Collaged ATCs

My friend Linda completed The 100 Day Project this year, and then she made her beautiful collection of Artist Trading Cards into groups of three and started a swap. Of course I was excited to participate! I made three "Flower Girl" ATCs and used Wendy Vecchi's Essential Envelope die set from Spellbinders' Not Your Ordinary Card Collection to make a pocket for them, and the Pinking Edge Birthday Add-On to create a coordinating tag.

These ATCs have LOTS of layers, including: Kanada text paper from India; a map of Manhattan; vintage flower illustrations from a children's book; tiny sewing pattern ladies and some found text from a beautifully patina-ed kiddo's chapter book.

Each ATC is backed with vintage Chinese text paper fused onto plain white cardstock (for extra strength and solidity) where I've written the name of the series as well as my signature.

I used a few older gel prints and some additional coordinated collage items to create the Essential Envelopes pocket as well as the Pinking Edge pull-out layered tag.

I love the way the coordinating pocket and tag not only keep the ATCs safe and secure, they also make them look and feel like an official SET!

These are the first ATCs I've made and traded in quite some time, but I think they've gotten me re-hooked on this fun format! ♥

But First... Coffee!

There's nothing better than a nice cup of coffee to start the day, unless it's a trio of Artist Trading Cards featuring Eyelet Outlet Coffee and Donut Brads studded with Heart Pearls and atop backgrounds made from Brick Tape, Giraffe Washi and Donut Tape!  

The Eyelet Outlet Store has all of the food and drink brads your projects could possibly need... plus so much more!

Five Favorites: Wendy Vecchi

Every December I love reading "Favorites" posts on blogs and social media... you know, when people do a round up of the projects they loved most during the year. I always think to myself, "Someday I'm gonna do that!" and it looks like this might be the year! In honor of the fact that yesterday was Wendy Vecchi's birthday, I think I'll start with my favorite Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART projects... in more or less chronological order. (Click the links below each photo to see the original posts with all of the specific product details.)

Lucky Clover Card

The brilliant "seeds" of this came from Patti Behan at Ranger, who suggested using the hearts from Wendy's Merci and More Stamp, Die and Stencil set to make four-leafed clovers for a tutorial that ran on St. Patrick's Day. I wouldn't have thought of it, but once she said it, I was wholeheartedly ON BOARD! 

Moody Blue Mandala Monday

Not an official Wendy project, and it only uses a fraction of her Designer Series Archival Inks, but I really love this mandala, so it's IN!

Tropical Grunge ATC's

Wendy's three newest Archival shades --Rosey Posey, Peachy Keen and Morning Glory-- came out in June and I was instantly obsessed. I love everything I made for the release, but these funky, grungy, ink-over-collage ATC's miiiiiight be my favorite. 

Doodle Bird Garden Card

Another awesome suggestion from Patti, could I make a NON-holiday card using Wendy's Christmas in July release stamp sets, Doodle Christmas and Doodle Holiday. Yes. Yes, I could! 

(My favorite part? The flowers are the ornament cluster from Doodle Christmas, stamped upside down!) 

Gal-O-Ween Treat Bags

Did you know that the shopping bag stamp from the Let's Shop Stamp, Die and Stencil set has a coordinating die that lets you make gift-card-sized  DIMENSIONAL giftbags? Brilliant or what??! 

Holiday Gift Wrap Set

Ok, yeah, technically this is number six out of five, but I looooooove wrapping gifts; I really love using my papercrafting supplies to decorate them; and I especially love how Wendy's Doodle stamps, as well as her Chippies and Washi Tape Assortments combined to make this set super-festive!

♥♥♥

Just a reminder that the Ranger Blog, Project Page and IG Account are amazing sources of inspiration and ideas for using ALL of the wonderful Ranger projects. Also, Wendy Vecchi's Instagram is entirely awesome (be sure to check out Tip Tuesday each week!) and the MAKE ART with Wendy Vecchi FaceBook group is a super-fun place to hang out!

Did She Say, "Tropical Grunge"?!

Not yet... but I'm about to, lol! This week we're celebrating a bunch of fun new releases from Ranger and I have to say my favorites are the three beautiful new shades of Wendy Vecchi Signature Series Archival Inks. On Wednesday, I used Morning Glory, Rosey Posey and Peachy Keen in their glorious full strength boldness; yesterday I diluted them with rubbing alcohol to get a fabulous pastel effect; and today I'm going for (...you guessed it...) Tropical Grunge by adding plenty of Jet Black Archival to my funky collaged background effect.

The glorious bird images are from a collection of German Scrap that my friend Gail gave me a couple of years ago, and I have frankly just flat-out HOARDED them until now. I'd be more embarrassed about that if I wasn't positive that I saved them for exactly the right project!

I made four slightly oversized ATC-style backgrounds by quite randomly tearing and gluing on bits of vintage (but bright white) sheet music, architectural drawings and Hindi text paper, scattered with some coordinating tapes from Wendy's two Washi Assortments. Then I used a Ranger Mini Ink Blending Tool with Domed Foams to apply the Peachy Keen, Rosey Posey and Morning Glory inks directly to the paper, blending them a bit at the overlapping edges. 

Then I used the stencil from Wendy Vecchi's MAKE ART Country Flowers Stamp, Die and Stencil set to add parallel lines in Jet Black and small dots of Rosey Posey Liquid Pearls. I also stamped the hearts from WV's Merci and More set in black. Finally, I inked the edges of each card lightly with Rosey Posey and then a bit more dramatically with Jet Black before giving them all frames of soft orange cardstock and wordfetti sentiments from an older Tim Holtz Big Chat Sticker Collection. Be sure to visit the @wendyvecchi and @ranger_ink Instagram feeds for more inspiration; as well as the INK...STAMP and MAKE ART with Wendy Vecchi Group on Facebook!

Spoiler Alert: It Ends with "Zebra"

Yes, we've come to the fourth and final post of the Eyelet Outlet Alphabetical Brad ATC's! It's so exciting, I'm going to show off the entire set and then we'll talk about the letters S through Z.

And here are the individual cards, with all their brad styles listed:

S: Safety Pins, Shells (in the form of Shell Corners, Shells and Seashore Brads), the Sun from our Sun and Cloud set, one of two styles of Sunglass Brad, and a Sleigh direct from the North Pole. 

T: A Tractor Brad is a fine addition to any haul, while Tissues (and TP) come from the Toilet Paper and Tissue Brad set, (Summer) Trees, Tool Brads are great, but of course they need a Toolbox.

U and V: The U.S.A. is represented by our Patriotic Flag and Hat Brads, and the Utensils are called Silverware Brads, but the Unicorn is from the Unicorn and Rainbow set; a Vacuum from the Vacuum and Broom Brads (on sale!), both halves of the Video Game set and a Valise which is technically the Suitcase from our Travel Set.

W: A lovely Wreath, some Water Lillies from the Frog set, a champagne toast from the Wedding Brads, a Witch Hat and some Witch Legs.

X, Y and Z: An Xmas Tree (technically listed as a Pine Tree Brad) and a Skull Brad who's standing in as an X-ray; these cute Yellow Jackets are actually Bumble Bee Brads (there are Mini Bee Brads also) and the Yolk is in the center of the Fried Egg from our Bacon, Egg and Toast Brads; finally we've got Zinfandel from the Wine Brad set and a Zebra from the second Jungle Mix, called Lion, Tiger Zebra Brads. 

That concludes the EO Brad Alphabet, but of course there are lots more brads (plus washi tape, bling, flowers and more!) in the Eyelet Outlet Online Store; and be sure to consult the sidebar on the Eyelet Outlet Blog and look for the EO Booth at a tradeshow near you!

The ABC's of EO... Part 3

Here are the next five cards in our Eyelet Outlet Brad Alphabet. This set takes us from L to S, with lots of adorable brads along the way.

Todays brads, allocated to each card are:

L: (Holiday) Lights, Lizards from the Reptile Brad set, the Lighthouse from the Boat and Lighthouse set, Lions from the Lion, Tiger, Zebra set, sequel to the popular Jungle Mix.

M: Mailbox from the Mail Brad set, Monkeys from the Jungle Mix, Mrs. Claus from the Santa and Mrs. Claus set, a Mood (technically an Emotion Brad) in a Mask from the CoVid-inspired Mask, Hand Sanitizer and Soap Brads, a Mower from the Lawn Mower Brad set (which is on sale!) and a stately Moose.

N: (Music) Notes, Navigation aka a Compass Brad, Navy (technically a Sailboat from the Boat and Lighthouse set with an Anchor Brad), a stack of Novels which we actually call Book Brads, and a Nutcracker.

O and P: The handsome Owl is known as a Sketched Owl (there are also Owl Brads and Winking Owls... both of which are on sale!), Ornament Brads are also on sale, and the Oven Glove is from the Cooking Brad set; the super-cute Paw Brads are one of two styles, a Party Hat is always a good idea (just ask the Birthday Sock Monkeys) and the Pipe Brad is part of a cool set that your Dad (or handy Mom) would love!

Q and R: Our Crown and Tiara Brads are fit for a Queen, the cute Quackers technically are called Duck Brads and the Quilting supplies are a combination of Thread and Scissor Brads (you need to get creative when it comes to the more challenging letters, lol!); a Rainbow from the Unicorn and Rainbow set, the Ring hails from our Wedding Brads and finally a handsome Rooster.

We're getting towards the end of the Alphabet... next week we'll wrap up with the letters S through Z!

Eyelet Outlet ABC's: Part 2

Would this be a good time for more Artist Trading Cards with Eyelet Outlet Brads in alphabetical order? Here are the next five cards, featuring the letters F, G, H, I, J and K.

The brads on these cards are as follows:

F: Felines, Fire Truck from the First Responders set, a fabulous Fairy Brad, Flip Flops, Film (technically the Movie Brads) and a cool (in every sense, lol) vintage Fan from the Telephone and Fan set.

G: Super-cute Gingerbread couple, a Graduation Cap, Grapes (and a glass of red from our Wine Brads), Gardening consists of Garden Tool Brads and a White Daisy, plus a pair of handsome Giraffes from the Jungle Mix.

H: One of two styles of Hanger Brad, a Heifer (technically a Cow from the Cow and Goat set), Holly, Headphones from the Computer and Headphones set, Hand Sanitizer from the CoVid-inspired Mask, Hand Sanitizer and Soap set, and Hearts in the form of one Heart Brad and one Playing Card in the suit of hearts.

I and J: I-Phone from the Selfie set, Insects (technically a Ladybug and a Mini Ladybug) and Ice Cream; Java (one of several styles of Coffee Brads), Jeans from the Jeans and Tee Shirt set (which is on sale!), and Jogging is represented by our Sneaker Brads.

K: Kitchenware is actually some Baking Brads and some Cooking Brads, Kris Kringle from the Santa and Mrs. Claus set, and sweet white Kittens who are naturally after the Knitting Brads, which are on sale. 

Next week I'll be back with the letters L through R, until then, you can find brads for every letter, color and occasion in the Eyelet Outlet Online Store, or see the sidebar on the EO Blog for a list of tradeshows near you!

The ABC's of Eyelet Outlet

A couple of years ago, I made a little ATC-sized book with as many Eyelet Outlet brad styles, arranged alphabetically, as I could fit... which turned out to be quiiiiiiiite a few! That project was so much fun, I decided to do it again. So here are the letters A through E:

Here's a complete list of the brads used, I tried to change it up and add some lesser-known ones in addition to all my favorites!

A: Mini Ants, (Vacation) Arrows, an Ambulance (from the First Responders set), Aprons (from the BBQ set, which also has a Grill), and both styles of Apple Brad.

B: Bicycle Brad, Brown (Teddy) Bears, (School) Bus Brad, Bottles and a mug of Beer (all found in the Beer set), plus one handsome Bluebird from the Bluebird and Robin set.

C: Candle Brads, a Swirl Cupcake, Crown (from the Crown and Tiara set), Computer, Classic Cars and a Chicken Brad.

D: Doggos (including a Puppy Brad a Paw and the supper dish from the Kennel Mix), Dinosaur, Donut Brad and a Deer plus a Prancing Deer.

E:  Eagles, Eye Glass Brad, Emergency (technically the police car from the First Responders set), Eggs (and a Fried Egg from the Bacon, Egg and Toast set), Elephant from the Jungle Mix set.

ABC's headline: one of our two styles of Sunglass Brad, Butterfly Brad, Classic Car, Crown, Bus, Bluebird, Ring (from the Wedding set), Mini Ladybug, Beer Brad.

Stay tuned for the letters F through J, coming next week, both here and on the Eyelet Outlet Blog!

Valen-TINY

Valentines come in all shapes and sizes, and these are definitely of the smaller variety. Artist Trading Cards are 2.5 x 3.5" (modeled on the average playing card) which is big enough for some sweet Eyelet Outlet Chameleon or Turtle Brads (they're on sale!), plus Sun and Cloud Brads, and a silly sentiment. Everything you need to wish your Valentine a happy day.  

Be sure to check out the Eyelet Outlet Blog, where the design team are always cooking up something fun to inspire you!

Colorful ATCs

I love making Artist Trading Cards with my Eyelet Outlet Brads, so this seemed like a good time to make some featuring the newest Spring 2021 Releases: Felines, Kennel Mix, Colored Daisies, Tropical Birds and Reptiles.

"Feline Groovy" features the Feline Brads, obviously, as well as some colorful wide Geometric Tape.

"Bloomin' Awesome" has only one of the three shades of Colored Daisy, but it's colorful enough to keep our attention. I've added some Flower Tape, as well as two older styles of Skinny Tape.

"Doggone It" pairs the doghouse from Kennel Mix with a Long Dog (who's on sale!) and an accent of two plaid washi tape styles as well as some Skinny Heart Tape.

"Squawkward" stars a one of three very handsome parrots from the Tropical Birds Set, as well as boldly spotted Dot Washi Tape and Skinny Tape.

"Birds of a Feather" features a pair of adorable toucans from the Tropical Birds, because TWO toucans are even better than one! I love how they look against thet bold black and white Floral Tape (which is out of stock, alas but This One is quite similar).

And finally, "One in Chameleon" has the eponymous half of our Reptile Brads against some Foil Tape.

There's inspiration all week long on the Eyelet Outlet Blog, stop back often and see!

Feline Groovy

Have you seen the new Eyelet Outlet Feline Brads? If not, let's PAWS (k, sorry!) to check them out as the stars of some funny ATCs:

On Instagram, I follow about ten friends/family members, fifty artists, and half a million cats. So I see a lot of funny cat sayings, and occasionally remember to write those down. One of my favorites of recent memory is, "Have you ever wondered what your cat has named you?" I formatted the words in a free font called Simplicity, and printed it out onto soft lavender paper, which I matted with strategically placed Paws Tape and then onto a black 2.5 x 3.5" Artist Trading Card.

Here's another funny (but true!) thought, "You can train a cat to do anything... that it wants to do"! Yep, that sounds about right!

Be sure to scroll around the Eyelet Outlet Blog to see the fun ways the design team have been using all of our Spring 2021 Brads!

Wrapping Up the Alphabet

It's the final section of my (Lauren's) Alphabetical Brad Minibook, comprising the letters Q through Z,  and featuring lots more awesome Eyelet Outlet Brads.

Throughout the project, in order to have enough brads to cover the entire alphabet, I've occasionally gotten creative with my names, and sometimes doubled up on letters. For example, the first card in this section covers both Q and R, with "Quacker" represented by our Duck Brads; for "Queen" I've got a Tiara from the Crown and Tiara set; Thread Brad and a Scissor Brad stand in for "Quilting"; the Rainbow is from the Unicorn and Rainbow set; the ring is from our Wedding Brads; and the Rooster Brad speaks for himself.

For the letter S we have: the Sun from Sun and Cloud Brads; Colorful Sunglass Brads, a Sloth from the Sloth and Koala set; a pair of handsome Scarecrows and a Strawberry Brad, which, alas, is now out of print.

The letter T has some good ones: I don't feel like I use our Tractor Brads enough, so it was fun to work one in; same deal for the Typewriter that's in our Typewriter and Hand set; a Tee Shirt from the Jeans and Tee Shirt set; the "Toast" is actually the champagne glasses from our Wedding Brads; and finally some Toilet Paper from the new Toilet Paper and Tissue Brads.

U and V have teamed up together, with: "Utensils" which are technically called Silverware Brads; the umbrella is actually a Beach Umbrella; but the Unicorn Brad is pretty straightforward. Two Heart Brads are masquerading as "Valentines"; the Vacuum Brad is self explanatory; and the "Valise" is from our Travel Brads set.

Surprisingly there are LOTS of great W brads, including: "Words" which are from the Superhero Sayings Brads; a Water Bottle from the Sneaker and Water Bottle Brads; Witch Hats and Witch Legs are each called that, respectively; Waffles come from the Chicken and Waffles set; and the Water Lily is from the Frog Set.

The last card is a triple play, with X, Y and Z all sneaking in! The "X-ray" is a Skull Brad; the "Xmas Tree" is a Pine Tree Brad; the "Yolk" hails from the Bacon, Egg and Toast set; a Yoga Cats always make me smile and they're on sale; Zebra is one third of the Lion, Tiger, Zebra Set and "Zinfandel" is my take on our Wine Brads.

And finally, one last shot of all the ATC-sized pages on their book ring, with the entire alphabet complete:

 

To see the rest of the pages, click this link and all of the ABC Brad Book posts will load on the Eyelet Outlet Blog.

More Alphabetical Brads!

I've completed the third section in my Brad Alphabet book, covering the letters M through P; which comprises four new pages, featuring twenty-seven Eyelet Outlet brads in twenty different styles! 

For the letter M, we've got: a trio of mischievous Monkeys from the Jungle Mix; a Mask from the Co-Vid themed Mask, Hand Sanitizer and Soap set; the Mailbox from our Mail Brads; a Mower from the Lawnmower set; and a handsome Moose Brad.

Representing the letter N: a Nutcracker, some (Music) Notes; an Anchor Brad (which I've re-named "Navy"; yes, I've allowed a bit of artistic license with descriptions, so that I'd have enough brads to cover the entire alphabet!); a stack of Novels (technically they are Book Brads); and a Compass Brad is covering Navigation. 

The letter O includes: an Oven Glove from our Cooking Brad set; some Ornaments; a (Sketched) Owl Brad; (we've got really cute colorful owls, as well); an Oak (at least I think it looks like an oak) which is part of the Summer Tree Brads; and a Onesie which technically falls under Baby Shirt, and alas the blue ones are out of stock.

For the sixteenth letter of the alphabet... aka P: a pair of pretty cool Penguins; a festive Party Hat; a slightly unseasonal Pumpkin; Popcorn from the Popcorn and Ticket set; and a Pig from our Pig and Sheep Brads.

My bookring is filling up really nicely with ATC's and I still have TEN letters to go; though when we get to Q, X and Z one suspects there will be a bit of doubling up!

I hope you'll be inspired to check out the wide variety of Eyelet Outlet Brads, I'm pretty sure we've got one or two styles that will be perfect for your next project!

"To Craft of Not to Craft...

...is NEVER the question!" a fact we know very well at The Ink Pad, and so do the fine folks at Picket Fence Studios. Happily, they decided to include exactly that sentiment (plus eleven more!) in their Crafty Lifestyle Stamp Set, which I've paired with their Oh So Many Cards set and luscious Sorbet Scoops Memento Dew Drops Inks; the result is on The Ink Pad Blog today!

Gang's All Here

Tim Holtz's Baseboard Dolls add instant vintage style and whimsy to any project, but they're not exactly colorful; which is why I decided to pair them with my brand new set of Sorbet Scoops Memento Dew Drops mini ink pads from... appropriately enough... The Ink Pad. Hop over to TIP Blog for all the details and more pics!