Awwww...what can you not say about cute ol' Sock Monkey that hasn't been said already - he's just plain adorable. I think I will love to turn to this sweet stamp set for years to come!

I have the Stampin' Up! Sock Monkey and Sock Monkey Accessories stamp sets which allowed today's class to create a couple of cards and one of those featured Sock Monkey dressed in his "bunny ears" and ready to share his basket of eggs!

Also I'd like to say "hi" to my 3 new acquaintances that were part of the class - so hello out to Leanne, Pam and Elaine! With slightly varying degrees of experience, everyone did real well with their Sock Monkey makes! I always love seeing a "bunch" of cards or projects from a class all together - always looks so cool I think - but now I realize that I forgot to take a picture as a group - awwww geez!

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Here is the first one showing the Peek-a-boo Bunny Ears Card - who could it be? :) ...

TUTORIAL

Here's how we made this card:

- whisper white cardstock, 8 x 5 1/2 inches, score and fold in half lengthwise. Open up card, and on the front...

- ... stamp the square frame from the Frames with a Flourish stamp set in 'pumpkin pie' ink, and then shade the inside border with orange and yellow markers,

- keeping the card "open" and the front of the card over a cutting mat, cut out the interior of the stamped frame - (careful not to smear ink using a cutting quide such as a ruler) with a craft knife,

- fold card back, and mark the newly created 'opening' to the inside of the card by some pencil marks to help quide you on the next step....

- turn to the inside, and using the pencil marks - stamp the bunny ears {accessory set} in colour of your choice, we used 'chocolate chip' ink and erase your pencil guide marks; AND once done, use the "sock monkey" stamp and carefully stamp him below his ears so he and the ears become 'one'....we practiced this step on scrap paper till we felt comfortable before stamping the card itself...,

- next, colour him - we used chalks beginning with the lightest colours and blending in the darker shades....a few details were added such as his tongue, the stitch marks, etc. ,

- of course - the easter basket - this stamp was coloured using markers and colouring in the parts of the basket accordingly, and then stamped on a scrap piece of paper, cut out and pasted onto the card in which ever spot you like....

- using a green marker or blender pen/stamp pad...create a few grass strokes and then use another colour marker, hand write in the " HOPPY EASTER " greeting. Don't forget to sign your card!

To keep the card simple [like Kate originally did made sense], but I wanted to brighten the card up with some ribbon I just bought at a rummage sale, a bright orange polka dot. I added a strip of paper which is wrapped around the card - tight so it stays in place, but still has the ability to "slide" off the card, glue together. The ribbon was tied around on top - that's all! Voila!

**Card Design courtesly CASED from Katemade Designs**

All supplies from Stampin' Up!

Time's over for March Stamp Club and this month we had the "girlz" doing their thing - having fun ! We were busy getting ready for Easter by making some very pretty Easter boxes!

During class, the girls were introduced to the Crop-A-Dile ....and judging from the photo, it was only a matter of lining up the oversized eyelet and presto, they all did a fabulous job of it! In fact, they did better than I did - watching younger people do something in half the time is a real reminder that thankfully I have "experience" on my side, lol!

They also 'delved' right into the candy-bags they made with the YUMMY stamp set and Top Note Die {Sizzix Big Shot} -- as we always do a 3rd 'mystery project' - usually something short and "sweet" , ha ha....so true in this case! I wonder if those even made it home!

You can see at the end of the class, everyone loads up with their little prizes, and the beautiful boxes they made. No one had any experience at these boxes before the class and it was nice to see how easy it really is to make such lovely projects - any one can do this!

These easy-to-do boxes are great - they looked soooo good together [see top photo] - so I'd advise that if you plan on making one - make more! I could totally see these decorating a whole table - different colours, different accents - but all unified by their shape.

#1 Mini-Scallop Envelope Box

This box is made by adhereing 4 Scallop Envelope dies {using our Big Shot } together. See my Tutorials if you want to learn how. You can embellish it best with a strip of pattern paper and ribbon and then top it off with a front "medallion" composed of matting several circles and a brad together. And as I am fond of saying, Voila!

#2 E-Z Basket with Handle

This box couldn't be any simplier! Its a basic 6 inch square, scored and a few snips and a dab of glue here and there - and that's just about it! There will be a tutorial for this as well. {keep checking as I sometimes take a break} oxox

Now - just to have some ol'fashioned fun - for the few prizes I'd made up - I had the girls compete for them by 'thumb wrestling' - yes, you read right, ha ha! It was a lot of fun to watch - my luck had me watching from the sidelines as there was just enough people to make it fair and crazy....which was lucky because my thumb has no strength or I doubt the flexibility, lol! Anyways two pairs each tied off and then the winners from those pairs faced each other down - lots of shouting and maybe a weeee bit of cheatin' attempts {gasp}....a winner emerged for First Place! But it was just as good being in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place because true to their sweet natures, they were all the best!

Playing around with my Stampin' Up! "Love You Much" Stamp set - again!!

I was interested in putting a "swap" style little somethin' together - something a little different than what I am used to these days. Originally, these babies should of made it to Hawaii when my upline Caroline left the other day to attend Stampin' Up!'s big Incentive Trip for all thos 'High Earners" - {darn! I'll make it one year soon!}....but unfortunately, I didn't make it in time to give them to her. So I'll save these for another time.

Also, I wanted to be slightly different than an ATC - or Artist Trading Card for you who may not have heard of them....because I have made a ton of ATC's in the past. So for that reason, my mind came up with these - and I really like them! I think I could just hand them to someone as a sort of friendly "hi - you're neat" or just as the back says: "friend to friend".

Pink and Orange are always one of my favourite combo's - especially either with a distressed look or especially tropical look! So I chose cardstock in this catalog's IN COLOR's 'Pink Pirouette' to start.

I made some 'blanks' and cut them into 'frames'. Next I edged them with colour in 'Pink Passion' and another in 'Pumpkin Pie'. For the 'inserts': I used 'Whisper White' paper and stamped my images on its front, - I used the masking technique to arrange the small dotted background {only stamp from the "Polka Dots and Paisley" set}. I then did the back choosing a sentiment, 'friend to friend'. One thing I did while stamping the birds - I used markers instead which gave me control over the placement of color - notice the wings are part chocolate and part pink! After stamping the dotted background on an ink pad, I went over top of a few select areas with the pink marker as well. I 'huffed' on the stamp both times to make sure the ink was nice and ready to stamp with. One good even press onto paper - excellent! I inserted the finished ones between two frames.

Before gluing the frames together, I wound a bit of off-white floss around the front frame, and a short piece of ribbon. I purposely chose SU!'s red/white striped grosgrain ribbon because otherwise - too much pink, and we can't have that! I flipped a piece of ribbon back and first tried to staple it into position, but ended up tacking it with some thread. The second one I did I totally skipped the staple - maybe you might like to staple it - experiment!

Lastly, I added some more 'embellishments' - I chose to use some 'chocolate' color and turned to my stash of " Bella Rose " Designer Papers - they're so delicious that I have used these papers to decorate through out my home, especially last Christmas! {my house has the same green in it and I love - love- love polka dots}..............ANYways, I wanted to add something else, so taking my paper, I then brought out my 'ROUND TAB Punch' and made the tab and put a little brad in it for interest, and a few hearts were punched out with the HEART to HEART Punch and sprinkled around.

Voila! I am making a few of these - they could also be little recipe cards or filing cards too - so maybe I will think of using them for one of those purposes next - I do have a new office/craft room in the works, so who knows!

But make some for your own reasons! Have fun :)

Beverly

beverly's stamping beehive

Stampin' Up Demonstrator

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An inquiry tonight has reminded me that I must offer this stitching technique I dreamed up when I made my Birds and Bloom card {see earlier post} - because 'stitching' on paper is so 'IN' at the moment and I love the added texture, but its more than that - its very ' home-spun ' don't you agree?

At any rate, you can add the 'stitched' look in a variety of ways, and they range from simple {create faux stitches with a marker} to the more detailed like this technique.

However, time-consuming this may be, there is 1 benefit - its actually relaxing once you get the gist of it, as its repetitive - so set yourself up somewhere cozy and on a quiet moment, and enjoy!

Note - pictures correspond to directions from bottom picture to top.

Step 1 - Determine your Design.

Think of how you would like to incorporate your 'stitched design' into your project. For my example, I wanted it to take a supporting role, so it is placed as a "background" element and therefore, it runs behind the main focus {the birds and tag}. It will run the width of my card as well.

As an added design element - I've decided to incorporate a strip of ribbon - so I've decided to 'stitch OVER the ribbon' - therefore I must chose a ribbon.

I "eye-balled" the ribbon width to begin the placement of the ribbon and to border it with stitches. Take a moment to run a length of ribbon behind the tag so you get the sense of where you plan on the ribbon 's position - I have chosen to place it behind the middle 'point' of the tag - it feels like a natural point to start.

Step 2. Prepare the ' first ' line of paper piercing to accomodate the stitching.

Here I have a special ruler that has holes in it for paper piercing, but a regular ruler will act as a guideline. Pic #1

**Measure a 'starting point' with your ruler - see mine begins exactly at the no. 5 -in the picture. This will help you to measure the next line in order to 'alternate' the position of the stitches. Pic #2

Pierce your dots in a steady, line and spaced at regular intervals. I choose to pierce every 'second' hole {of my ruler} or at least, every few mm. along the ruler's edge. Pic #3

Step 3. Repeat the ' second ' line of paper piercing.

Move the ruler over - now I am beginning just slightly before no. 5 - and start the piercing again, same as the first time. Depth: placed at a distance from the first line to be slightly ' wider ' than the width of the ribbon. This ensures the ribbon will 'slide into place' easily when you stitch over it later. Pic #4

Draw a pencil line [erase later after piercing and before stitching] if it helps to keep you steady - avoid getting 'blurry' vision.

Step 4 - Stitch with Thread

Using cross-stitch thread, nice and fuzzy plus so many colours!....and a proper needle, I now begin to stitch "over top of the ribbon" - first one direction, and then coming back in the opposite direction over top the first set of stitches. {shown in finished card} Pic #5 + #6

The fact that I started the second row of holes to be slightly off-centered from the first row means my "criss-cross" stitching comes naturally.

Tie off threads neatly. Voila - you're done! Let me know how it works for you! Thanks!!

Beverly

bstampingbeehive.blogspot.com

Is it really that time again - well, hurray, cuz I want Spring to come!

This is a really fun card to make... because it puts together several items - you have to work your magic on this one! Using a heart stamp and punch from SU! [that's Stampin' Up!] - you cut out 3 large stamped hearts and cut off the side of one for the stem. Then the real fun starts when you 'highlight' the heart image with some white gel pen!

Next, arrange the hearts and stem into a shamrock and secure a gem brad in the middle!

What's more we have some green, black, cardstock and some designer's paper, and a small strip of black gingham ribbon. Cute as the first shamrock, another smaller heart punch gives you a four-leaf clover [see inside card].

Another roller wheel and here I learned something new....using a wheel of all words - you can just choose one word {i.e. St Patricks Day} and cut it out. We glittered our word strip because soon as I saw the glitter - well, couldn't help myself - something had to have some bling -:)

I really like it! :)

All supplies SU! Stamping' Up!

Just because the weather is rainy - can't keep a good paper crafter down! So I jumped off to my monthly stamp club and here is one of the makes we did......pretty in grey this time with a hint of red and green!

All supplies are Stampin' Up!

Oh dear - I am just getting over to Glittzy who kindly left me a Lovely Blog Award ! I have been a wee bit slow but better late than never? LOL!

I love tea and tea cups - so the picture on the award certainly makes me happy too! Glittzy's lovely blog is a nice place to visit, as you can see if you click on her name - and I must think on passing these awards on! So I will certainly do that - I will think on it and come back shortly as I know so many deserving people, sooooo hard to choose just 7!

Many of these lovely people are from the other side of the pond - and wish I could see them if they lived closer.....ah, sigh!

Thank goodness for blogs! And the Internet!!!

Last year I forgot I had this easter cookie cutter set because it was tucked away - aha!...but this year, I am digging out the easter decorations already to be 'prepared' ! No missing out on lovely decorated cookies and since these are new ones for us, it will be interesting to see how they turn out!

If anyone has nice easter cookies or decorations to share - please do!

Anyways - Stampin' Up! has already some of the cutest easter projects ready and waiting for us to take under our wings and before we know it - we can have easter all lovingly decked out!

Here I am to point out a pet love of mine - punches! Not the kind you throw at people - goodness, ha ha....but the kind that punches out paper and it feels fun to do! I really like the way punches cut through paper - its kinda like therapy for me, lol! I know we've all had that bit of stubborn cardstock or plastic film or something - - so you know what I mean!! {'cept for anyone whose never had the pleasure of trying punches - go try, you'll like em!} ...but its the feeling of the crisp crunch of slicing through paper that's so satisfying :)! Then, there is also this- I hate throwing stuff out! And sometimes I spy something I think will make a great "something-or-other" and so I keep it and wonder what'll I do about it. That's when a punch comes in real handy!

Take a look - here is this scrap of paper, frayed - a real possible toss-out! Not so!

I grabbed my (Mini) Scallop Envelope Bigz die * [Big Shot]and punched out the miniature envelope and still used two hand held punches to cut out 'Heart to Heart' hearts and 1/2 in. circles! So I really grazed my way through that paper til it was grazed!! Ka-put!

So, recycle to your heart's content - plus it justifies the way we crafters think of how we can make a craft out of anything - ha ha!

I added some more embellishments, a flower bouquet and now I have a sweet something out of what otherwise would have been tossed out. And 'that's' why I love-love-love punches!

***All the above mentioned punches and *Big Shot die system are available from Stampin' Up! Ask me how if you wish.

Beverly

Beverly's Stamping Beehive

I was 'speechless' on my birthday when my daughter presented me with her own hand-made card for me! Reason is that when we got up that morning we were in each other's company and yet somehow she managed to sneak off into my craft room and pull this together without me knowing it - - I was totally caught off guard, lol -- and loved it!!!

She has always impressed me with her creativity because she doesn't do hand-craft items very often - she is more of an 'online creator' - I have her to thank for all my web banners, etc. especially at my Taylor Made blog where she delights me with seasonal banners - its like a gift as well as I always am excited to see what she has designed. Thank you hun!

Back to this particular delight - she pulled together this card using Stampin' Up!'s Eastern Bloom and Kindred Spirit stamp sets. I love both of those sets tremendously! They are just so elegant....and then she pulled a tiny strip of red Bella Rose paper to accent the Pink Pirouette cardstock. Add a few embellishments and I was happy to see the cute butterfly resting on the branch, that is something I would not of thought of! See two minds are better than one!

Anyways, it was a lovely gesture and a thoughftul card.

Beverly

Beverly's Stamping Beehive