JB2524: Blog Banner Inspiration

It's the final week of the 2025 Jingle Belles season (no worries, we'll be back on January 1, 2026!) and thus here is one more card inspired by our 2025 Jingle Belles Blog Header:

Here's what I made this week:

I had planned to use all of the elements from the banner, but put them on an all-white card this week, Thus I set about diecutting Spellbinders Bottle Brush Trees and Sunny Studio Snowflakes from various types of white cardstock. As I was getting ready to make my mostly-white background, I happened to find this torn and stitched panel that I must've made last year some time and not used, and it was EXACTLY the right size! Plus, it kind of looked like rolling hills to me; and also had the same tealish, blueish, greenish shades as the blog header... (plus a bunch of pink and brown bokeh too) ...and I thought, "All-righty then, job done!".

You have until next Wednesday evening, December 3rd, to link up your own Jingle Belles Blog Banner Inspired card and we'd love for you to do just that!

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! ♥

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!

Dashing Through the Snow

This fortnight at Jingle Belles, we're asking you create projects that celebrate the white fluffy flakes of snow: it might be snowmen, snowflakes or just snowfall, but include some snow on your cards. Here's what I made:

I serendipitously discovered this blue and purple gelprint (made ages ago, using an ancient Darice snowy embossing folder to left some of the paint off the plate) and added torn sheet music, purple Core'dinations cardstock and snowy washi; before layering on ALL the flakes from my Tim Holtz/Sizzix Stacked Snowflakes die in sparkly white plus various blues and purples.

JB2522: Dashing Through the Snow runs until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, November 5th. Join us at Jingle Belles!

SOS559: Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice

Time for a brand new challenge at Shopping Our Stash and this one is super-seasonal! For Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice we'd like to see cards and projects which reflect however you interpret the changing Autumn Season: Pumpkin Spice Latte, Thanksgiving, Changing Leaves, etc; the choice is yours. I have to confess that irl, I don't care for anything with the pumpkin spice flavor profile, but... that didn't stop me from making a card I love:

This sweet fox journal card is from an autumn-themed paper collection we had at Paper Anthology a few years ago, from Photoplay, I think; but it had been cut out of the sheet and so I can't be absolutely sure. I know that I've looked at it and thought about using it quite a few times and (for mysterious reasons) it never happened until now. The background is a found piece of collaged vintage paper that I had watercolored with autumn-leafy shades and then (again, mysteriously) did not use. When I found it, I knew it was exactly the right thing, but to fancy it up even more, I had some brand new 49 and Market Irresistible Times white Rub-On Transfers from the Ranger Online Store that I've been dying for an excuse to open up, so I did. I used my ancient set of Cuttlebug Leaves Dies (possibly the first die set I ever purchased?) to cut out a few leaves from bright white text paper backed with cardstock and matted both the fox and the large background on rich brown self-adhesive felt sheets that I'm slightly obsessed with. I thought about adding a sentiment, but nothing I tried jumped out at me, so I decided to wait. (I have often found it helpful to have a few "uncommitted" cards in my stash... you never know what sort of card you might need at short notice and it's nice to have options.

SOS559: Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice will run until the evening of Monday, November 3rd. Check out the fabulous cards our talented Crew have made to inspire you at Shopping Our Stash.

Unbe-LEAF-able

Here's a mini-make featuring a little stash of diecut leaves I found in my crafty leftovers. They were beautifully watercolored, but slightly boring... so I used Wendy Vecchi's Polka Dot and Posy Duo and Thank You Bouquet Embossing Folders from Spellbinders to add texture and some Potting Soil Archival Ink from Ranger to emphasize the texture et voila! Perfect for dressing up a plain gift bag and envelope!

You can find the entire Tabbed Classics Collection and so much more Wendy Vecchi goodness at Spellbinders!

So! Much! Texture!

If you haven't yet tried Spellbinders' 3D Embossing Folders, you have a treat in store because they really do live up to their name. There are two* in Wendy Vecchi's Tabbed Classics Collection, and I've used them both on this super-textural pumpkin greeting.

Ok, so, you may have noticed there are three distinct embossed patterns on this card, and you're correct about that. The ovals which make up my pumpkin (more on that in a minute) are embossed using the bouquet area of Thank You Bouquet Emboss and Cut Folder without the dies. The four small square background panels are courtesy of the Polka Dot and Posy Duo which, at 5.5 x 8.5" is big enough to emboss two A2 panels at the same time.

A few years ago I stumbled upon a social media post in which the artist showed a super-easy way to draw a pumpkin: basically, it's just five ovals. One in the center, two set behind the first one and just very slightly higher up; then two more flanking those and again a tiny bit higher up from the base line. When it comes to card-making, an even faster and easier way to do it is with five oval diecuts! I was a bit stumped for a pumpkin stem until I saw the candy corn outline dies in the Halloween Add-On set from last year's Not Your Ordinary Card Collection. It turns out, if you layer them behind and offset from each other, one large corn and two medium corns make a pretty flippin' awesome stem!

Back to the more traditional elements of the card: The large flowers are also from the Thank You Bouquet set, and YES, you really can emboss and cut at the same time, it's very cool! I added a little bit of Archival Ink to the centers and attached them to the pumpkin. The dark and medium green leaves are from the Essential Envelope Everyday Add-Ons Die Set. The pale green fronds are from The Christmas Add-On to Not Your Ordinary Card Collection; and the tiny blossoms are from the original Essential Envelopes set.

One final shot to show you the inspiration for this card, which was a super-fancy paper plate of all things... just goes to show that cool ideas can come from ANYWHERE! ♥

*There was a gorgeous 3D Embossing Folder in Wendy's last collection, too; it's called Flowers & Foliage, it's one of my alltime faves AND... it's on sale at Spellbinders. Just sayin'...

Embossed Bouquet (New Wendy Vecch!)

Yesterday saw the release of some brand new goodies from Wendy Vecchi and Spellbinders, which is always a good thing! This release is called the Tabbed Classics Collection, and I'll tell you about all of the elements in a minute, but first here's a super-textural card I made:

Ok, so the Tabbed Classics Collection consists of: the Essential Envelope Every Day Add-Ons Die Set (accessories developed to perfectly accent the Essential Envelope Die Set but honestly, all of the parts work on their own, too); the Tabbed In & Out Sentiments Stamps and Dies which give you LOTS of mix-n-match greetings perfectly sized to fit the tabs on the Add-On set; the outstanding Thank You Bouquet 3D Folder and Stencil Bundle (you can purchase just the 3D & Cut Folder on its own, but TRUST ME you definitely want the stencils!); and finally the Polka Dot & Posy Duo 3D Embossing Folder which is big enough to emboss A2-sized panels for TWO cards at the same time... or... you can split the panel to have a bit of each together, which is what I've done for the background of this card.

And now a bit more detail about the card: I embossed a square of Core'dinations Whitewashed cardstock with the Polka Dot & Posy e/f so that it was about 2/3 posies and 1/3 polka dots, then lightly sanded it to get the contrasting color. I mounted it on some gorgeous sunflower-colored felt and machine stitched onto a 5.5" square card. For the floral panel, I wanted to see if I could emboss the Thank You Bouquet on a small square without using the coordinating die to cut it out and YES, I could, and I love how it turned out. I did use the folder with the die in place to make my Thank You sentiment... I LOVE that you can emboss and cut in ONE step, and noooooo it doesn't move around once you've nestled the die, added your paper and closed the folder!

More about the embossed Thank You Bouquet: I used the 6 layering stencils that come in the Bundle and my Wendy Vecchi Archival Inks. There is a die that will cut out the whole bouquet, but I wanted to see if it would look good on a white panel (YES!) and if the stencils would allow for full coverage without getting ink outside the design (also YES!). I chose a palette of soft pink, peach, yellow and green that feels like a pastel version of autumn to me.

I've got a few more projects up my sleeve that involve the loose flowers from the 3D & Cut as well as more of the eponymous Tabs (& Sentiments) from the Tabbed Classics Collection, so be sure to stay tuned. Also, you should know that Wendy has made probably a hundred amazing samples and is revealing them bit by bit; you should definitely check out her Instagram (@wendyvecchi) and bookmark the Make Art with Wendy Vecchi Facebook Group which is a constant source of inspiration!

New Wendy Vecchi? Yes, Please!

It's time for some brand new goodies from Wendy Vecchi and Spellbinders, which is definitely cause for celebration! This release is called the Tabbed Classics Collection, and I'll explain all the elements in a minute, but first here's a couple of pocket cards I made pairing the new accessories with last year's Essential Envelope Die Set that I can't wait to show off:

Ok, so the Tabbed Classics Collection consists of: the Essential Envelope Every Day Add-Ons Die Set (accessories developed to perfectly accent the Essential Envelope Die Set but honestly, all of the parts work on their own, too); the Tabbed In & Out Sentiments Stamps and Dies which give you LOTS of mix-n-match greetings perfectly sized to fit the tabs on the Add-On set; the outstanding Thank You Bouquet 3D Folder and Stencil Bundle (you can purchase just the 3D & Cut Folder on its own, but TRUST ME you definitely want the stencils!); and finally the Polka Dot & Posy Duo 3D Embossing Folder.

For this dynamic duo of mini cards, I made pockets using the score-and-cut die from the original Essential Envelope Set, then worked in basically every accessory in the Essential Envelope Add-Ons Set to decorate them with envelope fronts, banners and lots of three-layer frilly flowers.

I used the tabbed card from the Add-On set, with mix and match greetings from Tabbed In & Out Sentiments Set. You can see the second part of the sentiments when you pull out the tabbed cards.

I love the way that literally ALL of the new items work perfectly with --and add seamlessly to-- the original collection; but the new stuff also stands on its own, and can be used separately. Oof, I nearly forgot to mention that I used the the Polka Dot & Posy Duo 3D Embossing Folder on the envelope fronts, one is embossed and one is debossed. Ok, I admit it, the latter was done ACCIDENTALLY, but it genuinely looks equally nice as such, so I left it!

I've got more projects up my sleeve, which I'll be showing off in the next few days, so be sure to stay tuned for that. In the meantime, you will most definitely want to check out the gorgeous samples Wendy has made... you can find her on Instagram as @wendyvecchi and in the Make Art with Wendy Vecchi Facebook Group.

Oh Deer, it's Christmas!

 

CLICK HERE to visit the "Oh Deer" page in the Paper Anthology Etsy Shop!

Holiday Jumpstart: Oh Deer, it's Christmas! is Paper Anthology's newest holiday card kit, which features a STAG-geringly handsome deer, framed and embellished on this happily homespun card.

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 “Oh Deer, it's Christmas!” because the wood veneer deer is the star of the show; and we can literally NEVER resist a diabolical pun! ("Sorry" or "You're Welcome"… whichever applies!)

We're all very FAWN-ed of 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”. The BUCK stops here, in 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.

Visit our Etsy Shop, Paper Anthology Design to get your "Oh Deer, it's Christmas!" Kit today!

This kit contains:

Five corner-notched, striped patterned paper panels
Five plaid border strips
Five handsome wood veneer deer diecuts
Five pre-diecut green wreaths
Five woodgrain patterned backing circles
Five pre-diecut "Happy Holidays" sentiments
Ten deep green holly leaves
Ten pale green vine branches
Five sets of holly berry clusters
Complete step-by-step instruction sheet with large color photo
Five kraft A2 cards

CLICK HERE to visit the "Oh Deer" page in the Paper Anthology Etsy Shop!

Home for the Holidays

There's just something about being Home for the Holidays, isn't there? Thus, that's the theme (and feeling) we're celebrating at Jingle Belles this fortnight. That means we're asking you to make a holiday card that includes a House, Housing-like materials (wood-grain paper, a brick embossing folder), or the word "Home". Or, you know, if you're feeling really overachievery, you could do all three! Here's my card; spoiler alert: I did not do all three, lol!

As a cardmaker who sometimes feels silly saving all my off-cuts of patterned paper and cardstock, this design is a little bit of a triumph because, apart from the 5.5" square cardbase, it's made entirely of scraps! I used both dies from Penny Black's Trees and Hills set; Both curvy dies from MFT's Stitched Basic Edges 2; and the house, fence, trees and snowflakes from Spellbinders' Winter Label Motifs set. The diecut flag sentiment is also Spellbinders and was in my leftover diecuts box, glued up and ready to roll.  

Be sure to head over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's beautiful card and link up your own HOME-made masterpiece. JB2520: Home for the Holidays runs until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, October 8th.

Flowers, Flowers, Everywhere!

Well not quite everywhere, but certainly all over this sweet little giftbag I made using the multi-layer flower dies from Wendy Vecchi's Essential Envelopes Die Set, part of her Not Your Ordinary Card Collection from Spellbinders.

I chose the colors to coordinate with a gift card and holder I made with the Essential Envelopes set last year when the collection first debuted from Spellbinders. You can read a bit more about it on the original post if you'd like.

The felt is of the self-adhesive variety, made for papercrafting, and comes in a set of 25 gorgeous rainbow shades from Peachy Keen Crafts. It's considerably thinner than ordinary felt, so it diecuts beautifully.

I added Eyelet Outlet Jewel Brads to the flower centers purely as decoration, because the self-adhesive felt sticks really well to both paper and to other pieces of the felt... making layered diecuts easy as pie! PS: That's some WV Washi under the flowers for a little extra color!

Wendy's brand new Spellbinders' release, featuring stamps, stencils, 3D embossing folders and additional coordinating accessories for the Essential Envelopes set, will be coming out on October 10th. Check out Wendy's Instagram Account or the Make Art with Wendy Vecchi Facebook Group for a sneak preview and stay tuned!

Hi-Ho SILVER!

It's the second week of "Baby it's GOLD Outside" at Jingle Belles. And, as you may recall, despite the title, we're embracing all metallics, so this week I went with silver. Here's my card:

This card has FOUR different styles of metallic cardstock: matte, sparkly, glimmery and full-on metallic silver... a personal best, lol! It's also got three different metallic tapes and some deep blue shimmer paper that isn't quiiiiiite metallic but adds to the vibe of the card, I think. I've paired Penny Black's Glorious poinsettia die (cut three times, clustered together and blinged up a bit) with Altenew's splendid Perfect Poinsettias 3D Embossing Folder... that I highlighted with a bit of metallic rub-on paste in a rich blue shade.

JB2519: Baby it's GOLD Outside runs until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, September 24th. Head on over to Jingle Belles to link up your own Metallic Masterpiece! 

SOS556: The Cat is in the Bag

There's a new challenge at Shopping Our Stash. For "The Cat is in the Bag" we'd like you to feature any kind of bag (purse, backpack, beach bag) and/or a cat; so there are LOTS of ways to go this time! I chose the "cat" option, as you can see:

I have several different "cat" options, but my favorite is this adorable guy from the Halloween Add-On to Wendy Vecchi's Essential Envelopes set. Since I had the bin out, I also used two of the Pinking Edge Frames and sentiment from the Birthday Add-On to her Not Your Ordinary Card Collection from Spellbinders; and one of the Heartfelt Thanks and Scallops frames as well as the Flowers and Foliage 3D Embossing Folder, which are both part of From the Garden Collection. I love piecing the cat using sticky-back black felt, it's hard to tell in a photo, but IRL it has lots of texture. I split the birthday diecuts and added "PURR" in velvetty pink letters to make the whole thing a tiny bit punny. ;)

SOS556: The Cat is in the Bag will run at SOS until the evening of Monday, September 22nd. Be sure to hop over to Shopping Our Stash and see the inspiring cards the Crew have made!

'Twas the 12 Days of Cardstock

Over at Jingle Belles, Stephanie and I are still celebrating Cardstock Christmas by making holiday cards with absolutely no designer/patterned paper. (Yikes!)

Not only is this card entirely free of patterned paper, I've used mostly scraps and leftovers! When I was making the Dressed to Chill kits last week, I made a few different versions of the sign and the happy snowperson from Simon Hurley's Spellbinders North Pole Sentiments Die Set; the white-embossed watercolor panel (made with Hero Arts' Christmas Rose cover stamp) was made probably a year ago and (mysteriously?!) never used; the sparkly snowflakes were in my diecut organizer; and the background is made of thin, random-width strips of coordinating pink cardstock, stuck to an adhesive sheet and stitched around the edges.

JB2518: Cardstock Christmas runs until next Wednesday evening, September 10th, so there's still time to join the fun!

JB2518: Cardstock Christmas

This fortnight at Jingle Belles, we're celebrating Cardstock Christmas, which means we're asking you to step away from the patterned paper... (scary, I KNOW!!!) ...put it away, there's NONE allowed! We're creating cards using only cardstock. You can tear it, ink it, stamp it, spray it, emboss it … but stick to only cardstock for your holiday card design!

One of my favorite ways to make a fast, easy background is with Wendy Vecchi's Build a Plaid Layering Stencils from Spellbinders and her Ranger Archival Inks. In this case I used Carnation, Goldenrod, Mulberry and Fern Green. As I often do, I built my plaid on a diagonal, and at the end I added some gold pen lines as well as two coordinating (cardstock!) mats, plus some poinsettia and foliage diecuts from the Christmas Add-On set for Wendy's Not Your Ordinary Card Collection. I couldn't resist finishing off with a few white velvet holly leaves and some glittery gold enamel dots.

Bes sure to visit Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's beautiful card and to link up your own cardstock-centric masterpieces. JB2518: Cardstock Christmas runs until the evening of Wednesday, September 10th.

JB2515: Tic-Tac-TWO!

It's the second week of our crafty Tic-Tac-Toe game at Jingle Belles so here's a reminder of the board:

And here's what I made this week:

My stash of classic Basic Grey holiday papers is dwindling, but being a top-notch hoarder, I do still have some medium-sized pieces (from which my two background pieces hail) and lots of little scraps (from which I diecut all of the shapes to paper-piece these adorable Impression Obsession Retro Ornaments. By which you may well have already deduced that this week I chose to work the middle row of Diecuts + Paper Piercing or Piecing + Ornaments.

JB2515: Tic-Tac-Toe runs until next Wednesday evening, July 30th. Check out the original post at Jingle Belles for all the info and the Linky tool to add your own creations!

Treeskirt Tic-Tac-Toe

This fortnight at Jingle Belles, we're playing Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe, which is kind of like "Beach Blanket Bingo"...but Christmassy... and with a lot more embellishments! We'd love for you to join us; all you have to do is pick a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) and create a lovely new holiday card featuring all three elements in that row. 

and here's my card:

I chose the left-hand column, which gave me: Animal + Diecut + Red, so I went with the sweet bunny (plus a couple of trees) from Pretty Pink Posh's Holiday Pals stamp set; Diecuts in the form of Penny Black's Trees and Hills in the background and MFT's Happy Holidays frame; and three different patterned papers (plus a mat) in Red. 

I'm joining the Christmas in July fun at Addicted to Stamps and More, which runs until July 29th if you'd like to, as well!

JB2515: Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe runs until the evening of Wednesday, July 30th. Join us today at Jingle Belles!

Life is Better at the Beach

Here's a summery card idea that's SHORE to please: Diecut chunky letters from Eyelet Outlet Wide Water Washi adorned with a strip of torn Glitter Gold Tape to serve as sand. Scatter Shell Brads and Sea Shore Brads along the bottom, as if they've been washed up by the tide. Augment with Water Splats and a handsome Flamingo Brad. Place the stamped portion of the sentiment above, and surround it with a flying Seagull plus Sun and Cloud Brads.

Beachy Keen Shopping List:

Shell Brads

Sea Shore Brads

Water Splat Brads

Flamingo Brads

Seagull Brads

Sun and Cloud Brads

Wide Water Washi 

Glitter Gold Tape

Whatever your favorite summer activities are, the Eyelet Outlet Store has exactly the right brads, tapes, bling, enamels and flowers to bring them to life!

JB2514: Poinsettia Perfection

We're attempting "Poinsettia Perfection" this fortnight at Jingle Belles, for which we're making holiday cards that feature... (as you may have guessed, lol) ...poinsettias; but other holiday blooms, plants or greens are also included, such as mistletoe, holly and pine. Here's my card:

I have a few choices for holiday foliage and flowers, but one of my favorite options is the Christmas Add-On set for Wendy Vecchi's Essential Envelope dies from Spellbinders. I used the triple holly leaf die on two shades of glimmery yellow/gold cardstock to build double-layer poinsettias, which the set's  feathery foliage die complements beautifully. I broke out Wendy's Studio 490 Perfectly Plaid stamp to use as the background (embossed in Ranger's Vintage Pearl powder) and again on a Statements Chippie (in Marigold powder). A sage green mat and some WV Washi Tape complete the design of my 5.5" square card.

Check out Stephanie's card at Jingle Belles and then start thinking of what sort of festive foliage you'll use to make a card. Link up with JB2514: Poinsettia Perfection by 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, July 16th.