day 180 - handstamped bee coasters

bought some paper coasters a while back from Etsy.  got out my Papertrey Ink's Honey Bees set and stamped everything in StazOn Black.  then colored the bees in yellow with a permanent marker. 

oh, all the sentiments are from the same set, except the "you're the bees knees" is from another set.  i'll have to find it and check the info on that one.

day 179 - handstamped bee gift tags

more bees for the Swap-bot swap, "Octobuzz."



punched out yellow and red cardstock using circle and scalloped circle paper punches, the bee is from Papertrey Ink's Honey Bees set, the "to:" and "from:" stamps are from Inkadinkado Holiday Tag Set that i got from Crafty Steals.  everything is stamped in black ink.  punched a small hole in the top above the bee using a cropadile and strung a yellow and white bakers twine to the tag.

day 178 - embossed bee mini notebook

bought a mini notebook (about 3x4 inches) from Blick, embossed a small bee in black on the front using a bee from from Papertrey Ink's Honey Bees set.

day 177 - bee bookmark

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made and sent to my partner for the Swap-bot swap, "Octobuzz." 

the bees are die cut out of yellow cardstock using my Sizzix BigShot and Sizzix Sizzlits Die - Bee #4.  the background is plain black cardstock on top of a sheet i pulled out from the Martha Stewart Vampire Punch Paper Pad.  the size of the bookmark is about 2.5 x 6.5 inches.  i punched a hole in the top and strung a gold organza ribbon on the bookmark.

day 176 - gold bee trio necklace

this necklace was sent to mathaholic as part of the large package for the private Swap-bot swap, "Octobuzz"
all jewelry components were purchased at Fire Mountain Gems: bee trio charm, gold chain, gold bar & ring clasp.  all put together with gold jumprings.

day 175 - bee beaded bracelet

i made this bee necklace (and a lot of bee things) for a private Swap-bot swap, "Octobuzz."

the gold bee beads are made by Tierracast which i bought on Etsy. both types of black beads are Swarovski crystal, and the yellow glass flowers and tiny yellow glass seed beads are from Fire Mountain Gems. the bracelet is strung on tiger wire and closed with crimp beads, and finished with a lobster clasp and jump ring.

day 174 - pewter bee necklace

i made this bee necklace (and a lot of bee things) for a private Swap-bot swap, "Octobuzz."

the charm is from Tierracast and the cord is braided leather. the clasp (not shown is a simple lobster clasp that i attached to the silver cord-end. 

day 173: felt bee ornament

made another little bee out of felt.  this time he's an ornament instead of just a stuffie. the pattern is my own.

day 172 - dandy bee thank you card

used a few of my clear rubber stamps to create this clean and simple bee thank you card.  the bee and sentiment stamps are from Papertrey Ink's Honey Bees set, the top hat is by Catslife Press, and the frame is from Stampin' Up's Frame It - Clear-Mount Stamp set.

the bee, hat & sentiment are stamped in StazOn Black and the frame is stamped in StazOn brown.  i colored the hat and bee in with a simple yellow marker.

Day 171: Felt Spider

MEET ARAGOG!

yes, this is Hagrid's forest friend, Aragog the giant spider. but this spider is made of felt and fuzzy pipecleaners and only about 4 inches big.

aragog was created for the Swap-bot swap, "Hagrid ATC & pet mini stuffie (plush)" in the Harry Potter Fans Worldwide group.

here's how i made it:

1. to make the abdomen:  cut a felt circle about 5 inches big
2. sew a running stitch around the outside of the circle and pull thread tight while stuffing the body with polyfil.  tie thread tight to close the ball.
3. to make the cephalothorax (head) - cut 2 small circles of felt (about 1 inch)
4. sew eyes - using embroidery thread, make french knots to make tiny beady eyes.
5. add legs - cut four 4-inch pieces of black/brown pipecleaner, slightly fold them in half so you know where the middle is, then place them between the 2 cephalothorax pieces.  stitch around to sew the 2 pieces of felt together, spacing the legs out nicely and stuffing it with just a tiny bit of polyfil.
6. attach cephalothorax to abdomen - using matching thread, sew the two pieces together... and you're done!
7. just shape the legs to that your spider stands up.

Day 170: Blue Butterfly Thank You Card

made a CAS thank you card for my Grandma to thank her for my birthday card.  i love that if all else fails, i always get a card from her every year on or before my birthday.  i used a diecut paper butterfly i received in a Swap-bot swap, a single self-adhesive rhinestone and Papertrey Ink's "thank you" sentiment from their Think Big Favorites #5 stamp set inked in black.

Day 169: Red Butterfly Thank You Card

made a CAS thank you card for my in-laws to thank them for my birthday present.  i used a diecut paper butterfly i received in a Swap-bot swap, a single self-adhesive rhinestone and Papertrey Ink's "thank you" sentiment from their Think Big Favorites #5 stamp set inked in black.

Day 168: Autumn Dreams Butterfly Postcard

i made a simple hand-stamped postcard for the Swap-bot swap, "Rubber stamp postcards" in the Handmade Postcard group.



i repurposed some cardboard from my USPS postage stamp order by cutting it down to 4 x 6-inches. 
i had some autumn leaves paper left over from another project, so i cut it 3.75 x 5.75-inches and adhered it to the cardboard.  i cut a scrap piece of plain white cardstock to fit on the postcard (about 2.75 x 3-inches) and rubber stamped the poppies from the Papertrey Ink Botanical Silhouettes stamp set in Stampin' Pad Tangerine Tango and Old Olive.  the sentiment is from Papertrey Daydreamer set (inked in black) and the butterfly is from the TJ Design Elements stamp set and inked in Stampin' Pad Marina Mist.



there are no butterflies on the back, but i hand stamped everything and thought it turned out quite nice.

everything is inked in black:  the Postcard stamp i found on Ebay, the airmail and center border stamps are from TJ Design Elements stamp set, "Please Deliver To:" is from Paper Pastries, the date stamp i found at an office supply store, "from" is from the Inkadinkado Holiday Tag stamp set, "hippofairy" is a custom personalized rubberstamp, and the postage stamp border is from Papertrey Ink's Postmarks stamp set.
handmade postcards sent to FarStarr & MissPaula

Day 167: Halloween Spider Bookmark

made this just for fun while trying to fill up a laminating sheet (making other Christmas bookmarks for Swap-bot swaps).

used a scrap piece of Halloween paper cut to 2 x 5.5-inches on top of white cardstock (cut just a little bit bigger). rounded the edges of both papers, then adhered and laminated them together. punched a hole in the top and braided white, black, and orange embroidery thread for the tassel.

cute huh? i made two, but my husband took one to use. :)

Day 166: Silver Bee Jingle Bell Cellphone Charm

got my package of bee charms and beads this week!  i'm so excited to be making more bees for the private Swap-bot swap i'm in. :)  the bee charm is made by TierraCast right here in California!  they make the most beautifully detailed metal beads and charms! 

so i just dangled a silver jingle bell from the black cellphone strap, added a couple more jump rings and a pink acrylic flower bead, a couple more jump rings and the bee charm at the bottom.  they're nicely tiered, i think.  cute little charm to hang from your phone or zipper. :)

Day 165: Bee Fabric Pocket Mirror

another bee for a Swap-bot swap.



a 2.25-inch pocket mirror using a bee fabric from my stash. this matches with the 1-inch pinback buttons i made yesterday.

Day 164: Bee Fabric Pinback 1-inch Buttons

a Swap-bot friend and i are doing a private Swap-bot swap. she's knitting me a cephalopod and i'm making her a bunch of different bee things!

so within the next few weeks i'll be making LOTS more BEES! :)



i made these little 1-inch pinback buttons using some cute bee fabric i found in my stash. there were 3 different bees in the fabric pattern (that fit on the 1-inch button, so i made a set of 3.

Day 163: Butterfly Name Tag Button

made this name tag for Brenda, the host of my local Los Angeles Church of Craft group. i used a few pieces of scrap paper in coordinating colors with the Hunky Dory Sizzix Sizzlits alphabet strip die for the name, Martha Stewart butterfly paper punch, and my 2.25-inch button machine.

nice and simple!

Day 162: Stampin' Up Butterfly Birthday Card

made this for the private Swap-bot swap, "Happiest Birthday to us! ♥"



the hydrangea flower is stamped just off centered to the right on the plain blank white cardstock card.  the flower is from the Stampin' Up hostess Because I care set and is inked with marina mist (for the blooms) and old olive (for the leaves).  the butterfly is from the Stampin' Up clear stamp set, Nature Walk, and it's inked with tangerine tango.  the sentiment is from Stampin' Up's happy everything set and was inked in stampin' up's marina mist. 

Day 161: Halloween Spider Bookmark

made a few Halloween bookmarks as part of the Swap-bot swap, "Trick or Treat 2011" in the Love to Swap group.  each of my 3 partners got one bookmark.



one of the bookmarks i made featured SPIDERS!  i used my Martha Stewart Crafts paper punch (spider and spiderweb corner) and Tim Holtz spiderweb tape to create it.  it's just white cardstock with the corners spiderweb punched, backed with black cardstock and finished with an eyelet and white organza ribbon.

Day 160: Halloween Spider Coasters

i made a set of Halloween drink coasters for each of my 3 partners as part of the Swap-bot swap, "Trick or Treat 2011" in the Love to Swap group.




the set includes a SPIDER so i'm posting it here... but they're also a cute vampire, ghost and skeleton girl, too. 
i used the dollar bin rubber stamps from Michaels and Joanns along with my Staz-On black stamp pad... and tada!  cute coasters perfect for October!

Day 159: Spider Bottlecap Magnets

it's not that i haven't been making creepy crawlies for the past 3 months, i just haven't been motivated into blogging.  yah.  that's it... :)



i made these a couple of weeks ago, as part of the Swap-bot swap, "Trick or Treat 2011" in the Love to Swap group.

there is spiderweb paper on the bottom of the bottlecap, covered with Diamond Glaze (sprinkled with super-fine glitter, and a spider on top. :)  and of course, a tiny super-strong magnet glued to the back.

Day 158: Artified Butterfly

just like yesterday, i've used my iPhone's Artify app to create this little digital painting.

Day 157: Artified Katydid

okay, so i used the picture i took on day 152, played with it on my iPhone using Artify and created this!  it looks like the katydid is part of a fancy impressionist painting!  :)  i'll have to do more of these!

Day 156: Paper Wasp Rubbing

My husband and i spent Saturday night at the Orange County (OC) Fair in Costa Mesa.  we saw lots of farm animals and ate lots of fair food!

the fair had a great giant robotic bug exhibit.




i took pictures of all the giant bugs and did a crayon rubbing! :)



here's my paper wasp.


i love county fairs! i always have a wonderful time! i can't wait for the Los Angeles County Fair! 

Day 155: Bees in a Jar Notecard

made this notecard to send with the bee stuffie i made for Day 153.



the bee stamps are from Paper Trey Ink's honey bees set and the jar is from Crescendoh's Little Miss Mason set.  i stamped everything in black and watercolored the lid and bees using my water pen and a couple of Stampin' Pads.

Day 154: Katydid loves Roses Photo

i took this picture on July 19th.  kept forgetting to add it to the blog.  so, here it is! 

this big guy was very happily munching on some flowers in front of an apartment building in my neighborhood.  i hope he's enjoying his lunch!

Day 153: Felt Bumble Bee Stuffie

i made a stuffie for my partner for the "OTT: BuzZz Bumble Bee" Swap-bot swap in the One Tiny Thing group.  the requirements were to make something less than 4x4 inches.  the bee is WAY BIGGER than life size, but i wanted to make it big enough to fit a squeaker! 
the pattern is my own simple sketch (it's egg shaped).  and the stripes are on the top and bottom of the bee.  i didn't add legs because i thought it was pretty cute as is.

Day 152: Baby Katydid Photographs

i see a lot of bugs while taking the dog for her morning walks. On August 8, a baby katydid just standing in some dried leaves on the sidewalk. talk about deathwish!  nobody looks down while they're walking... i picked him up and put him safely on a nearby bush.... then took a couple of pictures of the little guy.  he's pretty cute!

Day 151: Little Butterfly on Lantana Flowers Photos

AGGHHH...
so i'm over a month behind on this project. i don't know if i'll ever catch up, but i can keep going until i hit 365. it might take me an extra couple of months, but i think i can catch up. i just have to keep blogging. i seem to have a problem making the time to blog properly. extra effort will be required to finish the 365!



anyway, i took these photos a couple of weeks ago (July 25th) while taking my dog for a walk around the block. my neighbor has a beautiful garden with lots of butterflies dancing around. a few of them were landing on the lantana flowers up on the retaining wall and let me get pretty close to take pictures. i think it's mating season. they seem to be very happy.

Day 150: Ladybug & Mushroom Tin

another item for the Swap-bot swap, "Down the Rabbit Hole Scavenger Hunt" swap.  this is actually the back of the Tweedle tin i made.  i thought the mushrooms and ladybug were cute together and whimsical enough for Wonderland.

these stamps are all from Octopode and i colored them in using my Zig markers.

Day 149: Wonderland Caterpillar Flat Notecard

i'm like 2 weeks behind!  i've just been not so motivated or when i am, i have to catch up on Swap-bot swaps.  ugh.  so, here's something fast and quick that i made for a the Down the Rabbit Hole Scavenger Hunt swap.  i wrote my message on it. 

used 4x6-inch white cardstock and stamped the caterpillar and "The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland" on the flat front in blue and rounded the corners.

Day 148: doodle bugs

another journal page i created for a round robin journal.
i took the journal to work and was doodling while i sat at my desk waiting for my ship to dock.
i used lots of different colored fine tip pens to draw bugs all over the page. haha...  they're not perfect, but i had fun doing it.



her journal is all inspiration, so i tried to give her some ideas of where i get my inspiration.
it's for the Swap-bot swap, "Round Robin Journal" in the Love to Swap group

Day 147: Color Scheme Butterflies

oohh... i'm about a week behind on posting.

here's one of the things i made this week.



they're paper punched butterflies that i colored with my Zig pens to create different color schemes (groups of 3) for a page in a round robin journal.

her journal is all inspiration, so i tried to give her some ideas of where i get my inspiration.
it's for the Swap-bot swap, "Round Robin Journal" in the Love to Swap group

Day 146: Snail Mini Pocket Journal

very similar to the journal i made yesterday, but this one is a little smaller and i used different Stampin' Up stamps and inks.  these little journals are perfect for pockets.  i love keeping these in my pocket and bag to keep notes.



this journal / notebook is for the winner of the Spoiled Swappers group WTA #19 on Swap-bot.  this round, the theme is BUGS, so i'm sending this little journal with a store-bought butterfly keychain.  i hope she likes it!

Day 145: Handmade Dragonfly Mini Journal

using a bunch of Stampin' Up stamps, i created a pocket sized (3 x 4 inch) journal for my partner in the Itty Bitty CREEPY CRAWLY swap on Swap-bot.

i cut the paper to size, then stamped the plain blue cardstock cover in various shades of blue using all Stampin' pads.  i colored in the dragonfly and ladybugs using the water pen and the same blue ink pads.

after the cover was finished, i used an awl to poke the holes in the pages and threaded some embroidery thread to create the binding.

i like to use these little journals when i travel.  i keep track of itineraries, info, and write about everything on my travels.  it's small enough to keep in your pocket and big enough to log a weekend trip.

Day 144: Blue Bee Thinking of You Notecard

i love bees... even when they're blue. :) 

i used 4 different shades of blue Stampin' Pad inks with a little bee from my new Paper Trey Ink Honey Bees stamp set and the sentiment from the Paper Trey Ink Tea for Two set.  what a cute everyday card!

Day 143: Rainbow Butterfly Notecard

i used the direct to paper technique to make this card. Splitcoast Stampers had a great tutorial on it, so i had to try it! i used my Dream Impressions Fall Combo stamp pad and simply dragged it across the front of my notecard. i stuck 3 white flower stickers on the bottom left corner and a little puffy butterfly sticker embellishment to finish it off.

Day 142: Sparkle Dragonfly Notecard

using inspiration from the Stampington Take Ten magazine, i created a notecard using some craft supplies i received in an Swap-bot Inspiration Kit swap.

here's some of the supplies i received:





i love swapping supplies. i send stuff i've had in my stash for a while and haven't used... and i receive some very fun and random goodies to inspire me! like they say, your trash may be somebody else's treasure?

so i found a fun and simple card to make in the Take Ten magazine... and used the sparkly dragonfly sticker and a paper tag from the swap package...
and made this!



not exactly perfect, since my color scheme is a bit off... but i'm working through my paper stash... and nobody really looks that hard at the cards you send anyways. hahaha...

here's how i made it:

1. cut the top flap of the card shorter than the bottom and rounded the corners
2. lined the bottom inside flap with patterned paper
3. punched circles out of patterned paper and adhered them to the bottom right corner of the top flap
4. cut a strip of plain paper to fit the length of the card and adhered it on top of the circles (lining it up to cover the circles half way)
5. punch a hole in the card above the circles (in the plain paper strip) to attach the tag using a brad
6. add dragonfly sticker to the top left corner of the card

DONE!