did they say *JINGLE BELLES*??!?!

yes.

yes, we did.

do you have questions? because we have answers! in fact we wrote a bit of an FAQ...would you like to see it?! (please say, "yes" otherwise the whole thing kind of stalls right here!) ah--you *WOULD* like to see it? excellent! here you go:

what is jingle belles?
jingle belles is a meeting place for crafty cardmakers determined NOT to miss yet another december because we're still making holiday cards. won't you join us in making ONE CHRISTMAS CARD PER WEEK during 2011 and avoiding the holiday mayhem??!

who are you gals?
we're lauren bergold and stephanie severin, avid papercrafters, cardmakers and all-round good eggs! you may have enjoyed the gorgeous craftiness on stef's blog ingenious inkling, or read lauren's ramblings over at ...all the GOOD blog names were taken...

when do the weekly prompts debut?
we plan to post a brand new inspiration every friday morning. anyone who'd like to play along will have until 6pm the following wednesday to submit their cards via inlinkz, but of course you can use any sketch, idea, or inspiration at any time during the year for whatever projects you'd like. (when you do, we'd love to see what you make, so be sure to pop us a link or an email, ok?!)

what sort of prompts will there be?
color inspirations, sketches, product-based ideas, technique-driven experiments, thematic approaches, song cues...hey, we'll try ANYTHING once...and the fun ones twice!

who thinks up the prompts?
to begin with, lauren and stef are providing the themes, but ideally we'd like to throw this open to the vast pool of clever crafties out in t'blogosphere. do you have a great suggestion for a topic or technique?! have you always wanted to try yor hand at a card-sketch? contact us using the info on the sidebar! all sensible ideas will be considered! (lauren is already chock full of un-sensible ideas, but thanks anyway!) ;)

are there other ways i can participate in the blog?
yes! from time to time we'd like to invite readers to guest host, co-host, or guest design with us, so if you're interested, let us know! we've got a whole year to fill, folks, and we're open to suggestions!

what if i can't make a card every week?
then you will have less than 48 cards on december first. ...but... you'll still have 44 or 35 or however many you do make, and you'll still be way ahead of the game. despite serious OCD tendencies, even lauren knows it's *NOT* all or nothing, here! make a card whenever you have time and feel inspired; share a card whenever you'd like some encouragement and camaraderie. why not subscribe to the feed or bookmark the blog, though? who knows, you might unexpectedly see something that gets your holiday mojo going!

are there going to be prizes??
well, anyone who participates each week will, on december first, be in possession of FORTY EIGHT beautiful, unique, amazing, totally personal, one-of-a-kind handmade christmas cards and can take december off!!! that's a pretty good prize, dontcha think?! :) (but...it's always possible there'll be the the odd drawing or giveaway now and then, too...who can say...? another good reason to drop in every once in a while, right?)

can i sponsor a prize?
sure! if you're a business person or designer with freebies to bestow, we'd love to hear from you! our contact info is on the sidebar.

can i have one of your badges?
definitely! g'head and take two, they're small! we are hoping to make lots of different ones during the course of the year, so feel free to collect as many as you like!

if you have additional questions we didn't think of, please leave a comment...or email us using the contact info on the sidebar! thanks! ♥