If Heaven had an address... this one is for Mom!

Hello dear friends.  Our Beary Sweet Designers are Celebrating Mother's Day on the DT Blog.  If you haven't been there for some inspiration, head on over and check out their delightful projects.
The girls on Team 1 have begged me to share my card with you today.  They weren't taking "no" for an answer - LOL.  I originally designed this card for the last MMSC, but due to my computer issues, I was unable load it before the deadline.   What a bummer.  Maybe next time, right?

Our theme this week is Mother's Day.  I think this card is quite suitable for the occasion.  If Heaven had an address.....

...I would send this card to my Mom.  Mother's Day has been a very difficult time of year for me since loosing my Mom to cancer over 5 years ago.  She was only 53 years young.  She passed peacefully one month from her diagnosis.  Sadly, this all took place around Christmas.  Certainly not enough time to say "good-bye", but we were also grateful that she did not suffer long like her father (my PopPop).  She is sadly missed.

After spending some time with my munchkins in the morning, I generally find myself hiding out in my studio crafting for a few hours on Mother's Day. This is where I feel closest to my Mom. She is the reason I got myself into the business to begin with. She was an amateur photographer, an amazing artist, and a local business owner herself (flowers, balloons, and gifts). By combining all of her passions, I found this wonderful world of paper crafting and scrapbooking that captures the beauty of her spirit.  And best of all, I get to share it with so many wonderful people.  If I had a sentiment inside this card it would read...

"Thank You Mom!  For everything you are and continue to be.  For your support, guidance, and unconditional love.  Even though you are not here with us, you are still HERE.

Love,

Kimm, Jenn & Mandy"

Enough of the sappiness.  Now let me share with you the ingredients of my card.

• Paper:  Pink Paislee 365 Degrees, Bazzill Cardstock, Neenah Cardstock 110lb cover weight cut with Spellbinder's Lg Circle and Lg Scallop Circles dies.
• Stamp:  Magnolia Tilda with Three Flowers (sold out on website - will check physical inventory)
• Medium:  Prismacolor Pencils with OMS, Stickles, Colorbox Fluid Chalk (chestnut roan)
• Embellishments:  Prima Flowers (mostly from stash), our brand new stemmed paper roses that will be available soon, Prima Say it in Crystals Centers (pg 3), Pearls from KaiserCraft, silk ribbon from stash.

Sorry about my sappiness, but I  hope you have enjoyed my creation.  Thank you for stopping by today.  Remember to give your Mom a hug and tell her just how much you love her this Mother's Day, and everyday.  I hope all of our Moms, Grandmas, Aunts, even our "Fur-Mommies" out there have wonderful Mother's Day!

Don't forget to enter to win our "Beary Sweet" Blog Candy!

♥ Hugs ♥

May is National Scrapbooking Month.  We will be running HUGE blow out sales starting this weekend.  I will be posting all the happening right here and on our facebook fan page.

Beautiful Layouts from our Team 2 Designers

Hi Friends!  I don't know about you, but this cold weather here in the NE is awful!  What happened to spring?

I have some gorgeous layouts to share with you from our Team 2 Designers.  I had all of the photos ready to go on that "other computer".  I had to edit all the photos, again!  (Sorry girls that I didn't get these posted sooner for you.)

"Spring"

by Suzie

Speaking of Spring and it's whereabouts.... This one page layout was created by none other than our own Suzie.  She has such a clean and simple style.  Her photos always say it all! 

The papers are from Imagine a Forest by My Little Shoebox.  The diagonal cuts of the paper add such a unique look, don't they?  The large letters of the title are striking but certainly don't take away from anything.  Together with a few Prima Flowers, some rounded corners and a touch of ink and you have a layout that flows with beauty.

Thank you Suzie for another delightful layout.

"Our Dog Lily"

by Michelle

I love love these papers from My Mind's Eye.  The papers are from the Just Dreamy 2 collection.  The colors are subtle, the patterns are beautiful, and well, I simply love the color yellow on scrapbook paper.

Michelle's base is Bazzill Cardstock.  She used glitter and flowers from Prima to accent "Lily"

Can you believe this was Michelle's first Tear Puppy!  Isn't she adorable?  She used our Oliver Acrylic Tear Bear Pattern to create her puppy.  The colors match her "Lily" perfectly!

Beautiful layout Michelle.  Thank you for sharing with us!

"School Days"

by Sharon

This layout titled "School Days" was created by another one of our amazing designers, Sharon.  Aren't her children beautiful? 

The papers are from the All Fall Collection by Fancy Pants.  There aren't too many of these papers left since Sharon created this layout and it has been on display in the store.  What a great way to display those school photos.

Sharon used the die cuts from the elements sheet to add the finishing touches.  Notice how she added dimension to the flower with a little bit of ink.  Cat's Eye Fluid Chalk always works well for me.

Thank you Sharon for another stunning layout!

That will wrap it up for today.  I'll be editing a few more photos later tonight (after the munchkins head to bed) and hope to share a few more with you tomorrow.

Thank you for stopping by.

♥ Hugs ♥ 

 

Welcome the very talented Elise to our Design Team

Wow, more exciting news to report!  We have been "Beary" busy these last few days!

The Beary Scrap Design Team and I are honored to introduce you to our newest Design Team Member, Elise!  She's been prepping for a few weeks and I know she is anxious to start sharing with you. Blessed with talent and a passion for paper, Elise's work will truly inspire you. Not only are we fortunate to share her talent with you, wait until you get to meet her. She's has the kindest heart and the most bubbling personality. She'll make you smile all around. Would you like to see a sampling of her amazing work? You can visit Elise's Blog by clicking  HERE.

Elise will be joining us next week when we launch the Beary Sweet Challenge on our DT Blog.

Be sure to check in with us daily to see what our talented ladies are up to.

Don't forget, we still have some (well, a lot) of Beary Sweet Candy running until May 5!  Find out how you can win all the sweetness you could ever want by clicking HERE!

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs & Smiles,

The "Beary Sweet" Challenge begins May 1st!

There has been so many cool and new things going on at The Beary Scrap this year.  I am bubbling with excitement!

I'm very excited introduce you to the latest episode in our "Beary Sweet" journey.  The designers from Team 1 and I are pleased to welcome you to our "Beary Sweet Challenges"! Twice monthly you can play along with us for your chance to win great prizes.

The Beary Sweet challenge will take place on our Design Team's Blog on the 1st and 15th of each month. You will have 2 weeks to create a new project based on our challenge theme. Entries close at 11:59pm EDT the day before a new challenge begins. We will announce the Random.org winner and our "Beary Sweet Top 3" on the 3rd and 17th of each month (this gives us a couple of days to review all your fabulous entries). The prize goes to our random winner, and we'll have a fun badge to honor our three favorite projects.

Here are the "rules" to play:

• Become a follower of our Design Team Blog, if you aren't already.
• Mention in your blog post that you are entering your project at The Beary Scrap's Beary Sweet Challenge, with a direct link back our design team's blog.
• Link to your blog post (not your blog "home page") with our Inlinkz frog on the challenge post *and* leave a comment
• Kindly enter only once, with a new project (nothing posted before our challenge date).

Additional information:

• Feel free to combine with other challenges.
• All project types are welcome as long as they follow our challenge theme (cards, scrapbook layouts, themes, elements, etc.)
• International crafters can play, too!

We'll see you May 1st for our first challenge!

Computer Failure - Again

Here we go again.  2 months ago the hard drive on  my computer crashed!  Dear Hubby was my night in shining armor and had me back up and running within 24 hours.  And, he managed to save all my files.

Just my luck, it happened again.  This time, it is worse.  We are not able to recover anything from the "new" hard drive.  Needless to say, there will be a delay in the release of our new patterns for May.  I am totally bummed about this.  Of course, it's been 2 weeks since I ran a back up on my computer - my fault, of course.  There is nothing I can do about it now.  I'll be on the  phone with Dell tonight building a new computer.  Something tells me I should switch to a MAC.

I'm still able to process and ship orders from our website.  None of my computer woes will affect our online operation, other than loading new products to the site.  I'm working off of on my kids mini laptop which will not support all of my programs.  Oh, woe is me!

Hugs & Smiles (trying to)

"April Showers" with "Oh Alice Sketch

Happy Thrusday!  The weekend is creeping up on us faster than you can say "Scrumptious Blog Candy!"  Our Design Team has some amazing Sweetness up for grabs, so you better head on over and find out how to win it.  You won't want to miss out on this one!

Believe it or not, I actually took some time to make a card.  Call it another session of  "scrap therapy" if you will.  Thank goodness I can still find some serenity in paper *grins*.

This week our Team 1 Designer's theme on the DT Blog is "April Showers".  Along with this great theme, we are sponsoring the prize over at the "Oh Alice" Challenge Blog.  I asked the girls to keep on me all week until I completed a card for them.  I am very proud to announce that I kept my promise.  Go Me!

The challenge at Oh Alice is a sketch challenge. 

Here is my card:

I used Basic Grey Kioshi Papers and Bazzill Cardstock for this card.  I distressed all of the edges of my patterned papers with a pair of Cutterbee scissors.  Since most of my tools are at the shop, I had to improvise a bit.  After I hacked them up a bit, I inked it up with some Cat's Eye Fluid Chalk (chestnut roan).  I then added lost of Stardust Stickles to the edges.

The Magnolia image was stamped on Neenah 110lb Cardstock and colored in with Copic Markers.  I'm not happy with my coloring, but what do you expect with a 3 year old coloring with you *smiles*.  Pretty yellow Prima Flowers and a few of our newest addition to our "Beary Sweet" line Mini Roses & Buds (available soon) pull the colors of the paper all together.  Combined with some Pearls and Pearl Pins from my sewing box, we've got ourselves a beautiful card that didn't take me long to whip together.

Thanks so much for stopping by and allowing me to share with you my card.

Hugs & Smiles,

Video Tutorials: Pink Paislee Artisan Tapes & Artisan Elements

I happened by be bouncing around some company websites and blogs only to come across two great Pink Paislee video tutorials demonstrating their new Artisan Tapes and Artisan Elements.  You can find the all the new Pink Paislee product lines by visiting our online store, or our retail storefront.

Artisan Tapes:






Artisan Elements:





Thanks for stopping by!

HUGS & Smiles :)

Scrap a Science Fair Project

Today I spent my entire day preparing my daughter's Science Fair Project Display.  Let me tell you... this was NOT what I had planned on doing my whole day.  You would "think" the "men" would have stepped up to the plate this weekend (since I'm at the shop all weekend) and "maaaaayyyy-beeeee" taken some of the load of Mom.  Sure, Abby could have helped out to by saying "Hey, my project is due on Tuesday!"  Of course we know neither took place.  Either way, we had already conducted the experiment 2 weeks ago.  It was simply a matter of preparing our results for presentation.  We were instucted:   "No Kits", "No Large Displays", No Messy Projects", and "No Explosives", and on and on.  Everything must be built from scratch.  Hmmm???  Right up my alley!  I love a good challenge.  Since we were not provided with ideas about what types of projects were permitted, we spent a least a week on internet research.  I NEVER had to do a science fair project when I was in school - our school (the same one my daughter attends) never did them back then.  This was a completely new territory for me.  It seems the parents have to do ALL the work when it comes to these sorts of projects.

Anyway, we added some "Beary Scrap Flair" to her science fair project.  You guessed it, we scrapped it!  It's nothing extravigant, but it was fun to be able to help my daughter with this.  Here is the finished result:

Sorry for the terrible picture, but I think you get the idea.  Everything was matted on Bazzill Cardstock.  We picked up the dispay board at Staples. The letters were cut with my cutting machine.  We then measured and positioned every one of them - not easy task with a 3 year old running off with your letters - LOL.  The little "Spuds" I designed in my cutting software.  The kids and I assembled them.  I think they turned out pretty cute for a last minute idea.

So when in doubt, or you are looking for some scrapbook therapy, just look for your kiddos upcoming projects.  You'll have no excuse when in comes down to finding some "Scrap Time" when it's manditory - LOL... Plus, it's awesome time to spend with your munchkins!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs & Smiles,

TBS Sponsoring OH Alice Challenge Blog!

Hello Friends!  I have some exciting news to report.  The Beary Scrap is sponsoring it's very first challenge over at Oh, Alice! This is a sketch challenge so it is certainly open to both scrapbookers and cardmakers!  Head on over and check it out.  You could even win a $20.00 gift voucher to our store.  All you need is google account to participate (yep, it's free!). Link your entry to Oh Alice by Friday, April 23rd at 8pm CST! The winner will be announced on Saturday, April 24th with their next Challenge.

Good Luck! Please feel free to "post a comment" comment below if you participated in the challenge!  We'd love to hear from you.  I know our girls will be showing off their talent this week!

HUGS & SMILES,

Barbie Girls by Sharon

Hello Dear Friends!  I've been a busy little bee lately.  If you haven't noticed, all 3 of our blogs received a facelift over the past few days.  I hope you enjoy the new layout.  Up next is the website!  That's going to take a tad bit more work since there is so much coding involved.  I only design graphics and play with web design because I rarely have the time to scrapbook.  Hey, a girl still needs her "therapy", right?  Only in my "spare time" though. *wink*.

So, are you feelin' "Girly"?  If not, this layout sure will have you feelin' it - or at least singing "I'm a Barbie Girl".

I love the colors of this KaiserCraft paper! It's called Blushed and you can find it in our store HERE.  Pinks & Blacks always look fab together. Combined with some Prima flowers from our "pick-a-petal" bin (located in the store), and some hand-stitching, this layout really is quite eye catching.  The image really doesn't do this layout justice.  If you visit the store, you can see this layout on display along with many others from all our In-Store Designers!  If you can't drop by, these papers are available on our website in limited quatities though. 

Our Team 1 Designers are busy creating THINGS WITH WINGS this week!  If you haven't visited in a while, you NEED to head over there and see some of the beautiful work our Gals are posting.  While you are there, why not become a follower of our Beary Scrappy Gals Blog? We have some exciting news coming up.  I know you won't want to miss out on it!  If we can get to 40 by Wednesday of next week, you just might be in for a BIGGER SURPRISE!!!

Product News:

• We have received a restock of White Mulberry Paper in the 165 Super Xtra Thickness.  Other colors are still in production and should be arriving within 2 weeks.
• 2 lines from Jillibean Soup are on the way:  Egg Drop Soup and Old World Cabbage Stew (thank your Lori for stopping by and showing us these papers.  There was absolutely no hesitation in adding Jillibean Soup to our line up of collections!).  Corrigated Alphas are in this shipment too!
• Pink Paislee "Starlight" Collection has been shipped to us today.  For those of you who have this on pre-order, we should have this in hand by Monday.  
• New "FairyTale" Prima Roses and Flutter Vines have arrived and are in stock.

That's all for now.  Thank you for stopping by!

Hugs and Smiles,

Crafting Life's Pieces Challenge Blog Design Team Call!

Hello Friends!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  Here in PA the warm weather returned and we had sunny skies most of the day!  A rain shower late in the afternoon, but it was still nice. 

Chelsea from Crafting Life's Pieces has launched a new blog for her montly challenge.  If you've never visited her blog you can check it out HERE.  Words cannot explain the her creations - they are BREATH TAKING!  You will glare with wonder, squinting your eyes at the computer screen and wonder "how did she do that?".  She has one of the most adorable stamp lines I have ever seen.  Among everything else, she is one of those artists I believe has changed the way we look at our "scraps" and helped to change the industry in the process. 

Chelsea's is in search of 8 new design team members for her Challenge Blog.
You can find more detials by visting Chelsea's main blog HERE or Crafting Life's Pices Challeng Blog HERE.  And yes, we will be a regular sponsor for Chelsea because we (me and our entire team of designers) LOVE HER!

Thanks for dropping by!

Hugs & Smiles!

In Control...

not me, but my daughter is!  This week has been so "out of control" and stressful to say the least.  So much so that I had to break away and MAKE time for myself to wind down and escape.  I decided to put a few things aside and do something relaxing, something to feel good about and make me smile.  YES, I actually did a scrapbook page!  Even more surprising I finished it completely... with journaling, and it didn't take me much time at all.  I am notorious for not completing my pages.  I've been known to have a pile of pages sitting and waiting for titles or journaling.  But I am proud to say that I finished one!  YEAH ME!

I love Bo Bunny, but I'm also overwhelmed by the new lines that are out.  There is way too much available from many of our wonderful vendors that we just can't carry it all.  We do our best to pick out what we think you will LOVE.  With that said, we will be bringing in 2 of the new lines in the upcoming weeks.  Before we ran out of Calypso, I had to grab a few sheets for myself.

Since I haven't been my normal "creative" self lately so I chose to take the "easy way out" and utilized a sketch from Page Maps's April Newsletter.  I love Becky's sketches.  She makes scrapbooking easy for those of us with limited time.  If you haven't visited her website, I highly encourage you to check it out!  The hardest part is picking you papers and developing a color scheme and balance that is eye appealing - and corresponds with your photo. So yes, there is still a bit of creativity involved.  *grins*

So I had my sketch and I picked my papers, then I went looking for a photo to use.  Yes, a little backwards, but I am so far behind on my scrapbooking that it really doesn't matter.  I was sure to find a few pictures that would match this paper - LOL.  I picked this picture of my Ms. Lindsay, who loves to steal the remote controls for all the televisions in the house.  She's a little devil. 

The layout is pretty straight forward and simple... not alot of "wow" but enough to draw in the eye and still not take away from the focal point (or photo).  Of course, I can't create anything without using a Martha Stewart Border Punch.  Oh, I'm hooked on them!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs & Smiles

"Enjoy" by Michelle and more talk about COLOR

Happy Saturday!  The weather has been so beautiful her in NEPA.  We jumped right from winter to summer... although here in PA we really have 2 season, "winter" & "construction".  Yes, every major highway every summer is occupied with construction workers.  I hate sitting in traffic, but... some of those guys can be real "eye candy" to look at *wink*.  At least it makes the time fly by... hey, I'm married, not dead.  A girl can look!

Yesterday we explored a bit about color and how to pull the color out of your images to create amazing pages that are appealing to the eye.  Today, I have another example to share with you.

"Enjoy"

Created by Michelle

This layout is the PERFECT example of how to work with the color in your photographs.  Can you see where Michelle captured the the colors for her layout?  If you guessed the popsicles, you were right!  Michelle used vibrant papers from Dream Street's paper line called Fun & Games.  I used this same line to scrapbook my sister's wedding shower.  Why a wedding shower?... because this paper line matched most of my photos.  Also take notice how she used different papers to create the elements that embellish her layout! Add a few gems for sparkle, some ink to add depth and you have one FAB-U-LOUS layout!

Very nice work Michelle!  Thank you for sharing with us.  You can see this and all of our in-store Designer's Layouts on display in our store.

Until next time.  Thanks for stopping by.

HUGS and SMILES,

"Sweethearts" by Sharon / Creating eye appealing pages with color, not theme

This week flew by so fast!  I still have to finish up some Easter errands.  I wait until the very last minute to pick up Chocolate.  If I don't, chances are pretty good that there won't be any left for Easter morning.  Yes, Mommy has been known to raid the baskets - LOL.

Today I have another layout to share with you from Sharon.  Aren't her kids Sweeties?  I know it's Easter, but I also know that most of us are behind.  In fact, if you've been reading our DT Blog, Jamie just scrapbooked last year's Easter photos.  I'm with her!  I'm usually not in the mood to scrap Christmas photos right after Christmas.  I'm at least 2 years behind!

"Sweethearts"

Created by Sharon

I love when I see paper lines mixed together.  When I help my customers in the shop, I always encourage them to think "outside of the box".  Mix papers as long as they match and they are within the spectrum of the color wheel.  Don't be afraid to use what was from a "Christmas" line even if you are scrapbooking "Birthday".  You'd be suprised what prints are on the back side of these papers.  We don't carry a lot of "themed" papers because, well.... it's scrapbooking, and anything can take on any theme... it's all in the way you choose to create with it.  What I have learned in the past 2 years is that most "themed" lines will sit and collect dust.  No one wants dusty paper!  When it comes to scrapbooking, there are no limits.  I guess that is because I scrapbook around the colors of my images and NOT by the theme of the paper.  When I select papers lines for the store, believe it or not, I take into consideration the current fashions and trends in the clothing world.  Color is all surronded by clothing.  Sounds funny, I know... but it all goes hand in hand... and if you've been in our store, you know that I don't have much more room left for "dust collectors"- LOL.

That was long winded, but I think you catch my drift.  Back to Sharon's layout...  Sharon used printed papers from Bo Bunny's Flirty Collection and printed papers from Basic Grey's Sugar Rush line.  The combination was a match made in Heaven! 

Sharon added some extra elements and focal points to her layout by adding diffent collages. Here are a few close up images for you to gander at. A grouping of circles withe some hearts and Prima flowers (that are in the store but not online yet - my bad, sorry)....

use up those scraps and cut out some ovals and hearts and other shapes.  Grouped together with some more Prima Flowers, stickers, brads, floral lace ribbon, and even a decorative pins and self adhesive KAISERCRAFT pearls!  Oh, I love it!  This is what using your scraps is all about... right down to checking out what might be in your sewing box.

I hope you've enjoyed another beautiful layout by Sharon.  I'll do my best to keep them coming a few times a week.  I promise to focus on some "time management" stratagies - LOL.  Of course, all of our in-store designer's creations are on display in our store.

Thanks for stopping by.

HUGS and SMILES!

Beautiful work from our In-Store Designer Suzie

Happy April!  It's hard to believe that 2 days ago it was snowing here in Northeast PA.  Yes, you heard me SNOW!  Today it is a comfortable 70+ degrees.  The sun is shining, the birds are chirping.... and my children are home from school driving me insane!  Okay, I mean that in the nicest way possible.

Our in-store ladies have been busy creating some amazing layouts.  Forgive me for not being able to find the time to share all of this with you.  I had originally been posting them on the DT blog, but we collectively decided to move them here.  I just can't find the time to photograph, enhance, and post 3 or more times a week.  Those of you that have been to the store have seen them gracing our walls!  Wow, they are filling up fast.

Today I have for you some layouts created by our fellow DT member Suzie.  I just love her style.  Fresh, clean cut and elegant.  Everything is always well balanced and her color selections right on.  Suzie always amazes us on crop night.  I believe it is her photography that truly makes everything so well balanced.  Not to mention she has the most adorable photogenic kiddos too!  Oh, if we were all that blessed.

"Angel Face"

created by Suzie

Suzie's "Angel Face" layout was created using patterned papers from Best Creation Easter Line.  There isn't much of this left in the store.  Her base is white Bazzill Cardstock, tied togeteher with some pink.  A few layered circles created with some Nestabilities and some K&Co 3D butterflies.  Oh, and a strip of cardstock punched with a Marth Stewart Edger.  It's just beautiful!.

"Love, Laugh, Live"

created by Suzie

Another stunning layout from Suzie.  This one is titled "Love, Laugh, Live".  I absolutely love these papers from Dream Street.  The line is Heartsong and it is On Sale in our store right now at 35% off.

"Kyle"

Created by Suzie

And lastly, another layout created by our fellow DT member Suzie.  This one page layout is title "Kyle", after her little guy!  What an amazing photograph!  I love action shots!  The base of this layout was created using none other than Bazzill Cardstock.  Suzie also used some patterned paper from Bo Bunny's Mango Luau collection.  What a great collection for those waterside layouts.  It makes me want to head to the beach!

That's all I have to right now.  I'm loading some more images of some beautiful layouts from Michelle and Sharon, along with a few class projects Tracy has put together for our upcoming events.

Thank you for stopping by!

Hugs and Smiles,