Sock Monkey in his Christmas PJ's!

Well, if you haven't guessed by now, I'll tell you ....Sock Monkey is too gosh, darn, cute!  I love bringing him out from time to time and seeing what else to do with the lil guy!

I have paper pieced his pj's by stamping on a scrap of patterned paper - here in one of our regular Patterns Designer Series (in red..)...found on page 161 of our large catalogue.  Paper Piecing is just stamping and cutting out 'parts' and layering them over your main stamped image for your card or scrapbook, etc.

 I paper pieced his pjamas, his socks, tail, paws.  And his hat was stamped out on separate cardstock, layered with another separate piece for the furry band and pom-pom.  Glitter and a bit of colouring and voila! 

His accessories are many - so I knew I'd find a Santa hat and a present.  You could add more presents around him but I was making this for a craft fair and I thought the greeting I chose to add would help a parent, grandparent or friend to tuck away some money inside. I know my aunt eventually gave money to everyone rather than shop herself, so I hope this card finds its way into some youngster's christmas morning!

Oh Sock Monkey - too cute!

Christmas Baroque Motifs and Ornament Punch

The Baroque Motifs stamp set is a very, very popular one - very!  And so is our new Delightful Decorations & Ornament Punch featured in our Holiday Mini Cataloque.  So I guess it was only a matter of time before the two came together.  One version is the first one I am showing here - with the large swirly motif paired with one ornament and a nice band of patterned paper/ribbon to top it off.

Afterwards, I wanted to make my very own version - remember how I have mentioned before about taking inspiration and making it your own? .....well, I 'softened' the look. And I was after a more romantic-antique look - something my 95 yr old Aunt would love.

By applying white craft ink over top of the stamped images, {use sponges}the colours become subdued and I think very pretty.  Then instead of a ribbon & paper band, I put 3 scalloped ovals across the top choosing to add ribbon to the ornaments {twist the ribbon into tiny knots for a different look}. This one is definitely going to my Aunt Elsie!


Well, you can see the comparison.  Both are very nice. But it goes to show you can take the same 'motif' and create very different outcomes by mixing up your technique. 

Try it yourself with a stamp set you have - find a "new style" for a card you've created!

Contact me for class information if you'd like to learn how to make these cards. 

Stampin' Up! supplies:  stamps= Baroque Motifs, Many Merry Messages, Delightful Decorations.  Punches = Scalloped Oval, Ornament.  Ink = Old Olive, Rose Red.  Cardstock = Whisper White, Rose Red, Old Olive. Accessories = Buttons, ribbon, adhesive. 

Inspriration - Andrea Walford.

Introducing My Blog Designer Extraordinaire - my daughter!

How do you like my new look?  I was thrilled this morning when my daughter surprised me with an up-dated look to my blog!  A total surprise - wasn't that nice of her!!!

She stayed up late to do it too, awwww!  You don't know how I have struggled with the simpliest things on the technical side of blogging - sheesh - I guess I just don't have the patience to tackle the myriad of details. If my daughter has the time {which she doesn't}and shows me the steps - then I can learn it fast, but on my own....nothing but the loading of pictures {even that can get complicated in certain instances}.

SO - I am tickled pink - just pink.  I can get on with the creative side and business side of crafting which is my forte - - - SO BIG HUGS TO MY DAUGHTER!  OXOXO!

[Note - she said to say that she 'merely' edited a template as she didn't want to come up with all the HTML coding - ok hun!]   :)

Happy H-owl-lidays Card

This card came as a total surprise to me. That happens & when it works... it so much fun!

I was really trying a technique with my punches. I tried to make a scallop 'wreath' shape by punching a circle and then bordering the circle with the 'slit' punch.  When I managed that, it left behind this scalloped circle 'negative' space.

I thought - "I'm sure I could use that for something - works like a frame..."    And that is what I did...when I was deciding on 'what' it should frame, my mind eventually wandered to "birds on a branch" and then to "owls on a branch" because I had my lil owl from the ANIMAL STORIES stamp set (SU). 

So, I masked one owl before stamping the second, filled in the gap using my blender pen and made the hats by cutting out the pieces & gluing into place. A little glitter 'natch!

After the owls were in place, I drew the branch and berries with our markers in Close-to-Cocoa and Real Red.   And there they are!  Little sweethearts, lol!

So this option is great for all kinds of your photo's, small stamps, greetings...have fun!

Original design by Beverly Taylor.  Contact me for classes!  All supplies by Stampin' Up!

Book Cover

Lol! I was up to my christmas projects this morning when I passed a paperback book I had out – one I had intended to read during ‘downtime’ this past month….when an idea instantly formed and made me switch to this project!  Talk about short attention span! 
Well, actually its because I’ve borrowed a friend’s Stampin Up Alphabet Stamp Set, a beautiful one with flourished detail. And I have been seeking out projects to complete while I have it.
Now this book is important to my collection, and its tattered badly.  Not likely to find another book like it, I had protected it with a home-made paper bookcover but it was just a scribble and it too was torn.  So I made a new one!
I’ll let the pictures do the talking, but basically I stamped away, did some distressing and stamped the title with 2 different stamp sets.
I’m sure most of you have made a bookcover during your primary days in school, so you are familiar with this. Its straightforward, measure and make your folds, cut.
I also made a matching bookmark – and used Stampin! Up’s small “slit” punch to make it slide easily on the page! Voila! (I made the sides of the slit a teeny bit longer with my kraft knife)
The only fun thing I did differently was I made a small label for the home library by stamping a corresponding image and punching it out with our 1 inch circle punch and attaching it to the spine – so simple but effective!!  I will dream up other images to do the same thing for my other paperbacks. A new project – for the new year, lol!   PS - the strangest thing - late this same day, The Turner Classic Movie Channel showed a movie by this same obscure author!  Uncle Silas was the only book that was chosen for a modern movie {modern in the sense of this century}....he was well-followed back in his day, but most people wouldn't recognize his name even though he is regarded as the inventor of the 'psychological' thriller/ghost story! He completely reformed the shrieking, chain-clanging Victorian ghost stories into stories usually regarding the tense, over-wraught hero either succumbing to some terrible supernatural tragedy {whether real or imagined} or over-coming it. Anyways, I couldn't believe that the day I pulled up this book - that his movie showed up that night!  Co-incidence?  I think not!  :o

Halloween Here Again! Gotta Love it!

I simply love Halloween.  Mostly because I have always loved scary movies and that led to one love affair after another with the different Hollywood iconic symbols of the time....first scary movie I remember seeing was after a sort of funny situattion - I asked if I could stay up to watch "Thriller Diller".  I was 6 yrs old and staying with a couple who were good family friends. I told them it was a Phyllis Diller movie.  They agreed.

 But it turned out to be a sort of 'swamp thing' style movie and scared the heck out of me but I couldn't take my eyes off the tv. Well, a lot of movies later and I still enjoy them....I'm just a little more sophisticated about them now. I've expanded to international films...last year, we watched a South Korean movie by director Bong Joon-ho,  'The Host' which was an excellent toss-up between funny and scary even with the terrible english translating service.  I'm sure an Americanized version will be along soon.

 Sometimes I just love 'haunting' style movies - like 'The Gift' - which is what I watched this year. I watched it twice. I just love the ending - won't say in case someone reading this has yet to see it.  And I had a little dose more of those ol' Southern style movies with their creepy elements of the deep south and effectively eerie fiddler music, such as 'The Skeleton Key'.

We also went on our traditional walk around the neighbourhood last night. Chilly outside but we dressed up our dog's an orange coat with a pumpkin face and put his little red blinking light on and off we went. It was fun running into groups of halloween'd children walking together - you could see the excitement written all over them - some things never change!  We found excellent dressed up properties as well. One in particular was great! It actually was scaring the dickens out of people.

Other than that, I was a little too busy to do my own things like decorations. Sad but true. I received 2 cards however - that was fun! One is from a friend in the US and I am sooo sorry I didn't get one off to you! I'll make it up next year! If you look at Tammy's card, you can see she did all that scroll work by hand! Nice Tammy!  Love the lil witch boots, lol!

The other card I received is from another SU Demonstrator - and I am showing it to you as it arrived - in our clear envelopes, which, yes, you can mail in!  Just add a postage stamp and the Post Office will deliver, and its kinda different right?

Oh by the way, Happy Anniversary Caroline!

JOY Card

Good Morning!

Do you think its time for another Christmas card? - OK, here it is.....a card made simply  by the letters J-O-Y .
Cut on the Big SHot using our Serif Alphabet in Real Red......and I thought the letter 'O' made the best lil' frame for its lovely message!  You could leave it on its own at this point or add a simple band as I did....just experiment!

DIY Bridal 101 Creating your own Invitations & Wedding Projects with Stampin' Up!

Thank You for all the interest shown at my table display as part of the Scarborough, Welcome Wagon Bridal Showcase today.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
I really enjoyed meeting everyone of the brides-to-be and their guests, it was really lovely. 
Our purpose in participating in this event was to demonstrate the Do-It-Yourself Approach in hand-making  your INVITATIONS as well as many other items to create a very personal look to your wedding.   


The most common reaction at our table today was surprise when it was learned that everything on display was hand-made!  So many surprised faces!  I hope we managed to convey our message that with some basic preparation, ANYONE can whip up invitation sets, and learn some new ways to look at how you can enjoy making all types of projects to help you plan your events - think favours, guest books, decorations, .....if we can think it, we can make it! 


It basically comes down to two decisions.....you have money or you have time! And personally, I like to stretch my money to work for me in as many ways as possible....so I make the time! 

As a typical  Do-It -Yourself person...and listen to this - I hand-made all the projects you saw there today - just this past week!  In  less time really as shopping for other items to be used (fabric, beads, etc.) took some time. If I can do creative projects in a matter of days - just think what YOU could accomplish in a month or more!

Not only that - but it can be a fun event - grab some friends, we can coach them to using the supplies and with some SIMPLE organization, you can have a party and everyone has fun making YOUR INVITATIONS!
DO NOT WORRY THAT YOU ARE NOT CREATIVE- as I am an Stampin' Up! Creative Coach. AND the STAMPIN' UP CATALOGUE has all the supplies you could possibly want - you can order through me or purchase online!  I have classes each month and have designed a special bridal class which I will hold periodically.  See details below. It's all made easy to do!  

DIY BRIDAL 101 CLASS
Contact me to sign up for classes.  
November 21, Sat. 2 PM   
January 17, 2 PM



Attend this class to help you learn the 'basics' to DIY wedding projects.  We will discuss the materials you'll need  beginning with your choice of cardstock and envelopes and whether choose to print your invitations on the printer. Then we'll discuss expanding on the basics - where you design your invitations with some flair!  


Again - You don't need to be especially creative - Stampin' Up! has taken care of that for you!  It is VERY COST-EFFECTIVE!!!


Learn what to look for, what not to do!   Learn the practical from the exquisite! You'll decide based on your budget just how simple to how involved you'll want to be. Save in one area so you can spend in another!

Then delve into the fun and create with two different techniques leaving you with two beautiful samples to take home .

I'll post more pics later!

  I look forward to seeing the nice people again who expressed an interest today   and there is no time like the present to come and try out a project - just see what you can do!

**** PLEASE NOTE - IF YOU ATTENDED the WELCOME WAGON BRIDAL SHOWCASE and if YOU SIGNED up for my NEWSLETTER - I will draw from the list of names and ONE LUCKY WINNER will WIN this CLASS FREE!
Also, every person who dropped by my table, and would like to come to the class - you will receive $5.00 off the price of the class!!!  Let me know when you sign up for the classes which applies to you!  Thanks!

Cheers,
Beverly

Wedding Thank You Card

Here is a nice way to  make an easy Thank You card, but great effect!  It's a combination of:

      #1) a great background stamp or better yet, two!.....and

#2) an Embosslit Die

This card has 2 Background (over-sized) stamps - one directly over the other.

The Medallion background stamp first. Slightly off-side.  It's done in the  'stamp off ' method by not stamping in full-strength ink but by stamping first somewhere else ( say on another white cardstock to use later - or- onto scrap paper, paper towel, etc), then stamping it directly  to the white cardstock to get the "softer" look which in this case, will become the shadow accent. 

Over top of the medallion stamped image, you now stamp the second background stamp, Tres Chic, in full-strength ink.

Add some nice ribbon. Attach with Sticky Strip - its super strong!

Our new "Thanks" Embosslit Die (for the Big Shot or similiar die-cutting machines).  Attach with a couple of brads.

It's easy - great looking, and you'll really enjoy the ease of working where your work is effortless, not much to think about.....stress-free. AND there's more!.....a new punch within Stampin' UP!'s collection is the ' Modern Label' and it will fit right over the this embosslit die for double the look.

Think of Mother-In-Laws!

While doing my bridal line-up for the upcoming show, as you know by now, I was finishing up a set of inivitation designs and turned to thinking of Thank You cards - for when the newlyweds, have returned and must tend to thanking their generous friends and family for all the great gifts.

Now granted, I was looking down at the stamp set, WONDERFUL FAVORITES, and seeing all the words I could match up with "Wonderful"....21, in fact. Words such as cousin, nephew or combos like 'to a' or 'in-law'....and that's when I thought, "wouldn't a newly-wed bride like to thank her Mother-In-Law with her own special card?  I mean, we can always find "Mother" cards just like we do when we want "Father, Daughter or Son, Aunt." etc. But "Mother-In-Law"?....well, not so often.  So that decided that and this is what I dreamed up.

I turned to my Circle Scissors Plus and made a matching ring to go with the circle. I didn't really have a size of circle in mind, but that's the beauty of the Scissors Plus because I stamped the words Mother-in-law, and then positioned the paper under the Scissors Plus and gauged my circle size 'insito' !  The ring just adds another accent. 

Next, I chose some patterned paper in green because I think greens and pink-to-purple tones always look nice together.  Two minutes of hard thinking for the embellishments....okay, maybe five mins. - you got me! (wink) .....ah yes, the 5 Petal Flower Punch to the rescue! So punch...punch...punch....glitter, glitter, glitter...and the hardest part, sewing a button on.  Well, a little bit of drudgery for such a nice effect - and there it is! 

In my haste tonight, I forgot to take the picture of the inside which says Thank You and room for the bride to write a nice note to her new mother-in-law....oh I don't know, what would you write?

Embossing Snowflakes

Hello everyone!

I have been awfully busy - preparing for this Sunday's Welcome Wagon Bridal Show but I am also just as excited by upcoming Christmas projects, so inbetween bridal style creations, I have been playing with my christmas toys! 

I was inspired by the amazing talents of a designer whose works are responsible for some of Sizzix's and the Big SHot's top sellers - the pop-ups!  Her name is Karen Burniston...maybe I've already mentioned her here, probably. Anyways, she did this beautiful gray & white pop-up exploding box project, and card.

Not wanting to do such an ambitious project as the exploding box today, I scaled it down to the card she featured - and so without further ado, here is my version!

I really liked the colour combo - its different.....however the embossing  is such great fun!   The deeper grey tones against embossed white snowflakes is really, really pretty in person.  I did the background, in clear embossed snowflakes on a lighter grey called Going Gray. 

You can come to a class and do this yourself - there is nothing in my opinion like embossing for Christmas. I started doing it long time ago for snow accents, fell in love and have continured doing it, practically a tradition now. Its second to glitter, LOL!

Stampin' Up! Supplies:  snowflake stamp, Stampin' Emboss Powder in White (#109132) and CLear (#109130); Basic Gray and Going Gray and Whisper White 8-1/2x11 cardstock (from our Neutrals cardstock bundle #108588), Filigree Brads (#112577); Organza Ribbon (#114319)

Don't forget to check out DEALS OF THE WEEK on my Stampin' Up! Website

DEALS OF THE WEEK

Week 2 - effective till Sun. Oct 18

Item	Description	Special Price
115961	Perfect Setting Bigz XL die	$34.99
114515	Flower Burst Embosslits die	$7.49
116760	Pop-Up Three Tier Cake Bigz XL die	$34.99

Dates: October 1-31, 2009 {all deals}
Promotion Details:
During the month of October, Stampin' Up! will offer several discounted products as "Deals of the Week." No limits and no minimum purchase required.
Customer Weekly Deal Announcements:

• Deal #2: Monday, October 12, 2009; 10:00 AM (MT)

I have ordered all three of these myself because they will work wonderfully for parties.  You would not believe the ideas that I have seen with the Pop-up Three Tier Cake - OMG!  

POP-UP THREE TIER CAKE BIGZ XL DIE and the wonderful things people have done with this! Scroll down and enjoy these great examples!  I can't wait to see what I come up with too! 

First is the designer, Karen Burniston - she is sooooooo talented. Hats off to her!

Sheryl Dickinson

Michelle Tech

Andrea Walford

Hostess Christmas Punch Stamp - could be yours!

We tell customers all the time - get together some friends, learn some new stamping techniques together, have fun ....and then you can earn some free items such as this 'Christmas Punch' stamp set.  Here's a cool idea with this set - create a box of tags as a gift! I know I'd love it if a friend gave me this tag set.  [See it on page 14 of our large catalogue for a closer view.]

But more than that, it means the stamps in this set are designed to work with 6 different hand-held punches in our collection. Every so often, SU comes out with these special stamp sets, which is great when you consider that your Wide Oval or Scallop Square punch can have a new purpose - yet again!

So consider this idea yourself - talk to me about throwing your own party - small & quaint or large & lov'n it - either way, you could easily be on your way to earning a  free Hostess Level Exclusive Stamp Set!  There's more than this for Hostesses but its a great start :)

Solve the Mystery Stamps & Win a Free Class! Today = Mystery Stamp Set #1

hmmmm…….what could this be?
Its a pic slice of a stamp set featured in  either our Mini-Catalogue or pages 28-43 of our main catty.

 Can you guess which it is?  Do have a look and name the stamp set! 

I will be showing 4 of these within the next few weeks - stamps are from all sets featured in the Mini-catalogue or Holiday (Christmas only) stamp sets from pages 28-43of our Idea Book & Catalogue 2009-2010.

If you can name all 4 stamp sets I use for each of the 4 picture slices  that I show between now and November 28, "first correct answer/response for all 4 pics" will earn the December 6th  Holiday Class - free!

Email me your answers at bstampingbeehive@gmail.com

You can provide the answer one email at a time or  email all four together before Nov. 28 – I will announce the winner at my Holiday Party, Nov 29 and also post it here on my blog!   Good Luck!

*Class Mystery only open to blog viewers and contestants who can attend the class.

OCTOBER CLASS

Hello!

As some of you may know, I am holding a class this Oct 28 - just 3 days after the Bridal Show, and if there is enough interest, another class on Oct 31 in the afternoon - yes, its Halloween but we all don't celebrate it in just the same way anymore, so I thought it was worth having a go!  The class is the same - but the 31rst will have a added Halloween project. And treat - couldn't do it any other way, ha ha!

OCT 28 - WEDS, 6:30 PM     CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY CARDS
OCT 31 - SAT, 1 PM              CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY CARDS WITH A HALLOWEEN EXTRA!