More Mairzy Doats and Popcorn the Bear

Happy Wednesday Dear Friends!  Today, in theory, is the start of my weekend since the store front is closed today and Thursday.  So I bet you wonder what it is I do in the middle of the week when I close the store.  I mean really, who closes their shop mid week for 2 days???  Well I can tell you this, run a house with a husband who works 60+ hours a week and 3 little people that have tons of homework, create mounds of laundry and have soccer practice and everything else under the moon, I'd never get anything done. 

Of course that doesn't mean that I am not "working".  Here is how my Wednesday's go.  Once the kids are off to school, I spend a few hours at the shop in the morning packaging and shipping out orders before I pick up my pre-schooler.  Then it's off to the post office with my little one to help carry boxes and hold the door.  After our visit with our friendly post master (well not always friendly - LOL) its home for lunch and and time for the dreaded CHORES.  Cleaning the floors, running the vacuum, washing laundry and putting it away, scrubbing bathrooms, and so on.  Get dinner started, get the kids off the bus, prepare a light snack for them while we do homework, finish cooking dinner, take the 2 older kids to soccer, get home, finish cleaning up from dinner, get the kids showered and ready for bed.  Throw a little playtime with them in there too.  When 9:00 gets here, tuck them in and it's playtime or more work for me.  What a way to spend "my 1st day of my weekend".  When the real weekend gets here, I'm at the shop, so if I don't get the chores done these day, it won't get done on the weekend.  Oh, a woman's work is never done.  Stay tuned for Thursday - LOL.

Alright, enough of that...   Today I have another card for you using some more Mairzy Doats from Dream Street and another Crafter's Companion Popcorn the Bear stamp.  My goal is to use up all the paper I cut up without having any scraps left over.  I think I may have a few more cards to get out of this "mini kit" I created. 

Thank You

As you can see, I'm totally hooked on the colors of these papers, and the entire Crafter's Companion Popcorn the Bear Stamp.  Really, if you know me, it's know wonder - LOL.  This stamp is called "Thinking of You".  The sentiment came from one of the other stamps  Not only do I love the stamp itself, but I love this coloring technique.  I used my COPICS in various shades from E31 to E35.  I added E51 for the lighter areas and E50 for his muzzle.  R20 gives his cheeks a nice rosy finish.  The blanket was colored with E40 to E43 with a bit of R81 to R85 for the heart.  I used a yellow shade (can't remember which on - sorry) for the center of the daisy. 

Again, I roughed up the edged of the designer paper and inked them up with some chestnut roan fluid chalk.  Applied some stardust stickles to the edges and the image to add some extra interest.  A few mulberry paper flowers, 3 kaiser craft pearls (from our $1.00 bargain bin) a gorgeous lace trim and some rich brown satin ribbon from my stash... WHALA!

I used the sketch from Friday Sketcher's challenge for the layout of this card.  This was a great sketch to work with.  I just flipped my elements around.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Wishing you a wonderful day!

♥ Hugs ♥

Happy Birthday with some Mairzy Doats

HELLOOOOO Blog Friends!  It seems like ages since I've been here on these parts.  We've been firing things up on our Facebook Fan Page that I sometimes forget to head on over here and share with you all.  If you haven't been to our new Fan Page, head on over and be sure to "LIKE" us.  At least I would hope that you like us. *grins*.

I've been moving papers throughout the store, again, and revisiting some older collections that I personally love.  Granted, I LOVE the new stuff, but sometimes the older stuff is just as much fun. 

Happy Birthday

September, October, and November is packed with birthdays in our family.  I think we've already celebrated 4 birthdays and 3 anniversaries and there are still lots more to go.  I made this card for my ex-mother-in-law who is celebrating her birthday today. 

The image is from Crafter's Companion called  Pop Corn the Bear Birthday Hugs.  I just love these little bears (gee, I wonder why - LOL).  You can bet you will see the entire line of these in the store over the next few weeks.  Aren't they a-dor-a-ble!  My designer papers are from Dream Street's Mairzy Doats Collection.  I just love the colors in this line.  YUMMY!  You can head on over to The Beary Scrap and pick it up 35% OFF!  The edges were roughed with my Tim Holtz distressing tool and just realized I don't have it listed on the website - don't worry, I'll fix it.  I then inked them up with some Chestnut Roan Fluid Chalk and applied some Stardust Stickles Glitter Glue to the edges.  The paper trim is an old Fiskar's Border Punch that I found when I was cleaning up and reorganizing my scrap studio at home.  It's amazing what one will find when they reorganize.  I added some pretty Mulberry Paper Flowers, some pink satin ribbon from my stash.

This adorable little critter stamped on X-Press It Blending Card and colored with Copics.  If you haven't tried this paper yet, you have to.  Oh, I LOVE IT!  I used E31, E35, E51 and E50 for the bear.  R81 to R83 for the pinks, G20 to G24 for the greens.  I used Magenta stickles for the dots.  Oh, that cute little ducky was colored with Y11 and Y12, and a YR that I can't remember at the moment.

Now if I can just go and find a challenge to enter this one in.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated :)

I'm glad you stopped in for a visit.

♥ Hugs ♥

"Making Memories" layout by Sharon

Hello Friends!  Sorry for not posting is such a long time.  I've been having issues with IE loading images to blogger and even facebook.  It's been a nightmare to say the least.  I just downloaded Firefox, and I gotta tell ya, I'm in INTERNET HEAVEN (so far.).

Making Memories

by Sharon

This beautiful layout was created by our very own Beary Sweet Designer Sharon.  This layout centers around a very special family tradition of gathering flowers (the name of the flower escapes me) and soaking them in water colored with food coloring.  Oh, I remember doing this a child too.  It almost looks like the color of the flowers were chosen to match the paper.  I just love the colors of Basic Grey's Cappella line, and the way Sharon layered them together in this layout is just delicious!  There is so much detail I could write an entire novel!

Just take a look at these beautiful Prima Flowers.  A little bit of "Twinklets Diamond Dust" anyone.  I love adding a bit of glam to flowers... just apply a bit of glossy accents, sprinkle with Twinklets and let it dry.

And how about this cutie?  Do you recognize her?  It's Emma and she's been cut from cardstock.  That's right, you don't have to use mulberry paper to use our patterns to adorable paper piecings for your layouts.  You can trace them onto cardstock and cut them out too.  Yes, it's a bit more time consuming compared to the cutting machines out there, but unfortunately, I'm not computer savvy enough to figure out how to convert all of our cutting files in order to create patterns that will accommodate all the different file extensions out there.  I've been trying to get in figured out, but there just isn't enough information available out there that I can find.  If anyone has any tips, I'd love for you to share them .:: wink ::.

Thanks for stopping by!

♥ Hugs ♥

DT Layout: Sharon's Queen Bee with "Cute and Cuddly"

Hello Queenies!

Last week, Michelle knocked our socks off with a gorgeous 2 page layout using luscious papers from My Mind's Eye Laundry Collection... and it's still on sale at our shop too.

This week, it's Sharon's turn.  Everyone deserves to be the Queen, but when it comes down to "Cute and Cuddly" I'm not sure who wins here...

Sharon totally rocked Pink Paislee's Queen Bee Collection.  Not only that, she kicked it up a few notches by creating her own spin on those adorable mulberry paper piecings representing her adorable furbabies!  Just take a look...

The kitty is part of our Beary Sweet Designs Boston pattern, and the cute little dog she designed on her own.  How adorable, and inspirational.   

The pre-pleated ribbons from this collection allows you to add that great look without pulling the sewing machine out of storage - oh yeah, I like it.  She added some gorgeous Prima Trellis flowers with a hint of  Stickles and a few crocheted flowers that were made by our friend Leslie.  Accented with a few Kaiser Craft pearls from our $1.00 bin, a bit of distressing with some Colorbox Fluid Chalk (chestnut roan,  I believe) and you've got one amazing layout!

I hope Sharon has inspired your Scrapbooking Queen within!  Head on over to our website and pick up some of these gorgeous papers and embellishments while we've got them on SALE!!!

Thanks for swingin' by!

♥ Hugs ♥

DT Layout: "Family" by Michelle

Hello Friends,

Probably one of the most beautiful paper lines I have ever seen is the Laundry Line by My Mind's Eye.  It is a heavy,  one-sided paper that has been coated with glitter and has a beautiful distressed appearance.  When this line was first introduced almost 2 years ago, I think MME was ahead of the times in the scrapbooking world.  I had seen more people stare at our display with intimidation and shy away from it.  Today, you see similar prints with other manufacturers and I am watching more and more people simply fall in love with these papers.  I've got to tell you, it's got to be one of the easiest lines to work with.  Don't be afraid that it is glittered.  The shimmer is very subtle, and it doesn't fall off.

"Family"

by Michelle

This layout is stunning!  I absolutely love how Michelle utilized the prints in this collection.  All of her photos were printed in Sepia.  She even used some really neat techniques in this layout.

Michelle used the ribbon and trim from the collection.  The tone was a bit to bright for her, so she soaked the trim in tea for about 5 minutes and laid it flat to dry before attaching it to her layout.  Notice the little butterflies?  She punched out two, layered them just by gluing the centers together and folded up the wings.

Lastly, Michelle experimented with some Tim Holtz Crackle Paint and the effects are quite amazing.  If you haven't tried this stuff you don't know what your are missing.  She painted around her photo and allowed it to dry and then curled up the corners.

Cardstock:  Bazzill

Patterned Paper:  MME Laundry Line

Embellishments:  Prima Fairytale & Chocolate Mini Roses

Paint:  Distress Crackle Paint

Thanks for stopping by!

♥ Hugs ♥

Our In-Store Designers Recent Projects

Hello Friends!  I'm back to share with you lots of layouts submitted by our In-Store Design Team.  The last time I tried to load all of these beautiful creations into blogger, the photo loader was not working.  Here is hoping this works because I have a lot to share with you!

Celebrate the 4th

by Michelle

(Starlight by Pink Paislee)

Horsin' Around

by Michelle

(Sugar Rush by Basic Grey)

The Big Day

by Michelle

(Just Dreamy 2 by MME)

Rock Out

by Michelle

(Fun and Games by Dream Street Papers)

Edible Art

by Sharon

(Bayberry Cottage by Pink Paislee)

Got Ink

by Sharon

(Sugar Rush by Basic Grey)

In the Swing of Things

by Sharon

Sassafrass a Lass

The Best Days

by Suzie

(365 Degrees by Pink Paislee)

Treasures

by Suzie

(Just Dreamy 2 by MME)

Graduation

by Suzie

(Hats Off)

The Girls

by Kimm (me)

(Cappella by Basic Grey)

The Dance

by Kimm (me)

(Cappella by Basic Grey)

Wow, that was a lot of layouts for one post.  I hope you've enjoyed some inspiration from our amazing Designers!  I provided links to our store for the paper lines that were used in each layout just in case something really caught your eye.  The links are in pink :).

Thanks for stopping by!

♥ Hugs ♥

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 ♥ 

 

"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,

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,

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,

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