Bella Blvd Studio Blog

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

Welcome back to day three of our week-long team-up with Core'dinations! We have a group of our Bella designers that have mixing Core'dinations wonderful cardstocks into our projects. And Core'dinations designers have been busy mixing Bella's products into their projects. We have loads of projects to share with you, so let's get started!

"Biker Chicks", by Gretchen McElveen.

I wanted to use a lot of red and black with this picture of me and 2 of my favorite bike-riding friends. I ended up digging a bunch of "Making the Team" and the Alpha + Bits "Family Dynamix" stickers out of my Bella Blvd stash and pairing them up with the red and black sheets from the pack of Jillian Dot Spotted cardstock from Core'dinations to get the look I wanted. I sanded the dotted cardstock to create a fun subtle polka-dotted background. I added the flower from the "Making the Team" Just Write Journaling Stickers to help keep this layout girly even though I used some pretty strong colors!

Supplies:
Making the Team: Volleyball, Borders, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Family Dynamix: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Simply Simona Chipboard Alphas: Oyster

“Serious Game Face”, by Sheri Feypel.

I started my layout with the Core'dinations Tillie Dot Spotted Cardstock. I lightly sanded the cardstock to make the dots stand out. Then I hit up my stash of scraps to create a colorful background to help my photo stand out. I used the Ciao Chip alpha to make a bold title and overlapped it on my photo to draw attention to the expression on my son's face in the photo. It really is a priceless expression to me. I framed the sides of the photo with stickers and flags as well.

Supplies:
Family Dynamix: Quadrants; Making The Team: Fan Club, Wall Of Fame, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniature Stickers; Simpy Simona Alphabet Chipboard: McIntosh; Simply Simona Chipboard Numbers: McIntosh; Designer Tapes: Yellow Chevron, Red Dot; High Five Alpha Stickers: Yellow; Flags: Patriotic

“Perfect Puppy”, by Jennifer Edwardson.

I was so excited to finally work with these pictures of Alex and his puppy Oscar. The colors of the 'Tail Waggers and Cat Naps' collection were the prefect match with the new Coredinations 'Spotted' cardstock. I am a total sanding block girl so this cardstock is a BIG favorite of mine. I sanded the top off of the base sheet as well as the brown cardstock too. The colors and patterns coordinated so well that I even added a strip of 'pickle juice dot' designer tape to a strip of cardstock and then used a paw print border punch on it to create a custom border shown above the 'bone' strip. After precison cutting out several of the cute cuts, I added flags, stickers and a button with twine too. I was thrilled with how it all came together.

Supplies:
Tail Waggers & Cat Naps: Borders, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Flags; Button Market: Masculine Mix

"What A Guy" card, by Gail Hoeker.

I used an "oldie but goodie" paper called Man of the House for this card. I only have scraps left but I had it in my head to use this for a Father's Day card for my hubby. I teamed it with Spotted Jillian, sanded it and was very pleased with the results.

Supplies:
Man Of The House: Wide Tie, Bits-A-Bella, Dad's Socks

"Thinking of You" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

I actually made this card with leftovers from my "Biker Chicks" layout. Who knew that the "Family Dynamix" and "Making the Team" lines who go so well together?! And the red and black scraps of the Jillian Dot Spotted cardstock from Core'dinations I had leftover made for the perfect background for this card!

Supplies:
Family Dynamix: Just Write Journaling Stickers; Making the Team: Borders; Button Market: Red Flowers; Sophisticates: Card Sentiments

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Today, we have our first of two giveaways up for grabs! This is our Paper & Sticker giveaway! Just leave us a comment to be entered in the random drawing. We will be announcing our winners next Monday.

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! Keep coming back to both blogs all week long, because we have a ton more projects to share with you.

June Guest Designer: Nichol Magouirk

We are excited to introduce you to our June Guest Designer, Nichol Magouirk! Nichol has an amazing scrapbooking style, that is perfectly fitted to Bella's fun and colorful products.

Hello paper crafting friends! It’s Nichol Magouirk here and I am excited to be the Bella Blvd. Guest Designer this month! I have been scrapbooking and paper crafting for about 13 years now. I am passionate about including stamping on my scrapbook layouts, my Silhouette Cameo die-cutting machine and patterned paper. You can find me contributing to the monthly Technique Tuesday Studio AE Design Team Blog Hop featuring Ali Edwards’ monthly stamp sets, sharing new die cutting ideas featuring Kerri Bradford’s digital die cut designs, and teaching stamping and scrapbooking classes at online events. I am currently addicted to sewing and have a million ideas for things I want to sew soon (P.S. Have you seen the Bella Blvd fabrics by Riley Blake?!!!! I have some that need to be stitched up SOON!). When I am not in my craft room scrapbooking, stamping or sewing I love to read on my Nook. I always have a new book that I’m reading and I love that I can just download a bunch of books and don’t have to physically carry them all around!

Bella Blvd is one of my favorite go-to paper lines when I’m scrapbooking. The fun, bright, graphic colors speak to this color-loving girl’s heart!

“Sun Kissed”, by Nichol Magouirk.

This layout was inspired by all the sewing and quilting I have been doing lately. This is actually a re-do of a really old layout and I had cropped one of the photos into a 3.5” circle on the original. I needed to find a way to incorporate this photo without having to go have it reprinted (these photos are pre-digital!). I decided to create my own “quilt blocks” using square photos mixed with square patterned paper with circle photos in the center. Four triangle photo corner stickers worked perfectly to complete my “quilt” design. I finished the page with lots of stickers and embellishments and printed my journaling directly on the notebook paper sticker.

“Whatever Makes You Happy”, by Nichol Magouirk.

I love the soft, traditional baby colors in Bella Blvd’s new baby collections. I wanted to scrapbook these photos from when my daughter was a baby and I loved the idea of a monochromatic layout featuring soft pinks with a touch of white. I layered patterned paper strips and border stickers that all featured shades of pink. I die cut the title from similar papers and from gray cardstock. I slightly off-set the patterned paper so that the cardstock created a “shadow” of the title. This helps emphasize the words and makes them easier to read. I printed the journaling on the quote bubble sticker but I had a slight mishap with my printer! Ugh! So.... I had to order another sheet of stickers so that I can re-do this element. Ignore the funny printed journaling that isn’t centered. Ha! I decided I needed an embellishment to finish the design and opted to cut an elephant from one of the patterned papers, pop it up with foam adhesive and add some banners so that it looks like the elephant is holding them in his trunk!

“Father’s Day” card, by Nichol Magouirk.

Father’s Day is right around the corner and what better way to use up patterned paper scraps than by creating a simple card! I trimmed up several strips from the Bella Blvd. Man of the House collection and notched one end to create a banner background. The Father’s Day cut out and stickers were the perfect embellishment for this Father’s Day card for a Grandpa!

I had so much fun creating these projects to share with you today! Thanks for joining me  and have a great week!

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