TBS DT: A Patriotic Photo Inspiration Week

Hello hello! Here we are on the cusp of Independence Day celebrations with a photo inspiration for our design team challenge.

Isn't this a yummy one? I'm so tickled with this photo - as inspiration it could be used as a sketch, colors, food... I'm excited to see where the design team girls go with this one!

I have to admit that I was going to do food. I've never done a food-related project and thought this would be a good time to try it. I have a bunch of Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry papers and started planning it out in my noggin... *then* I got a sneak peek at Jamie's project (she's vacationing so did hers early) and had a palm-hitting-the-forehead moment!

"Duh!" I said to myself. "I can make something to put on that red magnetic frame thingy I got at a craft fair months ago!" I intended to use it seasonally anyway, and I've only gotten as far as Halloween and Christmas magnets. Of course, this meant I had to take Santa off... *sigh*

Card Recipe

• Image: vintage postcard from an unknown source
• Papers: Bazzill Basics; Pink Paislee 365 Degrees 6x6 pad - Dream Big (front and back designs) and Daydream (back)
• Medium: Glimmer Mist Diamond on the star; Stickles Icicle on the star; Distress Stickles Red Brick on the postcard edges; Colorbox Fluid Chalk in Chestnut Roan on the edges; Distress Crackle Paint in Clear on the postcard top layer
• Embellishments: Robin's Nest Dew Drops; Bazzill Tulle in French Vanilla; and although the red ribbon is hand done, it was absolutely inspired by Pink Paislee 365 Degrees Ribbon Pleats - believe me... if I had those I would have used them instead! Oh, and the rosette is handmade, too.
• Tools and Adhesive: Martha Stewart border punch; Scor-Pal 1/4" adhesive

Here's a photo of it on the wall. My kitchen is black and white with touches of red - the chair back is an extra barstool that hangs out there until we need it. Thanks for the inspiration, Jamie!

Thank *you* for visiting me today. Don't forget The Beary Scrap Design Team still has an open challenge to make a project using Navy, Turquoise and Lime. Get all the details HERE, but hurry! It ends on June 30th. See you there!


Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Summer Fun in Paris

Hello friends! I hope you've had a great weekend! Husband and I went to an Antique Boat Show where we saw loads of beautiful wooden boats. While we are die-hard sailors, we fell in love with vintage Chris Craft runabouts from the '30s and '40s. How much fun would those be to cruise around in?

Speaking of fun, the Beary Scrap design team is celebrating all kinds of it this week with our Summer Fun theme!

For Husband and I, this time of year means day trips and long weekends. We go to summer festivals and visit out-of-state family. For others, summer means grander vacations taken while the kidlets are out of school. I don't know if any of you go to exotic locales like Paris, but it looks like my little friend Emilia is on her way!

I have so much to tell you about this card! If you haven't seen the full line of Basic Grey Capella, you are missing out big time. It is truly stunning paper. Here, I've used the 6x6 pad version of Dolce for a smaller pattern. This whole line is full of scrumminess that you'll see a lot of it from me!

See the Paris postage cancellation do-dad? And the little corner dohickey in the bottom right? They are from an Australian company called Dusty Attic. They are paintable die cuts that come in an incredible assortment of beautiful shapes. 

So, this is my first attempt at coloring with Distress inks. It was an interesting experiment, to say the least. Let's just say there's a lot more practice in my future! I tried to do a little correction on her chin and now she looks like she has a 5 o'clock shadow... *grin* When I get an extra hour or so I'll replace her with a clean-shaven version. :)

This card is also my first one made to fit a handful of challenges rather than finding challenges to fit a finished card. I didn't do so well with the monochromatic challenge (harder than I thought!) but did manage to use up a bit of old stash *and* CASE a card made by someone I really admire. I used this beautiful card made by Linda Coughlin, The Funkie Junkie. We were tasked to change at least 2 things - my changes are a different color scheme and relocating the bottom ribbon to the top. Thanks Linda for always being an inspiration to me!

Oh! and speaking of "firsts" this is the first card I've made without my usual white base. This one is Bazzill Mud Pie, one of my go-to colors. I like it... but I miss my white borders, too. The jury is still out. :)

Challenges

• The Beary Scrap - Summer Fun
• Our Creative Corner (6/25) - CASE an OCC Girl
• PaperPlay #24 (6/23) - Something Old (round ring and brown checked ribbon)
• Fussy & Fancy #13 (7/1) - Monochromatic with wings (I reallyreallyreally tried to stay monochromatic - do I get an "A" for effort? *grin*)
• The Shabby Tea Room #15 (6/27) - Cottage Comfort/Photo Inspiration
• Really Reasonable Ribbon #2 (6/30) - Use ribbon as a border

Card Recipe

• Stamp: Kraftin' Kimmie - Emilia with bonus airplane; Vintage postcard from The Vintage Moth
• Paper: Bazzill Basics in Mud Pie; Basic Grey Capella - Dolce from the fabby 6x6 pad and the back side of a 12x12 Mezzo; watercolor for Emilia; Neenah for the plane
• Medium: Tim Holtz Distress Inks; Stickles - Diamond on scarf; Distress Stickles - Scattered Straw on belt, Walnut Stain on the corner do-dad; Colorbox Fluid Chalk; Prismacolor pencils on the airplane
• Embellishments: Lace and ribbon from stash; Tim Holtz filmstrip ribbon; K & Co metal frame; Dusty Attic corner piece and Paris die cut.
• Adhesive: 1/4" Scor-Tape; Fabri-Tac

That's it for me. I'm off to have some Summer Fun of my own. :)

Don't forget - you still have time to enter your project in the color challenge at The Beary Scrap! It's all about navy, turquoise and lime - a yummy color combination! Go here for all the fabby details!

Thanks so much for stopping in today. I appreciate your company and conversation!

Cheers,

Susan

TBS DT: Pear Soap, (The Details)

Yay! Thanks so much to the Allsorts girls for picking my card as one of their Top 5!

Hey hey hey! This fun card was featured over at Little Paper Wagon, too. Thanks ladies!

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Hello hello! I hope everyone is having a great week so far. I've recovered from my whirlwind visit to the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee. I took a few classes and shopped my wallet bare at the marketplace. It was a blast and I left with a bunch of new skills and ideas. Since being home I've sorted out the laundry and general house stuff... or at least made a "to do" list... *grin* I've also finished this card, with which I am in love and sad to see it go off in the mail yesterday.

This card is a special birthday card for a 78 year old woman who has experienced a very stressful year. Her friends decided to have a "pamper yourself" theme to her birthday gathering and are showering her with pedicures, manicures, massages and facials. Ooh... ahh... Such a delightful group of ladies!

Over at The Beary Scrap Design Team blog we have our BSC #4 new challenge for you: It's the color combination of Navy, Turquoise and Lime. I found this delightful vintage Pears Soap ad in the perfect colors and was tickled that I could use it for my challenge card, too. 

Here's a view of the full easel card:

As you can see, I've layered and Stickle'd the heck out of the Pears ad. Ahhh! I love this image! I'm already itching to use it again. The antennae are homemade with wire, glue, paint and a whole lot of patience. I'm sure there's an easier way, but that goes against my "let's reinvent the wheel!" sensibility. *grin*

While I was browsing the aisles at the Bead and Button show I spied a neat ribbon "necklace". The vendor sewed beads on the top and bottom of a satin ribbon to create a shirred look. You know I had to put my own spin on it!  Lemme tell you it was a handful (but worth it). I think it adds a nice bit of texture and depth. The top pearls are glass and the smaller ones beneath the crocheted ribbon are pearl-lite (read:plastic). The glass ones added quite a bit of heft to the card top - I had to reinforce the small easel part that I've usually left blank. Hmm... I kind of like that effect, too.

(I also like how some card makers use colored card stock as the easel card base, but I'm so wedded to my crisp white edges that I don't think I could try it.) But I digress...

Challenges

• Midnight Madness #58 (6/21) - Sketch (the detail on the bottom of the sketch is represented with the crocheted lace in the "open" position - that's me trying to be clever *grin*) Oh, and I reallyreally want to win the GC to Gurlee Girl... I'm just sayin'...
• Little Red Wagon #33 (6/22) - Beads (the pearls are beads, right?)
• Crafty Creations #72 (6/22) - It's a Stitch-Up! 
• Charisma Cardz #24 (6/23) - All About Bling!
• Stamp Something (6/17) - Happy Something
• Allsorts #56 (6/19) - Lace and/or Buttons
• Our Creative Corner (6/18) - Gotcha Cornered
• Creative Prompts #19 (6/30) - Be Green; The Pears Soap ad was printed on the back of a Strathmore Bristol Board pad cover - the texture is great!

Card Recipe

• Image: The Graphics Fairy
• Paper: Basic Grey Nook and Pantry - Bundt Pan and Pear Tart (on sale now!); SEI Oasis Collection - Caspia and Oasis (also on sale - yay!); printed image and signature panel are recycled from the inside cover of a bristol paper pad - great texture!
• Medium: Colorbox Fluid Chalk - creamy brown and chestnut roam; Stickles Star Dust and Frosted Lace; Glimmer Mist - Pearl
• Embellishments: Mulberry Paper Roses; Basic Grey Capella Ribbon Doilies; miscellaneous from my ever-growing stash o' stuff
• Tools and Adhesives: Scor Tape; Scor Pal; sewing machine

Thanks so much for popping in today!

Cheers,

Susan

TBS DT: Pear Soap, Vintage Style

Hello dear friends! Wow, the last week has been a whirlwind of beads and baubles and sparkles and... butane torches. I'll fill you in soon, but for now I want to show you a bit of my current Beary Scrap DT project:

Pop on over to the design team blog for more details! See you there!

Cheers,
Susan

Everything's Coming Up Roses!

Hello hello! I'm very pleased to tell you my favorite mulberry roses are now available at The Beary Scrap.

 You've seen them on many of my cards; now you can get them, too! Kimm has a great variety of colors and sizes and excellent pricing. Ooh, and she has super fast shipping, too. Order today and they can be at your door in just a few short days. Happy shopping, my paper crafty friends!

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In other news, there is still one more day to enter our Beary Sweet Challenge #3: Get Sketchy With Us.

 

You can see how the design team used this fun sketch at our blog:

• My card on Monday
• Elise on Wednesday
• Jamie on Thursday
• Patricia on Friday
• Gini on Saturday

Have a great day!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Father's Day

Hello hello! Happy day to everyone. I hope you had a good weekend. Due to our East Coast humidity, we hid inside for most of it. Wow is it hot these days; and it's not even summer yet! As I write this Sunday evening, we're under a tornado watch here on the eastern shore of Maryland. Y'know, I thought we left all that when Ohio was in our rear view mirror for the last time! *sheesh*

So, have *you* entered our Beary Sweet sketch challenge yet? You have until the end of day June 14th to get it linked - you could win a gift voucher from The Beary Scrap!

In honor of dear old dad, The Beary Scrappy Gals are celebrating Father's Day this week. Go Dad!

I'm on a bit of a vintage kick these days and decided to put a sketch challenge and my love of vintage images  together. The end result has all the hallmarks of my inner quirkiness, and I love it!

Ok, so I'm really excited to tell you about my moon. It's a vintage image from The Graphics Fairy that I sized to about 3"x3" and printed. Do you remember my crackle glass tutorial from way back in March? Well, that old technique has been tossed out the window for an easier and more effective one-step process. Yes! I said "one step"! I also said "process", and I'm not sure if one step can be a process... but I digress.

Have you seen Tim Holtz's Distress Crackle Paint? It is fabulous. Really. I used the clear paint on Mr. Moon and allowed him to dry. As this paint dries it makes these tiny crackles that look truly vintage. All the work is done for you! Check out this close-up:

Once dry I mounted him to a thick piece of bristol board for stability and popped him up on the card.  Cool, no?

I used a mix of new and old embellishements - the gold 3d leaf thingy is from my stash, and the three gems are vintage jewels from Grandma's stash. Oh, and one more thing - you might remember that Kimm walked me through the variety of clear Stickles after I whined about my Star Dust rut. I used the Stickles Diamond around the Happy Father's Day tag - it's like it has little flecks of 24 carat gold!

Challenges

• Midnight Madness #56 - Sketch
• Simon Says Challenge - Father's Day

Card Recipe

• Image - The Graphics Fairy
• Paper - Bazzill Basics Mud Pie and French Vanilla; My Mind's Eye Laundry Line (lush papers on sale right now!)
• Medium - Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint in Clear; Color Box Fluid Chalk in Chestnut Roan; Stickles in Diamond; Distress Stickles in Frayed Burlap around the moon
• Embellishments - Bazzill Tulle in French Vanilla (3 layers thick); others from stash
• Tools & Adhesives - Spellbinders Shapeabilities Fancy Tags; Scor-Pal (love this fun new tool!); Scor Tape in 1/4"; sewing machine

Thanks so much for stopping in! Please visit The Beary Scrap Design Team blog all week for great Father's Day projects from each of us!

Cheers,

Susan

Birthday Blog Candy Winner!

Hello hello! I have to tell you it's been wonderful to have all of you visit and take a look around. Through the entries and the comments I have found loads of new friends and spent hours browsing through incredible projects on your blogs - and I'm not done yet! Thank you so much for reading my "rules" and giving me your time. I truly appreciate it.

It seems that three cards really stood out to you (in a completely non-statistical, "I eyeballed it" kind of way):

 

I loved to see comments about cards that weren't too "sweet" - it reminds me that I can make cards without frills or Magnolias... *wink* I love my Maggies, but there are others that really rock, too.

Thanks so much for this walk down memory lane!

Without further ado, a big huge THANK YOU to everyone reading this for entering my candy *and* making it through to the end of this post. If I have not stopped by your blog and left comments be warned that I will! *grin*

Congratulations to lucky number 50:

Pam H. from Making Stuff Daily

Mr. Random Guy picked you for his Wednesday Love. Please email me with your mailing address and I will pop your goodies in the post tout suit!

Cheers,

Susan

CLP #26: June Sketch Challenge!

Hello hello! Can you believe it's June already? Wowzers, the year is flying by! Can someone press the pause button, please?

So with June 1 comes another fabulous sketch at the CLP Challenge Blog. Yay! I just lovelovelove Chelsea's sketches, don't you? This month is sponsored by the Digi Doodle Shop, and they very kindly let me use their Rooster image.

When I saw the rooster, I knew immediately that I wanted to use a paper pack from GCD Studios called Provence. "OH!", I thought to myself, "I can make a card in a French country theme with all the delicious papers in this poor, neglected pack."  

Mais, non. Il n'était pas possible. Les tendances étaient trop lumineux et en conflit avec le coq.

So I decided on Websters Pages paper and dug through the vintage embellishment bin and found bits and pieces that work. I still have a bit of French feel (er, ignore the tiny fact that the bingo card is from Springfield, Mass... 'k?) and the rooster pops on the card. Whoo hoo! Or is that cock-a-doodle-doo?

Sooo, as usual I've put the ol' Susan Spin on the sketch. Most importantly, I reinterpreted the background oval on each side of my main image. The right-side clock fills the round requirement easily, but the left side charm holder brad thingy is where the "spin" really occurs. It's round, ok? OK?! Heh, it's round and it's my spin... I crack me up! (Oh, and I promise you the raffia lace in the background is not crooked, even though it looks so in the photo.) 

Please take few minutes to visit the CLP Challenge Blog and see all the incredible samples from the Design Team. Y'know, I have to pinch myself each time I visit to prove that I'm not dreaming up my slot on the DT. They are such a wonderfully talented group of ladies!

The challenge runs through June 30 - I look forward to everyone's entries!


Other Fabby Challenges

• CLP #26: Sketch
• ABC Challenges (end 6/6)- V is for Vintage
• Creative Inspirations (ends 6/1)- Distressed
• Delightful Sketches (ends 6/9)- Texture
• Charisma Cardz #21 (ends 6/2)- Going 'Round In Circles
• Opus Gluei #57 (end 6/5)- I Can See Clearly Now
• Pixie Dust Studio #24 (ends 6/2)- Going Round and Round

Cheers,
Susan