Santa's Elf Updated!

I collect ornament kits from The Cracker Box. I'm making this one as a gift. :) Shhh... the receiver might be reading... *wink*

I hope everyone is enjoying a happy holiday season.

Cheers,
Susan
***********************
OK - here it is January 11th and I'm finally getting around to sharing finished photos of the beautiful Cracker Box kit ornament. I gave it to my brother and his new wife for Christmas!

Finished with stand

Detail of the main decoration, repeated on the other side

I love these kits but they take so much time to make. I logged 10 hours with this one, and the most intricate one I've made took 22 hours. I never keep them - they are always made as wedding gifts. As much as I respect the time and thought that goes into a wedding registry, I ignore it and make a keepsake instead. :)

Cheers!

12 Tags of Christmas, Tag 1 (Finished)

Hiya folks! Phew, it's been too long since I wrote here *and* sat in my studio. I was all set to play along with Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas - I even started my version of the first one! Then life got in the way and I haven't been back to assemble Tag 1 or try any of the others. I've been watching as he uploads a new one each day and some techniques I love and will definitely try.

I wanted to share bits of my Tag 1. I don't have any of the supplies he used so I improvised, which is really the point of all of this. Use whatcha got on the cool techniques he shows!

Edit Jan 12th: And here's the finished tag! My husband and brother-in-law exchanged donations to favorite charities instead of gifts. I made a certificate and wrapped it up with this tag for his Christmas.

Here's a link to Tim's Day 1 tag.

I used a Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder on Co'ordinations paper. The grungeboard noel letters are were painted silver then covered in German glass glitter. The pinecones are real - just painted and glittered. The foliage is a combination of Sizzix Sizzlits, a Bigz die and punches. I used different color greens and touched with white paint and rock candy Stickles. I still need to touch the edges with brown ink and curl them so they're not so flat. I'm considering more swirls to use with the "noel". I'd cut from grungepaper and cover in the same glass glitter. And I still have to make the baubles. :) I'll show the finished tag soon! 

If you want to see some real 12 Tags magic, visit Shelly Hickox. She blows me away with every project!

So, anyway, I'm still around! Ha! The family is coming in for an early Christmas this weekend and it's smooth sailing (a/k/a studio time) for me after. [Edit Jan 12th: if only that ended up being true!] I hope your days are festive and fun!

Cheers,
Susan

Vintage Christmas Altered Altoid Tin

Hiya folks! You might know I like to haunt the halls over at Craftster.org. I joined a Vintage Christmas Altered Altoid Tin swap and here's what I made:

The tin is perched atop a wood candlestick from the craft store. I painted it black then swooshed a little gold here and there. The knob at the top got the same treatment. The Santa image is from Graphic 45's Christmas Emporium. The 8x8 pack is chock-full of gorgeousness!

There are three layers including the base one with the fireplace. then Santa with kids and the last layer is just the kids. Two of the stockings are layered, also.

This little sign covered a bump created when I had to add a teeny tiny nail to hold the tin to the paper. I thought my mighty glue would work, but it pulled away enough to make me nervous, so the nail went in after the tin was finished. Of course I couldn't find one with a perfectly flat head!

The back is also G45, including the "special delivery" tag and little postage stamps. I know my swap partner received the today but I won't get mine until Monday. She's wicked talented so I'll be sure to show you hers too!

Cheers,
Susan

Mini Christmas Tags

Hiya folks! In honor of today's start of Tim Holtz's annual 12 Tags of Christmas frenzy, I want to share a couple of tags I made last weekend. They are small - 4.5" x about 2.5", and three are inspired by tags from his 2010 collection.

I made them as free gifts for shopping in my Etsy store on Small Business Saturday. The wonderful customer who received these has been very kind to me throughout the year and I think I gave her more than she bargained for... in a good way!

I had a lot of fun with these, using scads of Tim Holtz and Ranger stuff I've either not used before or used in new ways. The only one not inspired by the 12 Tags is the blue "Snow". I had the letters from a different project and paired with white embossed TH snowflake stamps. The cut-out flakes are from a Cricut cartridge - maybe from Joys of the Season since that's the only Christmas one I have. Oh, and the rosette is a 1/2" x 12" strip of paper scored at 1/4" intervals. Easy do-it-yourself!

If you're not familiar with Tim or his tags, check out his blog - today is day 1 of the 2011 tags, and if it's any indication of what's to come, I might just play along. They are great for learning new techniques and you definitely don't have to use his products. At the bottom of his posts you can see where other people have uploaded their versions of his tag. It's fun to see the inspiration!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: A Final Thank You

Hi folks - as you probably know by now, Kimm and I have made the tough decision to stop the challenges and retire the design team. There were a lot of factors that went into this decision and as hard as it is to say goodbye, we believe it was the right one.

Today I want to send out a cornucopia filled with "thank you's". I owe a lot of my creative growth to this team and our challenge participants. I don't think I would have stretched (or been pushed!) in so many different directions without all of you. Thank you!

Gini - I give you credit for inspiring me to broaden my horizons and not always default to a character stamp on my cards. I love coloring my Magnolia stamps, but I also really appreciate the beauty of die cuts using Spellbinders and others. You are a whiz with the dies and I always look forward to your next project. And any time I rough up edges of my layers I think of you. You are the Queen of Distressed Edges!

Patricia - I've always been amazed at your talent with the Tear Bears and Critters and now you're wowing me with the Beary Sweet Designs cutting files. You have a great eye and a wonderful spirit, and I cherish the friendship that has developed outside of the team.

Jamie - You have inspired me over and over that there is way more "out there" than cards. Your 3D projects are amazing and I love seeing your family in scrapbook layouts. I can't believe how much your kids have grown while this team has been together!

Lori - Your designs are always beautiful! I'm so glad you were able to join us and sad that our time together was so short. I look forward to keeping up with your blog and being inspired by you!

Thanks so much to Elise, our beautiful former teammate and to our wonderful guest designers Brenda and Debbie. Wow, I look at these 7 names and see 7 very different styles. I've taken a "stroll" through each of our posts and really can't get over how lucky I've been to have such a talented team.

Kimm - We've had a great run here, haven't we? Thank you for allowing us to offer these challenges every month and giving out great prizes. You have been very generous to me and the girls, and I am grateful. I look forward to continuing the friendship that started years ago when I discovered tear bears and you were so generous with your time.

Challenge participants and blog followers - THANK YOU! It's been wonderful to visit your blogs and see your projects based on our challenges. With all my heart I appreciate your continued support of our challenges and The Beary Scrap.

Card Recipe

• Paper: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found "Breeze" 6x6 pad; Bazzill card stock
• Medium: Ranger Seasonal Distress Ink "Gathered Twigs"; Glossy Accents
• Embellishments: Ivory seam binding distressed with a little Gathered Twigs ink & water; flowers, etc from stash
• Adhesive: 1/4" Scor-Tape

There is still plenty of time to enter "Your Beary Best" in our challenge. You could win a $30 gift voucher to The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: A Vintage Christmas

Hello friends! I hope you are finding time to join The Beary Scrap Design Team & Challenge blog's month-long November challenge. We want to see Your Beary Best!

Today I have a card to share using Authentique's "Wonder" 6x6 paper pad. I received a Beary Scrap package last Thursday and immediately had to dig into this paper. Love the colors and the vintage feel!

All of the patterned paper is from the pad. In addition, I used green and french vanilla Bazzill card stocks. The sparkle comes from Stickles in Star Dust and Candy Cane, and I added Kaisercraft yellow pearls to the flower. The seam binding is Sage and Ivory - I color-distressed the ivory seam binding by dabbing it onto Bundled Sage and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The center piece was cut from a cool postcard-themed sheet and painted with Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint.

Inside (a little washed-out from the sun)

Thanks for visiting today! Please join our "Your Beary Best" challenge - you could win a $30 gift voucher from The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan

Birdcage Mini Album

Hiya folks! So I wanted to try my hand at a mini album and worked on this off and on for many weeks. I've finally finished it! I absolutely adore it and wish I had a little girl or niece to give it to (instead, it's in my Etsy shop). There are a lot of photos - click on each one to view the full size!

The base of this album is Prima Build-A-Book acrylic album. I really like that the pages are nice and sturdy (vs. paper bag albums). All of the papers are from Echo Park's Victoria Gardens line. I used both the 12x12 sheets and pages from the 6x6 pad.

Here is a look at pages 2 and 3 with photo and journaling tags in place (top). Almost all of the tags are sewn on each side, and many have embellishments. The album includes enough self-adhesive photo corners to put one photo on each tag.

Here are pages 2 and 3 with the backs of the tags showing. The journaling tag on the top left is meant for an album title or other identifying info so the photo shows the lines on the tag front.

Pages 4 and 5 with tags in place. See the beady baubles hanging on the green tag on the left?

Here are the backs of tags on pages 4 and 5. The "You" tag is plain on the reverse side, without sewn edges.

Page 6 doesn't have pull-out tags but it does have a large space for photos. Page 7 has 3 tags - I had a lot of fun with the text on the Echo Park papers throughout the album.

Pages 6 and 7 showing the reverse side of tags on page 7.

The back cover

Thanks for visiting today!

Cheers,
Susan

A Custom Thank You Card

Hiya folks! As you might know, I have an Etsy shop where I sell my cards, stick pins and mixed media art. I am fortunate to have wonderful customers who visit my shop often. Every once in a while I am asked to customize a greeting card. This is one of those cards.

I've used the My Mind's Eye Portobello Road papers over and over. It's quite possibly my favorite line! My lovely customer Lynn purchased a card weeks ago and framed it. Last week she contacted me to make a "thank you" card for a special person in her life. She wanted something similar to the framed card that would be appropriate for a male.

There is an extraordinary amount of layering going on here! I just couldn't stop. :) What I want to share the most is the grasses on the right. That is a Dusty Attic laser cut on which I painted a luminescent white acrylic then dabbed on a light bluish-green. Over top I layered Ranger's Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. I love the effect!

I used a combination of 12x12 sheets and pages from the 6x6 pad. The blue plaid and the birds on front are both 12x12.

For all the embellishment I do on many of my cards, I'm really struck by gorgeous, simple cards. It's a rare occasion for me to make one of those. :)

Thanks for visiting today.

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

Dia De Los Muertos Birthday

Hiya bloggers! As promised, here are two of my most recent projects. The first project I want to share is a mixed media piece made for my sister's birthday. Her birthday is November 2nd, which is also a part of Dia De Los Meurtos festivities - and she's a big fan. I had a lot of fun with this!

I like all the skellies, but the singing one on the far right cracks me up! I made all the "lanterns" with bead and bits, and scoured my backyard for sticks that would bend just right. The grass is shrubbery greens I found in the model train section of the craft store. It's really cool stuff and I can't wait to use it again.

The second project is a "chunky Halloween house" I made for my sister. I used Pink Paislee's Hocus Pocus paper - love this line!

This is the front - click the photo to see more detail. It's about 7" tall. The skeleton is 3 layers: background, full-oval cameo and the skeleton on top. The fly is also dimensional with little raised wings. The crystals are all Swarovski flatbacks.

And here's the back. The background is from a 12x12 sheet and the cut-out frame is from a 6x6 of the same design.

If you want to see a small sampling of her art, go to CalliopeDesignStudio, her Etsy shop. You can also find her on Craftster.org - her user name is "cackle" and she makes incredible art!

Thanks for stopping by today. I'm going back to Christmas cards now. Have a swell day!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Tilda Has A Crush

Hiya crafty friends! Hope your weekend was spectacular. I know a couple of us on The Beary Scrap design team got hit with snow. Ack! Luckily, I only had rain and howling winds. Appropriate for today's festivities, right?

Many folks are observing the High Holy Day of Chocolate, otherwise known as Halloween. The sad thing about all of this is no matter what costume you wear, all those gooey, drippy, melty, crunchy calories will still find your hips!

For my last Double or Nothing challenge project, I decided to use two Magnolia stamps. Poor Edwin is so caught up in his lights that he doesn't suspect Tildas ambush behind the tree! She's sweet on him. Aww...

The tree is made from a lot of single punches of a Martha Stewart branch punch. It's been a few years since I've made this type of tree and forgot how much I love the dimension. Neat, huh? The papers are from the My Mind's Eye 12 Days of Christmas 6x6 pad. I colored our little friends with Prismacolor pencils and Stickles... loads of Stickles! I used Waterfall, Candy Cane, Yellow, Crystal, Star Dust and Lavender.

Thanks so much for visiting today! There's still a wee bit of time to enterour challenge. You could win a $20 gift voucher to The Beary Scrap. Good luck!

By the way, have you seen the gorgeous new Tim Holtz Seasonal Distress Inks?

The Beary Scrap will soon have this 3-pack of Fall colors *and* the Winter pack. We don't know the colors for the Winter pack yet, but I'll bet they will be beautiful! There's a limited supply, so be sure to keep an eye out!

***
In other news, it should be a busy week here at the Killam Creative blog. I have a few things to show you on Thursday, one of which is a cool "chunky Halloween house" I made for an extra-special swap on Craftster. My ability to post about it depends on when she receives it, which *should* be Wednesday.

I have also finished this acrylic album. The pages in that post have been reworked a bit for a more polished look. I took a passel photos today and if everything came out well, I'll be able to post here and add to my Etsy shop. I started the album on a whim and learned a lot along the way. I look forward to making a few more since I already have supplies for them, but it will be a limited run. :)

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Double Santas

Hello hello crafty friends! It's another Monday and my first post with the Beary Scrap Design Team's new "Double or Nothing" challenge. I'm really hoping to see a "double, double, toil and trouble" entry... I'll leave that to everyone else, though. I've moved on to Christmas! I have loads of Halloween under my belt this year and am past ready for the red and green. :)

I've used the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Christmas - both the 12x12 collection pack and the 6x6 paper pad. I was able to double up three times - so cool! I used two types of ribbon - crochet and velvet ric-rac; two different cardstock die-cuts from the 12x12 collection pack; and, two layers of Santa, and two beaded pins from my own Killam Creatables collection. Fun!

I really wanted to showcase this wonderfully traditional Santa on this page from the 6x6 pad. I used one full page and cut his second layer from the second page in the pack. His beard is colored in with Frosted Lace Stickles, coat and hat trim covered with a snowy effect from the craft store, and his belt and boots are painted with Glossy Accents.

Edges are inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and sewn with my trusty Singer. The Santa layer and die-cuts are raised up a bit with Glue Dots. Pearls are Kaisercraft Latte.

Thanks for visiting today! Our current "Double or Nothing" Challenge goes on through October 31st. All the details are HERE - you could win a $20 gift voucher from The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Itsy Bitsy Spider

Hey there crafty folks! This week the Beary Scrap design team is continuing with whatever strikes our fancy, since it's a challenge Free for All!

I'm having loads of fun with my chunky Halloween houses - there's a village now! This week's house is made using Authentique's Glowing paper. Sadly, I didn't realize it was sold out in the shop and I don't have another project to inspire you. I hope this can give you an idea or two anyway. :) There are tons of available 6x6 pads to choose from!

It's a simple house, really... with a big, hairy occupant. (No, I'm not talking about Aunt Hilda, the poor dear...)The spider web was "painted" with Glossy Accents, as was the spider body (which was then covered with a Swarovski crystal). I covered the chimney with a scrap of the same paper left over from another project, so the right wall has a spider, also. This was a fun project and I'm really looking forward to a Christmas village!

Thanks for visiting today! Our Free for All / Anything Goes challenge continues through Friday the 14th. Come join us - you could win a $20 gift voucher from The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: There's a cure for what ails you...

Hi crafty folks! Welcome to October. Here in Maryland October blew in on a brisk wind. It's oh-so-cold right now, and the sun doesn't even have the decency to push away the clouds. Over in the UK our friends are experiencing a record-breaking heat wave. C'mon Mother Nature, get it together! This week also rings in a new challenge. At The Beary Scrap Challenge blog, we're putting our monthly sketch challenges on hold for a while and replacing them with fun theme-based challenges similar to the ones we always do on the 15th of the month. What better way to celebrate than to have a crafty

Free For (F)All!

Haha! Yes, I do think I'm funny. My little play on words makes me giggle. :)

Now, let's set aside all this fun and frivolity and get down to business. This week I have a little bit of spooky art to share with you. I'm participating in a "Chunky Halloween House" swap over at Craftster and this is one of my houses.

The skeleton was stamped on the My Mind's Eye Haunted "Halloween Checklist" paper and another was stamped on a separate piece of paper to cut out. Honestly, I'm pretty proud of this cutting. I have a lot of patience for this kind of fussy cutting in general, but the ribs on this guy really had me taking deep breaths. I decided before I started that I would try it only once. If I cut through or made a boo boo I couldn't fix or hide, I would not start another one. I'm happy with the results and really glad I had that patience.

Once he was cut out and all the edges were colored with a brown marker, I patted him on my Distress Ink embossing pad and sprinkled with clear embossing powder.

The vintage apothecary labels were printed on the computer and the edges were inked. The "A cure for what ails" letters were individually stamped and covered with Glossy Accents. The back is pretty simple - with more of the MME Haunted "Raven" paper and a fun pharmacy label with my info on it. The font was a free download (found ages ago...) called "Traveling_Typewriter".

Thanks so much for visiting today! Our Free For (F)All! challenge goes through midnight EST October 14th. Come join us - you could win a $20 gift voucher from The Beary Scrap!

Project Recipe

Image: TH Skeleton Stamp, vintage apothecary labels from Just Something I Made and Graphics Fairy
Paper: My Mind's Eye Haunted "Raven" and "Halloween Checklist"
Medium: Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo; Glossy Accents; Ranger Distress Embossing Ink; Stampendous clear embossing powder
Embellishments: Dresden trim, black ribbon and TH tape from stash

Cheers,
Susan

Hello and happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. The Husband and I went to a crab feast Sunday. Love love love the taste of Maryland blue crab but don't feel the same about crab picking.

This week the Beary Scrap design team is showing a few more samples for our current "Happy Fall Y'All" challenge. This has been a fun one for us! In this final stretch, the DT's extra "challenge" is to add glitter to our projects. Oh yea, this is a stretch! Haha - just kidding! Really, the challenge should have been to abstain from the glitter.... hmm... that gives me an idea for future challenges. *grin*

I'm still on my Halloween kick. This week I pulled out the My Mind's Eye Haunted papers with the delicious velvety texture.

The bat lady illustration is from the magical internet. I truly appreciate sites like The Graphics Fairy which share vintage and antique images. The flocked background is MME's "Harlequin" paper and the while swirl layer is found on the B-side of "Halloween Checklist". [Yes, I'm showing my age...]. Other layers are made from Bazzill Basics.

The bat background was stamped with Distress Ink in Black Soot, then each bat was covered with Rock Candy Stickles. This is one of those cards that looks much better in person - the bats are pretty cool if I do say so myself! *ahem* I used a blend of Dusty Concord and Black Soot Distress Inks on the edges, then sewed them together. All embellishments are from my stash, including really cool web ribbon that Patricia sent as a RAK last year. I've been hoarding it with 12" left for the next project!

Thanks for visiting today! You still have a ton of time to enter your fall-themed project in our challenge. You could win $20 from The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Halloween Kitty

Hiya crafty folks! Happy Monday to you. i don't know about *your* neck o' the woods, but Autumn has arrive here in the Mid-Atlantic region of the States. Along with this blissful season comes fruit flies. *sigh* But we won't talk about that...

This week the Beary Scrap design team is sharing samples using our new theme challenge "Happy Fall Y'All!" We're adding a little extra challenge to use buttons on our projects. I'm not a button user, I'm a button hoarder. I love vintage buttons and managed to force myself to use three vintage glass beauties.

The paper is Authentique's Blissful 6x6 layered on Bazzill Basics orange and ivory. The vintage image is printed on textured paper and enhanced with Glossy Accents on the wording and Rock Candy Distress Stickles on a bit of the pumpkin. Sorry it's not easily seen in these photos; the sun was setting and working against me. The black rhinestone swirl (ooh, could that be a kitty tail?) is Prima Say it in Crystals Black.

 Luckily for my vintage button fetish, I have three cards of these black beauties. : )

Thanks for visiting today. I hope you get a chance to enter our Fall-themed challenge before September 30th. There's plenty of time to play with us!

Cheers,
Susan

Etsy Greetings Team Card Swap

Card swap favorite

Hiya crafty bloggers! Today I want to share a little fun we're having at the Etsy Greetings Team. We're a group of over 100 Etsy greeting card sellers who get together online and share advice on selling, buying and sometimes life in general. It's a great group of individuals from all over the world!

Unless we buy each other's cards, we don't get to see what's out there beyond the computer screen. A group of us got together and decided to swap cards just for the fun of it. Lucky me - I'm the swap coordinator  and everyone is sending me packages of lovely handmade goodness! It's been like Christmas over the last few weeks. Check this out:

25 Etsy shops sent cards - can you believe it?

I'm waiting for one more package to arrive and then I get to sort and send back to the participants. Each shop sent 5 or 10 cards and will receive the same amount in return, but from all different shops. I signed up for 5 so I made five and get to pick 5 from other shops. Oh, the decisions will be difficult!

Here are the five I made:

I wanted to make cards that could be sent through the mail in standard envelopes rather than my non-standard boxes. I've been sitting on the DCWV Mariposa paper stack for months, just waiting for the right project to come along. This was it.

The stack includes 2 of each sheet, so I was able to layer the butterflies for a little 3D effect. The antennae are made from black jewelry wire. The card fronts are layered and sewn, and the insides are blank. I haven't weighed them yet, but I hope they can be mailed with a single stamp.

I absolutely adore these and will be sorry to see them go. The one featured at the top of this post is my favorite. Luckily the papers are still available in stores... I just might have to get more to make my own. *grin*

If you would like to know more about our team, check out our blog. Every day a new card is featured and you'll find a list of member bloggers on the right side! If you'd like to know all of our shops and join our merry band, this page has the low down. And any time you're browsing around Etsy you can find an assortment of our offerings by typing etsygreetingsteam in the search bar.

Thanks for visiting today, and thanks to all my Etsy Greetings Team friends - your cards will be in the mail soon!

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: Spooky September Sketch

Hello hello my pretties... It's Monday and time for another project from me! Happy Labor Day to all my US friends. I hope you can relax today!

This week the design team is continuing with samples --and perhaps a little inspiration! -- for our brand spankin' new Beary Sweet sketch challenge. I got a little witchy with Authentique's "Glowing" 6x6 pad.

I used 4 different designs from the pack, including the polka dot spider. I stamped the sentiment onto scraps created by one of the layers. The stamps are individual letters that I laid out askew for a fun, messy effect. Actually, that's a lot about this that's distressing, including the chewed edges, sewing lines all over the place and pulled edges of the lace and tulle.

I have to give big props to Lori for inspiring me to make my own rosette for the very first time! Her card last week featured a rosette and I whined a bit about not having a rosette die. She pshaw'd me and showed me the way with a strip of paper and a handy dandy Scor-Pal. We don't need no stinkin' rosette dies! Thanks, Lori! We'll share a tutorial on it soon. :)

I was thinking of just using "tea party" and reveling in the double entendre, but decided to steer it in a less *ahem* political direction. The off-white threads behind the top text is a bit of cheese cloth.

Inside includes a ton of space for a spooky sentiment as well as more lace and a fun diamond pattern design from the stack. 

Card Recipe

• Image: vintage image found online and spiced up for a lush print
• Paper: Authentique "Glowing" 6x6 paper pad; vintage witches printed on ivory Canson Mi-Tiente paper (I love the texture for vintage images); Bazzill basics in black and orange; Rosette is made from a random strip of paper found in my stash
• Medium: Stickles Diamond on spider; Ranger Distress Ink in black and vintage photo on edges
• Embellishments: Hand made rosette; Kaisercraft black pearls; lace, cheese cloth and mirrored bird from stash
• Adhesives: Scor-Tape and Fabri-Tac 

Thanks so much for visiting today! We'd love to see what you can create using our September sketch - you could win a $20 gift voucher from The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: Mini Album Pages

Hi folks! I'm rushing to schedule this TBS design team post on Saturday before we lose power due to Hurricane Irene. I'll get photos up and hopefully will be able to talk a little about my project, but I can't guarantee good details yet. I hoped to have all my mini album pages completed for this post, but the earthquake and this darn hurricane rearranged my week.

For our Tic-Tac-Toe challenge I used lace - embossing - pearl. Here are the first two pages:

Each page has pull-out photo tags with journaling space

Page 2

Tags on the left show front and back;
On the right is the center tag for name and\or occasion info

Page 3

Tags show front and back;
I used the collection's journaling cards on the back

Card Recipe
Paper - Echo Park Victoria Gardens, including the fabulous sheet journaling cards
Embellishments - Prima Build-A-Book; Seam Binding in Ivory and Lemonade; Pink Rosette ribbon; miscellaneous lace and flower from stash
Medium - Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo; Ranger Ink Blending Tool; Stickles Star Dust
Adhesive - Scor-Tape; Fabri-Tac

I'll come back with more details later. There are still a few days to join our Tic-Tac-Toe challenge - won't you come play? You could win a $20 gift voucher from The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan