Bella Blvd Studio Blog

Cards On Thursdays: Valentine's Day Style

Happy Valentine's Day!!! To help celebrate this day of love, we asked our Card Designers to focus on love-themed cards to share with you today. And they sure did deliver, with some amazing cards!

***Also, our February issue of the Bella Buzz newsletter is going out today, so you'll want to stop back by here this afternoon to get your copy (if it's wasn't delivered to your inbox already).

“Bee Mine” card, by Shellye McDaniel.

I started out thinking that I would add a cute bee to the side of the Valentine journal card and then the idea struck me to leave the two journal cards attached and add the bee over the flower :) For the bee, I used a 1.5" and 1" circle punches for the body; I layered the head on with a foam dot and added a brad for the eye. For the wings, I used a 1.5" heart punch that I cut in half. A little pink chalk for the cheek area and this card was done!

Supplies:
Kiss Me: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Bouquet Kisses, True Love, Cute Cuts; Birthday Girl: Miles of Smiles; Ciao Chip Everyday Elements: Borders; Button Market: Pink Flowers

“Frosting To My Cupcake” card, by Shellye McDaniel.

So many of the Bella Blvd collections contain sentiments that are just perfect for Valentine's cards! I pulled a few things from the Birthday Girl Collection and added a small sticker from Kiss Me. I hand-stitched the corner stitckers to the cut-out before attaching it to the card front. In lieu of a 'cherry on top' I added a Punch colored crochet heart!

Supplies:
Kiss Me: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Birthday Girl: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Party Dress, Cute Cuts; Crochet Hearts: Punch; Designer Tape: Gulf Dot 12mm

“UR My Ace” card, by Shellye McDaniel.

Gotta have a Valentine card for the guy in my life :) Again, I used a non-traditional Valentine collection to bring this card together. One of my favorite color combos is orange and turquoise, so this turned out to be a lot of fun. I searched the internet for a catchy quote to go with a "playing card/game" theme and found this one by Eva Gabor: "Love is a game that two can play & both win". I just printed it out from my computer and added it to the top of the cardstock sticker. 

Supplies:
Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Ice; Plastino: Label Additions Stickers; Flirty: Label Additions Stickers; Family Dynamics: Cute Cuts; Birthday Boy: About A Boy; Sunny Happy Skies: Cute Cuts; High Five Alphabet Stickers: Yellow; Button Market- Masculine Mix

“You're My Secret Fave” card, by Shellye McDaniel.

I love taking strips of paper and sewing them together to create a quilted design...this was made easy by cutting the strips from the Borders & Cute Cuts Paper! After determining the dimension of the cardfront, I cut a piece of plain cardstock down to size and then layered with the strips. I sewed them together in a small zig-zag stitch. Next, I used a doily die shape to make the focal point and then layered with sticker tabs, journal stickers and cut-outs attached with foam dots. To each side I added two of the new white crochet hearts and a small chevron bow to one-side. At the bottom I applied a dotted border sticker that I added a little hand-stitching to. Finally, I taped a small piece of the Designer Tape to a scrap of cardstock and then punched four small circles from it. I glued the circles in place over the green dots found on the paper. I really like extra detail that it brings, as well as a bit of dimension!

Supplies:
Kiss Me: Borders & Cute Cuts, Flutter, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Crochet Hearts: White; Designer Tape: Pickle Juice Dot

“Crazy In Love” card, by Shellye McDaniel.

If you look closely you will notice that the design in the True Love paper is made up of clustered hearts! With that in mind, I set out to emphasize a few of the hearts by layering with 1/2" punched hearts and in a diagonal pattern. After gluing each heart in place, I used a sewing machine to to enhance the hearts and lend a quilted look. Next, I simply layered a precut doily with one of the sentiment stickers and added a small piece of the Punch Feather and crochet heart off to the side. I wanted to keep the design to a minimum so that as many of the little hearts would show as possible!

Supplies:
Kiss Me: Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Flutter, True Love; Crochet Hearts: White; Button Market: Hot Pink Flowers; Feathers: Punch

“Mine 2 Love” card, by Kathy Martin.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! It’s said that all you need is love, but I think a little ice cream with it is even better! This card is all about love and ice cream, two things that would make this Valentine’s Day perfect!

Supplies:
Kiss Me: Love Notes, True Love, Borders & Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sunshine & Happiness: Miniatures Stickers; Button Market: Stars

“So In Love” card, by Kathy Martin.

A cloud, a butterfly and a banner, a few of my favorite things, are combined on this Valentine’s card to create a whimsical focal point. I love lots of layers and Bella Blvd’s Designer Tape, Just Write journaling stickers and Alpha+Bits make layering fun and easy!

Supplies:
Kiss Me: True Love, Love Notes, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Button Market: Purple Flowers; Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron

“Kiss Me Just Because” card, by Kathy Martin.

Kiss me because you love me, kiss me because it’s Valentine’s Day, but kiss me everyday … just because! Just because is the best reason of all, don’t you think? Happy Valentine’s Day!

Supplies:
Kiss Me: True Love, Bouquet Kisses, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Designer Tape: Piggy Pink Stripe; Button Market: Outdoors; Miniatures Stickers: Card Sentiments

“I Love You” card, by Wendy Wagner.

I love this paper! And I think keeping the decorating on the card simple helped with the busy paper. “I love you”, for anyone who has a place in your heart! I ventured back to my distress ink on this one, with just a touch of stickles and some fun little accents.

Supplies:
Kiss Me: Love Notes, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Crochet Hearts: Cotton Candy; Crochet Flowers: Juniper; Button Market: Fruit Punch

"Be Mine Valentine” card, by Wendy Wagner.

Will you be my Valentine? Handsome? I love this card and have someone already picked out to whom it will be going to when I was making it :) I used the new Freestyle paper for the background and kept it simple with the big tag on the front. I love working with anything that has to do with love, pink and hearts. I just adore this collection!

Supplies:
Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Cotton Candy; Kiss Me: Borders & Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Crochet Heart: Cotton Candy; Flags: Girl

“Cloud” card, by Wendy Wagner.

This Cute little card has the circle tag on the front that says "I will love you forever like you 4 always" which is perfect for anyone! This card could go for anyone: friend, child, love of your life. I love rainbows so I wanted to make a Valentine card using the rainbow things from the kiss me collection with the adorable clouds. I also love the darker back for this card, it really makes the light colors pop. I used light blue chalk ink to edge everything on this card.

Supplies:
Kiss Me: True Love, Borders & Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers

Summer Mini Album

Today, we have a fun and colorful summer mini album to share with you. It's based on the photo-a-day idea, but on a smaller scale, covering just the summertime.

Summer Holidays mini album, by Marie-Josée Hamel.

In January, I wanted to start taking a picture a day for the whole year, but I changed my mind quickly, because I knew I would forget to take one some days or lose interest after a while for lack of interesting things to feature. However, at the beginning of the summer, the idea surfaced again and I decided to do it from June until September. Since I spend all summer at home with my daughter, I knew the timing would be perfect and that I would have plenty of things to document. So, I started taking pictures right on the first day of our summer vacation. I decided that I wanted a quick and easy way to document our summer and as such, I decided to add text directly to each picture using Photoshop Elements. Here are a few examples of the pictures I took so far.

Then, I had to start working on the album that would be used to feature those pictures. However, I knew right from the start that I could not create a traditionnal mini-album, because it would be way too thick, given that I will have over sixty day of pictures to feature by the end of the summer.

So I browsed the Web in search of ideas and found many examples of three-ring albums. I figured a 2.5" spine would be perfect and big enough to include all the pictures I would take over the summer. So I got the biggest ring I could find to fit that size. I also settled on a 5.5" x 7" format, which will allow me to included patterned papers and embellishments. Since I take both landscape and portrait pictures, I will have to flip the album while looking through it, but I prefer this format to a square, bigger format. 

I created the base of the album with chipboard that I covered with patterned paper. This makes the album sturdier. The spine is 2.5" x 7" and each covers measures 5.5" x 7. I adhered the ribbons that I will use to close the album to the chipboard before adhering the pattered papers. It is important to use three rings, otherwise, the pages will move too much.

Once the base of the album was created, I added tabs, once for each month of the summer as well as one more for special events.

When working on a huge project like that, I find it is easier to cut most of the pieces in advance, instead of cutting them one at a time. So I cut more than 60 pieces of Bella Blvd paper, in various colors and patterns. Each piece measures 4.75" x 6.6".

I also set aside a few pieces of paper with patterns that can be used as embellishments when cut out. Here's a sample of such papers.

Once this was done, I started adhering the pieces of paper to each piece of white cardstock. I selected a different paper for each day, either choosing a color that was part of the color scheme of the photo or an opposite color. I also created a cover page for each month.

As you can see, the album is already pretty thick, and I have not added papers nor pictures for the month of August yet! So, if you chose to create a similar album, don't forget to make it large enough so you will be able to close it once it is completed.

And finally, I decorated a few pages. As you can see, it doesn't need many embellishments since it is already pretty busy with the background paper and the text right on the photo. I added a bit of washi tape, flags and stickers.

Supplies:
Patterned papers: Various collections, among them Sunny Happy Skies, Family Dynamix and Socialite; Designer Tape: Red Dot, Pickle Juice Dot; Ciao Chip Versatile Elements: Stars & Hearts, Borders; Ciao Chip Simply Simona Alphabets & Numbers: McIntosh

Patriotic Week Challenge: Layouts and Cards

Welcome back to one more day of patriotic projects from our design team! Hopefully you didn't get your fill of red, white, and blue yesterday, because we have a few more layouts and cards to share with you. We DO, however, hope you had an awesome 4th of July and enjoyed your day with family and friends!

"Miss Independence", by Suzanne Sergi.

I really pulled in a lot of my favorite collections for this page of my daughter. I used Midterm, Mr. Boy, and Family Dynamics to create a patriotic page that completely matches the bold personality of my daughter. One of my favorite papers is the Petite pieces with all the great text. A simple, and easy way to dress up the edges of my page. I also cut up the playing cards on the back side of Game night. I thought this was a fun way to add movement across the middle of the page, and create a fun border embellished with stars, Finally, the Patriotic stick pins were the perfect accent to my page.

Supplies:
Mr. Boy: Quadrants; Midterm: Physics; Family Dynamics: The Littlest Things, Game Night, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Sophisticates: Petite Pieces; Tail Waggers & Cat Naps: Ciao Chip; Sunshine & Happiness: Miniatures; Simply Simona Chipboard Alphas: McIntosh; High Five Alpha Stickers: Black-White; Flags: Patriotic

“All American Boy”, by Julie Johnson.

I always say how versatile Bella's paper collections are and I think this layout might be a good example of this. I used papers and embellishments from four different collections to complete this layout. I was excited to find all the little extras from the Chit Chat and Icons chipboard that were a perfect match for my layout. Who knew Bella had a patriotic collection, right? So start looking through your Bella stash, because I'm sure you can come up with a great patriotic layout too!

Supplies:
Making the Team: Cute Cuts; Family Dynamix: Just Write Journaling Stickers, Icons Chipboard; Mr. Boy: Icons chipboard, Chit Chat chipboard; Christmas Wishes: Borders; Button Market: Stars; Flags: Patriotic; High Five Alphabet Stickers: Pink-Red; Simply Simona Chipboard Alphas: Oyster

"Freedom” card, by Alice Carman.

How can you go wrong with Red, White and Blue? It’s so easy to use these colors when making a card. I love the fun bright colors and what a perfect way to start a month then to celebrate our Nation’s Independence day. Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday!

Supplies:
Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Surf N Turf; Mr. Boy: Dinomite, Quadrants; Winter Wonder: Borders, Alpha+Bits; Family Dynamix: Quadrants; Simply Simona: McIntosh Chipboard Alphas; Flags: Patriotic; Button Market: Stars

“July 4^” card, by Alice Carman.

Supplies:
Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Surf N Turf; Mr. Boy: Dinomite, Quadrants; Winter Wonder: Borders, Alpha+Bits; Family Dynamix: Quadrants; Simply Simona: McIntosh Chipboard Alphas; Flags: Patriotic; Button Market: Stars

Patriotic Week Feature: Layouts

We have a few more patriotic layouts to share with you today. Both layouts use a fun mix of red, white, and blue products from many of our collections. Make sure to stop by tomorrow, on the 4th of July, when we will release our July, patriotic themed, project sheet!

"Red, White, And Kaboom", by Melissa Stinson.

I love a good opportunity to play with red, white, and blue color combinations, and for this page I dug deep into the Bella "archives" to pull up a few papers from older lines (Socialite and Family Dynamix, anyone?) to use along with the new Surf n Turf blue from the latest Sophisticates additions. I dressed up the chipboard alpha title a bit by first stamping over it using Versamark ink, then heat embossing with blue powder to create a trendy chevron effect. Sometimes when you want a different look with the supplies you have on hand, it really pays to mix collections and alter items to fit your needs.

Supplies: 
Midterm: Text Me; Socialite: Dance Circle; Sophisticates: Sprinkles and Lace Surf n Turf; Family Dynamix: Quadrants; Simply Simona Chipboard Alphas: McIntosh; High Five Alpha Stickers: Black-White; Flags: Patriotic; Designer Tape: Red Dot

“Star Art”, by Vivian Masket.

I loved working on today's layout, and pulling out lots of beautiful tone-on-tone papers, including Sprinkles & Lace paper from the Sophisticates collection, in reds, whites, and blues. This layout was a snap to create using star punches and the already-coordinated products. I created four layered star embellishments using three different sizes of star punches and pop dots, added a title and some flags, my journaling block, and finished the layout with a star button for a touch of whimsy.

Supplies:
Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Surf N Turf, Sprinkles & Lace McIntosh, Simply Simona McIntosh Alphabet; Mr. Boy: Quadrants; Winter Wonder: Borders, Alpha+Bits; Family Dynamix: Quadrants; Flags: Patriotic; Button Market: Stars

Bella Blvd & Core'dinations Team-Up: Day Four

We hope you have been enjoying all of the projects this week, during our team-up with Core'dinations. I know that our Design Team members had a lot of fun putting these layouts and cards together, and loved the challenge of mixing in lots and lots of gorgeous cardstock! The Core'dinations designers have been sharing amazing projects on their blog as well, and we have loved seeing what they all came up with. 

“Sunshine and Happiness”, by Jennifer Edwardson.

This picture of Emma is a favorite that I hadn't yet added to her album. She is 11 yrs old now and was 5 in the photo. The colors of the Sunshine & Happiness collection was exactly what I needed to get me motivated. The Coredinations cardstock was the perfect addition to the bright Bella patterns. I chose a yellow 'spotted' piece for the base and sanded the top off to have the dots pop. To add to the blue in the flowers, clouds and Emma's bathing suit I chose a piece of solid from the 'brights' collection and ran it through my Big Shot with a floral embossing folder to match the flowers of the patterned paper. I have been a big Coredinations fans for a very long time and just love the versatility and dimension that it adds to any project.

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Popsicle Kisses, Sunny Side Up, Borders, Cute Cuts, Happy Clouds, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Chipboard Icons, Miniatures Stickers

“My First Ride” by, Alice Carman.

As a card maker I rarely do layouts, but I had a lot of fun with my Bella Blvd layouts. I hope you like them because it’s my first EVER Design Team layout!

Supplies:
Sunny Happy Skies: Cute Cuts, Magic in the Sky, Creamsicle Clouds; Ciao Chip Elements: Clouds; Simply Simona Chipboard Alphas: McIntosh, Saltwater, Oyster

“Garden”, by Vivian Masket.

I used Core'dinations Tillie Dot Spotted cardstock on this layout in two ways: 1) as parts of embellishments created by combining die-cut and sanded bits of cardstock with Bella Blvd products, and 2) as a journaling strip with the bottom edge torn to reveal the inner core color of the cardstock. I pulled the bright colors from the photo and played around with contrast on the bottom half of the layout. On the top half of the layout, the sanded cardstock leaves are tone-on-tone embellishments that mimic both the color and pattern of the B side of the Petal Power patterned paper. Touches of blue and aqua - the crochet flowers and the letter stickers - draw attention to the tone-on-tone leaves. I used color on this layout to create flow, creating visual triangles of orange, aqua, pink, and green, using products and parts of the photo as points on my triangles.

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Petal Power, Popsicle Kisses, Miniatures Stickers; Baby Boy: Momma's Boy, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Bella Flowers: Juniper Crochet Flowers

"Peachtree City", by Gail Hoecker.

This layout I partnered Sunshine & Happiness with Coordinations Spotted Jillian. I sanded the Jillian using the Sand It Gadget and wiping off the excess with the Dust Buddy. Seriously, two of my newest go-to tools. With a die cut machine, I cut the title out twice. Once with the patterned paper and then again with the Jillian. I adhered the patterned title as I normally would. I then cut apart the yellow Jillian title and used only portions of it and popped those up as I adhered them to the original patterned title. After I have sanded embellies or cardstock in the past, it was sometimes hard to get the foam tape or adhesive to adhere, use the Dust Buddy and you won't have any problems!

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Petal Power, Sunny Side Up, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron; Sophisticates: Ciao Chip Trees

Magnetic & Clip Board, by Kathy Martin.

This may look like a scrapbook page, but it’s actually a bulletin board! The pinwheels have magnets attached to the back so you can easily switch out the photos. I also used mini wood clothespins that clip to the wires so you to move the banners too. Everything is interchangeable! And you know what the black wire backing is? It’s something you may already have at home. It’s a panel from one of those cubical shelving units that snap together! What a fun project this was and a great décor piece for my office! Don’t you love the combination of Core’dinations card stock and Bella Blvd. papers? Together they make for some adorable pinwheels and banners!

Supplies:
Family Dynamix: Quadrants; Sunny Happy Skies: Borders N’ Blocks

“Hi” card, by Kathy Martin.

I’m hooked! I really love the added texture Core’dinations card stock adds to my projects! And this Jillian Dot line looks like it was made for Bella Blvd! I used a set of square nesting dies to create this design. Then I pierced holes along the border of each square for stitching.

Supplies:
Baby Girl: Snuggly Safari, Cute Cuts, Chipboard Icons; Miniatures Stickers: Card Sentiments

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Now, head on over to Core'dinations, and check out what their Design Team has created using their awesome cardstock, and our fun Bella products! Also, make sure to leave a comment on the Core'dinations post today (NOT this post, but on THEIR post), to be entered in their giveaway. They will be giving away an awesome prize package, containing their Glitter Silk cardstock, Sand It Set, Button, and Hard Core Crafter TShirt. Check out their blog for all the details.

And we'll see you back here tomorrow, for our last day of our team-up week, with lots more project shares from our Design Team. We will also have our SECOND of two giveaways up for grabs!

Bella Blvd & Core'dinations Team-Up: Day Two

Welcome back to day two of our team-up up with Core'dinations. We are back to share more inspirational projects, mixing Core'dinations wonderful cardstocks with our Bella products. Did you check out what the Core'dinations designers shared yesterday? I can't wait to see what they have to share with us all today. 

“Besties & Sisters”, by Megan Klauer.

One of my favorite embellishments that come with the Bella Blvd lines are the Alpha+Bits Stickers sheet. Each line has one and each sheet includes photo corner stickers. I wanted to come up with a way to use these differently so I cut a strip of the Core’dinations paper about 12x3 and adhered the photo corners to it with spacing between them. I then cut that strip vertically into 3 pieces. Once I had adhered the 3 strips to my design I ran them through the sewing machine to insure all the little pieces would stay in place. Such an easy way to extend a few stickers!

Supplies: 
Family Dynamix: Quadrants, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sunshine & Happiness: Happy Clouds; High Five Alphabet Stickers: Pink-Red, Yellow; Ciao Chip Elements: Stars & Hearts

“In The Sand”, by Sheri Feypel.

I created this layout using Core'dinations Tillie Dot Spotted Cardstock and scraps from my stash. I can't speak for anyone else, but I do accumulate the scraps/leftovers. So I dug in and tried to stick with teal-ish and yellow pattern scraps, I pulled colors from the shirt my son is wearing in the picture I was using for this layout. I also added in a bit of Designer tapes, because they are fun to play with. Then the layering begins, I added alpha's, stickers and flags to finish it off. I love the way all of the Bella Blvd products "pop" off the Core'dinations cardstock.

Supplies:
My Boy: Connect The Dots, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Finally Fall: Miniatures; Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron, Teal Stripe; Flags: Fall; High Five Alpha Stickers: Yellow, Black/White, Blue; Button Market: Tie Dye

“Love”, by Kimberly Neddo.

I love this photograph of my daughter and son. The effects I applied with the picture, was fun to bounce off with the dots in the Core'dinations paper and Bella Blvd paper. I love that we have the circular alphabets too, another way to accent on the circular theme going on with this design.

Supplies:
Winter Wonder: Icy; Too Cute To Spook: Bitsy Spider; Spring Flings and Easter Things: Mom's Bouquet; High Five Alphabet Stickers: Green; Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron, Pickle Juice Dot; Button Market: Masculine Mix

“Oh Baby”, by Megan Klauer.

The Core’dinations dots card stock was the perfect compliment to the Chipboard Icons & the “Oh Baby” banner stickers from the Alpha+Bits Stickers made the design process quick & easy. 

Supplies: 
Baby Boy: Heaven Sent, Chipboard Icons, Alpha+Bits Stickers

“Sweet Friend” card, by Alice Carman.

I really enjoyed using Core’dinations color cardstock in my card making. It’s a sturdy card and the colors work really well with Bella Blvd lines. I used the Tillie Dot set and sanded it to achieve the dotted look.

Supplies:
Flirty: Party Girl, Bits A Bella, Label Additions

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Now, head on over to Core'dinations, and check out what their Design Team has created using their awesome cardstock, and our fun Bella products! Also, make sure to leave a comment on the Core'dinations post today (NOT this post, but on THEIR post), to be entered in their giveaway. They will be giving away an awesome prize package, containing their Glitter Silk cardstock, Sand It Set, Button, and Hard Core Crafter TShirt. Check out their blog for all the details.

And we'll see you back here tomorrow, for day three, with lots more project shares from our Design Team. We will also have our FIRST of two giveaways up for grabs!

 

On-Going Guest Designers: Stacey Michaud, Diane Payne, and Charity Hassel

Back in September, when we were choosing our new Design Team, we had a group of talented designers that we just couldn't pass up. So we added a special team of On-going Guest Designers, that will joining us here on the blog throughout the year, along with the rest of our Design Team. Each month, we will feature two of these designers, which means they'll each be joining us three times over the next year. I'm excited to introduce you to Stacey Michaud, who is joining us for her first time on the Bella blog. And we're welcoming back Diane Payne and Charity Hassel for their second round of projects.

Hi all! My name is Stacey Michaud. I am a teacher during the day and an avid scrapbooker by night! I use the creative process to keep my sanity and record my stories. Paper serves as my muse and I love gaining inspiration from the products around me. I like to call my style clean and linear with a twist. Journaling is a must for me. I have been blessed enough to be published in Scrapbook Trends, Creating Keepsakes and Memory Makers magazine as well as several idea books!

"Winter Home", by Stacey Michaud.

I love Bella's chipboard embellishments and how they can make an impact on a project. I kept the paper usage to a minimum, focusing on some of my favorite patterns. Then I simply created a clustered grid of different chipboard and embellishments along with my photos. I am a theme-based scrapper and Bella has the perfect goodies to help me create. I hand-drew the heart to make my title standout and compliment the other hearts on the page.

Supplies: 
Spring Fling & Easter Things: Mom’s Bouquet, Sunny Sunday, Alpha & Bits Stickers; Winter Wonder: Icy, Cute Cuts, Alpha & Bits Stickers, Miniatures; Family Dynamix: Ciao Chip; Baby Blooms-A-Bella: Champagne; Simply Simona Chipboard Alphas: Orange

"Jammies Equal Joy", by Stacey Michaud.

I must admit that the adorable penguins in the Christmas Wishes collection stole my heart. I also have a love affair with banners so I figured I would pair the two to create a part of my title work. I like to scrap the every day, smaller moments such as wearing hand me down pajamas. Adding tidbits, like the calendar heading, helps me communicate my ideas. The bold colors in the collection really pop.

Supplies: 
Christmas Wishes: Trees for Sale, Borders, Star Stripe, Candlelight, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Cute Cuts, Alpha & Bits Stickers, Miniature Stickers; Sophisticates: Oyster and Oreo Chipboard, Calendars; Winter Wonder: Alpha & Bits Stickers; One Fall Day: Alpha & Bits Stickers

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Hello everyone! I’m Diane Payne, and I reside in the big state of Texas with my wonderful husband of 22 years and our two teenage children. Although I love recording the details of our life, I enjoy the creative process of scrapbooking as much as the memory keeping. I like to experiment with different techniques and incorporate photos into our home décor. I scrapbook with a variety of photo styles, including current, vintage, and Hipstamatic prints. My favorite tool for journaling is my vintage 1930's Underwood typewriter which is also used as decor in the entry way of my home.

"Play Ball!", by Diane Payne.

Stars are a shape I use frequently on my layouts and I wanted to use them to highlight the recent "family fun day" with our daughter's softball team. The Mr. Boy line had just the papers I was looking for with the star paper and color palette. To create a couple focal points, I cut a star shape out of a block of patterned paper and layered a coordinating pattern behind the cut out. I used various Quattrofina alphabet fonts and colors to make a fun title down the side of the layout!  To complete the layout I added a couple of the new Patriotic Flags behind one of the stars. I really love the bold colors and whimsical feeling of the layout ... it was just the look I was trying to achieve.

Supplies:
Mr. Boy: Connect the Dots, Hyper Stripe, Heroes, Quadrants, Alpha + Bits; Sophisticates: Quattrofina Mustard & Apricot, Quattrofina Salt Water & Pacific, Quattrofina Peep & Saffron, Miniatures Family, Miniatures Card Sentiments; Spring Flings and Easter Things: Miniatures; Button Markets: Bursts; Flags: Patriotic

"On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!", by Diane Payne.

This Easter photo of my daughter trying to hold back our son at the beginning of the Easter Egg hunt makes me laugh every time I see it. It perfectly captures her competitive nature. I used the eggs on the Cute Cuts sheet from the Spring Flings and Easter Things collection to highlight the theme of the layout. I couldn't resist sneaking in some of the new designer tapes too. I love how they are both functional and decorative. They were a great finishing touch for my small photo and journaling card.

Supplies:
Spring Flings and Easter Things: Sunny Sunday, Mom's Bouquet, Cute Cuts, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Miniatures; Sophisticates: Simply Simona Peep, Quattrofina Mustard & Apricot, Miniatures Family; Blooms-a-Bella: Rossini; Designer Tapes: Pickle Juice Dot, Yellow Chevron, Teal Stripe, Pink Flowers

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Hi everyone! My name is Charity. I am 36 years old, married to Brian for 8 years. I am the stay at home mommy of Alexander (7) and Audrey (5). I am also an RN, and work one shift a week at a local hospital. I love paper crafting and creating. It's been so fun to work on design teams, teach at my local scrapbook store and sharing this hobby with friends. I love old musicals, chocolate covered popcorn and spending time with family.

"Silly Siblings", by Charity Hassel.

A quick and easy layout. Simply layer patterned paper, border stickers and cut out the fun trees from Bella patterned paper. 

Supplies:
Spring Flings & Easter Things: A Tisket A Tasket, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Winter Wonder: Toasty; Family Dynamix: Cute Cuts, Roots, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sophisticates: Family Miniatures Stickers

"Easter Blessings" card, by Charity Hassel.

I love how you can mix Bella's stickers, chipboard, and even different lines together to create a title for a project. Here, I used a chipboard with blessings and a sticker with Easter on it to create my own greeting.

Supplies:
Spring Flings & Easter Things: Sunny Sunday, A Tisket A Tasket, Egg Hunt, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Brownie, Ciao Chip Essentials Apricot & Banana

Carrot Goody Box, by Charity Hassel.

I used my cricut to cut the box. Then, I cut pieces of chipboard up to decorate the front top of my carrot with scallops. I used yellow patterned paper to create stripes around the carrot box. Bella chipboard, tags and stickers were layered for flowers on the top. The green of the carrot is green raffia from a craft store.

Supplies:
Spring Flings & Easter Things: Sunny Sunday, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Miniatures; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Apricot, Ciao Chip Essentials Apricot & Banana

Easter Basket, by Charity Hassel.

I used a circle punch to cut out a blue circle from Bella patterned paper to cover the inner part of the Bella chipboard circle- it had a greeting that didn't go with my project. Layer leaves cut from paper, chipboard, buttons and Bella tags for a fun flower.

Supplies:
Spring Flings & Easter Things: Miniatures Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Chlorine, Ciao Chip Essentials Apricot & Banana; Winter Wonder: Ski Slopes

Spring Time Projects

Good morning everyone! Did we all survive losing an hour to Daylight Savings? You know spring is near, when it's time to move the clocks forward. And with springtime near, we figured it would be a good time to share some spring themed altered projects with you. Let's see what our Altered Project Designers have come up with for us.

"Hello Spring" altered planter box, by Jennifer Edwardson.

It is a family joke that the green thumb skipped a generation from my Mom to my daughter. So when I created this project, we laughed that these are just about the prettiest flowers I've ever 'grown' :))

I found this great set of wooden flower boxes at a local craft store. I traced the sides onto the backs of the paper and then sanded the edges of each before adhereing. I rolled some of the kids play-doh into balls and pressed it into the bottom of each pot so that the flowers would stand as I wanted them and added crinkle cut box filler on top!  

 

I've been wanting to do something fun with all the fabulous flowers in Bella's designs for quite some time and this was the perfect project !!  I went through ALL the Bella lines and used my fave's and then dressed them up with buttons, florettes made from more patterned papers, twine and stickers too.

Supplies: 
Spring Flings and Easter Things: Cute Cuts, Borders, Miniatures, Alpha & Bits, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Mom's Bouquet; Sophisticates: Ciao Chip Simply Simona Saltwater, Quattrofina Peep & Saffron; Tail Waggers & Cat Naps: Just Write Journaling Stickers; Winter Wonder: Just Write Journaling Stickers; Too Cute Too Spook: Itsy Bitsy Spider; Socialite: Cute Cuts; Plastino: Label Additions, Forget Me Knots; Hello Beautiful: Cute Cuts, Alpha & Bits, Thanks a Bunch; All Inclusive: Bookin' at the Beach; Man of the House: Distinguished 

Easter Baskets, by Marie-Josée Hamel.

Here's a cute and easy project for Easter. For the large basket, cut a 7" x 9" piece of paper. Score your piece of paper at 1½" on each side. Make vertical cuts along the scored lines to the two scored lines on either side of the long length of cardstock. Prefold all the score lines, turn the paper around and add adhesive to the four corners. Fold and assemble.

For the small baskets, cut two 5" x 5" pieces of paper and follow the same instructions. Decorate as you wish. Voilà, you now have a few treat baskets waiting to be filled with Easter goodies!

Supplies:
Spring Flings and Easter Things: A Tisket A Tasket, Mom's Bouquet, Sunny Sunday, Alpha+Bits, Miniatures, Just Write Journaling Stickers

Altered Easter Box, by Suzanne Sergi.

I altered this mini egg box with the Spring Flings & Easter Collection, to create a festive box filled with treats.

From the Egg Hunt paper, I cut out about eleven of the different eggs. I created an egg garland, by simply stitching them together with my sewing machine. Then I layered this garland in the middle of the box, and let it hang for a festive touch.

I covered the outside, and top of the box with a variety of papers from this collection, on the sides of the box, I simply painted a layer of white acrylic paint, and then dusted a coarse white glitter on top.

The last detail is tucking in a few chocolate eggs! A perfect gift for a friend, neighbor, or teacher, as we welcome the arrival of spring!

Supplies:
Spring Flings & Easter Things: Mom's Bouquet, Borders, Egg Hunt, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits, Miniatures

Saturday Sketches

First up, we have another round of Saturday Sketches. Twice a month, we'll be bringing you a new sketch, and showing you a few takes on the sketch by our designers. Today, we have our first sketch for March, courtesy of Becky Fleck.

"Our Crazy Family", by Laura Vegas.

I love a good sketch, and this one went perfectly with my style. You might have spotted this photo of my family on one of my CHA layouts, but I really wanted a layout to add to my own albums, and this sketch was the perfect opportunity to get that done. I stayed pretty true to the sketch, with the exception of using a larger half circle for my title. I added some texture to the page, by cutting out a bunch of flowers from a Family Dynamix pattered paper. I crumbled each one up, and then flattened them back out, before adhering them to my page using pop dots. 

Supplies: 
Family Dynamix: Tight-Knit, Quadrants, Mother's Day, The Littlest Things; Making The Team: Cute Cuts; Ciao Chip Elements: Borders; Simply Simona Chipboard Alphas: Pickle Juice; High Five Alphabet Stickers: Pink/Red; Button Market: Purple Flora 

"Snow Good", by Lynn Ghahary.

I absolutely LOVE using sketches when I scrapbook. This sketch was pretty straightforward and I kept my layout the same. One picture of my son licking his lips after eating some snow sums up the story perfectly. To dress up the Blizzard patterned paper a bit I stitched some coordinating buttons to various snowflakes. I also replaced the "o" in "snow" with a snowflake sticker and button as well. It helps to add a bit of dimension and detail while tying the layout together.

Supplies:
Winter Wonder - Blizzard, Icy, Ski Slopes, Just Write Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers

"Time Together", by Kim Arnold.

I love how versatile the Baby Boy collection is. Here I used it for a layout about my son and his grandparents. My son is 7 years old in this photo so clearly you don’t need a baby boy to use this lovely collection!

Supplies:
Baby Boy: Baby Blue, Wild About You, Cute Cuts, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Chipboard Icons, Alpha+Bits; High Five Alphabet Stickers: Yellow

"Precious", by Sue Mylde.

For this sketch, I changed the location of things around a bit because I wanted to use this slim photo of my little girl. I love this sketch since it gives me some room for fun embellishment and journaling all in a perfect square. The scallops were created using punched circles and taped down from the bottom-up to create the scalloped effect. Another favorite part of this layout is the sentiment 'You are my sunshine on a sunny day' which is originally a long strip which I cut up into short phrases to line up on one of the panels. Pretty cute sentiment, reflecting exactly what I feel about my little girly girl :)

Supplies:
Spring Flings & Easter Things: Egg Hunt, A Tisket A Tasket, Mom's Bouquet, Sunny Sunday, Borders, Cute Cuts, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alpha+Bits, Miniatures; Socialite: Tango 

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We hope you will take some creative time for yourself, and try out our sketch! Whether it's a card, or a layout, we would love to see what you come up with. You can link them here in the comment section, or share them on our Facebook page.