HoneyBee Showcase ~ Christmas Cards to Die (cut) For!

Welcome to Christmas in April!  It's the HoneyBee Showcase, and time for the HoneyBees to share our Christmas cards to Die (cut) for!  We are very excited about our joint venture with Lauren and Stef, the JINGLE BELLES, and our opportunity to guest on each others' blogs this week! 

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Honeybee Courtney Lee reporting for Christmas inspiration!

Welcome to this fabulous Wednesday! 

Today we Honeybees are cross-pollinating (get it!?!) with the Jingle Belles thanks to June - our sweet Honeybee! They are a couple of ladies dedicated to making Christmas cards all year long so that it doesn't overwhelm you come holiday season! So they have a different challenge every week. This week's challenge is to use a die cut! Mine is, of course, Cricut made! Hop over to Jingle Belles to play along and play with us too! Two chances to win! :) 

I have been doing SO much crafting recently and just keep thinking about how blessed I am that I have such a supportive and encouraging group of friends and family! That includes YOU out there in bloggy world! 

Sorry! Out for publication! 

The picture above didn't show the Glossy Accents so I went to take another picture and accidentally hit the button and this picture resulted and for some reason I really like it! :) 

Sorry! Out for publication! 

ALL that you see that made up my card came from PUMPKIN SPICE except for the twine, glossy accents, liquid applique, cartridge, and embossing folder. But all of the paper and embellishments came from the two My Mind's Eye Christmas lines from last year and they are both on sale at Pumpkin Spice along with Meadowlark!

Sorry! Out for publication! 

I hope you play along with us! I thought I would have a hard time getting in the Christmas mood, but I had a blast making this card! I just might play along in the next few weeks with those Jingle Belles! :) 

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Rosemary

Happy Wednesday everyone!!..This is such an exciting week for us here at Betty Bee's Buzz!! Not only do we get to share with you our Christmas creations, but we get to be a part of a really cool site...Jingle Belles!!

Here is my Christmas card!!

....and when opened

Products used: My Mine's Eye cardstock

Stickles

Versafine ink

ColorBox chalk ink

Just Right stamp

Sizzix

Nestabilities

Joanne and Offray ribbon

Cricut Cartridges: Lacy Label and Paper Doll Dress Up

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This is my card for Lauren's guest designer spot from Jingle Belles Rock. I used SU Hunter Green Cardstock for the card base and the pocket. I used my cuttlebug to emboss the white background with Winter House folder. I used my Winter Wonderland Cartridge to make the adorable snowman. He is not attached in the pocket and is actually a gift certificate. On the back I've written "My treat to Dinner and a Movie"... the recipient can cash in the gift certificate and then the snowman can be used to embellish a scrapbook page of the event! I used my Martha Stewart Drippy Goo Punch to accent the card pocket. The glitter on the punch, house tops and snow in the sky is for Lauren, she LOVES glitter and is dragging me along with her...LOL This will be a great Christmas as I will have a bunch of bee-utiful cards done BEFORE the last minute rush!!! Judy Ford

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Beth Ullman

I love Christmas!  It has to be one of my favorite times of the year, so this challenge was so, so easy....... Thank you June and the Jingle Belles for this great opportunity to join in on your fun.

For my card I started off with Garden Green, Whisper White card stock from SU, then used Martha Stewart Christmas paper for the rest.  My die cut frame is a Nestabilitie and the snowflakes are a Cricuts Christmas cartridge. That sweet little image is a digi from Whoopsi Daisy.

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Betty Brett



 This is my first card for this week's challenge.  I must admit that it was a bit out of my comfort zone... this the "challenge" part... but I like it!  I was actually inspired by a commercially produced card that I saw a while back.  The papers are all from Echo Park's "Merry Christmas" collection.  The J and Y are cut from the Cricut StoryBook cartridge, manipulated with my Gypsy to make them fit the opening.  The festive ornament is from the coordinated sticker dies that come with the Echo Park paper pack, as is the sentiment.  The gems are from Studio 18. 

 Now, this one is more my usual style :)  The Magnolia image is a stamp, and she is colored with Copics  and accented with Stickles.  The tree is cut from Cricut's Joys of the Season cartridge, first in shadow, and then in layer, and decorated with Studio 18 gems.  The beautiful Holly paper is Paper Studio, "Season's Greetings" from Hobby Lobby.  The etherial blue glittered swirl background is My Mind's Eye "Countdown to Christmas".  The snowflake is a die cut from Cuttlebug, finished off with a glittered brad in the center, and the vellum and rub-on sentiment are from my stash.

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As always, we are excited when you join in with us, and this week is especially fun, since we have Lauren and Stef, and their readers with us, too!  How about a fun prize!  Here is a bit of Christmas Cheer to get you motivated!  We will be choosing a random winner of these, and some more surprise Christmas goodies!  All YOU have to do is join us in our CHRISTMAS to DIE (cut) FOR challenge, and you could be the winner! 

Post your project here before 6:00 PM eastern time on Thursday, April 21st, and we will choose a winner that night.  The winner will be announced right here on Friday, April 22th during Buzz, Brag and Bee Happy!

 Start creating! The challenge begins now, and you have a chance to win at both blogs. Link your creations at Jingle Belles anytime between now and Wednesday, April 20 by 6pm EST. The Jingle Belles winner will be announced on Thursday, April 21st. For a chance to win here at Betty Bee's Buzz link your creations to our HoneyBee Showcase post starting on Wednesday, April 20th. Our winner will be announced on Friday, April 22nd; link your card before 6pm EST on Thursday, April 21st.

Here is the challenge:

Create a Christmas card to die (cut) for!

Your card must contain a die cut (Cricut, Pazzles, Silhouette, Sizzix, Stampin Up!, Spellbinders, etc., or a store-bought die cut (BasicGrey, K&Co., etc.) somewhere on your card.

, the HoneyBees, and the Jingle Belles! 

Monday Motivational - A Christmas card to die (cut) for!

Happy Monday, and, as promised last Friday, we have very exciting news in the hive today!  We are cross-pollinating with the very talented and delightful girls from Jingle Belles this week!  Our Guest Designer today is none other than LAUREN BERGOLD, and it's CHRISTMAS in APRIL!! 
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Lauren Bergold

hello, honey bees!  i’m so pleased we could have this fun “cross-over” bee-tween betty bee’s buzz and JINGLE BELLES.  we were thrilled to have june for our big reveal last friday and i’m honored to be here on this “monday motivational”! 

it may seem odd that i’m going to suggest we make *CHRISTMAS* cards now, in the middle of april, but hear me out, ok?  i *LOVE* making cards, but the last few years, when thanksgiving would roll around and i’d realize i had to make FIFTY christmas cards in three weeks, my heart would just sink.  not only did i feel like i was missing out on holiday fun whilst maniacally assembling my greetings, i also felt robbed of the pleasure i take in making the cards themselves.  and FORGET about making each one unique and special, when it comes to “crunch time” you have to mass-produce, right?!  every january i’d VOW to start early... to make holiday cards ONLY when i was inspired... to spread them out through the year; and every november i’d wind-up in the same amount of hurry and stress.  last christmas i finally said, “ENOUGH!  i am NOT doing this again” so my lovely friend stef and i decided to make a little corner of the blogiverse that would be FULL of friends, inspiration and new ideas; and completely EMPTY of pressure and mayhem.  we call it JINGLE BELLES, we post a brand new inspirational prompt every single friday, and we’ve got the most FABULOUS group of papercrafters hanging out with us; but more is definitely MERRIER, so we hope you’ll stop by and visit! 

this week’s JINGLE BELLES prompt is to use diecuts in your holiday card.  they can be store bought, mechanically made (a la cuttlebug), or electronically generated (like cricut); you can make them the centerpiece of your design or the merest accent, but make a festive card that incorporates them in some way, and link it up at JINGLE BELLES before 6pm EST this wednesday.  also, be sure to stop back here a betty bee’s buzz on wednesday morning to see the honeybee showcase, and you’ll have until friday to submit your creations here, as well!  in the meantime, this is what i made:

i covered several diecut bases:  i used my cuttlebug on some quilting fabric to make the christmas tree, and backed it with a second glittery white tree for a sort of “drop-shadow” effect; i added some (non-holiday)k&co diecuts (border & butterflies) and a fancy pants diecut holiday sentiment; my card is definitely not traditional in terms of color or theme, but i am pleased with it!  there is full product information on my blog, as well as a little mini-tutorial on using your dies with fabric. 

many thanks to june, betty, and the honeybees for inviting me, and i hope i have added a little motivation to your monday!

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We are so excited to have Lauren with us, and hope you are as excited as we are about creating Christmas cards all year long!  Get creating, and you could be a prize winner, too!!  Check back on Wednesday, and get all of the details!! 

Buzz, Brag, & Bee Happy Friday - April 15th

Happy Friday, and welcome to Buzz, Brag and Bee Happy!  This is the place where you will find out the latest news with the HoneyBees, and have your opportunity to share what is making you happy, too! 

We have a very special announcement today!!!......

June Houck

On behalf of all the HoneyBees, I want to announce that we are having a joint challenge with Jingle Belles challenge blog! We are buzzing with delight at a chance to cross-pollinate with Lauren and Stef at Jingle Belles. Start creating! The challenge begins now, and you have a chance to win at both blogs. Link your creations at Jingle Belles anytime between now and Wednesday, April 20 by 6pm EST. The Jingle Belles winner will be announced on Thursday, April 21st. For a chance to win here at Betty Bee's Buzz link your creations to our HoneyBee Showcase post on Wednesday, April 20th. Our winner will be announced on Friday, April 23rd; link your card before 6pm EST on Thursday, April 21st.

Here is the challenge:

Create a Christmas card to die (cut) for!

Your card must contain a die cut (Cricut, Pazzles, Silhouette, Sizzix, Stampin Up!, Spellbinders, etc., or a store-bought die cut (BasicGrey, K&Co., etc.) somewhere on your card.

Be sure to come back on Monday, April 18 for our Monday Motivational featuring our guest designer, Lauren Bergold, of Jingle Belles and …all the GOOD blog names were taken…


Meet Lauren:  Lauren lives in New Jersey with the world’s loveliest, most understanding husband and a seriously ridiculous amount of art supplies. she is the co-founder of JINGLE BELLES (with the amazing Stephanie Severin) a weekly Christmas card inspiration blog with the sworn mission of taking back december...one holiday card at a time! she’s also a very proud member of the pixie dust paperie design team (home of the most beautiful papercrafting kits online!) and the limelight papercrafts design team (best card sketches ever!) and will try her hand at pretty much anything messy or crafty!

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Hello Honeybees! 

Courtney Lee here sharing some quick and very exciting news! I've been selected for publication in the Cricut Magazine and Cricut Magazine Idea Book. A total of 3 projects were selected and all of them will be coming out in August. I can't tell you how excited I am! 
I'm sure not all of you have been along for the ride, but Betty Bee is the one who first had faith in me. She was running the Cuttlebug Challenges (now Passionately Artistic) while Maggie was exploring new avenues. She contacted me and asked if I would be on their Design Team (on speaker phone with Kristi in the room). That was my very first Design Team and I had only been paper crafting for 6 months and blogging for 3 months at the time. So she took a HUGE risk with this newbee ;). I will forever be grateful! Now here I am surrounded by my DT sisters that helped me along and taught me SO many things along the way. I feel so blessed. 
So that's why I want to emphasize that this exciting news is not just news for me, it's news for all of us. YOU were published, Betty, Wanda, June, Kristi, Beth, Roe and Judy were published too, because my success is our success - it's a hive success and you're all bees too! It's not me and I wouldn't be here writing this to you if Betty didn't take a chance on a newbee. I love you all and thank you for sharing this special event in my life! 

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Rosemary

Hello dear visitors!!

I've been a cooking fool these last couple of days. lol  First was Stuffed Cabbage that I've only made a couple of times.  It's one of those things that I could never get to taste like my mother-in-law's and now it is too late to ask her just exactly what she did.  Maybe it was her Polish hands that had the magic touch, but whatever it was, I don't have it.  They came out ok and my husband enjoyed my take on those little piggies, but I told him next time we are in the mood we are going out to eat.  Way too much work!..lol

Then I tried a new recipe that I found in one of those paper inserts in the local paper.  The magazine is called RELISH and every so often has something that catches my attention.  This time it was Zucchini Cakes.  Think crab cake, but made with shredded zucchini.  They were delicious!  Most of the work was shredding the zucchini, but worth the time considering how good they were. I don't mess with mustard, but did use a very little dry mustard.  Also, it said to use mayonaise or plain yogurt and I don't mayo, so the plain (greek) yogurt was another great choice for me. 

Today was Eggplant Parmigiana.  Now, forget the diet and do it with the flavors that satisfies me.  Must be breaded with egg and breadcrumbs (Italian), fried, layered with spaghetti sauce and...I use sharp cheddar cheese!!..Yep, a totally different flavor and oh so yummy!!

Another thing I made today was Chicken Soup.  Ok, so I don't make my own stock, but it was still good!!! I used Swanson light sodium and it was more then enough for flavor.

So, have you cooked anything good lately?

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Judy Ford

I'm buzzin! Tomorrow I fly back to Michigan for the summer... What is summer in Michigan?? Well if it falls on a Saturday, we have a picnic. LOL. The weatherman says Saturday will be a HIGH of 55 and a low of 34!!! BBBBRRRR!!!! So this week has been packing and sorting and not much creating. I'll get all unpacked and bundled up and then start creating again! I am looking forward to cross-pollinating with the Jingle Belles. They rock! Another hint: Lauren loves glitter, so pile it on, ok??? Tell her a little bee told ya! HAHAHAHA

What's your week been like????

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Betty Brett

I'm back home after spending a couple of weeks with my darling family in Denver.  My "brag" today is actually for my daughter's creation that she made for Paisley's room.  Using the style of the Songbird font as a pattern, she hand cut this styrofoam form, and pinned on hundreds of perfectly colored hydrangea blossoms to completely cover it.  It is huge, and makes a beautiful statement on the focus wall in the nursery.

 It took six boxes of pearl headed pins to create this floral beauty! 

 I thought you'd enjoy the presentation of our lunch at a great restaurant called the "Elephant" in Castle Rock.  The atmosphere in this place was just amazing.  There were trunks with travel stickers, giraffe and zebra skin painted ceiling panels, and even life size elephant and giraffe figures in the restaurant.  Great food, too!!

I'm glad to be home, and will be getting back to creating tomorrow, after a fun shopping trip to the Copic store with HoneyBee Judy (before she heads to the north country!) 

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Jingle Belles, Jingle Belles, creating all the way.... Oh, what fun it is to share what you made today!
Jingle Belles, Jingle Belles, creating all the way ... Oh, what fun to post your links so everyone can play!!
Share what you are Buzzing with, Bragging about, and what makes you Happy this week!   And don't forget that we have Wednesday's challenge of Freezer Paper designs going on, as well as getting started with our Christmas to Die (cut) For that you will be able to post with Jingle Belles, and here next Wednesday, or send to our email address!  SO much BUZZING going on in the hive!!  Have a wonderful weekend!!

and the HoneyBees

HoneyBee Showcase ~ Freezer Paper Stencils

Welcome to the HoneyBee Showcase for this week!  We are just buzzing with a whole hive full of ideas for stenciling with Freezer Paper! 

Betty Brett


 My additional project for this week is the "retitling" of a special book that I made for my grandkids for Christmas.  Little fingers have picked at the vinyl lettering, so this new stenciled lettering is now permanent.

 It is VERY easy to iron the FREEZER PAPER to cardstock.  Then carefully paint your lettering.
This ABC project has 26 4x6 mounted photos, with the "definitions" written on each page with a silver Elmer's Paint Marker. 

 It was bound in a cardstock cover made for the Your Story by Provo Craft. 

Porter has loved this special book, and delights in sharing his knowledge of the Gospel ABC's.You can make cards, journal or photo album titles, and many other special projects using this technique.  *********************

June Houck

I love trying new things!  Thank you, Betty, for teaching us how to use freezer paper to create a stencil.  For my shirt I used my circuit cartridge "Wall Decor & More" to cut the butterfly, then I used Tulip paints.  But I didn't stop there: 

 I have had these pictures set aside to do a LO and Betty's freezer paper technique was just the inspiration I needed!  I took a paper napkin from our July 4th party last year and ironed on the freezer paper:

When I cut it out, it sort of looks laminated.  I backed it with white card stock so that the Statue of Liberty and Constitution were more visible (less transparent.)  Who would guess this was a re-purposed napkin?

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Judy Ford

This is my freezer paper stencil fabric paint project. I used my Give a Hoot Expression/Cricut Cartridge. I used fabric glitter paint. Now when Don and I go to the gym will have the bestest sweat cloths in the whole place.

I can see me using this alot this summer with my grandson Jackson and the

Boys will Be Boys Cartridge!

I did some real close pictures too, even with the nubier fabric of the towel it didn't bleed thru... Thanks Betty Bee!

I'm excited about how easy peesy it is and how it could dress up even a garage sale find!!!

Now, You all try it out for yourselves and link up to show us your project!

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Beth Ullman

Wow what a cool challenge you had for us this week Betty......I have fabric paints so that is what I used on my Cricut Stenciled Tee

For my stencil I used the butterfly in the Indie Art cartridge will definitely be trying this again.

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Honey Bee Wanda

Wow!!!  I can't tell you how much fun this was! 

When Ms. Betty was telling me about this project I got so excited.  We were talking about projects we had painted in the past.  Some 20 years ago I made quilts for my kids with acrylic paint and textile medium.. The pictures are still there.. The quilts are a little ragged though...  Ms. Betty mentioned how she made towels for her kids. (lights went on in my head)  This was fabulous.. My kids are always taking the wrong towels out to go swimming and now they will have their own!!!!  Not only that I decided I needed to make them for my grand kids too!  So when they come over next week we'll do theirs..

I cut out the names using MTC and a font I had installed in my computer.  I used Delta acrylic paint and textile medium.. The kids had a great time getting their hands all gooey.

After the towel are really dry, iron the back of them to set the paint.  Then I wash them in white vinegar to make sure the paint is really set..

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Rosemary

This was a new challenge for me!!..I wanted to do a place setting and decided to use my Pagoda cartridge to get the Asian look I was going for.  I tried countless number of times to get the top part of the vase (that had the flowers), but the cut was to intricate and kept giving me a hard time.  I decided to just use the base and from the same cartridge do a couple of flowers.  So much easier!

The fold of the napkin is quit simple.  I put the 'right' side down and folded it in half and then half again.  This gave me a square.  Then taking the top point, bring it down half way.  Last step is folding back the sides.  I wanted to make a pocket to hold the chopsticks!  For my paint I used Tulip (Matte) Soft Fabric Paint.  The vase is a mix of blue and green; the flowers are pink and orange.

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Thanks for joining us today!  We get all a-flitter when we see how many of you are visiting from all over the world!  Please take a moment to leave a comment when you have a moment!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER from our BABY WEEK....

(how ironic!)  abusybee !!! Carri will be receiving our Baby Scrapbooking Kit!

Now it's your turn!!  Post your FREEZER PAPER project here!!  You can LINK below, or you can send us the project by email to BettyBeesBuzz@hotmail.com 

We are so excited to see what YOU will create!

and the HoneyBees

Monday Motivational ~ Fabric Painted Projects

Welcome to Monday Motivational here at Betty Bee's Buzz!  In keeping with a great project shared by Court last week, where she showed us darling baby onesies screen printed with a YuDu, we are sharing some new projects this week, printed with a new/old favorite....

FREEZER PAPER DESIGNS!!

Betty Brett

Here is our supply list:

Object(s) to be painted on (pre-washed is best)

Reynolds FREEZER WRAP (Plastic coated paper)

Craft Paint of your choice

Fabric Medium (which is added to the paint to help it become permanent)

Paint brushes or sponges

Die Cutting Machine or Craft Knife for cutting pattern

Iron

Here I am using my Cricut to cut out all of my designs at once.  (I used my Gypsy to make the changes that I wanted (adding the "P" to the flower) and placing the items where I wanted them on the paper.)  Note:  The paper is placed on the cutting mat PAPER SIDE DOWN so it sticks to the mat.  The shiny side will not stick!  SO, you have to FLIP your words, so they show up correctly when painted! (Ask me how I know!  Hahaha   Fortunately you get a HUGE roll of paper for only $5.44, so little goofs like that are no problem!)

Here I am adding a few drops of PAINT and the FABRIC MEDIUM together.  Follow the instructrions on your bottle.  Mine called for 2:1 paint to medium.  It was very easy to use, and gave a nice consistency to the paint. 

You IRON the paper to your project with a medium/hot iron, making sure you get a good seal all around the edges.  Now is when you add in extra pieces, such as the inside of letters, and in this photo, the beak. These pieces will act as a mask to prevent the paint from getting on the cloth in these areas.  They iron down just like the outside of the pattern.

Add a piece of FREEZER PAPER inside your shirt, or under the fabric to prevent the paint from bleeding onto the back of the shirt!

Begin painting on the paper, and bring into the design, thus preventing pushing paint up against the edge, and forcing paint under the paper.  This will help the stuck on paper give a smooth edge.

This is after I let it dry for a couple of minutes, and peeled away the pattern.  I placed the original cut out pattern over the peeled away beak so I would have a mask when I painted in the orange color.  Now I am using the tip of the small paintbrush handle that has been dipped in a little puddle of paint/medium mixture, to dot on the eyes.  (They had been cut out of the pattern, but were really too small to be effective.) Dots are very easy to add as eyes or as extra interest anywhere on your design.

Here is our finished chickie from the Easter 2010 Cartridge.

And here is our Super Ba-Bee Model, Paisley, Just Hatched!!

And here is another precious little onesie, sporting a posie for Paisley,

 from the Songbird Cartridge!

And this is a nubby textured towel, done the exact same way. 

 You can use this very easy, and very effective technique on LOTS of different surfaces. 

 Check back on Wednesday, when I will have another project to share, 

as will the HoneyBees in our Wednesday Showcase! 

In the meantime, I hope you will be thinking about what terrific projects you would like to be bringing your special touch to, with this super fun way of decorating!

Happy creating ~