Ingenious Inkling

Neutral Layered Tag Holiday Gift Card Holder

For this week's card prompt at Jingle Belles is Neutral Noel where we're asking you to create holiday cards which embrace only the neutral color palette – white, cream, ivory, ecru, black, gray, charcoal, obsidian, brown, tan, kraft, camel, oatmeal, sienna (you get the picture). 

There's also burlap, jute, paper bags, cork, chalkboards, sandpaper or lace ... Use them all together or chose one hue and rock the monochromatic design … as long as it's NEUTRAL it's in.

My card was inspired by Ardyth's Layered Tag Card Tutorial that she recently shared on SplitcostStampers.  I used two Manila and one Kraft tag and tied them together using lots of non-holiday neutral items including three coordinated journaling cards, neutral hexagon tags and papers from Ciao Bella Blue Note Collection. 

 

I finished with three sizes of snowflake buttons, SRM Clear Stickers and Tim Holtz Holiday sentiment stickers.  

Here's the look when they are all aligned.  I knotted the ribbon loosely at the top, so the tags are easy to move around.

 

Here's the front card with a gift card in the pocket.  I used an old Spellbinders Die to trim the left edge of the journaling card & then attached it with thin foam tape on three sides to create a side-opening gift card pocket.

 

 

The middle card features a lovely vintage typewriter with a torn piece of paper leaving part of the kraft tag base visible.  I used Studio Calico Hexagon Stickers with music notes to tie into the musical themed background papers.

 

 

The back tag (that I left full-sized) features the darker journaling card.  I love how this design combines all of the neutral tones rather than being monochromatic.  

 

 

I hope you're inspired to use some of your non-holiday papers for lovely holiday designs.

Pinkfresh Studio Birthday

Sometimes when I do Gel Press printing, some of my favorite papers I make are the papers where I roll the excess paint or ink off my brayers onto a piece of cardstock. 

When I looked at one of the lovely roll-off papers from last weekend's class, I realized it had three of the colors (blue, green & yellow) from the current Pinkfresh Studio Monthly Challenge, so I die cut it into a tag using the Pinkfresh Studio Essentials: Classic Tag with Fillable Elements Die Set.

 

 

I die cut a second tag from the pinkish-red in the color challenge.  The focus of the challenge is Alphabets/Words, so I used the Dipped Wood Alphabet Stickers from Pinkfresh Studios Holiday Vibes Collection for a Birthday Card.

 

 

My card base is designer paper from  the Pinkfresh Studio Office Hours Collection with a layered flower sticker from the Let Your Heart Decide Collection.

I'm also joining the Tag You're It Challenge at Little Red Wagon.

 

Wild at Heart Tag

The December Challenge at Poppy Stamps is Anything But a Card. 

 

I thought the Poppy Stamps Wild at Heart Border Die would be perfect for a tag ... because it's time to start making valentines. 

 

 

I used it with one of my pieces of Alcohol Ink Glitter Paper (thanks again Jennifer for the tutorial) using Memory Box Delicate Pastel Glitter Paper.

 

 

I die cut the Heart Border from the Glitter paper and then positioned it to die cut a partial tag.  I die cut a full tag from white cardstock and attached it on top and stapled silver ribbon to the top of the tag.

I finished with a sentiment from Poppy Stamps Tidings of Joy.

Five Favorite Holiday Cards - 2020

Since Lauren & I started Jingle Belles in 2010, I've been recapping my five favorite Christmas cards of the year (you can find 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019 here) ... I always enjoy revisiting my creations for the year.

Here are my favorites in no particular order:

 

1.  This card I made for the Jingle Belles Earth Day prompt pretty much sums-up 2020.  The background was stamped with an empty toilet paper roll (and brought back the panic of seriously not finding any toilet paper in our town except for a 120 roll commercial package that we're still working our way through)  ... and Taylored Expressions Big Grumpy who sums-up how many have felt for most of 2020.

 

 

2.  I had so much fun creating this vintage collage for our Vintage prompt at Jingle Belles ... I love when all of those tucked away bits and bobs finally find their way onto a card ... especially trading stamps that remind me of my Grandma and the photo slide that reminds me of watching vacation slides in my Gran & Papa's basement.

 

 

 

3.  I love how striking this Gina K. Designs white snowflake turned out against the tone-on-tone Holiday Tapestry stamped background.

 

 

4. The We Three Kings Prompt at Jingle Belles inspired We Three Reinbeer ... for me, the googly eyes make this card.

 

 

5. 2020 was the year I had more fun playing with Alcohol Inks ... I love the wonderful inky background of this card combined with the contrast of the white stamped images.

 

As always, hard to pick favorites, but also fun re-visiting all the holiday cards I made (and gave) this year.  Remember, if you'd like to have lots of holiday cards ready when December rolls around, you can join us for our 11th year of Jingle Belles Mayhem beginning January 1st

12 Tags of Christmas - 12 Days of Christmas

So many possibilities for the 12 Days of Christmas for the 12th Tag in the 12 Tags of Christmas ... but once I saw Julie's jug of milk, I knew where I was headed.

 

I knew I had an adorable Doodle-Pops Glass of Milk in my stash and since it had pin, I die cut my tag from some lovely pink designer paper from the Dress My Craft Christmas Bells Collection using the largest Ellen Hutson Tag Trio Die.

 

And of course those 8 Maids a Milking wouldn't just have milk ... they would have some warm Chocolate Chip cookies too.  I finished with some coordinating striped ribbon and a "believe" sticker sentiment.

I keep trying to focus on the positives in our current situation ... and one of those is that I got to stream the Nucracker Ballet last night from the Ballet Arts of Jackson ... it was the first time I had watched The Nutcracker ... and the first time I got to see all three of my nieces dance.  What a Treat!

12 Tags of Christmas - Deck the Halls

We're already on Day 11 of the 12 Tags of Christmas and we're singing Deck the Halls.

 

I die cut the Essentials by Ellen Shipping Tag in Green cardstock.  Next I traced the tag on the back of some lovely Holly Paper from the Home for Christmas Collection by Pebbles and cut it slightly smaller than the background tag.  

 

I used some Doodlebug Letter Stickers for my Fa-la-la-la-la and finished with some punched holly leaves at the top of the tag topped with Holly Bling.

On a personal note, I'm actually not a fan of Holly ... we had a large Holly Bush by our front porch growing-up, and those leaves are super-spikey.

12 Tags of Christmas - Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

Day 10 of the 12 Tags of Christmas is a classic Christmas tune - Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.  If you haven't clicked on over to see the adorable Tag by Adelina Starace, you must.

 

 

I chose two elements from the song for  my tag ... The Reindeer and Believing.  I used the Essentials by Ellen Animal Reindeer Box Topper.

 

I used foam tape to attach my reindeer to my wood slice base and added some googly eyes (because everything is better with googly eyes).

12 Tags of Christmas - Holly Jolly Christmas

When I saw the theme for Day 9 of the 12 Tags of Christmas was Holly Jolly Christmas, I knew I had to break out the Essentials by Ellen Mondo Holly.

 

 

I stamped it on green cardstock & die cut ... then I used markers to color the holly berries and added glossy accents.

 

I attached it to a kraft tag and trimmed the edges.  I had the perfect sentiment from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips Christmas.

The Tim Holtz Velvet Trim was the perfect color for my berries tied with some Lawn Fawn Sparkle Hemp Cord.

12 Tags of Christmas - We Wish You a Merry Christmas

The Song for Day 8 of the 12 Tags of Christmas at Ellen Hutson is We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

 

Did you realize that one - this song has few lyrics - and two - two entire verses are devoted to Figgy Pudding?   I went on a treasure hunt through all of my vintage Christmas goodies thinking that certainly somewhere there would be some figgy pudding, but no such luck.  So instead, I focused on the We Wish You a Merry Christmas Lyric with this vintage postal image (that was conveniently red & green) ... because mailing cards is how I will be conveying my holiday wishes this year.

 

The base is one of my #gellinktober prints that I die cut with the Lawn Fawn Stitched Woodgrain backdrop for a bit of visual interest.  Then I attached my image, red ribbon and a Merry Christmas sentiment.

12 Tags of Christmas - Marshmallow World

When I read the lyrics to Marshmallow World, the song for Tag 7 in the 12 Tags of Christmas at Ellen Hutson, I immediately thought of a roly-poly snowman that looked like a big marshmallow. 

 

 

The Frosty Snowman from Taylored Expressions fit the bill.  I used the Ellen Hutson Shipping Tags for my background and die cut a second from white cardstock to tear my snowy ground.

 

 

I couldn't resist putting a large Candy Cane in his hand ... and ended with what I thought was the perfect sentiment given the lyrics of the song (it's a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts).

I'm also linking-up at the Let it Snow Challenge at the Sweet Stampin' Challenge and the Snow/Winter Challenge at the Use Your Stuff Challenge.