Bee Crafty Ornament

I wasn’t feeling well last night so I went to bed early before I got a chance to post my Bee Crafty project. Our challenge this week is Christmas Extras. Make a gift, bag, tag, wrap, decoration, etc, but not a card. I made an ornament using the cute little wish fairies.

I used shaker card pouches from Impression Obsession and put the little wish fairies in the middle to make a snow globe kind of ornament. I added some sugary glitter and beads to the pouches. Tip: Put the lid on your glitter immediately or you might spill the remainder of the bottle on your carpet!

The poor little girl fairy got a bead stuck on her head and I can’t get it loose.

I colored the fairies with my Copics and added a snowflake cut with the Joys of the Season Cricut cartridge.

If you would like to play along with the Bee Crafty challenge, follow the link to see all of the other ladies beautiful projects and then make one of your own. You just need to follow the theme and use a digi image on your project.

Blessings,

Christine

Challenge:

Crafting Pot -- ornament

We’re Gonna’ Bee Wrappin’

Our challenge this week at Bee Crafty is to use sparkle on your card! When I heard about this challenge I new that I would have to use one of her adorable fairies. I put Shimmerz on EVERY fairy wing that I color.

These cute little fairies are the Wish Fairies – Christmas. Aren’t they adorable trying to wrap their presents. I watercolored them and then added Shimmerz to their wings. I then cut out the little boy so I could have him flying above.

The DP is all DCWV and I did another easel card. These are so easy and fun to make I think I will be making more and more of them. I punched the borders with the MS doily lace punch, added a few jewels and then tied it all up with a ribbon. The sentiment is Studio G.

If you would like to play along with the Bee Crafty challenge, follow the link to see all of the other ladies beautiful cards and then make one of your own. You just need to follow the theme and use a digi image on your card.

Blessings,

Christine

Challenges:
Sophisticat Challenge -- sketch
Tuesday Taggers -- red gold and green

Bee Snowy

I totally forgot to post my Bee Crafty card yesterday. It must have been the excitement over my new Copics. Oops!

The challenge this week is an inspirational photo challenge.

I decided to use the colors in the photo and make a non-traditional colored Christmas card.

I used the Whimsical Girl with Snowman image to create my card for this challenge. Isn’t she adorable!!! I love Bee Crafty’s new Christmas images.

If you would like to play along, just go to the Bee Crafty blog and take a look at all the other wonderful projects by my fellow DT and then create something that fits the inspiration using a digi image.

I watercolored her and cut and matted her with my nesties. The DP is K&Co. and I used the MS doily lace punch (which you can’t see much of). I added some Blingz to the snow and some homemade flower soft to her coat and hat. I then added some pink pearls to the corners and to the lacy edge.

Now, about the homemade flower soft. This is so easy and so cheap you won’t believe it. I saw it on another blog but can’t remember where. If anyone knows, please leave a message so I can give her credit.

I bought some Styrofoam balls at the dollar store. They sell in a pack of different sizes. I took two of the same size and placed them in a zip lock bag and sealed it with no air inside. (This is to keep the mess at a minimum.) The lady on the tutorial didn’t make a mess at all but I seem to make a mess do everything.

Anyway, by rubbing them together you create styrofoam powder. Then you just glue that on your image. I then placed the leftover in an old makeup container. The tutorial also said that you can color your fake flower soft with re-inkers or watercolor paints. I haven’t tried that yet though. The white ‘flower soft’ worked great and is soft and sparkly on Whimsical Girls coat and hat.

Blessings,

Christine

Challenges:
Mojo Monday -- sketch
Creative Card Crew -- ribbons and gems
LaLa Land -- pink

Distressing with Bee Crafty

It’s time for another wonderful Bee Crafty Challenge. This weeks challenge is to use some sort of distressing.

I used the Birthday Cake image for my distressing challenge. I colored it with water colors and added some stickles. I then cut it out with a round nestie, mated it with the next size of round and then a scalloped nestie. I distressed the two round cuts with brown chalk. I then cut some K&Co. DP to size and used a Tim Holtz distressing tool around the edges. I punched the edge of another piece of K&Co paper with the MS doily lace punch and distressed all those edges. Glued everything together and added a few itty bitty buttons and some trim.

If you'd like to play along with the distressing challenge, go to the Bee Crafty blog and check out what all the other DT created and make your own project using any digi image.

I scheduled this post since I am in Utah right now. Hopefully, I will be home sometime today!

Blessings,

Christine

Bee Crafty Autumn Flowers

The challenge this week at Bee Crafty is a sketch challenge.

Loved working with this sketch. I turned it on it’s side but left the embellies where they were. It worked better for the paper I chose.

The image is Bee Crafty’s Flower’s in a Vase. I’ve always used this image in pastels or traditional flower colors. When I was thinking about what I was going to make as I was trying to sleep last night (do you do that), I pictured this in fall colors. I think it turned out really nice.

I watercolored the flowers. You can’t see it very well in the picture but I put a goldish-brown wash over the whole paper before coloring the image to give it the autumn feel. The DP is Debbie Mumm and the flowers are Prima. Brads and ribbon are from my stash.

The Cupcake Craft challenge is “thanks a bunch” and Tuesday Taggers and Secret Craft challenges are autumn colors. Stamp Something is to use the color brown plus any other colors and Stamping for the Weekend is a color challenge.

So go to the Bee Crafty blog and take a look at the other DT members creations. They’re beautiful and you won’t want to miss out. Since I wasn’t around for challenge 14 to tell you about this, I’ll tell you now. Bee Crafty released some very cute new images. Check them out while you’re there.

Blessings,

Christine

Fluffy Bunny’s Christmas

I didn’t get a chance to make my card for the Bee Crafty challenge that was posted on Saturday and really wanted to work with one of the cute, new images for Christmas.

Isn’t Fluffy Bunny cute all wrapped up for Christmas?  I think he got all tangled up in the Christmas tree.  I used watercolor pencils to color Fluffy and cut and matted him with Spellbinders.  DP is K & Co. and I used the Martha Stewart punch.  I used a gel pen to doodle stitching and dots all over the place and added a crocheted flower from Fancy Pants tied up with a vintage button.  I love this DP; I may need to go out and get another pack.

The challenge at Stamp Something is to use your favorite sketch.  I don’t remember where I found this sketch but it’s my go to sketch!!!  The Dare U 2 Digi challenge is to use die cuts or punches, Die Cut Dreams is ribbon, Polka Doodles is digi coloring and Spoonful of Sugar is Christmas.

That’s it!  I’ll be back later with my FBW card!

Blessings,

Christine

Fluffy Bunny Bookmark

The challenge today at Bee Crafty is to make a bookmark. I used the fluffy bunny read image for my bookmark. All materials used were from my scraps stash and I cut the corner embellishments with my Cuttlebug using a Sizzix die. I made a tutorial for my corner bookmark.

You will need some solid cardstock, your image and whatever you want to decorate the bookmark with.

First, cut a piece of cardstock 5” square and mark with a pencil at 2-1/2” on each side.

Score between two of the marks on adjacent sides.

Cut off the other two corners and …

fold at the scored lines.

Cut another piece of cardstock in a triangle with 3=1/2” sides, fold in the corners and adhere the triangle to close the flaps.

Here’s a photo of both sides of an unadorned corner bookmark.

Now it’s time to decorate as you would like! My personal preference is to only use flat embellishments on bookmarks. I read library books a lot and they are very quick to charge for damage to books.

But don’t make the mistake I usually do! I’m always forgetting to add the tail before I adhere the DP. Not this time though.

And …. drum roll please …. both sides of the completed bookmark.

I added a length of ribbon tied to a vintage button.

Here is another bookmark that I made for a Bee Crafty challenge.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. I think Bee has a freebie on the Bee Crafty blog so you can have an image to use on your bookmark and enter the challenge!

Blessings,

Christine

Bee’s Cupcake Challenge

This is my card for the Bee Crafty challenge this fortnight. (Don’t you think that fortnight is such a better work than biweekly?)  I used the Fairy Angel digi stamp from Bee Crafty’s store. 

We have an extra sponsor this week at Bee Crafty.  Cupcake Cards and Crafts gave each of the DT a sample of their digital paper to use in this weeks challenge.  I chose the “My Lazy Sunday Paper” set to use for my card for this challenge.   This is a lovely set  of blue, cream and gray papers.  I chose three different papers to use on my card.  I took the paper used on my background and shrunk it to use for paper piecing for the Fairy Angel’s dress. 

I haven’t used digital paper much but while making this card, I realize how versatile dig paper is.  I have Photoshop installed on my computer but haven’t taken much time to learn it.  One of my fellow DT members used PS to fill the dress on her image with a downsized piece of the same paper that she used on her card.  I’m hoping that they will be teaching a PS class in the community education classes this fall.  It’s so much easier to learn when you take a class.

So here are the deets about the challenge.  Go to the Bee Crafty blog to see the other DT member cards.  For this challenge, you must use digital paper, as well as a digital image.  The prize will be a Bee Crafty challenge as well as a free download from Cupcake Cards and Crafts.  So what are you waiting for; go to Bee Crafty and do this challenge!!!

Also, Bee Crafty is releasing some new images in the store today.  I love the little kids dressed up in their Halloween costumes.  Not only these but a couple of others too.  Check them out on the Bee Crafty blog.

Blessings,

Christine

Oops, I almost forgot.  I used the sketch from Everybody Art Challenge. 

Water Colored Pink Lilly

This is my second card for the Color In challenge at Bee Crafty. I use watercoloring about 75% of the time, if not more. I took some watercolor classes is college and in community education and those techniques work great for water coloring stamped images. I love doing stamped images because I really cannot draw. With stamps, the drawing is already done for me.

I used the Flower with Butterflies image to teach you a little about how I watercolor. I think a floral image is one of the easiest to use for a watercolor technique.

It’s probably quite obvious, but you need to start with watercolor paints, water, your image and brushes.

I apply the color in very thin layers. With this image, I added a thin layer of pink starting near where I would be applying the green. Then, the pink near the green was dry enough that I could add the green. With this technique, its important to apply in thin layers. If not, the colors on your image will appear blotchy and inconsistent. You can hardly tell in the photo but there is pink on all the petals and on the butterflies, as well as green on the stems.

In this photo, I have already added a few more layers and begun some shading. I wasn’t very practical with my source of light. The way I shaded the image, the sun would be coming from under and to the right of the image. In other words, the flower was upside down (he-he)!!!

Now I have added the detail on the flowers and the butterflies. This is all the detail that I will add to the butterflies . . .

. . . because, I printed the image twice so that I could color another set of butterflies and . . .

. . . cut them out for layering.

Here’s a close up of the finished image.

My technique of water coloring is kind of time consuming but I’m usually working on more than one image at a time. That way I can add a layer to first image and then add a layer to the second image while the first is drying.

I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial. Let me know if you have any questions.

If you would like to play along, go to the Bee Crafty challenge site and get the rest of the details. You might have a chance to win a free download!

Blessings,

Christine

Bee Floatin’ the River

I’m having a mini giveaway, check it out here.

 

 

Have you seen the new summer images at Bee Crafty? They are oh so cute!!! I’m not sure if I’ve seen them all yet, but the ones I’ve seen are adorable. I had so much fun coloring Summer Ducky!!!

 

Where I live. in Boise, Idaho, we have a somewhat calm river that runs through the middle of town, the Boise River. During the summer time, on any warm/hot afternoon, you will see people floating down the river in a variety of implements -- rafts, tubes, you name it!!! I bet their were traffic jams this week with the temps near or above 100 Fahrenheit!

This little girl looks like she's ready to float down the Boise River. I've never floated the river. Maybe one of these days. But since I've gone 52 years without doing it, I doubt I will!

I colored her with Prismas and OMS. The DP came from a RAK and the flower is from my stash. The sentiment is Hero Arts (I think) and the little swirl and the brads are from Oriental Trading.

Now, head on over to Bee Crafty and see all of the other adorable summer time images and what each of the lovely DT members made! Every two weeks we have a challenge and you can use any digi image to enter. The challenge this time is Summer Time and I’m sure you’ll want to get one of these cute images to use in your creation!

Blessings,

Christine

Crafty Bee a Bookmark

***** 2nd post for the day. Please scroll down. *****

It’s my first challenge as a design team member for Bee Crafty! I love Merrigan’s images and they are so much fun to play with and color!!!

When I first saw this image I new it had to made into a bookmark.

I chose to make a corner bookmark for a child. I’ll probably be giving to my great nephew who will be turning 5. My niece's children all love to read, as well as being read to.

Here’s a look at the back of the bookmark.

I used the letters from the Bee Crafty Alphabet to spell out “read.” I strung some beads onto some ribbon and attached it to the corner. I used Prismacolors and OMS to color everything and the DP is from the DCWV Grade School stack.

Have you ever made a corner bookmark. They’re really quite easy and I make several blank ones at a time so that I can make one anytime. Now that I’ve gotten a Scor-Pal that will make it much easier!

If you would like to participate in the Bee Crafty Challenge, head over to the blog and check it out!

Blessings,

Christine