Paper Filigree

It has been a long time since I have done any Quilling, but since it is making such a lively comeback, I have pulled out the paper strips, and started twirling again!

Here is the first card that I did.... so much fun, and pretty enough to give my nephew and his new bride!

Here is a second card featuring a couple of different shapes, and some aditional colors. 

This week's UStream Class will be all about Quilling or Paper Filigree.  Learn the basics, and, as always, I will have some tips and tricks to share with you.

I hope to see you on my UStream Channel at 8:00 Eastern Time Tuesday evening.  Just click on the blue icon in the upper right corner of my blog and it will take you to the channel.  You will also find recorded classes from previous weeks there, too.  

I am on vacation with great kids like this one, and will be enjoying their Scout Court of Honor tomorrow just before class.  (If I'm a minute late, don't give up on me... I'm coming!)

I hope you are enjoying your summer, too.

Happy crafting ~

Sweet Cakes Album

 Isn't it fun when you can create the most versatile and personalized album for someone?  The most fun celebrations always have cake!!!  So why not make a completely decorated cake album to capture the memories of the event? 

 This album features a double opening cover, ready to decorate with your favorite papers depicting the special event, then pile on the embellishments!

 The theme of the cake is always showcased with the cake topper, and this masterpiece is no exception!  Here we have birthday candles, but you could have a name, graduation cap, numbers, Christmas tree, spooky haunted house, baby shower theme, bride and groom, new home, just ANYTHING!!  This is the center photo tag, which fits into one of the pockets built in to the album.

 There are five double folded tags, making twenty full size photo mats for telling your celebration story!

 Here we have an album just perfect for an Anniversary, Shower, or even the Wedding!

Capture your photos of the Easter egg hunt, and visits with the Easter Bunny, as well as everyone all dressed up in their Easter Bonnets, in this adorable version of the SWEET CAKES album.

The photo filled SWEET CAKES ALBUM tutorial is available for only $5.95!!

Download it today, and make one for every celebration♥

Display Cards - a new design!

When I was working on some very special cards this past week, I came up with a brand new design, and I am excited to share it with you!  I have three different examples here today. 

 First is a baby card for my new granddaughter, Paisley.  It is designed to be able to stand up on a shelf, yet fold flat, so it can be mailed in a regular A2 envelope.

The secret is the addition of a tab on the inside.  Here you will see three little hearts.  They are an important part of the design!

This is the front of a wedding card for Ashley and Steven, who are getting married on Saturday!

 When I made their card, it was theirs that gave me the idea to score it so that they might display it, should they want to.... and the rest is history, as they say!

Are you ready for the tutorial?  It's really pretty easy! 

The cardstock is cut at 5 1/2 x 11

Score the first score at 3 3/4 inches.

The next score is 8 inches from the left edge.

The next score is 9 1/4.

The first section is your card front.

For the baby card, I covered it with another piece of 5 1/2 x 3 3/4 paper. 

For the wedding card, I embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

The second section is the inside of the card,  and perfect for adding extra accents, like the "Welcome", "Happily Ever After" and the heat embossed message on the birthday card below.

The last two sections were also embossed with a smaller repeatable pattern.  This can sometimes be a little bit tricky, because it means your card and embossing folder won't go through the embossing machine sideways.... you will have to emboss the biggest part, and then CAREFULLY match up the pattern, and repeat to get the rest.  It isn't hard, just be careful, and you will have a nice design. 

NOTE: If you have a SideKick, the small plate is just the right size for placing over the part you are embossing second, without re-embossing the first part.  Just use the regular plate on the bottom and the little one on the top.

Score all the lines, and it will have a nice flat bottom to stand on. 

To keep the card stable, you need a tab on the inside to tuck the bottom flap into.  See the hearts on the baby card?  There is also one heart on the wedding card.  That is the tab.  Just place adhesive on the bottom of the heart (balloon, star, or whatever is appropriate for your design) and leave the top unattached, so the flap can slide under it.  (Dimensionals don't work.... they leave too big a gap.)

 This little Owl birthday card for my granddaughter Madelyn, who is 11 today,  is a slight variation to the Display Card, as it doesn't tuck to the inside.... the little owl feet hold it together with the flap on the outside.  

 Happy Birthday, Madelyn!!

I hope you have enjoyed the tutorial, and will give it a try.  It really is a fun design, and it's nice to get a special card to stand on display.  I am very fond of the different textures together.

It's Baby Week at BettyBee's Buzz, and we'd love for you to create something for a baby in your life and share it with us.  The HoneyBees have a lot of inspiration to get you started.  Check them out!

What do you think?  I'd love to hear your comments!

Happy crafting ~ and don't forget to hug your loved ones!  (Especially the Bedlamites!!)  Special hugs to my Mom today.  It would have been Mom and Dad's 60th Wedding Anniversary.  I love you, Mom! (and I miss you, Dad).

Happy Father's Day

Funny post for Father's Day, isn't it? This is a compilation post of several good things, and today happens to be Father's Day. We have been celebrating since yesterday, as our son is working today (Firefighters work 24/7!) Happy Father's Day to my hubby, my sons-in-laws, and each of the special fathers in your lives.

The amazing cake by Tori Whitney is the finale' for the Wedding Affaire, and it is just awesome! I truly hope you have been following all of the great wedding ideas and projects that our Design Team has come up with this week! Check out Cuttlebug Challenge - and be sure to leave comments to be eligible for the great prizes, and also make a wedding card for the weekly Be Inspired challenge!

This past couple of days was 'StampFest Orlando', and my friends and I had a great time being there. We took a class on Friday morning :o( (blah) and then in the evening we went to the Vendors' Make and Take. This was fun, and worth the money. This card is the project we made from Heartfelt Creations. It is a stamp set, (which I happen to have) that corresponds to the Dahlia Spellbinders set. It is also very easy to cut with scissors.

The goodies in the center of the flower are called "Elements" and it smells really good, because it is actually made up of botanicals, spices, coffee, gold flecks, and other really neat stuff!

I'll be showing a few new things over the next days :)

Happy crafting ~

Wedding Affaire week continues...

...and today is also Be Inspired Cuttlebug Challenge Day, so it is reasonable that the two would go hand in hand! Today's challenge is to create a Wedding Card!
PLUS, it is my pleasure to make this card for the lovely Mom of one of our Design Team members! Beth's 80 year old Mom and dear 89 year old Sweetheart are being married on Saturday, so this card is being sent to them! Isn't that the sweetest story? Love at every age!!
This easel card was made with Teresa Collins Papers (the medallion, striped paper, and the "ever after" tag), as well as Core'dinations Gemstone pink paper. I cut the pink scalloped shapes with Nestabilities and my Cuttlebug. The little rose is from Wild Orchid, and the little white flowers are from Michael's wedding department.
I hope you will be part of the Wedding Affaire Week, and make a wedding card for the challenge this week! (You will feel so great the next time you need a card, and you have one all ready!!) Bonnie McLain has given us the most wonderful tutorial for making layered masterpieces!!

Thanks for peeking in!

Happy crafting ~

All Cuttlebug Wedding Wishes

This all white wedding card is also all Cuttlebug! (Well, I guess there is a MS edge punch there, too...sorry about that!) It features Swiss Dots embossing on the right panel and on the belly band, then the Flourished Frame on the left panel. The medallion on the front is created with two layers of die cuts from the Love Language set. I double layered it so it would have more dimension.

I've accented the entire design with adhesive backed pearls to compliment the "dotted" design, as well as the formal elegance of a wedding.

I used an appropriate stamped sentiment inside, and that finished this special greeting for the special couple.

I hope it inspires you, for your next wedding card♥

Happy crafting ~

Be Inspired #33

It's time for another Cuttlebug Challenge, and this one is all about Monograms. I really enjoyed getting to put this one together. I used one of Elle Studios chic journaling tag elements and Heidi Grace rub-on letters to create the Monogram for my nephew's wedding card. Bret and Stacy are getting married in a couple of weeks, and their invitation was a formal black and white, so this should go nicely with their colors. This card is multi layered, with the tag being backed with a ridged black cardstock, and that is attached with dimensional dots. The white satin ribbon and bow sit atop a gold and white layer done with the Textile Cuttlebug Folder, Versamark Ink pad, and Gold Embossing Powder, and that is backed with another layer of the rich, ridged black cardstock. The computer generated message is printed on white vellum and attached inside. I must admit that this is one of those cards that really is much prettier in person. I wish you could all be here to see it :)

I am looking forward to seeing almost all of our family together to celebrate this marriage. Blessings to Bret and Stacy for a long and happy life together.

Be sure to check out what the other Designers have created over at Cuttlebug Challege, and give it a try yourself. This is the last week to participate in the BIG give away contest to WIN HUGE PRIZES for May!!! All you have to do is participate in the challenges, post your work to Mr. Linky, and the more entries you have, the better your chances of winning! We have already given away a ton of smaller prizes this month, including THREE CUTTLEBUG MACHINES!!! Don't miss out on the opportunity to win an EPSON PRINTER and THREE MONTHS OF INK, or A CRICUT EXPRESSIONS and THREE CARTRIDGES!!!! I would LOVE to know that one of my blogging buddies won!! What have you got to lose??? Have fun crafting!

I'll bee seeing you soon................

Gotta buzzzzzzzzz

BettyBee

Greetings! I am NOT lost!

Hi! I have not been abducted by aliens, or whisked away to a tropical island, or anything quite so exotic...I have been moving my craft space next door, and also prepared for a very special get together of a new group of ladies called the Sarasota Scissor Sisters!!! Such fun...but my space for creating has been under construction, so I haven't had anything to post for you....sorry ...but I hope it will be worth it in the long run... You know New York has their Studio 1A, well, get ready for the introduction of "Studio Bee" coming soon!!!

In the meantime, here is a wedding card (inspsired by Dawn at LimeScraparita) I made with the Scissor Sisters on Saturday with the new Sizzix wedding embossing folders. Aren't they just gorgeous?!?!?!? So elegant!! There are four small folders to go with the A2 size. They also have a new Baby set...so keep watching!







OK, I'd better get back to the construction zone, and keep bizzzzzzzy, or it'll be another week before I get anything posted, and that's not good....I have some fun things in store for you!

Take care, and happy crafting!

BettyBee

To Love, Honor, and Cherish

Wedding bells rang on Saturday for Danielle and Chris, and this card was made for them. It features D'vine Swirls embossing, Joys of Christmas turtle doves bedecked with Pearl Ex and pearl eyes, and the sentiment is stamped in silver pigment ink, then heat embossed in clear.

Cuttlebug Spot Challenge #4

The Cuttlebug Spot Challenge this week is to use two different designs on the same card. I think this is a great combination! Both are jazzed up with some stickles for bling, and add gold glitter, and it's a winner!

Love Birds

These two Turtle Doves are made from the Joys of the Season Cartridge, and placed on handmade paper. The Doodlebug flowers in the corner are from Bonnie's scrapbook store in York, PA. Thanks, Bonnie, for being so helpful! Everything was accented with Stickles for the perfect sparkle.

Love is in the Air!

Danielle and Chris are getting married in November, and her shower was this weekend. I was asked to make some cards, and here they are! Best of everything, Danielle!

This shows some of the details up close, and also shows the pearl ex on the swirls on the bottom. This was my introduction to this cool new medium! I love how it changes plain paper to very lovely elegant paper.

Thanks to SusieB for the inspiration for this card for Krissy and Will. I really like the different embossing styles on the same card.