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

Hello friends! I hope you are finding time to join our 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 got 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.

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

Cheers,
Susan

Merry Christmas

Hiya crafty friends! 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.

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

It's the Itsy Bitsy Spider - Eek!

Hey there crafty folks! This week the 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

There's A Cure...

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. 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 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! I hope you return all week for more fun design team samples for your inspiration. 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

She's Batty!

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 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

Halloween Kitten with Vintage Buttons

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 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

A Sketch and A Snake-Oil Salesman (Updated!)

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 design team is wrapping up our September sketch challenge and late in the week Lori and Jamie will ring in 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 swirls of the Prima Say it in Crystals black rhinestones - love the effect!

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 (the 3 rhinestones in the upper right corner); 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

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

A Tweet Mini Album

Hello crafty friends! This week the design team continues with our Tic-Tac-Toe challenge. This has been the most fun!

For the longest time I eyed up the Prima Build-A-Book albums (40% off right now!) and wondered if I should take one on. Could I do it? Would I have the patience to complete all the pages? I didn't know... until one day I decided to take the plunge. I could do it! Why not? I'm a crafty sort of gal, right? It's only 8 surfaces to design and cover, and I had confidence.

I received it and it sat on a shelf for weeks. I told myself I didn't have the right paper collection for it. Really, I was chickening out. Haha! Luckily, Echo Park's Victoria Gardens came along and I knew it was the perfect collection to use on this album.

For this challenge I've used lace, dry embossing and pearls. I have the cover completed and the inside pages will follow in the next few weeks. I'm so happy that I've finally started this album and am ready to plan another one. Can you believe it?

If you saw my message on Facebook last week, you might recognize the teal flower. I used the Retro punches to punch out 3 large and medium flowers, spritzed with water and scrunched up. After they dried a little I carefully opened them back up and glued the layers together. Once they dried completely, the tips were tinged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and Star Dust Stickles. It's not bad for a first try *wink*. I think I'll work on lighter card stock and use more Distress Inks to color them in.There are so many possibilities! The large Retro punch is currently out-of-stock, but you can easily achieve the same kind of results with the medium and large Daisy punches. The daisy's pointy tips would work perfectly - have fun with it!

The "Today I wish you..." banner is from the Victoria Gardens Elements Stickers sheet. I cut it out -backing and all- and used Scor-Tape on the left and right edges to elevate it over the crochet lace.

Card Recipe

• Paper - Echo Park Victoria Gardens: Rose Garden, Garden Trellis on the left edge; Garden Pond for the bird cage; Delightful Doilies for the bird and wing. I also used Bazzil Basics off-white inside the birdcage, which is where you will find my dry embossing
• Medium - Glossy Accents on the bird cage; Stickles Star Dust (just about everywhere); Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo on the edges
• Embellishment - Prima Build-A-Book; EP Victoria Gardens Elements Stickers; Ivory seam binding; lace, flowers pearls from stash; Stick pin and charms are made by me.
• Tools & Adhesives - Medium and large Retro punches; Scor-Tape; Fabri-Tac

Thanks for visiting today! I hope you will consider joining our Tic-Tac-Toe challenge - check out all the fun 3-in-a-row combinations you could use on your project:

Click the pic for all the challenge details!

Cheers,
Susan

Fluttering Butterflies

Hello crafty folks! It's Monday and that means I get to share another project with you. A new challenge starts today (see post above) where we all get to play tic-tac-toe and choose three in a row!

 
I've made a tag (oh how I love tags!) using the Tim Holtz Tag & Bookplate die. The beautiful paper is Pink Paislee's Butterfly Garden, and my challenge row is "lace-distress-glitter". I wanted to showcase the birdcage and bird on the paper, so I built around them. There is a bit of distressed lace on the bottom (spritzed with Glimmer Mist). I age-distressed the edges of my tag with Vintage Photo ink and the flowers and butterfly spots are glittered with Stickles Star Dust.  The Prima vine is tinged with Tattered Rose Distress ink and touched with Stickles Star Dust. The butterflies are cut from one of the PP Butterfly Garden pages, and the hanger is made from apricot seam binding.

Click to make me bigger!

 Thanks for visiting today! I hope you can be inspired with all our projects this week to challenge yourself to a game of Tic-Tac-Toe. You could win a $20 voucher from The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan

Just Buzzing By!

Hello hello, and a hearty "Happy Monday" to everyone! This week the design team is sharing more samples and hopefully a little inspiration on ways to use our Beary Sweet sketch in our current challenge. It goes on through Midnight, Sunday the 14th. I hope you find time to join us!

For my project this week, I've revisited my old friend, the easel card. I adore this style and can't believe its been months. As you can tell, I've been buzzz-y with the new Echo Park Country Drive papers.

Card Recipe

• Stamp: Magnolia 
• Paper: Echo Park "Country Drive" Leafy Tree Top - this 12x12 paper has smaller versions of some designs on the flip side; Bazzill Basics
• Wet Medium: Copic for skin and cheeks; Prismacolor Pencils blended with with OMS; Stickles Star Dust, Diamond; Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo; Glossy Accents on the honey jar
• Embellishments: Prima Trellis Rose in Lemon Creme; Prima Fairytale Roses in Buttercup; Mulberry paper roses - 16mm white; handmade bee charm stick pin; rhinestones from stash
• Adhesives: 1/4" Scor-Tape; Fabri-Tac

Thanks for visiting today, and see you at the Beary Sweet sketch challenge!

Cheers,
Susan

Closet Inspiration

Happy Monday to all our crafty friends! This week the design team is showing you new inspiration for our current "Find Inspiration In Your Closet" challenge. When I stood in my closet I was struck by how... er ... boring my wardrobe is these days. I wear a lot of black and khaki and don't go in for the fun and funky detailing you see on a lot of fashion these days. In lieu of the fancy stuff and avoiding the flowery knickers in my girly drawer (for your sake, really), I decided to love all over my purple and green plaid linen bathrobe. Hey! It's not as dorky as it sounds!

Click for a bigger view!

I adore Prima floral papers and was happy to find a few that coordinate with the ol' cover-up. :) The bird and cage were made using a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die. The bird from a scrap of Prima paper and the cage from really thin cherry wood paper.

Card Recipe

• Paper: Prima 6x6 paper stack - Fairy Flora; Bazzill Basics; cherry wood paper for the cage
• Medium: Ranger Distress Ink in Victorian Velvet, Vintage Photo, Bundled Sage; Stickles in Picket Fence and Star Dust
• Embellishments: White Mulberry Paper Roses colored with Distress Inks; Seam Binding; die cut branches; crochet lace from stash
• Adhesives: Fabri-Tac; 3D Glue Dots in 1/8" and 1/16"

Thanks for visiting today! Please join our current challenge - you could win a $20 gift voucher from The Beary Scrap!

Cheers,
Susan

Happy Birthday!

Hey there crafty folks! I hope you had a great weekend. This week the Beary Scrap design team is showing more samples for our current Sketch Challenge & Blog Candy. On Thursday our next Guest Designer is sharing her first project with us. I can't wait to see what Lori Leng of Pinkcloud Scrappers will show us first! At the end of the week Jamie will usher in a new challenge and we will announce our winners on Sunday the 17th. We have a busy week in store for you!

I've gone whimsical and cute for this week's project. I knew I wanted to color my new Balloon Kaylee stamp and went poking through my papers to find a good match. Lo and behold I found the cutest My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup papers. I forgot I had them!

Click the pic for a larger view

I combined 2 lines from My Mind's Eye - Alphabet Soup for the papers and Tickled Pink for the ric-rac and brad inside the big flower. I love how these 2 lines coordinate!

Kaylee is layered and I'm still decided whether to use Star Dust Stickles on either the headband or balloon. It seems needed up there, but I'm not sure which to do. What do you think?

Oh, and the "Happy Birthday" stamp included with Kaylee will go on the inside panel.

Card Recipe

• Stamp: Some Odd Girl's Kaylee
• Paper: Bazzill Basics (50% clearance!); My Mind's Eye Alphabet Soup (Girl) - Sunny Stripes, Lovely
• Medium: Copic for skin (E000, E00, E11); Prismacolor with OMS; Glimmer Mist; Stickles - Fruit Punch around the edges, Stardust on flowers and Kaylee; Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo blended with Spun Sugar on the striped layer, Broken China on the heart layer.
• Embellishments: My Mind's Eye Fine & Dandy Tickled Pink Trim; Fine & Dandy Tickled Pink Decorative Brads (flower center); "Leandro Blue" seam binding behind Bazzill tulle; 16mm & 10mm Mulberry paper roses - 16mm white is spritzed with Clover Glimmer Mist; Homemade decorative pins; crochet flower from stash
• Adhesives: 1/4" Scor-Tape; 3D Dots; silicone

Click to go to the challenge!

Blog Candy - every challenge entry is eligible to win!

That's it for me! I hope to see you at our challenge, going on through Thursday night!

Cheers,
Susan

Christmas in July Sketch

Hello crafty friends! I hope all our American readers are having fabulous Independence Day celebrations. Today we celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.  July 4, 1776 was a monumental day in the history of the newly formed United States of America. Today we celebrate with parties, fireworks and pools. It's one big birthday party for the nation. Happy birthday!

So, with that said... here at The Beary Scrap we're in the midst of our July Sketch Challenge. The design team is shaking it up a bit by adding a Christmas in July theme to our projects. Notice how that happens to go with our Christmas in July blog candy? Hey, we planned it right!

Of course, I'm ignoring the fact that I'm posting a Christmas card on July 4th...  but can't red and green be considered national colors, too? *grin*

This is Magnolia's "Tilda with Fir" and happens to be the stamp included with our challenge blog candy. Isn't she adorable? This is a pretty simple card made with papers that really seemed to do the designing work for me. They are from a Webster's Pages 6x6 pack. See the background paper? I used the front of the stack for this layer. Underneath the plaid layer is the "petit papers" logo - it's like getting an extra sheet in an already fabulous paper pad!

Card Recipe

• Stamp: Magnolia - check out the Christmas selection here. It's all on sale!
• Paper: Bazzill Basics; Webster's Pages "Waiting for Santa/Sweet Season" 6x6 pad
• Medium: Copics for skin (E000, E00, E01); Prismacolor pencils with OMS; Ranger Distress ink in Vintage Photo; Stickles in Diamond and Distress Stickles in Frosted Lace (on the white roses)
• Embellishements: Ivory Seam Binding; Mulberry Paper Roses in 20mm and 10mm; handmade beaded pin set; all others from stash
• Adhesives: Scor-Tape; 3D Glue Dots in 1/8" and 1/16"; Fabri-tac

Thanks so much for visiting today! Please join our Beary Sweet Sketch Challenge - all entries are eligible to win our blog candy as well as the $20 gift voucher! It goes on through July 14th - I hope to see *your* fun projects!

Cheers,
Susan

Travelin' Teddy

Hi there crafty friends! Happy Monday to you. Before I chat up this week's project, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Guest Designer Brenda, who posted her last project this past Saturday. Sweetie, thank you so much for bringing such fun projects to our challenges. You and I have very different styles yet I learned something new from you almost every week over the last 3 months. It's been amazing to see what you design, and I am completely honest when I say you've taught me to think differently. Thanks Brenda!

This week the design team is continuing with our DIY embellishments to go along with our Do It Yourself Embellishment challenge. We're adding a little extra challenge to include red, white *or* blue, and the best I could come up with was the lovely white mulberry roses. See, Travelin' Teddy here had his own ideas about how this card was going to turn out...

For today's project I decided to make a mulberry paper "Tear Bear" as my DIY. It's been a looong time for me - at least a year! You may not know this, but Tear Bears are what brought me to The Beary Scrap in the first place. I was a novice bear maker and our very own Kimm was incredibly patient while I learned. I peppered her with a million questions and she answered every one of them with kindness. These days the Beary Sweet Designs acrylic patterns make it *so easy* to whip up a Tear Bear, and the written instructions HERE are brilliant.

I used the Tattered Teddy pattern on this card. Since Tattered Teddy came out, I've been playing around with the idea of making him slouch against a dress form die cut on a very shabby chic styled card. It turned out that my dress form die is too small for Teddy, so I went in a different direction with this project. Or rather, Teddy wanted to go in a lot of different directions and become a world traveler! (One day I will do it, but with the Baby Bear pattern instead.)

Here's Travelin' Teddy, working his way around the globe!

Card Recipe

• Paper: Prima 6x6 pad - Botanical; Mulberry paper in "Caramel" and "White"; Bazzill Basics; suitcase printed on textured Canson Mi-Tiente paper
• Medium: Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo
• Embellishments: Beary Sweet Designs Tattered Teddy acrylic pattern; Mulberry Paper 16mm white roses and rose buds; Tim Holtz Filmstrip Ribbon; Kaisercraft pearls; lace, pink flower, charms, ribbon from stash
• Tools: Complete Tear Bear Making Kit; Honey Bee scissors; Scor-Pal; sewing machine
• Adhesives: 1/4" Scor-Tape; Fabri-Tac; 1/8" and 1/16" 3D Dots

Thanks for visiting today! Our DIY Embellishment challenge goes on through Thursday night - come play with us! You could win a $20 gift voucher to The Beary Scrap! Thursday is also the last day for Guest Designer Debbie. *sob* It's been a thrill to have both Debbie and Brenda with us for the last 3 months. I can't believe it's almost over. Ladies, thanks for all your wonderfully inspiring projects!

Cheers,
Susan

DIY Crinoline Flower

Hello crafty friends! This week the design team is continuing with Do It Yourself Embellishment samples to go along with our current challenge. I've been a fan of crinoline flowers seen here and there and decided to try it myself!

Click for a bigger, better view!

I used Tim Holtz/Sizzix Tattered Florals die and cut three medium flowers and 2 of the smallest flowers on the die. I pressed one of each flower size into a Spun Sugar Distress Ink pad, and the others were spritzed with Glimmer Mist. It has a pink-ish brown-ish color and was perfect for the vintage look. I used a heat tool and tweezers to dry each flower then poked a hole in the centers. The flower "pollen" is a button from the My Mind's Eye Market Street button set. 

The tag is cut using the Tim Holtz Tag & Bookplate die. I used the Madison Avenue Dress Shop Glitter paper. Ages ago I cut out the dress form from this paper but never used the rest of it. Luckily I cut close enough to the form that I was able to use the sewing machine image as a design element on this tag, weeks later. Yay for pack rats!

  The twine on the faux spool is from the Madison Avenue collection, and the needle from my stash. And here's the rest of the story:

Card Recipe

• Paper - My Mind's Eye Madison Avenue: "Pretty" Dress Shop Glitter; "Cherish" Pintuck on the back;  dress form and faux thread spool are cut from Madison Ave's "Girlfriends" Lovely Glittered Paper
• Medium - Ranger Distress Ink's Vintage Photo layered over Spun Sugar in the edges, and Spun Sugar on the flower layers; Glimmer Mist
• Embellishments - My Mind's Eye Madison Avenue: "Happily Ever After" Trim on the thread spool and rhinestone buttons Kaisercraft Pearls in Latte; Baby Pink Seam Binding on the corseting, and both Baby Pink and Ivory as the tag's hanger; lace, eyelets and needle charm from stash
• Tools - Tim Holtz Alterations Sizzix dies: Tattered Florals and Tag & Bookplate
• Adhesives - 1/4" Scor-Tape; 1/8" 3D Dots; Fabri-Tac

Thanks so much for stopping by today. The design team will be showing all sorts of cool DIY embellishments all week, and hopefully we can inspire you to join our Beary Sweet "DIY Embellishment" Challenge. It's going on now through June 30th - come play with us!

Cheers,
Susan

For The Birds

Hiya crafty friends! I hope you had a great weekend. We got rained out at a local minor league baseball game. It was a shame since the game had serious promise (1st- and 3rd-placed teams in the league). Anyway... I can hear your yawns, so I'll get on with my BSC #27 sketch sample. You still have a little time to get crackin' on an entry of your own and have a great chance to win a $20 gift voucher for The Beary Scrap! This sketch proved to be a bit challenging for some folks - are *you* up to the challenge?

For this project I relied on my My Mind's Eye Portobello Road paper and embellishment collection. I threw in a little Bazzill brown, distress ink and an assortment of adhesives. Seriously! All four of My Mind's Eye's Lost and Found collections are like one-stop-shopping for cardmakers!

Card Recipe

• Paper - Bazzill; My Mind's Eye Portobello Road - various patterned sheets, including "Buddies" Perfect Glitter Paper and "Family" First Class Glitter Paper
• Medium - Ranger Distress Ink in Vintage Photo; hairspray to seal glitter to paper
• Embellishments - Portobello Road "Buddies" Decorative Trim and brads (sold out). Crepe paper flower is discarded crepe from another Portobello Road trim kit.
• Adhesives - Scor-Tape; Fabri-Tac; 3D Dots 1/8"; 3D Dots - 1/16"
• Tools - Scor-Pal; Honey Bee Scissors; Ranger Blending Tool

 I hope this can inspire you to join our Beary Sweet Sketch challenge - you have until Midnight tomorrow (Tuesday) to come and play!

Cheers,
Susan

Sketchy Dragonfly

Hello crafty friends! It's another Monday - oh, how does the weekend go so fast? It was a beautiful one here, and we took advantage and trimmed trees and weeded. I hated the work but love the results!

This week the design team is showing samples using our current Beary Sweet Sketch Challenge. We're adding a little extra element to our projects in the form of seam binding.

Here's my take on the sketch. I wasn't sure about the sketch at first, but fell in love with it as I pulled the Bo Bunny Vicky B papers together. There are so many wonderful designs in this 6x6 paper stack that I had no problem at all. I adore these colors!

I used the wooden dragonfly from Pink Paislee's Butterfly Garden collection (currently sold out in the store - sorry!). I gave it a base coat of pearly white and pink acrylic paints and then painted the body and part of the wings with glue, then sprinkled copper German Glass Glitter. On the wing tips I used the German Glass Glitter in white, with an itty bitty bit of Star Dust Stickles on the very ends.

The pink brads are from My Mind's Eye Madison Ave and the green swirl brad in the flower is from the We R Memory Keepers "Inspiration" Eyelet & Snap set. 

The mulberry paper roses were spritzed with a light green Glimmer Mist and touched with Star Dust Stickles. The  crocheted flower is an Etsy find and the decorative pins are my own design.

Card Recipe

• Paper - Bo Bunny "Vicky B" 6x6 paper pad; Bazzill Basics Walnut, Lime, Orange, Off-white
• Medium - Meyer Imports German Glass Glitter in Copper and White; Ranger Distress Ink in Rusty Hinge and Vintage Photo; Ranger Stickles in Lime Green, Frosted Lace, Star Dust (at the very end of the wing tips), Antique Bronze; Glimmer Mist in a light green
• Embellishments - Pink Paislee's wood dragonfly; Mulberry paper roses; Ivory seam binding; We R Memory Keepers "Inspiration" Eyelet & Snap set;
• Tools - Ranger Blending Tool; Scor-Pal
• Adhesives - 1/4" Scor-Tape; Fabri-Tac; 1/16" Glue Dots

Thanks for visiting today. I really hope you can join our Beary Sweet Sketch Challenge, going on now through June 14th. Come play with us and you could win a $20 gift voucher!

Cheers,
Susan

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