gingerbread... in the house!

for years, at christmas time, i've been saying that *someday* i'm going to make a gingerbread house. of course, i don't bake... i don't even cook... so that's slowed me down a bit, lol. but seeing as we're still rockin' the "no patterned paper" assignment over at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ this seemed like an excellent time to whip up a bit of a cardstock confection:

colored cardstock: core'dinations; glossy white cardstock: paper accents; flower sequins and brads: queen and co; heart button: doodlebug; snowflake embossing folder: spellbinders (used as a stamp with ranger tumbled glass distress ink); tree die: sizzix; clear glitter: michaels; adhesives: elmers brand glue tape, 3m foam tape, quickie glue pen, sewing machine

ok, i know what you're thinking, you're thinking, "hey lauren, you cheated! there's totally a snowflake patterned paper in your background!" but NO, that wasn't a pre-made paper, i stamped that! well... sorta... i loaded up a really cool metal embossing plate with pale blue distress ink and applied it to some glossy white cardstock, so it would look like the house was standing in a snowy landscape.

i was hoping to use a cool digi-kit or template for my design, but i couldn't find anything i really loved, so me being me, i wound up winging it. of course the most fun was decorating the house once i had the doors and windows and things in place. instead of candy and icing i used colorful cardstock, sequins, buttons, brads, glitter and lots of machine stitching.

of course, you don't have to construct a whole scene from the ground up using only cardstock. just think up a fabulous holiday card design that features NO patterned paper and link it up with us at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥!

SOS207: for the boys

is it just me, or are guy-themed cards a lot more challenging to make than their female counterparts? well, this week at shopping our stash we're taking the bull by the horns and embracing masculine colors, themes and ideas, so hopefully we'll all come away with a few cool new ideas! here's what i made:

patterned paper: my mind's eye, studio calico, basic grey + vintage map scraps; glossy white cardstock: paper accents; alphabet stickers: basic grey, pebbles; ink: colorbox; pen: faber castelll pitt; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape

i've gone pretty simple with this one, but still managed to work in lots and lots (and lots!) of different patterns. the four rounded rectangles are trimmed-down journal cards, the stars are scraps of vintage map paper, and the sentiment mixes large and small basic grey alphas... because... i didn't have enough of either to do the whole thing. (but i really like how they look!)

there are lots more guy-centric designs to inspire you at SOS where my design team darlings have been creating magic. you know, just like they do EVERY week! :)

now even ICAD-ier!

more index cards, anyone? because it just so happens i have a few more to show:

018: treehouse

i was going for something fun and magical, like maybe elves would live in, or fairies, or just very thin people without any fear of confined spaces or heights. however i'm pretty sure that exterior staircase won't meet minimum safety standards anywhere-- probably not even in magical fictional worlds-- so i expect to hear from the elfin version of OSHA any day now.

019: snowglobe

still really loving teeny tiny cities, and also to let my drawings go off the page. fairly proud that after many (MANY!) attempts to draw a simplified version of the eiffel tower, i've actually produced one that's recognizable, wahey!!!

020: color wheel

this one started off with the idea of rainbow colors, and wheels with spokes and trimmings, like on fancy bikes; but i got a bit carried away with the fancifying. ok, yeah, maybe more than a bit. but you know... inna good way, lol...

021: the 1970's

holy moly, what a decade that was for design! it's impossible to draw anything too bright, too colorful, or too crazy... just go back and look at the magazines or tv shows, it was a free-for-all! thus david cassidy and i both fit right in; which is nice because, as a matter of fact, we had the same haircut in 1974 (and at least one of us is still having flashbacks)!!! :)

squeEeeeeEEEEeeak!

that's the sound of me getting in just under the wire for sketch #5 of the crooked stamper sketch challenge, which i will show you in one second, but first here's my card:

patterned paper: glitz design, girls paperie, american crafts (dear lizzy and amy tangerine); stickers: basic grey; feather from my stash; border punch: recollections; ink: colorbox; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape, sewing machine

it's an anniversary card, for my sister and her husband, so of course i chose some super-cute lovebirds, lol! and yes, i used leslie's fab CSSC#5 sketch, though of course, me being me, it's a loose version! :)

leslie's challenge is coordinating with little tangles #57 on the neat and tangled challenge blog, so i'm gonna link up there, too, though i haven't used one of their fab images or even stamped at all... i hope that doesn't disqualify me.

meanwhile there are loads of fab cards in the CSSC#5 gallery, not to mention the awesome versions leslie has made, so why not go and check those out?! ♥

cardstock christmas?!

yes, holiday cardmakers, it's that time again, when we ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ eschew our beloved patterned paper and embrace the joys of cardstock, stamps, stencils, or heck just a very clean and minimal design; there are no other requirements, but you CAN'T use pre-made commercial patterned paper! most everyone knows that i'm a girl who loves pattern-on-pattern, so this is always a hard one for me, but i'm pretty pleased with what i came up with:

two shades of purple cardstock: core'dinations; white glossy cardstock: paper accents; snowflake embossing folder: darice; tim holtz reindeer diecut from super-thin wood veneer; floral and sentiment banner: recollections; music note twill: stampin' up; vintage lace and silver doily; metal snowflake and jingle bell brad: making memories; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape and repositionable gluestick, sewing machine

ok, so, you'll notice that my background is NOT clean or minimal, but i didn't cheat, i swear! i made that fun harlequin background from two shades of purple cardstock. it was a little bit of a fussy process, but here are the basics:

step one:

trim two coordinating panels of 4.25 x 5.5' cardstock, and mark the BACK of one of them with an evenly spaced pattern of diagonal triangles. i did this by drawing a big diagonal "X" that connected the two sets of corners; then placed my 1" ruler against each line and kept marking until the grid covered the page.

step two: 

using repositionable adhesive, attach the piece of cardstock with the grid to your other coordinating piece cardstock. trim the double-thick panel along each line (i like a guillotine trimmer for this) until the entire grid is cut apart into separate pieces. it will really REALLY help if you put each segment back into place on your work table (as pictured) when you disconnect them, so that you'll know which piece fits where. 

step three... times two:

since you will have two pieces of each segment (one of each color of cardstock) you might as well build TWO backgrounds at the same time. starting with the two biggest pieces from the bottom row, glue them into position on a 4.25 x 5.5" piece of scrap cardstock (don't worry what color it is, it won't show!) it *seems* like the most important thing to get straight and even are the edges, but actually, it's the interior diamonds. you need to make the diagonals line up, so that the next row of diamonds will fit without overlapping and without gaps in between. it helps to apply adhesive to the scrap cardstock, dry-fit the diamonds, then press down each row firmly. at the end, the edges may be a little wonky, so plan on trimming up about 1/8" around each side to make it neat. this will give you a finished two-toned harlequin panel measuring 4 x 5.25".

step four and beyond:

place the finished panel inside your favorite embossing folder and run it through your die-cutting machine. sand the raised parts of the design if desired, or highlight with ink and/or glitter. add ribbons, diecuts, doilies, florals, decorative stitching... or... ALL OF THE ABOVE! mount the embellished panel to a folded card and glow with pride! :)

of course, there are loads of other ideas for awesome cards with NO patterned paper, and it just so happens miss stephanie has also made one for you to admire at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥!

index cards for EVERYBODY!

more ICAD fun is taking place on the daisy yellow blog, in the flickr group, on facebook and especially on instagram, where there is inspiration galore!!! here are my latest cards:

015: route 66

this one really had me stumped, until i remembered a cool map that june drew, with some interstate route signs on it, which looked pretty awesome. since ICAD locks me into the same size and shape for every card, i've been experimenting with the placement of my images; at the moment, i quite like letting them go off the page... especially something like a route sign that really needs to be symmetrical, lol! (there's always a way to "cheat"!) :)

 016: greeting card

i nearly skipped this one because, afterall, my main area of papercrafting is making cards, and ICAD is meant to be a "break". finally i went with a hand-drawn birthday-themed image, that i wasn't in love with, so i decided to add lots of pattern and details. ...and now... ok, i still don't like it, but that's fine, ICAD is about *process* so it's good to have a few clunkers which take us out of our comfort zone!

017: wabi sabi

there's always at least one ICAD prompt that i have to look up. one year it was the ogee pattern; another was payne's grey. this time it was wabi sabi, which is the japanese aesthetic that reveres beauty which is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" and especially celebrates nature, patina, and a sort of rustic vibe. so i went with vines on a brick wall, which i sort of like the look of, but i reallllllllllllly liked the hypnotic feeling of drawing and painting. so i'm callin' this one a win! :)

SOS 206: out on a limb

this week at shopping our stash we want to see all things arboreal: trees, forests, branches, foliage... you name it... if it's tree-related, it's fair game! i made a scene again this week; what can i say, i think i'm going through a phase, lol:

patterned paper scraps: k and co, fancy pants, prima, sassafras, 7 gypsies + some old dictionary paper; tiny florals: prima; white foam thickers: american crafts, courtesy of miss leslie, ta v much!; teeny tiny stick-on pearls: recollections; white glossy cardstock: paper accents; ink: colorbox; outlining pen: faber-castell pitt in xs; cloud punches: ek success; "french pastry" doily die: cheery lynn designs; adhesives: elmers brand gluetape, 3m foam tape, sewing machine

lots of paper scraps in use here, which always makes me happy. the tree is composed of an paper-old piecing pattern-- which i've used before-- for the trunk, and two different sized cloud punches to be the foliage. i really like how this looks, so i'm sure you'll be seeing it again! another new twist is using my favorite cheery lynn designs doily die as the sunshine... i cannot believe that never occurred to me before now!

want to see more cool tree-centric paper projects? look no further than the lovely ladies at SOS who have all outdone themselves again this week! ♥