NEW Holiday Jumpstart: TREE-mendous!

Holiday Jumpstart: TREE-mendous is Paper Anthology's newest holiday card kit, which features a gorgeously intricate, three-layer Classic Christmas Tree, pre-diecut for you; plus all of the elements needed to make the featured card as shown.

Paper Anthology’s Holiday Jumpstart Card Kit is a pre-packaged kit that includes everything you need (except adhesive) to complete FIVE copies of this new original holiday card design. This edition is called “TREE-mendous” based on the card's lovely focal point and festive background.

Don’t we all adore the IDEA of making holiday cards throughout the year, instead being overloaded in November and December? But sometimes it’s hard to be inspired during the “off-season”. This pre-packaged kit features everything you need (except adhesive) to complete five beautiful, detailed and colorful cards, including card bases, complete written instructions (not pictured, but included!) and a nice big photo for reference.

This kit contains:

Five background panels with scalloped corners
Five red curvy backdrops
Five solid green tree layers
Five tan tree trunk pieces
Five sets of three-part foliage
Five banner sentiments
Five banner backers
Twenty-five baubles
Five white A2 cards
Complete written instructions with large color photo

Purchase Holiday Jumpstart: TREE-mendous in our Etsy Shop, Paper Anthology Design; and check out our other Jumpstart Kits as well as three-card class kits and more!

BLING on the Holidays

This fortnight at Jingle Belles, we're celebrating (...you guessed it...) BLING! So make a card featuring jewels, gems, beads, pearls, glitter, stickles, or anything sparkly and join the fun!

I've had these Bling Snowflakes from the big box store for aggggggggges, so I was determined to use them for this prompt. I found a funky gel print made (at some un-remembered time, lol) by using an ancient Darice snowflake embossing folder to remove paint from the plate. I added some older Tim Holtz metallic rub-on transfers to enhance the holiday theme. My sentiment and mat are white glitter cardstock and the finished card is an A6.

JB2505: BLING on the Holidays runs until the evening of Wednesday, March 12th. Visit Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's beautiful BLING-centric card and find all of the details (and the Linky tool) there!

Midnight Clear (Week 2)

It's the second week of making cards with transparent elements at Jingle Belles and this time I have a two-fer of shaker cards. See?

Technically these are ordinary cards with shaker tags on them, but you get the idea. I love Sunny Studio's Build a Tag #2 Die Set and that's what I used to make the tags and reinforcers. Then I punched square windows into each tag, backed them with scraps of clear acetate, and made a little winter scene with Eyelet Outlet Glitter Tree Tape, Sparkle White Glitter Tape hills and Snowflake Sequins. I finished off with Snowflake Brads and Penguins or Snowy Trees; then added tag-shaped mats and panels adorned with Glitter Tall Tree Tape, sticker sentiments and a few more sequins. 

Visit the reminder post at Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's second card; then scroll down to the original Midnight Clear post to link up your own CLEARLY awesome creation(s)!

Holiday Shape Up!

It's the second week of "Shaping Up for the Holidays" at Jingle Belles and you're still invited to join the fun. Here's what I made this week:

I found a cute clipart hat online, printed a couple of copies on plain white cardstock so I could cut it into a pattern; then paper-pieced the hat, brim and bobble using two sizes of Lawn Fawn's Knit Picky papers. I had been planning to adorn the brims with brads, but stumbled upon these fun Doodlebug enamel leaves and berries and just like that, my choice was made!

All the details (and the Linky tool) for joining our Jingle Belles Shape Up fun are on the original post, which is HERE. This challenge wraps up on Wednesday evening, February 12th.

JB2502: Candy Christmas

It's a fabulous photo inspiration this fortnight at Jingle Belles, so we're asking you to create a holiday card (or cards!) inspired by this fun Candy Cane Christmas image from Turtlecreek Lane. You can use as many or as few aspects of the photo as you'd like: maybe you love the the white tree smothered in ornaments; or the red and blue stockings could be your fave; perhaps you'd just like to create a mantel with stockings and decor; or you might adore that handsome Nutcracker. Anything and everything in the pic is fair game, just make sure you let us know what part(s) of the photo inspired you.

Here's my card and then I'll tell you my inspo:

I was immediately drawn to the photo's gorgeous white tree, smothered in candy-themed, candy-colored ornaments, so luckily I remembered that I still had stickers left from Doodlebug's Candy Cane Lane collection of a few years ago. I employed one of my oldest dies (Sizzix's Christmas Tree #2) to cut a tree shape from white cardstock, then spent an enjoyable half hour adding pastel candy canes, gum drops and hearts, plus some tiny pearls, before adding lots of colorful presents under the tree. I made my background a soft blue similar to the wall in the inspo photo and added another mat of red and blue as a little salute to those bold stockings.

Visit Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's beautiful card and link up your own photo inspiration greeting. JB2502: Candy Christmas will run until 6pm (Eastern) on January 29th.

Something Old, Something New (Week 2)

It's the second week of our first Jingle Belles challenge of 2025, so we are still making cards that feature Something OLD from our craft stash as well as Something NEW from Santa or the post-xmas sales, etc. Here's what I made and then I'll tell you which is which:

At the end of November, I was lucky enough to win a $30 gift card from Sunny Studio Stamps in the Coffee Loving Papercrafters' Fall/Winter Blog Hop, and the very first thing I chose was their adorable Holiday Hugs set, because I just LOVE that bear! I was already planning my card when I saw that January's Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge was "Snowflake" so I went sifting through my many (many!) snowy patterned papers and found this scrap of ancient green and white that I think was from My Mind's Eye's Bohemian collection (that's going back a bit, eh?!) and which just happened to have the perfect spot to place a coffee- or cocoa drinking bear.

I paper-pieced his knitted scarf and adorned the cup with an Eyelet Outlet Polar Bear Brad; then built in a few extra layers of soft green, tan and brown... all from older collections... before adding a sentiment from the stamp set and a few extra glittery snowflakes using a tiny die that was included as an "extra" with my Sunny Studio prize!

Our Jingle Belles Something Old, Something New challenge (JB2501) runs until next Wednesday evening, January 15th. Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge's Snowflake theme (CCCC37) wraps up the day before. Check out Stephanie's fab card and the Readers' Gallery at Jingle Belles; then start planning what you'll link up with us this time!

Merry Christmas

Wishing the happiest of holidays to everyone who is celebrating today!

♥♥♥ 

Five Faves of 2024: Eyelet Outlet Edition

It's time to pick my (Lauren's) five favorite cards of 2024 featuring fabulous Eyelet Outlet Brads, Tapes and Bling; so here they are, in no particular order. Click the bolded italic text in each description to visit the original posts, which contain all the details and direct links you need!

I've made A LOT of cards with Book Tape + Book Brads and loved them all; but Books, Cats from August is currently my favorite!

Unicorn Sanity might be the silliest EO card I've ever made (ok, possibly tied with last year's Put My Foot Down, lol) but I couldn't resist... and I love how it came out.

I saw the idea for One Door Closes on one of the humorous "Sign Guys" social media sites and instantly thought, "I have the PERFECT brads and tapes for that!!!" :)

Despite being quite recent, this Angelic card from the beginning of December had to make the list!

Another card made from a funny meme on Instagram, the Unsuccessful Chameleon still makes me chuckle.

♥♥♥

Wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons, 

followed by your most creative year yet in 2025!

Lauren Bergold

is looking forward to new year of brads, tapes and diabolical puns!

Blog * Instagram * Facebook

Putting the "Mental" in Ornamental! :)

'Twas the Mandala Monday before Christmas and all through the house, shiny, sparkly ornaments of all varieties... vintage, new or even hand-drawn... are making spirits bright as we prepare for the Big Day!

Drawn with Letter It Fineliners; watercolored with Tombow Dual Brush Pens; highlights of golden metallic marker

Brown Baggin' It

Papercrafting supplies... especially washi tape... are awesome for giftwrapping! Especially for fancying up and customizing plain bags from the big box store. 

For this pair of bags I incorporated a fabulous collage concept from one of my favorite designers, Katie Pertiet, who made Christmas tree cards by diecutting her trees from a collage of her beautiful 49 and Market tickets and ephemera. I loved this idea so much that I had to try it RIGHT NOW. There's a terrific video of Katie's process on her Instagram feed, so I won't go into a lot of detail. But I will mention that since I traced a couple of Dylusions Dyamond Board Small Trees instead of diecutting, I took the time to cut out one of each tree shape from a rectangle of scrap cardstock, and I used that as a frame to help me lay out my collage of vintage postage and tickets. I also used up a bunch of tiny leftover border and label stickers.

I have a lot of washi tape, so I often use it for backgrounds, as I've done here. You could use paper scraps or ribbons in the same way, though. 

I made a second, smaller collage of yellow postage and trading stamps, from which I diecut some happy little stars to surround the trees.

If you're looking for a last-minute card or giftwrap idea, this one is HIGHLY recommended! Thank you, Katie P!

Holiday Sampler

Nothing says, "Warm Holiday Wishes" quite as well as Simon Hurley's Nordic Knit stamped in red, green and neutral Archival Inks from Ranger, then studded with LOTS of beautiful holiday-themed Eyelet Outlet Brads! This card has thirty-seven (37!) brads from eight different brad styles... can you spot them all? Scroll down for a hint!

Working from top to bottom: 1/16" Round Brads (Brown Mix); Poinsettia Brads; more 1/16" Round Brads (Brown Mix) as reindeer eyes; Heart Brads; Pine Cone Brads; 1/16" Round Brads (Red Mix); Cardinal, Cardinal Profile and Female Cardinal Brads; Snowy Trees and finally 1/16" Round Brads (White). And in case you're wondering, "Did you really pierce a hole, place the brad, and secure the prongs for every single one?" Check out the photo below, which shows the back of the design panel.

Check out the Eyelet Outlet Store for all the holiday embellishments you could possibly need!

Dyamond Board Doodle Trees

It's a TREE-mendous Mandala Monday featuring a terrific TREE-o of Dylusions Dyamond Board Small Trees, doodled with Letter It Fineliners and then tinted with all my favorite green shades of Simon Hurley create Dye Inks. 

To make the trees into a card, I embossed Simon's Stitched Snowflakes background with Ranger's Cottontail Embossing Powder, applied Breakup Blue ink on top, then cleaned the excess ink off the embossed flakes.

A mat of dark blue cardstock, a sentiment from the Sketched Snowmen stamp set, and a little machine stitching complete the design.

As we cruise into the final full week of holiday preparations, I hope you're having fun getting ready for the big day (if you celebrate Christmas) or the big night (if you celebrate Hanukkah)!

Build-a-Plaid Bags

Wendy Vecchi's NOT Your Ordinary Card Collection from Spellbinders is entirely awesome, but if I had to pick just *one* element that I love the very most, it miiiiiight be the Build-a-Plaid Layered Stencil Set. Mostly because it is SO fun to use and you can make a different design every single time! Or in this case two similar but different designs:

I've used my favorite holiday-centric Wendy Vecchi Archival Inks from Ranger to create one bold holiday plaid in green, and one in red. I used the Christmas Add-On Stamp and Die Set to make layered poinsettias in coordinating colors and accented them with foliage from the set. Fancy ribbon tied to the bags' handles completes the design, while spreading cheer... and, alas, tiny showers of golden glitter... all over the land! :)

Another Year of Holiday Cards...

...in the bag! Ok technically, they're on the floor at the moment, so I could get the traditional group photo of ALL my Jingle Belles cards from 2024 as the season comes to a close. Next up: pairing them with envelopes, adding sentiments and deciding about which card I'll send to whom!

Many thanks to everyone who played along throughout the year; whether you made a couple of cards or finished your entire list, we hope that starting early helped you beat a little bit of December stress. Stephanie and I will be back at Jingle Belles on January 1, 2025 to start a brand new season of inspiration and fun! ♥

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! ♥

Peace On Earth

Can you hear the Eyelet Outlet Angel Brads singing a joyful holiday tune? 

These angels have a sweet, slightly retro vibe that's perfect for adorning a diecut Christmas tree backed with Sparkle Gold Glitter Tape, studded with Pearl Bling and topped with a Star Brad. A mat and sentiment made from Music Note Washi completes the design. 

Shopping List:

Angel Brads

Star Brads

Sparkle Gold Glitter Tape

Music Note Washi 

Pearl Bling

The Eyelet Outlet Store has all the embellishments you need to make your holiday cards SHINE!

Banner Holiday (Week 2)

It's the second week of holiday cardmaking inspired by our Jingle Belles Blog Header:

And here's my card:

This week I've made a less literal version, but I've still embraced the colors, the florals, and the red glitter and golden metallic accents. My florals are Hero Arts' Christmas Roses, embossed with Ranger Gold Embossing Powder and watercolored. The diecut sentiment is Penny Black. The tiny star sequins are Eyelet Outlet.

You have until next Wednesday evening, December 4th, to link up with us for this last 2024 Jingle Belles challenge. There's even a little poinsettia-centric prize which will be randomly awarded to one lucky cardmaker. Read all about it at Jingle Belles!

JB2424: Banner Holiday

It's hard to believe we're heading into the last official 2024* Jingle Belles challenge; hasn't this year flown past?! We're wrapping up the year with an inspiration challenge; we'd like to see new holiday cards based on any aspect of the 2024 Jingle Belles Blog Header that inspires you. Maybe it's the glittery letters and frame; the red poinsettias and candy canes; the jingle belles (or jingle bells, lol) ...just make sure you include what inspired you in your post.

And here's my Banner-Inspired card:

For my inspiration I chose the poinsettias, the foliage, and the red + green + gold color palette. I used Wendy Vecchi's Build-a-Plaid Layered Stencils and the Christmas Add-On Stamp and Die Set (both from her 2024 Spellbinders' NOT Your Ordinary Card Collection) to make the background and focal point, respectively. For the plaid I used Wendy's Archival Inks in Carnation, Red Geranium, Fern Green and Sunflower, with a little extra sparkle from a glittery gold pen.

Here's how I used the triple holly leaf die to build the diecut poinsettias, if you'd like more detail:

Step 1: Diecut five deep red holly leaves, five medium red holly leaves and one golden cluster of berries. (By using a double layer of cardstock you'll get SIX leaves in one pass, so it's very quick!)

Step 2: Punch a small circle of sticker paper or scrap cardstock that has edge-to-edge adhesive. Peel the release paper and place the circle on your worktop with the ADHESIVE UP. Add the five dark red holly leaves to the circle, so that their points meet at the center.

Step 3: Add the five medium red holly leaves in between the dark red ones. I like to use slivers of foam tape for this round, so the flowers have some dimension, but you can put them on flat if you prefer.

Step 4: Adhere the golden berry cluster to the center of the flower, and gently curve the petals a bit for a more realistic look.

TA-DA you've got a poinsettia in exactly the right shade to match your project! ♥

Head on over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's beautiful card and a photo of the prize that one lucky random cardmaker will snag, just by linking up with us this fortnight. JB2424: Banner Holiday runs until the evening of Wednesday, December 4th.

*Just to be clear, this is only the end of the 2024 season; Jingle Belles will be back for a brand new year of holiday cardmaking, starting January 1, 2025! ♥

Christmas Feast: Week Two

It's the second week of our Jingle Belles' celebration of holiday sweets and treats and you've still got plenty of time to join the fun, so let's get right to it!

The mini journal cards from Carta Bella's Christmas Cheer collection were absolutely perfect for this theme. I chose four, made them into a grid, rounded the outer corners, added a few stickers et voila! Job done! 

The Christmas Feast challenge (#JB2423) runs until next Wednesday evening, November 20th. You can link up on the original post at Jingle Belles.

JB2423: Christmas Feast

This fortnight at Jingle Belles we are celebrating one of my very favorite aspects of the holidays: The Christmas Feast! There are lots of iconic holiday foods, from cookies and candies to gingerbread in all its forms; sugar plums, Christmas pudding, Buche de Noel, even the Grinch carving the Roast Beast! Make a holiday card in any color, style or size you like... just make sure it features a tasty treat!

As often happens when I get out my stash of adorable Doodlebug Design holiday items, I couldn't just make ONE card. In my defense, D-bug always includes a lot of sweet (in every sense lol) treats, which are perfect for this particular theme. For these cards I raided the patterned papers and sticker from the aptly named Gingerbread Kisses and Candy Cane Lane collections. I used coordinating papers from my scrap box, and couldn't resist adding a few Eyelet Outlet Gingerbread and Candy Cane Brads.

The Christmas Feast challenge (#JB2423) will run at Jingle Belles until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, November 20th and we'd love for YOU to join the fun!