Beverly's Stamping Beehive

Hi folks, So I have survived our " ICE STORM " of 2013 where we lost power for days - and have moved on to cleaning out the craft room {as if that's possible !!}  But what else can one do when the temps are minus 30's? With that in mind, and peering at the ice and snow outside, I realized today's post may still appropriately be about snow themes, plus I forgot to include my other snowman card in my last post. The JUMBO SNOWMEN stamp set by Stampendous has a really darling set of snow people (?) who're hugging for all its worth, and what a nice card this could be for January! I certainly enjoyed colouring them, and I placed everything at different levels using reinforced paper supports I created by hand.  Creating them in varying heights or widths allows you plenty of choices to create some interesting 3D effects :) Give it a try - and happy hunting for discounted Christmas stamps [he he]....I know I am out there, cheers!

Holiday Greetings! Today I am sharing how I make templates for my card projects. HERE IS THE PROJECT I MADE WITH MY "HOT DRINK" TEMPLATE.... Hot Drink Christmas Card with Tree Motif Sleeve.  Red, White, Kraft and Patterned Cardstock, Hot Drink DIY Template, Tree and Snowflake Punches. Glitter and Gems, Pop Dots. ************* DIY TEMPLATES Depending what "idea" pops into my head for a project, there will always be a gap between what I own or what I do not own to help me create my masterpiece!  I might not own a popular die or perhaps one does not exist to make what I have in mind. Right now, I do not possess one of the many hot drink dies currently available and until I do, my remedy is to make a template. Now templates are a well-known resource - there are tons of free ones online. But I have this habit of wanting to create my own templates out of cereal boxes, lol.  Much like an old school tailor and his plethora of custom suit templates han...

Helloooo.....been such a long time between posts as I am in the throes of "re-organizing"!   Gosh where does all the stuff that clutters every spot come from? Anyways - I think its a good idea to use January as 'the' month to de-clutter esp. here in the wintery North.  Not much fun outside anyways, right? But there is fun in our craft corners - and I tried a little technique with this card, so I'm here to share!  I received a card in the summer which embodied a colourful personality - and it really made me feel great, all sun-shiny and happy! Upon close inspection, the card involved no less than 3 patterns of cardstock. Very busy and different patterns!  Layered together as a "strip" or band against a soothing backdrop of a solid colour. The focal point - a 3D flower sat on top, slightly off-center. And all made sense together! WONDERFUL! So:   busy patterns layered together , soothing backdrop and a dimensional focal point ! Voila! Now I trie...

I created a Holiday 'WOW' Card Swap on Love is in the Details forum, and so here is what I considered to be my 'WOW' style!  I love birds and the bird cage is the icing on the cake! I also just purchased a new wheel stamp which creates Music Notes - and I have been just dyin' to get something like that, so I used it to create the crimped paper along the bottom. Here they are all together!  I have to make another for myself -  I always keep a sample one so I can include it with the cards I will receive from the others in the swap.  Don't they look pretty together? Here is the crimped paper 'ribbon' I created using our new Music Notes wheel - I squished the ends up into a partial 'fan' at one end and embellished with a snowflake, and the other end was cropped with our Scallop Border Trim punch.    I will come back [dead tired today from yesterday's craft fair!]...and provide more details on making this card ! :)   Now I am off soon to t...

R E V E R S E S POTLIGHTING -  A DIFFERENT WAY TO MAKE THINGS 'POP'! You NEED:    circle punch (ex 1-1/2 ")  Ink and stamp of choice (larger scale stamp design).... White [3-3/4 x 5] in. cardstock  1 Colour  cardstock scrap.... 1 Colour cardstock card base [8-1/2 x 5-1/2 in.] Basic Instructions .... CREATE THE FRONT CARD FACE by stamping a sheet of white cardstock  [ 3-3/4 x 5 in] with black ink using a nice fluffy floral design.  Like the flower they have shown here.  Then - with the   circle punch, PUNCH a few holes into some of the flowers , leaving some of the flower design intact.  Stamp the same design onto the scrap colour cardstock, and cut flowers out. These are lined up and MOUNTED BEHIND the flowers in the punched out circular areas - which restores the full design of the flower!!! There will still be a gap from the punched out circle, but wait...... Trim the card front layer, to clean, straight edges....

Look at this great idea. Our ORNAMENT PUNCH has been featured by many talented crafters as a means to make a ROSE FLOWER ! How neat is that! Sooooo...I have been on a creative roll lately, plus I wanted to make something special for a friend of mine, Caroline. And I wanted to have a good challenge. Now there are several ways to use this punch as a flower - many of which are a lot simplier than what I have done.  But if you've been a crafter for awhile, you should challenge yourself especially if you give classes - you can't expect it from others if you don't do it yourself! It took me awhile - the petals were the most challenging. I was working 'blind' - no template, no instructions...and so each petal was a small engineering job in itself. Do I roll the petal this way or fold it that way? Should I tilt it this time or lay it straight...and so on.  To make matters interesting - I chose to make another at the same time, using crushed paper {I took a paper and...

 I love it when I find the darling-est things and you have to admit even if you are a non-crafty person or even, dare I say it - a minimalist in the purest sense - that these are "cutesy" period. So check out the talent I found today while surfing....you can learn how to make these 'bottlecap pincushions' at the blog of How About Orange...  and also at  Craft Pudding And then, Hawaii is one of the best places I dream of moving to (seriously I do!)....and so one of their delightful talented crafters is here at Willy Nilly Waterlily  and I just love, love her " Bashful Blooming Cactus "  - wish I could post a pix of them but you can see on her blog - the trio of them on her banner. MY TUTORIAL TO DECORATE A JAM JAR {decorate the lid!} In my modest manner, I have used some fabric and a Big Shot Sizzlit Die of a flower to decorate the lid of a tiny jam jar - perfect for sorting and storing my buttons. Begin with bare jar and Here is how I altered it...

Corazon Aquino (Jan 25,1933 - Aug 1, 2009) I always feel particularly touched when a greatly known and courageous woman passes on, and its no different now. Sadly, the world is grieving with the Phillipines as they have lost a wonderful woman - their former and 11th President and Asia's first woman president. I made a card in her honour and reading how yellow was her favourite colour and that the streets rained yellow confetti as her countrymen paid tribute to her, I therefore chose yellow as my starting point - discreetly - along with flowers. I opened up one of my latest accessories, Stampin' Up!'s Textured Impressions embossing folder called Elegant Bouquet (see above photo) . It works so easily - just like pressing butter! I used artist brushes and pastel chalks to colour the raised design on vanilla cardstock. The ribbon slider I stamped the crown on to was a hand-made number I created using corner scissors. Tip : pencil guide lines on the back to help you l...

I really am having a great deal of fun with shaving foam - almost cracked a rib laughing when I told a friend I bumped into that I was giving a class on shaving foam and she sort of paused and said "what kinda of class ARE you giving that involves shaving foam!?" ....and that's when I realized for the first time how it sounds when you say it that way - - and I was "NO! not like what you're thinking! Or whatever you're thinking!! ha ha!" {she's a nurse - so } - -well, anyways we both had a good laugh. But here is some of my first results with it - I've made some lovely tags! See the background is the paper that has been marble-ized with the shaving foam and inks? Then I used some Stampin' Up Big Shot Dies {one has a flower which was cut in paper and tissue}, and some cut out pieces from various stamps to make 'chic' tags! It's pleasant to sit and craft with bits and bobs - like decorating a safety pin with beads {pull it apart...