SOS545: Hippity Hop

As you may have already guessed from the title, this fortnight at Shopping Our Stash we'd like to see cards that feature bunnies; but... we'd be happy to see chicks, as well. Oh and it can be an Easter card if you want; but... it doesn't have to be. Here's what I made:

I will pretty much take any excuse to break out my Avery Elle Feels Like Home stamps and add-on sets. They are several years old (and sadly out of print, sorry) but I still adore stamping and coloring (or paper-piecing) them and making a little scene of adorable reading critters. I love how just adding a soft patterned paper print at the top two-thirds of a circle, and a brown geometric at the bottom third, makes the whole thing instantly look like a room instead of just a background; almost as much as I love stamping the armchair with Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink on top of a piece of cardstock covered in Eyelet Outlet Strawberry Washi Tape. (I would seriously love to have such a chair in my home!) Please note that I have included a bunny, a chick and even A CARROT... but it's definitely not an Easter card. :)

SOS545: Hippity Hop runs until the evening of Monday, April 21st. Check out the fabulous cards the Crew have made to inspire you at Shopping Our Stash.

MM14: Fly High Mandala

I've now had three or four different Dina Wakley MEdia Journals from Ranger, and they're always my favorites because Dina actually IS an art journaler and thus knows what sizes, shapes and paper styles are going to be the best, the sturdiest and the most inspiring. The new Ledger Journal* is a reproduction of an authentic 1920s hardware store ledger (but with sturdier pages!) and is a lot of fun to work in. 

My first page in any new journal is nearly always a mandala and this is no exception. I used Dina's Fly High Stamps, Feather Chipboard Shapes and one of her fabulous Coaster Stencils to create this page. I also broke out my sadly neglected Gloss Sprays and remembered how much I enjoyed using those; though I often use them more like paints* than sprays (by dispensing a small amount into a palette and using a brush to apply) and that is mostly what I did this time, too. 

Oh yes, and before I started I randomly glued down some scraps of Gridded Collage Paper, drywall tape (from the big box home improvement store!) and a bit of the final remaining roll from my ancient, well-hoarded, original Dina Wakley Washi Set.

*The new Dina Ledger Journal seems to be out of stock at this precise moment, but there is a button on the product page you can click to be notified when it returns! In the meantime, you can add Dina's Typed Ledger Sheets to your existing journal OR try a Dylusions Ledger Journal or Square Ledger Journal with blank ledger pages as well as dots and grids 

*Apparently other folks do this, as well; there's a second line of Dina Wakely Gloss that comes with droppers instead of sprays!

Fun Folds... Mach Two

We're still making cards with Fun- or Fancy Folds at Shopping Our Stash and you're still invited to join the fun! So today I'm back with a card that's similar to, but different from, the one I posted last Tuesday.*

This card also features mostly 49 and Market papers, rub-ons and diecuts that are a couple of years old, from various collections, including Kaleidoscope, Vintage Artistry Sunburst, and Spectrum Gardenia and Spectrum Sherbet.

For the complete details and measurements of my Modified Z-Fold card design, visit my original Fun Folds post. SOS544: Fun Folds runs until the evening of Monday, April 7th; head over to Shopping Our Stash for all the challenge info!

*Because two family members who have occasions coming up both saw/loved the first card, and I am just not equipped for that level of Sophie's Choice decision-making! 

JB2507: Flat Feliz Navidad (week 2)

It's the second week of "Flat Feliz Navidad" at Jingle Belles so we are still making one-layer Christmas Cards; a feat which is more challenging for some (like ME!) than it is for others (like Stephanie, who is great at it). Here's what I made this week:

I'm currently a little obsessed with had Simon Hurley's create Sketched Snowmen stamp set and Simon's Dye Inks from Ranger. Luckily these were perfect for watercoloring the images and background. I embossed the snowmen and sentiment in black; then embossed the snowflakes in white; colored everything in... et voila! I confess that while I love how it came out, my natural instinct is still to make this a panel on a layered card with machine-stitching and maybe some brads; but I'm resisting. (For now!)

Head on over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's card and link your own Single Layer Masterpiece. JB2507: Flat Feliz Navidad runs until next Wednesday evening, April 9th.

Hop, Hop, Hop!

It's a Hippity, Hoppity, Happy Easter card featuring our adorable Rabbit Brads, White Daisies and the new Mini Butterfly Brads. Not to mention Wood Washi and the best Easter-themed item EVER (in Lauren's opinion) Carrot Tape!

Hippity Hoppity Shopping List:

Rabbit Brads

White Daisies

Mini Butterfly Brads

Wood Washi

Carrot Tape

The Eyelet Outlet Online Store has all of the Spring and Easter embellishments you could possibly wish for; and Trade Show season has begun, so check the schedule to find out when the EO Booth will be coming to your town!

MM13: Sew Far, Sew Good

It's a quilt-inspired Mandala Monday, featuring a doodley, but somewhat symmetrical mandala watercolored with my Simon Hurley Dye Inks and then outlined with Ranger's Letter It Fineliners.

I started out with just cutting it into four squares, but... then I went a bit further by making triangular cuts...

Then I took the outer triangles and split them one more time!

And finally, I used a tape runner to tack the centers of each segment onto a backing panel, so I could machine-stitch around all of the main perimeters.

Of course I can never resist a photo with the resplendent 1970's avocado green Sears Kenmore sewing machine which formerly belonged to my Mom Mom; my mother loving lugged this baby all the way home from Florida for me 20+ years ago and I have loved using it ever since! ♥♥♥

JB2507: Flat Feliz Navidad

This fortnight at Jingle Belles we're embarking upon that most challenging of challenges (at least for ME, lol!) that is generally called the One Layer Card; though some folks refer to it as the No Layer Card. What does that mean? It means your entire design is flat... your elements get stamped, drawn, embossed, etc directly onto the cardbase; so basically you're not taping or gluing ANY additional papers/diecuts/layers to that base. This is NOT my natural metier, but I'm always up for a challenge so here's what I made this time:

I started with a white 5.5" square card, taped off all four edges with some low-tack washi, then broke out the awesome Wendy Vecchi Build-a-Plaid Layered Stencil Set from Spellbinders and my MAKE ART Stay-tion to create a diagonal Christmassy plaid in Archival Inks of the red, green and gold variety. Then I added some of Hero Arts' Winter Foliage Rub-On Transfers, which are as wonderfully glitch-free as they are beautiful to look at. (I mention this because I know that some folks are nervous about rub-ons.) The sentiment is from another set of HA Rubs called Holiday Messages. I like the way you can very very faintly see the plaid inking underneath the transfers AND the fact that this baby is even flatter than the average credit card bill, which will be a great advantage when I hit the post office in December!

Head over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's fabulous card and to link your own One/Zero Layer card. Flat Feliz Navidad runs until the evening of Wednesday, April 9th.