could have multiple repeats of each flower.

For this mandala, I "watercolored" a 12 x 6" panel of cardstock with Pink Peony Archival Ink and Isopropyl Alcohol; splashing on a little bit of Goldenrod Archival that was leftover from something else. After the panel dried, I used the Thank You Bouquet Stencils, as I mentioned above, quite selectively: coloring just the biggest flowers but giving them two sets of Rosy Posey petals, spread across the whole panel; finishing off with a coat of white gesso to make the centers pop. I filled in the non-floral areas with one of Wendy's older Studio 490 Polka Dot Backgrounds. At the end, I took a black Fineliner and added super-scribbly outlines. Then I cut out a large circle, and used the heart dies from last year's Heartfelt Thanks and Scallops set to make petals of various sizes, which I matted on bold brick red cardstock and attached around the edges of the circle.

As I said, it's not a very traditional piece in any way, but I absolutely LOVED making it and I think it shows how very flexible these sets are!

♥♥♥♥♥

*Just a reminder the Thank You Bouquet 3D Emboss and Cut Folder IS available without the stencils; but honestly... I cannot imagine NOT having the stencils, so I definitely recommend the Bundle!!!

Blue Bouquet (Blue-quet?!)

The last few days, I've been celebrating the awesome new release from Wendy Vecchi and Spellbinders; it's called the Tabbed Classics Collection, and not only is it outstanding on it's own, it builds on (and works beautifully with!) Wendy's FAB Not Your Ordinary Card Collection from last year!

One of my favorite items from the new release is the Thank You Bouquet 3D Emboss and Cut Folder Bundle. You can get JUST the Folder with Dies, but... the stencils take the whole thing to the next level, imo; so I highly recommend the Bundle!

For this card, I wanted to try using the stencils without the embossing folder or die, and I have to say I looooove the results. Since I wasn't going to incorporate any texture into the bouquet, I chose to use several shades of blue, green and yellow to add contrast to the various elements. I did add texture to the background layer, though, by embossing my pale blueish/greyish cardstock with the Polka Dot and Posy Duo 3D Embossing Folder. This folder is 5.5 x 8.5" which means you can emboss TWO A2 cardfronts at the same time; or, if you're like me and enjoy making BIG cards, you can place your panel in the center of the folder to get both dots and posies on the same piece. The sentiment is from the Thank You Bouquet set, and yes, it does emboss and cut in one step!

Be sure to check out the Make Art with Wendy Vecchi Facebook Group and Wendy's Instagram (@wendyvecchi) for lots more ideas and inspiration!