New Release Day for Honey Bee Stamps!

Hi Crafty Friends!!!

I am sure you have all heard the BUZZ this week over the new Honey Bee Stamps release, but let me recap a few of my sneak projects that were shared on Social media.

First was a sneak of the Prayers sentiment builder set

Taniesa Vlasak | Thecraftypickle.com for Honey Bee Stamps

Next up was the sneak for Kindness.

Taniesa Vlasak | Thecraftypickle.com for Honey Bee Stamps

Here we have a little sneak from Smile.

Taniesa Vlasak | Thecraftypickle.com for Honey Bee Stamps

Finally we have the sentiment builder set which is a great companion to all of the sets above and your existing Honey Bee Stamp sets.

Here is a look at all 4 new stamp sets!

Honeybeestamps.com

and the BIG news is we are now carrying DIES!!! That’s right! These Honey cuts are fantastic. Perfect stand alone and coordinating dies that will add that little extra to your projects! Here is a project that I used the Color my world die and stamp set on.

Taniesa Vlasak | Thecraftypickle.com for Honey Bee Stamps

SO much fun! I had a great time this week playing with all of the new products. You will find these products and MORE at www.honeybeestamps.com

Be on the lookout for LOTS of inspiration from the designers using this wonderful collection of stamps and dies!

Happy Crafting!
Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps

Red, White, and Blue Week!

I’m so excited to share a bit of news and a challenge with you! This week over on the Honey Bee Stamps Blog is “Red, White, & Blue Week!” Designers will be sharing their project using this color palette.

RWB Color Palette

Of course it ties in with the 4th of July festivities but it does not have to be an Independence Day or Americana project, It can be anything using any types of products (not just Honey Bee Stamps)

This fun will run starting Today, Monday 6/27 Thru Monday 7/4. During this week, the Design Team will be posting their creations using the Red, White & Blue color theme and you will have a chance to participate in the fun (not to mention have a chance at winning a prize!)

THE CHALLENGE

We would love to challenge our customers, friends & crafty kids to play along with us. Share your creations on the Honey Bee Stamps Website, Honey Bee Stamps Facebook Page or on Instagram using the hashtag #HBSChallenge so that we can see everything you create!  We challenge you to share anything crafty (cards, scrapbook pages, mixed media). While we love to see you use Honey Bee Stamp products, they are not required to participate. The color palate above is just a starting off point. It can be ANY shades of red, white, and blue.

I will be playing along too! Both here on my blog and on my instagram account as well as on the Honey Bee Stamps blog. Look for a few fun projects from me and the rest of the Honey Bee design team!

Have a FANTASTIC week, my friends!

Happy Crafting!

Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps

You Color My World

Hi Sweet Friends!!!

I am excited to share with you my first official design team project for Honey Bee Stamps. I have had the pleasure of doing some guest work for HBS in the past, but I am so excited to be apart of what is an extremely talented team!

Today I will be working with the Color My World stamp set. It’s an adorable 4×4 stamp set that just reminds me of the current coloring book craze.

Colormyworld by HoneyBeeStamps.com

What spoke to me when I saw this stamp set is a card I knew I wanted to make for my daughter. Every birthday and christmas, for as long as I can remember, I have given her a coloring book. Far before the amazing coloring books that are available currently.  I would search and search for the perfect one ( in the past I would buy her a lot of coloring books from Dover) With her birthday coming up I knew this would be the perfect card to go with the new coloring book that I got for her.

I decided to go with a non traditional card size. I picked up these cute envelopes from my LSS that are 3 1/2 x 6 1/2. My card panel measures 3×6 and my card is 3 1/4 x 6 1/4 unfolded. The card base is Bazzill Marshmallow cardstock and the panel is Strathmore Bristol 300 series. This size envelope is perfect for making cards from a 6×6 paper pad!

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

First I stamped all of the images using Tsukineko VersaFine Onyx Black ink. I love this ink because it gives a crisp bold black line and it is waterproof. I did a little masking but not too much. I first stamped the sentiment and then the florals and leaves. I tried to stamp using a visual triangle to balance the card.  After I had everything stamped, I measured out a 1/4 inch border around the entire card.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

I sketched the border lightly in pencil so that I could erase easily. Sometimes I am just not careful enough. While I was doing all the inking, I got some smudges and inky fingerprints on my card (sad face).

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

Now when something like this happened before I would more than likely start all over, but I found an amazing eraser that cannot live without now!

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

The Tombow MONO Sand Eraser is a magic wand!! You just lightly rub the mistake/smudge with the eraser, and if you rub off some of your inked up image you just go over it with a waterproof pen/marker. I used my trusty Sakura Pigma Micron pen (I used the .05 here but you can match up your stamp line width to the different size micron pens available).

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

I thought I would break out my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers for this project. They haven’t been getting enough love lately and I love using them on the bristol cardstock. I used a light, medium, and dark shade of all the rainbow colors (Some color groups had 4 shades because I couldn’t decide) but any color combo would look lovely. The technique I used for this card is called “spotlight coloring”. The 1/4 border that I made around the edge will be colored with shades of gray and the inside will be the vibrant color. This really pops the color in the center of the card and emphasizes the sentiment of “Coloring my world”.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

With the border, I colored and shaded the images with all gray markers. I shaded these just like I would with the different shades of colored markers. Even if you don’t have a wide range of the brush markers I would recommend picking up at least one Gray Clean Color Real Brush marker as it is perfect for adding a shadow to stamped images and text. Now on to the fun part!

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

I colored in all of the florals and leaves with the markers and chose a very light shade of blue for the inner rectangle background. I left the border background white. It was at this point that I felt that my sentiment didn’t pop out enough. I decided to take a darker shade of blue and color around the sentiment area making that more of a focal point.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

I also added some glitter using my Spectrum Noir Sparkle Glitter Brush Pen in clear. It is hard to see in the photo but it really made the word COLOR super sparkly! I added some faux stitched outline on my card base and popped up my panel with some fun foam so it is slightly raised. I used the full panel of fun foam as it will be going through the mail and I didn’t want it to get smooshed.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

I think it’s the little details that really make a handmade card something really special. I took the smallest floral stamp in the set, and stamped the lower right and the upper left corners with a cluster of just the flower, then I outlined them with a grey marker to give a shadowed effect.  I was on a roll and couldn’t stop there so why not dress up the back of the card and the envelope too!

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

The same idea as the inside of the card. I took  the medium size floral and stamped the corners of the envelope and outlined in gray. I decided to leave these just black and white because I wanted the card to be the center stage of color. I will position the postage just to the left of the floral cluster and I think it will add a great touch when it is all addressed and ready to go.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

The handmade stamp was a custom stamp (Coming to The Crafty Pickle Etsy shop SOON) and I added the small daisy and leaf stamp from the set to tie it into the card design. This one I did color. I felt it added the perfect final touch.

Here is a look at my final card.

Taniesa Vlasak for HoneyBeeStamps.com

 

I hope you enjoyed my first Honey Bee Stamps DT Project, and even more I hope my daughter loves this card! I can’t wait to give it to her (Lexi if you read this blog post just act surprised LOL)

Listed below (and within my blog post) are the links to the products I have used for this project. Affiliate links may be used, this means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I really appreciate your support toward the costs of running this blog.

Color My World Stamp Set: Honey Bee Stamps
Slim Envelopes at ImpressCardsandCrafts.com
Bazzill Basics Paper Card Shoppe Heavy Weight Cardstock, 25 Sheets, 8.5 by 11-Inch, Marshmallow
Strathmore Smooth Bristol 300 Series
Tsukineko Full-Size VersaFine Instant Dry Pigment Ink, Onyx Black
Tombow MONO Sand Eraser
Sakura 8-Piece Pigma Micron Pen Set, Black
Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker Set
Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker, Cool Gray
Spectrum Noir Sparkle Glitter Brush Pen Clear Overlay, 3 Piece

I hope you all have a blessed and wonderful weekend!

Happy Crafting!

Taniesa Vlasak for Honey Bee Stamps

Happy Birthday Honey Bee Stamps!!!

Hi and welcome to Honey Bee Stamps 1st birthday blog hop!!!

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Thanks for joining us on our week-long birthday celebration! Today the designers are featuring the brand new stamp set “Happy Everything” with a sweet little kit put together by designer Lisa Cisneros. We have lots planned for you this week and of course lots of prizes! Just leave a comment on our designer’s blogs along your hop for your chance to win!
You should have arrived here from Holly’s Blog, but if not click HERE to start at the beginning!

Here is a photo of the kit we got to work with along with the Happy Everything stamp set:

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For my project I wanted to do a little something different with the stamping. Did you know that if you own a foiling machine or laminator, you can actually foil your stamping work?

All you need to do is do your stamping with a very good black ink. Using a stamp positioner like the MISTI tool can really help. If you miss any spots in your stamping be sure to go over it with a marker or a fine tip pen.

Then take your stamped paper and photocopy onto cardstock using a toner based printer or photocopier. Your image is ready for foiling! Note: This should ONLY be for personal use due to copyright, do not share your photocopy images with others.

That is exactly what I did in my project below. You can see the aqua colored foil in the close up photo. I love how it shimmers right along with all the sequins in the shaker card.

TheCraftyPickle.com for Honey Bee Stamps

TheCraftyPickle.com for Honey Bee Stamps

I hope my little tip got your creative wheels-a-turnin’! I know that I want to foil ALL THE THINGS now! LOL.

I sure hope you had fun hopping along with us today for Honey Bee Stamps very first birthday blog hop. Make sure you have left a comment below as well as one on every designer’s page and of course the honey bee blog as well. Keep checking back  on the Honey Bee Blog all week long for more inspiration and new products…. better yet join the Facebook party HERE for your chance to win lots of awesome prizes.

Happy Hopping!

Taniesa for ThecraftyPickle.com

Candy Bar Treat Boxes

Hi friends, Joann here today with you! Thank you so much for stopping by!

Today I am sharing with you something that I have been working on for a craft fair that I will be participating. I shared this project last year in December, a step-by-step on how to make the box treat, but this time around I used my Cricut and a couple of the CTMH Cricut Cartridges to decorate my boxes.

Here are a couple that I’ve made so far…

I used the CTMH Artistry Cartridge to cut out my snowflakes out of some glitter card stock and added some foam dimensional to add a bit of dimension to them.

 I took the Treats of Friendship stamp set, also from Close to My Heart, to stamp the cute image on my tag.

The deer and the design behind the deer came from the CTMH Artistry Cartridge and the ornament was cut using the CTMH Artiste Cartridge. For the sentiment on the deer box, I used the CTMH Holiday Tags stamp set to add my sentiment.

I still have a few to finish, but I wanted to share the ones that were done and in case you were interested in the tutorial click HERE to read that post.

Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you have a fabulous day!

I love you more than doughnuts!

Hello, Carrie here with a sneak peek at some New items coming soon to TheCraftyPickle shop this Friday. 

Doughnuts are a big thing around our house with the teenagers.  I recently purchased this adorable stamp from CTMH ( Close To My Heart ) Its called “Treats of Friendship”  

 I created this adorable card,  embellishing it with one of the new release flairs.  Notice the sweet sprinkle washi tape? This too will be available as part of the new release.  We are adding a ton of washi and New design flairs to the shop so be sure to pop in on Friday.

 Here is a close up look at my card. I added some glossy accents to my frosting on the doughnut for some dimension and shine.  And of course a few pickle relish sequins to finish off my card.

 See you Friday for the BIG release and Grand Re-Opening of the Pickle Shop

Here is a little sneak photo for you showing the doughnut flair and a few other yummy new flair too!

 Flair Sneak @thecraftypickle.com

Carrie for ThecraftyPickle.com

Say hello to our friend, Melissa!

Hi Crafty friends!

I would like to introduce you to a dear friend and fellow small business owner, Melissa Hewitt. Melissa owns a fabulous stamp company called Honey Bee Scraps. You might of saw her little company grow when it started on Kickstarter.

Melissa created a few beautiful handmade project life cards using her stamps and some Crafty Pickle Flair. These are stamps using her last release.

Melissa Hewitt for TheCraftyPickle.comMelissa Hewitt for TheCraftyPickle.comMelissa Hewitt for TheCraftyPickle.com

And these ones show some of the new stamps just released TODAY!

Melissa Hewitt for TheCraftyPickle.comMelissa Hewitt for TheCraftyPickle.com

Not only does she have stamps but she has some great digital files as well as digital sets that match her stamp sets.

Personally I am in love with her newest Alpha stamp and I love that it includes upper and lower case! The others are just as gorgeous.

HoneyBeeScraps.com

Make sure you stop by HoneyBeeScraps.com today and check out the new release. Follow Honey Bee Scraps on Facebook to keep updated on all upcoming releases!

Thank you Melissa, for sharing your talent and your beautiful stamps with us!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.

Happy Crafting!

Taniesa for ThecraftyPickle.com

 

Greeting FlairTastic Friday!!!

Happy Friday Everyone!

#FlairTastic Friday

Every Friday though the summer months we will bring you a new idea/concept using flair. Your not going to want to miss these fun posts! These ideas will come from not only our designers but also super neat flairtastic ideas we find from our customers and other talented papercrafters. Make sure that when you share any of your projects on Instagram or Facebook using flair, that you tag it #FlairTasticFriday. You just might see your own photo featured here on our blog!

This week we will be showing you some awesome greeting cards by our wonderful design team!!! Each Design Team member uses flair differently to make a fun greeting card …and with this flair it is nice and flat to fit on any card!!!

Here is Joann’s super fun FlarTastic Greeting Card I love how she used the vellum as an overlay to soften the background paper …so great!!! And how she used the Something Shiny Slightly Cupped Sequin to follow your eye down the card for interest!!! And bunching the twine behind the Orange Pop of Flair …i am so going to steal that idea!!!

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And next we have Carrie

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I am sorry but Carrie makes the prettiest cards I know …they are just so lovely anyone would love to receive a card from her!!! Carrie used Watercolor Butterflies Flair for her fun and whimsical Thank You card!!!

Here is mine Kristin

card

I used this fun and fast birthday stamp, Washi tape pack from Close to my Heart     Suprise Single Flair

treasa

How sweet is this card by Treasa with this cute big candle right on the front and the Suprise Single Flair

Next …we have Stephanie’s so sweet circle shaker box card with the red white and blue Star Spangled confetti mix

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How will you use flair on a greeting card?????

Stop by The Crafty Pickle Etsy Shop if you haven’t been by recently. We will be releasing a few little things between now and our next big release. We will also be having a big TCP Birthday celebration this month with giveaways and a brand new exclusive foil flair coming mid July!

Dont forget to use the hashtag #FlairTasticFriday to play along with us!

See you for more FlairTastic Ideas next Friday!

Till Then….

Happy Crafting!

thecraftypickle.com

Turn your art into your own custom flair embellishments!

Hi Crafty Friends!

Today I wanted to share with you something new and exciting in our Etsy shop! Starting today, you now have the option to create your very own flair buttons in two different ways!

Make your own custom flair buttons with your artwork, stamps, washi, photos, and more @ TheCraftyPickle.com

First, you will need to download our TCP Flair template (found HERE) then print the template on your favorite paper. I used Neenah solar white 80 lb cardstock but anything 80 lb or lighter will work.

Make your own custom flair buttons with your artwork, stamps, washi, photos, and more @ TheCraftyPickle.com

Then gather together all the supplies you would like to use to create your flair. You can use different types of coloring mediums, stamps, washi tape, anything smooth and flat will work.

Make your own custom flair buttons with your artwork, stamps, washi, photos, and more @ TheCraftyPickle.com

Now for the FUN part! Doodle and color your heart out! Hand letter some phrases for your project life album.  Customize monograms or personalized buttons for gifts. Create cute page markers and charms for your planners. Use your favorite stamps (even digi stamps if your handy with photoshop) to create a unique embellishment! Little planner stamps work perfect for this project and most stamp sets have small images that are an inch or smaller. Make sure that you keep your artwork in the center circle, the rest will be cut off when making the flair.

Make your own custom flair buttons with your artwork, stamps, washi, photos, and more @ TheCraftyPickle.com

Once you are finished creating your little 1 inch works of art, Cut down the sheet so that it will fit in the envelope you are using. Keeping two or more circles per cut is preferred but not required.

Make your own custom flair buttons with your artwork, stamps, washi, photos, and more @ TheCraftyPickle.com

Go to our Etsy store listing HERE to order the amount and type of buttons you would like. If there is a different amount you are wanting than what is listed in our shop just send a custom order request and we can adjust the totals for you. Once you place your order we will send you the mailing address to send your artwork to.

Make your own custom flair buttons with your artwork, stamps, washi, photos, and more @ TheCraftyPickle.com

Once we receive your artwork we will send you a confirmation email so you know we have it in hand. We will then cut and create your flair for you and then ship it back. Remember that if you are requesting traditional flat backed flair you will get our signature low profile flat flair style making them perfect for projects that you don’t want to add a lot of bulk.

Make your own custom flair buttons with your artwork, stamps, washi, photos, and more @ TheCraftyPickle.com

Usual turn around time is 2-3 business days (sometime sooner) If a rush is needed please check before completing your purchase so we can make sure we can accommodate your request. 

Remember, not only can you create traditional flat backed or pin backed flair buttons, but there is other options as well!

Flair / Button options @thecraftypickle.com

I did mention that there was TWO new listings to create your own custom flair. The next option is super easy. Simply grab your favorite papers, Journaling cards, and scraps. Make sure they are NO SMALLER than 2 inches by 2 inches. Pop those papers in an envelope and once you complete your purchase though our store we will send you the mailing address to send these papers in. You can find this shop listing HERE.

Make your own custom flair buttons with your artwork, stamps, washi, photos, and more @ TheCraftyPickle.com

We will then turn your collection of papers, cards, and/or scraps into your made to match embellishments! This is a great way to get unique flair to match your favorite paper lines and core kits.

What do you think? Sound like fun? Download the template and give it a try, There is no cost until you actually purchase the package you want to order. It is so much fun seeing something you create yourself made into a fun embellishment or accessory.

I hope you are as excited about these new options in the store as we are! Let us know what you think and share with your friends about this fun new option and you could win a $5 gift certificate to our shop! Click on the rafflecopter giveaway for several chances to win (you can enter every day) winner announced on 6/18/15!

a Rafflecopter giveaway  ****Giveaway closed. Congrats to our winner, Tina! I have sent you an email with your Gift Certificate code to the Etsy shop. Thank you to all that entered!****

Happy Crafting!

Taniesa for ThecraftyPickle.com

30 Day Color Challenge: Day 1 (officially)

Hi Crafty Friends!

Yesterday I posted that I was taking TheDailyMarker’s 30 day color challenge to complete 30 handmade project life cards. Well I guess I was a little excited and the official start date is TODAY…. so I will end up doing 31 cards during this challenge.

30 day marker challenge from TheDailyMarker.com

For today’s Project life card I am using two different Close To My Heart stamp sets. The first is the CTMH Stamp of the month : Choose Happy, the second set is Your own kind of wonderful. I was so excited to use the new SOTM that this was a perfect time to break it out. This design would work fantastic on a card as well and you could put pretty much anything in the frames.

choose happyyourownkindofwonderfulHere is the PL card that I created.

PL card using CTMH March SOTM: Choose Happy @Thecraftypickle.com

I stamped the frame with Memento black ink and then masked off the frame leaving the center open to stamp the butterflies. I used Copic markers to color in the large butterfly and then covered with CTMH Liquid Glass. Once everything was dry, I cut out the frame and used foam adhesive to pop it up on top of another framed stamped image on a 3×4 card.

PL card using CTMH March SOTM: Choose Happy @Thecraftypickle.com

Now I have a fun spring filler card for my Project Life album.

Thanks so much for visiting. See you back tomorrow for day #2 of the color challenge!

Happy Crafting!
The Crafty Pickle