There's GNOME Place Like Home

Eyelet Outlet Gnome 2 Brads and Girl Gnome Brads were literally made for each other; which might be why they add exponential levels of cuteness to any project. These gnomes are showing off their beautiful mushroom home, surrounded by Sun and Cloud Brads, a White Daisy Brad, a green Leaf Brad and a Mini Bee.

Gnome Home Shopping List:

Gnome 2 Brads

Girl Gnome Brads

Sun and Cloud Brads

White Daisy Brads

Leaf Brads

Mini Bee Brads

Just a reminder that at the end of December 2026 Suzanne, Tony and the Eyelet Outlet Website will all be taking a well-deserved retirement; be sure to stock up on all your favorite brads, bling, eyelets and embellishments before they're gone!

JB2617: Masculine Merriment

It's time for a brand new prompt at Jingle Belles and this time we're making holiday cards in one of the most challenging (imo!) genres: Guy Cards; aka Masculine Merriment! I don't struggle with them as much as I used to, but... yeah... leaving off the flowers, the glitter and the tendency to use PINK does slow me down a bit. I think I did ok this time, though.

I've had Doodlebug's Winter Wonderland stamps for several years, and I really don't use them enough because just LOOK how cute that yeti is! I found two inky embossed backgrounds in my "leftovers" box and they seemed perfect for this card. The paper with the trees is Pebbles I think (and ancient!); and the tiny 1/16" Round Brads are from Eyelet Outlet. 

Speaking of Yetis, I was given a second helping of this super-cute stamp set for my birthday, it's brand new and unopened, and it's looking for a good home, so I'm putting it up as a little prize for one lucky, randomly-selected cardmaker who links up with us at Jingle Belles this fortnight. JB2617: Masculine Merriment runs until the evening of Wednesday, August 26th, and you can link as many newly-made MASCULINE cards as you'd like to!

Tic- Tac-TWO?

For the second week at Jingle Belles, we're playing Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe, which is kind of a holiday cardmaking version of  "Beach Blanket Bingo"! You still have time to join us; all you have to do is choose a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) and create a holiday card featuring all three elements in that row. Please note that it's fine to use more than one snowman; more than one diecut; red AND green; or a single flower, even! If this sounds like fun, then let's get going:

Here's my card this week:

I chose the right-hand vertical column, which gave me: Dry or Heat Embossing + Ribbon + Stamping. I'll admit I did that partially because I unexpectedly rediscovered my Dina Wakley Soaring embossing folder and once I saw it, I HAD TO use it immediately. My ribbon is of the gorgeous, pink, semi-sheer May Arts variety (which I think you'll agree stages really well!) And finally, my stamping is just the sentiment (from Taylored Expressions' Flip the Snowflake set) but I chalked up a second type of embossing by using Ranger's lovely Pink e/p. I diecut Hero Arts' Snowflake Corner twice (from pale pink and also silver glitter cardstock) and added a single Eyelet Outlet 1.5" Snowflake Bling to give it even more sparkle.

JB2616: Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe runs until 6pm (Eastern) next Wednesday, August 12th. Link your totally terrific Tic-Tac-Toe cards at Jingle Belles! 

Index Card Round-Up

Another week of Index Card a Day (ICAD) has flown past and here are my cards, in reverse order:

Day 15: Triple Threat Mandala Monday (Off-Prompt)

This is the slowest "fast cheat" ever, lol. Lemme essplain; no there's too much... lemme sum up*: This mandala has three layers, each made on different index cards, from previous years. They were abandoned midway through due to some aspect to them I didn't love at the time. Sometimes I throw away such experiments; but sometimes I save them, because I like the basic idea and want to revisit it. In this case I like the round center "flower" with the stripey petals, but didn't like the next round of the original mandala. On the blue card, I loved the ruffles but not the original center, and I hadn't given it any background. On the bottom layer I liked the way my stencil-printed flowers kind of peter out, I like the colors... honestly I'm not sure why this didn't get posted when I made it, but whatever. So I cut away everything I didn't like and layered the rest together et voila! A two year + ten minute mandala!!!

*(Because who can resist a completely gratuitous/ random Inigo Montoya reference?! Not me.)

Day 14: Serene (One-Staple Collage)

Here's a collage that I intentionally built around the color blue. I mention "intentionally" because, as it turns out, a lot of my collages are subconsciously inspired by a color, but I'm not necessarily aware of that while working. This time I decided that blue was a #SERENE color and proceeded accordingly. All of the elements except the lotus-y flower were already cut or torn and laying on my work table or in my collage fodder box. This was going to be a regular collage and not a one-staple collage* because I honestly didn't think I could attach everything securely with a single staple but... as it turns out... I could! So here's my second OSC for 2026-- so far!

Day 13: Lucky

I had an entirely different idea in mind for the #LUCKY prompt, but when I stumbled upon this Cormac McCarthy quote, a day after randomly cutting out funky dice from an old, falling-apart book, it seemed pretty serendipitous. I genuinely believe that there are times when NOT getting what you want is the best thing that could possibly happen to you.

Day 12: Orchestra

Somewhere in the world, I'm sure there are folks who don't love the art of Richard Scarry and didn't have a childhood in which they adored books with worms driving apple-shaped cars and rabbits conducting piccolo-playing mice. But since I am definitely not that person, here is my unapologetically nostalgic card for the Day 12 #dyicad29026 (optional) prompt of ORCHESTRA. 

Day 11: Coneflower

The last few years of ICAD I've been very much into handcutting and paper-piecing... and apparently that trend continues. I think I may have given my coneflowers a few too many petals, and possibly only the colors and foliage are keeping them from looking like very fancy shuttlecocks... but... this was fun to make!

Day 10: Birch or Gingko

I just unearthed this cute little mermaid scale stamp and realized that it's pretty close to the shape of a gingko leaf; so I stamped the unlined back of a white index card with lots of beautiful green shades of  Simon Hurley Stellar Ink, drew a gingko-ish shape inside each, and decided to LEAF it at that!  (K sorry, but I can literally never resist a diabolical pun.)

Day 9: Charm

Reading the word, "charm" my first thought was of those little milagros that you find in California and Mexico, often studding a Sacred Heart, as tokens of prayers for healing or gratitude. So I decided to paper-piece my own colorful little version. I used silver metal brads instead of actual charms, for ease of attachment; and also to reduce weight. Additionally, I built the whole thing on an index card divider for extra strength.

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What exactly IS the Index Card a Day Creative Challenge? I'm so glad you asked! It's 61 consecutive days of making art on index cards. This is the 16th annual event, devised and hosted by the divine Tammy G aka @gypsy999 and a time of great inspiration and creativity for all, from June 1 to July 31. But honestly, there's NO bad time to ICAD, so if you're just seeing this now and think it sounds fun: JUMP IN, everyone is welcome! Check out @indexcardaday on Instagram for more info. 

First ICAD Round Up of 2026

The first full week of the Index Card a Day Creative Challenge is complete and here are my cards from the past seven days. For all the info about ICAD, visit the ICAD Base at Daisy Yellow Art or @indexcardaday on Instagram where you can find prompts, ideas, inspiration and more!

Day 8: Off-Prompt: Mandala Monday

This week I got some of the new Simon Hurley Stellar Ink shades from @ranger_ink so obviously, I had to test drive those babies, and Mandala Monday is always a good opportunity for that. On this card, I "smooshed" the new colors, one at a time, onto my craft sheet and used a waterbrush full of Isopropyl Alcohol to pick them up and paint the basic shapes onto my index card. 

WHY would I use rubbing alcohol instead of water to "watercolor"? Well, for reasons I'm not sciencey enough to understand, alcohol will not warp or pill cardstock or paper in the same way that water does. (For the record, this is one of the many, MANY cool things I've learned from @wendyvecchi who is brilliant as well as inspiring!) This is a valuable technique for any ink that is alcohol- or oil-based like Ranger Archivals (because water just doesn't work at all with those inks); but as it turns out, you can use it with any type of ink, including Simon's gorgeous water-based Stellars.

Once all the colorful shapes were in place I used a Letter It Fineliner and some Posca Paint Pens to add details and echo the various ink colors, which are: Buzzkill, Fruitcake, Ultraviolet, Siren Song, Cry Baby and Iced Out. And who can resist a little splatter on top?

Day 7: Seahorse

This is one of the fastest (& funnest if you'll pardon my syntax) ICADs I've ever made: I started out with the intention of drawing a stylized seahorse with brush markers... got obsessed with the colors and curly-up tails... et voila! As an absolute CHAMPION of overthinking, this feels like a huge win. Bonus celebration: if there's a "Rapunzel" prompt later this summer I can re-use it, lol! :) :) :)

Day 6: Scarlet

Is this an actual collage or just a wanna-be infographic? I don't actually know and I'm not sure it matters; because either way it does firmly encompass today's (optional) #dyicad2026 prompt of #scarlet. And I've given myself the bonus joy of staging the photo with a bunch of other gorgeous red things that didn't fit onto my gridded indexcard!

Day 5: Off-Prompt

Every year, I spend a proportion of ICAD either trying to disguise the ordinary index cards' lines or using the backs or divider cards to avoid them entirely; but once in a while, I embrace the lines and let them work for me!

Day 4: Yearbook

Weirdly enough, this yearbook photo of my Dad turned up in a box of paperwork my mom recently asked me to sort through. I say weirdly enough, because the box held mostly ancient financial and legal documents, the majority of which I shredded; but there were a few tiny treasures, including my grandfather's passport, some newspaper clippings, and this photo. So when I saw the word, "Yearbook" on the prompt list, I knew immediately what the centerpiece of my card would be. I've added part of an old map from the area where I grew up; the illustration of a slide rule (my father was an electrical engineer); a library checkout card with the name William and a bee (he went by Bill); plus a bit of foliage which honestly has no narrative significance, I just wanted some color and the map had lots of green.

Day 3: Magnolia

The One-Staple Collage (OSC) is a beloved (well by me, anyway) ICAD tradition, stretching back... gosh... maybe ten years? I'm honestly not sure when it happened, but at some point in the mists of ICAD history, Tammy G typed the words "stapled collage" and I saw them and somehow instantly determined that this would mean a collage held together by ONE STAPLE. Which, as it turns out, is harder than it sounds, lol! But... also a very interesting (again, to me) exercise in both selecting interesting elements; and then arranging them so you can see them distinctly, but still attach them at a single point. 

 In this case, the staple is right on top of the butterfly's body, and yes, it's hard to see, for which I apologize. There are only five elements. They are, from furthest back: A library catalog card; an illustration of Saturn; a Georgian building from an old architecture book; a pair of magnolia blossoms between which I deliberately left a "bridge" of paper for sturdiness; and finally the butterfly... angled so his body (and thus the staple) is positioned to be able to secure everything underneath. 

Whether or not you're a fan of traditional collage, I invite you to give this fun and challenging technique a try at some point during ICAD!

Day 2: Type

I couldn't wait to get out this ancient set of wood-mounted typewriter font alphabet stamps, I just wasn't quite sure what I would stamp, lol. One of the first things I stumbled upon (via Mr. Google) was this apt quote from Gustav Klimt. A bit of serendipity there, as I had just finished a novel in which said Austrian Symbolist painter and Vienna Secessionist was a character. So... job done!

If you're interested, the strange and wonderful book in question is Anima Rising by Christopher Moore. In addition to Klimt, the real-life figures of Egon Schiele, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung appear; as well as the fictional characters of Victor Frankenstein, his Monster and the Bride... (Klimt names her Judith) ...who is the protagonist of the book. If you've read anything by Moore, you'll know that he loves to combine well known historical figures and events with plots and characters from classic literature, drama and mythology. I enjoyed this title very much, though my top three Moore books are still: Serpent of Venice (mash up of Merchant of Venice and Othello; narrated by the Fool from King Lear... obvs...); Sacre Bleu (Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and pals, in Monmartre, late 19th century, just after the suicide --or possibly murder-- of Van Gogh); and A Dirty Job (average single dad in 20th century San Francisco somewhat unwillingly takes on a side-hustle as... wait for it... a Grim Reaper??!) BTW, all of Moore's stories are outstanding as audiobooks, which is the format I recommend for maximum enjoyment.

(NOTE: This author is definitely NOT to everyone's taste; apart from unusual plots with many literary and cultural allusions, there's generally quite a bit of hardcore cursing, as well as some sex and violence; if rated like films, Moore's books would get strong PG13 or mild R ratings.) 

Day 1: Mandala Monday (off-prompt)

Technically, this card was from last week, but as I wrote this post, it felt weird to start at Day 2, so... here it is again, lol! It's a mandala, since June first was a Monday; and it's done with Archival Ink shades and a Letter It Fineliner because those happened to be sitting out when I was ready to start. (Many of my art-making decisions are determined by what is to hand at any given time, especially ICADs which I tend to work on at 10pm; a time when "not getting up again" is, frankly, a priority.)

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To see my cards as the get posted each day, visit my Instagram feed, @llaurenb and while you're there, be sure to check out the official ICAD page, @indexcardaday and the official hashtag, #dyicad2026 for lots more ICAD inspo from artists all over.

Ranger Bold Birthday

Make-It's Bold Birthday Stamp Set and Bold Shapes Stencil definitely live up to their name. In fact, the only conceivable downside to these sets, imo, is that there are almost too many ways to use them. (For the record, this is my favorite kind of "problem"!) I'd love for you to hop over to the Ranger Project Tutorials Page and follow along as I add Bold Archival Ink Color to the mix; for a birthday card that I'm pretty sure will brighten anyone's day.

SOS574: Congratulations

Graduation and wedding season is upon us, so the new challenge at Shopping Our Stash is especially timely. We'd like to see CONGRATULTIONS cards: for any occasion, in any style, using any items from your stash. Then you can congratulate yourself on being ready for the next big occasion!

I raided my stash of older Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi stamps, including Delightful Art; as well as some of my favorite shades from Wendy's signature Archival Ink collection. I found that cool green leafy overstamped panel AND the pale blue embossed piece in my box of leftover bits; the silver dragonfly brads are from The Ink Pad (♥♥♥!) years and years ago; the two yellow mats are from my stash. 

"SOS574: Congratulations" runs until the evening of Monday, June 1st. Hop over to SOS to see the inspiring Crew cards and start planning what you'll link up with us this time.

SOS572: Up, Up and Away

This fortnight at Shopping Our Stash, the challenge is to make a card that contains something you'd see in the sky. Such as? Well, there are birds, butterflies, balloons, airplanes, a rainbow, the sun, the moon, satellites, or... in this case... clouds!

Having decided on clouds, I had some trouble choosing WHICH of the many well-hoarded, cloud-bedecked patterned papers I should use, so I finally chose two for the card and one to stage with. I broke out one of my all-time favorite classic stamp sets (and yes, by "classic" I mean "OLD" lol!) My Favorite Things' Polynesian Paradise, colored the adorable hula girl, a pineapple, some flowers and YES, why not add a handsome toucan for one more sky-centric element.

 Hop over to SOS to see what the rest of the crew have made to inspire you. Challenge 572: Up, Up and Away runs until the evening of Monday May 4th, so you have lots of time to join the fun.

More Holiday Whimsy

As we mentioned at Jingle Belles last week, "Whimsical" describes something, "Playfully quaint, fanciful, imaginative and slightly odd; often suggesting a lighthearted, unpredictable or charmingly unusual quality not based on strict logic." So this fortnight we're asking you to use that definition and make a Whimsical holiday card… it might be mice decorating the holiday tree, a space-age midcentury modern wreath, some fun little holiday gnomes, or maybe even adorable tiny reindeer driving a red plaid car* loaded with festively wrapped holiday gifts!

I probably only use my Lawn Fawn Car Critters + Holiday Add-On stamp sets a couple of times a year. I nearly always paper-piece the little guys and use the curvy road template I made when I first got the sets; so it's a pretty similar version each time, but it always makes me smile, so I see no reason to stop now. Most of the paper used here was scrap pieces I stamped on or punched. The trees background was a freebie from Flow Magazine; the red is Carta Bella. I stamped a Lawn Fawn sentiment on graph paper and colored the gifts with Tombows.

JB2607: Walking in a Whimsical Wonderland will run until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, April 8th. Hop over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's amazing card and link up your own.

*In case there are any auto manufacturers reading this: I would absolutely buy a red plaid car. Just sayin'...

SOS568: Golden Years

Time for a new challenge at Shopping Our Stash and this fortnight we're going for the GOLD; by which we mean we'd like to see cards and projects which prominently feature that gorgeous metallic shade. Here's my card:

I used Ranger Princess Gold Embossing Powder with (parts of) three different Simon Hurley create. stamps (Typewriter, Leaf Prints and Rose Borders) on a square of a collage-style paper from Prima's Pretty Pale Collection of several years ago. To add to the distressed/ vintage collage vibe, after I applied the embossing powder to each section, I took a small paintbrush and randomly flicked some of it off before using the Heat Tool. I put a bit of Dark Roast Archival around all the edges of the 5" square panel, matted it on glossy gold cardstock and then added Memory Box's Maribelle Butterfly (cut from the same gold cardstock) and machine stitching around the edges.

SOS568: Golden Years runs until the evening of Monday, March 9th. Hop over to SOS to see the rest of the Crew's Golden goodies, then start thinking about what you'll link up with us this fortnight.

Forever and Always Card

What's better than using Ranger's awesome new line of Make-It Stamps and Stencils on your cards and projects? Combining them with six brand new Archival Ink colors and eight gorgeous new shimmery shades of Liquid Pearls. There's a step-by-step tutorial for this card on the Ranger Project Page, I'd love for you to hop over and check it out!

Another Year Wiser

Ranger's new Make-It line of Stencils and Stamps, combine brilliantly with my favorite shades of Archival Ink, to totally streamline the cardmaking process. 

This card features the Bow Lattice Stencil applied in rainbow diagonals of Vibrant Fuchsia, Coastal Coral, Sun Dazed, Sea Grass, Aquamarine and Aubergine. Then the numerals from the Chic Birthday Photopolymer Stamp Set were added in the same colors, between the bows, for even more color and detail.

The sentiment, candle and tiny hearts were all stamped in Emboss It Clear Ink and embossed with Ranger White E/P; then covered with a nice bold coat of Aubergine Archival that was flicked with Isopropyl Alcohol to create a fun mottled effect that's duplicated on the background mat. The rose stamp is the only element that isn't included in the Chic Birthday Set; it's from the Wild Hearts Set and is embossed in Magenta Powder on scraps of Stark White Cardstock, then cut out and scattered around the card. 

Skinny green mats and a bit of wonky machine stitching complete the design of this colorful and exuberant birthday greeting!

New Stamps and Stencils (WOOHOO!)

I'm so excited to get my hands on Ranger's new line of Make-It Stamps and Stencils. There are (so far) three high-quality photopolymer stamp sets and three nice sturdy 6x8" stencils. The stencils are: Pegboard, Bow Lattice, and Sprinkle Hearts. The stamp sets are called: Chic Birthday, Charmed and Wild Hearts. I made some ATCs to test drive them.

I decided to make one ATC for each stamp set, without mixing them, so you could see that each set has more than enough images and sentiments to make a bunch of different projects. I did add some stenciled details in the backgrounds, though.

Here are the full sets; as you can see I barely scratched the surface, there are many ways to use each of them!

I did a rainbow version of each stencil so you could really see the patterns well. I love the size of these (6x8") as I often make A6 or A7 cards; and I have a couple of biggish art journals. But as you can see, the scale is still great for smaller items like ATCs. You could even add pattern to the front and back of an A2 card.

One of my favorite things on the "Cheers" ATC is the rounded panel under the martini. I made it by stenciling the Bow Lattice, moving it slightly and changing colors over and over; until I got a pattern that reminds me of funky "space age" 1960's Formica. 

Stay tuned for more ideas coming soon. In the meantime, be sure to check out the full line of Make-It items as well as all the inspiration on the @ranger_ink Instagram Page!

SOS565: Out with the Old and in with the New

This might be one of the longest-ever titles for a challenge at Shopping Our Stash, but all we really want is for you to take some lovely OLD stash and pair it with something NEW you got over the holidays... or even something that you've had for a while but haven't used yet. Sound good? Here's what I made:

Stephanie, who knows how much I LOVE narwhals, gave me this super-duper-cuuuute Whimsy Stamps' Be Unique Stamp Set which has not one, not two, but three adorable narwhals; plus a tail and a bunch of great sentiments... which I didn't use this time, lol. I colored them with my Tombows and paired them with faux polaroids, alphabet stickers and cardstock buttons from Echo Park's Sweet Day collection, circa ten-or-so years ago? (Not sure exactly how old it is but it's OLD!) I added a plaid background from Photoplay and some yellow cardstock accents and called it good. 

SOS565: Out with the Old and in with the New runs until Monday evening, January 26th. Hop over to Shopping Our Stash and join the fun!

Perfect Pearls Winter Cheer Card

Ranger's Perfect Pearls add magical shimmer and shine to any project, whether used wet or dry. Hop over to the Ranger Tutorials Page and follow along as I mix them with water to create pearlescent watercolor effects on this sweet and snowy winter cheer card.

Five Faves: Eyelet Outlet Edition

Here are my personal faves (in no particular order) from my Eyelet Outlet cards in 2025. Click the link under each photo if you'd like to visit the original post, which as a handy linked shopping list for all the EO products used!

Cozy Fall Vibes

I have lots of Reading Friends, so I make at least a couple of cards per year with EO Book Brads and Book Tape. It's exciting that I can still think of new twists!

Home and Away

These adorable retro Camper Brads were brand new this summer and I was instantly smitten. (I still am, actually!)

Life is Better at the Beach

I never get tired of the actual ocean OR of ocean/beach themed cards. And since there are so many great EO beachy brads (Shells, Gulls, Flamingos, etc) the possibilities are nearly endless. 

Kind of a Big Deal

Card Suit Brads were new in 2025 and as soon as I saw them, I knew exactly what I wanted to make!

Ahoy, Matey!

I cannot tell a lie: I was given-- and couldn't wait to use-- this pirate-themed stamp set, and so I deliberately sat down and thought about how many brads I could incorporate. The answer was six... (the parrot from our Tropical Birds set is my fave!) ...plus some Glitter Gold Enamels.

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Stay tuned for more Design Team faves on the Eyelet Outlet Blog; then c'mon back next week for lots of brand new cardmaking inspiration!

SOS562: Forever Young

There's a new challenge at Shopping Our Stash and this time we're making kid-themed cards. Which just happen to be one of my favorite cardmaking sub-genres, so without further ado, here's my card:

I've had MFT's Rainbows and Unicorns stamp and die set for ages, and can never resist an excuse to use it. Often I paper-piece it, but this time I was in the mood to color, so I did. I'm not sure how many pieces of Simple Stories' Puddle Jumper patterned paper I have owned, but I'm pretty confident I've never used it whole... I just like cutting out the clusters of whimsical clouds! This card is destined for a grand-niece with a January birthday, so for once I'm ahead of the game! 

Head on over to Shopping Our Stash to see the adorable young-at-heart cards our Crew have made to inspire you, then start planning your own kid-centric creation. SOS562: Forever Young runs until the evening of Monday, December 15th.

Trick or Treat

It's almost time to Trick or Treat and these adorable critters are ready to go! Any set of adorable characters can be dressed up for Halloween, Christmas or a birthday party with a few Eyelet Outlet brad styles; the cuties happen to be from Simon Hurley's Trick or Treat stamp set (which is on sale at Ranger). The mummy bear has donned a Mustache Brad; the unicorn kitty is sporting a Tiara and Eye Glass Brads; the dashing dachshund has his Top Hat on and has invited a Long Dog friend to accompany him. Some Black Cat Brads obviously wanted to join the party and it would hardly be a spooky occasion without Bat and Pumpkin Brads. Thee handsome Frog Brad is wearing a Witch's Hat... or possibly... a powerful witch has been temporarily turned into a frog? Either way, this Boo Crew is definitely going to collect lots of candy and maybe win some prizes at the costume party! A mat of Spider Washi Tape is the perfect finishing touch to any creepy, kooky card.

Trick or Treat Shopping List:

Crown and Tiar Brads

Eye Glass Brads

Men's Hat Brads

Long Dog Brads

Cat Brads-Black

Bat Brads

Pumpkin Brads

Frog Set Brads

Witch Hat Brads

 Spider Washi Tape

All the brads, tapes, enamels and embellishments you need for Halloween and beyond are in the Eyelet Outlet Store; and there are still a couple of Trade Shows left on the Schedule... is your town on the list? 

Enamel Accents Googly Eyes Halloween Card

What's more fun than a Halloween card covered in googly eyes? A card covered in googly eyes you've made yourself, in every size and shape you could desire, using Enamel Accents! Hop over to the Ranger Project Tutorials Page and follow along as I show YOU how to do it... then stay to see how I add the eyes to this fun and funky (pink!) Halloween card.

Spoiler Alert: Dina Wakley's Scribbly Ravens and Block Alpha Stamp Sets also play a crucial part in this project, as does Simon Hurley's Moroccan Tile Background Stamp, some fab Archival Inks, and a few shades of Ranger Embossing Powder, including Glow Up, which is very cool in two ways: #1 it glows in the dark(!); and #2 in ordinary light, it makes the perfect neutral, especially when used on Black Heavystock (just sayin').

SOS557: With Sympathy

The new challenge at Shopping Our Stash (#557) tackles one of the hardest types of card to make (imo); those expressing Sympathy or You're in My Thoughts/Prayers. So it's not a bad idea to have one or two on hand when you need them, right?

I started with a blank 5x7" piece of Simon Hurley Stark White Cardstock (my go-to) and added a torn piece of graph paper* that spans two opposing corners. Then I broke out quite an eclectic mix of stamps to make a collaged background: Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 Botanical Register (stamped in Cobalt Archival); Stampendous Leaf Prints (in Sea Grass and Olive); and Stampendous Postage Creations (in Pebble Beach). Altenew's Paint-a-Flower Sweet Peas have center stage; they were embossed with Ranger's Bubbly e/p and watercolored with Tombows that I scribbled onto a mat and picked up with a waterbrush full of isopropyl alcohol**. When the flowers were dry, I added a bit of additional shading with my Prismacolor pencils. 

If you hop over to SOS you'll see the inspiring cards our Crew have made and you can link up your own. SOS557: With Sympathy runs until the evening of Monday, September 22nd.

*If I'm making a collage and suspect I might want to line some of the elements up neatly, it's super-helpful to add in an element that has fairly consistent horizontal lines: text paper, graph paper, sheet music, even patterned paper with subtle lines or checks is perfect for this; you can then stamp words, add alphabet stickers or line up strips of washi perfectly with NO measuring! ;) 

**One of my favorite tips from Wendy Vecchi is to use rubbing alcohol instead of water for watercoloring and smooshing, even when the inks are water-based. For some reason, the alcohol DOES NOT warp or pill cardstock the way water does. I assume this involves something sciencey, like the fact that alcohol dries and evaporates much more quickly...? (Honestly I have no idea WHY; I just know it works, lol!)