high spirits!

every single week here on the JINGLE BELLES blog we think to ourselves, "this was the best week EVER, surely the cards just cannot get any better than this!" ...and then the very next week... you prove us wrong AGAIN! thank you, we ♥loooooooove♥ that!!! :)

the spirit of christmas past prompt seems to have been particularly inspiring, and here are a few cards that embraced the vintage vibe in especially cool & original ways!

LeAnne of Wee Inklings

proved definitively that vintage style and "clean & simple" are not mutually exclusive concepts, and that an elegant monochromatic design can have loads of nostalgic charm!

Paula of Scrappy Me

showed us that modern technology and old-fashioned beauty can be perfect partners by pairing a gorgeous digital image with "real life" supplies like that fabulous paper lace!

Gina of Tyggereye Arts

went all out with old, new, and vintage bits from her stash to create this uber-charming eclectic masterpiece that has holiday style enough for any era!

thank you to *ALL* of you lovely belles who played along; you've got a little time before the new prompt goes live at midnight, so why not scroll down to the thumbnails in the last post and spend a bit of time seeing your fellow ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ in action! you'll be glad you did, we promise! ♥

Spirit of Christmas Past

Since we've already celebrated the ghost of Christmas present ... this week we're celebrating the Spirit of Christmas Past. We're asking you to create a card celebrating all things vintage. It could mean incorporating true vintage elements ... or just a vintage style ... whatever says "vintage" to you.

Stef''s Card

Stef says, "I have lots of stickers and chipboard from Crafty Secrets that have been in my stash much too long ... I was so thrilled to use some of those wonderful vintage items in my card this week. I attached the stickers to cardstock scraps and then cut them out, so I could attach them over the wrap of linen string using foam tape for dimension. The wonderful paper is from the Pink Paislee Father Christmas Collection (distressed & inked with distress inks). I finished with a knot of velvet rick-rack for some vintage texture. The sketch is this week's Unscripted Sketch."

Lauren's card

Lauren says, "i ♥LOVE♥ and collect vintage paper of all kinds, from postcards to magazines to maps; some of my favorite holiday card bits come from a stash of old ideals magazines that came from my uncle's mother. at first i had serious qualms about cutting into those, but part of what i like about them is the texture of the paper, and the fact that some of it has aged imperfectly making each piece unique. miss georgia was herself a clever crafty lady, and i THINK she'd be quite happy to see me making christmas card creations with her lovely mags! i've combined three separate vintage elements (the angel, the poem, and the starry background) with new papers and rub-on (by basic grey) on this card"

So relish all things vintage this week and show us how you embrace the spirit of Christmas past ... and use keyword JB19 if you upload to our Flickr Gallery or other gallery; inlinkz will be open until 6pm (EST) next Wednesday, May 11th.