HoneyBee Showcase - March 30th

Welcome to the Hive!  It's Pennies from Heaven week, and our newest HoneyBee, Judy, shared a great tutorial with us on Monday.  Our HoneyBees have created some cute cards with their Lucky Pennies!

Pennies from heaven...I have always picked up pennies I have found outside, though I was completely unaware of the poem that Judy shared with us on Monday. In college my boyfriend (now my husband) used to tease me about this little habit. But I have a huge glass cider jar full of pennies now, and he stopped teasing me long ago. Perhaps on some level I knew they came from angels; after all they do say, "In God we trust" on them.

June Houck

I created my little penny pocket with acetate and dual duty thread. I included the poem on the inside of my card. I used CardPatterns Sketch 108 for inspiration.

I am anxious to see how you are inspired by pennies from heaven. Link your heavenly creations to this post :)

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Rosemary

Boy, did it feel good getting back into my scraproom!!..As some of you may know, I was back in the hosptial...again..ugh!..Came home feeling much better and with a little more energy than the first time I was discharged.  I was so excited to have the chance to do a challenge from our newest HoneyBee, Judy.  She has so much talent to share with us and will only have me kicking up a notch the work I do. 

Her card this week is just too sweet and I enjoyed being able to do my take on it.  I never did learn how to crochet or knit, so I was unable to add that special feature to my card.

Now it's your turn!  What do you do with your Lucky Pennies?  Follow Judy's tutorial from Monday, or share your own idea of how to present coins on a card, layout, or project!  You can link your post to the LINK below, or email it to BettyBeesBuzz@hotmail.com and we will post it for you! 

Happy crafting ~ Keep buzzing around!!! 

Pennies From Heaven

Welcome to the Hive!  It's Monday, and have you heard the Buzz.... we have a brand new HoneyBee to introduce to you!!! 

We'd like to introduce HoneyBee Judy Ford!Judy is from Michigan, and winters in Florida.  She is married to Don, and has her amazing 99 year old, card making Mom, Olga, with her.  Her message board name is BigHouse RN because she is a retired nurse from a maximum security prison!!  She is a multi-talented lady, and we're delighted to welcome her to the hive!Her blog is For Grins and Giggles, and we hope you will buzz over and  leave her some Hunny! Today Judy is sharing her CROCHETed LUCKY PENNY card and project with us!   

Judy Ford

                     

I am so honored to be invited to be a HoneyBee!  I have been a follower and doing the challenges for some time, and my first project is a crocheted flower with a hidden pocket to hold a lucky penny.  It sits on a special poem matted by a Martha Stewart punch.  The poem reads:

I found a penny today laying on the ground,

But it's not just a penny, this litte coin I've found.

Found pennies come from heaven.

That's what my Dad told me.

He said that Angels toss them down.

Oh, how I loved that story.

He said when an Angel misses you,

They toss a penny down,

Sometimes to cheer you up,

To make a smile out of your frown.

So, don't pass by that penny

When you're feeling blue.

It may be a penny from heaven

That a Angel's tossed down to you.

The instructions on how to crochet the flower holder are detailed on my blog!  They are really easy! 

 For my card I used:
MS Punch Round the corner - Double Loops.
Cricut Classic Font for 3 flower border. pg 74
Computer Generated Poem with Print Shop
Bee paper from Tuesday Morning
other paper from my stash  If you aren't a crocheter... you could display your penny as a center of a flower. Like the Sunflowers from Walk In My Garden or one of the other Cricut flowers. Or use lace or material and make a yoyo. We are only limited by our imaginations! We'll see you back here on Wednesday to see what the other HoneyBees have done with their Lucky Pennies!!!  Head over to Judy's blog, and get some Grins and Giggles!! 

Buzz, Brag, and Bee Happy Friday - March 25th

Happy Friday!!  It's time for Buzzing, Bragging, and just Being Happy!!!!
June Houck

Happy Friday! I returned from Utah late Monday night. (Check Utah off my bucket list!) I loved Salt Lake City (where my favorite cousin, Scott, lives.) We also visited my uncle, who lives in Park City, Utah. You can't choose your relatives, but I am soooooooooooo glad I am related to the two most eligible bachelors in America :) Scott took me to several area scrapbook stores and shopped right along with me. I showed him current trends like pennants and dress forms. He started noticing these themes everywhere too. He even purchased some camping-related 12x12 paper and 3D stickers to make some art projects with his 4yo son. He is the coolest dad...and ladies, he's available!

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Betty Brett

 This is my friend, Donna, and a very special memory box that she created to honor her Mother and her husband, Officer Eddie.

 Donna's Mom saw Eddie sweeping up glass from an accident scene when he was a Rookie Cop, and wrote this little poem for him, and gave him this broom and dust pan to keep in his squad car, so he could keep the city clean.  Donna's Mom has passed on now, and she wanted to make a special shadow box with these things, so we matted the card, added lines to a ribbon to create the street, put glass beads to create our "wreck" and added JoLee's stickers.  She was very happy with her first project!

 Here is our HoneyBee Kristi, resting from a very busy day getting her new house ready to move into!

As I write this, I am very excited to be waiting on the birth of my newest granddaughter at any moment!! I will be flying to Denver on Tuesday to be with them, but she was anxious to be here before I can get there... that's okay.  Her Aunt Tori was able to get a flight out to be there, and will welcome her into the world.  Come on' Momma .... you can do it.... P U S H   just one more time!!!

                                Here she is!  She's smiling already!  Welcome Paisley!!!

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**All the best to Wanda, who is with her son and his new bride, as they travel to Atlanta for more wedding festivities.
**Wishing the very best GET WELL thoughts and prayers to our Rosemary, who is still in the hospital.  We sure miss her, and are looking forward to her being back with us soon!!!
**We will be introducing an brand new HoneyBee to you soon !!!

What is making you happy today?  That's what Buzz, Brag and BeeHappy is all about!  Share your pictures, news and exciting things in your life!  Leave comments and posts here in the hive!  Don't forget, we are looking for guest designers, and if you  would like to be a guest HoneyBee, just send us an email, and your idea for a project, and we'll be in touch!

Have a wonderful week!!!










and the HoneyBees

HoneyBee Showcase - Twine it up! March 23rd

Welcome to the hive!  We are all twisted up in twine this week!  Aren't you loving seeing twine all over the place?  It is so versatile and easy to use!  Court gave a great tutorial on Monday, sharing a number of fun ideas and tips.  Here is what a few of the HoneyBees have done, too!

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I am so thankful for Court's video on how to do a spiral twist like she did on the button!  Here I have used the same technique on the sun, and it was really easy to do!  I have two cards to share with you today. The one above is nice to have on hand for someone who needs cheering up.  The little bunnies playing in the trees are from the Cricut "Give a Hoot" cartridge.  I hand wrote the sentiment.

Betty Brett

This Tilda card is going out to a very special "Cupcake Designer" who is having a birthday next week!!!  I know she will see this before she gets it in the mail, but she won't know what is coming inside of it :)  Happy Birthday, Tori!  The embossing folder is from Sizzix, and the coloring is with Copics.  The round sentiment is from Stampin' Up!. 

On both of my cards I used gold flecked embroidery twine (or string) that comes on a short round tube. 

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June Houck

Our challenge for you this week at Betty Bee's Buzz is to use twine on your card. I used mine to hold my pennants, but I cut my pennants so large, you can only see my ties. Yikes. The cute birthday girl and sentiment are a MFT Pure Innocence stamp set. I colored with Copics and layered Bella Blvd "Sweet Celebration" papers on a yellow-orange Bazzill card stock and SU whisper white card stock. The shape is a Spellbinders die and the border punch is by Martha Stewart. The glittery card base is by DCWV and the red gems are from Michael's. I popped my girl up on dimensionals. So cute!

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Now it's your turn!  Show us your twine projects, and you could be the winner of this week's prize of a BRAND NEW BettyBee Design Heritage Page Kit!!!  Watch for the introduction of these, and other,  exciting new products coming soon!  You could be the first to have one!!  Just link below, or send to our email address, and we will link for you!


Happy creating!







and the HoneyBees

Twists with Twine

Happy Monday!  Welcome back to the Hive, and we hope you are enjoying the first weekend of Spring, (if you are here in this hemisphere!)  Did you get to see the moon, as it was at the closest orbit in years?  It was outstanding here!  We also hope you got in some fun creating time, and are ready for a great tutorial today.  Court, one of the hottest designers in the industry,  is here to share some fun with us, all about twine!   *****

HoneyBee Courtney Lee reporting for tutorial!  

I have been obsessed with twine recently. It's everywhere! So today I am doing a quick tutorial on how you can use it on your projects! I hope you like the video! :) 

This is my friend Hazel's birthday card and it fits her to a T. 

Recipe:

Cardstock: kraft, Core'dinations (green), PaperTreyInk (yellow, brown, black), DCWV (light blue)

Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye: Stella and Rose: Hazel Collection™ (Do you like how I used "her" papers? :) I also used a bit of the Hattie Collection (blue and yellow paper)™

Twine: the Twinery in Lemon Drop™

Cartridge: Creative Memories Cheerful Seasons™

Ink: Versamark

Stamp: Inkadinkado

Ribbon: Paper Trey Ink and ribbon from Betty Bee!

Glossy Accents

Imaginisce: Cupcake Fabric Flowers: Neutrals™

Please remember to come back on Wednesday to see what the HoneyBees have done with the twine challenge and play along to win a prize! :) 

Buzz, Brag, and Bee Happy Friday - March 18th

Happy Friday!  We have some fun things to share this week, and a few Get Well Wishes to pass along, too.   If you were with us on Wednesday, you read about our dear friend, Olga Bales, who is celebrating her 99th birthday today!  Well, here she is!!

At the Cricuteers in Paradise swarm last weekend we had a party to honor Olga.  She is a charming, witty, and talented lady.  Here I am with Olga, and her daughter, Judy Ford.

 This was her birthday cake, with those funny sparkler candles :)

 Our very own Rosemary created a fabulous "Happy Birthday, Olga" banner!  Each section was layered, and embossed with the Cuttlebug.  (Sorry the lighting wasn't better, so you could really enjoy the detail).  Each section is hinged with gem brads, and there are beautiful Prima roses scattered throughout.  Olga's favorite color is pink :) 
Please join us in sending our thoughts and prayers to our Rosemary, as she is in the hospital with pneumonia again. 

Here is Rosemary with Olga.

 
Olga got a big surprise when the news crew from WINK Television came to the swarm to interview her!  Here we have Anjulie Loan interviewing Olga about her amazing and unselfish efforts in creating thousands of cards for the military serving in war zones.  Olga colors stamped images at least six hours every day, even though she has arthritis, and is in a wheelchair.  She feels sorry for those who are so far from home, and have no access to cards to write to their families and friends.  She and Judy have created literally thousands of cards over the past three years.

 Here is Anjulie with Olga.
She also received the following letter from the Department of the Navy:
Dear Mrs. Bales,
Please allow me to extend my warmest thanks to you for your immense support of our men and women of the Armed Forces.  On behalf of the United States Navy Chaplain Corps, I pray that you know how blessed we are to have your prayers supporting us as we minister to our people in these times of war.  Moreover, your amazing effort in creating cards for our troops to send home to loved ones is a beautiful example of Americans encouraging the military in our nation's struggle to preserve freedom.  Your unwavering spport has brightened many days for our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, and your gifts have  helped keep our young people connected to their families and friends at home.  Your ministry has lifted our spirits in a time when they have needed it the most.
Finally, I wish you the warmest of birthdays and I pray that our Heavenly Father may grant you His continuing grace for all the days to come.  Happy 99th birthday to you, and my deepest thanks!
Sincerely,
F.W.Shearin
CRD, CHC, USN

 The ladies of the swarm, except Linda, who was behind the camera :)

 With our Birds and Bees theme, there were lots of little goodies all around, and these friendly flowers were some of them.  Small flower pots, Prima flowers attached with thick glue dots, back to back, and bees "floating" on tiny stems of acetate.  The pots were wrapped with cupcake wrappes from the Life's A Party Cricut cartridge (great cartridge!!)

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June Houck

Happy Friday! I am currently in Utah visiting my favorite cousin. This trip is extra special because I have never been to Utah! My Bucket List includes visiting each of the 50 states. I've been to Hawaii (my honeymoon), California, a few mid-western states, and all of the east coast states. I've changed planes in Colorado and Texas, but I don't count those as visits. I want to sight see and enjoy the places I visit before I can check them off. Our 20th wedding anniversary is coming up in June and we are going to Alaska! In 2011 I am visiting two new states, Utah and Alaska :)

What is on your bucket list?
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Don't forget about our Wednesday Color Challenge!!  There is a yummy ribbon prize, and you have until next Wednesday to get it posted, or sent to our email, and we will post it for you.

What is your good news this week??  Leave a comment (by clicking on the "comment" word below) or post your photos on the LINKZ button.  Buzz about the news, Brag on what you've made, or just share what makes you happy!!!  And leave some love for Olga!  She'll get it here :o)

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Betty did an awesome job sharing Olga's big day and thank you Betty for posting my banner and that special photo of Olga and me.

I wanted to post the link I had posted on facebook of the Olga's video of her interview.   Hope the link works for you.  I am so glad my husband brought my laptop to me!  Not sure how long I will be here and this should help me stay in the loop.  Sure don't want to miss anything!!

http://www.winknews.com/Home/2011-03-12/Southwest-Florida-snowbird-makes-thousands-of-greeting-cards-for-soldiers-overseas

Hope you can see sweet Olga 'in person'.

and the HoneyBees

HoneyBee Showcase - Color Challenge March 16th

I love these colors Beth chose as our motivational challenge this week: gray, pink, plum and razzleberry! I enjoyed diving into my stash in search of papers with these colors. I came up with this:
I was going to color Flopsey (MFT stamp), but then chose to paper piece him with scraps of gray (Bazzill card stock) and scrapbook papers (SU!) I used a bleach pen on the inside of his ears. Great color combo, yes?

June Houck

Other supplies: sentiment stamp (Hero Arts); floral border punch (Martha Stewart); scallops (SU punch); mini brads (DCWV); Cricut Accent Essentials cartridge (ovals); flowers (stash); SU dimensional; and glue dots.

What's in your stash? I hope you go for a stash dive, unearth these colors, and link up your masterpiece here at Betty Bee's Buzz!

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Rosemary

  Beth, you sure gave me a challenge!!..I must have hundreds of papers and cardstocks, but my colors are not those that are in the challenge.  I may have given most of those away thinking I wouldn't use them...ok, joke was on me because had I kept them, I wouldn't have gone nuts looking for something that would work..lol Here is a very simple card with colors that are as close to the challenge colors as I could get.  

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   My card for the challenge this week is a very special birthday card for a dear lady who loves pink!Our friend, Olga Bales will be 99 years old on Friday, and she received this card at a party in her honor on Saturday.  You will hear more about Olga and her party during our Buzz, Brag and Bee Happy posts this week! 

Betty Brett

My card features a beautiful floral designer paper from my stash, as June suggested (a little plum in there), with a lucious pink satin bow.  Layered on top is a Tilda image, colored with Raspberry, Pink, and Gray Copics.  This sits on a Gray mat, and both were cut with a Spellbinders rectangle die.  Add a pearl accent, and it's done!

Now it's your turn!  Take our color challenge this week, and you could be the winner of 20 yards of stunning Offray Ribbon!!!  You have until March 23rd to enter, and you can post your photo below if you have a blog, or you can email it to us at BettyBeesBuzz@hotmail.com and we will post it for you!

Happy crafting~

and the HoneyBees!

Buzz, Brag, and Bee Happy Friday - March 11th

Happy Friday! Monday morning we woke up to a surprise snowfall, can you believe it? It was only ~1 inch, but our deck was a sheet of ice. It melted rather quickly, but it inspired me to make this card with my newest cricut cartridge, Winter Frolic. When I was a teenager, there was a long street one block from our home that had a super steep hill. We loved sledding down that street!

I entered this card at Jingle Belles card challenge blog this week. Their guest designer this week, Rose, chose my card as a top pick! Woot woot :)

June Houck

AND I have even more good news: there is a new blood test to check if your body makes an antibody to the folic acid receptor in the brain (one of the many causes of Autism). Your body may make a blocking antibody and/or a binding antibody. When I was in FL for the HoneyBee BEEtreat retreat, I took my twin girls (both of whom are diagnosed with Autism) to be tested. The results came back positive for both of my girls! We started treatment on Wednesday. The girls just have to take a mega-dose of folinic acid every day. I don't believe there is a silver bullet for Autism, but this is definitely a contributor. We will take any improvement we can get :) So far over 75% of children tested are testing positive for these antibodies and those children receiving the folinic acid at high doses (1 mg/kg) are beginning to show improvement in as little as 3 weeks! I'll keep you posted as to improvements we see in my girls.

What good news do you have to share this week?

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Rosemary

Hello everyone!! Today I'm heading to Sarasota to see my son and family.  I owe Nina her Christmas gift and that was a day out shopping and lunch; just the two of us!!..I have my trusty scooter in the car and my oxygen, so hopefully I can keep up with her..lol.  Of course I can't wait to give my little honey Ian a big grandma hug!!

On Saturday I'll then head down to Punta Gorda for our Miss Betty's SWARM!! Looking forward to seeing her and my scrapping buddies..

Keeping with this weeks themed challenge, I made a Spirelli card for a very special lady having a very special birthday!!  Happy Birthday was cut with a die from Sizzix...one of my favorites!

So, what's exciting in your life?

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I don't have any pictures to share right now, as I am posting this from a remote location... but my news is good... I am almost all set up for our swarm today, and I have a lot of fun treats for the ladies.  (Will have pictures of those later!) I had to leave home three days early because my Mom is in the hospital here in the town where the swarm is being held, and the best news is that she is getting better every day  :o)  The girls will be arriving for the swarm/crop by around noon today, and I am excited about all of the fun we will be having!  I've got a couple of really fun tutorials for them. 

Speaking of tutorials, Beth has a great one for you on Monday, so be sure to check in then!

Have you been working on some Spirellies?  Kind of like potato chips, aren't they?  You can't stop with just one!  They are so easy to make ahead while you're watching tv, etc. and have ready for your next creating time.  We are looking forward to seeing your Spirelli posts on Wednesday!

Now, here's today's linking party for whatever is making you happy!  Share your good news today!!!

and the HoneyBees

HoneyBee Showcase - Spirelli - March 9th

Welcome to the HoneyBee Showcase!  I know you've been waiting since Monday to see the new Spirelli designs, since Rosemary's awesome tutorial!  June and Wanda have beautiful examples to get you started.  Please forgive me for not having mine ready... I am out of town tending to my Mom who is in the hospital with pneumonia.  I will post it as soon as I can get it ready and photographed.  Gotta love on our Mom's while we have the chance.   *****It' a wrap! This was my first try with spirelli. Thanks for the great tutorial on Monday's post, Rosemary. This was completely new to me.

I went searching through my stash for something fun and fine to wind, and I came across this variegated fiber. I chose an image from my Accent Essentials cricut cartridge and cut it twice. I glued the two cut images together for support so that the card stock would not warp as I wrapped.

I accented the center with navy linen card stock with a daisy punched in the center. I layered over a brown paper lunch bag that I spritzed and crinkled several times. After the lunch bag dried, I painted the lunch bag with Lumiere paint. I layered on a circle of mirror paper.

June Houck

This was a quick and easy technique. I hope you'll give it a twirl!

Other supplies: 3D glue dots, augusta green linen card stock (base), ponderosa pine linen card stock, Cuttlebug Floral Fantasy embossing folder, silver paint pen, and a dragonfly charm by Embellish It!

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Wanda Keller

I had so much fun doing this.. What a great idea.. Thanks Rosemary!

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What delightful ideas!!  Did you see how Wanda did a dress???  WOW!  So many great ways to do Spirelli!  What will YOU create with a twist and a wrap????  How would YOU like a prize???  We will give a CUTTLEBUG FOLDER AND A SIZZLETS PAPER PACK to the randomly chosen winner of this week's challenge!!!  Just post your new creation sporting a spirelli... make sure you are a follower of our bodacious blog, and make sure to link back to our hive!!!  We would love to spread the word about all of the fun we have here, so if you are sharing the word on facebook,. etc.  leave a comment and let us know!  Thanks!