Buzz, Brag, and Bee Happy Friday - March 11th

Happy Friday! Monday morning we woke up to a surprise snowfall, can you believe it? It was only ~1 inch, but our deck was a sheet of ice. It melted rather quickly, but it inspired me to make this card with my newest cricut cartridge, Winter Frolic. When I was a teenager, there was a long street one block from our home that had a super steep hill. We loved sledding down that street!

I entered this card at Jingle Belles card challenge blog this week. Their guest designer this week, Rose, chose my card as a top pick! Woot woot :)

June Houck

AND I have even more good news: there is a new blood test to check if your body makes an antibody to the folic acid receptor in the brain (one of the many causes of Autism). Your body may make a blocking antibody and/or a binding antibody. When I was in FL for the HoneyBee BEEtreat retreat, I took my twin girls (both of whom are diagnosed with Autism) to be tested. The results came back positive for both of my girls! We started treatment on Wednesday. The girls just have to take a mega-dose of folinic acid every day. I don't believe there is a silver bullet for Autism, but this is definitely a contributor. We will take any improvement we can get :) So far over 75% of children tested are testing positive for these antibodies and those children receiving the folinic acid at high doses (1 mg/kg) are beginning to show improvement in as little as 3 weeks! I'll keep you posted as to improvements we see in my girls.

What good news do you have to share this week?

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Rosemary

Hello everyone!! Today I'm heading to Sarasota to see my son and family.  I owe Nina her Christmas gift and that was a day out shopping and lunch; just the two of us!!..I have my trusty scooter in the car and my oxygen, so hopefully I can keep up with her..lol.  Of course I can't wait to give my little honey Ian a big grandma hug!!

On Saturday I'll then head down to Punta Gorda for our Miss Betty's SWARM!! Looking forward to seeing her and my scrapping buddies..

Keeping with this weeks themed challenge, I made a Spirelli card for a very special lady having a very special birthday!!  Happy Birthday was cut with a die from Sizzix...one of my favorites!

So, what's exciting in your life?

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I don't have any pictures to share right now, as I am posting this from a remote location... but my news is good... I am almost all set up for our swarm today, and I have a lot of fun treats for the ladies.  (Will have pictures of those later!) I had to leave home three days early because my Mom is in the hospital here in the town where the swarm is being held, and the best news is that she is getting better every day  :o)  The girls will be arriving for the swarm/crop by around noon today, and I am excited about all of the fun we will be having!  I've got a couple of really fun tutorials for them. 

Speaking of tutorials, Beth has a great one for you on Monday, so be sure to check in then!

Have you been working on some Spirellies?  Kind of like potato chips, aren't they?  You can't stop with just one!  They are so easy to make ahead while you're watching tv, etc. and have ready for your next creating time.  We are looking forward to seeing your Spirelli posts on Wednesday!

Now, here's today's linking party for whatever is making you happy!  Share your good news today!!!

and the HoneyBees

Monday Motivational, Spirelli Designs, March 7

Around and around and around she goes ..... It's National Craft Month!!! 

Rosemary

Welcome to our Monday Motivational!!

Today I will be showing you how to do Spirelli or 'string art'.

For some of you this may be a new technique and for some, just a reminder of a technique we sometimes forget to use.  This is such an easy technique allowing you to make various designs to work with your project.

The first thing you need is your template.  This can be cut with any cutting machine, manual or electric.  What also works well are Nestibilities.  Don't forget to do a search online for free templates.

For my sample I used a pattern from one of my Nestibilities. 

Tape the end of your string to the back of the template.  I keep the string on the spool since I have no idea how much I will need.

As you can see from the photo, you start by bringing the string to the front and depending on your design, bring it down and then under the cardstock from your point B.  Bring it up so you start again at the next groove to the starting point.  Bring that down to your new 'B' and go under and keep going.  You will notice the string crosses over.

 

When I do my design, I keep going until there are'diamond' shapes for each groove.  This also helps me keep track should I get distracted.

Depending where you bring your part A to meet part B will determine how much space you have in the middle.  By bringing the string from A to B close, you will have more space in the middle to add whatever you would like.

Here is a simple design where you put the string through each groove, still using the cross over from A to B.  How fun this would be for flowers by just adding stems or lollypops!!

Here is a different edged shape.

Here are two cards I made using a cut from my Lacy Labels cartridge.  By changing the size on my Design Studio, I was able to get an oval shape.

The center for this one was just big enough to fit the flowers in. The center was done using my I-Top!

Using the original shape, a circle, I designed this to have a larger opening.

I would like for you to notice that I cut little slits on this template to hold the string. This allowed me to use this super cool cut and not have my string move on me. 

Remember to use tape to hold your finished end string to the back of the card.

I sure hope my instructions were easy enough to follow, and please, if you have any questions let me know.  I would love to see your 'spirelli' on our Wednesday HoneyBee Showcase!!