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: Nature Challenge

Hello hello! I hope you had a great weekend. Rain threatened but the skies never opened up here, and Sunday afternoon ended up gorgeous. I love spring!

Yesterday we launched our newest Beary Sweet Challenge with a theme of "Nature". I've pulled a few flowers and the butterfly came along - how much more nature can one get? The embossed area in the center is for a photo that slides right in the top.This is for a friend to give as a gift - how nice!

This is part of a set for a friend to give to a bride and her mother. You can see the first "card frame" on last week's post HERE. By the way, if you saw it last week in it's not-quite-finished stage, check it out now. It's finished and so much better! *grin*

Card Recipe

• Paper - Prima 6x6 pack - Fairy Flora
• Medium - Ranger Distress Ink in Walnut Stain; Stickles Star Dust
• Embellishments - 10mm white mulberry rose and other mulberry flowers from my stash; The butterfly is cut from a Prima Vine; Kaisercraft Pearls; lace from stash
• Adhesives - Scor-Tape in 1/4" and 1/8"; 3D Dots in 1/16" and 1/8"
• Tools - Scor-Pal; Ranger Ink Blending Tool

Thanks for stopping in today. There are 2 weeks to enter your Nature-inspired project in our challenge - you could win a $20 gift voucher from The Beary Scrap! See you there!

Cheers,
Susan

Steampunk Altered Matchbox

Hiya! I've been playing around with another swap over at Craftster.org. This time we took a perfectly normal little 32-count matchbox (found at a dollar store in 10-packs) and turned it into something cool. There are a ton of neat ones posted in this thread. You can see the cool leather suitcase my swap partner sent me HERE (page 39, about halfway down the page).

So, my swap partner is a Steampunk fan so I went with it. I used the fabulous easel style to stand my fairy gentleman up.

The black & gold paper is Japanese washi paper I found at the Craft Fantastic booth at a jewelry show last month. This paper is absolutely delicious! I bought a bunch in floral designs and I'm not sure if I can use it or just crouch in the corner and pet it. My lovelies.... *ahem*

All of the metal bits (except the chain) are assorted Tim Holtz pieces. The acrylic clock face might be 7 Gypsies or Heidi Swapp... can't remember off-hand. 

The gold paper inside the drawer is recycled from a Christmas card envelope. I *knew* there would be a use for it one day!

The monocle is a jump ring filled with Glossy Accents. His wings are a vintage image found online. I printed it out and covered with Glossy Accents, dried and then used my trusty black Marvy marker to ink the edges. I used gold embroidery thread to attach the chain to the gentleman's coat.

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As a finishing touch I covered the backs with black card stock.

This is the pile of goodies I stuffed into the drawer before sending off to my partner.

That's it for me today! Thanks for visiting - see you soon!

Cheers,
Susan

TBS DT: May Sketch - Framed

Hello hello and happy Monday to you! We're smack dab in the middle of our May sketch challenge and the design team is bringing more samples to tickle your fancy and get your creative juices flowing. This week we're adding a little extra design team challenge - embossing.

My project is sorta kinda still in the works. We had house guests this weekend and they were way too much fun to steal away for a little crafty time. *wink* Sooo, here's the front of a future easel card. A friend wants a set of frame cards as gifts for a wedding shower. One for the bride and one for the bride's mom. How nice!

The wedding colors include a teal-ish blue, so I went with the deliciously muted tones of papers from the Prima Botanical 6x6 stack. The lace-covered frame has an opening at the top for the photo.

My embossing was done with folders - the dots give the blank "pre-photo" area a little interest, and the embossed swirl above the flower mirror the pearly swirls.

It's hard to see in this photo, but the easel panel on the bottom has the same swirl embossing as the front.

Card Recipe

Paper: Prima Botanical 6x6 stack; Bazzill Basics Truffle and Avalanche
Medium: Distress Ink in Vintage Photo; Distress Stickles in Star Dust
Embellishments: (3)Kaisercraft Pearls in Snow; Flower, lace, pearl swirls from stash
Adhesive: Scor-tape; EK Success 3D Foam Dots in 1/8" and 1/16"

Thanks for visiting - check back all week for great samples from our design team! There's still time to enter your project using our Beary Sweet sketch - you could win a $20 gift voucher to 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