SOS539: Glitter Me Happy

All that glitters... is welcome on a card for our new challenge at Shopping Our Stash! You can use loose glitter, Stickles or Stickles Glitter Gels, glitter glue, wink of Stella pens, shimmer pens, glitter paper... the choice is yours! I've used two of the above, can you guess which ones?

I made a background using one of my all-time favorite combinations: Stickles Glitter Gel in Galaxy with Simon Hurley's Grand Greenery Stencil on deep (DEEP) Matte Black Alcohol Ink Cardstock from Ranger. You can see how very very sparkly it is, even in the photo, which has probably only captured about 60% of its glitteriness. Those thin chipboard butterfly stickers are from the big box store and super-duper stashy: the last two in the pack and I bet they are ten years old? I used a sheet of DCWV black glitter paper as a lower layer; I originally had just a black cardbase, but I realized pretty quickly that since the butterflies had a thin outline of white I had better add a bit more white; which I did in the form of the cardbase and the layer directly under the design panel. The cardstock sentiment strip is from an older pack by Paper Rose Studio, and was the perfect finishing touch to my 5x6" card. 

Check out the SOS Crew's fabulously sparkly inspiration, then start planning what you'll link up with us this time. SOS539: Glitter Me Happy runs until the evening of Monday, January 27th.

Dylusions Dyamond Board Ornaments

Just in time for the holidays, Dyan Reaveley has designed Dylusions Dyamond Boards in festive shapes like baubles, stars and trees; available in two sizes for extra variety. Perfect for making garlands, place settings, gift tags and more. Follow along on the Ranger Project Tutorials Page as I decorate them with Letter It stamps and stencils, Ranger Archival Inks and Stickles Glitter Gels to create super-colorful multi-layer Christmas tree ornaments...

...which also make awesome package decorations or name tags!

I cannot tell a lie: I really LOVE this project; I hope you'll check it out! ♥

Give Thanks

It's a week before Thanksgiving, but there's still time to send out some quick, easy cards! This super-simple CAS design features Eyelet Outlet Leaf and Mini Leaf Brads layered over stenciled leaves in fall colors. The background and diecut sentiment are made from beautifully neutral Nature Washi Tape. Change up the sentiment and this design could be used for literally ANY autumnal occasion.

Speaking of stencils: Did you know that you can easily make your own custom stencils using ANY simple craft dies you love? In this case, I've taken the three sizes of leaves from the Essential Envelope Die Set in Wendy Vecchi's NOT Your Ordinary Card Collection from Spellbinders and blended my favorite fall shades of Wendy's Archival colors from Ranger through them before adding the Leaf Brads and a simple sentiment. Job done! I made my stencils from glossy cardstock which is pretty sturdy; but to make them last forever cut the shapes out of stencil plastic. Don't forget to leave a bit of distance around each shape so that you have room to blend without accidentally getting stray ink on other areas of your project.

 

Visit the Eyelet Outlet Store today for brads and tapes that'll work perfectly for EVERY season of your cardmaking year; and check out all of Wendy Vecchi's awesome designs from Spellbinders.

SOS535: Masculine Cards

It is a fact, universally acknowledged, that Guy Cards are harder to make than Girl Cards. Or at least many cardmakers (including ME!) think so. So this fortnight at Shopping Our Stash we're challenging you to make a masculine card for any occasion you'd like, I needed a birthday card, so that's what I made.

One of my additional goals on this outing was to combine an inky stamped/stenciled background with collage elements. Because I've noticed that I either do ALL collage or all inky goodness; and I quite like the way other people (including my current Art Crush Katie Pertiet) put them together. I've used a bunch of neglected stash items on this one including Simon Hurley's Leaf Prints stamps (about a year old) and Handwritten background (maybe two years); Letter It's Alternating Chevrons stencil (maybe three years); some 49 and Market Acetate Leaves and Vellum Leaf Stickers (two years?); lots of vintage sheet music, book paper, a chart from a map and some fab trading stamps, plus a vintage car illustration; and possibly my all-time favorite crafting supply that ISN'T technically a craft supply: Drywall Tape! The sentiment is part rub-on transfer and part wordfetti sticker... the latter is five or six years old. I'm a little bit proud that I managed to squeeze alllllllllllllllll of that onto an A6 card and I still left some white showing in the background.

SOS's Masculine Challenge runs through Monday evening, December 2nd. Check out the fab makes by our Crew at Shopping Our Stash then start planning what you'll link up with us!

Halloween Treat Bags

Halloween is just around the corner and what could be more seasonally appropriate than some "boo-tiful" little treat bags. There's a complete step by step tutorial showing how I made some on the Ranger Project Page, using Ranger Archival Inks, Transparent Gloss Texture Paste and Liquid Pearls; I'd love for you to pop over and take a look!

It's a Manhole Cover Mandala Monday?

Yes! Well, sort of. Today's pair of mandala cards were built around a piece of carstock I had used to blot off one of the fun geometric Dina Wakley Coaster Stencils I used for my Ranger Liquid Pearls Tutorial last month, and though the shimmery, glittery pattern was not perfect, it was too pretty to throw away, so I decided to draw on top of it with my Letter It Fineliners. Then I smooshed some Archival Ink on top (Aubergine and Beach Cruiser, diluted with a spritz of rubbing alcohol) and finally I double matted both cards and sewed around the edges.

Liquid Pearls + Archival Inks + Stencils = Colorful Joy

Ranger's Liquid Pearls are super-versatile and add extra shimmer and dimension to any project and (as my title implies) they work really well in conjunction with stencils... a bunch of which I've used to make a trio of colorful encouragement cards. Follow along, via my step-by-step tutorial, on the Ranger Project Page.

Mandala Monday: Painting With Archival Inks

It's a Marvelously Modular Mandala Monday featuring three of my favorite new Ranger Archival shades... Aubergine, Beach Cruiser and Mountain Lake. I painted one large mandala using my Archival Reinkers and a waterbrush filled with rubbing alcohol; added random patterns with Dina Wakley Coaster Stencils; did some outlining with Letter It Fineliners; used the leftover diluted ink to add splatters galore; et voila!

Did you know that you can use Archival Inks do many of your favorite waterbased ink techniques, including paint with them? The secret is to use 91% Isopropyl Alcohol instead of water; because, of course, Ranger Archivals are alcohol-based. If you "smoosh" an Archival Ink Pad onto your craft sheet or dispense a few drops from a Reinker plus a few drops of alcohol onto a plastic-coated paper plate, you can then pick up the result with a brush. Please note that Archival Inks ARE permanent, but they do clean off of your craft mat with Alcohol Wipes. If you take the same precautions from staining as you do when using Alcohol Inks, you'll be fine!

After I finished the one big mandala, I sliced it into four ATC-sized quarters, added a few color-coordinated mats and made them into four A2 cards. 

I hope your second week of April is off to a nice start and that you find time to do something creative today!

PS: You still have until this Wednesday (4/10/24) to visit SCT Magazine's New & Noteworthy feature on the new Ranger Archival shades and leave a comment on their post for a chance to win ALL the new colors (& coordinating Stickles) plus a $50 Ranger Giftcard!

BLING It On!

We're heading into our second week of our super-sparkly BLING-centric theme at Jingle Belles and you're invited to join us. Just make a brand new holiday card that has some jewels, gems, pearls, stickles, glitter paper or any other sparkly element and link it up with us for a chance at a fun little random prize.

I applied Izink Diamond Glitter Paint (in a luscious shade called Rose Foudre) through an older TCW snowflake stencil, let it dry, then matted it on white Non-Shed Glitter Paper, I added multiple fussycut layers of a snowflake-looking Stamplistic Mandala stamp, each of which I had embossed with a different Ranger Embossing Powder (Love Letter, Gold Tinsel, Pink Tinsel and Copper, to be precise) and then I stacked up and adorned with sticky-back rhinestones.

Be sure to visit Jingle Belles to see the Readers' Gallery and of course Stephanie's beautiful card; then start planning your own sparkly, BLING-y masterpiece!

NEW Ranger Archival Colors!

Today at Ranger we're celebrating the debut of SIX gorgeous new Archival Ink Colors: Wine Cellar  (a deep rich red); Cayenne (a medium-hued red with orange undertones); Beach Cruiser and Mountain Lake (two lovely medium blues that go with everything); Aubergine (a gorgeous purple that perfectly splits the difference between red- and blue-toned); and Graphite (perhaps the most beautiful and useful shade of grey EVER?!) Oh and did I mention that not only are there Ranger Archival Reinkers for all of the above, there are coordinating Stickles for each shade, as well!

I'm up on the Ranger Project Page with my first make to feature these fantastic new shades; it's a card on which I've white-embossed Simon Hurley's Bitty Botanicals background, then used Simon's The Loo! stencil on top, to make a very detailed multi-color ombre tile effect... with accents of glittery Stickles, of course! I'd love for you to jump over there and read all about it.

Stickles Glitter Gel Grand Greenery Greeting by Lauren Bergold

Here's a shocking true confession: Until recently, I had somehow never used Stickles Glitter Gels; but I'm making up for lost time, because now I'm OBSESSED with their glorious glittery goodness. Today I'm up on the Ranger Project Page showing how crisply they apply through a stencil, how beautifully they coordinate with Ranger's Archival Ink color palette, and how wonderfully dramatic the different sizes and shapes of glitter look on the finished project, a card I made featuring Simon Hurley's beautiful Grand Greenery Stencil and luscious Watercolor Flowers Stamp Set. Hop over to Ranger to read all about it!

Trading Hearts Layered Embossing Cards

There's a pair of bear pairs on the Ranger Product Page today, celebrating the fact that, here in the Northern Hemisphere, Valentine's Day is a winter holiday. Though, for that matter, in places where polar bears live, Easter is also a winter holiday... and sometimes Memorial Day, too! Luckily, there are FIVE different Ranger Embossing Powders in play here (Blue, Green, Turquoise, Snowflake Tinsel and Black) and all that heat gun action is bound to warm it up a bit, right? Stamps from Simon Hurley create Winter Woodland set; layering stencils from the Dazzling Diamond and Winter Scene Maker sets. Archival Inks in Seafarer, Emerald and Jet Black also play a part. Hop over to the full post for step-by-step details!

The Blues Are Still Blue*

Central New Jersey continues to be cold and wintery but the bloomin' beautiful flowers in Wendy Vecchi's Garden Collection from Spellbinders definitely warm things up and Wendy's selection of blue Archival inks from Ranger is (arguably) the cure for the blues. This card has A LOT of blue... and A LOT of layers... as you may have noticed.

From the bottom working upwards we have: white cardstock (it's a 6 x 5" card... weird size but... that's what happened, lol); pale blue cardstock; lavender cardstock; Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART Washi Tape; Chippie from the Bases and Frames set, tinted with Bluebird Archival; white cardstock stamped with multiple repeats of the large flower cluster from Wendy's Garden Party Stamp and Die Set, colored using the coordinating layering stencils with Bluebird, Morning Glory, Cornflower, Cactus Flower, Violet, Rosey Posey and Leaf Green Archivals; Heart Chippie from the Bases and Frames set, stamped and colored in the same manner, then lined up over the same area in the background; stack of ancient paper flowers; Eyelet Outlet Dragonfly Brads.

Very much loving the convenience and quickness of using the layering stencils to add color. You can purchase the stamp and die set on its own, but I recommend the Garden Party Bundle. The stencils are numbered AND have registration marks at the four corners to make aligning them a no-brainer. and they're generously sized so that there's plenty of room to place all four magnets on the Stay-tion.

If it's a bit cold and grey where you are, why not immerse yourself in glorious color... it'll be Spring in no time! ♥

*"The Blues Are Still Blue" is my favorite Belle and Sebastian song. Just sayin'...

Garden Mandala

It's a bloomin' beautiful Mandala Monday, thanks to Wendy Vecchi's gorgeous new Garden Collection from Spellbinders. If you're new to mandala-making I have to tell you my all-time favorite trick: Using heart dies to make the "petals" of a mandala! Since it just so happens that Wendy's new Heartfelt Thanks and Scallops set has nested heart dies, the possibilities are pretty much endless. I wanted to make a card so I only used two of the sizes, but you could go all out and make a BIG art piece, using all five sizes in sequential order.

For this project I also used the Garden Party Stencils, the Flowers and Foliage Embossing Folder, and three of the sixteen dies in the amazing Vintage Florals set. And, of course, a selection of my favorite Wendy Vecchi Archival Inks, including Pink Peony, Rosey Posey, Sunflower, Leaf Green, Prickly Pear and Tea Rose. 

The first thing I made was the floral panel, using the Garden Party Stencils, but without the coordinating stamp or die. (I should mention here that these layering stencils are super-easy to line up and use with perfect alignment to use alone OR to color the stamped image; they have registration marks on all four corners, and they're numbered too!) On this occasion, I chose to line the stencil layers up verrrrrrrry loosely and then fill in any blank space around them with extra ink. At the very end, on top of the flowers, I used Wendy's Studio 490 Plaid Flannel Background, inked with light shades of yellow and green, and spritzed with Isoproply Alcohol. I love how it gave the finished panel a sort of textural look, like vintage table linens.

To make the center medallion, I cut a medium-sized circle from one of Wendy's MAKE ART Perfect Cardstock Panels, embossed it with the Flowers & Foliage folder, then used the Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tool with Domed Foam Applicators to add color to the flowers, foliage and background. In between applications, I spritzed the whole thing with rubbing alcohol to encourage the colors to blend into each other just a bit. 

I stamped another panel of white Perfect Cardstock with the Plaid Flannel Background first in Prickly Pear and then Tea Rose, and diecut a bunch of the medium-sized heart from Heartfelt Thanks and Scallops. I cut a second set of the same size from medium pink cardstock, then a set of the second-to-smallest heart in light pink, which I placed between and slightly behind the first ring of petals. I used the small double blossom die and the tiny leaf from the Vintage Florals set to add interest to both rounds of hearts. 

Here's one last picture of the center section, it's my attempt to capture the depth of the texture here. Because when Spellbinders calls something a 3D Embossing Folder they are not messing around! These products are currently available online at Spellbinders, Ranger and other fine retailers. Or, if you happen to be in Central New Jersey, these delightful goodies are also in stock at my favorite brick and mortar crafting store... Paper Anthology!

Did She Say, "SQUOVALS"?!

Yes. Yes, I did say, "Squovals" because Big Squovals is the name of my new favorite Dina Wakley Stencil from Ranger. I used a few of my favorite Simon Hurley create. Dye Inks (Remember Me, Love Struck, Guppy, Shooting Star and Overzealous, to be precise) to lay down squovals of intense color; then went in with my Letter It Fineliners to make this a Mini Motif Mandala Monday!

Wendy Vecchi Floral Valentine

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so I'm getting extra inky using Wendy Vecchi's Flower Pot and Let's Shop Stamp, Die and Stencil Sets with a rainbow of pink and orange Archival Inks on a variety of Ranger specialty paper styles, to create a floral celebration perfect for any loved one. I hope you'll head over to the Ranger Project Page and read all about it!

Wendy Vecchi Autumn Greetings Frame by Lauren Bergold

How do you take this collection of fabulous Wendy Vecchi Products from Ranger, including the beautiful Autumn Greetings Stamp, Die and Stencil Set as well as Lots of Leaves Chippies...

...and make it into a lovely fall frame? The answer --in step-by-step form-- is on the Ranger Blog today. I'd love for you to jump over there and see!

It's Ombre, Hombre!

We're cruising into our second week of ombre-centric cards at Jingle Belles and this time I've created my own version by blending six different shades of Distress Oxide Inks from Ranger through an older Hero Arts Stencil.

There are many lovely shades of green in the Distress line, and it's totally possible to make an absolutely seamless series of tone-into-tone. But instead, I decided to work the overlapping blend to include some of my favorite shades in order of intensity rather than strictly by hue. I used Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio, Mowed Lawn, Evergreen Bough, Pine Needles and Rustic Wilderness. Hero Arts' Forest Scene stencil is no longer in print, but honestly, this technique would work with ANY stencil; or alternately as an emboss/resist technique using any larger background type stamp.

Be sure to check out Stephanie's beautiful card at Jingle Belles and start planning what you will make!

Scribble Sticks!

It's a softly colorful Mandala Monday made with Dina Wakley MEdia Scribble Sticks in my Dina Blue Edition Journal. 

Like most mixed media adventures, this was composed in a few sessions, to allow drying time (and occasionally thinking time, lol) between steps. I drew and colored the basic shapes with wet Scribble Sticks (from Set Three, which has the cool metallic shades) on one of the bright white super-heavy watercolor paper pages in the journal (there are also blue denim and creamy colored burlap pages). After it was completely dry, I added assorted stencil patterns (including Tim Holtz's Bubble and Flourish Patterns) in coordinating Distress Oxide Inks and outlined with a .01 Letter It Fineliner. To finish up, I added a few additional details with colored pens and a tiny bit of handstitching around the central circle.

If you've never used Scribble Sticks, I highly recommend watching a Dina Wakley video or two to see how they work and get a few ideas. Actually, I highly recommend Dina's videos to everyone because she is just such a joy to watch when she's creating! In fact, here's a great demo that shows the Blue Journal's variety of page styles and ways to use them.

New Class: Awesome Blossoms!

If you're near central New Jersey, I'd love for you to join me for my newest in-person class at Paper Anthology, where we'll make three cards that  are Bloomin’ Awesome. Welcome Spring with fresh flowers, bright colors and bold patterns, using two sets of coordinated layering stencils, stamps and dies, from Hero Arts and Pinkfresh Studio. Details on the Paper Anthology Blog!