The Twelve Days of Cardstock.

We're still eschewing commercial patterned/designer paper and celebrating Cardstock Christmas! Remember you can use any or all your favorite tricks (embossing, stamping, sanding, tearing, layering, diecutting, painting, etc, etc) you just need to start with plain cardstock.

Here's how we were inspired this week:

Lauren's Other Cards

Lauren says, "This week I've used one of my favorite techniques on all the little offcuts of cardstock in my scrapbox: cut them into strips of various size and arrange them in quilt-like patterns. This is quite an addictive process, so I'm not sure I've ever sat down and only made just ONE panel. In this case, I made a red and a green; then pressure embossed them (the green with Spellbinders' Forevergreen; the red features an older Sheena Douglass folder that seems to be OOP) and added a little sanding and Unicorn Ink to emphasize the texture. Large fabric flowers, ancient ribbon and brads, bold cardstock mats and machine stitching complete the design(s)."

Stephanie's Other Card

Stephanie says, "I too used cardstock scraps for this week's card.  I pulled out the colors of the rainbow (for the Hero Arts #staycraftychallenge Somewhere Over the Rainbow) and cut 1/4 strips, which I attached to my card on the diagonal working my way down from the top.  I had intended to go back and fill in the corners with the smaller scraps, but ended-up liking the contrast of white, so I stopped.  I inked the sentiment from Hero Arts Holiday Borders and Icons with a rainbow inking - I started with the red, stamped that portion, then added orange overlapping slightly and stamped again and continued until I got to the end of the rainbow.  I finished with some green bling since that was the color that ended-up in the center of the sentiment."

Cardstock Christmas continues until 6pm next Wednesday night (3/22/23) so there's plenty of time for you to join the fun! Scroll down to the original post to see the Readers' Gallery and to link your own cardstock creations.

Cardstock Christmas

Today we're asking you to step away from the designer paper ... yes, put it away ... none allowed ... not even a scrap ... because the next prompt is to create a card 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.

Here's how we used cardstock this week:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "For my primarily die cut card, I die cut a stitched circle as a backdrop for my PoppyStamps Whittle Friendly Snowman cut from white, black and a watercolor marker colored pink cardstock (I colored his nose orange with a marker).  I used the sketch from the BYSH Cardmakers and swapped the paper strip with the Poppystamps Frozen Flakes Die Cut.  I finished with a sentiment from Memory Box and a few bits of pink bling in the snowflake centers."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "At first glance, you may think I've cheated and used a cloudy patterned paper, but no... it's Avery Elle's Cloud Mat Die, on which I've used the "inset" diecutting technique. I cut the background from a rich colonial blue cardstock, the clouds from bright white and the frame from a pebbly texture of lime green. I used an older Memory Box pine tree with an appropriately deep green cardstock and Tim Holtz's Sizzix "Reindeer Flight" on copper glitter cardstock. The snowflake is Impression Obsession (cut from ivory shimmer cardstock) held on with an Eyelet Outlet Snowflake Brad. The sentiment flag is from around the millenium, I think, so it's exciting to finally use it up!"

This challenge runs until 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB2306.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

We Can See CLEARLY Now

There were such creative interpretations for the "Midnight CLEAR" Challenge; if you haven't already perused the Readers' Gallery, we highly recommend the trip. In the meantime, here are a few cards we especially loved this time:

Beverly Sizemore of Bev's Creative Path

...added a very clever twist to her shaker card, the window is part of an adorable faux polaroid with a little winter scene inside!

 

Majda of Maydinuscreative Rest

...layered several clear acetate tags each carrying part of her design; one has the snow and stocking, one with the sweet penguin, and a third with the frosty hills!

(You really need to click over and see the additional photos!) 

ArtMBR of Od Materiala Do Izdelka

...affixed her clear acetate snowflakes with clear acetate brads; and also scores bonus points for that gloriously inky background!

♥♥♥

Many thanks to all who participated, we know that this was a challenging assignment, but you ROCKED it! We'll be back at Midnight with a brand new prompt we think will help you take stock of your supplies! ;)

Do You See What I See?

This week we're still creating with all things transparent ... and we can't wait to see what see-through clear items you incorporate into your holiday card designs.

Here's how we were CLEAR-ly inspired this week:

Lauren's Other Card

Lauren says, "Once again, I've de-hoarded an ancient Hambly Transparency, this time as a base for a cluster of vintage postage, stickers and other xmassy odds and ends, which I've attached with various types of "clear" or "invisible" adhesive. I discuss that issue in a little more depth on my personal blog, but generally speaking, as long as you cannot see adhesive from the front, and that which you can see from the back looks neat... I don't worry too much about perfection! I did place a label shaped  piece of patterned paper inside the card, to hold a sentiment and signature."

Stephanie's Other Card

Stephanie says, "I decided to try a shaker this week.  I chose this pretty little Taylored Expressions Beauty Lies Within 3 Ornament Die (without thinking about the challenge of getting that foam tape curved and hidden behind that thin edge, but I refused to give up).  I filled the shaker with Pinkfresh Studio Champagne Glitter Drops on a beautiful piece of Gina K. Designs Snowflake Paper.  I finished with a few strips of red cardstock for contrast and a Taylored Expressions Simple Strips - Christmas sentiment."

Be sure to visit the original post (directly beneath this one) to see how the other participants have approached the idea of CLEAR elements and to link up your own card designs!

It Came Upon a Midnight *CLEAR*

This fortnight we're asking you to make a holiday card that contains at least one see-through element, whether that be glass, a transparency, some vellum, acetate or "ghost" shapes, clear stickers, lucite buttons, shrink plastic... whatever you like... if you can see through it (& figure out how to attach it!) put it on there and link it up! 

Here you can CLEARLY see how we were inspired this week:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I started with a wonderful Dina Wakley Media Pattern Play Set 1 Transparency.  I attached a cute little sledding penguin gift tag card to the transparency together with a Simon Says Stamp Reverse Sentiment Strip using foam tape for both.  The I was able to use strong two sided tape behind both to attach the transparency to the glitter card base.  I finished with some transparent sequins for accents."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "Right off the bat I should probably mention that nearly everything on this card is ANCIENT and unavailable, though I did find the adorable Pretty Pink Posh critters, whose stamp set is called Holiday Pals, at Buffalo Stamps and Stuff. That just happens to be the place where my friend Elisabeth from Paper Anthology got hooked on stamping; so if you live anywhere near Buffalo, NY, you should probably check it out. I've colored the Pals (plus trees from the same set) with Tombows from Paper Anthology and built a shaker window on top of the card by diecutting that Nesties frame half a dozen times and stacking them up with a snowy Hunkydory Crafts Acetate Sheet holding in a mix of Eyelet Outlet Snowflake and Round Sequins. Then I set the entire thing onto a 5" card base made from a beloved and well-hoarded Hambly Transparency with a few styles of truly elderly washi."

♥♥♥

This challenge runs until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, March 8th. Link your cards right here. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB2305. We can't wait to see what you will make!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

The EMBOSSABLE Dream!

It seems that each and every Jingle Belle knows how to Emboss Like a Boss, as you'll discover if you scroll down to the Embossing Gallery, where each and every card is clever, beautiful and inspiring. Here are three cards that especially caught our eye:

Helen of Helen's Craft Haven

...did the white-embossed-on-dark-paper trick that NEVER fails to feel completely magical!

(She also made two other cards using the same stamp set in equally clever ways!)

Brenda of Brenda's Scraps of Life 

...used a beautiful embossing folder to add dimensional poinsettias to plain white paper... then softly watercolored them with subtle metallic shimmer!

Jolanda Johnstone of The Inque Spot Studio

...created an impressively clean and simple white-on-white card with a sophisticated pop of gold!

♥♥♥

And now, I think we'd all like to know to whose house that fun embossing prize will be headed, right? The Random Number Generator has selected... 

(drumroll, please!)

Lucky Number 4

...which means that ROSE is our Lucky Winner!

Congrats, Rose, we just need your snail mail address to send your prize; please email lauren at llaurenb @ hotmail .com and it'll be on its merry postal way, ASAP!

♥♥♥

Many thanks to everyone who played along, we loved seeing ALL your beautiful cards. We'll be back at Midnight with a brand new prompt that we hope will be transparently inspirational! ;)

Mission *Embossable*

This week we're still asking you to break out your embossing folders and add some textural embossing to your cards (if you don't have embossing folders, here's a video showing how you can use your die cuts to emboss) or, you can use embossing powers; or maybe you'll go wild and do BOTH?!

Here's what we made this week:

Lauren's Other Card

Lauren says, "I used Ranger's Vintage Pearl Embossing Powder to create soft texture on the pretty poinsettia from Wendy Vecchi's Doodle Christmas Stamp Set, then "painted" the flowers using Pink Peony and Viridian Archival Inks and a waterbrush full of rubbing alcohol. I used Taylored Expressions's Rosy Posey embossing folder on pale pink cardstock, then used a dauber loaded with Pink Peony to make the texture stand out a bit more. I traced a heart from Wendy Vecchi's Bases and Frames Chippies onto the Cracked Leather Paper, then covered it with Rosey Posey Archival and lightly flicked it with Pearl Mica Spray. The sentiment was cut from an ancient journal card, the felt snowflakes are trimmings from a big box store and I've scattered some Eyelet Outlet Clear Bling around for extra sparkle."

Stephanie's Other Card

Stephanie says, "I love Gina K. Design embossing folders, so this week I used her Holiday Flora Embossing Folder with Core'dinations Cardstock that is brown in the front with a light blue Core (sanding it to bring out more of the embossed color).  I paired it with Gina K. Designs wreath builder with Stamps from Gina K. Designs Two-Step Holiday MINI,  Holiday Wreath Builder & Mini Wreath Builder Mini.  I finished with a few clusters of silver metallic pearls.  I'm also joining Gina's Monthly Mix Challenge to create with a Wreath."

This challenge runs until next Wednesday evening, February 22nd. Scroll down to the original post to link your cards AND to see the fun little embossing-related prize that one lucky random cardmaker will scoop up!