Double Take Thursday - Black & White

It's time for Kim P. and I to reveal our cards for Double Take Thursday. Kim's challenge to me was to use Black & White--quite the challenge for someone who loves bright colours. My image from Dovercards.com was crying to be used for this challenge. I can't wait to see Kim's card. I'm sure it is going to be stunning--Kim has a way of using colour in an elegant way. Be sure to check out Kim's blog, Creative Diversions.

Thanks for playing Kim. You really had me thinking outside of the box.

Hugs,

Beth

Check Out This Free Book Give-A-Way

Oh my heaven's look at the gorgeous book Catherine Matthews-Scanlon is giving away. Catherine creates lovely collage art. I can't wait to get a sneak peak into the inside of her book.

Tutorial Tuesday - Criss Cross Card

Welcome to Sunflowers and Dragonflies Tutorial Tuesday. Recently Linda SS requested that I do a tutorial on criss cross cards, and I am pleased to help her out. Many of you will recognize this card, as it has been around for a long time. If you haven't tried to make one, now is your opportunity. This week, I am offering up a surprise for someone who completes my tutorial. Link me to your card, or e-mail me your card, and I will put your name into a draw. You can enter as often as you wish. All you have to do is create a new card. Have fun. I'm anxious to see how you embellish your cards.

SUPPLIES:
2 - 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" (backing and front mat)
1 - 4 3/4" x 3 3/4" (insert)
2 - 5 1/4" x 4" (decorative front)
Double-sided tape
Rubber stamp
Ink

Place one 5 1/2" x 4 1/4" cardstock for mat into the paper cutter and cut on a diagonal.

Place 5 1/4" x 4" decorative paper into the paper cutter and cut on a diagonal. With second 5 1/4" x 4" decorative paper, place paper into paper cutter and cut diagonal from the opposite corner-to-corner that you just cut. Cuts will be at different angles as shown in this photo. (This step might not make sense when you are reading this, but it will once your paper is in the paper cutter)

Take a decorative paper from each of the two fronts you just cut, and place them onto the mat as shown in this photo.

Adhere double-sided tape along the side and bottom of the card front. Do not place tape along the diagonal cut.

Place card fronts so that the cards criss cross like an envelope. Slip the insert into the card.

Your card is now ready to be embellished.

Baroque Motifs

Anxious to use my new backgrounds, I visited this week's sketch challenge at Splitcoast Stampers. You may recall I recently created backgrounds using a brayer combined with pearl-ex. To see my backgrounds click here.

Stamp set: Baroque Motifs. Paper: Taken With Teal, Cool Caribbean and Bazzil's turquoise. Ink: Black Stazon, Cool Caribbean and Adirondack's Stream and Wild Plum. Accessories: unknown source for ribbon, and white brad.

Shabby Chic Bellas

Good afternoon. How is your weekend going? After getting back to work for my first week, it is nice to have the weekend off. This afternoon I'll put together Tuesday's tutorial. Tuesday's card will be filling a request that a reader recently made, so stay tuned--it might be your request.

I tried my hand at shabby chic, and I'll admit it isn't easy for me to do. For the first time I pulled my sewing machine out to sew on a card; something I have been wanting to do for over a year. I kept going back to Ila's blog because Ila is the queen of shabby chic. It is a style that I need to keep working on because I am not satisfied with my outcome. If anyone has any tips for me, please, please drop me a line. I'd really appreciate it.

Enjoy your weekend.

Upcoming Class at Lasting Impressions

Hurrah, it's Friday. Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend? Are you starting your Valentine Day cards?

These cards are being taught by me, at Lasting Impressions. Each card uses the Cuttlebug. If you are in the area, why not sign up? Class is on February 5th at 7:00 p.m.

I hope you have a great weekend.

Double Take Thursday

Hurrah, it's Thursday--one of my favourite days of the week. It's my night out with friends, but today is extra special. Kim P and I have another double-take Thursday for you. My challenge to Kim was to use a bella on her card. Why wasn't I surprised to see we both used a shopping bella of some kind. We are so much alike. Her gorgeous card can been seen on her blog.
It has been a while since I did a layout from SCS Tuesday challenges, so I went over and found a kickstand style that was posted a couple of weeks ago. I must say it was a fun style to work with.

Kim, thanks for playing along with me. Let's see what we can come up with next Thursday.

Hugs,
Beth

Shining Stone

This evening I took the time to do Trish Bee's background challenges. Aren't they pretty?

- place Perfect Pearls, or other mica powders in water
- brayer your glossy cardstock
- spray mist
- dip brush into mica powder and blot onto cardstock
- dab with a paper towel
- use a heat gun to dry ink and water while dabbing

You really should check out Trish's blog if you are interested in doing these backgrounds. She has detailed directions, as well as challenges, on her blog (this talented lady has quite a few blogs on the go). If you are interested in joining Trish's Yahoo group, click here. There's no pressure to join the challenges. Actually, I'm a month behind in my glue background challenge, so I better get right on it tonight.

Scrap-O-Dex Calendar

Sweater & dress was hand drawn onto watercolour paper and watercoloured with Tombow markers. Paper for hat came from a magazine. Wings were provided by a blogger who posts images to use as you wish.

Trish Bee posted this angel for her Yahoo group to use. Embellishments added: red embossed flourish, pink crystals, beads, flowers and ribbon.

We Have A Winner

Before I go on to announcing the winner of the blog candy, I'd like to thank all of you for your input regarding upcoming tutorials. I enjoyed every suggestion, and will work hard over the next couple of months turning your suggestions into tutorials.

I put everyone's name into a bowl and drew the winning participant. Okay, the winner of my blog candy is.......







Chelsea--spredbirds.

Congratulations Chelsea, and thanks for stopping by.

Yahoo, it's blog candy time folks!

Yahoo, my unit is put back together. Now I have the motherload of work ahead of me trying to take everything out of boxes (and that pile where DH just 'dumped' my 4' x 4' drawer of punches, alcohol inks, etc., etc., on the floor) and placing them ever so carefully into each of the nine drawers. Wowzers, does this mean I will actually have some organization to my studio? I can just hear my daughter, as she reads this: "mom, you always say you cleaned your studio, but it's always a mess." Sheesh, am I that bad? LOL. Thank you for your support yesterday, you made me giggle.

All, in all, it wasn't so bad having to go through this afterall--I really needed to clear out some things. I'm turning my cleaning woos into treasure. Here is something I have to give away. I paid a wopping $17 for this set, and it can be yours. How? you ask?

Tell me what tutorial you would like to see me do. It can be a style of card, or a technique. If you can't think of one, then just say hi and leave me a comment. Don't forget to sign my guest book, if you haven't done so already. Please supply me with your e-mail address so I can contact you if you are the winner. Drawing will take place Sunday afternoon.

Good luck to all!

Happily Ever After

Once upon a time there was a happy paper artist named Beth. She lived in a humble-sized condo, with a fabulous art studio. It was filled with lots of goodies, and had fabulous storage space.

Then, one day while Beth was pulling out a bottom drawer, the drawer above came tumbling down. "Oh, shoot," she said. "I better fix this so Donnie doesn't know what I did." Well, no matter what she did another drawer would fall. And then another and another. "Oh brother, I wonder how I created this problem" she muttered to herself. She didn't know if she should be angry, or worried. So, two days later she gathered enough strength to tell her dear Donnie. "Donnie" she said in a low voice, "somehow my drawers to my unit in the studio fell apart." Quick as a jack rabbit, Donnie ran into the room and tried to fix the problem. After some time, he decided he needed to call the carpenter who built this massive unit, complete with 4' x 4' drawers and 12" x 8" storage compartments. With broken drawers, Beth continued to work in the studio all through the Christmas holidays, when all of a sudden, the carpenter called to say he was coming out. "Great" she thought, "when I get back from teaching my card class, my drawers will be back in place." With an excited skip in her feet, she bounded up the stairs...

and this is what she saw. Just like in the movies, she arrived just in time to hear the carpenter say, "well, I can't figure out the problem. After adding in these re-enforcements, the drawers should go in smoothly." Beth's heart sank. As she listened to "..but I promise to make new drawers if securing the unit doesn't do the trick in a couple of days" she grew weary.

Looking around the room, she was convinced her problem would never get solved. Beth even went so far as to tell herself that building the storage unit was the biggest mistake of her life. Being under renovations for almost three years was finally getting to her. Her blood pressure was already high (note to Beth--get to the doctor) for months, and this just made things worse.

As she looked around the two rooms, she felt sadness. Then she saw Donnie's disappointment because he thought he made things worse, instead of better. It was at that instant in seeing Donnie's sad face, that Beth felt like the Christmas grinch. All of a sudden her blood pressure dropped and her heart grew two sizes that night. She knew that it may be a week before she could create again, but decided that it really was a small thing to get in a tither about. "This really is a silly thing to get upset about." So, putting all things into perspective, she realized it was just another stone in the roadway of life. Her worries about losing readers because she wasn't getting cards posted was put behind her. She decided that blog candy would be posted on Thursday, which would carry her through until she could make, and post, cards once again.

The end.

Tutorial Tuesday - Tunnel Card, Part I

Welcome to Sunflowers and Dragonflies' weekly edition of Tutorial Tuesday. Most of you may be familiar with the tunnel card. In creating my version of a tunnel card, I thought I would post a generalized version so that you have the base knowledge of this card. Next Tuesday you will see a spicier version of this card. Let's get started, shall we...

Supplies:

3 - 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" cardstock
(two for inside and one for outside)

1 - 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" cardstock
(coordinating colour for your circle or oval)

- Variety of stamps

- Coluzzle oval or circle, cutting mat and knife

- Variety of ink pads

- Glue stick (not in photo)

- Red double-sided tape

- Scotch tape (not in photo)

Place 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock into your paper cutter, so your widest part of the paper is horizontal. Cut cardstock in half at the 5 1/2" mark.

Stamp images over the top of your cardstock, in colours pleasing to you.

Place cardstock into your cutter, in a horizontal fashion, once again, and score cardstock at 2 1/8", 4 1/4", and 6 3/8".

Centre Coluzzle. With a close watch on your score lines, you should not have to measure and mark your centre. If you do not feel comfortable just eyeing the centre, you can use a ruler and pencil.

Cut a coordinating paper larger (approx 3 1/2" x 3 1/2") than the circle, or oval, you just cut. Next, cut a second circle, or oval, one size smaller than the previous cut. Glue around the edge opening on the backside of your main cardstock (in this photo, my main cardstock is on the bottom) Glue does not need to be wider than 1/2". Reinforce coordinating paper by placing scotch tape on all four sides.

Here is another view for you.

Using a ruler, line up the centre of the inside cardstock and stamp sentiment. Small embellishments may be placed around the sentiment, using stamps or other items such as coloured gems/crystals.

Bend card front score lines, back to front. Cut double sided tape 2" wide and place on the card front. It is important you do not place double-sided tape over the score line. Tape must be butted up to the score line. Your card is now finished.


Top view of the tunnel card.

The outside of your card is ready to be finished. Here, I took my 3rd 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" cardstock and trimmed it to fit onto the outside edges, with a little margin showing. You may wish to adhere the full 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" to the card.

Kimono Cards

Last week's tutorial was colour wash scrunch, using Adirondack's colour wash. The final product highlighted a kimono card, using the colour wash scrunch. Today, I am showing you the same card, using patterned paper, with and without, embellishments. This first card is quite feminine and was achieved by way of using pretty papers, and colourful ribbon, as well viewing the gown from the back side of the kimono.

This second card uses masculine colours and paper. The pattern is busy enough without adding embellishments.

Last, by not least, this third card appears masculine, but I wanted it to be feminine as well, so I heat embossed red images onto the patterned paper.

If you are interested in making a kimono card, click here to be taken to Stamper's Mall, where you will find the template.

Where I can be found

Well, it's Sunday and soon time to go back to work. Did you have a nice weekend? I'm getting up to attend my return-to-work meeting tomorrow morning. Wish me luck.

My 9 drawer storage unit that was custom built buckled on me, and all the 4 foot x 4 foot drawers collapsed. Ugh! Thank heavens Donnie came to my rescue. He took all those drawers out, all the "stuff" on the top shelves, and six cubby holes, and put them in the spare bedroom. Now I have to clean up my 6 foot wide desk, collapse it down, and clear space to allow my closet unit to be pulled out and repaired. Am I happy? Ask Donnie. Thank heavens he is the calm one in all of this.

How does this affect you? Well, I need to work hard finding photos that I haven't used yet, so you think I'm busy creating "new" stuff, and maybe even give you a sneak peak into the mess I'm in.

In the meantime, I'd like to direct your attention to Next Generation Stampers. Trish Bee runs this wonderful Yahoo group. She loves creating backgrounds as much as I do. I'm learning some really cool things which I'll work on in my kitchen while my studio is under de-construction. If you sign up, give me a shout. I'd love to hear from you.

I've Been Tagged

Taava tagged me,

"Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."


I'm tagging:

Kim
Ila
Maria
Kim P
Sarah
Angie
Heather
Malieta
Tammy
Pam

Dare to be Fabulous

There are thank you notes to go out to several of my blogging friends, which was the inspiration for creating these cards. Dare to be Fabulous is a wonderful sentiment. My studio is a terrible mess and I can't put my finger on my set to give the credit, nor can I find my cattie, but I'm sure you recognize it. How do we get ourselves into such messes? Do you get as frustrated as me? If you look closely in the upper left corner you will notice some bling.
The image of the girl is from Stamper's Anonymous. Embellies: button, ribbon, flowers. Card layout came from Page Maps.

Have a great weekend. Doing anything exciting?

Eye Candy

Oh my goodness, check out Beryl Taylor's site here. I first became familiar with Beryl when her cloth arch was on the cover of Cloth Paper Scissors Winter 2005. Today, I stumbled upon her again, and couldn't wait to share her site with you. Beryl's Book Mixed Media Explorations is on my to-be-ordered list this month. With the Canadian dollar being on par with the American dollar, The Bookeeper, here in town is offering US prices on all books in-stock, and special order until the end of January.

My girlfriend, Kim, and I both love the look of cloth journals and are swapping pages with each other this year. That said, guess I better get right on it!

RAK's

This stunning set came from Maria. Believe me when I say that this photo does not do justice to the beauty of this card set. I was so intrigued to discover that the pouch on the right held a packet of cocoa. Isn't that neat. Maria, thank you for your friendship girlfriend! Hugs.

Look at the loot that I received from Malieta. The cute little cat card had a reminder inside that I won this as a player in her "pay it forward." How awesome is that? I was blown away by her generosity. I'm so excited about the images she sent me too, and I'll be showing you what I created with them. Thanks, Malieta, you are a doll! Hugs.

Poll Results & Updated Pic

There are two risky things in the life of a blogger--posting a poll and updating a photo of yourself. You have all come to know the skinnier me, and I made sure you never saw the me today. Well, Maria, of Stampin Inspirations, gave me the confidence to update my picture. Maria said she was heavier and updated her picture anyways. I loved that she had her funky new glasses on too. And guess what? I love her even more because she had the confidence to update her picture. I still admire her talent and love all her creations. Why was I so afraid that people wouldn't look at me as someone with talent if I am heavier? Thank you, Maria, for giving me the confidence I needed. Weight aside, I can just hear my mom say, "what in the heck did Beth do with her hair this time?!" Well, mom, ya know me--LOL. I'm the eccentric in the family.

Now, onto my poll. Thank you for your participation. It was risky asking if you liked, or even wanted, my tutorials, because I could have found out that no one cared about them. I am happy to report 98% of you like my tutorials, so I will continue posting them every Tuesday.

What do you want to see me post? 88% of you said cards, paper crafts, with a mix of surprise.

Links of interest? I'm happy to report that 81% of you would like me to continue them. I will treat you to one or two favourite sites here and there.

Surprising to me, it was almost a 50-50 split with posting daily versus posting a little less often, but with higher quality. Because I can, and it's my blog, I'm siding with the 57% of people who would like a little less postings and higher quality. For the 42% who beg for daily postings, please know that I will try my best. My goal for 2008 is to set my goals higher and demand higher quality for myself.

Whew, now that that's over, lets go forth and create!

Hugs,

Beth

BFF

Hi folks. Are you all pumped up, like me, that it's Thursday? For those of you who don't know what Thursday means to me -- it's my weekly wing & beer night with my friends. It's a highlight to my week because it's the day before Friday (and we all love having a weekend off--don't we?) and I get to chat and laugh myself silly with my friends.

And speaking of friends, look what my BFF made me for Christmas. (mom, BFF means "best forever friend"). Who is she, you ask? Kim, from Running on Ink. Kim is a talented artist who has a love for collage and soldering. Recently, Kim was in a cottage swap, and just couldn't resist turning a small project into a big project. Click here to see the cottage she soldered together.

There are two types of people in life. One is, "look what I want to do one day" and "look what I did today." Kim never ceases to amaze me with her talent--and how quick she can move. I am very good at sending her links to sites because "this is what I want to do one day." No sooner have I said it, Kim is posting the done project on her blog the next day--LOL. Recently, I showed her a free doll pattern on line and look what she got made in the next 24 hours. Isn't this gal amazing?

For Christmas, Kim made me this gorgeous necklace, which I'm wearing today. I can't wait to show it off this evening, because my friends always comment on the interesting jewelery I wear (ok, so I am eccentric sometimes). Her soldering job is amazing.

Kim's blog banner has an interesting story. Upon designing, and drawing, her own banner, the owner of justjohanna noticed it immediately and contacted Kim to ask if she could turn these birds into stamps. Guess what? Kim's rubber can now be purchased at justjohanna.

Thanks for your friendship Kim.

Hugs,
Beth

Tutorial Tuesday - Kimono Card

Happy New Year. Did you attend a party last night? I enjoyed a nice evening home. Today's card is a little more complex, so I took several photos to show you how it was made, and I hope it gives you inspiration to make a kimono card too. Each year Donnie & I invite several friends to join us at Tang's restaurant, during Chineese New Year. This year I am going to deliver their invitations in one of Tang's take-out boxes. Party favours will include celophane wrapped peanuts, to wish my friends a long life. Finally, each couple will receive a kimono card with New Year greetings. This is a fun way to continue holiday celebrations without all the work of hosting a party at home.

The first thing I did was to research kimono's on-line. My inspiration came from this photo.

Next I printed the pattern for the kimono from Mirkwood Designs. For the template, click here. After I scaled the pattern down by 10%, I cut out the pattern and then made a pattern out of cardstock, because I am making quite a few of these cards.

The pattern was traced out onto paper that I made. Watch for the tutorial this month.

Using a metalic gold Krylon pen, I ran the pen around the edges of the kimono to give it added visual appeal.

The card is now finished. The size of card I used is 5" x 6 1/2".