Let It (Continue to) SNOW!

We're still creating holiday cards that feature SNOW this week at Jingle Belles... It might be snowmen, snowflakes or just a snowy landscape; but include some snow on your cards. Here's how I got SNOW-y this week:

The other night I had fun ink-blending various shades of blue Ranger Ink Distress Oxides over several panels of white-embossed snowflake backgrounds. But then I couldn't decide which one I liked the best... so I popped a hole into one and layered it over the other... problem solved! The snowman and sentiment are from Simon Hurley's North Pole Sentiments die set by Spellbinders; the Snowflake Brads and Enamel Hearts are from Eyelet Outlet.

Link your fabulous snow-centric masterpieces on the Dashing Through the Snow post at Jingle Belles by next Wednesday evening, November 5th! ♥

Holiday Jumpstart: Home for the Holidays

Holiday Jumpstart: Home for the Holidays is Paper Anthology's newest holiday card kit, which features a a cozy holiday cabin nestled in a layered, snowy landscape.

Paper Anthology’s Holiday Jumpstart Card Kit is our pre-packaged kit that includes everything you need (except adhesive) to complete FIVE copies of this new original holiday card design. This edition is called “Home for the Holidays” because of the sweet cabin ready to welcome friends and family.

We all love the IDEA of making holiday cards throughout the year, instead being overloaded in November and December; but sometimes it’s hard to be inspired during the “off-season”. That issue is solved by this pre-packaged kit, which features everything you need (except adhesive) to complete five copies of this original design. Also included are complete written instructions (not pictured, but included!) and a nice big photo for reference.

This kit contains:

Five pale blue patterned paper panels
Five white pierced Trees and Hills layers
Five blue gingham Trees and Hills layers
Five white pierced sloping hill layers
Five diecut cabins (with windows and snowy roofs)
Ten deep green pine tree clusters
Ten olive green pine tree clusters
Five pre-diecut glittery "Warm Wishes" sentiments
Complete step-by-step instruction sheet with large color photo
Five white A2 cards

CLICK HERE to visit the “Home for the Holidays" page in the Paper Anthology Etsy Shop!

Candy Corn: A Celebration

For those who love the idea of candy corn more than the taste, help yourself to some Eyelet Outlet Candy Corn Brads! Same iconic look as real candy corn, won't attract ants, and attach easily to any Halloween card, treat bag or journal page! Here they're strung across the top of the journal card as bunting, above some super-spooky Small Eye Brads and surrounded by a background of gorgeous Ghost Tape.

Super Spooky Shopping List:

Candy Corn Brads

Small Eye Brads

Ghost Tape

♥♥♥

All the embellishment tricks and treats you need can be found in the Eyelet Outlet Store!

Stenciling on Burlap? (YES!)

A while ago I saw Wendy Vecchi do some stenciling on burlap and it was kind of mind-blowing to me, I had never thought of that! Recently, I found half a roll of sticky-back burlap ribbon and I thought, "Aha! This is my chance!" so of course I broke out the six piece stencil set that comes in the Spellbinders' Thank You Bouquet Bundle from the Tabbed Classics Collection and had a go. I used Wendy's Archival Inks from Ranger. They're translucent, which means that the color of your substrate will subtly influence the color of your finished project. Since my burlap was about the same shade as kraft cardstock, that meant I chose darker shades of reds, greens and oranges, so they'd show up well and coordinate nicely. I used the awesome Tip Tuesday trick that Wendy demonstrated for us in this video, where she brilliantly used her MAKE ART Stay-tion and the magnetic corner square from her Perfect Stamp Positioner to line up the stencils perfectly, meaning that you can position them in ANY direction without having a hard time on subsequent layers.

I chose to mount my strip of burlap on a coordinating layer of Dina Wakley Kraft Cardstock that I had debossed with the Polka Dot and Posy Duo Embossing Folder. I used the one step Emboss and Cut feature of the Thank You Bouquet Folder to make a few textured blooms and added a bit of delicate foliage from the folder with my Christmas Add-On set; part of last year's Not Your Ordinary Card Collection. A super-skinny mat of ivory cardstock sets off the whole panel, and a bit of machine stitching ensures that my burlap won't fray or come loose. 

I'd write more, but I'm pretty sure that somewhere in my craft stash I have some colorful burlap and I suddenly NEED to go and find that!!! :)

Arachnophobes, Look Away!

It wouldn't be October if I didn't make a Spider Web Mandala... in pink, of course! So here's this year's model:

Spider webs are fun and easy to draw; they can be any size and shape; they can have doodles or not; they can have Spider Brads or not; this is a fun seasonal art project, even for folks who believe they cannot draw! If you'd like to see some other versions, click the italic text! ♥

It's a Tall Order

A giraffe collage, that is! Actually, this collage was easy and fun to make. The giraffes are from my Gina Is Arty Clip Art Book, as are the strips of numerals and the coral/pink gel print. athe sheet music, map and envelope are from my own stash of vintage goodies and the beautiful embossed diecut flowers are from Wendy Vecchi's Thank You Bouquet 3D Emboss and Cut set from Spellbinders; tinted lightly with Wendy's Archival Inks.

Not to brag, but this is instantly one of my favorite collages, so I'm especially pleased that I worked on it inside my Dina Wakley Ledger Journal from Ranger and thus I get to keep it forever!

Best (Clipart!) Fishes

Would this be a good time for another fab and funky card made with my Gina is Arty Clipart? (Be a sport and say, "Yes" otherwise this whole post falls a bit flat. Thanks!) I have made A LOT of Best Fishes cards over the years, usually for masculine birthdays, but really they kind of work for almost any occasion. 

For this one I used Gina's large circle journal spot which already had five fish, some foliage, some bubbles and a blank space to put a title. I added a sticker sentiment, an additional fussy-cut fish and mounted the whole thing on one of my older gel prints which happened to have exactly the right colors. I added some oceany wave machine stitching in the background and mounted the whole thing on a 6" square card.

Here's a reminder what the book cover looks like and HERE IS A LINK to the page on Amazon where you can purchase your very own copy. Want to see a Flip Through before you buy? Visit THIS POST on Gina's Instagram @ginaisarty where you'll also find lots more of G's beautiful art and merch!