Celebrating MOM!

Here in the USA we'll celebrate Mother's Day on Sunday, May 12th; so this is the time to go all-out for our favorite ladies! Today I'm up on the Ranger Project Page using bold and beautiful Ranger Archival Ink shades with Dina Wakley Pocket Circle Stamps, Simon Hurley Sunrays Layering Stencils and Letter It Sentiment Stamps in STARRING roles, I'd love for you to head over there and see the full tutorial!

Magic Pencil Mandala Monday

A few years ago, Stephanie gave me this amazing set of @kohinoor_hardtmuth Tri-Tone Pencils, which I don't use nearrrrrrrly enough, but when I do, it's always a lot of fun. I like to combine them with my original Koh-i-noor Magic Pencil and I often pop in a little more structure by adding outlines with my Letter It Fineliners from Ranger. This creation is in my Dina Wakley 6x6 Kraft Journal which I love for its sturdy, square pages!

Hey, Santa Claus!*

Everybody’s waitin' for the man with the bag** this fortnight at Jingle Belles, as we celebrate Santa Claus, aka Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, Pere Noel... ok, you get the idea, lol. Here’s what I made:

I've said this before, but it bears repeating: Doodlebug has really never made a collection I didn’t love; and that goes double for Christmas! I’ve combined a bunch of different Doodlebug elements: the Santa, tree and a few presents are cut from journal cards; the presents and candies are stickers; the sentiment is from a the super-useful page full of tags and sentiments that most D-bug collections come with. The red text paper is Elle's Studio... I think... it’s ancient, and was in the scrap box so I'm not positive. The blue graph paper is Photoplay. There are Eyelet Outlet Enamel Dots and an Enamel Star on the cute Christmas tree and a Matte Dot on Santa's hat.

This challenge runs until May 8th. Hop over to Jingle Belles to see what Stephanie’s made and start planning your own Santa-centric masterpiece. 

*Hey, Santa Claus by the Moonglows is a cool R&B holiday song that I really love. Just sayin'... ♥

**For the record The Chenille Sisters do my favorite version of The Man with the Bag in case you need a little extra mojo.

Garden Trio

Spring has emphatically sprung in the Northeastern United States, so luckily there are Eyelet Outlet Brads (& Washi Tape!) to celebrate all of the best aspects of this bloomin' beautiful season!

To "BEE Happy" it helps to have Mini Bee Brads, Colored Daisies and a Heart Brad; with a background of diagonally arranged Flower Washi.

Life IS a Garden, and to DIG it, Garden Tool Brads come in especially handy. Here they're paired with green Leaf Brads and a Ladybug as well as a Mini Ladybug, set atop bold daisy Flower Washi Tape.

As a matter of fact. my favorite color is RAINBOW... but sunshine is also quite wonderful. Sun and Cloud Brads have teamed up with a rainbow from the Unicorn and Rainbow set; and a pair of stylish Sunglasses is perfect for checking out the fab Flamingo. Pink Checked Tape, arranged in an offset pattern, sets the scene.

Whatever YOUR favorite color, style or theme, Eyelet Outlet has the perfect embellishments to create a card that celebrates the season!

SOS520: Mamma Mia

Mother's Day (USA version) is just around the corner, so this fortnight at Shopping Our Stash we've got a challenge called, "Mamma Mia" for which we'd like you to create a Mother's Day greeting or a card for any other special woman in your life. Here's what I made

My mom is a keen gardener, a backyard birdwatcher. a proficient seamstress, she loves travel (especially Paris) and absolutely no form of bling has ever been made that she would not enjoy! I've gathered some ancient Pink Paislee and Photoplay stickers; leftover bits of Eyelet Outlet and Prima bling; and layered it all on top of the last few scraps of Blue Fern Studio's Bird Waltz paper; then finished off with a few pretty poppies cut from a paper that is so old I cannot even remember acquiring it!

SOS520: Mamma Mia runs through Monday evening, May 6th. I hope you'll hop over and see what the amazing Crew have made... then start planning a special card for a special lady in your life!

MM17

This Mandala Monday it's just a Whole Lotta Lines... made with my @ranger_ink Letter It Fineliners in my tiny library catalog card book from @millwoodstudioart ♥

Recycling Redux

At Jingle Belles, we're still celebrating EARTH DAY by creating cards featuring recycled materials. We also encourage you to check out your local Earth Day events on and around April 22nd.

Meanwhile, here's how I recycled this week:

Unfortunately I can't remember who gave me the gorgeous holiday-themed napkin which is the centerpiece of my card. I carefully peeled apart the layers, stuck it to a piece of Xyron-ed cardstock, and then discovered that there was ONE MORE layer I'd been unaware of. Having (even more carefully) peeled that one off, it turned out I had a semi-translucent layer of those lovely, whimsical critters, to which I (very VERY carefully) applied gluestick and stuck to a piece of navy-blue sheet music from an old Christmas Ideals magazine. A patterned paper mat, metallic diecut snowflakes and a Tim Holtz sticker sentiment complete the design of this not-quite-A7 card.

Link your recycling-centric cards on the original Earth Day post at Jingle Belles and be sure to check out the inspiring cards in the Readers' Gallery.