Bella Blvd Studio Blog

Cards On Thursdays

"Thinking of You" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

Many times when I am kind of stuck in a rut, I go back and look through my albums or box of cards for a little inspiration. I usually can find something that will at least help me get started on my next project. Like this card, for example! I started this card by using the same design as I used on the "Congratulations" card above. Obviously, it evolved into something completely different! Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Sand & Surf: Paradise, Miniatures, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Love and Marriage: Smokeys in Love; Engaged at Last: Alpha+Bits Stickers 

"Congratulations" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

I have a cousin who got married over Thanksgiving weekend. The wedding was in Rhode Island and we could not make the trip. Confession: They just celebrated their 6 month anniversary and I have not yet sent a gift. So the inside of this card says, "Happy 6 month anniversary!" and I have a gift card to include. Better late than never, right??! I tried to make the card extra cute so that hopefully she won't be too mad that I am sending it so late!

Supplies:
Engaged at Last: Borders, Engagement Chipboard Icons, Bachelor/ette Chipboard Icons, Alpha+ Bits Stickers; Love and Marriage: Turner Hall Ballroom, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sand & Surf: Paradise; Sophisticates: Miniature Card Sentiments

 

“Congratulations” card, by Sheri Feypel.

I really love the extra fun that the Feathers add to projects. They add a splash of color and texture that is exactly what some of my projects need. I designed this card around the feather and added a few of the Cute Cuts for the sentiment. Believe it or not this card came together quickly for me!

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: Smokeys in Love, Cake Testing, May Eighteenth, Turner Hall Ballroom, Cute Cuts, Miniatures Wedding Day; Feathers: Cotton Candy

“Boy” card, by Sheri Feypel.

I recently bought a mustache punch and I am obsessed with it! I want to use it on everything right now, so I created this Boy Card. I was trying to keep it simple and clean with only a few layers. I also had to work my foam adhesive in there popping each mustache off the card.

Supplies:
Baby Boy: Baby Blue, Momma's Boy, Borders; High Five Alpha Stickers: Brown/Cream

“Happy Birthday Wishes” card, by Shellye McDaniel.

It seems like squares are all the rage these days and I just had to play along! Using a 1.25" square die cut, I created a quilt of colors from the Birthday Girl Collection. After mounting them onto a piece of cardstock, I machine stitched down the center of each row. I kept the top simple by adding on a couple of chipboard stickers and a "wishes" banner under the die-cut shape.

Supplies:
Birthday Girl: Celebrate, Party Dress, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Chipboard Icons; Button Market: Pink Flowers; Crochet Hearts: Gulf; High Five Alpha Stickers: Blue

“Happy 4^th Of July” card, by Shellye McDaniel.

A small piece of feather gathered and tied made the cutest plume effect to the top of the chipboard firecracker! I attached the feather to the chipboard using a Ultra-Thin Glue Dot. I built a 4th of July collage using several components from the Alpha+Bits and Just Write Journaling Stickers. So happy and festive, and I love the idea of displaying it on our Patriotic buffet table. Bring on Summer!

Supplies:
All American: United We Stand, Seeing Stars, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Chipboard Icons; Button Market: Stars; Feathers: Ice

"Celebrate" card, by Wendy Wagner.

I decided to do a smaller card for this. I think it would be a fun card to share with someone hosting a party for the 4th of July or Memorial Day! I placed the Feathers to look like fireworks & added some stickles to the chip shapes. Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
All American: American Pride, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Chipboard Icons; Flags: All American Icons; Feathers: Surf N Turf

Today's Product Spotlight: Button Market

It's time for another Product Spotlight feature, and this month, we are putting the focus on Bella's Button Market collection!

"We Love These Girls", by Becky Williams.

For this assignment I wanted to really keep the focus on the buttons so I kept the overall page design really simple letting the buttons be the star. I used some of just about every kind of buttons available from Bella Blvd and love the mix of colors and shapes available. 

Supplies: 
Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Banana; Engaged at Last: Engagement Icons; Love and Marriage: Just Write Journaling Stickers, Ciao Chip Wedding Icons; High Five Alpha Stickers: Piggy-Punch; Designer Tapes: Gray Chevron, Ice Stripe, Navy Dot, Pink Flowers, Orange Stripe; Button Market: Merlot Flowers, Gulf Squares, Pink Flowers, Wood Mix, Orange Stars, Outdoors, Feminine Mix, Text, Stars, Fruit Punch, Red Flowers, Hot Pink Flowers, Blues, Neutral Mix, Masculine Mix, Pickle Squares, Purple Flowers

"Lake Adventure", by Jenny Evans.

It is so easy to coordinate any Bella collection with their amazing buttons! I used the adorable large polka dot paper, Beach Balls from the Sand and Surf collection, and punch out the circles, and coordinate them with some Bella buttons framing the layout. Such a fun and different way to incorporate buttons onto a craft project.

Supplies:
Sand & Surf: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Cute Cuts, Ciao Chip Icons, Miniatures, Beach Balls; Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron, Pickle Juice Stripe, Ice Stripe, Blue Gingham, 12mm Combo; Button Market: Aqua Flowers, Pickle Squares, Blues, Red Flowers, Orange Stars, Gulf Squares, Outdoors, Checkers, Tie Dye Masculine Mix, Wood Mix, Neutrals Mix; Flags: Sand and Surf

“Mornings With My Boy”, by Jaclyn Rench.

It's not often that I make a page that doesn't include at least one button, and Bella's wood buttons are some of my favorites! While I love the raw natural element that the wooden buttons add to my pages, I wanted to add an additional pop of color with my embellishing. To change up the color of some of the buttons, I simply flipped them to their flat (non-design) side, pressed them into a clear stamp pad, sprinkled on some colored embossing powder and used my heat tool to melt and secure the powder. The finished result is fun and textural, not to mention a great way to make your supplies work, no matter the color!

Supplies:
Sophisticates: Tall Tags; Birthday Boy: Toadilly Cool, Borders, About a Boy, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Baby Boy: Baby Blue, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Thankful: Burlap; Ciao Chip: Baby Boy Icons; Button Market: Checkers; Designer Tape: Navy Dot

"Easter Eggs", by Leanne Allinson.

I really love how all the elements in the Bella Blvd collections color match perfectly with each other! Especially the buttons and the designer tape. This layout is fun and full of color because of that reason! To make the buttons stand out even more, I stamped the new cling stamp Sand & Surf images onto patterned paper and layered a coordinating button over the top. 

Supplies:
Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Pickle Juice; All American: Borders & Cute Cuts; Sand & Surf: Beach Balls, Miniatures; Birthday Boy: Alpha+Bits Stickers; High Five Alpha Stickers: Gulf; Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron, Red Chevron, Blue Chevron, Pickle Juice Chevron, Orange Stripe, Polkadot Combo, Pickle Juice Stripe, Yellow Stripe; Button Market: Orange Stars, Outdoors, Wood Mix, Checkers, Tie Dye, Red Flowers; Cling Stamps: Sand & Surf

 

National Scrapbook Day: All About Jaclyn & Katherine

Happy National Scrapbook Day everyone! I challenged 24 of our designers to create an "All About Me" layout, giving us a peek into a little part of their lives. Each of them also answered five quick scrapbooking related questions. We will be sharing these 24 layouts throughout the day. So sit back, grab a snack, and get to know our designers just a little bit more, and hopefully their projects will inspire you the next time you go to create!

“This is ... Me”, by Jaclyn Rench.

Happy National Scrapbook Day, Bella friends! I hope you are sneaking in some time to get crafty today! If so, I encourage you to scrap a page about yourself. Admittedly, this was a bit of a challenge for me, as it’s something I don't often do. But I'm happy that this assignment forced me out of my 'scrapbook box', so to speak. I know it will be fun page to look back on, for both myself and my family, in the years to come!

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: May Eighteenth, Esther Fleming Floral, Smokeys in Love, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Engaged at Last: Bachelorette Extras, Bachelor Extras, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sand and Surf: Paradise, Borders; All American: Chipboard Icons; Baby Boy: Just Write Journaling Stickers; Designer Tape: Chevron Combo; High Five Alphabet Stickers: Gulf; Crochet Hearts: Punch

And now for some scrapping Q&A's: 

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
My fiskars paper trimmer, sewing machine, foam adhesive, pretty patterned papers and buttons!

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
I love to listen to music - right now it's Taylor Swift's Red album on repeat!

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
I'm too much of a klutz to attempt eating or drinking while I scrap. That's not to say that some type of candy or chocolate hasn't made it to my scrap desk a time or two. But when it does it almost always ends in disastrous results.

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day? 
I have little ones, so most of my scrapping is done late, late at night and too often into the wee hours of the morning.

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places? 
My favorite layouts get displayed in my crafting space for a bit. The rest of my pages often end up in a small pile on my scrap desk, until I notice they are collecting dust - then I try to organize them into their necessary albums.

"Only Me", by Katherine McElvain.

Creating a layout about being an only child has been on my list of things to do. When I thought about it in the past I had planned on making the page about how my parents have always made my life special (Some may call it spoiled). But when I chose this photo, or maybe it was just the mood that I was in, it became about something else. I started thinking about how we have always just been the three of us, and how unique and intimate that can be. So that is what the layout became. When I wrote the journaling it made me emotional. I really am blessed to be me, my mom and dad's only child.

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: Smokey's in Love, Esther Fleming Floral, Borders, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers, The Wedding Party Miniatures; Engaged At Last: He Proposed; Sand & Surf: Flying High; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Oreo; High Five Alpha Stickers: Black-White; Crochet Hearts: Punch; Designer Tape: Grey Dot, Pickle Juice Dot, Gulf Dot, Pickle Juice Chevron, Blue Gingham; Buttons: Text, Neutrals Mix

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
My top 5 supplies are photoshop elements, a pad of grid paper, my set of journaling pens, white cardstock, and letter stickers.  Reflecting on that list, looks like I am a pretty boring, sort of no nonsense scrap girl.

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
I listen to Pandora, books on tape from the library, I have been known to watch almost an entire new series on netflix while I stayed up very late, but my favorite thing to stream is the public radio series, This American Life (http://www.thisamericanlife.org/), I highly recommend it.

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
I am a water girl. But red Swedish fish go great with water on very special scrap nights.  

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I am a planner of projects. I usually make a sketch and size my photos while watching TV at night. As far as putting things together, during the day when I am not working and the kids are in school is great, but many days cooking, cleaning and laundry get in the way of creative production, so late nights are always the perfect option for me.  

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
I keep thinking I will find the perfect way to organize my layouts....until then, they are in two large rubbermaid tubs in my basement. Before a layout makes it to the bin, it usually sits on a shelf or counter somewhere, waiting to be spilled on, or touched by grubby little hands. Probably not the best system. 

National Scrapbook Day: All About Jennifer & Megan

Happy National Scrapbook Day everyone! I challenged 24 of our designers to create an "All About Me" layout, giving us a peek into a little part of their lives. Each of them also answered five quick scrapbooking related questions. We will be sharing these 24 layouts throughout the day. So sit back, grab a snack, and get to know our designers just a little bit more, and hopefully their projects will inspire you the next time you go to create!

“Pieces of Me”, by Jennifer Chapin.

I went through my most recent Instagram pictures and pulled a few that I thought represent me right now. I also used some of my most favorite products and elements right now -- stars, mist, designer tape and sequins!

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: Cute Cuts, Smokeys in Love; Engaged at Last: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sand & Surf: Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Designer Tape: Pickle Juice Stripe, Ice Stripe, Yellow Chevron, Piggy Pink Stripe, Punch Chevron; Sienna Chipboard Alpha: Pickle Juice; Ciao Chip Elements: Stars & Hearts; High Five Alphabet Stickers: Blue

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
White cardstock, designer tape, chipboard letters, mist and my sewing machine

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
I prefer to work in silence since I have two little kids :) If I do listen to anything, it's usually a scrapbooking podcast or a scrapbooking video online.

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
Diet Pepsi and popcorn

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I scrap at night after my kids are in bed. On the weekend sometimes when they are taking their afternoon nap.

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
Right now they are in piles and 12x12 boxes. I have some in albums but I need to buy more! It seems like I can never buy enough albums for all my pages.

"Randomly Me", by Megan Klauer.

Every once it awhile it's fun & important to scrapbook about ourselves. One small technique that I included on my layout was sanding the wording off of the arrow chipboard piece from the Engaged at Last collection in order for it to "work" with my page. This would be fun to do with some of the chipboard letters as well!

Supplies:
Sophisticates: Calendars; Engaged at Last: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Bachelorette Party, Chipboard Icons; Love and Marriage: Esther Fleming Floral, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sand & Surf: Cute Cuts, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers; High Five Alpha Stickers: Black-White; Simply Simona Alpha: Oreo; Chio Chip Elements: Clouds

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, washi tape, Glue Dots, letters (chipboard, stickers, doesn't matter. I just love to mix them up), a Fine Tip journaling pen

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
I usually listen to my ipod or some sort of scrapbooking webcast. It inspires me listening to some of my favorite scrappers explain their process.

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
Snacks are essential for sure! Pepsi, Coffee (depending on the time of day), licorice (the cheap stuff right Jen?), and of course some sort of chocolate.

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I used to really be a night owl, but as the weather gets nicer, I tend to work on things during the day or squeeze it in whenever I can.

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
Sadly right now they get "filed" in a rubbermaid tote. Someday I'll break down and buy a bunch of albums. 

National Scrapbook Day: All About Jenny & Sheri + A GIVEAWAY

Happy National Scrapbook Day everyone! I challenged 24 of our designers to create an "All About Me" layout, giving us a peek into a little part of their lives. Each of them also answered five quick scrapbooking related questions. We will be sharing these 24 layouts throughout the day. So sit back, grab a snack, and get to know our designers just a little bit more, and hopefully their projects will inspire you the next time you go to create!

"All About Me 2013 Ed.", by Jenny Evans.

I'm not sure if many of you have noticed on my previous layouts, but I do not journal very much. I like to do big, long titles that tell the story of the page. But, for this layout, I decided to tackle the journaling aspect and really go for it! I love the idea of documenting my favorites for the year, and may have to start doing something like this yearly for myself, and for my boys!

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: Smokeys In Love, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Engaged At Last: Bachelorette Party, Bachelorette Extras; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Punch; Simply Simona Chipboard Numbers: White; High Five Alpha Stickers: Brown-Cream, Blue, Pink-Red, Piggy-Punch; Designer Tape: Ice Stripe; Button Market: Zebra, Neutral Mix; Feathers: Gulf Feathers

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
Patterned paper, alpha stickers/chipboard, Fiskars paper trimmer, ATG gun & Foam adhesive

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
Sometimes the TV, and sometimes music, but never in silence.

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
Either coffee or water to drink, and I love having a bowl of almonds and dried cranberries next to me!

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
All of the above!! Mostly throughout the day, but sometimes I can really get going at night and not want to stop!!

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
I save my pizza boxes from my kits I receive, and all my layouts go into them! I have an ever-growing pile of filled pizza boxes that need to make their way into albums!

“This Makes Me Smile”, by Sheri Reguly.

I have so many wonderful blessings in my life, and so many precious people who make my heart smile on a daily basis. Then, there are those little things...the simple pleasures that brighten my day and instantly put a smile on my face. I wanted to create a layout sharing just a few of those special occurrences. My list ranges from discovering love notes written to me in my daughter’s lunch bag, to finding that little gem on the shelf at Home Sense, to enjoying sunshiny days, and surprise Ice Caps, out on the back deck. Some may consider these things ordinary, but to me, they are like the whipped cream and cherry on top of my sundae. They make my days extra special.

Supplies:
Love And Marriage: Borders; Sand & Surf: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Baby Boy: Momma’s Boy; Winter Wonder: Blizzard; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Oyster; Birthday Girl: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Designer Tape: Pickle Juice Chevron, Piggy Pink Stripe; Button Market: Checkers

And now for some scrapping Q&A's: 

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
It’s hard to narrow it down to five, but I’d have to say definitely cardstock and patterned paper...I use both on every page I create. I also love buttons, washi tape, and enamel dots.

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
Generally I scrap in silence, but if the kids are home and making a lot of noise, I might just put some music on to drown them out a little bit.

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
I never have a drink by my side while I’m scrapbooking.  I’ve had more than one beverage related accident in the past, so lesson learned.  I save my beverages and snacks for break time.

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I find that I’m most productive when scrapbooking during the day. If I do scrapbook into the very late hours, I won’t permanently adhere anything until the morning when I get the chance to look at things again with a fresh set of eyes. This helps prevent mistakes, sloppiness, as well as those “what was I thinking?” moments that can often occur while I’m feeling tired.

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
If I’m being honest, for the last year or so they’ve been going into piles. I desperately have to purchase some more albums...many, many albums.

****************************************************************

It's also time for our first of two giveaways! For our first one, we are giving away our Freestyle Sophisticates collection to one lucky reader. Just leave us a comment on THIS post, letting us know how you are spending National Scrapbook Day. Comments will be left open until Sunday evening, and we will announce a winner on Monday.

National Scrapbook Day: All About Gina & Kathy

Happy National Scrapbook Day everyone! I challenged 24 of our designers to create an "All About Me" layout, giving us a peek into a little part of their lives. Each of them also answered five quick scrapbooking related questions. We will be sharing these 24 layouts throughout the day. So sit back, grab a snack, and get to know our designers just a little bit more, and hopefully their projects will inspire you the next time you go to create!

“Me Today @ 34”, by Gina Lideros.

I rarely have photos taken of just me or scrap about myself. Right after we were given this assignment I had a friend come in to town and I asked her to take some photos of me. I embraced the challenge and learned to let go a little and have fun. My favorite colors that represent my style right now are a mix of teal, orange and yellow. The Sand & Surf collection was perfect for complimenting my style and I had fun adding in some crochet hearts and feathers pieces too. A new technique that I taught myself while making this layout was I ran out of chipboard alpha's (Pickle Juice) for my title, so I took another alpha I had on hand (Pony) and wrapped it with Designer gray chevron tape. I love the look!

Supplies:
Love And Marriage: Borders; Engaged At Last: Bachelor Extras; Sand & Surf: GPS, Borders, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniature Stickers; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Pickle Juice, Pony; High Five Alpha Stickers: Black-White; Designer Tape: Ice Stripe, Blue Chevron, Polka Dot Combo, Gray Chevron; Crochet Hearts: Orange, Bell Pepper, Gulf; Feathers: Orange, Cream, Gulf; Button Market: Text

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
Sewing machine, foam squares, enamel dots, silhouette cameo, kraft or white cardstock

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
I always have Pandora radio on (usually Bruno Mars or Maroon 5) or tv shows that I have DVR'd

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
If I am cropping at home it is usually fruit and water, but if I am at a crop and they have junk food I am bad. It is so hard to say no when it's in front of me. Peanut M&M's are a fave.

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I scrap throughout the day in between errands and chores, I usually have a project on my desk at all times and work on it here and there.

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
I'm glad you asked that question, I haven't put my layouts into albums for years (hoping I'm not the only one). They go into piles and I have a cabinet they get shoved into sometimes.

“Kathy”, by Kathy Martin.

Lots of personal growth has occurred in my life over the past couple years and this page, with hidden journaling, is all about those changes. I used one of my favorite photos where I’m wearing happy, sunny yellow stripes and I used Bella Blvd’s Miles of Smiles patterned paper and a Sunshine & Happiness flag along with Ciao chip flowers and hearts to emphasize these positive changes.

Supplies:
Birthday Girl: Miles of Smiles; Button Market: Outdoors Buttons; Crochet Flowers: Daisies; Crochet Hearts: Bell Pepper; Designer Tape: Pony Dot; Ciao Chip Elements: Clouds, Stars & Hearts, Borders; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Punch, Pony, Pickle Juice, Frosting; Feathers: Bell Pepper Flags: Sunshine & Happiness

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
Thin metal dies, foam mounting tape, border punches, awesome accents and paper-a-plenty!

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
I go through phases. For a long while I was all about peace and quiet and recently I switched to listening to Slacker.

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
I’m don’t allow myself snacks while I scrap because I would mindlessly down huge amounts of calories! I sometimes have a latte before I start a craft session.

4. When do you do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I have the most energy and creativity early in the day.

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
I keep my layouts displayed around the house and about once a year I collect them all and put them in albums. Last year I got behind and had a couple years of pages to put in albums.

 

 

National Scrapbook Day: All About Gretchen & Becky

Happy National Scrapbook Day everyone! I challenged 24 of our designers to create an "All About Me" layout, giving us a peek into a little part of their lives. Each of them also answered five quick scrapbooking related questions. We will be sharing these 24 layouts throughout the day. So sit back, grab a snack, and get to know our designers just a little bit more, and hopefully their projects will inspire you the next time you go to create!

 

"Girl Bike Love", by Gretchen McElveen.

Happy National Scrapbooking Day! My "all about me" layout today is all about my love for bikes. For the longest time I have been a runner and thought spending money on a good bike was silly. Well if I ever actually told anybody that, I am eating my words now! 

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: Ester Fleming Floral, Smokeys in Love, The Wedding Party Miniatures; Engaged at Last: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Chipboard Icons, Engaged Miniatures; Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Peep; Ciao Chip Elements: Stars & Hearts; Sand & Surf: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniatures Stickers; Designer Tapes: Jailbird

And now for some scrapping Q&A's: 

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
Patterned paper of all kinds, kraft cardstock, Cutter Bee scissors (EK Success), brads and/or bling, and a good pen

2. What do you listen to while you scrap?
TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence? I like to watch movies and catch up on the TV I missed during the week. 

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
Since you've caught me on a health kick, banana chips and water! :)

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I can get some stuff done during the week, but I would say I'm definitely a more productive late night, weekend scrapper!

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
Oh I have quite a tall stack of layouts collecting on my desk right now! Every couple of months (when I remember to buy more page protectors) they will find there way into an album. 

"Me Right Now", by Becky Williams.

It is rare that I scrap about myself so it was fun to put a few things down about me instead about my kids or things going in on in our family. I am the family photographer and still need to work on getting into the pictures more but this is a good step in the right direction. Here I have scrapped about some things that I have been working on to better myself, some of my favorite things and what I have going on in my little world. 

Supplies: 
Love and Marriage: Smokey's In Love, Turner Hall Ballroom, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Sand & Surf: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Cute Cuts, Miniatures Stickers; Designer Tape: Piggy Pink Stripe, Gray Dot, Orange Stripe, 12mm Combo

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
Foam adhesive, alpha stickers, journal spots, patterned paper and my stapler. 

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
I just about always have a movie playing in the background while I scrap. It is usually either The Girlmore Girls (my husband bought me the dvds for the whole series) or a sappy chick flick. 

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
I don't tend to eat while I am scrapping but usually have a bottle of water close by. 

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I tend to do most of my scrapping late at night after the kids go to bed. Once in a while I can sneak something in while my youngest is taking her afternoon nap.

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
I will be honest and say that I have piles and piles of layouts that need to go into albums. It often takes me quite a while to get everything put away. It becomes a problem when I get something picked up by a magazine because it takes longer to hunt things down.  

National Scrapbook Day: All About Malika & Yohko

Happy National Scrapbook Day everyone! I challenged 24 of our designers to create an "All About Me" layout, giving us a peek into a little part of their lives. Each of them also answered five quick scrapbooking related questions. We will be sharing these 24 layouts throughout the day. So sit back, grab a snack, and get to know our designers just a little bit more, and hopefully their projects will inspire you the next time you go to create!

“Currently”, by Malika Kelly.

This was a really fun layout to make! I used the "Currently" cut file that I have on my cameo and then made some word flags with different fonts for my six categories. This was an easy way to jot down what was going on in my life at that exact moment and would be a great exercise to do on a monthly basis, as the things on your mind are constantly changing and it is fun to look back and see growth. I tried to include some trends that I am "currently" liking in the scrapbook world as well on this layout. I machine stitched a piece of vellum in the upper left hand corner of my layout and filled it with punched confetti. Scattering a little confetti around the outside of the pocket helped to tie together.

Supplies:
Love And Marriage: Smokeys In Love; Birthday Girl: Miles of Smiles, Borders, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Birthday Boy: Eat Cake, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Sand & Surf: Chipboard Icons; High Five Alpha Stickers: Green; Button Market: Hot Pink Flowers, Aqua Flowers, White Flowers; Crochet Hearts: Pickle Juice Hearts

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
Hmmm, my favorite tools and supplies. I can only choose 5? I think I would have to say: my Silhouette Cameo, designer tapes, mist for making ink drops, my sewing machine (not really a scrap tool, but definitely a tool that counts!), and buttons, sequins or some type of decorative brads (can we call that category one supply??)

2. 2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?  
I like to have something going in the background….It often depends on the time of day that I am working. If it is during the day, I will usually listen to the radio or catch up on the news. In the evenings when the kids have gone to bed, I will bring my iPad to my scrapbook room and put on a show to watch. I never did watch Grey's Anatomy or Private Practice and I am really enjoying watching back to back episodes of both of these shows on Netflix!

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?  
While I am scrapping I usually just have my cup filled with water. I would definitely get caught up in mindless eating if I brought much else! I like to stop for my coffee mid morning and so if it is a preschool day, I will leave my scrap room, make myself a coffee and snack on a biscotti while I browse the internet for more inspiration and catch up on my blog reading.

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?  
As a mother to 3 kids ages 3,7 and 9, I have learned to become a "scrap-when-I-can" kind of girl. Like I said in the previous questions, preschool mornings are a great time for me to scrap, but so are evenings after they have all gone to bed (especially if my husband is traveling). Having my own space to scrapbook really helps me concentrate on completing layouts rather than spending time getting out tools and supplies and completely cleaning up after each time I work. I can have a couple of projects going on at the same time and sneak some work in even if it is just 10 min here and there.  

5. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places? 
Ideally my layouts should be in albums… but realistically that would take some time and organizing. So I have to admit, I have a rather large pile of layouts that have accumulated over the past year and I have two nice, new EMPTY albums that are sitting on the floor right under my pile. They will get there.

"All about Me", by Yohko Takiguchi.

I love colorful layouts. I chose combination of pink, light blue, light green and orange for my layout. They make me happy!

 

Supplies:
Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Scallop; Sand & Surf: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniatures; Love and Marriage: Alpha+Bits Stickers; All American: American Pride; Sophisticates: Punch, Petite Pieces, Card Sentiments Miniatures; Sunshine & Happiness: Petal Power, Popsicle Kisses, Alpha+Bits Stickers , Miniatures; Crochet Hearts: Punch, Orange, Pickle Juice, Saltwater; Crochet Flowers: Dahlia; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Pickle Juice; High Five Alpha Stickers: Pink-Red, Blue, Brown-Cream, Piggy-Punch, Gulf; Designer Tapes: Hot Pink Dot, Blue Chevron, Pickle Juice Stripe, Orange Stripe; Button Market: Orange Stars

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
White Cardstocks, Dot liner, Rhinestone, Mini Tag, Word Sticker

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?  Japanese pop

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
Chocolate!

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I’m a late night scrapper.

5. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
I display my layouts in my room for one week and then put them in my album.

National Scrapbook Day: All About Kim & Leanne

Happy National Scrapbook Day everyone! I challenged 24 of our designers to create an "All About Me" layout, giving us a peek into a little part of their lives. Each of them also answered five quick scrapbooking related questions. We will be sharing these 24 layouts throughout the day. So sit back, grab a snack, and get to know our designers just a little bit more, and hopefully their projects will inspire you the next time you go to create!

"Yellow", by Kim Jeffress.

Anyone who knows me knows I love the color yellow. I even had my blog designed with only the color yellow and many of my clothing accessories and accessories around my house are yellow. To Create this layout I simply went through my stash of Bella Blvd papers and pulled out all the yellow ones, added a few yellow stickers and it was done.  

Supplies:
Engaged at Last: Bachelor Party, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniatures Stickers; Love and Marriage: Cute Cuts, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Sand & Surf: Borders, Flying High, Miniature Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Chipboard Icons: Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without? 
Yellow pattern paper, chevron pattern paper, double sided tape, paper trimmer, paper piercer

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
I work in silence!

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
No snacks

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I work late at night when my boys are in bed!

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
I am very anal so they get displayed for a couple of weeks and then into my albums.

"2013", by Leanne Allinson.

I wanted to create a simple layout about me, using soft feminine colors. The Love and Marriage collection was perfect, especially as I fussy cut the gorgeous flowers from the Borders & Cute Cuts patterned paper. My journaling reflects what I am thankful for right now and who I am as a person. 

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: Esther Fleming Floral, Borders & Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Birthday Girl: Party Dress; Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Banana; Designer Tape: Blue Chevron, Piggy Pink Stripe, Yellow Chevron; Button Market: Pink Flowers

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
White Cardstock, Alpha Stickers, Designer Tape, mist/paint, machine stitching.

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
I generally scrap in silence during the day, while my older children are at school.  Although.. my youngest is usually busy digging through a toy box in my scrapping room and chatting non-stop, so I guess it's not complete silence!

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
My desk is usually so crammed with leftover pieces from current projects that I fear any snacks or drinks will become lost in the foray! LOL! Therefore I'm not usually much of a snack-as-I-scrap kind of girl!

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day? 
I like to come and go during the day but I find I am most productive in the mornings. 

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places? 
My layouts (being the smaller size) go straight into an acid-free plastic pockets and then placed into an office file-like manner in baskets.  Some older layouts are in albums but I like to keep my newer creations on display, by using miniature artists' easels.

National Scrapbook Day: All About Becki & Jennifer

Happy National Scrapbook Day everyone! We have so much to share with you today, so we hope you'll keep popping in throughout your day. I challenged 24 of our designers to create an "All About Me" layout, giving us a peek into a little part of their lives. Each of them also answered five quick scrapbooking related questions. We will be sharing these 24 layouts over the next 12 hours. So sit back, grab a snack, and get to know our designers just a little bit more, and hopefully their projects will inspire you the next time you go to create!

“My Typical Day”, by Becki Adams.

I used several different Bella collections, old and new to create this layout. I also went a little die cut crazy too! This combination resulted in a bright, fun, and happy layout that documents what my typical day looks like.

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: May Eighteenth; Sand & Surf: Flying High, Paradise, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Birthday Girl: Chipboard Icons; Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Gulf, Freestyle Peep; High Five Alpha Stickers: Yellow, Pink-Red; Designer Tape: 12mm Combo, Piggy Pink Stripe; Button Market: Hot Pink Flowers

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?
Patterned Paper (lots and lots of it), Letter Stickers, Decorative Tape, Brown stamping ink, and either enamel dots or wood veneer.

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence?
Work in silence? I've never heard of such a thing ;) I do my best scrapping while the kids nap and I'm watching an old TV show on netflix

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Occasionally I have a strawberry smoothie at my desk but mostly it's always chocolate.

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?
I scrap during the afternoon and sometimes in the evening. It depends on the kids schedule.

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them? In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places?
For a while they get piled together. When the pile gets too big I force myself to separate them and put them into albums but honestly, I only do that every few months.

"This Is Me", by Jennifer Edwardson.

I was excited to create this layout all about me. It's been a while since I sat down and wrote out how I see myself. I realized just how important it is going to be to my family because as soon as my kids came to see what I was working on they started reading, and they loved it. I've included the full journaling on my blog. The pieces I chose to create the layout around my words and photos really represent me. The blue is my favorite color, black & white is what I wear the most. As you'll read in my journaling, I love pink on others, just not on me so a splash of it here was perfect. I think life is good so that flag fit perfectly. All in all I love where I am in my life right now so the hearts represent those feelings.

Supplies:  
Baby Girl: Daddy's Girl; Baby Boy: Just Write Journaling Stickers; Sand & Surf: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Love and Marriage: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Wedding Day Miniatures; Corchet Hearts: White; Feathers: Ice; Baby Blooms A Bella: Azzini; Flags: Summer; Ciao Chip Versatile Elements: Clouds, Borders; High Five Alphabets: Blue; Buttons: Blues, Wood Mix; Designer Tape: Blue Polka Dot

And now for some scrapping Q&A's:

1. What are your top 5 supplies/products that you cannot scrap without?  
3D foam, a sanding block, precision scissors, cardstock and patterned paper

2. What do you listen to while you scrap? TV, music, or do you do your best working in silence? 99% of the time I MUST have cheezy reality TV on while I work. But when I have to do a lot of typing/writing I press mute for a minute.

3. What snacks and/or drinks are beside you when you're scrapping?
Chewy gummy sour candies, licorice and chocolate – terrible I know !!

4. When do your do your best scrapping? Are you a morning scrapper, a late night scrapper, or do you find time during the day?  
I fit it in whenever I am not running children here and there but lately have been doing most of my creating during the day and computer work (photos, blogging, etc) at night.

5. Be honest. Where do your layouts go once you're done with them?
In albums, in piles, or shoved in random places? YES, all of the above ;)