“B” Happy – Frilly & Funkie Challenge

6 years ago

Hello crafty friends! I know it has been a while since I’ve posted to my blog but now that my work commitments have eased up I should be able to get back into my craft room. It has not been an easy task to focus on work instead of opening all of the boxes of crafting goodies that arrived over the last several months. So, this weekend, I checked the Frilly & Funkie Blog and started working on the “B” Happy challenge. The challenge is generously sponsored by the Funkie Junkie Boutique.

The “B” Happy challenge is one about making me happy and features birds, bees, and/or butterflies. After much deliberation and thinking about maybe a rooster/chicken, a butterfly, or birds, I focused in on the bee. And, let me tell you, I don’t think vintage bee images get a lot of credit. I have a ton of birds and butterflies but really only a few bees. I had to resort to vintage images for the project and literally go through all of my stamps to find something that resembled a bee that wasn’t “cutesy.” At the end of it, I created a “bee” notebook. And, of course, making it makes me happy because I’m back in my craft room!

I initially started with the new die cut from Eileen Hull’s Book Club Chapter 2 Wrap Journal. I love journals so when I saw the die I was very intrigued. I must admit, though, I’ve learned some things the hard way when putting this project together with the die cut. It’s a fun die but it also makes me wish that there was a bigger version! I used the Little Sizzles Mat Board from Sizzix (mainly because it’s roughly the length of the die cut and I didn’t have any other chip board that was long enough) and since I only had white mat board, I then coated it in Art Basics Black Gesso.

Due to the length of the die cut (and if you want a full wrapped journal without piecing it together), it is helpful to have a cover cut from a material or paper that is over 13 inches long. Of course, this leaves out most scrapbook papers and other items that we get at a 12 inch dimension. Since I did not want to go out to the store and I just wanted to be a homebody, I decided to piece together a couple of the Sizzix leather paper sheets. I also embossed them with the Tim Holtz Flourish embossing folder and then rubbed on some Finnabair metallic wax (White Gold and Rich Copper). On the inside of the journal I used paper from Graphic 45 (French Country), Bazill (Paprika), Tonic Studios craft papers (Cinnamon Silk). I added some stamped and embossed touches to the inside of the journal with bee stamps from Dina Wakley (Scribbly Insects) and Tim Holtz (Tiny Things #164). I added some vintage images that I printed that had bees on them (one for the pocket and one for a carte postale in the back). I made little journal books for the inside from some graph papers that I had from Close to My Heart, some watercolor paper, and some mixed media paper. I adorned each individual journal with another vintage image of a bee.

On the cover, I used some Echo Park magnets to act as a closure instead of a metal piece or wrapped ribbons. I edged each of the covers with the Tonic Studios craft paper for a bit of a different look. I grabbed a Tim Holtz Thinlit (Stitched Rectangle) for the base of the centerpiece of my journal cover. I stamped the bee image from Dina Wakley’s Scribbly Insects on to some watercolor paper in Tim Holtz’s Distress Inks (Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey, Ground Espresso), cut it out, and used a fine-tip watercolor brush to “color” in the image. I also put the inks on my craft sheet to add more color when I needed it. I brushed the wings with Rose Gold Metallic Paint that was watered down which gives the wings a faint sparkle. I then restamped the image when it was still damp but dry enough so I could bring back some of the detail. While my bee was drying, I used Fossilized Amber, Rusty Hinge, and Wild Honey Distress Inks and dabbed them on to a honeycomb chipboard piece from Market 49. I put some of the multi-colored ribbon under the honeycomb piece and glue it down on the stitched rectangle, grabbed some Prima and Market 49 flowers and glued them down as well. Once those were all dry, I glued on the bee and the quote token from Tim Holtz.

To finish off my little journal, I put eyelets in the spine of the journal and attached the smaller journals with May Arts waxed cord. I attached some ribbons that were died with Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge, Tea Stain, and Ground Espresso) and some more of the multi-colored ribbon to the spine. I also added a small charm which includes a Memory Hardware French Regalia crown (a small ode to a queen bee) and Memory Hardware Parisian Amber Stone (yellow for honey).

I hope my project inspires you to join in the “B” Happy challenge! It was lovely to spend time in my craft room after such a long absence and I think this project was a good start to work my way back into paints, texture pastes, inks, and all of the goodies in my craft room. I hope everyone is having a safe, happy summer.