You're The Tops!

Hat pins, stick pins, pretty sparkly baubles. So many of us have a feminine side that thrives on a wee bit 'o bling, right? For me, it's bracelets and brooches. I have a small collection of vintage rhinestone bracelets that I love to wear and a monster rhinestone sunburst brooch I bought  from a street vendor in New York. It is a winter staple on my sweaters. Oh, the sparkles!

So, you know my Etsy shop scrapbook and stick pins, right?

Welll, Etsy seller Nekoda, from the It's A Girl Thing Shoppe makes adorable tutu dresses and couture mini top hats. I'm tickled to show you what she's doing with my sparkly little stick pins:

Aren't these the cutest hats? They are 5" - 7" high and come with built-in hair clips. I love them!

Thanks for visiting today. Hope you have a great day!

Cheers,
Susan

A Lovely Pair!

Hello folks! I hope you are having a fantastic start to your weekend. I'm not sure, but I think Husband just talked me into repainting the family room tomorrow. My head is still spinning a bit. Of course, I'm the "painter" of the family so you know who will be doing the bulk of the work... The ceilings are ridiculously high. Ugh.

Anyway, I'm here to show you a bit of my goings-on for the past week. For a set of twins I needed a set of similar cards. Simple style was important as was pastel coloring. I think I'm pushing the edge of pastels...

These papers are from the much-beloved Basic Grey Curio 6x6 pad. I've been saving these designs for the right projects and am happy to be able to combine these favorites! The flowers are from Prima and the stamens added by me. I'm not sure how it looks on your monitor, but the flowers really do complement the background papers. It looks a bit funny on my screen, but in person they all work well. :) The birds are from a great K&Co. die cut pack called "Flora & Fauna". (There's one bird per pack.)

Here's a side view to see dimension. The birds edges were rounded under and it was attached to the white layer with 1/16" foam dots. The white layer is popped up on 1/8" dots.

That's it for me tonight! Thanks for visiting. I hope you have a productive weekend! Next week I'll show you some Graphic 45 projects I've been working on. Fun!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Hiya crafty friends! Over at The Beary Scrap DT & Challenge blog we're a few days into our month-long challenge and I'm so impressed with all the entries so far! You are definitely showing us "Your Beary Best" and we appreciate it!

Today I have a simple Christmas card made with My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Christmas.

I used one of the die-cut embellishments from the 12 x 12 kit and put a green layer behind it. The card base is the same green, so it's a nice little accent. I spritzed the poinsetta with Glimmer Mist and it's a lot more subtle in person! So is the Glossy Accents over the red "Christmas" and bits on the die cut embellishment. My camera was picking up all kinds of light today!

I used a bit of green seam binding behind the flower and Kaisercraft pearls in the corner. The stick pin is one of my Killam Creatables, and since looking at this photo I've decided to add a second pin. That one looks lonely!

Thanks so much for visiting today! Our "Your Beary Best" challenge runs ALL MONTH with a $30 gift voucher as the prize. Won't you show us your beary best?

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Snake-Oil Salesman on Halloween (Updated Photo)

Hi folks! Happy Monday to you. I hope you had a nice weekend. Husband and I took a train up to NewYork to see a Broadway show. I love New York and all the hustle and bustle. I'm not going to take up your crafty time talking about the 9/11 anniversary, but I want to share one little experience with you.

As we sat in Penn Station to come home Sunday morning we could hear a pipe and drum band marching by outside. It was 8:35am and up until that moment the Amtrak station was full of the normal buzz. One by one, I could see the recognition of that sound dawn on my fellow travelers. I don't believe there is a sound more profound than a bagpipe, and a band can tear at the fibers of your heart while celebrating life, love and liberty. (Ok, I'm Scottish... can you tell?) The train station fell silent for a bit as we listened. It was a rare, truly poignant moment.

So this week the Beary Scrap design team is wrapping up our September sketch challenge and introducing an oh-so-timely theme challenge. As a way to spice up our final sketch samples Gini, Patricia and I are including our favorite embellishments. How easy is that?

[Update: I added the black swirls.]

I've used 3 favorites on today's card: lace, sewing and decorative pins! Haha - why chose just one when there are so many? The papers are from Authentique's "Glowing" 6x6 pad, and the image is one of my favorite vintage finds. The skeleton is a bit of a snake-oil salesman, isn't he? I have a whole collection of these Antikamnia Chemical Company calendar images (in full-color; black & white seemed perfect for this card, though). They really are quite amazing!

Card Recipe

• Image - vintage Antikamnia Calendar skeleton printed twice and layered
• Paper - Authentique's Glowing 6x6 pad; Bazzill Basics in orange and black; Canson Mi-Tiente white
• Medium - Ranger Distress Ink in Rusty Hinge and Vintage Photo; Ranger Stickles in Black Diamond
• Embellishments - Prima Say It In Crystals Borders Black; handmade decorative pin set; lace and flowers from stash
• Tools/Adhesives -border punch; corner punch; Scor-Pal; Scor-Tape; Fabri-Tac

Thanks so much for visiting today! There is still plenty of time to get your September sketch challenge project entered (by midnight EDT Wednesday) - you might win a $20 gift voucher to The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Mini Album (Cover)

Hello crafty friends! This week the Beary Scrap design team continues with our Tic-Tac-Toe challenge samples. This has been the most fun!

For the longest time I eyed up the Prima Build-A-Book albums (40% off right now!) and wondered if I should take one on. Could I do it? Would I have the patience to complete all the pages? I didn't know... until one day I decided to take the plunge. I could do it! Why not? I'm a crafty sort of gal, right? It's only 8 surfaces to design and cover, and I had confidence.

I received it and it sat on a shelf for weeks. I told myself I didn't have the right paper collection for it. Really, I was chickening out. Haha! Luckily, Echo Park's Victoria Gardens came along and I knew it was the perfect collection to use on this album.

For this challenge I've used lace, dry embossing and pearls. I have the cover completed and the inside pages will follow in the next few weeks. I'm so happy that I've finally started this album and am ready to plan another one. Can you believe it?

If you saw my message on The Beary Scrap Facebook page last week, you might recognize the teal flower. I used the Retro punches to punch out 3 large and medium flowers, spritzed with water and scrunched up. After they dried a little I carefully opened them back up and glued the layers together. Once they dried completely, the tips were tinged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and Star Dust Stickles. It's not bad for a first try *wink*. I think I'll work on lighter card stock and use more Distress Inks to color them in.There are so many possibilities! The large Retro punch is currently out-of-stock, but you can easily achieve the same kind of results with the medium and large Daisy punches. The daisy's pointy tips would work perfectly - have fun with it!

The "Today I wish you..." banner is from the Victoria Gardens Elements Stickers sheet. I cut it out -backing and all- and used Scor-Tape on the left and right edges to elevate it over the crochet lace.

Card Recipe

• Paper - Echo Park Victoria Gardens: Rose Garden, Garden Trellis on the left edge; Garden Pond for the bird cage; Delightful Doilies for the bird and wing. I also used Bazzil Basics off-white inside the birdcage, which is where you will find my dry embossing
• Medium - Glossy Accents on the bird cage; Stickles Star Dust (just about everywhere); Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo on the edges
• Embellishment - Prima Build-A-Book; EP Victoria Gardens Elements Stickers; Ivory seam binding; lace, flowers pearls from stash; Stick pin and charms are made by me.
• Tools & Adhesives - Medium and large Retro punches; Scor-Tape; Fabri-Tac

Thanks for visiting today! I hope you will consider joining our Tic-Tac-Toe challenge - check out all the fun 3-in-a-row combinations you could use on your project:

Click the pic for all the challenge details!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Fairy Sweet August Sketch

Hello Hello! It's Monday *and* the first of the month so I have the new Beary Sweet Sketch Challenge to share with you.

I used the lovely and fun Echo Park Country Drive papers and the Belles 'n Whistles "Fairy Flight" stamp. Isn't she adorable? I used both a 12x12 solid pink design and a smaller 6x6 floral design found on a 12x12 "Sundress" sheet.  The white layer behind the sweet fairy is from the 12x12 "Journaling Cards" sheet.

Card Recipe

• Stamp: Belles 'n Whistles "Fairy Flight"
• Paper: Echo Park Country Drive: Sundress, Petunia Raspberry and Journaling Cards
• Medium: Copic markers for skin tones; Stickles Star Dust and Fruit Punch (my new favorite color!); Faber-Castell watercolor pencils
• Embellishments: White Mulberry paper roses; Decorative stick pin from my Etsy shop; From stash: all other flowers, lace, pink ribbon, laser cuts 
• Adhesives and Tools: Brush2O Water Barrel Pen (used with watercolor pencils); 1/4" Scor-Tape; 3D Dots - 1/8" and 1/16"; Fabri-Tac; silicone

Thanks for visiting today! Please check out the challenge and enter by Midnight, August 14th. You could win a $20 gift voucher from The Beary Scrap - good luck!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Happy Birthday

Hey there crafty folks! I hope you had a great weekend. This week the Beary Scrap design team is showing more samples for our current Sketch Challenge & Blog Candy. On Thursday our next Guest Designer is sharing her first project with us. I can't wait to see what Lori Leng of Pinkcloud Scrappers will show us first! At the end of the week Jamie will usher in a new challenge and we will announce our winners on Sunday the 17th. We have a busy week in store for you!

I've gone whimsical and cute for this week's project. I knew I wanted to color my new Balloon Kaylee stamp and went poking through my papers to find a good match. Lo and behold I found the cutest My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup papers. I forgot I had them!

Click the pic for a larger view

I combined 2 lines from My Mind's Eye - Alphabet Soup for the papers and Tickled Pink for the ric-rac and brad inside the big flower. I love how these 2 lines coordinate!

Kaylee is layered and I'm still decided whether to use Star Dust Stickles on either the headband or balloon. It seems needed up there, but I'm not sure which to do. What do you think?

Oh, and the "Happy Birthday" stamp included with Kaylee will go on the inside panel.It's just, um, not quite finished. :)

Challenges, Please

• Some Odd Girl (7/13) - Bright and Blinding (Er... I'd say this is vibrant, but maybe not blinding...)

Card Recipe

• Stamp: Some Odd Girl's Kaylee
• Paper: Bazzill Basics (50% clearance!); My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup (Girl) - Sunny Stripes, Lovely
• Medium: Copic for skin (E000, E00, E11); Prismacolor with OMS; Glimmer Mist; Stickles - Fruit Punch around the edges, Stardust on flowers and Kaylee; Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo blended with Spun Sugar on the striped layer, Broken China on the heart layer.
• Embellishments: My Mind's Eye Fine & Dandy Tickled Pink Trim; Fine & Dandy Tickled Pink Decorative Brads (flower center); "Leandro Blue" seam binding behind Bazzill tulle; 16mm & 10mm Mulberry paper roses - 16mm white is spritzed with Clover Glimmer Mist; Killam Creatables Decorative Pins; crochet flower from stash
• Adhesives: 1/4" Scor-Tape; 3D Dots; silicone

Click to go to the challenge!

Blog Candy!

That's it for me! I hope to see you at our challenge, going on through Thursday night!

Cheers,
Susan

Happy 4th and an Etsy sale!

Hi folks - hope everyone is having a fun weekend so far! As I type this I can hear fireworks going off at the ball park. So much fun!

Just a quick note that I have a bunch of new decorative pin sets and stick pins in my Etsy shop. This weekend you can use coupon code JULY10 for 10% off your order.

Happy weekend!

TBS DT: June Sketch

Hello crafty friends! It's another Monday - oh, how does the weekend go so fast? It was a beautiful one here, and we took advantage and trimmed trees and weeded. I hated the work but love the results!

This week the Beary Scrap design team is showing samples using our current Beary Sweet Sketch Challenge. We're adding a little extra element to our projects in the form of seam binding.

Here's my take on the sketch. I wasn't sure about the sketch at first, but fell in love with it as I pulled the Bo Bunny Vicky B papers together. There are so many wonderful designs in this 6x6 paper stack that I had no problem at all. I adore these colors!

I used the wooden dragonfly from Pink Paislee's Butterfly Garden collection (currently sold out in the store - sorry!). I gave it a base coat of pearly white and pink acrylic paints and then painted the body and part of the wings with glue, then sprinkled copper German Glass Glitter. On the wing tips I used the German Glass Glitter in white, with an itty bitty bit of Star Dust Stickles on the very ends.

The pink brads are from My Mind's Eye Madison Ave and the green swirl brad in the flower is from the We R Memory Keepers "Inspiration" Eyelet & Snap set. 

The mulberry paper roses were spritzed with a light green Glimmer Mist and touched with Star Dust Stickles. The  crocheted flower is an Etsy find from an awesome seller called Willowfolk and the decorative pins are from my new Killam Creatables line (available on Etsy!).

Card Recipe

• Paper - Bo Bunny "Vicky B" 6x6 paper pad; Bazzill Basics Walnut, Lime, Orange, Off-white
• Medium - Meyer Imports German Glass Glitter in Copper and White; Ranger Distress Ink in Rusty Hinge and Vintage Photo; Ranger Stickles in Lime Green, Frosted Lace, Star Dust (at the very end of the wing tips), Antique Bronze; Glimmer Mist in a light green
• Embellishments - Pink Paislee's wood dragonfly; Mulberry paper roses; Ivory seam binding; We R Memory Keepers "Inspiration" Eyelet & Snap set; Killam Creatables Decorative Pins
• Tools - Ranger Blending Tool; Scor-Pal
• Adhesives - 1/4" Scor-Tape; Fabri-Tac; 1/16" Glue Dots

Thanks for visiting today. I really hope you can join our Beary Sweet Sketch Challenge, going on now through June 14th. Come play with us and you could win a $20 gift voucher!

Cheers,
Susan

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TBS DT: Mischievous Fairy!

Hello hello! It's Memorial Day here in the US, and I hope with all my heart that everyone takes a moment to celebrate and remember those who fought the good fight. Thank you all.

This week Gini and I are wrapping up our current Beary Sweet "Nature" Challenge before Patricia kicks off a new sketch challenge on Wednesday. Can you believe June is almost here?!

I can't seem to break away from butterflies during my nature-themed projects, and this last one is no different. :) This time, it seems the fairy has released the butterflies from captivity!

Pink Paislee's Butterfly Garden line is the name of the game on this Tim Holtz Alterations/Sizzix die cut tag. I've used Butterfly Garden for both the tag itself and the cut-out butterflies. The fairy was cut from the "Botanical Garden" sheet.

The Butterfly Garden wood cage (currently sold out - check back for more) was colored with Tattered Rose Distress Ink and then randomly dotted with the same color Distress Stickles. I was very inspired by Guest DT Debbie and her pink glittered cage of 2 weeks ago!

I added Star Dust Stickles to all the wings and mulberry paper flowers, and used Frosted Lace Stickles on the rose for a little glitter without all the glamour.

Card Recipe

• Paper - Pink Paislee Butterfly Garden "Butterfly Wings" and "Botanical Garden" 12x12 sheets
• Medium -Ranger Distress Ink in Tattered Rose and Vintage Photo; Ranger Stickles in Star Dust and Frosted Lace, and Distress Stickles in Tattered Rose.
• Embellishment -Sage seam binding; hand cut butterflies and fairy from the Butterfly Garden sheets; Pink Paislee wood cage; Mulberry Paper Roses; assorted pearls; decorative pins from my collection
• Adhesive -Fabri-Tac
• Tools - Tim Holtz Alterations "Tag & Bookplate Die"; Honeybee Scissors for precision cutting

Thanks for visiting today! You shave until midnight EST tomorrow to enter your Nature-inspired project into our Beary Sweet Challenge. You could win a $20 voucher to The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan

Introducing Killam Creatables Decorative Pin Sets

Hello hello dear crafty friends! So many folks have emailed about the pin sets I use on my cards that I decided it's time to share. I now have decorative pin sets available in my Etsy shop. :)

Since Memorial Day weekend is coming up, everything in the shop is 10% off - use coupon code MEMORIAL10! Be sure to read the shop announcement at the top - I'll be frantically working on new pin sets (as long as I don't get distracted by bright, shiny things!) and will gladly combine shipping on multiple orders through Monday (but won't ship combined orders until Tuesday, of course.)

 

Beads are glass - either lampwork, glass or faceted crystal. All of these pins are 2" long with flat ends (not pointy). I find that length is perfect to tuck behind a flower or ribbon arrangement on my cards. Here are some examples:

I'll continue to add new sets, including OOAK lampwork beads, fun dangles and larger stick pins and sets. I can even customize a "Killam Creatables" set for you if you wish!

Thanks for visiting today!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Nature's Flutters

Hello hello and happy Monday to you! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I had a birthday... and it was good. *wink*

So, this is Week 2 of our Beary Sweet Nature Challenge, where you can enter any project that you think conjures up "nature" in your noggin. As a bonus challenge to the design team, we have to include a charm in our project. Easy enough!

Kimm just got this fun filmstrip ribbon into the store, and I decided to use that as my jumping-off point. Here's what happened when it all landed:

Card Recipe

• Paper: Bo Bunny Gabrielle 6x6 pad; Bazzill Basics Lily Pad and Walnut
• Medium: Ranger Distress Ink in Walnut Stain; Stickles Star Dust and Patina; Ranger Glossy Accents as a top layer on the bitty butterflies; Irridescent acrylic paints on the Pink Paislee wood butterfly
• Embellishments: Tiny butterflies cut from a sheet in the Gabrielle paper pad with homemade wire antennae; Tim Holtz Idea-ology film strip ribbon (available soon in the store!); Pearls; Assorted Prima flowers; Hand made decorative stick pins; crochet lace from stash
• Adhesive: 1/4" Scor-Tape; 3D Dots - 1/8" black 
• Tools: Scor-Pal (check out the Scor-Pal Mini!); Ranger Blending Tool; sewing machine

Thanks for visiting today! Come back all week for more great design team samples of our Nature theme. I hope you can enter our Beary Sweet Nature challenge, too. You could win a $20 voucher from The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Tilda Jumps for Joy!

Hello crafty friends! It's Monday after a busy gardening weekend, which means I'm feeling achy but good after all that weeding. Phew! Who knew some weeds just don't die over the winter? I've got this wicked grassy stuff that sends out runners and .... oh my, you don't need to hear about my herb bed woes. Let's take a look at this week's Beary Scrap Design Team card, then! *So* much more fun.

We have a new sketch challenge for you, and I was inspired to color up a Magnolia stamp. I *know*! It's been a long time, but Tilda doesn't seem to be bothered - she's jumping for joy!

I layered her up and used copious amounts of Star Dust Stickles. The papers are the fun and springy Old World Cabbage Stew from Jillibean Soup. The butterflies are vintage images printed and cut out - I added wire antennae and Stickles for a little more detail. The pins are homemade.

Our Beary Sweet Sketch challenge goes on through May 14 - we'd love to see your entries based on this sketch. C'mon over and play!

Card Recipe

• Stamp - Magnolia
• Paper - Jillibean Soup Old World Cabbage Stew; Bazzill Basics in Mud Pie and Guacamole
• Medium - Copic for skin tones; Prismacolor pencils blended with OMS for the rest of Tilda; Stickles Star Dust; Distress Ink in Vintage Photo on the paper and flower edges
• Embellishments - 16mm Mulberry Paper Rose (white); Kaisercraft Pearls in snow; all others from stash
• Tools - Scor-Pal; Ranger Blending Tool; Honey Bee Scissors; trusty sewing machine
• Adhesives - Scor-Tape 1/4"; Fabri-Tac; EK Success 3D Dots 1/8"

Challenges, Please [Wow! I haven't been able to enter so many in AGES! Thanks for your consideration!]

• The Artistic Stamper (5/31) - Lovely Ladies and Gorgeous Girls
• Magnolia Down Under #94 (5/7) - Lace and ribbon
• Magnolia Stamp Lovers (5/7) - Flowers
• Totally Tilda #21 (5/7) - Paper Piecing
• Totally Gorjuss #78 (5/6) - 1-2-3 [1 - Neglected Magnolia, happy to see ink!; 2 - handmade stick pins; 3 - pretty pearls]
• If The Shoe Fits #77 (5/5) - Things with Wings 
• Stamp Something (5/5) - Things with Wings
• Fussy and Fancy (5/5) - Springtime [See how happy Tilda is for Spring flowers?]

Thanks for visiting me today! I hope you enjoyed my Tilda, too.

Cheers,
Susan