It's in the Bag!

I love giving super-fancy presents to my friends and family for holidays and birthdays, but I definitely don't like paying fancy prices for giftwrap and bags; especially when I have lots of lovely Eyelet Outlet Bling and Washi Tape to make my gifts stand out! 

For these gifts I wanted a really elegant winter and festive feeling, without embracing any particular holiday, so I went with lots of blue, silver and white. I used Glitter Winter Washi on my first bag, and surrounded it with Glitter Silver Star Tape plus Silver Foil Skinny Tape. My diecut snowflakes are topped with 1 1/2" Snowflake Bling and Bumpy Heart Bling and I've scattered some Blue Pearl Bling and Snowflake Sequins around for good measure. My second design features Glitter Tall Tree Tape surrounded by White Foil and Twig Tape. 

Whatever colors, themes and holidays you love, I bet there are Eyelet Outlet Brads, Bling, Tapes and Sequins to make your gifts as beautifully individual as you are! ♥

Thanks, Thanks, Thanks

For cardmakers, the beginning of December gets taken over by Christmas or Hanukkah cards; but the end of December is all about Thank You cards! Here's a super colorful design that is fast and easy to make a bunch of, featuring Lawn Fawn's Thanks, Thanks, Thanks stamp set from The Ink Pad. You can read more about it on TIP Blog today!

Last Minute Mayhem!

What do you do when you discover at the verrrrrrrry last minute that you need FIVE more cards NOW?! Just grab a sheet of journaling cards, your favorite Eyelet Outlet holiday brad styles, and some washi tape and you're all set! 

These cards are just slightly smaller than the classic A2, made to fit a little stack of odd-sized envelopes I came across. All of the backgrounds are made of washi tape and there's a super-skinny mat behind each which could easily be made from Glitter Tape or Foil Tape.

I used the colors and themes of the journal cards to suggest which brads I would add... the car illustration (above) already had a tree on top, but I added a Pine Tree Brad for more dimension and interest. I put Screw Brads on the hubcaps and made a background from Wide Tree Tape. The little elf (below) obviously needed an Ornament Brad and a Star for the top of his tree. The soft sage green in Poinsettia Tape was the perfect color match.

The "Ho Ho Ho" card could easily have incorporated more ornaments, or Holiday Lights, Wreath Brads, Santa and Missus Claus, Snowman or Snowman Couple Brads, even Snowflakes or Poinsettias! But I went with three Santa Hat Brads, affixed to a few of the O's. The background is Ornament Tape, which lines up perfectly in horizontal strips to make full-sized ornaments.

A mat made of Christmas Pattern argyle style tape picks up the colors of the Holiday Coffee Cup and  Candy Cane Brad this cute snowman is holding.

Finally for the sweet elves, I added another candy cane and a Heart Brad, with a background of Tree Washi Tape... another washi selection that can be made into a full sheet, just by working patiently in strips.

I hope you'll be inspired to add Eyelet Outlet holiday brads and tape to your store bought tags, cards and bows this gift-giving season! Visit the EO Blog for more brilliant last-minute ideas!

Merry Little Christmas

There are few things more "merry" than Santa's sleigh, and when it comes to "little" stamps, it's definitely hard to beat Lawn Fawn, right? Those tiny stamps are admittedly on the small side for building an entire card around, but luckily they pair perfectly with Concord & 9th's Seasonal Sayings and Picket Fence Studio's Reindeer Games background. But it was the "twist" of embossing the latter in WOW Primary Pink Robin that made all the difference; read all about it on The Ink Pad Blog!

Merry and BRIGHT!

You can't get much merrier... or brighter, lol... than fast and easy holiday cards made with MT Shocking Pink, Shocking Greenand Neon Gradation Slim Tape Setfrom The Ink Pad. This card and the details of how I made it, are on TIP Blog today!

Peaceful Winter Day

A simple, snowy card featuring baubles filled with wintery Eyelet Outlet wildlife brads: Penguins, Moose and Polar Bears, oh my!

I diecut three ornament shapes, each composed of navy paper flecked with snow for the sky; and white glitter paper for the ground. Then I added two Penguin Brads and a small Snowflake; a stately Moose Brad in front of a Pine Tree; and a mother and baby Polar Bear. I mounted the ornaments on foam tape for extra dimension and positioned them under some sparkly pine branches, then added clear Bling Strips as hangers. I think they're SNOW fun and festive!

Flurries and Pines

'Tis the season to make A LOT of holiday and winter-themed cards pretty quickly! So it helps to have products that do a lot of the work for you. In this case, that would be Hero Arts' Tri-Fold Edge Winter Pines Die Set and Stampendous' Winter Blizzard 6x6 Cling Stamp, from The Ink Pad.