Steampunk Tag!

Steampunk is a great style for handmade men's cards! I created this tag by using the Pipes background stamp and embossing it in Penny. I embossed the edges as well as the circle I cut with the foundation die.I misted it with a little gold mica spray to distress it just a little. I pop dotted the circle and adhered metal gears from stash around the edges of it. Now it is ready to go on a tag or card! 

Brutus Monroe Store

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

"Boom Town" Downtown Fayetteville North Carolina!

I am happy to share with you a recent trip I took that was featured on Canvas Corp Brands blog! If you are not familiar with Canvas Corps you may know some of their brands: Tattered Angels and 7 Gypsies. I am super excited that my very first article I wrote for them went live yesterday. I had so much fun on my travel and writing it up. Please make sure you head over and read it because it is one of the most surprising places I have ever visited with fun shops, antique stores, dinning, breweries, a tea house and a coffee shop all within walking distance -- not to mention that famous museum that gives a wonderful history of the US army.

I met with over a dozen owners of downtown shops and felt their passion. Please go check out the CCB blog and read their story, see the 60+ pictures and share the article with anyone planning to visit or that lives in North Carolina. Trust me, you won't be disappointed! Please click here!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting (and traveling!)!!!!

Be Brave Foiled Card!

 he Peacock Stencil is gorgeous foiled! To foil the stencil simply apply transfer gel over the stencil on your favorite cardstock. Remove it right away and wash the stencil in warm soapy water or the gel will dry and run it. Wait until the gel is dry. It turns clear when it is ready! Follow the instructions on the deco foil packaging to foil your image. I ran mine through a hot laminator between two pieces of copy paper. I used embossing ink and sterling embossing powder on the sentiment and around the edges. I placed the circle on top of fiber to finish off the card. 

For supplies please visit the Brutus Monroe Store

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Whoops I Almost Forgot!

You know you have done it.....that last minute gift that you forgot to purchase. That happened to me today. In my defense two of my three kiddos are in high school and we don't do gifts for teachers. I do have a 6th grader and his teacher has a heart of gold. I can't believe that I forgot about a gift for her. Luckily, it dawned on me that I needed to do something special for her. Check out what I did here:

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Make A Bow!

I am over on the Rinea blog today with how to make gorgeous bows using supplies from your craft room. If you have a 12 b 12 piece of paper this is for you! One sheet can make 6 bows. Oh, and did I mention they are fast? Easy? Yep! They sure are! Here is the short video on how to make them: 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting! 

Globe Shaker Card!

One of my favorite things are the globes and all the places in them! I love to make shaker cards to mail my friends and family when I am visiting a new place. I like to make about a dozen cards up before I leave and mail them from my destination. To make the card I first stamp the image on white cardstock:

Using the Globe die that fits all of the stamps I cut 12 3 by 4 black pieces of cardstock making sure to set the globe aside:

Adhere the stamped image to a base. I used a sparkly silver piece of cardwtock cut 1/4 inch larger than my image piece:

Using Brutus Monroe craft glue, carefully line up the globe frame to the image and adhere. Repeat the process until you have one black frame left:

Carefully place sequins and glitter in the shaker. Glue a sheet of acetate over the shaker and top it off with the last black frame:

Adhere to the card and shake away!

Check out the Brutus Monroe shop for the globes!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Snowman Charm

Make sweet little charms for your tree or gift bags using your favorite Brutus Monroe Stamp set and shrink paper.

To make this charm I first started with the Stars Foundation Die set and a piece of festive pattern paper. I punched a hole in the top and set aside. Next, I stamped a snow man from the Snow Friends stamp set and colored it in with Stylefile markers on a piece of shrink paper. I carefully cut the snowman out making sure to leave room for a hole on the top. I punched a hole and shrunk it with my heat gun.Once it was cool enough to touch I threaded it on a string of hemp and topped it off with a glass bead from my stash. 

To find most of the supplies to make a charm please visit the shop here 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Joyful Christmas Shaker ATCs!

I have a Christmas swap I am participating in. I decided to mix up the traditional ATC and turn them into shakers! I recently purchased a fuse tool and have developed a fondness for it. It takes about 10 minutes to heat up, but once it is hot it is ready. Make sure to protect your work space because it will damage whatever you run it on. Here is a video on how to use it as well as these cards:

I hope you enjoy!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting! 

Tips, Tricks and ideas for Using Digital Download Kits!

I am part of a Christmas swap with a crafty group. I have a few fun craft goodies for my partner, but I also wanted to include something handmade. So, I put together the pieces for a Christmas mini album that she can bind and finish off with her special holiday stories and pictures. My very favorite Christmas kit is Joyful Christmas ! I decided to make the pieces from that :-)

I get a lot of questions about the printer I use. For a long time I thought the paper had more to do with the quality of the image, but after a fight with my printer I learned it really does come down to the printer. I ended up having to print this kit on three different types of paper and I show them in the following video with further explanation. I also get asked about how to make pockets and I show one type you can make in it too! Lastly, I make a card from the cover sheet that is fast and gorgeous. I hope you watch the video and get a lot of ideas! 

Here are the links to the things I covered in the video:

Calico Collage

Brutus Monroe

Cutter Pillar use code BETZ20 for 20% off your entire order! 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Christmas Planner Shaker Pocket

As featured on the Brutus Monroe blog yesterday! I made a cute Christmas Planner Shaker Pocket for my Happy Planner with the November Inspiration box from Brutus Monroe

The bags in the kit are a perfect base for a shaker. I used one of the printed card bases in the box and colored it with Stylefile markers found in the shop too! I slipped the card base into a fuse-able sleeve, added the snowflake confetti from the kit and some confetti from my stash. Using my fuse tool I sealed the edge and attached it to a piece of cardstock. I added the snowflakes made from the dies in the kit along with the bling and placed them over the banners. I made the tag with the largest foundation tag die and stamped the small snowflakes all over it. Once it was complete I put it in my planner to hold special pictures or notes for the month of September.

Don't forget to sign up for the box and check out the store for lots of other fun stuff in the store!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!  

Winter Wonderland Reverse Canvas

Today I am sharing a fun canvas I made for Christmas. Living in the Southwest we don't really get a true winter. We get more of a spring and summer. Keeping that in mind I created this canvas:

I used Rinea Foiled Paper, Lisa Kettell Design Clay pieces, straws and my stash to make it. 

Here is a video on how it all came together: 

Make sure to check it our how to make a couple different flowers and the frame! 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting! 

November 2017 Layout Round Up

I am still working on catching up my family album! For November I set goals to complete a set amount of scrapbook pages each week. Here is what I accomplished:

This layout makes me smile because it is three generations. The picture was taken last summer on a trip back home in which I got to met my nephew for the first time. 

I finally got last year's Christmas cookie decorating page done:

The following is not a layout, but an art journal page I created. I have been struggling with some self worth issues lately. I journaled about my feelings in the background by rotating the journal 90 degrees after I filled up the page. The colors and look represent how I have been feeling internally.

November 2017 Card Round Up

Here is a round up of cards that I made in November. Be prepared there is no rhyme or reason! It is a hodge podge of creative happiness!

I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide to create the background for this sweet little guy :-) The penguin I ran across at the Mixed Media Convention in July of 2017 before he was released. I did not forget about him and ordered him the minute he became available. It is a layering stamp set and matching die.

I created this card with the new Water Lilly Background stamp from Brutus Monroe and the Spellbinder February 2016 card kit that I picked up at the Pinner's Conference in October of 2017. I think it will be beautiful for spring!  

Here are five cards  I created for We Craft that have been and will be featured on their website over the next few months: 

The following is a technique I learned! I uploaded a tutorial here:

December 2017 TN and Happy Planner Set Up!

Can you believe it is almost Christmas! This time of year in our house is by far the busiest! Not only do we have the typical hustle and bustle because of the holidays, but two of my boys have birthdays a week apart and  my son's basketball season is in full swing. To help keep me organized and on top of things I have to have a functioning planner. I use two planners. One is a TN I carry with me that doubles as a wallet and the other is a Happy Planner that sits on my desk. The Happy Planner has the monthly overview as well as everything related to family life and my work. I did a walk thru of  my planners for you. 

I hope you got some ideas and are inspired!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting! 

Love is in the Air

Have you joined the Stamp of the Month Club yet? You will receive a sweet little stamp set for $5 (which includes shipping) every month AND you will get 10% off what ever you order in the shop as long as you are a member of the club! I created this card with December's SOM:

I stamped the two different heart from the set on banner pieces I die cut. The Balloon is also part of the set! I stamped it on a piece of flat pink card stock, trimmed it and used pop dots to adhere to the tag.

Check out the club here:Stamp of the Month

Also, check out the Brutus Monroe blog! I am over there today and there is tons of inspiration being posted everyday!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Warm Cozy Wishes

I splattered Colorburst on a Kraft card base to start this perfect card for the coffee fall lover! The little coffee is from the Cozy Coffee Stamp Set. I colored it in with Studio 71 colored pencils and cut it out. I layered two pieces of washi tape and then sentiment on top. I used pop dots on the coffee and finished it off with some gorgeous scarlet colored gems.

The stamp set and Colorbrust can be found in the Brutus Monroe Shop

I also am on the blog today so make sure you stop by and say hi!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Fall Hostess Thank You Tag

I am over on the Rinea Blog today sharing a lovely tag that would be perfect on a card, gift bag or bottle of wine!

Make sure you head on over to see a ton more inspiration! This is the best paper for holiday paper crafting and decor! 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Christmas Cards for a Swap

I signed up to partcipate in a Christmas Card Swap! I created a total of 20 cards to exchange with other artist around the country. I showed the first set at the end of October and wanted to feature the last 8! This set coordinates with one another because it is from the November 2016 Spellbinder Card Kit! I found their booth at the Pinner's Conference in October. They had a special in which you could buy two past kits for $30 -- that is only $15 a kit! When I saw how fun and whimsical this kit was I knew I wanted to play with it. There was so much packed into this kit that I had a ton left over. Here are the nine cards I created:

Not only did the cards turn out darling they came together super fast! 

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!