Brutus Monroe May New Releases!!!

I have some fun things to share with you! Brutus Monroe has new releases today! I was able to play with all the new stamps and dies! Yes! There are now coordinating dies with stamps! This release Brutus Monroe came out with a snow globe die. This is exciting because eventually there will be a snow globe for each state and some countries! The snow globe stamps are the same size, so the die will fit all of them. So far I have the San Francisco snow globe (where I grew up -- SF Bay Area) and the Las Vegas snow globe (new release). I love these because like the Starbucks destination mug, when you visit a city eventually you will be able to purchase the snow globe for it. You can make cards with them, or luggage tags!   You could even make ornaments out of them for Christmas. Make a tag out of them and put them on a gift. The possibilities are endless! The other new die is for the Owl set! I have created some fun samples using all of the new releases. Check them out and then go over to the Brutus Monroe site and poke around ;-)

  A few of these will be on The Brutus Monroe Blog in June! Make sure to check it every Sunday :-)

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Betz

Unicorn Journal

As you know unicorns are all the rage right now. Starbucks even came out with a limited edition drink that actually sold out in ten hours at my local store. Sadly I did not get one, but I really only wanted it for the picture I would take of it and post on instagram...or maybe put in this journal:

I had a lot of fun creating this! I still am not sure what I am going to use it for, but it will find a use soon enough. Since it is a digital download I can reprint pieces I want as often as I need them. I am thinking a birthday card made from one of the gorgeous pages and even a gift card holder! I did a fun walk through of it so you can see the inside on my YouTube. You can check it out here

Make sure you subscribe if you have not done so already.

Until Next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Betz

Mod Podge Blog Hop

This might be my favorite project this year:

 I wanted to create a fun serving tray that I could carry two drinks on that would not only serve as something of function, but also a focal piece. I have no intention of serving food on it so I knew I could add some fibers on the inside of the tray to finish it off.

 I started off with dominoes that I found at Walmart, a tray I picked up at Joann's, Beacon 527 adhesive, Cowgirl Digital from Calico Collage , Sparkle Mod Podge (because every Cowgirl can benefit from a little bling, right?), and Dishwasher Mod Podge.

 The first thing I did was adhere the digital download images to dominoes. I did not ink the edges, because those would not be seen in the tray. I also really liked the white! For this tray I needed 34 dominoes.

 Using Beacon 527 I laid the dominoes like tile on the tray making sure to mix up the pattern to create interest.

 I applied a medium coat of the sparkle Mod Podge first stirring well with my brush. It is important to stir and not shake it. I let this dry overnight.

 Since my intention is to use this as a serving tray with cold beverages I needed to make it waterproof. I will never run it through a dishwasher because it is medal and will rust. Plus, I wanted to use some fun burlap in it. The dishwasher Mod Podge is safe for a dishwasher which means it is waterproof so I finished off the project with it. I layered it on really thick making sure that it filled in the holes between the dominoes. I let this sit for 28 days.It takes that long to properly make sure it is cured. I then finished it off by adding burlap to the edges with the Beacon 527.

I am very happy with how it turned out! Not only can I serve drinks on it, I can also prop it up to display when not in use. 

Make sure to check out how other crafters used Mod Podge in their art!

Until Next time -- Happy Crafting!

Betz

Fairy DIY Gift

I made a necklace, matching card and gift bag for a Fairy Fan. I thought I would share how I did it. This was a super easy thing to make using a digital download. I found mine at Calico Collage ! She has the best art I have ever seen and a huge selection. It was hard to pick which one I wanted to feature.

To see how I put it together I made a video tutorial for you. You can find it here

Please subscribe to my blog and channel if you have not already done so. I have a lot of fun stuff coming out soon.

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Betz

Tin Roof! Rusted!

Love Shake! Baby Love Shack! 

Sorry....I have had that song in my head forever and a day! Why? Well, because I have been wanting to put a metal looking roof (tin) on this bird house!

 It started off like this -- sad...ugly and plain. It really should be a spooky haunted house, but by the time I had figured that out it was to late. I already had spent a day putting it together. Instead of pitching it I decided to just hide it from myself until I could look at it again without getting mad. Have you ever been there? Gotten frustrated with yourself because you put so much time into a project and have it just turn out bad? I was there with this!

 I then started thinking about my little sad house and thought a roof that looked like gold would be cute on it and maybe save it from the dumpster. I pulled out my Rinea foiled paper and got to work! First thing I did was fold it over like so....

 Next, I punched a bunch of circles....

 I started on the botttom of the roof and applied a row of circles.

 Instead of keeping the roof all gold I thought it would add some personality to rotate in silver -- and that's just what I did :-)

 I repeated the process until the roof was covered.

 I hid the top crease with a line of Rinea circles.

 I folded and flipped up the edges to help the roof stand out.

I then went back through and did the same to the side pieces and porch. I punched some butterflies and leaves and sprinkled them on the house and called it done!

I really like the look of the roof! I think this will be my stand by on altering them in the future.

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Betz

Sugar Skull Card

 I have a confession to make....though I am on who likes to push the limits in my art and I love edgy things, I have always steered clear of skulls. It is not like they offend me. I just struggle with the concept of them and making them pretty. However, living in the Southwest and participating in Day of the Dead and Cinco De Mayo I have grown to admire Sugar Skulls. I thought it was time that I used them in my art.

 I wanted to create something colorful, whimsical and pretty so I stuck with bright bold embellishments that I made with Rinea Foiled Paper

I found these Sugar Skull paper dolls to be gorgous and I had to use them from Calico Collage .

I upload a step by step how to on making this card here . Please go check it out and don't forget to subscribe if you have not already done so!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Betz

Mother's Day Card

Mother's Day is just around the corner! This year I decided to make my Mom a card with a bunch of fun stuff from Brutus Monroe that just came out! First up creating a base using the Scratch background with the Lemon Zest Surface Ink.

 I also stamped the butterfly with the same stamp and ink

 I used the Detail ink in Raven to stamp these gorgeous roses from the Banner stamp set.

 I wanted to add some color so I dabbed Sage Surface Ink on my craft mat, spritzed it with water and grabbed my paint brush.

 I painted the leaves with it.

 I did the same thing again using the Rouge Surface Ink on the roses.

 As the roses dried I stamped the sentiment on two tags that I had made out of the tag die cuts with the Peg Alphabet.

 I used my Scan n Cut to cut the flowers and cut out the backing from pop dot packaging.

 I put the butterfly together.

 I then put it all together.

 This went off in the mail today! I mailed her a little gift too (she lives in another state) so I did not have to worry about smashing the butterfly into an envelope.

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!
Betz

Rinea Foiled Paper Unboxing!

Guess what came? My Rinea DT box! I made the 2017 - 2018 DT and I am super excited! I had the pleasure of meeting the owner at Creativation 2017. I introduced them to my favorite local German restaurant. This company has a special place in my heart because it was born out of a childhood memory and tradition that took place in Germany. I was an exchange student my first year of college in 1993 - 1994 in Germany. I remebered this foiled paper and the stars at Christmas.

Please head over to my YouTube channel and watch the unboxing of this special paper here: Rinea Unboxing . Make sure to subscribe too!

Until next time -- Happy Crafting!

Betz

Sugar Skull ATC

Cinco De Mayo is right around the corner! Every time I think about it or Day of the Dead which is November 2 I associate sugar skulls with them. I decided I wanted to make a spooky yet beautiful sugar skull ATC card. I download an ATC digital print sheet from Calico Collage and pulled out my Rinea Foiled Paper to make a shiny bright flower. I used vellum to give it a spooky appearance over the original digital art. I then used a permanent rubber cement technique to adhere the rest.

I uploaded a nice tutorial on the process here. Feel free to check it out!

Until next time ~ Happy Crafting!

Betz