Pennywise Arts Blog Hop!!

Welcome to the Pennywise Arts (PWA) Blog Hop, featuring fabulous Micro Beads!

Not only is Pennywise Arts the BEST place to get over 20 different colors of micro beads in 3 different sizes, they also have a huge gallery of project ideas, freebees and tutorials.  You can even join the Yahoo group - there are over 1,670 members! 

The hop will run from Saturday morning, through Sunday, April 17.  There will be tons of opportunities to WIN blog candy and a Grand Prize for a $25 shopping spree at PWA!  To enter, just leave a comment (with your email address) in any of the hop blogs and periodically check the PWA Blog for winners!  Suzanne is also offering a free handmade item from the design team for every web order this weekend.   

All the hop projects are crazy good, so I thought that I would slow it down a bit and feature just a few different ways that you can use microbeads to add a little extra umph! in your every day projects. 

Here is my plan card - it's nice, didn't take me too long to make and is a good general all purpose card.  There's a close-up of the main embellishment - I used the negative frame of an H chipboard die cut.

 In the first sample, I've used the same basic card, but this time I've added Clear Ultra Fine Micro Beads to the frame. I love the texture and shine it gives.  Trust me, you can't resist running your fingers over it again and again.

  

  For the next card, I've added a mixture of the Clear Ultra Fine Micro Beads and Royal Blue Opaque Micro Beads to the opening of the letter.  (Here's a 'not so secret' secret - the clear Micro Beads can be colored with alcohol inks so you can customize your colors! How cool is that?)

And last, but not least, I made a little shaker card out of the die cut by adding acetate and foam tape.  This time I threw in a few Gold Opaque beads as well. 

(Excuse my static cling! It's easy to get rid of, just rub your acetate with a dryer sheet.)

Now I get the pleasure of sending you to visit the always awesome Artistic Guides over at Stamper's Quest magazine! They have many projects guiding you down your creative trail working with micro beads.  Wait until you see their exquisite designs...oooh lah lah!

Thanks for visiting!

Bella Creations Blog Candy!

Check it out! Bella Creations has a new Blog and they're giving away some fantastic Blog Candy once they reach 100 followers.

I've been a Bella member for 2 months and have all ready made new friends, participated in 3 challenges and 1 swap!

This is for the Papercrafter's Alphabet - A Collaborative Collage Project.  I had the letter 'I' and went with Industrial.

This is from the ATC Shrine Swap!

 Run, don't walk, and check out their new blog.

Thanks for looking, as always!!

Gingersnap Coaster Exchange!

My husband has had strep throat and an ear infection for the past two weeks and I'm exhausted.   I haven't got to craft at all, so I'm just going to post the coasters that I made for the Gingersnap Creations yahoo group Coaster swap.  The theme was hearts.

This one took me the most time - the entire thing is hand punched hearts and then each heart was individually curled with a awl and then glued down. 

This beast was a pain - I had the coolest gold paper incorporated but I decided at the last minute to add some gold embossing powder to cover up any glue overlap.  When I used my heat gun, all the gold bits melted and I had to go back in with a glue pen and more embossing powder.   Note to self: don't apply heat to things that melt!

Years ago, I purchased a shoebox full of stamps at a garage sale.  The stamps are still attached to envelopes, so I sat in front of the tv and peeled stamps off bit of paper and sorted them by color during a horror movie marathon.  Go Friday the 13th!    

Last, but not least, is this cute little clown girl.  The background was embossed with a Tim Holtz folder and then randomly heat embossed.   I was in the throes of a short-lived ruffle fascination for this one and the one above.   I have odd interests. LOL! 

Enjoy and thank you for looking!!