Saying Goodbye Is So Hard

This is my last post on this blog.
It makes me very sad just to type that, but it is time to let it go and move forward into the next chapter of my journey.
A little over a month ago my phone was having a nervous breakdown so I started cleaning out files on it. Well that was a bad idea. Never clean files from any electronic thing when you are in a panic. Ever.
I accidentally deleted over three years of images from this blog. The images weren't backed up either.
So all of my tutorials, blog hops, favorite projects and design team contributions from that time frame are gone.
Whoosh.
I was so mad at myself.
Now, I see that it was the nudge that I needed to let go of a sad and challenging time in my life. To move forward and share about the healthy and happy person that I am working on becoming in a different place.

I have started a new blog for this different phase.
So Bexcellent

There will still be crafty sharing happening, but I will also be sharing recipes, motivational and inspiring thoughts and stories, beautiful pictures from adventures, personal experiences, home decor faux pas and lessons learned from life experiences. I hope a few of you will come and join me there.

And if I could share a simple nugget of wisdom at the sunset of this blog...

Don't look behind you, that isn't where your dreams live.

B-

Moxie Fab Thanks! Blog Hop

Cath, there is no other way to say it...

When I think of "Moxie Fab" I think of you!

YOU literally are the Moxiest of Fabs!

YOU coined the "Moxie Fab" phrase, live the "Moxie Fab" life and shared the "Moxie Fab" love with all of us.

YOU are a MOXIE FAB treasure 

and I am so grateful for all of the inspiration

 that you have generously spread through the creative world!

You probably got here from the delightful

Susie Wittwer

and when you are done visiting me please go visit the amazing 

Lori Craig

Your Forever Moxie Fab Fan...

B-

A Very Knotty Blog Hop

Welcome to the Dazzle-it "Lovely Knots" blog hop :)

What a pleasure it was when the incredibly talented and oh so delightful Carmi Cimicata asked if I would participate in a blog hop with her and the amazing, talented friends she has!

I personally am not nearly as knotty as my darling daughter Chloe is, but we decided it would be a fun challenge to take on together and to have the opportunity to share some creative time. She picked up the instruction book and in no time had made a multiple "Double Coin" knot bracelet. (so cute!!)

 I on the other hand, was a bit daft to the initial concept of the hop which was to create Chinese knots, and so I proceeded to do a basic "Boondoggle" bracelet which was easy (and literally anyone can do!) with this gorgeous cord. I finished it with a button, and added some chunky charms. As you can plainly see, I am not so knotty yet  :)

Then Chloe and I sat down together, and we started to create a project together. The first draft was a little rough, so we took it apart and did an easier and edited version of what my mind had envisioned.
She made the coin knots, and I slid the beads on and tied them with the sliding knot so it is a very adjustable and easy to wear piece. I love the bright red beads with the crisp aqua, such a stunning color combination that packs a ton of pop!

I am so inspired and we have a little bit of cord left, so I have another project in mind already! Chinese knotting with the Dazzle-It "Lovely Knots" cord is loads of fun, and a great way to spend some crafty time with your important people :)

Have fun getting Knotty!

B-

Ruby Rock-It June Blog Hop!!

Hello there to you, our faithful Ruby Rock-It Fans!!!

Welcome to our June blog hop!
This month we are featuring our very versatile Fundamentals cardmaking supplies, gorgeous vellum, and out bling!

I love the versatility of these products, and how beautiful and elegant they are!

 The die cuts and bling are fabulous compliments to each other, and add that special touch of detail to make a project really have pop!!

The single bling strand wrapped perfectly around the circumference of the tag, making it really easy to put together and sparkle-tacular!!!

And after you hop along, make sure you find out the details on how you can have a chance to win this amazing PRIZE pack!!

Come and hop along with the rest of the team, leaving comments at each blog to enter to win an awesome Ruby Rock-It prize pack! You could win your very own collection of these delightful Fundamental goodies!!

Here is the order of blogs in case you get lost along the way:

• RRBF Blog <------start here="" span="">
  Cindy Stevens
  Carrie Walz
  Beckie Dreyer
  Erin Yamabe
  Pattie Beltran
  Ro Philippsen
  Becky Olsen
  June Goh
  Liana Suwandi
• Lisa Novogrodski
• Pamela Young
  RRBF Blog <------- end="" here="" span=""> 

Make sure you leave a comment on each designer's blog and then on the Ruby Rock-It blog once you are done hopping along the Ruby Rock-It trail!

Ruby Rock-It blog hop rules:

Leave a comment on each designer's blog and then on the Ruby Rock-It's blog to be entered to win the Ruby Rock-It prize pack. Comments must be posted by Sunday, June 9th at 11:59 pm pst to be eligible for the random drawing. We will announce the winner on our Ruby Rock-It blog on Tuesday, June 12th.

Happy Crafting Friends!!

B-

The Softer Side of Ruby Rock-It Blog Hop

Hello Ruby Rock-it Fans!  

Welcome to our May blog hop!  

We are featuring 3 ranges that reach our softer side...Arcadia, Mother Nature, and Reminisce.  These are all so delicate and dainty on their own, and blend just beautifully together!  

Come and hop along with us, leaving comments at each blog [including ours] to be entered to win an awesome Ruby Rock-it prize pack!  

My project is a layered combination of Mother Nature and the Bird Decoupage pack.

I made a little shadowbox...

did a little fussy cutting...

and ended with a finished project that I think is adorable  :)

I had a blast making this as an International Scrapbook Day project  <3 p="">

Look at how gorgeous these collections are together, don't forget to leave comments, this is a great prize package!!

 Here's the order in case you get lost along the way...Remember to start at the Ruby Rock-it blog!

RRBF Blog

Kris Berc

Carrie Walz

Beckie Dreyer

Erin Yamabe

Pattie Beltran

Becky Olsen

June Goh

Liana Suwandi

Lisa Novogrodski

RRBF Blog

RUBY ROCK-IT RULES-LEAVE A COMMENT ON EACH DESIGNER’S BLOG AND THEN ON THE RUBY ROCK-IT'S BLOG TO BE ENTERED TO WIN OUR AWESOME PRIZE PACK. COMMENTS MUST BE POSTED BY TUESDAY, MAY 7TH AT 11:59PM PST TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE RANDOM DRAWING.  WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER ON OUR RUBY ROCK-IT BLOG ON WEDNESDAY MAY 8TH! 

Ruby Rock-It Kinda Krafty Hop!

Hello Ruby Rock-it Fans!  

Today, we are celebrating our beautiful New Kinda Krafty range, that made it's debut a few weeks ago, and has been very well received!  It is full of bright and bold contrasts against a beautiful neutral kraft background!  Come and hop along with us, leaving comments at each blog to enter to win an awesome Ruby Rock-it prize pack!  You could win your very own KINDA KRAFTY range!  Here's the order of blogs in case you get lost along the way!

Here's the order:

RRBF Blog

Kris Berc

Carrie Walz

Beckie Dreyer

Erin Yamabe

Pattie Beltran

Lisa Webb

Becky Olsen 

June Goh

Liana Suwandi

Lisa Novogrodski

RRBF Blog

RUBY ROCK-IT KINDA KRAFTY HOP RULES-LEAVE A COMMENT ON EACH DESIGNER’S BLOG AND THEN ON THE RUBY ROCK-IT'S BLOG TO BE ENTERED TO WIN THE KINDA KRAFTY PRIZE PACK. COMMENTS MUST BE POSTED BY SUNDAY, APRIL 7TH AT 11:59PM PST TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE RANDOM DRAWING.  WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER ON OUR RUBY ROCK-IT BLOG ON MONDAY, APRIL 8TH! 

Good luck and Happy Crafting!

B-

Ruby Rock-It Blog Hop Featuring the Carnival Collections

Hello Ruby Rock-it Fans!  Today, we are celebrating our beautiful New Carnival KING and QUEEN ranges that are debuted at CHA Winter, and are shipping as we speak!  Come and hop along with us, leaving comments at each blog to enter to win an awesome Ruby Rock-it prize pack!  You could win your very own CARNIVAL KING range!  Here's the order of blogs in case you get lost along the way! 

Ruby Rock-It!

• Beckie Dreyer
• June Goh
• Liana Suwandi
• Erin Yamabe
• Lisa Novogrodski
• Carrie Walz
• Lisa Webb
• Becky Olsen
• Pattie Beltran
• Kristine Berc
• Ruby Rock-It

• MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A COMMENT ON EACH DESIGNER’S BLOG AND THEN ON THE RUBY ROCK-IT BLOG ONCE YOU’RE DONE PARTYING CARNIVAL STYLE!

  RUBY ROCK-IT CARNIVAL PARTY RULES-LEAVE A COMMENT ON EACH DESIGNER’S BLOG AND THEN ON THE RUBY ROCK-IT'S BLOG TO BE ENTERED TO WIN THE CARNIVAL KING PRIZE PACK. COMMENTS MUST BE POSTED BY THURSDAY MARCH 7TH AT 11:59PM PST TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE RANDOM DRAWING.  WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE WINNER ON OUR RUBY ROCK-IT BLOG ON FRIDAY, MARCH 8TH! 

  
  

  

  
  

  

   I used the Carnival King collection to decorate a frame that can be used time and again with the inside panel painted with chalkboard paint. It can be used to show the number of years, what is on the menu or share a fun message!
  
  The products I used are:
  
  Carnival King Garlands
  Carnival King "Party Time"
  
  
  Thanks for hopping by and good luck!
  B-

Showing Off Paper Smooches CHA Release and a Hidden Giveaway!

Playing with the new Design Motifs stamp set!

Paper Smooches is showing off their CHA release during the entire month of January.  37 designers are participating along with the PS DT, so there will be a ton for projects to inspire you this month.  Paper Smooches is known for their fun and whimsical hand-drawn stamps.  They decided that it was time to broaden their product line to include DIES and wood mount stamps!  

I have a project to share using NEW PS product that releases on February 1, 2013 atwww.papersmoochesstamps.com along with many retail stores around the globe.

You will find a new blog link (or two) to follow every day in January at the PS Blog. 

Paper Smooches is giving away $500. Worth of product!  Hidden on FIVE of the participating blogs is a prize package worth $100. each. The prize includes a variety of stamp sets, wood mounts and dies. Comment on as many blogs as you can to increase your chances to be one of the five winners.

Deadline is January 30^th – winners will be announced on the PS Blog on January 31^st.

I was sent the fabulous Design Motifs set to play with! I love making backgrounds with stamps, and this entire set is filled with graphic shapes that are perfect for color layering, making patterns or a fun and funky design element!

I used the large arrow to build a chevron with Lemonade Adirondack ink, Tsukineko Glue Pad and Doodlebug yellow glitter. Thanks stamp is from Sentiment Sampler, the flowers were fussy cut from a  piece of Crate Paper and the wood heart button is by Prima. 

Thanks for taking time to enjoy the Paper Smooches Designer tour, and good luck with finding blog prize packages!

Happy Stamping!
B-

A Winner from Seasons Givings Blog Hop!

Okay, back from my AMAZING service expedition to Chiapas, Mexico and I have chosen a winner!

Proudly took 2188 pictures on my Canon 40D and 448 pictures and 12 videos on my Canon Elph110 HS.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to leave a comment, you are all very appreciated!! I also want to wish all of you a wonderful year to come!
It is with excitement that I announce that Rhonda is going to be getting this box packed with Happy New Year goodies!

Rhonda, please leave me a comment here, and I will get your box sent out to you asap!

And a quick project share because it is a great way to end the first blog post of the new year!

Happy Crafting friends!!
B-

Seasons Givings Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Seasons Givings Blog Hop!  

This hop is going to be a little bit different, in the fact that every single person on the list below, is giving something away.  All you need to do, is go to their blog, and leave a comment.  Really, really easy.  Now grab a cup of coffee, or tea, or maybe some hot chocolate, whatever your favorite is, and start hopping.  

Here is to starting off the year 2013 in a fun way!

I want to share one of my favorite projects from the past year. It is made with some Ruby Rock-It patterned papers, Maya Road stick pins, Prima wood button, EK Success punch, American Craft thickers and beautiful May Art ribbon.

Thanks for landing on my blog an taking some of your fresh brand new year to spend it with us as we share our love for crafting and giving!

Here is just a small sample of what I will be putting into a box. I will be posting the winner on the 6th of January, so please come by then to see if you were selected.

Paper Crafts magazine

Kelly Marie Alvarez/Lawn Fawn

Unity Design Team

Avocado Arts

GinaK Designs

Latisha Yoast

Lee Murphy

Laurie Schmidlin

AJ Otto

Michelle Woerner

Jocelyn Olson

Cindy Lawrence

Amy Tsuruta

Jessie Rone

Karen Baker

Lori Tecler

Jodi Collins

Kim Kesti

Tosha Leyendekker

Lisa Henke 

Tonya Dirk

Ann Cox

Jimmi Mayo

Cristal (Pinky) Hobbs

Vera W. Yates

Jennifer Gallacher

Lisa Hetrick

Emily Leiphart

Lori Craig

Melody Rupple

Kim Hughes

Lynnette Kauffman

Beate Johns

Ashley Marcu

Becky Olsen

Jessica Diedrich

Alice Wertz

Joanne Basile

Carolyn King

Teri Anderson

Isha Gupta

Melissa Mann

Lydia Fiedler

Beth Pingry

Jaclyn Miller

Don't forget to stop by every blog as each one is doing its own give away!!

Many wishes for a very blessed 2013!

B-

Celebrating the Holidays with a Hot Cocoa Bar

Hot Cocoa, marshmallows and peppermint sticks!

Putting together a cute place to gather all of the delicious fixings for a memorable mug of warm happiness doesn't take much time, and will make a memorable addition to your holiday decor! Guests and family members alike will love the opportunity to mix that perfect treat, and you have a warm and fuzzy feeling for sharing a simple joy.

Over at the Ruby Rock-It Blog I share the perfect hot cocoa recipe that I found from my favorite chef, Alton Brown, and some jar decorating ideas to put it all together.

Here is where I thought I could share some of the design logistics for giving it a cohesive look.

The tray was one that I found at a garage sale for $1.00, it is from Wal-Mart and it has had the top painted in a few coats with chalkboard paint and then I just doodled a little and hand wrote the words "hot chocolate bar". I love that it is old and worn looking, and has my personal touch with the very imperfect lettering, it is comfortable and it is my wish that it is inviting. I don't want anyone to feel bad if they spill or smudge, I want them to feel joy as they indulge in a warm cup of happiness.

To make each of the tags I painted both sides of the left over pieces of chipboard from previous projects. After they had dried I ran them through my Sizzix with a tag shaped die cut, hand wrote the ingredient and then tied them onto each of the jars lids. 

The fun of using the chalkboard paint for the tray and labels is that they can all be re-purposed for future displays and holidays. There are so many ways that this little project makes me happy, and I have even made myself a couple more mugs of cocoa than I usually would have consumed this time of year because of the convenience and how inviting it looks.

I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas! And please come back to visit, I really appreciate you!

B-

Free Faux Mercury Glass Ornament Tutorial

I love to cruise around on Pinterest and explore, find inspiration and make new friends!
Recently I was inspired by this pin

Source: ashbyhouse.com.au via Bekzilla on Pinterest

As soon as I saw this pin and put it in my Winter and Christmas Inspiration Board I knew just how I would be able to make something similar. The next thing I will try is figuring out how to age them so they look like they have been around for 50 years. But I am very pleased with the initial result, and am looking forward to making many more of them in different sizes and shapes.













Start by finding clear glass ornaments, I got mine from Michael's, they were 50% off and they had a few different sizes of the round and also a few unusual shapes. You will also need Adirondack  Silver Mixative, an applicator, and an alcohol based solution. Ranger makes one as does Copic. (I am going to try rubbing alcohol in my next version to see if I can get the cost lower)

Take the top out of the ornament and put some of the alcohol solution inside. It won't matter if you put too much in as it eventually evaporates, it just takes longer for the project to dry on the inside.

Squeeze a few drops of the Silver Mixative inside the ornament as well. Start swirling and rolling the ornament.(be patient when rolling it around to keep it even)















It takes a few minutes for it to dry/evaporate, so just keep swirling and rolling to keep it from settling all in one place. (this is a great in front of your favorite tv show project!)

Prepare the applicator by putting a few drops of the Silver Mixative onto the felt portion.















Then place some of the alcohol solution onto the applicator to loosen up the mixative.















Start dabbing onto the outside of the ornament.















Continue applying the mixative and solution to the applicator as necessary until the entire outside has been covered.

This will leave a beautiful, textured layer on the glass.

The result is glistening, and glamorous, and a project that can be made with older children. I am so pleased with how they look, and I knew that I would want to share that with all my crafty friends, so thanks for dropping by and I hope you have as much fun trying this project as I did!

Happy Holiday Crafting!
B-

Free Christmas Packaging and Holiday Treat Recipe

Happy December 1st!!!

I am sharing one of our family's very Happy Holiday traditions with my friend Debby Lewis on her blog today! You will have to go over and visit to get the free tutorial for a gift bag and the free recipe for white chocolate, peppermint Chex mix. But trust me you will be glad you did! She is also doing a HUGE give-away at the end of the 12 days!!
Here is a sneak peak at my free gift bag tutorial that uses Ruby Rock-It products...

And what the white chocolate, peppermint Chex mix looks like...

It is delish, everyone enjoys it and it is quick to make large batches of so you can make sure to share treats with all of your co-workers, friends, family and your own late night snack ;o)

Happy Crafting!
B-

A Farewell Blog Hop With My Fabulous Ruby Rock-It Friends

It has been a wonderful experience to be on the inaugural Ruby Rock-it Bella! Fundamentals team. I have enjoyed the wonderful camaraderie of this inspiring group, and will remember everyone with much fondness. We have been asked to share our favorite project from the year. I have many projects that I have been proud of, but one stood out from the others for me. This one of my daughter, Laurel, who has a very free spirit and is one of the kindest and most fun loving people that I know was definitely my favorite layout and tutorial to share.

And to ring in the holiday season I made a card special for this farewell hop to let the other girls know how much I have appreciated the opportunity to work with them. I hope that they have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year filled with many exciting opportunities!

May your holidays be merry and bright!

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit, please visit the very talented Benedicte Raphalen, she is the next stop on the hop!!

Happy Crafting!!
B-