how do you decide whether to do a side- or top-fold card?

i ask because i only realized last night, midway through what i'm sure by now must be my elebenty-seventh consecutive year of card-making, that i consistently do a side-fold by default, a top-fold when i have an offcut of cardstock that needs using up, and a reverse side-fold (the infamous "left-handed greeting card" lol!) only when i am very, very tired. :)

this one's a top-fold, and thus represents one less leftover 12x4.5" piece of kraft in my cardstock caddy. big win!!!

 (patterned paper: crate, echo park; chipboard tree stickers: recollections; border stickers: my mind's eye; sentiment rub-on: making memories; poinsettia: we r memory keepers; twine: doodlebug; lace: vintage, from m'stash; ink: colorbox; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

may i say for the record that those sparkly patterned trees might just represent my all-time favorite holiday stickers? they are michaels' store brand, i've gone through AT LEAST 5 or 6 packs of them in the last few years, and i'm certain i will continue to purchase and enjoy them for however long they continue being made! i almost always use the whole pack of 3 at a time... but then... i almost always buy them when they're on a 40% off sale... so i think i'm still up on the deal, fiscally-speakin'!

my layout is based on kimber mcgray's 12.1 saturday card sketch at two peas in a bucket:

i used this week's gorgeous holiday palette (#221) from color throwdown:

and i think that's about all i have to say for the moment, except to wish you a very happy and productive weekend! ciao for now, darlings! ♥

strictly speaking, this ornament is a bit too large for the tree :) :) :)

well hello and happy-almost-weekend! this being the first friday since the official end of our ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ 2012 xmas-card-making year*, i thought it would be nice to start things off with... ahem... ok, yeah, it's still a christmas card, lol!

 (patterned paper: mme, glitz, love elsie, echo park, dcwv + a bit of packaging from the girls' paperie; mini bingo card: jenni bowlin; dimensional ornament sticker: crate paper; ink: colorbox; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

because let's face it, this is the time of year the rest of the world is really tuned in to christmas cards, and whilst i have the bulk of mine completed, a few "extras" never ever go amiss, do they? plus there are some excellent challenges out there in which i can enjoy being a player rather than a hostess, which is awfully fun! for example, kimber mcgray's saturday card sketch challenge at two peas is rather awesome this week:

and when paired with the palette at colour q it's even better!

of course, for me, trying to do anything even remotely "clean and simple"... (which, ok, admittedly, this card would not be considered by ANYONE ELSE, but for me, it IS, so just go with me here, for the sake of argument, k?!) ...takes approximately 97 times longer than my usual super-embellished style. don't get me wrong, most of the time, i love having the "collage gene" but when i see the pared down masterpieces other people make, i just occasionally wish it came with an off switch. but in the end, i got there, and if my card certainly cannot be called "minimalist" by anyone, ever, i think it's got a certain low-key charm. :)

speaking of C+S masterpieces, you should check out patrice's blog, the old back porch, where she is constantly pulling off the kind of super-sleek style that makes me sigh! oh yeah, and why not link up with 52-card-pick-up whilst you are there?! ciao, darlings! ♥

*we'll start up again for the 2013 jingle belles season on january 1st, and we'd ♥LOVE♥ for you to join us! in the meantime, there's a sort of "anything christmassy goes" linkfest goin' on over there, with a bit of a prize up for grabs... just sayin'...

you know how sometimes the "whole" of a thing is greater than the sum of its parts?

well, it turns out, the converse can also be true; and this is one of those times. i really ♥LOVE♥ all the parts of this, and yet i'm not crazy about the finished product. interesting, no? having said that, it's not a bad card... see?

(patterned paper: amy tangerine, basic grey, dcwv, best creation; tape: love my tapes; thickers and rub-on letters: american crafts; brad: doodlebug; flower: prima; gem strips (re-colored with copics): recollections; ribbon: michaels; other: bit of a doily; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

ok, so obviously, i totally loooooooooove the colors and the funky/kitschy graphic style, and those came from laurel seabrook's inspired by #50, which is downright awesome in anyone's book!

i also love the layout, which came from kimber mcgray's 11.17 saturday card sketch challenge at two peas (btw, you really HAVE TO go and see the card she made for this one, it is stunning!!!)

and of course i am utterly IN LOVE WITH the little cake, which i think is one of the best one's i've ever paper-pieced, mostly because i just literally enlarged the cake in the bottom left of laurel's inspo pic and used it as a pattern! the irony here, if you know me, is that whereas i am kitchen-lazy to the point of resenting the (very small) amount of "time and trouble" it takes to microwave a lean cuisine (you have to stop midway through and STIR it, for pete's sake!) it probably took as long or longer to create and assemble these eensie weensie bits o'paper as it would to bake an actual cake; but i have no problems at all with having spent that time cutting! go figure. :) :) :)

something i'm sure ♥YOU♥ would enjoy spending time on is a bit of a stroll through the galleries for both laurel's challenge and the card sketch, so why not check them out? oh and if you're thinking about cakes and/or christmas now, you might like to link up at JINGLE BELLES this week, as well. ciao, darlings! ♥

it's a christmas ♥FEAST♥!

i find it seriously hard to believe we're already midway through november, but a quick glance at the calendar confirms that not only is (american) thanksgiving a mere week away, but that today marks the start of our very last ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ holiday card prompt for 2012*!!! now i realize it seems odd that we are wrapping up our challenges just when, traditionally, christmas card production is kicking into high gear; but that was sort of the point of this blogging adventure: stephanie and i set out to take december BACK for ourselves and our families by freeing it of the frenzy of last minute mass-production of holiday cards. for the last two years, we've each made a christmas card per week since the beginning of january, and thus we can afford to take december OFF in the challenge blog sense! let me just say that going into the festive month knowing i not only have this very big chore SORTED, but that in fact i've got 48 unique and beautiful cards i enjoyed making in a calm and stress-free environment, is truly the BEST GIFT EVER, i'm so pleased i've made it a priority for the last couple of years, and i heartily encourage everyone to give it a try, i think you'll be hooked, too!!! ♥

in honor of both the upcoming thanksgiving holiday AND the many glorious and delicious seasonal foods, this time we're asking you to create a holiday card which has some sort of FOOD on it... from visions of sugarplums, to cookies and cocoa for santa, roast turkey or goose, plum pudding... well, you get the idea, right? i've always had a bit of a thing about gingerbread houses, i threaten to make one every year, and one of these days i will DO IT! but for now, i've contented myself with loading a bunch of reallllllly cute ones on to a card:

 (patterned paper: imaginisce, ta-da studio, best creation, sei; rub-ons: imaginisce; twine: doodlebug; ink: colorbox; corner rounder: ek success; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

i honestly cannot remember the last time i made an A2 card, so clearly it's been far too long! they are adorable though, and seemed utterly perfect for the small size of the gingerbread house rub-ons i wanted to use as the centerpiece of the card, as soon as i realized they'd work PERFECTLY with kimber mcgray's 11-10 saturday card sketch at two peas:

and yes, technically, i've already made a card for this sketch, but i b'lieve i warned you that i was going to be "revisiting" this one at least a few more times. even i didn't think it would be quiiiiiite as soon as this, but when the perfect pairing presents itself, only a foolish crafter walks away in a huff, right?! of course i am linking up at 52-card-pick-up, as well, because afterall, it IS friday, isn't it?!

i hope you will come along to ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ and link up with us for our last official prompt of the year, we're longing to see what tasty cards you'll cook up!

*yes, indeedy, we WILL be back in 2013 with more bi-weekly card-making hijinks; why not plan to join us on january 1st as we kick off the new year in a RESOLUTIONARY way!!! ♥♥♥

stars + sparkle? sign me up!!!

this week's brief at city crafter-- stars and sparkle-- is, as you may already have noticed, right up my street! having said that, when i read the challenge, i envisioned making something very pink, very sparkly, and well, girly as all get out. then a little peek at my birthday book revealed that what i really need RIGHT NOW is a birthday card for my friend joshua. so some pretty fast mental recalculating took place, and i came up with this, instead:

(patterned paper: basic grey, authentique, dcwv; cardstock: core'dinations; thickers: american crafts; gem stars: queen + co; star dies: spellbinders; ink: colorbox; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, gluedots, sewing machine)

one of my favorite things about josh is that a card with the word "dude" spelled out in sparkly silver glitter letters will not so much as raise an eyebrow on his part. gotta love that in a man, right??! 

for my layout, i used kimber mcgray's saturday card challenge sketch at two peas in a bucket:

this is one i will print out and save, since i can already see about 27 different ways to use it... some of which involve washi tape... come to think of it, i think i will sign off and pursue at least one of those right now. do go back to enjoying your regularly scheduled sunday, darlings, this may take some time! :)

birthday "SPACE-out"!

i'm embarrassed to say that i have need on a semi-regular basis for the "belated" sub-division of birthday cards. it's usually not that i've forgotten the date, just that i've been too busy or too oblivious to get my act together. which seems *worse* somehow, doesn't it? ah well. if i can't be on time, at least i will try to be stylish, lol!

(spaceman card, ticket strip, label and word border: october afternoon "rocket age" miscellany; patterned paper: amy tangerine, crate paper; rub-on and sticker sentiments: EAD designs... who will be SORELY MISSED in these parts!; washi tape: love my tapes, recollections, bazzill, crafty basics; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape)

i was super-excited to have won (by random draw) a 2peas gift certificate for this card in last week's saturday cardmaking challenge; but i'd've had to come back and play in any case because kimber mcgray has drawn one of my all-time favorite sketches this week! i am quite sure you'll be seeing this again in future, so i hope you're enjoying it so far!

most of the time i am quite shockingly lazy about decorating the INSIDE of cards. in fact i'm embarrassed to say that sometimes i leave it soooooooo close to the last minute that there isn't even a stamped or rub-onned sentiment, just my own handwritten greeting; but the great thing about using a black card base is that it sort of forces you to do something to the inside, and for once i actually bothered to make it coordinate. go, me! :)

hope this week is treating you well so far, but if not, take heart... it's halfway over! happy wednesday, darlings! ♥

whaddaya do with "partial" images from the edges of patterned paper?

put 'em on the edge of your card! problem solved. :)

(patterned paper: dear lizzy, amy tangerine, glitz design, echo park; seniment sticker: amy tangerine; pearls and sparkly stars: queen and co; banner rub-on: hambly (how i MISS YOU!!!); twine: the twinery; butterfly punch: martha stewart; paper doily from... the grocery store? agggggges ago; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, scotch gluestick, sewing machine)

because while i'm sure there has to be somebody somewhere who's used a full sheet of adorable dear lizzy mason jars *without* cutting them out... i confess that i just have not happened to see it yet; and i most definitely haven't done it, myself. and yeah, this one was right at the edge of the sheet, but there's still plenty enough of it to use! i love the printed star elements inside the jar, so i added some sparkly dimensional stars to those; and then grabbed some amy tangerine goodness, a doily, some banners, and went from there. my starting point was the gorgeous color palette my lovely blogging friend linda robinson has chosen for this week's city crafter challenge (#129); which was rocked in a big, biiiiig way by ALL of the ladies at CCCB, naturally!

for layout, i grabbed kimber mcgray's blueprint for this week's two peas saturday card sketch challenge; though you can see that i flipped the design horizontally because i happened to use a "left-handed" jar.

i'm sneeeeeeeeeaking in on the very last day of moxie fab world's jars of joy challenge. i don't know if i've used mine in an "innovative" way... but it's pretty cute anyway, i guess.

you know that i am OBSESSED with texture, and this card happens to be a good example of a few really easy ways to add some o'that: first, the mason jar is popped up on a layer of foam tape. i don't mean pop dots, (which i find too thick) i mean the 1/16" thick 3m brand foam mounting tape they sell in rolls at staples, of which i use A LOT; and the reason is, that tiny gap between base and focal point-- and the teeny little shadow it casts-- really makes whatever you use it on literally stand out! then of course things like flat-backed sticky pearls, sparkly star embellies, baker's twine and machine stitching automatically add dimension and interest. but you can get even more texture from flat old paper... just by the way you attach it. if you look at the green bunting, the white scallop border, and the doily under the mason jar, you'll see what i mean: i haven't glued them all the way down, but left the edges just a liiiiiiittle bit loose. don't worry, everything is securely ON THERE; the doily and scallops have layers on top of them, and the bunting's machine stitching turns out to not be only for decoration. ;) 

well, i think that's all for today, except to wish my american friends a very happy columbus day; my canadian friends a wonderful thanksgiving weekend; and to everyone else, ummmmmmmm... well... another monday is at least halfway over-- gotta love that, eh?! ciao, darlings!

we're going POSTAL...

...but in a GOOD way... at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ this fortnight! thanks to a brilliant suggestion from our lovely guest star lela meinke, we're embracing all things postal and mail related, with a few different options for creating your cards:

create a holiday card which includes postage, faux postage or postal images 

(mail boxes, stamps, postoids, cancellations, postman, etc)

OR 

create a holiday postcard 

OR 

create a holiday card with a matching (decorated) envelope

i went with option one in the form of "postal images" by incorporating a scan of the front and back of one of my treasured vintage postcards, which was sent to a pair of sisters by their aunt in bethlehem, pennsylvania, on december 7th, 1907!*

(copy of a vintage 1907 holiday postcard from my collection, front and back printed on kodak premium photo paper and staples brand ivory colored inkjet cardstock, respectively; patterned paper: autumn leaves, echo park, basic grey, jenni bowlin; fabric ribbon (from leslie, ta!!!): webster's pages; (partial) floral stem: prima; "believe" sticker: sandylion; red sticky-back pearls: kaiser; distress inks and tools: ranger; adhesives: staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, hot glue, sewing machine)

i used kimber mcgray's card challenge sketch at two peas this week, which i think you'll agree is rather fab:

i was excited to learn that this fortnight the anything goes challenge blog is featuring early christmas, and the creative card crew are also clebrating christmas cards with their challenge #18 ... because of course i am ALL OVER that, lol! my fellow year-round xmas card makers at the holly jolly christmas challenge are calling for christmas florals, the use of which is never a problem for me; actually i have a hard time NOT putting flowers on pretty much everything i make, whether holiday-related or not! (this might explain why i find "guy cards" so much harder to make: no flowers, no bling, no bright pink... whatsa girl s'posed to DO??!) :) :) :)

i do hope you will take some time to check out the fabulous eye candy involved at all of these fine challenge sites, and don't forget to stop over at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ to leave some love for stephanie's and lela's absolutely gorgeous takes on our postal hijinks! whilst you're there you can read all the challenge details and see a photo of the prize that one lucky cardmaker will (appropriately enough!) be receiving in the mail at the end of the fortnight! enjoy, darlings!

*strictly speaking, when it comes to collecting vintage postcards, the pristine, unsent ones are actually worth quite a bit more; but i really love and prefer the ones that have been written on! in this case "aunt ruth" has sent a christmas greeting to "dear little helen and cora" to remind them they must "do what santa claus is telling all the children to do" so that he will come and visit them later in the month! i will gladly forfeit the physical perfection of an un-mailed version every single time, in exchange for such a wonderful little glimpse into someone's life, a century ago! ♥♥♥ 

oh sure... *NOW* i go all minimalist!

after two different-- but equally "maximalist"-- passes at amy's gloriously pared down sketch, which i absolutely *LOVED* from last fortnight, we ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ have moved on to prompt #9 for 2012: a little thing we like to call (in honor of this sunday's holiday) PEACE ON EARTH(DAY) in which we are asking you to create a holiday card (or cards?!) which re-use, re-purpose, re-cycle, up-cycle, or in some way "rescue" a bit of... well, SOMETHING... which you'd've either thrown away, or perhaps just overlooked in terms of card-making?

i knew i wanted to punch and re-use an image of the earth i remembered from one of the cards i received last christmas*; i also knew i wanted to re-use the technique i showed earlier this week on the pixie blog, about how to make cool custom die-cut chipboard alphabets from re-cycled cardboard (the "peace" letters below were made out of a 100 calorie pack cookie box!) and vintage paper; i used foreign text to kind of emphasize the "world" aspect. then, when i was choosing papers for the background, i found the green panel, which was actually a bit of the packaging from some florals that i'd saved, and it was the PERFECT size, shape and color, so i managed to work in a third "re-cycled" element, woohoo!

(re-cycled: earth (from a holiday card), green panel (from a bit of packaging), and letters (from foreign text paper and recycled cardboard);  patterned paper: graphic 45, echo park; ribbon: michaels; ink: colorbox; circle punch: ek success; adhesives: tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, gluedots, sewing machine)

but none of that really answers the MINIMALISM question, does it?! ok, well, see, in the meantime, as i was assembling the bits and bobs i wanted to use on my card, i happened to check in on this week's card-making sketch challenge at two peas, which i discovered about a month ago, it's hosted by kimber mcgray and i've been intending to play along; so imagine my delight as i'm sitting there with a re-cycled card, a re-usable earth and some letters i know will work perfectly on top, and i see THIS:

yeah!!! :) which is not to say that i couldn't have done my *usual* thing and added in a lot more bits until the minimalist sketch became a maximalist card... but somehow, mysteriously, this time, i did not! i can only think that miss amy's and miss stephanie's awesome examples took a couple of weeks to "kick in" and now i finally GOT IT!!! (in my great excitement i forgot to attach the little ribbon tab i'd planned to use up at the top left before sewing enthusiastically several times around the perimeter of the card. sorry. that would've been cool!)

here's a closer shot of the letters, which i've popped up on foam tape for a little extra dimension: 

in the spirit of full disclosure i feel i should mention that the bow is a total cheat: i glued the flat bit of ribbon to the card, tied a separate bow, and stuck it on with glue dots. and no, the little "legs" of the bow didn't just happen to fall perfectly like that, either, i (wo)man-handled them into place and then glue-dotted them, as well. because i think its important to show ribbon who's the boss! :)

so now it just remains for me to invite you to sort through your holiday supplies, your treasured scraps, and maybe even your waste paper basket... and come along to celebrate PEACE ON EARTH(DAY) with us between now and wednesday, may 2nd at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥!

*remember, you needn't use an "earth" image or the word "peace" in your creations... the prompt is just about the recycling aspect; the fact that i've done both is sort of coincidental and i hope it's not confusing! ♥ 


ETA friday morning:  many thanks to the very lovely and uber-talented laurel seabrook for pointing out that this card is a serendipitously perfect fit for her very awesome INSPIRED BY CHALLENGE #20; which is also EARTH DAY related, but in this case involves being "inspired by" (hence the name of the challenge, lol!) this lovely photo. do check out her gorgeous LO and start thinking up what you will do! ♥♥♥