MrsBeez

Take A Chance

Posted on July 2, 2015 by MrsBeez

I think I have mentioned before that Sheffield, where I live in the UK, is not well positioned when it comes to the coast. This is unfortunate as both Mr Beez and I love the seaside. I love it in the summer, even amongst the crowds, when all the traditions of the British seaside are at the fore. But I also love it in the autumn and winter when, if you’re lucky, you might just find one fish and chip shop open and you can sit and wash the waves crashing against the shore.

Today I am sharing a little seaside themed ATC

I am sharing this over at City Crafter Challenge Blog where the theme is “Let’s Go Nautical,” using a mood board for inspiration. I have picked out the tiny little bottle of miniature shells and the yacht on my vintage style ATC. The main image is created from an image and digital paper from the Gecko Galz Seaside Kit.

I’ve applied the image to a wooden ATC together with the words and then brushed on a thin layer of beeswax. I dotted on a few silver stars and then brushed a couple more layers of beeswax to seal and encase them.

To adhere the tiny shells, I brushed on more beeswax, quickly pressed the shells into it and then brushed on a little more wax building up layers around and underneath the shells.

Once I was done with the wax I brushed on a little aqua mica powder then buffed with a soft cloth.

Unfortunately, these words have haunted me of late. A chance presented itself, I was too timid to take the chance and now I am kicking myself. So I shall keep this on display and close to hand to remind me never to be in that situation again.

Thanks for buzzing by.

Not my cup of tea

Posted on July 1, 2015 by MrsBeez

Pinch and a punch it’s the first of the month and, in the UK, it is forecast to be the hottest day of the year so far, possibly reaching 30C. So naturally I am going to be beavering away in a storage unit, where there is no natural light, counting cooking equipment. This is not my idea of fun, even on a rainy day. Therefore a reward at the end of it is vital to keep my spirits up and naturally, I choose cake!!

No cake on today’s card, just a cup of tea

The image is a digital stamp from the Gecko Galz High Tea kit. I swooshed on some distress inks and then coloured the flowers with Polychromos.

Look at that fabulous lace trim with tiny little buttons. I found this over at Live and Love Crafts, an Aladdin’s Cave of tempting crafty treats.

A scrap of lace and a single piece of organza rose trim were the only other embellishments.

Thanks for buzzing by and enjoy your day.

Black and white on the beach

Posted on June 29, 2015 by MrsBeez

We’re moving in to the second week of our black and white challenge over at Crafty Boots Challenges and have some more inspiration from the DT, and our guest designers, to share. I decided to go for a single layer stamped card:

Cards like this always look nice and easy but we all know that, in reality, direct stamping on to your card is always fraught with danger and the possibility of a disaster.

I started with beach huts and black archival ink, I think this stamp is one of Hobby Craft’s own. The “shingle” is a stamp from Stampin’ Up!, the Gorgeous Grunge set, and is one of my favourites.

The sentiment is also from Stampin’ Up! but I’m not sure which set exactly.

So, mission successfully completed. Did it take more than one attempt to get it right? Now that would be telling 😉

Thanks for buzzing by and here’s to a good week, it’s going to be another busy one!

A splash of red take 2

Posted on June 28, 2015 by MrsBeez

When I saw this week’s theme at City Crafter Challenge Blog, “blue green and a splash of red,” I was torn about which way to go. Part of me wanted to do a classic layered card and the other part wanted to play with inks. I chose to do both – well, if you can, then why not?! You can check out what I am calling my classic style card here.

On a square of cardstock, I stamped the leafy pattern, using a stamp from Paper Artsy’s Squiggly Ink Flora and Fauna 3 set, then inked it with some of the new release distress inks – Twisted Citron and Mermaid Lagoon, and a couple of old favourites – Mowed Lawn and Tumbled Glass. I spritzed with water, blotted and then quickly stamped a little bit of text using the same colours. I wanted it to be a bit blurry.

Once the ink was completely dry I coloured the leaves with a green Polychromo and added a few white highlights.

I can’t remember where the heart stamp is from but I used Memento ink and then Promarkers for colour. Once it was cut out, I ran a black Stabilo All pencil around the edge, smudging it inwards and then added the white dots.

This is going to be an anniversary card for my brother and his wife who will be celebrating their 14th anniversary in a couple of weeks time. I dithered for a long time about whether to add a stamped sentiment but, in the end, decided to play safe and add that to the inside.

Thanks for buzzing by.

Blue, green and a splash of red

Posted on June 27, 2015 by MrsBeez

Things are definitely warming up here in the UK although the sun itself is still being somewhat elusive and I wouldn’t risk going anywhere without my umbrella. However, it has been possible to sit out in the garden and in my book that makes it officially summer. Today’s I am sharing a card that takes up that garden theme:

I’m sharing this over at City Crafter Challenge Blog where the theme is “blue, green and a splash of red.” I sort of knew that my splash of red would end up being a butterfly!

I’ve used some Anna Griffin papers and coordinating cardstock from my stash and created mats and layers, topping them off with a border strip, also from Anna Griffin.

I’ve created some shabby style flowers using a floral die. The flowers were cut in different sizes, from ivory cardstock. I inked them with Crushed Olive and Tumbled Glass distress inks, spritzed with water and crumpled them up tightly. Once they had dried a little I layered them and adhered the layers with glue.

A new departure for me was to add some proper stamens to the centre. I’ve always been a bit scared of using these for the purpose for which they were intended, but now I have I shall continue to do so. No doubt this will require further purchases!!!

The finishing touch was to stamp, colour and punch out a bright red butterfly.

Have a happy weekend and thanks for buzzing by.

The stressful things in life!

Posted on June 26, 2015 by MrsBeez

Having started the week by commenting how quickly the weekend whizzed by, I’m finishing it by commenting how slowly this week has gone! On the work front it feels like I have been pedalling very hard only to end up going backwards so I am more that ready for the weekend.

Today I am sharing a card that I have made for a friend and work colleague, like me, is drowning in an ocean of work. However, she has had the added stress of moving home at the same time.

She and her partner have moved from a city apartment into a townhouse in a leafy suburb. This house stamp from the Stampin’ Up! holiday home set is pretty close to the real thing. I stamped the houses directly on to card and then swooshed on green and blue inks with a brush.

I stamped and coloured and extra house and applied it over the original using glue gel.

The stamped hearts and sentiment are from the same set.

Moving house is usually on the list of “the most stressful things in life” along with planning a wedding, which is exactly what this lovely couple are doing ahead of their big day this time next year!!

Thanks for buzzing by.

Angel wings

Posted on June 22, 2015 by MrsBeez

Despite yesterday being the longest day, the weekend still seems to have whizzed by in a blur and here we are back for another Monday. Time for a new challenge theme over at Crafty Boots Challenges. For the next fortnight the theme is black and white. Here’s the card I made:

I’m sure you recognise this stamp as Kate Crane’s Angel from Stampotique. Kate’s stamps, released earlier this year, have been hugely successful and no wonder! For my card, I borrowed a tip from Kate herself who, on her blog, suggested that you shouldn’t let the size of a stamp put you off if it was too big for what you were making, just chop a bit off! So that’s what I did.

I stamped the original image and then chopped off her legs before colouring her and adding some doodling. I cut her out, minus her legs. Then I stamped the little fluffy border, using a Dylusions stamp, hoping it looks little like clouds. Once the border was in place I returned to the angel stamp and inked only her legs before stamping directly on to card. The original angel has been stuck over the top of the legs so just her tippy toes peek out under her dress.

I used mats and layers of black and white and added in some more stamping on the lower layer of white.

The words are from a Tim Holt Chit-Chat set.

Be sure to buzz over to Crafty Boots and check out the fab projects the rest of the DT created and I hope you’ll join in with this week’s challenge.

Here’s to a good week and thanks for buzzing by.

Chandra Gold

Posted on June 21, 2015 by MrsBeez

Good morning and, if you are marking the occasion, I hope you are having and enjoyable Father’s Day. Today’s post is not a Father’s Day card but a little something I will be sharing over at City Crafter Challenge Blog. The theme this week requires you to use a gold die cut.

I struggled to get a clear photograph as the gold mirri card I used is highly reflective. I created an inked background using Faded Denim, Chipped Sapphire and Seedless Preserves distress inks. Once applied, I spritzed it with water.

I used the Memory Box Chandra die to cut three gold stems and then added mats and layers of white, black and more gold.

The sentiment was heat embossed in gold and matted and layered in the same way.

Enjoy the longest day whilst it lasts because tomorrow, the nights start drawing in 🙂

Thanks for buzzing by.

Oops!

Posted on June 19, 2015 by MrsBeez

Earlier this week I proudly posted some of my work for the Gecko Galz DT and suggested you buzz over and take a look at my spotlight post on the blog. I’m rather embarrassed to have to tell you I got the date wrong and that instead it is today. However, it gives me a chance not only to share another DT piece but also to revisit my previous projects that have used this month’s designs AND a bonus sample that uses the free digital stamp that Leanne has kindly allowed me to share 🙂

Despite appearances to the contrary and a fact belied by the state of my craft space, I do like things in an orderly fashion. So, first up here are the previous projects I have shared this month. Clicking on the picture should take you to the relevant post:

OK, now here’s the free digi – please help yourself and enjoy:AsA

As I mentioned earlier, I have now had the opportunity to have a little play with this. It’s a great stamp that can easily be manned up or down depending on who you are creating for. I think my sample could quite happily be either a male or female card:

I’ve used some papers from my stash and coordinating cardstock to create some mats and layers and popped on some knotted ribbon and voila, job done.

I always think that knotting ribbon instead of creating a bow works well if you want a man card. And whilst we are on that subject, you still have time to link up your projects for the current challenge over at Crafty Boots where the theme is Father’s Day/Masculine.

Lastly, here’s another of my regular samples using the Gecko Galz June products.

I used paper and two images from the High Tea digital kit and layered and arranged them digitally (I use Microsoft Word) before printing out.

The ribbon is wrapped around the front of the card – stuck down on the inside, but loose on the front so I could add an additional piece of ribbon. Coincidentally another knot, but this time I think the card is very definitely feminine!

Another very easy card to create.

Phew! Hopefully I have atoned for my mistake? I still have a few more Gecko Galz projects to share with you and will be doing so over the next few days. If you can’t wait that long then you can buzz over to the blog for a sneaky peek.

Thanks for buzzing by.

Just my cup of tea

Posted on June 16, 2015 by MrsBeez

First, I have to warn you that this post is picture heavy, bear with it though as at the end I have a little giveaway.

It’s my turn today to feature on the Gecko Galz blog – you can buzz on over and take a look at all my samples for this month before I feature the full details here. I’ve already shared with you the teacup and a tag, click the photo’s if you’d like to read more about them:

This month’s digital kit is called High Tea and, as the name suggests, is crammed full of images and stamps that have a tea theme plus some rather nice coordinating papers. I’ve used these to create some little tea bag gift packages. These were the easiest thing to create and you could add any gift that you like. Take a look:

You can whip these up in a matter of moments and can easily adapt them to any size, mine are 4 inches square. To make them this size you need a strip of card 8 1/4 inches x 4 inches. Score at 4 inches and 4 1/4 inches. This creates two 4 inch square panels and a spine that is 1/4 inch. You will also need a square of card that is 4 x 4 inches. Cut this in half diagonally to create the pocket for the teabag.

To make decoration easy, I cut out 4 x 4 squares of paper, choosing different patterns for inside and outside. Make sure you adhere your ribbon to the base card before you apply your papers. You can stick your ribbon to either the outside or the inside of the wallet, it doesn’t really make a difference, then glue the patterned squares over the top.

I added an additional image on the inside of each wallet.

Use double sided tape to attach the half square of paper, leaving the long side free so that you can pop in your teabag or gift.

I told you it was easy!

As always, whenever I make anything like this my mind turns to Christmas. Well there are just 196 days to go! These would be great to make for my work colleagues using some festive papers and adding one of my favourite Betty’s Christmas spiced tea teabags.

Now, here’s a little gift for you courtesy of Leanne at the Gecko Galz. Each month, the Gecko Galz DT members will be given a digital stamp to share with their followers. If you visit the blog each day you can see which DT member is featured, enjoy their fabulous work and follow the link to find the freebie! Right click on the image to save it to your computer.

Enjoy! Thanks for buzzing by.