Last Day for our Anything Goes Challenge!

Hi, it's Gini and I just wanted to remind you that today is the final day for the Beary Scrap's Anything Goes challenge. If you haven't gotten an entry in, you better do it!

I tried something different today. I made a blackboard/clipboard using Pink Paislee's Queen Bee paper. I spray painted my clipboard using chalkboard paint from the hardware store. I stamped a bee from the Queen Bee clear impressions stamp set using white ink onto the board. I love having matching stamp sets to go with a paper line! The flower is made from felt punched from a scalloped circle punch, and then just sewn together. The leaves beneath the flower were cut with my Cricut using the Botanicals cartridge. I still wanted a little more pizzaz to my project, so I added lace (colored with Apple Glimmer mist), velvet ribbon and a Pink Paislee brad with the back snipped off to the blackboard.

Hope you enjoyed looking! Be sure to check back tomorrow to see our new challenge!

Anything Goes with Tilda

Hello hello! Here we are at the end of our Anything Goes challenge - tomorrow is the last day to enter your fabulous creations. Hurry HERE to enter for your chance to win a $20 gift voucher to The Beary Scrap!

Ok, so my last project for Anything Goes is a very simple Magnolia using Basic Grey's  "Eskimo Kisses". Don't you just love the colors?

The paper behind Wrapped Tilda is a glitter paper from my stash. I just love it because the glitter is embedded in the paper, with a clear coating over it. I embossed the holly paper with Cuttlebug dots and the light paper strip on the left with Cuttlebug swirls. I then used Star Dust Stickles on the swirls to enhance them.

Card Recipe

• Stamp: Magnolia
• Paper: Neenah; Bazzill Basics in Ruby Red; Basic Grey "Eskimo Kisses"
• Medium: Copics for skin; Stickles Star Dust; Prismacolor pencils with OMS
• Embellishments: Eskimo Kisses brads; MS snowflake and edge punches; lace, ribbon, charms from stash
• Tools: Cuttlebug embossing folders; MS punches
• Adhesive: Scor-Tape; Glue Dots 1/2"; silicone

Thanks for visiting today!

Cheers,

Susan

Ask The Designers: Favorite Techniques

Today's question is this: What is your favorite technique (and why)?

Patricia:  I think my favorite technique is to ink the edges of the papers I think they really pull them together. I also really love hand sewing on my cards. I think it adds a special touch to them. I also like to add foam dots to my cards I love the 3D look on them.

Gini: This is easy, I am the self-appointed Queen of Distressing! I love inking the edges, water distressing, using my distressing tool - you name it, I'm there! I also love sewing on my projects.

Susan: Ok, hands-down my favorite technique is layering images. I'm sure there are other names for it, but it comes down to layering elements on an image to make it pop off the page. It's more work and totally worth the effort!

Jamie: This is a tough one, I don't really have a technique I use every time! But, I'd have to say a few of my favorites are inking all the edges of everything (it adds so much), using punches (I use either a shape or border punch on most things) and machine sewing (so quick and really gives dimension and that extra touch).

Now friends, it's your turn - What is your favorite technique?

Thanks for your support - we love getting your questions! Please join in and Ask the Designers!

Cheers,
The Beary Scrappy Girls

'Tis the Season

Happy Black Friday everyone! Thanksgiving is over and I hope you had a great one. It is now officially the season to be merry, to get out those Christmas CD's and sing along, to get teary eyed at all those sappy holiday commercials on TV, to bake treats, eat too many of those treats and spend lots of time with your family and loved ones! We have been teasing you all week with some Christmas projects, all with banners, at The Beary Scrap and I have one more to get you into that Christmas mood!


My card features a Kimm's awesome Tear Bear Reindeer- what a cute guy to get me into the Christmas mood! I used mocha mulberry paper for the body of the reindeer and cream for his muzzle and breast. Christmas Red Stickles accent his nose, holly leaf button his neck and he has a small bell tied on with two-toned gold wire.


The body of card is made from tan and dark green Bo Bunny Double Dot Cardstock and then My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly patterned paper. I made my banner my punching postage stamp shapes from the dark green Double Dot and highlighting all the edges with more red Stickles. Then I added red stocking buttons that are flocked to the banner and attached it with more of the gold wire.


An inside view of my card-- both front and inside sentiments are heat embossed with glittery red embossing powder.


So, have a wonderful holiday season and don't forget to post your Anything Goes project (you could even try some banners!) in our current Beary Sweet Challenge by 11:59 EST on Nov. 30th for your chance to win some great goodies. And it your not in the mood for some crazy Black Friday shopping at the stores, snuggle up with your computer instead and check out all the great stuff at The Beary Scrap!

The Beary Scrap Reindeer say Don't Wake Santa

It's all about Reindeer Games and when our challenge was to create a banner I knew what I was going to do.

I made a vertical banner. I made just the reindeer heads as peekers from the Reindeer Acrylic Pattern and Mulberry Paper. My background paper is from My Minds Eye the Holly Jolly line, and I say it all the time but I just love this paper. I actually had some card stock from Bazzill that was part of a kit for making a Board Book that I used for my squares.  I matched up my holes on the bottom and punched them out to add my chain. I added some eyelets from my stash. I added Vintage Christmas Flower Soft the the whole outside of my squares. I also added Twinklets Diamond Dust, I wish I had more sun today when I took these pictures so you could really see it sparkle. I misted my paper with Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist. I punched out my holly leaves with a Martha Stewart punch and added Holly Stickles and BoBunny Brads for my berries. I cut my frames out with Spellbinders and added Mulberry Flowers. I used buttons from Bobunny to lace my ribbon thru and added bows.

I REALLY LOVED MAKING THIS I MUST SAY AGAIN

Now don't forget that you have till the end of the month to enter our

Anything Go's Challenge ---HERE---

Thanks for looking.

~Patricia~



Flower Tutorial with Gini

Have you noticed how big banners are? They are everywhere! Banner stamps and papers - really cute seasonal banners? I love them! And this week the Beary Scrappy Gals are being inspired by banners. If you would like to play with along with our challenge, it's still Anything Goes (you don't have to do anything with banners).

I made a layout today featuring my sweet nephew Will. He has taught me so much about unconditional love...He makes my heart happy. I used this wonderful sparkly banner paper from MME Lost and Found - Union Square. You may also notice that fabulous Dusty Attic chipboard - Did you know that Beary Scrap will soon be selling Dusty Attic -yay!!!!

Do you like my flower? Would you like to learn how to make it? Here you go!



I have been having so much fun making this hand crafted flowers, I just had to share with you how I do it! For these flowers I used Heartfelt Creations Innoscents Flowers 1 and 2, and Spellbinders Blossom 2 Nestbilities. I just bought some cheap white satin at Walmart for $1/yard.


You will want to stamp a couple of each flower size onto the satin using Staz-on inks.


After you have all of your flowers stamped out, cut them with your nestabilities. I have found if you are trying to cut fabric, it works much better if you put a layer of cardstock underneath it. It gives the die a little more to grab onto.




You may still have to trim just a little, if it doesn't cut all the way through.



You can choose any color to make your flower just by spraying them with Glimmer Mist. I used Fully Purple and Dewberry.




To speed the drying, I use my heat gun. I love laying out my flowers on my magnetic precision mat and holding them in place with magnets to dry. This keeps me from burning my fingers.



Next, you are going to melt the edges of all the flowers over a candle flame. You don't have to get it too near, or you will have some little fires to tend to!


Sometimes I will curl the petal as I melt it to help shape it.



For some of the top layers, I cut away the bottom flower layer - or sometimes cut into the petal to make it deeper. You can play around with it for different effects.


Here are all of the flowers shaped by the flame. I also cut some plain bronze organza and melted the edges of that for a different layer.



You are going to sew the layers together, but cut a little square of felt to put between the layers to space them.


Add beads or a button to the center of the flower.



After my flower was assembled, I painted a thin layer of Platinum Stickles over the top.


I hope you will try these out - I'd love to see what you come up with!

Anything Goes With A Banner

Hello hello! This week the design team will continue with our BSC #14 "Anything Goes" samples, but with a twist! Our task is to jump on the banner bandwagon and include some kind of banner in our project.

Don't you just love the My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly line? This particular paper inspired me to create an outdoors scene. Here, darling Tilda is sitting on her bench, wishing for... more snow? Peace on earth? Pants? I'm not completely sure what's on her mind, but she's awfully cute anyway!

Both Tilda and her bench are colored with a combination of Copics and Prismacolor pencils with OMS. Her coat is covered with flocking powder to create a velvet texture. this is the first time I've tried flocking, and I like it!

The paper is dotted with Diamond Stickles. I've used a few different Stickles colors throughout: Star Dust (boot laces, accenting the Candy Cane Stickles on mitten, scarf, hair bows); Crystal (holly leaves); Diamond ("merry", branches paper, medallion); Frosted Lace (socks and hat); Candy Cane (coat trim, hair bows, scarf, hat). Phew! Is that all?

I created the "merry" banner and "bright" medallion on the computer. I really wanted the letters to look like they were hanging from the branch... It didn't turn out as well as the design in my mind, but it's still cute. :)

Card Recipe

• Stamp: Magnolia
• Paper: Bazzill Mud Pie; My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly - both sides of "Winter Branch"
• Medium: Copics; Stickles (see list above); Prismacolor pencils with OMS; ColorBox Fluid Chalk in Chestnut Roan; DecoArt Snow Writer (at base of bench)
• Embellishments: Holly Jolly trim pack; pins from stash; Holly leaves cut from Cricut; Prima felt branch
• Adhesive: Glue Dots 1/8"; Scor-Tape; silicone

Thanks so much for stopping in! Our Beary Sweet Challenge #14 - Anything Goes! - can be found HERE. Please take a minute and join in the fun - you could win $20 voucher from The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,

Susan

Ask The Designers: Inspiration

Today's question is this: Where do you find inspiration?

Jamie: Everything! I have always got several projects in the back of my mind as I go through my day and things just pop out to give me ideas! It might be a song I hear on the radio, an ad or picture that I see, or something funny that one of my kids says! I also love to get ideas from others-- I don't often copy the idea exactly but I love just browsing through scrapbook magazines or online galleries to see different ideas, techniques and ways of using supplies I have never thought of. Most of all, I get ideas from the ladies I interact with-- whether it's my fellow DT members or my local friends I scrap with once a month. The more ideas you share, the better!

Patricia:  What inspires me is if I'm making a special card I try to make something that I know what the person really likes, weather its a certin color or animal or stamp. Sometimes the designer paper will inspire me to make a card and I like to pull colors from the paper to make the papers match. Sometimes when I have to make a card for a sick friend I try to think what will make them happy and pick up there spirits.


Susan: Ooh, like Jamie, I seem to always have projects in the back of my mind. I'll stew over challenge themes or designer paper I've been dying to use. Friday Kimm and I were talking about a new paper line coming to the store and there's one design I can't wait to use. Later in the afternoon I had a brainstorm about which stamp to use with it. Now I just have to buy the stamp and patiently wait for the paper to arrive... (In the meantime, tomorrow's DT project is definitely inspired by the MME Holly Jolly "Winter Branches" paper. I can't wait to share it with you!)

Mostly, I am inspired by my fellow crafters. I'm amazed at what *you* come up with regularly! When I'm stumped I head straight to my Google reader and let my eyes wander. You all are incredibly talented and always manage to solve my design problems!

Now friends, it's your turn - Where do you find inspiration?


Thanks for your support - we love getting your questions! Please join in and Ask the Designers!

Cheers,
The Beary Scrappy Girls

Anything Goes-- So, what could be better than. . . .

A NEW BABY!!

Not much, in my opinion! Remember a few weeks ago, when I told you all why I was really a Halloween witch and I was hoping for my new niece to join my Halloween birthday celebration? Well, she didn't quite make it then but here she is now and the perfect subject for my Anything Goes page.


I wanted to use fall leaves since this little cutie was born November 7th, but still make this look like a baby page. So I used papers from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Market Street line which have soft creams, blues and pinks. I used a Martha Stewart punch to make all my fall leaves, throwing in some browns from Bo Bunny Double Dot cardstock.


I spritzed all my leaves with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Opal and then added Cinnamon Stickles to some of the edges and some pink KaiserCraft rhinestones. My title letters are cut on my Cricut (Jasmine cartridge) and also spritzed with Glimmer Mist.


I LOVE how my page turned out and I can't wait to see what you've got to show us in our Anything Goes challenge so make sure to join us in the current Beary Sweet Challenge for your chance to win some goodies from the Beary Scrap!

Anything Goes For Our New Challenge

Please scroll down for our Beary Sweet Challenge #13 winners!

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Who doesn't love a challenge where

Anything Goes

for our new challenge at The Beary Scrap. Don't you just love a challenge that you have the freedom to do your own thing? This challenge allowed me to use some really pretty paper from My Mind's Eye from the Holly Jolly line. That paper has to be some of the prettiest paper so far I have seen this season. Thank you Susan for your card this week showing me how to show of the designer paper. 

I used one of the new Magnolia Stamps that you can get on pre-order from The Beary Scrap Store Jolly Tilda and I have her sitting on the Armchair. The chair and Tilda are both pop dotted to make her more 3D.

I also used Vintage Christmas Flower Soft and added red glitter while it was still wet. I really wish the picture showed that because it's really pretty with the red glitter. I added some buttons I picked up at Walmart. I colored Tilda with Copics and added Diamond Dust to the white parts of her hat. I also added Stickles to the letters by the armchair and to the outline of the Christmas Ornament on the designer paper. My Tis the Season is from the matching Accessory Sheet from MME.

Thanks so much for looking and remember to enter our

Anything Goes Challenge ---HERE---

~Patricia~

BSC #13 Winners!

Hello friends! We want to extend a huge "Thank You!" to everyone who played along with our misting challenge! We really enjoy visiting your blogs and definitely appreciate your support!

Our winner of the $20 gift voucher to The Beary Scrap is...

#10: Bonnie O'Clair!

Congratulations, Bons! Please email Kimm and she'll set you up with a voucher to go shoppin'!

We would also like to congratulate our Beary Sweet Top 3:

#7 - Heaney
#4 - Cassie
#3 - Stephanne

Ladies - thank you so much for joining us! Here's a fun badge to display on your blogs:

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Don't forget! Our Beary Sweet Challenge #14 -Anything Goes! - is going on now through November 30th. You could win a $20 gift voucher just like Bonnie!

Cheers,
Susan, Gini, Patricia, Jamie and Kimm

Anything Goes!

Hi, it's Gini here! Are you ready for an easy peasy challenge at the Beary Scrap? How about anything goes? Since I have gotten a jump on my Christmas cards, I thought perhaps I might should get going on some Thank You cards as well! For my DP, I used some bright and poppy papers from MME Alphabet Soup (Girls). I thought it would be great with Brother and Sister from Magnolia. I cut the flowers out using my Cricut (Elegant Cakes Cartridge).

We hope you will enjoy playing along with this easy challenge !

Beary Sweet Challenge #14: Anything Goes!

Please scroll down  -Susan's Jolly Old St. Nick wants a visit, too!

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Welcome to our Beary Sweet Challenge #14

The design team sends out BIG thanks to everyone who joined our BSC #13 - we are so thrilled to see each and every one of you! We'll announce winners on Wednesday, November 17th. Thank you!

It's the 15th of the month, which means it's time for a new challenge. Whoo hoo! This time we're challenging you to do whatever you want, 'cause...

Anything Goes!

What does that mean, you ask? The challenge is wide open this term - we are looking forward to the variety! Whatever tickles your fancy gets you an entry for the prize. :)

This challenge runs through November 30th at 11:59pm EDT. The prize winner will be chosen by random.org and will be announced along with our "Beary Sweet Top 3" on December 3rd.

The random winner will receive a $20 voucher for The Beary Scrap. We're all so excited about the new stock coming in these days!

Here are the "rules" to play - PLEASE READ:

• Become a follower if you aren't already (don't forget this one - it's disqualified a few folks already!);
• Link your blog post (not your blog "home page") or your online gallery submission with our Inlinkz frog below.
• Link back to this posting on your blog; tag your online gallery post with BSC#14;
• Please, only one (1) entry per person. Links to projects/cards posted before November 15th will not be eligible for the prize draw.

Additional information:

• Feel free to combine with other challenges;
• All NEW project types (cards, scrapbook layouts, etc.) are welcome;
• International crafters are invited to join, too!

Thanks for playing along with our challenges - we really appreciate you!

Cheers and smooches,

Susan, Gini, Patricia, Jamie and Kimm

Holly Jolly St. Nick

Hello hello blogging friends! i hope you had a spectacular weekend in your neck of the woods. Husband and I visited a dog show so we could stare at all the beautiful Dobe Boys and Girls. Ours runs more toward the Dobe Goof side of the breed family, and we love every bit of him. It is nice to see the ladies and gents, though. *wink*

Today kicks off a new Beary Sweet Challenge, and our theme is Anything Goes! Haha - I love this kind of challenge since it allows me complete freedom. Of course, this was a no-brainer for me since I started designing this card in my head waaay back when I first got my mitts on the My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly papers. With this challenge I was finally able to use it.

Santa is too delicious to be *just* a background element, don'tcha think? I had 2 of the same sheets and cut one Santa out. I painted him with Distress Crackle paint and layered him onto the second. Oh, I also I lightly inked the cut-out edges before painting with the crackle. I used Stickles on the holly and berries in his hat, too.

Here's a little note about Stickles - I have both the "Christmas Red" and "Gold" but find that "Candy Cane" and "Diamond" are much more suitable. When compared side by side, the former seem too bright.

The delightful ribbon is new to The Beary Scrap and I *love* it! I used 2 strips and wove gold embroidery thread through the centers. It was a bit of a brainstorm, and I'm really happy it hit me. I have tons of embroidery thread from years (er... decades?) ago that I've never used. Now it will be put to a good use! Yay!

The tag and tag holder thingy are Tim Holtz... stay tuned for TH products at TBS. *verybiggrin* The holly leaves (edged in Diamond Stickles) and red gems are from stash.

Card Recipe

• Paper: My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly "Jolly Old St. Nick"; Bazzill Basics Mud Pie and (Dark Green)
• Medium: Colorbox Fluid Chalk Ink in Chestnut Roan; Stickles in Diamond, Candy Cane, Green; Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy
• Embellishments: Lace (available soon on the website); Embroidery floss, holly leaves, gems from stash
• Adhesive: Scor-Tape, sewing machine

Thank you *so* much for visiting us today! We hope you join our Anything Goes challenge - we'd love to see your projects!

Cheers,
Susan

Ask The Designers: Money Saving Tips

Belts are tightening everywhere. Unfortunately, paper crafty supplies aren't really considered "household necessities". Today's question is this: What are your best money-saving tips to keep you crafting?

Gini:  I think one of the best money saving tips I can give is to keep your eyes open. At the craft store, don't just look at the scrapbook aisle - You can find great savings sometimes on things that were not intended for scrapping. Also, look at the things that you throw away - corrugated cardboard, clear plastic casing (like what a Cricut cartridge comes in) - You can re-purpose many things.

Jamie:  If only I could stop shopping for scrapping supplies, I would save a lot of money! But I'm addicted!:):) A few ways I can think of to try and save though are:
• Share with friends-- if you find a good deal, but don't want to have a big package of something, split it with someone else.
• I love things that come in coordinated kits; I get several of these a month from different places and then I spend way less time browsing scrapbook stores and just picking up random things I think are cute but don't really know what I am going to do with them.
• Look everywhere! Even dollar stores sometimes have good scrapbook stuff, plus I love the dollar items at Michaels, JoAnn's and Target. Use items that aren't normally thought of for scrapping -- the packaging of embellishments or tags from clothing are often really cute.
• Organize your stuff and go through it often! This keeps me from buying similar things that I forgot I had!

Patricia:  Other than using coupons and waiting for sales, I also like to save on pre-order specials. Another thing I do when I need to make something more solid (like if I'm making an album cover and want the paper more solid), I use the back covers of my paper pads. They work great in making the covers more heavier. One other fun thing I like to do is pull apart the sticker sets and use one sticker for two projects. For example, If you look at Jolee's Rock Star Stickers, I will take the angel wings off for my bears and use the guitar for another bear. It really makes you look at things more when you know you can pull them apart and see what else you can use them for.

Susan: I'm a big scrap saver. If a scrap of paper is big enough to use for a punch, I'll keep it. [Now organized by color thanks to Jamie's suggestion, and MUCH easier to use!] If I need to run to Michael's I'll hunt down a 40% coupon online and generally try to stick to a specific *need* list. However... I will always check out the clearance sections. I recently found a $15 reindeer pendant marked down to $1.99. At that price, I couldn't pass it up! It'll be frolicking on a Christmas card soon.

When I use Pop-Dots, I cut the outer edges for straight lines and use the holey parts (after the Pop-Dots are used) to reinforce the center of a raised element on a card.

I think my best money saving advice is to keep your mind open. Think around, under and through things before you throw them out. Like Patricia's stickers, you never know what you can come up with until you think around it!

Now friends, it's your turn - What are your best money saving tips?


Thanks for your support - we love getting your questions! Please join in and Ask the Designers!

Cheers,
The Beary Scrappy Girls

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About Ask the Designers

Crafting is creativity - some of it comes from within and some is learned. We're here to help you learn techniques, make your crafting life easier with product experiences, give advice and generally inspire your inner muse.

We will collect emails and comment questions, and post answers each Sunday. You can ask general questions to the design team or specific ones to any of us. If you want more info about something you've see out there in blogland or any product the has you curious, email or leave a comment and we will share our experiences and opinions. We're not here to sell you specific products from The Beary Scrap online store, although we hope you will visit for your crafty needs. Our goal is to share our knowledge and experiences, with the hope that we can help make your crafty life easier.

Don't You Love these Colors?

I was so excited to work with these colors--- apple, pear and pumpkin-- doesn't it sound yummy? I absolutely love fall colors and these just fit perfect. Plus, I got to use that great sketch again but I decided to keep it simple this week and make a card instead of converting the sketch into a scrapbook layout. And so, I think for the first time ever, I have a card to show you!



With that theme of keeping it simple, I have only used Bo Bunny's Double Dot Cardstock this week instead of patterned paper. However, I must have had Granny Smith apples on the brain, because when I started working with my papers, I ended up with these colors and no red. Oh well!



I made one of Kimm's original Tear Bears for the front of the card and then created a pumpkin for him to hold. I made the pumpkin by punching three ovals out of the Double Dot cardstock, adhering two of them together and then placing the third on top. Topped off with gems and a flower, I think it's a pretty cute pumpkin for a cute bear!


I finished off the front with some more gems, some light green Prima flowers and my sentiment. It's all ready to go to show someone how grateful I am for them this Thanksgiving season.


We want to see your interpretation of our sketch to make sure to enter our current Beary Sweet Challenge by 11:59 EST on Nov. 14 for your chance to win some great goodies from The Beary Scrap!

The Beary Scrap Sketch Challenge Plus

 It's time for another sample from our Sketch Challenge this week plus an added twist for the Design Team. We had to add Apple, Pumpkin, Pear. We could take this anyway we wanted to. I choose to pull the colors.

(sorry about the off color picture I had to take this at night I will try to change it out when I can get a daylight picture they flower is a really pretty lime green)

I used papers from Basic Grey, Doodlebug Design and My Minds Eye.

I made a cute owl using one of the Acrylic Paper Piecing Patterns Owen the Owl and I made him with Rich Red and Cream Mulberry Paper.

I used Fleur De Lis Spellbinders for my background mat. I layered 3 different colored ribbons and added White Pearls. I also hand made my Mulberry flower and added Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist. Now I challenged myself to play with more than one color of Stickles, I get so used to using the same color all the time that I used 5 different colors this time, I used Cinnaman, Orange Peel, Copper, Xmas Red, and Crystal. Now I have 46 different colors and it's about time I tried using more. We get so set in our ways sometimes we have to force ourselves to try something new. Now 2 weeks ago in our Ask The Designers I commented on how I store my Stickles and here is a picture of how I do that along with how I store some of my most used ribbon.

I store my Stickles upside down and have them attached with velcro dots on velcro strips. I use the soft dot for the bottle. My ribbon is on really thin curtain rods and added hooks that were 2 1/2" away from the wall so my ribbon can spin, plus I think it looks so pretty.

Now don't forget you have till November 14th to enter our Sketch Challenge and you can enter your card ---HERE---.

Don't forget to find us on Facebook and become a fan.

Thanks so much for looking.

~Patricia~ 

Apples, Pears and Pumpkins

Hi! It's Gini here today. I love fall colors, so when the Beary Scrappy Gals decided that we would work with a palette inspired by apples, pears and pumpkins - I knew it would be a winning combination! We are still working with the awesome sketch that Susan came up with (You have until Nov. 14th to play along).

My card is very fall inspired. First, I went through my stash of papers from the Beary Scrap, and decided on Queen Bee from Pink Paislee. I am always happy when I use this paper. I also added some Bo Bunny Peacock Lane. - For my image, I used this really cute little Edwin holding a chicken from Magnolia (I am so bad about remembering the names of some of these stamps - sorry!) and colored him with Copics. I made a shaker box as one of my card elements that has little autumn leaves and green beads in it (the beads help the leaves not to all stick together - and makes it more fun to shake). The fence and the tree were both cut with my Cricut using the Cindy Loo and Heritage cartridges. I would love to tell you that I am so uber talented with my Cricut and Gypsy that I planned to make the leaves of the tree the perfect size for the May Ribbon leaves that I added to it - but alas, I'm not that talented - I was just really lucky! And I really thought it was quite serendipitous that they matched up so well!

This really is a great sketch, so we would love to have you play along with us!

Sketch: Thankful For You

Hello friends! Hope you had a great weekend. We had a little family gathering to celebrate Grandma's 89th birthday. Now my wonderful in-laws are visiting and doing a little granddog sitting while Husband and I have a wee midweek fling in Philadelphia. *grin*

This week the design team is using the BSC #13 sketch with a little added challenge just for us: Apple, Pear, Pumpkin. This is open to interpretation and could be the foods themselves, their colors, or a combination of the two. Or even something I can't think of right now. :) See? It's all open to interpretation *and* imagination... 

I had a little problem at first... 'specially since I'm dying to use my new Christmas papers which have nothing to do with apples, pears or pumpkins. I poked around my paper bins and found the awesome Pink Paislee 365°. Of course, it's absolutely perfect so I opted for "sketch plus colors".

You'll notice I barely layered on this one. *gasp* I was unsure about a green dress so I figured I'd try it on the bottom layer first. (Normally I don't completely color the bottom layer - just the edges.) It turned out so well that I decided to use it.

Card Recipe

• Stamp - Magnolia
• Paper - Bazzill Basics in Mud Pie; Pink Paislee 365° 6x6 pad and "Be Free" (stripes) in 12x12
• Medium - Copic E0000, E01, E11 for skin; Prismacolor pencils with OMS; Colorbox Fluid Chalk in Chestnut Roan and Creamy Brown; Stickles Crystal and Diamond; Distress Stickles in Spiced Marmalade
• Embellishments - Kaisercraft Pearls in Snow; May Arts Crocheted Lace (brand new in store - call to order); Satin ribbon (large and woven into lace) from stash; ticket - my design and Kimm's sentiment (thanks a bunch!)
• Tools - Scor-Pal; Cuttlebug Embossing Folders
• Adhesives - Scor-Tape and 1/8" Glue Dots

Hope you can find inspiration from this... and while you're feeling so inspired *grin*, please join our Beary Sweet Sketch Challenge! It's going on now through November 14th. See you there!

Cheers,
Susan