All Bundled Up

Ok, hang on a second, we realize that the title, "All Bundled Up" sounds nuts in mid-July, especially if it's 90 degrees and 80% humidity where you live! But bear with us while we explain that what we're actually looking for this fortnight is holiday cards with *LAYERS*... three or more layers, to be specific. That's do-able, right? Here's what we made:

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I suppose by now everyone knows that using lots of layers isn't much of a challenge for me, lol. But in this case I've got four layers of paper and still come out with a flat card, which I'm pretty happy about! In addition, my poinsettia centerpiece has a few layers of it's own: its got patches of red and green ColorBurst, then background pattern stamps, then embossed poinsettia stamps from Ken Oliver Crafts, and finally a rub-on transfer sentiment and a few Eyelet Outlet gem centers!"

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I couldn't resist using my *bundled-up* Snowman 2 from Paper Smooches (don't you love his matching hat & scarf) together with all of my paper layers from the Very Merry Collection by American Crafts ... holiday cheer for sure.

And now it's your turn to make a layery creation and link it here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, July 25th. Keyword for galleries or Flickr is JB:18:15.

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Christmas Bells, Those Christmas Belles!

That's right, it's time again for a brand new prompt and this fortnight we belles are all about BELLS! You can interpret this eponymous challenge any way you'd like, as long as you put a bell on it!

Here's what we made:

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I'started with the chipboard bell, then looked everywhere for a pre-printed sticker or journal card that said "Jingle All the Way". I honestly can't believe I do not own such a thing. But if I do, it managed to entirely elude me. So instead I made do with alphabet letters and some flower stickers. All on top of a piece of ancient Basic Grey patterned paper which had the collage effect and faux polaroid right on it. I added a little stitching for texture and a couple of mats. Easy peasy.

Stephanie's Other Card

Stephanie says, "I searched my large paper stash and found this lovely Jingle Bells paper and built my card around it.  The focal image is a 3-D Gift Tag and I finished with a sentiment sticker using this week's Paper Players Sketch."

And now it's your turn to help us ring in this new challenge! Link your bell-bedecked cards here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, June 13th. keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:18:12.

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Tie a Holiday RIBBON Around the Christmas Tree

This fortnight we're "tying one on" Jingle Belles! By which we mean we'd like to see ribbon, lace, seam binding, fibers, ric rac, twine or any other trimmings you can think of-- and attach-- to your holiday cards!

Here's what we made:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I pulled out a vintage spool of Burlap Ribbon from my ribbon drawer (yes, I have an entire dresser drawer filled with ribbon spools) and attached it using wide double stick tape.  I used the sketch from Paper Craft Crew Challenges with a Penny Black Sticker, a gold sticker sentiment and some punched leaves.  The background was sprayed with Dylusions Post Box Red Spray before attaching all of my elements."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I've got two different sizes of scalloppy trimming that is meant to be misted or inked to match your project, but in this case I left it plain. I've also layered on some wide printed ribbon and velvet flower trim. My background is a page of pretty snowflakes from a vintage storybook, and the focal point is a beautiful vintage postcard that I scanned, reduced slightly and printed on semi-gloss photo paper."

Link your ribbony creations here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, May 30th. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:18:11.

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Oh Little *TOWN* of Bethlehem

Did you guess this week's theme from the title?  We're creating cards that feature BUILDINGS ... it could be a snow-covered house, a country church, or even a  bit city skyline.

We can't wait to see what buildings you incorporate into your holiday card designs.

Here is what we made:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I featured an iconic building (at least in Iowa) ... the house from Grant Wood's American Gothic (his work is currently being featured at the largest Grant Wood show at the Whitney Museum of Art) with a snowy twist of Snow People from Sparkle N Sprinkle.  I paired them with a vintage Hero Arts sentiment because those just seemed like the right words for those faces."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I used this Impression Obsession Small Cabin Die in a class at Paper Anthology last fall, and I've been using it ever since. It's got A LOT of tiny pieces... but then the dies with the most detail are the ones that look the most interesting on a card, don't you think? This time I've made a little wintery landscape on a label-shape to hold my sweet, snow-covered cabin, then mounted the whole thing on a neutral background of paper and washi tape. Easy, peasy!

Link up here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, May 16th. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:18:10.

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Peace on EARTH (Day)

It's one of our favorite prompts of the year at Jingle Belles ... when we celebrate EARTH Day (Sunday April 22nd officially) by creating cards using recycled elements.

(source)

Maybe you saved your holiday cards from last year planning to up-cycle the images ... or you've saved packaging that you thought would be cool to use ... you know we've all got a stash like that.  Well now is the time to break out your saved stuff and use it.

Here's what we created with our recycled elements.

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I've saved that cool grid paper (which was the packaging for some Studio Calico journaling cards) in my stash for quite a few years ... and I think it makes a super-cool background for this modern holiday design.  The inspiration and sketch are from Fusion Card Challenges and all the cardstock were scraps I had on my studio table (so that was recycling too).  I did my favorite gem flourish surgery to decorate my tree with clear bling and finished with a coordinating sticker sentiment."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "The center panel of this card is an amazingly pretty cardfront from one of the holiday greetings I was sent this year. I confess that using it felt a bit like cheating, but you know... in a GOOD way, lol! Because let's face it, that thing was already so pretty, it didn't need much, did it? It was flat, though, so I added texture in the form of fabric poinsettias in the middle of the printed one (attached with a jingle bell brad); I adorned some of the printed holly berries with sparkly red Eyelet Outlet gems. Then I matted the trimmed-down panel onto a piece of gold glitter paper, and then onto a mat cut from a piece of pretty, slightly glossy, cream-colored Making Memories packaging. Et voila!"

Now it's your turn to pull out your own box of things "too pretty to throw away"; OR raid your recycling bin or waste paper basket for fun bits of packaging and paper! Be as creative as you like, and HAVE FUN! Link up here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, May 2nd. Keyword for galleries or Flickr is JB:18:09.

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Hark the Herald Angels SING

As you might have guessed from the title of this week's prompt - Hark the Herald Angels SING - we're celebrating music this week ... it might be sheet music, music notes, or even musical instruments.

Here are our lyrical creations:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I used a few torn pages of vintage sheet music from my stash to create a collage background that I sponged with Evergreen Bough Distress Ink.  I cut my collage into three panels (you can see the other two cards & the collage on my blog).  I added a wrap of twine and three journaling cards as focal images ... and finished with a sticker sentiment."

Lauren says, "Be sure to click over to Stephanie's blog to see the collage and the other two cards! You will NOT be disappointed, I promise!"

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "You'll notice I made two cards. I've been trying to double up whenever possible this year, so that I'll wind up with a few more than 48 cards come December 1st. When I realized I had exactly twice as much as I needed of this Pebbles sheet music patterned paper, it seemed like a good idea to make two. Since I also have enough tags, stickers, badges and twine to make ALL of this year's cards (and then some, lol!) I had no trouble doubling the fun of this "lots of layers" design!"

And now it's your turn! Link your music-inspired creations here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, March 21st. keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:18:06.

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Have Yourself a Merry LITTLE Christmas

This week at Jingle Belles we're going LITTLE ... that means creating cards that feature INCHIES (1") or TWINCHIES (2").

Traditionally, we think of inchies or twinchies as squares, but you can use other shapes, like circles; or perhaps even snowflakes or small embellishments.  You might contain your entire image within the *Inch* ... or perhaps break a single holiday image into smaller shapes ... just get creative and go LITTLE. Need more inspiration? There are soooooo many great ideas on Pinterest!

Here are our LITTLE creations for the week:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I found a sheet of these black & white inchie circles hiding in my stash ... I think they were intended to go into bottle caps, but they also work perfectly as the focal image for my card.  I punched the circles and then edged them with a black Sharpie to give a solid border.  The background is text printed on Yupo paper that we used for as a transfer for Gel Press printing in one of my classes at Creativation.  I recycled the texty print by covering it with splashes of alcohol ink."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I went with twinchies and I basically cheated. I mention this, because if you have any of the fab papers out there with two-inch mini journaling cards on them, you can, too! This particular sheet is from American Crafts, but I also have one by Simple Stories and I know there are others! In this case, the colors and motifs went really well with a bunch of different Eyelet Outlet holiday brads, so I've worked in a Poinsettia, a Candy Cane and a sweet Cardinal. I've used this week's awesome Sketch Saturday for my layout."

So break out those tiny stamps, stickers, and embellishments and show us all of the *little* ways you can get creative with your holiday designs.  Link-up your card by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, March 7th.  The keyword for galleries and our Flickr Gallery is JB:18:05.   

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A-Coloring* We Will Go

Description:This fortnight we are delighted to have one of our favorite, long-time Jingle Belles-- Marianne of Marianne's Cards 'n Stuff-- designing along with us. She's thought up a brilliant prompt to inspire us all: for "A-Coloring We Will Go" we'd like you to create a holiday card that incorporates any type of coloring medium: markers, pencils, crayons, inks, watercolor, etc; in any way you want, whether that's coloring stamped images, creating fun backgrounds or getting as creative as you'd like!

Before we show off our own cards, let's meet Marianne and bid her welcome!

"Hi everyone, I'm thrilled to be making a guest appearance at the Jingle Belles blog this fortnight. I'm a Dutch native living in Crete, Greece, who loves creating Christmas cards and intends to do more colouring this year. That is why I approached Lauren and Stephanie to ask them if we could go a-coloring together some time. The idea for this fortnight's prompt originated quite a while back, when Lauren and Stephanie were inviting us to come a-caroling. This idea resurfaced when I was thinking of my crafty goals for 2018. So how about it? Will you come a-coloring with us?"

Here's what we made this week:

Marianne's Card

Marianne says, "I started with this sweet image that I had originally watercoloured using Tombow markers. I used coloured pencils to add a little shading. For my background, I masked off an area, blended some distress inks and finished off with some splatters and a little snow."

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I did my coloring with a blue Gelato directly on the rubber of this Snowy Scene Stamp from Hero Arts.  I lightly spritzed with water and stamped it on watercolor paper.  I trimmed and added a sentiment from Essentials by Ellen Modern Christmas.  The piece along the bottom was created with another type of abstract *coloring* ... splattering alcohol inks on texty printed Yupo paper.  I also *colored* with a Nuvo Glitter Marker pen by dotting it in the night sky to create glittery silver stars.  Click through to my blog if you want to see a second version using the same techniques."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I think everyone knows that my favorite coloring medium is watercoloring with ColorBurst Pigment Powders from Ken Oliver Crafts. In this case I've combined some of my favorite blues (Indigo, Turquoise and Cerulean, to be specific) on a piece of watercolor paper and trimmed bauble shapes from the result. After they were completely dry, I used stencils to add plain white modelling paste to the larger ornament, and a glittery embossing paste to the smaller; when that was dry I brushed a little bit of Platinum Mineral Burst on top for a shimmery effect that I haven't quite captured in the photo (but it's really cool IRL!)" 

Link your gorgeous "COLORING" masterpieces right here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, February 21st. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:18:04.

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*or possibly, A-Colouring! ♥

Baby it's GOLD (or SILVER or COPPER) Outside

Our final prompt for 2017 at Jingle Belles we're featuring all of those precious metals ... making a card that focuses on metallics - GOLD, SILVER, COPPER or any other Metal you might have in your stash.

Here's how we got our *shine* on this week:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "My card features an almost-discarded piece of inky paper (see the before picture on my blog) that was transformed with silver glitter paste and a polka dot stencil together with Silver Metallic Shelf Paper that I found at the hardware store (always keep your eyes peeled for potential crafting supplies).  It's so easy to work with, and it really SHINES."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I've gone for the gold this week; or rather the golds, plural, since there are five different metallics on my card! A fact I was very excited about, until I tried to get a decent photograph. So please excuse the funky angle of my pic, but honestly, life's too short you guys! My card combines glossy metallic patterned paper, storebought glitter cardstock, some awesome Eyelet Outlet Glitter Tape and even a couple of gold on gold giftwraps that I saved from last year's presents; because there's no such thing as too much sparkle on holiday cards, am I right?!"

Link your creations here by Wednesday, December 6th at 6pm (EST). Codeword for galleries and Flickr is JB:17:24.

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THANKful for the Holidays

With just two more official prompts left, we're getting close to the end of our ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ year. So this is a great time to take stock of how many cards you've completed, go back and add sentiments inside the cards if you haven't already, make sure they all have envelopes, etc. Being as we're coming up on Thanksgiving here in the US, it's also a good time to think about the cards we're all going to need after the holiday... so this fortnight we're making thank you cards!

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I spent the day looking for a stamp set I misplaced (never did find it), but I did find a set of glittery holiday tags & some Thank You stickers that I'd forgotten I had ... and they were both perfect for this week's card.  I added a Peppermint Candy brad from Eyelet Outlet and used this week's Sketch Saturday layout.  I created a second tag card on my blog."

Lauren's Cards

Lauren says, "Shocking true confession: There's never been a year in which I didn't need at least one or two extra cards at the very last minute; usually because someone I wasn't expecting kindly sent me a beautiful handmade card! On the other hand, I'm not a cardmaker who always likes to put a sentiment on the outside. By now I think you may have guessed what I am getting at here, right?  The cards you see above are the right tone to be thank you notes. They will almost certainly be thank you notes. But I haven't put a sentiment on the outside or the inside yet... just in case I need a couple more holiday cards at the last minute. It's called "hedging your bets" lol, and you are welcome to join me in this strategy this fortnight!" 

Link your creations here by Wednesday, November 22nd at 6pm (EST). Codeword for galleries and Flickr is JB:17:23.

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Not a CREATURE was stirring

This week at Jingle Belles we're breaking out the ANIMALS.

It could be a sweet little sheep next to the manger, a cardinal in a snowy tree, or perhaps one of Santa's reindeer ... okay, or even a Monster (or a Yeti) if you're in a Halloween mood and want to stretch the theme (and your name is Lauren).

Here are our Creatures for this week.

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I couldn't wait to break out my Coolest Yulest Stamp set with this adorable reindeer.  I also used a page from a tiny dictionary (with the word reindeer) that I found at a used bookstore on my recent travels.  Rudolph does have a red gem nose, although it's a bit hard to see in the picture."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "My name *IS* Lauren, lol, so YES... of course... I've got MONSTAS! :) :) :) These guys are sporting some pretty fab accessories, too! all of which are Eyelet Outlet brads. I managed to work in quite a few styles, including Santa Hats, Elf Hats, Mittens, Antlers, Holly and a Candy Cane, woohoo!"

We can't wait to see the entire herd & gaggle of creatures and critters in the gallery.

Link up here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, November 8th. Keyword for galleries and Jingle Belles Flickr Gallery is JB:17:22. 

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Deck the Halls... in ♥PINK♥!

We are still rockin' ♥PINK CHRISTMAS♥ for a very good cause! So whether you like rose or fuchsia, salmon or flamingo, magenta or bubblegum... or heck, maybe you love ALL of those, in which case grab your cardmaking supplies and link up as many times as you'd like, on the post directly below this one!

Here's what we made this week:

Lauren's Other Card

Lauren says, "In honor of such an awesome occasion, I broke out one of my last treasured scraps of they-don't make-this-anymore Papaya Art glitter giftwrap, not to mention some washi, a little ribbon, a big poinsettia, a snowflake glitter sticker and a big beautiful Eyelet Outlet pearl brad. I also got to play with some cool new Ranger cardstock that is metallic on one side and and kraft on the other, which I embossed and sanded a bit sporadically. My layout was inspired by the current Sketch Saturday, but the finished card is admittedly a very loose interpretation."

Stephanie's Other Card

Stephanie says, "I had lots of fun with Alcohol Inks and Yupo paper this week.  I combined four shades of pink ink with a little yellow, purple and blue to create my background.  I die cut the ornaments in black and then the next smaller size from pink inky paper for the insides.  I decorated them with some Eyelet Outlet bling."

Whether you're in the mood for making cards with loads of lovely pre-made products OR you'd prefer to experiment with inks... (or stamps, or oxides, or marbling, or collage, or well, ANYTHING you can think of, lol!) ...add in some PINK and come join our fun and help us raise some money for a very good cause! ♥♥♥

♥ Pink Christmas... for the Cure! ♥

If you've played along with us in other years, you may already know we always devote the first ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ theme of each October to making pink holiday cards as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and that for each card that gets linked up, we each donate two dollars to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. There are really no rules for this challenge other than the fact that each card has to be newly made, it has to have a winter holiday theme and it has to feature PINK prominently. Does your whole card have to be pink? Certainly not. Can you combine other colors with the pink? Of course! Should you have more pink than say two or three baubles on your green tree set against a snowy white background? Well, yeah... that'd be good. :) But other than that, we'll leave it to you to decide how much pink, what shade, and how to employ it!

We're not generally huge on self-promotion around here, but this cause is near and dear to our hearts and we'd love to get GREAT participation, so be sure to tell all your cardmaking friends, and feel free to share the graphic and our link on your blog or social media.

But now let's get right to the cardmaking! Here's what we've made this week:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says,"I started with this fun Christmas Kitty Stamp from Technique Junkies and colored his hat & nose with a combination of pink markers.  The sentiment stamp is a favorite from CatsLife Press (which seemed appropriate).  The reminder of the card was made using paper scraps from my stash, including the vertical border that was recycled from a mother's day card."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I've gone with a bunch of shades of pink, from cerise to salmon to the soft pastel shade my sister calls, "sky blue pink", but I've added in white and cream in lots of lovely torn layers. The flowery chipboard letters are definitely "older stash" but I still really like them and I was pretty psyched that I had enough to make a seasonal sentiment! The rest of the card is older bits of paper, including some of my favorite Basic Grey grungy solids, a bit of washi, a bit of doily and a little machine stitching. In other words: all my favorite things in honor of my favorite challenge!"

You can link up as many ♥PINK♥ holiday cards as you'd like, and yes, you can put pics of more than one design into the same blog post... we will be sure to count the multiples! Link up here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, October 25th. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:17:21. ♥

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Embossing Around the Christmas Tree

This week we're celebrating the creative art of Embossing ... dry embossing, heat embossing, or even textured or embossed papers ... whatever you can do to add a little texture to your holiday project. 

Here is how we embossed this week:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I tried embossing one of my Gelli Prints with a Darice Fancy Snowflakes embossing folder, and the results were pretty much lost in the pattern of the background.  Next I tried applying Lawn Fawn Blue Jay ink direct-to-paper and the embossed texture came to life.  I love the results.  Sentiment is from The Ton Holiday Lyrics and Flower Bling that is new from Eyelet Outlet (I thought the shape echoed the snowflakes in the background)."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I confess that although I have plenty of beautiful embossing folders, I tend to forget all about them until there is a specific challenge that involves embossing, lol. Luckily, this one gave me a chance to use one of my favorite snowflake folders, on watercolor paper, then dry blend gelato crayons onto the raised snowflake areas. I've also used some beautiful hand-dyed crinkly ribbon that for some reason looks terribly odd and a bit grimey in the photo, but is quite lovely IRL. Meanwhile, my layout is based on the awesome current (#482) Sketch Saturday."

Of course we cannot wait to see what you will make! Link up here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, October 11th. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:17:20.

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Christmas Tic-Tac-Toe

Yes, it's that time again, when we bust out the ever popular holiday Tic-Tac-Toe game and invite you to pick a row, a column, or a diagonal; then make a card using those three things and link it up! 

Here's what we made this week:

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I chose the left hand column, "red... glitter... santa". The red is pretty visible, and the Santa element is on that sweet Eyelet Outlet Santa and Snowman washi tape. Admittedly the glitter is a little hard to see, but the Doodlebug snowman and some of the the snowflakes are glittery stickers. I mention this because I know some people do not enjoy having loose glitter in their homes, and these are a great "work around". As are Eyelet Outlet glitter washi tapes and American Crafts "POW" glitter papers; both of which also diecut beautifully!"

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I usually avoid glitter like the plague, but this week I built my card around it ... I used Bo Bunny Silver Glitter Paste with my ARTplorations Oh My Stars! Stencil on black cardstock for my background.  I went with the left column too with Red & Santa as my other two Tic-Tac-Toe elements (I always find it awesome when Lauren & I use the same inspiration, but get such different results) and threw in some deconstructed Eyelet Outlet Red Swirl gem bling & glittery red wired ribbon as finishing touches."

Of course we cannot wait to see what you will make, so choose any consecutive strip and start creating! Link up here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, September 27th. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:17:19.

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PEACE on Earth

I'm always seeking peace in one way or another ... peace of mind, peace & quiet ... and Peace on Earth.
Our next prompt is to incorporate a Peace Symbol or the word Peace into your design ... or create a card that evokes Peace for you (snow, forest, etc.)

Here are our PEACEful creations.

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "This was the perfect opportunity to ink-up the new Stampin' Up set Carols of Christmas set (that I was able to buy early as a Demonstrator ... it will be available soon).  I used my MISTI to stamp the sentiment four times using two differing shades of Navy ink to get the deep blue solid color I wanted.  The background is Simon Says Stamp Falling Stars Craft Die layered over silver glitter paper.  I added a pop of red with the paper banner to finish the design."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I was headed in a completely different direction when i re-discovered my stash of colorful Eyelet Outlet peace sign brads which for some reason, seemed to me to go PERFECTLY with this fun Doodlebug Santa on a scooter, lol. My layout was inspired by this awesome "road map" from Tuesday Morning Sketches:"

So break-out those PEACE-ful images and show us your creations.  Link-up here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, August 16th.  Keyword for galleries & our JB flickr Gallery is JB:17:16
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Snowflakes Hanging on an Open Fireplace

This week we're bringing you some vibrant Fireplace Inspiration to inspire your design.

Maybe you'll be inspired by the fireplace itself or the vibrant color palette ... or perhaps the white silhouettes against a bright blue background ... or maybe even the firewood or cute little doggie.  Whatever inspires you, we want to see it.

Here's how we interpreted the inspiration:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I may have gone a bit overboard with incorporating elements from the design including firewood, the rich color palette, snowflakes, and even a cute little dog (courtesy of Doodlebug's Polar Pals).  Layout is from Try Stampin' - or Not - on Tuesday."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "Meanwhile, my focus is very general, I've basically just used the palette and the sparkly snowflakes! My background was created using ColorBurst pigment powders in Cerulean, Ultramarine and Indigo; I've added snowflakes via stencilled copper embossing paste, with glitter paper punches and diecuts on top. Finally, a few sparkly Eyelet Outlet Jewel Brads and Gems notch up the glam factor!"

Link-up by Wednesday, July 19th at 6pm (EST). Keyword for galleries or our Flickr Gallery is JB:17:14.

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Pinstripes & Super Novas

We are still celebrating holiday cards that feature stars or stripes or both and you still have time to join the fun, which we hope you will! Meanwhile, here's what we made this week:

Stephanie's Other Card

Stephanie says, "Every year I manage to make at least one card and when I'm finished I say *Who on earth am I going to send that one too?* ... I combined some patriotic designer paper (combining both Stars & Stripes) with Lawn Fawn's Winter Unicorn ( for some reason, the lighting made my white iridescent sequins look pink in the photo)"

(I think you'll find, Miss Stephanie, that the answer to your question is *Lauren* lol!!!!!!) :) :) :)

Lauren's Unicorn-less and Thus Not Nearly As Awesome Other Card

Lauren says, "I made as cute a card as was humanly possible without a unicorn, having discovered a couple of Basic Grey dimensional felt stickers that i *think* may have been brought to this country on The Mayflower, lol. Ok, maybe they are not quite as old as that, but they're pretty old. They're still flippin' adorable though, imo, and thanks to an awesome sketch (PP350) from the Paper Players i knew exactly how to use them!" 

 Scroll down to the original post for complete details and to link up your own masterpiece!

Sketch-O-Licious

This fortnight we have an extra-fab challenge, thanks to our resident Sketch Mistress, Stephanie, who has whipped up an especially lovely sketch to inspire us:

Feel free to rotate or flip the sketch, use different shapes, play with the proportions or otherwise make it your own; as long as we can see "the bones".

Here are our sketch cards:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I created my sketch card using a sheet of puffy snowman stickers on a teal glitter background ... so much fun."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "Clearly I'm still a little bit stuck on the Bling theme from last fortnight, so there's a lot of sparkly white, silver and gold on my card! I've compressed the sketch a bit to fit my square card, so I've staggered a few of the shapes horizontally, but otherwise, I've done a pretty straightforward version of the sketch... Well heck, that's the best thing about a great sketch, it saves you time and energy, right?!"

Stephanie, who is a Stampin' Up demonstrator (e-mail her if you'd like to place an order), also has a fun little present for one lucky, randomly drawn cardmaker who links up with us this week. It's a brand new --but retired-- Stampin' Up set of sentiments - SUITE SEASONS - that can be used for a variety of occasions, including Christmas:

To be eligible to win, just link up one or more sketch cards right here, before 6pm (EST) on Wednesday,  April 12th. Keyword for galleries or Flickr is JB:17:07.

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Let the Flakes Fall Where They May

We've got a brand new prompt at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ this week, suggested by our lovely guest star, Leslie Turner, who is the owner and hostess of the Love To Scrap Challenge Blog and the Love To Craft Challenge Blog as well as a design team member at House of Cards and Let's Craft and Create! We were thrilled when this very busy lady wrote in and suggested such a cool (sorry, for once the pun was unintentional!) challenge idea, so let's let her say hello and explain this fortnight's theme:

 Hi everyone! I'm Leslie and super stoked to be guesting for Jingle Belles this fortnight. My theme is Let The Flakes Fall Where They May and my challenge to all you Christmas crafters is to create a project that includes snow... snowflakes, snowmen or a snowy landscape! I chose this theme because of very wishful thinking. This winter we've had to run the air conditioning several times here in north Florida! That's not what I'd call winter, lol! 

Here at Jingle Belles, we kind of prefer our snow on holiday cards rather than our local roads, and are just slightly jealous of a "winter" that needs air conditioning; but we're thrilled that Leslie is joining us, and she's made an amazing card, so let's get right to that: 

Leslie's Card

Leslie says, "My opening project is a twisted gate fold. I am a fancy fold fanatic and when I found this fold on the web, I just HAD to make one! I absolutely love the super easy construction that packs a powerful punch, and using the cool snowflake papers and snowflake sequins was an added bonus! Please see my blog post at Love To Scrap 2 for more details and photos. We can't wait to see what you create!"

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I went with the traditional snow colors of Merlot and Copper. obviously. :) Ok, so, it's not a traditional card in any sense of the word. But i found two funky panels leftover from experiments involving Color Burst pigment powder, stencils, gesso and Dreamweaver's luscious copper embossing paste, and one of my crazier card ideas was born. I even think I already know to whom I will send this card, so I feel especially prepared and "ahead" of the Xmas rush this week!"

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I started with an embossed piece of acetate that reminded me of the way the ice breaks when you step on a frozen puddle.  After that I layered on the snowflakes ... clear stickers and lots of layered felt snowflakes topped with icy blue Eyelet Outlet Round Jewels."

So now it's your turn to break out those snowman stickers, snowscape stamps and snowflake dies and compose a holiday masterpiece that shows the snows! Link up here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, February 15th. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:17:03.

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