Thursday, January 31, 2019

Santa's Extra Nice List

We had so much fun seeing how each of you created with your new goodies.  Here are a few that made Santa's Extra Nice List.


Created with a gorgeous new falling snow embossing folder ... 
she added ink & holographic embossing powder for extra snowy sparkle.



used some new designer paper to create this adorable snowy scene ...
we loved his fun winter hat & scarf.


discovered a new technique that gave her colored image
a soft ethereal look ... so festive and pretty.


Come back at midnight to see what our next holiday card inspiration will be (PS ... there will be another prize)



Friday, January 25, 2019

Thank You, Santa!

We're still breaking out lots of new things in our stash this week to create some of our first holiday cards of the year.




Lauren says, "I thought this would be a great time to break out the Snowglobe #2 Sizzix Thinlits die set I treated myself to at Paper Anthology right before Xmas. This is definitely a tweezer-intensive die set, and I'm sure that the snowglobe and stand will get more use than the village with its 46 (yes, 46!) separate, tiny, pieces. But... you can't really argue with the results, can you? I used various layers of foam tape to give a more dimensional look to the houses and added in a few perfectly-to-scale Eyelet Outlet Pine Tree and Snowflake Brads. A card with this many bits and pieces is definitely one I'd make only for a few special people, but I do really LOVE how it turned out."




Stephanie says, "Santa brought me these fun Sassy Pants Holiday Sentiments from My Favorite Things (I'm already thinking about who might find this card in their mailbox).  I paired it with pink holiday paper and a Jingle Bell Border from Memory Box cut from silver glitter paper.  I finished with Love from Lizi Pin Stripe Peel-off silver stickers to frame my sentiment ... easy peasy."


You have until Wednesday, January 30, 2019 at 6pm EST to link-up your cards featuring all of your awesome new goodies & gifts. Keyword for galleries and Jingle Belles Flickr Gallery is JB:19:02.

Friday, January 18, 2019

Look What Santa Brought Me

This week we're celebrating all things new, and using them to create some of our first holiday cards of the year.

Specifically, we're asking you to gather up the new crafting goodies you received for the holidays and use them on your holiday card this week. Just in case all you got from Santa was a bag of coal, then break out something from your crafting arsenal that you haven't created with yet.




Stephanie says, "I added My Favorite Things Snowflake Window & Layered Snowflakes Die-Namics to my stash  for Christmas (I am my own Santa Claus ... that way I always get what I want) ... I love how they work together.  I also thought they paired perfectly with another new holiday wrapping paper I added to my stash.  I finished with  a wrap of ribbon and a sticker sentiment."



Lauren says, "In this case I was my own Santa, as well, and treated myself after Xmas to some adorable holiday-themed sticker sheets from Doodlebug Design, and a few papers too. It's the latter I've used here from the "Christmas Town" and "Milk and Cookies" lines. Once again I had an awesome Sketch Saturday to spur me on!"


Now it's your turn to raid Santa's bounty and create your own masterpiece. Link up here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, January 30, 2019. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:19:02.


Thursday, January 17, 2019

That's a *WRAP*!

I don't suppose it's a huge surprise that our fellow card-makers also love to save bits of pretty giftwrap and tags to reuse. Which makes it even more fun to marvel at all of the creative and beautiful ways you've found to USE such bounty! Before we show off a few cards that made us especially happy this fortnight, here's a little badge we made for occasions such as this, in addition to the more generic version on the sidebar.


And now here are some cards that especially ROCKED, in our humble opinion:


...used a surplus-to-requirements clear Treat Bag to add an extra-clever shaker element to her fun and festive card!


...shows that you can feature just a tiny bit of leftover giftwrap -in this case a snowman's face- and make it the centerpiece of a CAS masterpiece!


...reminds us that copper giftwrap is every bit as lovely as silver and gold; as well as impressing us with her amazing abilty to perfectly photograph such a shiny, reflective card!


Of course we're all dying to know who won the prize that was on offer this time, right? According to the fine folks at Random.org the lucky number is #100 so that means our lucky winner is...

Kathe D!♥
CONGRATULATIONS!

Please send your snail mail address to 
Lauren at llaurenb (at) hotmail (dot) com 
to claim your prize!


We'll be back at Midnight with a brand new prompt... in every sense of those words! :)

Friday, January 11, 2019

More Time Like the Presents

It seems like we aren't the only people who cannot resist saving a piece of pretty giftwrap or a lovely tag from the recycling bin. If you haven't wandered through the readers' gallery yet, we highly recommend the trip. Also you still have plenty of time to link up your own masterpiece! Meanwhile here's what we made this week:


Lauren says, "This week I've used two different wraps: some gorgeous gold embossed paper that was on one of my own gifts, plus the vibrant purple and white pattern, which was actually on a gift my aunt gave to my mother... but I scooped it up to make a card, lol. There was a large and thankfully unwrinkled section, which became the background of my card and then I fussy cut a few of the snowflakes, as well. Luckily I had the current Sketch Saturday, so I knew exactly where all my elements should go!"


Stephanie says, "After my wrapping paper short-fall last week, I hit the after Christmas sales and re-stocked.  I usually gravitate to holiday papers that aren't clearly *holiday* so I can use them for other occasions if necessary ... like this lovely paper with snow and branches and tiny bits of silver glitter.  I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch and a delicate Snowflake Snippets Die Cut from Spellbinders paired with a new holiday sentiment from My Favorite Things Snow Globe Sentiments (PS Gina K. Designs Connect Glue is da' bomb for attaching delicate die cuts like this one)."

Remember ... you have until  6pm (EST) on Wednesday, January 16th to link up your card (or cards ... make as many as you want)  . Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:19:01

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

No Time Like the Presents

Well it's January first, and you know what that means: time to kick off another holiday cardmaking season, Jingle Belles! Probably, to non-crafters, that sounds ridiculous, but anyone who's ever spent the middle of December stressfully mass-producing 50+ cards knows that making one card a week, throughout the year, actually makes quite a bit of sense. And doing so while hanging out with your friends is just WAY more fun! So if you're joining us for the first time: WELCOME; if you're re-joining us, WELCOME BACK. Either way, we're so happy you're here and we hope you'll find inspiration here throughout 2019! As always, we're open to suggestions, ideas for themes and guest designers; drop us a line any time at jinglebellesrock @ hotmail (dot) com!

Meanwhile, let's get cracking with the first prompt of the year: since there's No Time Like the Presents... before you put away your wrapping supplies, pull out some of your favorites (or some of that paper from a present you unwrapped that was just too pretty to toss) and make a card featuring wrapping paper or gift tags. Here's what we made this week:




Stephanie says, "If there were a spectrum of gift-wrapping skills, Lauren would be at a 10 (best ever) and I would be somewhere down near the 1 to 2 part of the scale.  If I participate in a gift exchange, you can almost guaranty the gift I brought will be the one in the gift bag (it will be an adorable gift bag ... probably with a Yeti ... but it will be a bag).  So needless to say, my gift wrap stash is a bit limited.  As I went hunting for something to make my card, I found a few pieces of vintage gift wrap from the Veterans of Foreign Wars that must have been gifted to me by my mother-in-law.  How cute are these little tumbling patriotic snowmen with their stars & stripes ... I added a few glittery snowflake stickers and a few more sticker sentiments ... and just left the snowmen to shine."



Lauren says, "Of course I'm blushing from testimonial, and I *DO* looooooove to wrap presents. Something Stephanie graciously didn't mention is that whereas she is always on time (often early!) with gifts, one of us often ~ahem~ shall we say, "helps to extend" any occasion, by as much as several weeks, since that's when the beautifully wrapped items typically arrive lol. My card features a gorgeous plaid scrap leftover from my own giftwrapping duties. I typically mount thin papers like giftwrap or tissue onto a piece of lightweight cardstock that I've run through my xyron machine to make more sturdy, and that's what I did here. The tartan ribbon is also an offcut from this year's supplies... I went a bit mad for plaid!"

To kickoff the New Year right, we have a fun little prize for one lucky random cardmaker who links up with us this time: 


So now it's your turn to round up those gift wrapping supplies, make a lovely new holiday card, and link it up right here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, January 16th*. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:19:01.




*Please note that because we wanted to start the season on New Year's Day, which happens to be a Tuesday, this first challenge has a few extra days to it. After this we will be back to fortnightly Fridays, as in the past! ♥