Monday Motivational, Spirelli Designs, March 7

Around and around and around she goes ..... It's National Craft Month!!! 

Rosemary

Welcome to our Monday Motivational!!

Today I will be showing you how to do Spirelli or 'string art'.

For some of you this may be a new technique and for some, just a reminder of a technique we sometimes forget to use.  This is such an easy technique allowing you to make various designs to work with your project.

The first thing you need is your template.  This can be cut with any cutting machine, manual or electric.  What also works well are Nestibilities.  Don't forget to do a search online for free templates.

For my sample I used a pattern from one of my Nestibilities. 

Tape the end of your string to the back of the template.  I keep the string on the spool since I have no idea how much I will need.

As you can see from the photo, you start by bringing the string to the front and depending on your design, bring it down and then under the cardstock from your point B.  Bring it up so you start again at the next groove to the starting point.  Bring that down to your new 'B' and go under and keep going.  You will notice the string crosses over.

 

When I do my design, I keep going until there are'diamond' shapes for each groove.  This also helps me keep track should I get distracted.

Depending where you bring your part A to meet part B will determine how much space you have in the middle.  By bringing the string from A to B close, you will have more space in the middle to add whatever you would like.

Here is a simple design where you put the string through each groove, still using the cross over from A to B.  How fun this would be for flowers by just adding stems or lollypops!!

Here is a different edged shape.

Here are two cards I made using a cut from my Lacy Labels cartridge.  By changing the size on my Design Studio, I was able to get an oval shape.

The center for this one was just big enough to fit the flowers in. The center was done using my I-Top!

Using the original shape, a circle, I designed this to have a larger opening.

I would like for you to notice that I cut little slits on this template to hold the string. This allowed me to use this super cool cut and not have my string move on me. 

Remember to use tape to hold your finished end string to the back of the card.

I sure hope my instructions were easy enough to follow, and please, if you have any questions let me know.  I would love to see your 'spirelli' on our Wednesday HoneyBee Showcase!!

Buzz, Brag and Bee Happy Friday 3/4

Happy Friday!!! 

 Rosemary 

Where did this week go?  This was a lazy week for me and I didn't get much done in the way of crafting.  Actually, it's been so lazy I didn't even get my scrap supplies put away yet from last week's HoneyBee retreat!..

The above photo can only mean one thing.  The grandchildren payed a visit to Grandmas house..lol  My son and family had a wedding to attend on Saturday which brought them into town.  How fun it was to have them all with me even if it were for only a couple of days.  What you see is Ian's handwork.  He just cracks me up with the things he comes up with. 

Here is a photo of my handsome little guy. 

My sweet Nina is getting so grown up!  She is a natural in front of the camera and ever since she was born she knew how to 'work it'..lol..At 3 years old she told the professional photographer how she wanted to pose and actually did a better job at it!

Tells us about your week!!!..We would love for you to share with us any exciting news, something you would like to brag about or just to give us a big hello this beautiful Friday.

Remember to check out Wednesday's HoneyBee Showcase and take the challenge!!

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Don't forget that we are looking for Guest Designer HoneyBees!  If you have an idea for a project to share, see the information on the sidebar, and send us the information at BettyBeesBuzz@hotmail.com.  You could be the next HoneyBee!!

 

HoneyBee Showcase - It's A Frame up - March 2nd

Welcome back to the HoneyBee Showcase!  We've all been framed!  Yep, it's true... let's check it out!

June Houck

Happy Wednesday! Our DT sister (aka HoneyBee Roe) gave each of us a frame to decorate as we wished to frame a picture of all of us at our first annual HoneyBee Swarm in Orlando, FL last week. (The arrow is pointing to Roe.)

I stamped my mat using blue ink and a Hero Arts polka dot background stamp. I used brown ink and a "friends" stamp too. All the flowers, birds, and leaves were fussy cut from a sheet of scrapbook paper. I think the fussy cutting was time well spent because my birds and leaves are hiding the water bottles and chairs that were on/by the table in front of us :)

We all received the same frame, the same picture, and we all used Betty's "friends" stamp, and yet each frame is uniquely beautiful, don't you agree?

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Wanda Keller

I loved these little birds, so I just had to add them...  The bees are made by using black marker on the back of skittles to make the lines. 

My bee trails spell out all of our names.  I stamped "friends: with brown ink...

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Beth Ullman

Wow, wasn't that a gorgeous frame Rosemary shared with us on Monday?   Well, I am here to tell you mine is nowhere as lovely or elegant as Roe's......instead, I went funky with a blank canvas that I first painted, then added paper and pictures of my Funky Grands......now aren't they goofy looking with their wild hair!?

 

The kids love taking the pillows off my sofa and rubbing them on their heads, and this is the result they get!! I stapled a strip of fabric on the bottom that I first pleated, then glued the colorful buttons on top, and added  the ruler tape and some stickers.  Such fun!!!**************

Honeybee Courtney Lee
This is the frame that I did. I haven't ordered the pictures yet and can't print them, but I wanted to show you my frame too!
Thank you SO much to Roe for putting together this fabulous project and letting me dive into your gorgeous papers and fabulous flowers! 
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Betty Brett

 Here is my take on Rosemary's project for us.  I placed my paper on top of the glass, so I could have my Prima and Martha Stewart flowers stand out from the frame.  I tied a nice bow, and it is nestled in the bouquet.  The metallic paper made a good frame for the photo, covering the bottles, as June mentioned.  I used an EK Success punch for the daisy border.  The bees, from Reflections, are just flitting all over inside and outside the frame, adding a lot of life and dimension to the project.  This will be a very special memory piece that will sit in a place of honor in Studio Bee! 

What would you like to frame??  Your challenge this week is to create a frame.... it can be on a card, layout, home decor, altered item, or some other type of frame... then come back and post it here!!  If you can't post it yourself, then email the picture and your contact information to us at BettyBeesBuzz @ hotmail.com  and we will post it for you!  

And now, it's time to announce the WINNER of our FEBRUARY BLOG HONEY prize package!!! 
Drum Roll, Please!!!  >>>>>>>>>>>>   (Chosen by random drawing of all 68 different comments, followers, and those who posted projects for the month of February!)  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Congratulations to:  JUDY FORD!!!

Judy will be receiving the Blog Honey prize package, AND will be featured as a Guest Designer HoneyBee one week very soon! 
Our sincere thanks to everyone who plays along with us here in the hive!  Our entire purpose is to have fun, and share great inspirational ideas with one another... as we give you a forum for doing the same!
Happy Creating~

and the HoneyBees



Monday Motivational 2/28 ~ It's A Frame Up!

Welcome to the hive!  To highlight something very special you put it in a frame!   This week we will be looking at different ways to frame your favorite photos!  Here's Rosemary ....    

Rosemary

Welcome to Monday Motivational!!..So glad you are here to see what I have to share with you today.

Last week I spent several days with my HoneyBee sisters where we shared a 3 bedroom condo.  Each of us was asked to bring a project for all to do, and I thought of a picture frame.  I knew there would be a group photo and thought how fun it would be to design a frame to put that photo in. 

I found the perfect frame at Michael's and bought each HoneyBee one for their project.  I also brought with me a selection of different papers, punches, Nestabilities and my Mother's Day Bouquet cartridge, but the project was not restricted to use just those things I brought with me.  Each HoneyBee was to create their own frame to whatever design they wanted, and use whatever they needed to get the look they wanted.  I love how everyone brought so much to share.

For my frame, I used DCWV Linen Closet card stock.  The leaves were cut with my Sizzix die using paint chips I picked up at Home Depot.  The branches were punched with my Martha Stewart punch and I used my I-Top and card stock for the centers. Added flowers to the outside of the frame are from Wild Orchid.

Here is a close up of the corner cluster.

Don't you just love that paper?!! On the top of my list for favorite tools has got to be the I-Top

We had no idea where the time was going and we wanted to do as much as we could.  I had seen some beautiful frames getting worked on so I'm excited to check back on Wednesday to see the finished projects!  Please stop back and see what our HoneyBees have done!!

  ******Don't forget that we are looking for Guest Designer HoneyBees!  If you have an idea for a project to share, see the information on the sidebar, and send us the information at BettyBeesBuzz@hotmail.com.  You could be the next HoneyBee!! This is your last night to leave comments and participate in challenges and posts, so you can be entered in the February Blog Honey drawing.   The winner will be announced on March 2nd. 

Happy crafting ~

  

and the HoneyBees

Buzz, Brag, and Bee Happy Friday - February 25

Happy Friday! The HoneyBees have been buzzing with delight to be together for crafting, games, and getting to know each other better. We have also been brainstorming ideas for YOU, our readers.



*** ANNOUNCEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ***


We are opening up our Monday Motivationals to you!  If you have a project or an idea for a challenge, please contact us at: bettybeesbuzz@hotmail.com. YOU could be a HoneyBee guest designer! Please submit your sample project and in your email subject line type: HONEYBEE GUEST DESIGNER IDEA

Here is a picture of us in our HoneyBee tees designed by our very own Court. We each blinged out our own shirts with Imaginisce gems and the I-Rock.

June Houck

 This week Betty showed us how to etch glass (previous post), June shared very creative post cards, Wanda brought us iris folding bees, and we have another completed project inspired by Roe that we will share with you on Monday.  (We played so hard we didn't even get to Kristi's flower project this time!!) So much imagination and inspiration in one place!  It was 72 hours of continual teaching and sharing...a crafters dream!!!



The hive is alive and buzzing with joy...



Wanda has been promoted to New Product Tutorial Designer with Digital Delights by Louby Loo! Congrats, Wanda :)Here is her first project! 

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Honeybee Courtney Lee excited to say I HAVE MET THE HONEYBEES!

Things I learned about our sweet honeybees:

Queen Bee Betty Bee is so sweet! 

Joon (June) has a laugh that warms my little heart.  

Wanda is an amazing cook! (Thanks again, girl!)

Roe is a crack up! As my husband just said after she dropped us off, "Did she just say 'legit'?" And I said, "Yes, yes she did."

Kristi is just as funny as Roe and you get the two together and then the giggle-fest begins! 

And ALL of them function incredibly on a surprisingly small amount of sleep! 

Beth, I need to meet you girl! 

All in all, I had a FABULOUS time. I tried a bunch of new products that I haven't tried before (these ladies came well stocked in scrapping supplies)!

Thank you SO much to the Honeybees for having this swarm! I had a blast and love you all! 

For all of you out there in blogger land, ask us anything! We're an incredibly honest bunch and would LOVE to help you out with anything/ tell you about ourselves so you can get to know us as well as we now know each other! You are all so dear to us and we spoke of all of your sweet comments! SO here are some BIG hugs we are sending out to you! 

***Don't forget to leave us comments, posts and links to be eligible for our blog candy give away.  All entries for the month of Feb. will be included, and the winner will be announced on March 2nd.

There are a couple of extra goodies out there, so check out the Wednesday challenges!  This week our challenge is to enter any project featuring a BEE.  One in every five will win a special gift that was given to the HoneyBees at the swarm! 
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What's going on in your hives? Please leave a comment, link, or email us. We want to hear from you!and the HoneyBees

HoneyBee Showcase ~ from Sunny Florida!

Well, we've been buzzing all about it for quite a while now, and we are finally here!  The HoneyBees are swarming together in a beautiful resort in sunny Florida ~ right next door to the Mouse House!   We have been having a fabulous time together.  Each girl brought a different project to share with all of the others, so we've been laughing, learning, laughing, eating, laughing, crafting, laughing, not much sleeping, laughing, and... you get the picture!!!  Let us share with you a few of the Bee-utiful things we brought to share!!! 

YuDu and I-Rock blinged out T-Shirts!!

Did I mention food???  Wanda is feeding us gourmet yummies, like this Macadamia Chicken!  And Doug's MmmMmmMmm good Smokersaurus Barbecued Pulled Pork...    Oh, my goodness!!

Bees Betty, June and Kristi are enjoying some major giggles!

These candy filled bags with stamped and colored toppers were waiting to greet all of the HoneyBees!  The images were from Close to My Heart, and the 1x8 fold top envelopes are from Clear Bags.

We shared all sorts of talents with one another... here Rosemary is giving someone a brand new hairstyle!  Can you guess who it is?  Did you know Roe is a hairdresser?  

We had all kinds of fun games, tutorials, and projects going on... Here are our commemorative Root Beer Float mugs!

Each HoneyBee learned about working with vinyl and worked with the Make The Cut program.  Then we etched the design and our names into the mugs... before filling with ice cream and root beer!  Remember what I said about eating!!!

Here is a little clearer picture of the design.  It says "HoneyBee Retreat" curved across the top, and "Orlando, Florida, Feb. 2011" curved underneath.  Then each girl put her name wherever she wanted it.  They turned out really well!

Wanda made these precious little Bee Babies, which were little pillow pals waiting on our beds the first night :)

And our very dear friend, Judy Ford, sent these trash hoppers (or really terrific candy hoppers!!) that she made especially for the HoneyBees!!!  What a hunny of a thing to do, and we love her a lot.  We also send our prayers to her grandson, who is in the hospital right now.  Get well, Jackson!


Here is Court helping in the kitchen :) 


Here is her presentation on our super cute T-shirts!

"Honey Bee Courtney Lee here showing you what I made for the Honey Bees at our swarm yesterday and today in Florida!
I AM SO EXCITED TO MEET THE HONEY BEES!!! A HUGE thank you to Betty Bee (Our Queen Bee) for putting this together, Roe has been working on it as well, June flew down for it, and Wanda is cooking! Kristi will make an appearance and Beth can't make it, but she will be there in spirit in our little hive! They all built their scheduling of this around me and I am just so honored and so tickled pink! 

I used EAD Designs vinyl on my Yudu to pull this off! I tried another vinyl, but it didn't work out as well. I thought all vinyl was created equal, but I have been proven wrong. I LOVE EAD! 

The bees are from the Sentimentals Cartridge™ and the font is from Birthday Bash™.

The Honey Bees will be decorating their t-shirts with the i-rock and gems from Imaginisce™. I hope they like them! 

Now I am buzzing off to play with the honey bees in our little Florida hive!" ********June created a special card to share with you for this week, too!

June Houck
Good morning! I am buzzzzing with delight at spending time with my fellow HoneyBees. We are having a grand time laughing and crafting together in sunny Florida. Crafting friends are the best...so much fun and we can bee free to create. So of course our theme this week is all about the bees :)
I actually enjoyed fussy cutting the hexagon patterned BasicGrey Urban Prairie papers. The little bee stamp and sentiment are by Stampendous. I stamped directly on my grosgrain ribbon. I forget to use that technique; it works pretty well, don't you think?

Hexed again! I could not stop with one card. You know I had to use the scraps to make another card.

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That's it for tonight... the hive is quiet right now, but I'm sure the buzzing will begin again soon, with another wonderful day of friendship, fun, and sharing.  May you have a wonderful experience with each of these today, too. We'll be back on Friday with more pictures, and more projects!!

Your challenge this week is to create something with a BEE on it!  The tutorial on Monday had a great idea on how to make some, and there are lots of stamps, digital images, die cuts, papers, ribbons, and tons of other BEE-dazzling ideas out there!  Create one, and come back to post it here!   One out of every five entrants will win a specially designed HoneyBee charm!

Watch for exciting news from the Hive on Friday!!!    And don't forget about the Blog Candy for February... you have a few more days to leave comments and particpate in the challenges to be eligible!  You could even be a double winner.... blog honey AND a HoneyBee charm, if you are the busy bee who wins!  Good luck!

Happy crafting~