Bella Blvd Studio Blog

Bella Blvd & Unity Stamp Co. Inspiration Day

We are back with another Bella Blvd & Unity Stamps Inspiration Day! I asked a few of our Card Designers to use whatever stamps they were feeling inspired by, and to come up with some clever ways to use them. Let's see what they came up with!

“Let’s Stick Together” card, by Alice Carman.

For this card I used the tree stamp and cut off the trunk of the tree. It’s not only a tree stamp, but also ice cream scoops…yay! I wonder what else I could use it for? Who’s up for the challenge?

Supplies:
Too Cute To Spook: Itsy Bitsy Spider, Spooky Night; High Five Alphabets: Black-White; Sunshine & Happiness: Miniatures; Unity Stamps: Tree Love

“A Little Birdie Told Me” card, by Alice Carman.

I like things in 3’s and today’s card is just that. For my background I used the quote stamp and then I stamped the birdie 3 times and pop dotted them across the card. I also used Bella Blvd’s Halloween line called, “Too Cute To Spook” as my pattern paper. I know it’s not Halloween, but it totally works!

Supplies:
Too Cute To Spook: Itsy Bitsy Spider; Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron; Unity Stamps: A Little Birdie Told Me, Tell Me More

“It’s a Girl” card, by Kathy Martin.

It was a lot of fun getting all inked up for today’s card projects using some adorable new Bella. Blvd. and Unity stamps! For these projects, I thought it would be fun to experiment with combining the stamped images with Copic coloring and hand stitching. Since I wanted my stamped images in a soft gray color and didn’t have a gray stamp pad, I just used black and double stamped them. To do this, ink up your stamp and press it down once on a scratch piece to remove most of the ink and then stamp it a second time on your card. You can do this with any color to get a lighter hue.

Supplies:
Baby Girl: Cute Cuts; Unity Stamps: It’s a Girl Stamp

“Welcome” card, by Kathy Martin.

Supplies:
Baby Girl: Snuggly Safari, Pretty in Pink; We’re Expecting: Bella Baby Bump, Chipboard Icons; Baby Boy: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Button Market: Pink Flowers; Unity Stamp: So Happy For You

"Shine Down On Me" card, by Gail Hoecker.

One Stamp Three Ways. When I pulled the Country Tree Itty Bitty stamp out to use this month, I thought of several ways to use it. The first, probably the easiest, was to color the leaves with colored pencils in a rather monochromatic color scheme.  

"Congrats" card, by Gail Hoecker.

The second card was a little more work. I stamped my image on the card base and then several more times on an assortment of Bella Blvd patterned papers. I then cut out the leaves and adhered them onto the stamped image on the card base, popping some up.

"Hello Beautiful" card, by Gail Hoecker.

The third card was done by stamping the image on the card base. I then used a technique I learned years ago from fellow Artista Beth Gerlach. I stamped the tree image on plain cardstock, cut out the leaves and trunk of the tree and then the fun part ... I ran them through my little Xyron right-side down so that they are sticky on the right-side up. Dip the pieces in your glitter, tap off excess and adhere to your stamped image on your card base. I do not, repeat, do not, like a glittery mess and this method keeps the glitter mess to a minimum. I almost got rid of all my glitters and I'm really glad I didn't! Yes, these cards look fairly simple, but they do take some time to assemble so you want to make sure that whoever you send them to are "card worthy!"

Supplies: 
(Card 1) Spring Flings & Easter Things: Ciao Chip; Sunshine & Happiness: Alphas+Bits; Unity Stamp: Country Tree
(Card 2) Christmas Wishes: North Pole, Candlelight; Finally Fall: Leaf Pile, Alpha+Bits; One Fall Day: Cute Cuts, Chance of Rain; Sophisticates: Sprinles & Lace Plum; Unity Stamp: Country Tree
(Card 3) Spring Flings & Easter Things: Alphas+Bits; Unity Stamp: Country Tree

Layouts On Wednesday

Before we get to our "Layouts on Wednesday", I want to let you in on what we have coming up on the blog this weekend. There's a lot of talk, this time of the year, about December Daily Albums. So we asked a few of our designers to create December Daily albums, featuring Bella products. I can't wait to share what our designers came up with! After years of watching others create these albums, I'm finally thinking of doing one of my own this year. So make sure and keep your eyes out for those posts, over the weekend ;)

And now, onto our layouts. I love having a fun mix of themes. This week, we've got a soccer kid with attitude, a tender moment between brother and sister, some berry picking teens, and some adorable kids in halloween costumes. 

"Got Attitude", by Nancy Damiano.

My son's little attitude is in full force these days and I was really able to capture it (and his fierce competitiveness) in these photos. I wanted to do something special with them and still keep the focus on the photos. Bella's Making the Team was the perfect combination of bold color and great patterns for my layout. To create a sense of movement on the page, I used twine to mimic a bouncing soccer ball. It runs straight across the page, weaving behind my focal point photo without being distracting. I added a bit of a "lift" to the soccer ball and journaling square with some pop dots. This page came together quickly and I think it definitely has that little extra something that makes it stand out!

Supplies:
Making the Team: Football, Soccer, Cute Cuts, Border, Ciao Chip Icons, Alpha+Bits; Simply Simona Chipboard Alphas: McIntosh

"If Only For A Split Second", by Megan Klauer.

The bright and fun colors of the Spring Flings & Easter Things collection are right up my alley. This is one of my favorite photos of my oldest & youngest and I knew the colors in this collection would be perfect. I love that this line can be used for so much more than just Easter. I grabbed the Chipboard Essentials from the Sophistics collection and layered them with stickers from the Alpha + bit sheet for a touch of dimension.

Supplies:
Spring Flings & Easter Things: Sunny Sunday paper, Mom Bouquet paper, A Tisket A Tasket paper, Egg Hunt paper, Alpha + Bits, Just Write; Sophistics: Brownie & Cream Stickers, Chipboard Essentials

"Picking Berries", by Julie Johnson.

For me, the best part about designing is in the details. I LOVE details and I can't get enough of the cute little stickers, chipboard shapes, and alphabets. For this layout I punched out a bunch of 1 1/2 inch circles using a paper punch...it's a great way to add a lot of color to your page without using a lot of paper too. For the first row, I folded down the circles not quite half way allowing some of the underneath color to show. For the second row, I cut off the top of the circles and placed them just behind the first row. I machine stitched across the top of the circles to hold them in place and add more detail to my layout. I also ran a zig zag stitch across the bottom borders of the page. To add some texture and dimension I die cut a few flowers out of felt, added a few buttons and some bakers twine. This "fall" collection was perfect for my late "summer" photos. 

Supplies:
Finally Fall: Bliss, Leaf Pile, Autumn Splendor, At the Patch, Apple Holler, Alpha + Bits, Miniatures; Sophisticates: Quattrofina Brownie & Cream

"Halloween In The Past", by Vivian Masket.

This simple layout includes a few twists on using products. Instead of using the journaling sticker as is, I cut the “Halloween Memories” shape from the sticker and used it as an embellishment at the top of my layout. I created a digital title for my layout using two different fonts and layered text boxes in Microsoft Word; after I printed my title and journaling block I layered a chipboard embellishment over the “o” in the word “Halloween” to add texture and color to my title. The last twist is the most obvious – while border papers often include many fun patterns, don’t overlook the B sides! The only patterned paper I used on my layout is the B side from the Too Cute to Spook Borders paper.

Supplies:
Too Cute to Spook: Borders, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Miniatures Stickers, Chip Icons

Halloween Cards and Layouts

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend! And maybe even working in a little time for scrapping and crafting. We have a few more Halloween projects to share with you, using the Too Cute To Spook collection. Today, it's all about cards and layouts.

"You Are Boo-tiful" card, by Deanna Misner.

When I saw the green journaling spot on the Cute Cuts sheet, I just knew I had to make a Frankenstein. The black scalloped border was too perfect for his hair. So I used the insides and negative spaces of some of the black Oreo Sophisticates stickers to create his face and added "Frankly" above the Just Write sticker as a fun play on words. I love quirky cards like this one. It was a fun one to make!

Supplies:
Too Cute to Spook collection: Cob Webs, Borders, Cute Cuts, The Boo Crew, Just Write stickers; Sophisticates: Quattrofina Milk and Oreo alpha stickers, Quattrofina Mustard and Apricot alpha stickers

"Happy Haunting" card, by Deanna Misner.

The combination of chipboard icons with the Cute Cuts is a fun and easy way to create a scene on a card. To give the scene a background I used a Cute Cuts journaling spot, and the purple papers make such an eerie background!

Supplies:
Too Cute to Spook collection: The Boo Crew, Cute Cuts, Spooky Night, Chipboard Icons; Sophisticates: Quattrofina Milk and Oreo alpha stickers

"Boo To U" card, by Deanna Misner.

This was a really quick card, and the strip of Borders are what made it so easy to do. Just add a chipboard icon and some cardstock stickers and it's done! Easy peasy :)

Supplies:
Too Cute to Spook collection: Jacks-a-glow, Spooky Night, Borders, Chipboard Icons; Sophisticates: Quattrofina Mustard and Apricot alpha stickers

"Halloween Party", by Sue Mylde.

It was Lara's first Halloween Party and something she was looking forward to for awhile. She's in this layout, with one of her best friends. I love colors and how they work together on the layout - the greens, purples and even blues in the photo are matched with the purples, greens and blues of the chipboards and figures - cute right? Almost too cute to spook, indeed :)

I love the Halloween figurines in 'The Boo Crew' paper - so perfect for fussy-cutting and arranging on my layout, adding to the super-cute spider paper!

Supplies:
Too Cute To Spook: Full Moon, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Borders, Quadrants, The Boo Crew, Chipboard Icons, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Sophisticates Simply Simona Alphas: Oyster (Dictionary)

"I Love Halloween", by Loredana Bucaria.

Halloween is a really funny festivity! Here in Italy, it is growing up and it's exciting! For the first time in my life I lived the "trick or treat" game, the first Halloween in my new home, and it was really fun! I prepared a purple and orange table, dishes and glasses in the same colors, little candies boxes for the children and for the first time ever I cooked my first Halloween Recipe.  

"Witch's Fingers" are delicious biscuits, that have the shape of a finger and the almond is used as a nail ;) It's really spooky! I remember that when I opened my door and the children saw them they were very impressed!! LOL! I love the colors of Bella’s Too Cute To Spook collection, and they are perfect for my living room. 

I've made a lot of little circles, to create a fun sort of border on my layout. I stitched them one below the other. 

I love to play with the die cuts, and create a fun scenery! I also adore using 3D adhesive to give an accent even more of a popped up effect. The bat and the haunted houses are wonderful, don't you think? I am so happy to have created a Halloween page! My first one ever :) Hope to have a wonderful Halloween party again this year;) 

Supply list:
Too cute to spook!: Itsy Bitsy Spider, Borders, Cute Cuts, Jacks -A- Glow, Quadrants, Full Moon, Ciao Chip Icons, Just Write journaling Stickers.

Next week, we are switching gears, and moving on to ALL things Winter and Spring!

With the NEW mid-releases set to begin shipping out on Monday morning, our fabulous Design Team is also ready to start showing off all the projects they've been creating with these new collections! We will be blasting the Bella blog with TONS of new inspiration, ALL week long! You won't want to miss it!

Halloween Candy Tins, Candles, And A Fun Board Game

Today, we have some really cute Halloween projects to share with you, from two of our Altered Project Designers. Both of them used the Too Cute To Spook collection, to create some spooking-ly adorable candy tins, candles, and a very unique board game.

Halloween Candy Tins & Jar, by Marie-Josée Hamel.

I created this project in less than 30 minutes. Cut 2 pieces of paper (about 3/4" wide) to create the handles. Glue them to the cans. Then, cover the cans with paper. Add paper borders cut from the Borders paper. Decorate with the characters cut from the Cute Cuts paper and stickers from the Just Write journaling stickers sheet. Then, create a tag using more patterned paper and stickers. Punch a hole in the tag and affix it to the glass jar using a ribbon. Decorate with twine and buttons if desired. 

Supplies:
Too Cute to Spook: Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jacks-a-Glow, Cute Cuts, Borders, Just Write journaling stickers

Halloween Candy Tins, by Jennifer Edwardson.

I had the most fun creating these cute candy tins. My girlfriend owns a local flower and tea company here in Parksville and I am forever going into her shop a picking up fun pots, containers and tins to make into something completely other than for flowers or tea :)  

When I saw these adorable tea tins a few weeks back I knew exactly what I was going to do with them. (they even have 'tea making instructions' on the bottom of the tins :) The color purple was a PERFECT match with the Too Cute To Spook collection. This was my favorite line from Bella's Summer CHA releases.

These were super simple and totally fun to make. I measured the width around and cut the paper to wrap the body of the tins and then added border stickers from the Alpha+Bits sheet around the top, and paper strips at the bottom. I covered the tops of the tins with both paper and stickers and embellished the fronts of the tea tins using Cute Cuts and stickers too!

Once I had them just how I wanted, I added this beautiful organza ribbon to 'wrap' them closed!!! I can not wait to give them full of treats for Halloween.

Supplies:
Too Cut To Spook: Cute Cuts, Full Moon, The Boo Crew, Cob Webs, Minitures, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alphas & Bits

Halloween Candles, by Marie-Josée Hamel.

This project can easily be done in five minutes! Just use a few scraps of paper, and cut them to fit your candles. Then, cut a character from the Cute Cuts paper and glue it to the biggest candle. Tie a ribbon around it. Place the candles on a plate, and voilà, you have a nice Halloween decoration!

Supplies:
Too Cute to Spook: Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jacks-a-Glow, Cob Webs, Cute Cuts, Borders

Too Cute to Spook Halloween Game, by Marie-Josée Hamel.

I created this 12 x 12 board game, inspired by Snakes and Ladders, for my daughter. It's another version of the well-known game Chutes and Ladders. It can be played using a regular dice, or with the special dice that I altered.

Here are the instructions:

- Create an 8 x 8 grid on the Spooky Mights paper. Make a small pencil mark every 1½ inch along each side of the paper, and draw lines using a black permanent marker.

- Glue the paper on top of a thick 12 x 12 chipboard piece to create a sturdy board.

- Cut a few 1¼ " 1¼" paper pieces and glue them randomly on the grid to add some color.

- Start cutting each and every character on the Boo Crew paper. I hope you are very patient, because this takes a long time! :) Once you're done, you're supposed to have 5 left. You will need 62 for the grid, 6 for the dice and 4 for the markers. Once you are done, glue them to the grid. Do not place them randomly. Follow the same order. Go from left to right, then from right to left, and so on.

- Once you are done, alter the large dice. I used a small glass to draw circles that were the perfect size for my dice, cut them and glued them to the dice, then added the characters. If you can't find a large dice, number each spot of the grid and use a regular dice. I created my number in Word (Chill font) and cut them using a basic hole punch.

- Hand draw some arrows, or create them in Word (or other software). Use as many as you want.

- Create the markers. Cut strips of papers (1" x 4") in four different papers, fold them in half, then fold ½" at each end. Glue the ends together to create the markers.

Your project is ready! Don't forget to keep some candies close by for the winner!

Supplies:
Too Cute to Spook: The Boo Crew, Cob Webs, Spooky Night, Jacks-a-Glow, Cute Cuts; Other: thick 12 x 12 chipboard piece; large dice

A Too Cute To Spook Album Share

There's less than two weeks left until Halloween! With that in mind, we have lots of Halloween projects to share with you for the rest of this week. All of  these projects feature the Too Cute To Spook collection. Altered projects, layouts, cards. And today, we have this amazingly fun mini album that I think you're going to love!

"Oh Spook & Boo" mini album, by Wendy Morris.

I started off this project with a staggered chipboard album. Then, I decided on which papers from the Too Cute to Spook collection to use.

Basically, I ended up using all the papers because they are absolutely the cutest!

Next, I selected the papers, cut to size of chipboard pages, and then adhered to the chipboard pages using Glue N' Seal. Glue N' Seal is a wonderful adhesive for altered projects. 

I emphasized the eyes of some of the cute images in the papers & cutouts with wiggle eyes for a fun effect.  

Many of the photos I mounted on pop dots for a bit of dimension as well as some of the stickers & chipboard accents. 

I'm planning to give this altered album to a sweet friend who let's me borrow her cute kiddos to scrap up. So, I left lots of journaling cards from the collection and space for her to journal up the memories.  

The images in this collection are just adorable and I love the effect of "paper dolls" and made them on one page along with some fun felt and resin pumpkins. I used machine stitching on the spider.  

I typically use lots of stamps in my projects and focus on lots of details.  

Supplies:
Too Cute to Spook:  Borders, Quadrants, Cute Cuts, Jacks-a-Glow, Cob Webs, Full Moon, Ciao Chip Icons, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Stamps: Camped Out; Sophisticates Simply Simona Alphas: Oreo, Orange

Tomorrow, we have some fun halloween projects to share with you, featuring more of the Too Cute To Spook collection! We'll see you then!

Guest Designer: Amy Heller

Today, I am very excited to introduce to you, our October Guest Designer, Amy Heller!

Hi everyone! It's Amy Heller here today I'm so excited to be guesting for Bella Blvd this month! A little about me:

I was introduced to scrapping in 2004, like many scrappers, from an in-home party. But I didn't scrap with real consistency until 2008, once my kids were a bit older and out of their infancy stages. :) As a graphic designer by profession, this hobby has brought me back to the fundamental reasons why I fell in love with design in the first place : paper, color, letter form and layout. My style has of course evolved from those early days. Now I would definitely say that I have a fun, cheerful, colorful and whimsical style. I LOVE to layer pattern, color and texture (especially with buttons, ribbon and sewing). I think it's safe to say that I love to embellish on my work. :) I currently design for American Crafts, October Afternoon, and Crate Paper. I've been fortunate to have had my work published in several magazines ranging from Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbook Trends, CARDS, Paper Crafts as well as Scrapbooks and Cards Today. I am from the beautiful state of Washington, but I currently live in a small town in Connecticut with my awesome husband of 11 years, our daughter, who is nearly 9 and our son who is 5.

"Fall Soccer", by Amy Heller.

I was immediately inspired to work with the Making The Team collection after my son's first "real team" soccer practice several weekends ago. The colors were perfect and the essence of the collection fit the energy and vibrance of the sport theme to a "T". My favorite paper in this collection is that adorable multi-colored polka dot, how cute is that? Plus I love that it's ideal for both boys and girls of all ages!

"My Punk'n in the Patch", by Amy Heller.

Oh, how I love the Finally Fall collection! This grouping of papers and stickers have so much versatility and depth, I know I will be using it time and again for all those fabulous fall moments we have here in New England. How cute are all those pumpkin images with those gi-normous gourds in that photo? I just love them, and my little jack-o-lantern-mouthed girl! LOL!

"Beware - Spider Queen", by Amy Heller.

I am so smitten with the colors in the Too Cute to Spook collection. How fun are they!? I knew the purple would be perfect with my daughter's costume last year of a Spider Queen, all black and purple. The splash of teal really makes this collection pop, and I really love that! It's so whimsical and quirky, and I really love those qualities in my papers. This page was layers upon layers and after a couple tries at getting the page right (because I redo pages often) I think it finally works the way I like. I chose to mix some things up with the chipboard alphas by giving them centers with some buttons. Kind of gives them a spooky "Coraline" look to them, don't ch'ya think?

"Too Cute To Spook!" card, by Amy Heller.

Lastly, I thought I would create a card with the Too Cute to Spook collection since we are coming up on Halloween so quickly. I stitched over the web from one of the journaling cards on the Cute Cuts paper to give it some added dimension. Then I just couldn't resist the adorable oversized spider on the same page. I think he really is Too Cute to Spook! I gave him some beady pearl eyes which really adds to his cute-factor!

Well, that wraps it up for me here today! Thank you so much, Stephanie and Laura, for having me as your Guest here at Bella Blvd. today! I had so much fun playing with these uber-cute collections! I know I'll be reaching for them again and again! :D

To see more of Amy's work, make sure and visit her blog HERE.

Halloween Mini Albums

Today, we have two Halloween mini albums to share with you, using the Too Cute To Spook collection. Whether you're creating a mini album to spotlight one particular year, or an ongoing mini album that can be added to every Halloween, our Too Cute To Spook collection is the perfect fit to make an adorably cute album!

 

"Halloween Boo Crew" mini album, by Julie Johnson.

I love Halloween, it's my favorite time of the year. I find myself drawn to the "cute" Halloween lines rather than the "spooky" so when I saw the Too Cute to Spook collection, I fell in love with it. I knew I wanted to create a little book I could display during the season. All of the embellishments for this collection are amazing and I couldn't just choose one, so I used everything. 

 

With the bats and the clouds I wanted to create a moon for the back page so I made a chipboard circle and then cut a piece of yellow paper from the Mr. Boy collection. One of the things I love about the Bella papers is that the colors from different collections coordinate with each other. 

 

I'm a huge fan of ink. For this album I used Tim Holtz Black Soot distressing ink. I find that inking the edges of the papers, really defines the edges of the papers and gives a little "pop" to them. One of the other things I like to do is place my "easy to cut" stickers onto thin chipboard and then cut them out. For example, the small word phrases and the straight border stickers, anything that is easy to cut out. I won't take the time on the intricate stuff. I feel it adds just the right touch and gives a little bit more eye appeal.

 

Some of the chipboard elements that I have used hang off the book. Once I adhered the chipboard I sprinkled a little black and purple glitter on the backside to cover the sticky part.

  

 

I love the border strips on the borders paper. Instead of laying them flat I like to gather up the border strips because I think it adds dimension to the page. You can see on this page how I have placed a few folds in the paper and then stapled it a few times to hold it in place.  

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"Wickedly Cute" mini album, by Wendy Wagner.

I was excited to create this mini album, with the Too Cute to Spook collection! I decided to make it a fun trip down memory lane, by creating a book of my daughter, Annalise, from her very first Halloween up until this past year, 2010.

 

 

 

If pictures went over the edge of the page, I either painted the edges of the back of the photo or added patterned paper to the back. That way, no matter what way you looked at the book, open or closed, it looked 'completed'. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the rings I added ribbon and some of the tiny tags from the Miniature Sticker sheet, backing them with another sticker. I think they added a cute little charm to the book!

 

Halloween Spell Book and Altered Witch's Boot

How cute were those projects we shared yesterday? Sheri and Katherine did an amazing job on their Halloween projects. And today, we have two more incredible projects to share with you, using Bella's Too Cute To Spook collection. Our Local Artista, Beth Gerlach, created both of today's projects, and we think she came up with some very unique ideas.

 

Halloween Spell Book, by Beth Gerlach.

I was asked to create a few altered projects for the Bella booth at CHA, and I really wanted to make something unique. I had the idea to create a "Spell" book, filled with Halloween recipes. I loved making this book! This is by far my favorite altered project I've ever done and it was such fun to make.

 

I wanted this book to look old and authentic. I cut out the word "Spells" out of chipboard (using an exacto blade), and then covered them with pattern paper. For the background plate, I used chipboard and covered it with crackle nail polish to give it the crackle effect. Then I mounted the "Spells" letters, and then mounted the background plate to the cover. 

 

For the cover, I covered chipboard with pattern paper on one side and painted the other side with black paint. To get the piece of chipboard for the spine to curve without cracking, I wet it slightly first and just gave it a nice curve and then let it dry. Once it was dry, I covered it with pattern paper.

 

I used gold embossing powder throughout the book as you can see, while using black ink so it would appear old. The pages are made by using Bella Too Cute to Spook paper and stickers, while using parchment paper as a base. I heat embossed the edges of each page with gold embossing powder. 

 

Many of the recipes are items I have made and love around Halloween, many of which are Martha Stewart recipes.

 

 

 

 

 

Wicked Witch Altered Boot, by Beth Gerlach.

I found this fun paper maché Witch's boot while searching the Internet, and knew it would be perfect for creating another unique project.

 

I painted it with orange acrylic paint, and decorated it by cutting up various Too Cute to Spook pattern papers. I had to use smaller paper pieces, since the dimension of the boot was a little tricky to work with, since it wasn't flat.

 

I added lots of stickers to embellish the boot, and used a thin black ribbon to lace up the boot.

 

After I had the boot decorated, I painted on another layer of Modge Podge to seal everything and give it a glossy finish.

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I wanted to remind everyone, that if you havn't signed up for our Bella Buzz Newsletter, you'll want to head over HERE and get yourself signed up. Our next issue will be out this coming Monday, and we'd love to send it directly to your inbox!

 

Halloween Flags & A Halloween Spooky Mansion

Did you know that Halloween is just three weeks away? I'm sure that most kids out there, are either trying to decide what to be for halloween, or they already have their costumes picked out and are doing practice runs around the house. And the parents? Well, we're stocking up on lots and lots of candy. And then, if you're like me, you're stocking up on more candy, once you eat the original stash ;)

And of course, there needs to be some really fun Halloween decorations around the house to get into the spirit of the holiday. Bella's Too Cute To Spook collection is perfect for these types of projects. And we have some amazing projects from our designers to share with you over the next few days. These were created for the booth at Summer CHA, and I'm so glad that we're finally showing these off!

 

Jar of Halloween Flags, by Sheri Feypel.

This is by far my favorite scrappy project that I have made so far. As soon as I saw the Too Cute To Spook collection, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it!

 

I have to confess that I am a flag junkie. I put them on cards, layouts and I might have once decorated a display at work with some flags!

 

I started off with an empty pickle jar, some wooden dowels and black beans. I used black beans instead of candy so that Stephanie and the girls at Bella wouldn't eat them ;)

 

Then I cut flags in different sizes and edges. I attached them to the dowels and decorated them with chipboard and stickers. I also added ribbon, buttons, and floss to each flag.

 

 

For the stars, I die cut two stars and adhered them back to back with pop dots. This allowed me to adhere the dowel in between the two stars as well.

 

 

"Spooky Halloween Mansion", altered printer's tray by Katherine McElvain.

Altered projects are outside my comfort zone. But I so wanted to create a spooky mansion using the Too Cute to Spook line. The biggest challenge when starting this project was planning out how to fill the spaces in the letterblock tray to make it look like a house. I am typically someone who likes to sketch out my ideas before I put things together. So I went back to my grade school days and took a piece of paper and a crayon and did a rub over the tray to get an image that I could sketch on to help plan out my project. Then I scribbled where peaks, doors and windows would appear to make my initial plan.

Filling the spaces with patterns and images was easy with all the Bella Blvd products. The Too Cute to Spook collection supplied me with patterns of clouds and bats that filled the background. And the white journaling blocks displaying the spooky tree, and bats worked great for contrast.

 

I wanted the house to show as one unit down the center of the tray so I filled that section of the tray with green monochromatic Bella papers from various collections, including Christmas Wishes and Sophisticates. It is so convenient how all the Bella Blvd patterns can be intermingled.

 

Once the base of the project was complete with the background filled, the fun began! I added layers and layers to the tray with all the Too Cute to Spook embellishments and patterns. Clouds, spider webs, fences, ghosts, speech bubbles..the choices were endless. Even the awnings were easily completed with the scalloped accents from the Too Cute to Spook chipboard and sticker sheets.

 

And then there were the pattern papers from the other Bella lines that were perfect to add some needed accents. The scalloped chipboard from the Mr Boy collection, when cut apart, made a cute little bush along the bottom. The woodgrain pattern paper from Tail Waggers and Cat Naps was perfect for the door, and the gym floor pattern from Making the Team made the chimney look like it was made of brick.

 

But my favorite room in the spooky little mansion is the one in the center where my two little monster friends are peaking from behind the curtains. Meet Frank and Mike. They would like to thank you for stopping by and taking a peek inside their home today. Happy Halloween!

 

Step-By-Step Project Sheet: Too Cute To Spook

Looking for fresh ideas and new inspiration using Bella Blvd products? Want to learn how to mix and match Bella products and create cute layouts? Stuck on a project and need some help? Want to teach a Bella Blvd workshop at your LSS? Or, do you own a LSS and need a sample idea to hang next to our products? If you've said yes to ANY of the above--you're going to love this!

 

Bella Blvd is launching a new monthly feature to help you get inspired and keep you scrappin'. I will be designing a fresh never-featured-before project along with step-by-step directions for you to use, EVERY MONTH! Complete with a list of tools, supplies and Bella products needed, it couldn't get any easier! So dive into your stash today, or check out the online store links (on the sidebar) and pick up your supplies today! You'll get more pages completed with our help! Use us ... that's what we're here for!!!

You can download our second project sheet, featuring Bella's Too Cute To Spook collection, by clicking HERE.

 

Guest Designer: Kelly Noel

We have another super talented Guest Designer to share with you today. Let's all give a very warm welcome to Kelly Noel!

 

Hi everybody! I’m so happy to be this week’s Guest Designer. Bella Blvd’s products are so fun and I just love the bright colors and graphic patterns … they fit my style so well! I’ve been scrapbooking since college, but back then it was just pictures and stories/captions. I got into it more seriously once my oldest son was born, 7 years ago. I found the online scrapbooking world and never looked back :) Now, I can’t imagine NOT scrapbooking … it combines my love of art and photography perfectly, so it was such a natural hobby for me. 

 

"Frightfully Adorable & Wickedly Cute", by Kelly Noel.

I had so much fun with the new Too Cute To Spook line. The colors and patterns were perfect for this photo from our Halloween last year. My boys are still into “cute” costumes (I’m not holding my breath thinking they’ll be like that forever though … I’m sure the creepy costumes are somewhere on the horizon ;), but right now they are still super cute little trick or treaters.

 

I love how so many of the patterns in the Too Cute To Spook papers can be cut to create embellishments … the clouds, for example, that I cut here were the perfect addition to the moon I cut from cardstock. I popped them up with foam adhesive to give some great dimension to the page. I also layered (with more foam adhesive…love that stuff!) two of the title stickers from the sticker sheet for my title.

 

"At The Patch", by Kelly Noel.

Finally Fall is full of such adorable papers and stickers … I loved the colors in this line so much! I chose to scrapbook a photo of my two boys at the pumpkin patch. The fall colors in the photo really went well with the colors in this line. I cut out the two trees, added some detailing with a brown pen and then layered them underneath the title sticker.

 

 

"Good Luck" card, by Kelly Noel.

I created two cards with the super cute and sweet Sunny Happy Skies line. This line makes me wish I had a little girl to scrapbook…the colors are so pretty and girly! :) I love using more “girly” lines for making cards, because it gives me a chance to use the pinks, etc. which I don’t normally get to use much.

 

"Be Happy" card, by Kelly Noel.

Thank you Bella Blvd so much for asking me to be Guest Designer. I had a great time playing with all these fun products!

 

Guest Designer: Jamie Harper, part 2

I see from yesterday's comments, that so many of you really enjoyed all the fabulous layouts by our Guest Designer Jamie Harper. Well, you're in for a treat then. Because Jamie is back today, to share even more of her brilliant creations!

 

Back for day two of sharing. One of my favorite things about Bella Blvd products are the vibrant colors. It does not matter if it is the camping line, or the new Making the Team all of the product lines are filled with fun and with color.

 

"For The Love Of Books", by Jamie Harper.

This line was so much fun to play with!!! Too Cute to Spook is full of fun colors! And I was so surprised with myself, when I was playing with the collection. #1 - I do NOT like Halloween. I never have. Too much candy, too scary, and in Arizona it is still so hot here. So I usually shy away from Halloween products (not this time). #2 - I do NOT like the color purple. Don’t ask me why, because I would not be able to give you an answer. I just don’t like it. So you can just imagine my surprise when this line is what I was drawn to first and made the most layouts from. I love it when the unexpected happens.

This layout is one of my new favorites. Our family LOVES to read!! So naturally a layout about the library and books had to become a new favorite. And yes, my kids do sit down like this at the Library and decide on their books. ALL 4 of them :)

 

"Eight Weeks", by Jamie Harper.

Another layout using Too Cute to Spook. I used my Cricut on the word eight. I love the mix of grey and turquoise on this layout and I love how simple and clean the layout is. I love the fun font of the alphabet stickers, brings a bit of whimsy to the page.

 

"Magic", by Jamie Harper.

I had to do at least one Halloween layout. But I love that the products are fun and keep the feeling light, not spooky. I used 3 different patterns by making 3 different sized circles. I love the end result of this layout.

 

"She's 2", by Jamie Harper.

This layout ended up being my favorite out of the 10 that I created. Still using the Too Cute to Spook collection. This one just grabs my heart. This is my cute niece and she has me wrapped around her finger. I knew I wanted just this one photo on this layout and I wanted to bring color through the products. So I created a wave pattern for the bottom, and cut the clouds out of the paper for the top. I finished the layout with just a bit of stitching.

 

"I Love You", by Jamie Harper.

One last one, of course of my cute husband. One of my all-time favorite lines Lovey Dovey, and it just fits us so well J. After 17 years we are still gushy (is that really a word?) in love, just ask our kids. These photos were taken from the ipad on our 17 year anniversary date. I love that SO much about this layout says “LOVE” the photos, the hearts, and all of the stickers and titling.

It was such an honor to have been asked to create some layouts using Bella Blvd. They have always been one of my favorite companies. Thank you so much for letting me share my projects with you!

Bella Blvd & Unity Stamps: Inspiration & Giveaway Day

 

We are back with another Bella Blvd & Unity Stamps Inspiration Day! We choose a few of our co-branded stamps to send to card maker extraordinaire, Alice Carman, and asked her to pair them up with some of her favorite Bella products. 

 

"I Fall 4 You" card, by Alice Carman. I used two Bella Blvd collections when creating this card. I took the Pep Rally paper from the Midterm collection, and cut out the banner to drape across the card. I also added some stickles to highlight color that was not part of the color scheme to match the heart on the Tree Love stamp.

 

Supplies:
Sophisticates: Mustard & Apricot; Finally Fall: Quadrants, Cute Cuts; Midterm: Pep Rally; Unity/Bella Blvd Stamp: Tree Love

 

"Fright Night" card, by Alice Carman. I used the House Warming Itty Bitty stamp as a haunted house on this card so it would match the Too Cute to Spook line. I dressed the house up a bit by adding some glossy accents and little of green tint to the windows. 

 

Supplies:
Too Cute to Spook Collection: Boo Crew, Full Moon, Cute Cuts, Miniatures Stickers; Sophisticates: Oreo; Unity/Bella Blvd Stamp: House Warming Bella Itty Bitty

 

"I Heart Halloween" card, by Alice Carman. I used the House Warming Itty Bitty stamp again, but this time I cut out the windows so I could back it up with some Too Cute to Spook paper to give it more depth.  I also stitched some webs into the paper so the spider’s web looks more realistic. It’s all about texture to capture attention to the cards.

 

Supplies:
Too Cute to Spook Collection: Cob Webs, Spooky Night, Borders, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniatures Stickers; Unity/Bella Blvd Stamp: House Warming Bella Itty Bitty

And now for the giveaways!

 

Giveaway #1 - Unity Stamps: Tree Love.

 

Giveaway #2 - Unity Stamps: House Warming Itty Bitty.

All you need to do to be entered in our random giveaway, is leave a comment on this post. We will announce a winner on Friday morning.

Thursday Project Shares

Happy Thursday everyone! We have lots more projects from our CHA designers to share with you today. I love that we can get a little bit of sports, a little bit of Fall, a little bit of Halloween, and a little bit of Christmas. All in one post. Let's get right to it.

 

"Play Hard Boys", by Michelle Clement.

 

 

 

 

"Thank You Coach" card, by Allyson Meinholz.

 

(inside of card)

 

"#1 Coach" card, by Katherine McElvain.

 

"Welcome Home" card, by Morgan Bandkowski.

 

(inside of card)

 

"Welcome To The Neighborhood" card, by Wendy Lee Wagner.

 

 

(inside of card)

 

"Carving Memories", by Allyson Meinholz.

 

 

 

"My Supers", by Janis Medina.

 

 

 

"Christmas Tree Check List", by Katherine McElvain.

 

 

 

"Christmas Present", by Janis Medina.

 

 

 

"My Favorite Time Of Year", by Kerryn Fry.

 

 

"Ho Ho" card, by Allyson Meinholz.

 

Christmas Tree card, by Gretchen McElveen.

Stephanie is getting back to her Friday posts here on the blog, tomorrow. So make sure and come back by, to see what she has to share with us!

Product Spotlight: Simply Simona Ciao Chips Numbers

Another new item that we added to the Bella Blvd collections, at Summer CHA, are the Simply Simona Ciao Chip Numbers. These are such a great addition to our Ciao Chip alphabets. They are available in red, white, and black.

They are perfect for sports, when you want to add the score of a game, stats for the season, or your child jersey number. They are great for everyday use, for adding the date or year to your projects. And thinking ahead a few months, they will be perfect for making your December Daily album this year!

 

 

 

Here are a few of our CHA designers projects, that feature the Simply Simona Ciao Chip numbers.

 

"Team", by Janis Medina.

 

 

 

 

"Play Hard", by Kerryn Fry.

 

 

"Soccer Champ", by Tanisha Long.

 

 

 

 

"Love To See You Smile", by Gretchen McElveen.

 

"Frightfully Adorable", by Kerryn Fry.

 

 

 

We will be back with some more project shares tomorrow!