Shopping Our (Jingly!) Stash!

Long-time readers are probably aware that in addition to ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ Lauren also makes cards each week at Shopping Our Stash, where the crafty mission is to re-discover and creatively use the neglected or forgotten older supplies we already own. You may also remember that last year our two blogs teamed up for a super-fun "Christmas in July" event. So fun, in fact that we're doing it again... though not the July part, obviously. :)

Would you like to make one card and get two link-ups, plus a chance at two lovely prizes?! We thought you might! Can you predict what we're going to ask for? We bet you can! The Jingle Belles part is to make a brand new holiday card, of course; the SOS part is to use something from your stash that is at least a year old and be sure to tell us what that item is, so we can marvel at how cleverly you've used it!

In addition to all the other "twos" this fortnight, we've got gorgeous and inspirational cards on both blogs, so be sure to check out what Barbara, Chris, Donna and Stephanie have done over at Shopping Our Stash. Meanwhile here are the rest of our design team cards:

Leslie's Card

Click through to Leslie's blog, "The Crooked Stamper" to find out what her stash items are!

Deena's Card

Click through to Deena's blog,  "A Deena Card" to find out what her stash items are!

Jessi's Card

Click through to Jessi's blog, "One Crafty Mama" to find out what her stash items are!

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "Since Stephanie and I got to spend some crafty time together last week, we decided to add a little *extra* level of challenge to our own cards by using the same stamp. This Christmas tree qualifies as senior stash, since it's from D.O.T.S. --a company that's been gone for at least a decade! For my card I decided to stamp it on several different scraps of green paper, then piece them all back together. When my tree didn't quite fill up the green panel, it occurred to me I could stretch it a bit by stamping and cutting out a few extra layers, which I think worked pretty well. I used Sweet Sunday Sketch #285 to guide my layout."

You may recall that we mentioned *prizes*? Be sure to check out SOS for the details of that one; meanwhile here at Jingle Belles one randomly chosen card-maker who links up with us this fortnight will win this little bunch of (appropriately) brand-new-but-older goodies from the prize box:

Now it's time to search through your stash, find something that's at least a year old... (though we bet you can find something reallllllllly elderly if you put your mind to it!!!) ...and use it to make a brand new holiday card. Link it up here and at Shopping Our Stash before 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, September 23rd. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:15:19.

An InLinkz Link-up

We're the Winners!

Every time we challenge you ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ the prize is seeing how wonderfully you will rise to the occasion, and this fortnight was no exception. Here are a few cards we thought had particularly winning ways:

Brenda of Brenda's Scrappy Blog

...placed silver glitter paper behind snowflakes diecut into her card, then added green stamping for sentiments on a card that delights in every possible way! (*WHY* did we never think of this, eh?!)

Hansi Brittain of Quilting With Paper

...made three versions of a supremely elegant card in which bling centers adorn perfectly diecut flakes of snow! (It was hard to choose only one, so be sure to check out the others on her blog!)

Barb Housner of Paper Therapy Ponderings

...layered a fabulous vintage Santa diecut (note the cool two-fer!) on a gorgeous combination of distressed paper layers and accented with gold stamping and enamel dots. What else could you need in a holiday card? 

(Hint: not a single thing!)

Many thanks to all who took part, as usual, the gallery was full of nothing but winners!!! We'll be back at midnight with a brand new challenge, some especially lovely guest stars, and the chance at a prize or two. Hope to see you then!

Tic-Tac... Two?

We're in the second week of  our fun holiday card Tic-Tac-Toe game and we'd love for you to join us in another round of cards based on this board:

Here's what we made this week:

Lauren's Other Card

Lauren says, "I went with the middle horizontal row this time, so I had Brads + Diecut+ Ribbon to work with. The ribbon is kind of buried, but I *think* you can see it, it's blue grosgrain with  snowflakes on it. It's partially hidden by my two diecuts, the sparkly "peace" sentiment (by Impression Obsession) and the suuuuuuper-skinny snowflake border (by Memory Box). Finally there's a big honkin' snowflake brad that came from Oriental Trading, quite some time ago... but I still really like the big impact it makes!"

Stephanie's Other Card

Stephanie says, "I used the middle vertical row - Bling+Diecut+Snow. I used my new Poppy Stamps Frozen Flakes on silver glitter paper with lots of tiny blue bling.  I added a silver doily and a sentiment from Clearly Besotted for relatively CAS Blue design (we never see what the other one is making before we create the post ... so I love how we're both blue & silver this week)."

Remember, you have until 6pm EST on Wednesday, September 9th to link-up your design.

Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe

This fortnight, we're playing Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe, which is kind of like "Beach Blanket Bingo"... but Christmassy... and with a lot more embellishments! ;) We'd love for you to join us; all you have to do is pick a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) and create a lovely new holiday card featuring all three elements in that row. There are *lots* of possibilities, so let's get started!

Here's how we scored this week:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "I went with the line straight across the top ... Santa, Bling & Stamping.  I stamped three different Tim Holtz Santas using a combination of Fired Brick, Festive Berry and Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  I added circles of bling to highlight the Santa face in each design.  The layout is this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "I went with the center vertical column: Bling, Die Cuts, Snow, because... BLING!!! :) I've fulfilled those criteria with a rhinestone flourish, the use of a large Spellbinders' snowflake die, and a snowy-themed Anna Aspnes digital overlay printed on an inkjet transparency. I've used The Paper Players' PP259 sketch to guide my layout."

And now it's your turn! Link up your gorgeous Tic-Tac-Toe creations right here before 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, September 9th. Keyword for galleries or Flickr is JB:15:18.

An InLinkz Link-up

Priority Mail

Lots of cool postage-based awesomeness in the "Special Delivery" gallery! Many thanks to everyone who shared their inspired-- and inspiring-- holiday cards with us! Here are a few we especially loved:

Deborah Frings of Deborah's Gems

... beautifully colored a super-cute bear image and framed it in stacked postage-edged mats; those soft colors really make this particular gem stand out!

Diane of Lydia's Post

...totally *rocked* the vintage vibe with this gorgeous postcard and all the right trimmings!

Robyn Oliver of Waterlily Cards

...made several very cool cards featuring real stamps she has (cleverly!) saved from Christmas past; this one-- with a b+w background that allows the colorful postage to shine-- just miiiiiight be our favorite!

We'll be back at midnight with some brand new holiday fun and games we hope will inspire you! ♥

Going Postal

We're still celebrating all things postal this week.  That means we're making cards that include faux or real  postage or postal images (mailboxes, postcards, stamps, etc).  Another option is to create a holiday postcard or make a holiday card with a matching decorated envelope.

Here's what we created this week:

Lauren's Other Card

Lauren says, "I started out with a totally different idea in mind, but when I found the fabulous postal cancellation paper in Pebbles' "Home for Christmas" collection, my card instantly morphed into something else entirely. (For the record, I kinda love it when that happens!) :) I was inspired by Retrosketch #177, though again, despite every intention of being quite faithful to the sketch, my finished card is a bit of a loose version. (But hopefully in a good way, lol.)"

Stephanie's Other Card

Stephanie says, "I broke out my postage stamp die cuts this week and created my own postage stamp ... wouldn't you buy Christmas stamps featuring Rudolph the Red Nose Christmas Owl? ... I would.*"

Make sure you link-up your cards by by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, August 26th. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:15:17.

*For the record, I (Lauren) would be first in line at the Post Office on the day these went on sale! ♥♥♥

Special Delivery

What do we do with all of those holiday cards we make?  If you're like us, a large number of them get sent through the mail.  So this week we're celebrating all things POSTAL.

That means we're making cards that include faux or real  postage or postal images (mailboxes, postcards, stamps, etc).  Another option is to create a holiday postcard or make a holiday card with a matching decorated envelope.

Here's what we created:

Stephanie's Card

Stephanie says, "Since my husband is a postal carrier, I find myself collecting postal images.  I centered this card around Rudolph the Red Nosed Mail Deer using the USPS colors and this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch."

Lauren's Card

Lauren says, "One of the very first digital items I ever bought was a set of Katie Pertiet's 'Christmas Postcard Journalers' and I have used the heck out of those things. As the name suggests, they're perfect for journaling, but I also like them as package tags, as address labels, and... especially... as the centerpiece of a postal-themed holiday card!"

Link up your perfectly "Postal" creations right here by 6pm (EST) on Wednesday, August 26th. Keyword for galleries and Flickr is JB:15:17.

An InLinkz Link-up