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.