2017 Monthly Mini: November

Hi everyone! It's the end of the month and time for another mini scrapbook! Since we are getting close to Christmas I could not resist a cute holiday mini and this one features the super adorable Simple Stories 'Very Merry' paper collection!

This cheerful collection is vintage inspired and full of our favorite Christmas designs! It also has bright plaids, polka dots and lovely flowers in beautiful traditional colors that look awesome on any hand-crafted project! The other special piece of this mini is that it was made using the Snap! Photo Booklets! Each package has two booklets- one 4x6 with 4 pocket pages and one 3x4 with 4 pocket pages. You can easily just decorate and embellish the pocket pages and then fill with your favorite photos.

After covering the booklets in the patterned papers, I adhered them together in alternating sizes. I added a couple of fold-out and flip portions to the mini for even more room! The tabs of the photo booklets were also covered in patterned paper and highlighted with some of the sweet stickers in the collection. 

I layered lots of the paper, stickers and bits & pieces together for extra tabs and visual interest  in the mini. All of the pages feature stickers, chipboard or ephemera from the collection and it is so much fun seeing what new surprise each page holds! 

Since I couldn't show all of the fabulous detail in the photos, I made a video of the mini for a closer look. Check it out and see all of the cuteness it holds!

Thanks for checking out my blog! Bee Happy!!

Supplies Used:
American Crafts ribbon
Wendy Vecchi wooden hearts
Ribbon Fx ribbon

Celebrate The Season!

Hi everyone! I love traditional colors for holiday cards but sometimes its fun to steer away from the norm and go a little wild!  I was shopping a few weeks ago and saw a sign using these unicorn colors with silver and I thought to myself " I'm going to make a card like that!" And so I did!

I started by heat embossing the background in silver so I could add in these bright colors over the surface without losing the effect. I chose to work with distress inks because they blend so well and picked the very unicorn-y colors of  pink, purple and turquoise! Once I had the background blended together, I spritzed the whole thing with a mixture of Perfect Pearls and water and then die cut it into three separate rectangles for a bit of interest.

Although the background was pretty and sparkly, it was in need of more glimmer. To add more holiday sparkle, I die cut snowflakes from white and silver glitter paper along with inked stars and layered those throughout the background. The big and pretty 'celebrate' sentiment was cut from shiny silver card stock and popped off of the background with a smaller sentiment added underneath. Now I just have to mail this lovely holiday card!

Thanks for checking out my blog! Bee Happy!!

Supplies Used:
The Cat's Pajamas 'Jolly Holiday'
Doodlebug Design white glitter paper
Recollections silver glitter paper

Peace On Earth!

Hi everyone! My first Christmas card of the year! Yay! This one features the lovely colors of the newest Color Throwdown Challenge #469. Such a soft and elegant color scheme that definitely makes you think of winter!

Taking inspiration from the image, I wanted to have some pinecones on my card. I combined a couple of those in the challenge colors with some sweet blooms and tree sprigs. I gave the sprigs a bit more definition by embossing them in silver and clear over blue. The blows and pinecones were stamped in the challenge colors and then I added in a tiny sparkle with glitter glue!

All of the beautiful images were layered and stacked on one side of the double oval to highlight the sentiment which was stamped in dark blue. I added in more of the challenge colors with adorable, tiny stamps along the outside edge of the oval and with one accompanying the sentiment. So beautiful!

Thanks for checking out my blog! Bee Happy!!

Supplies Used:
Papertrey Ink 'Tis The Season sentiments
Papertrey Ink Love Lives Here: Holiday
SaveSave

Mosaic Sunflower!

Hi everyone! I have been a bit obsessed with sunflowers! And why not? They are big and beautiful and perfect for Fall cards! I have this lovely 'Botanical Block' stamp from Papertrey Ink featuring a sunflower which is beautiful on its own but I decided to give this one a little twist, however, and made it into a mosaic! 

The image was stamped onto kraft card stock with brown ink and then colored in with colored pencils which look amazing against the kraft! I then used a mosaic die to cut it into all of those tiny pieces. I added a dark orange frame around it to give it a little definition.

Once cut, I decided to give the image even more visual definition by raising all of the square pieces from the frame with adhesive foam. I think it looks stunning and so interesting! I mounted it onto a dark card base so it would really stand out and then added some strands of twine and a few crystals!

Thanks for checking out my blog! Bee Happy!!

Supplies Used:
craft store Kraft card stock
Kaisercraft gems

Thanksgiving Pockets!

Hi everyone! Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I always host a big dinner for my family and friends. I needed an idea for a cute paper craft place setting so I headed to Pinterest and found these wonderful little pockets that I could stuff with goodies for each of my guests!

These charming pockets are super simple to make and actually require no adhesive! I used the Simple Stories 'Happy Harvest' Collection kit for my pockets and it was the perfect amount of paper and embellishments for the task! The patterned papers are great for the Fall holiday and the stickers included are sweet and adorable!

I found quite a few tutorial  links to these pockets but this one is very easy to understand with good pictures and this one has a video and shows how to make different sizes!  I added in bits of canvas and colored burlap to accent the stickers in the collection as well as enamel dots in matching hues. 

My pockets are the small size and were made with 6x6 squares of the patterned papers. There is still plenty of room to tuck in lots of goodies or even a small gift! I can't wait for my guest to  see the cuteness that awaits them at the table!

Thanks for checking out my blog! Bee Happy!!

Supplies Used:
Canvas Corp. canvas and burlap sheets

Grateful For You!

Hi everyone! Boy, it's been a super busy week so I am so glad that I found time to get a card made for the new Color Throwdown Challenge #468! The color scheme is totally Fall and I really wanted to put a squirrel on my card but could not find one in my stamp stash! Better go shopping!

I did buy this sweet mini stamp set from My Favorite Things recently and the sprig and font are so awesome! Couldn't wait to ink them up! I double stamped the sprig in two shades of green and the fabulous big sentiment in a warm brown to match the challenge colors. I added in a little shine, but still kept the card masculine, with the enamel dots.

Keeping with the masculine feel of the card, I gave it a bold edge with a border die and topped it off with a bit of brown. I tucked some patterned orange paper under one side and then tied a simple kraft twine knotted bow before mounting it all on a kraft card base!

Thanks for checking out my blog! Bee Happy!!

Supplies Used:
MFT Die-namics open zig zag (retired)
Lawn Fawn Hello Sunshine 6x6 paper pad
Craft store twine

Sunshine And Smiles!

Hi everyone! Fall is upon us and it is always such a gorgeous season! It brings to mind one of my favorite quotes- "Autumn paints in colors that Summer has never seen." I tried to capture some of those vibrant colors with these cards featuring the lovely sunflower!

Both cards are done in a watercolor style with one being a bit brighter than the other. I started with the more orange of the two and after inking up the main image of the sunflower, I spritzed it just a little with some water. It did soften up the edges and muted the colors. To keep with the vibrancy, I added in bright orange at the base of the petals, again spritzed with just a tiny bit of water. I topped the card off with a sweet sentiment and a few brown gems and sparkles!

I knew I wanted a much more muted look for the second card, so after inking up the stamps I gave them a liberal spray of water and pressed the image onto watercolor paper. While the first image of the petals was still wet, I stamped in the green at the base. I just love how the colors mixed together and went outside of the lines. After stamping the center, I did go back in with a tiny brush dipped in water to soften those edges as well.  

I rounded the sentiment stamp on my acrylic block before stamping it in dark brown and then deckle edged one side of my watercolor panel. This was mounted on some gold printed acetate for a beautiful look! A few bronze sequins were the finishing touch!

Thanks for checking out my blog! Bee Happy!!

Supplies Used:
Recollections gold minted acetate
Recollections tiny gold beads
Kaiser craft gems