Bella Blvd Studio Blog

Altered Projects: Christmas Style

This week we are keeping with many of our usual daily features, but putting the focus on Christmas projects! Today we have altered projects to share with you. Our designers have come up with some easy to make projects for gift giving and decor, all of which can be created in a short amount of time.

Pillow Box, by Jennifer Edwardson.

I love the look of a pillow box for all kinds of smaller gifts. Gift cards, candies and jewelry too! I used a template that I kept from a store bought pillow box and traced it onto a brown striped patterned paper. Once I had it scored and folded into place, I lightly sanded the edges to show the white core. I added some cardstock stickers, wrapped it in ribbon and tied a couple of mini jingle bells to the center with twine. Can't wait to give it at Christmas.

Supplies:
Christmas Wishes: Trees For Sale, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Borders, Miniatures; Button Market: Merlot Flowers

Gift Box, by Jennifer Edwardson.

I love cute little gift boxes and whenever I find a new one, I ALWAYS create a template so I can use it again and again. This is a little 3 x 3" cube that I made from one of my favorite patterns from the Christmas Wishes collection. The little red on red presents were perfect for this box. Once I had it all put together I slightly distressed the edges with my sanding block. I added some pretty ribbon and then created a custom bow on top. This was the perfect place for a couple of flag stickers and a bit of curly twine to finish it off.

Supplies:
Christmas Wishes: Gifts Galore, Miniatures

Gift Card Card, by Jennifer Edwardson.

Gift Card giving is so popular for all occasions, but especially Christmas so I wanted to create a fun place to give one that wasn't just a folder from the store. I used kraft cardstock and scored (5) lines in the center 1/4" apart to make a place to tuck the folder inside for the gift card.  I border punched the edges of the base and used designer tape to create a 'binding'. Then I went ahead and embellished the front as if it was a holiday card and the inside with a space to write to and from and a note too.

Supplies:
Christmas Wishes: Candlelight, Star Stripe, Christmas Love, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniatures Stickers, Borders; High Five Alphabets: Green

Gift Bag, by Jennifer Edwardson.

I have a serious gift bag obsession and have got quite the collection in my closet. The funny thing is that I never usually give them as they are purchased. I'm always adding paper and stickers to pretty them up a bit and for this little white one I used some patterned paper to start. I adhered a border strip folded back and forth to look like ribbon and precision cut a couple of sweet little penguins with an 'I love Christmas' sticker. My favorite part of this bag is the bow made from designer tape with a tree cut from a paper border Add the red tissue and a gift of course and its ready to give to someone special.

Supplies:
Christmas Wishes: Gifts Galore, Borders, Miniatures; Designer Tape: Red Dot

Gift Card Tag, by Jennifer Edwardson.

I decided that instead of creating a tag to add to a gift, that I would make the tag the perfect place to give the gift. I used the Bella clear stamp 'merry christmas' sentiment in (3) different ink colors to create a base on the tag before adding a few pieces of patterned paper. Then I used a border punch along the top of a journaling sticker and only adhered it on 3 sides to create a pocket for the gift card. A few stickers, chipboard shapes, a button and ribbon and twine to finish it off.

Supplies:
Christmas Wishes: North Pole, Borders, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Miniatures, Ciao Chip Icons; Button Market Bursts; Unity Stamps: December Details 2

Recycled Christmas Tree, by Wendy Antenucci.

My daughter loves to re purpose stuff much to my dismay and has items scattered everywhere in her art room. But sometimes her ideas are really good, and this is one of those times! She had taken empty air fresheners and decorated it to look like a Christmas tree. I loved her idea, but wanted to make it a little less kiddish so I chose to make rolled flowers to adorn my tree.

I used about 3 sheets of the Bella paper to cover my cone with 2" rolled flowers and hot glued them around the cone.

I finished my tree with some trim and a birds nest for the perfect elegant touch. I then draped pearls on my tree for the tinsel. Isn't it amazing what project can be made out of trash? 

Supplies:
Midterm: Physics; Thankful: Burlap

Toilet Paper Flower, by Wendy Antenucci.

I've seen many projects out on the web using toilet paper cores and paper towel cores so I had this brilliant idea to cover a toilet paper core with some elegant Bella paper. I then cut slices off my roll in even increments (mine are approximately 1/2") and painted the insides. I then hot glued the petals to a circle on the top and bottom to hold their shape. 

My flower still needed some dressing up so I took my designer tape and formed a bow which I glued to the top of the circle and then added a flower for the perfect elegant touch. With the addition of stickles and a hanger my paper flower was finished and I love it and can't wait to make more!

Supplies:
Socialite: Dance Circle; Winter Wonder: Toasty; Designer Tapes: Red Dot

Recycled Gift Box, by Wendy Antenucci.

I wanted to make some sort of gift box, but I didn't just want to use a plain box - then we had donuts for breakfast! I loved the see through window of the donut box and decided to wrap up the box in some finery so that I could put some cookies or cupcakes in it for a treat later.

I covered the box with my Bella paper and then used the designer tapes to cover the edges of the top that were still peeking out with a cute little chipboard tree and a tag my box is complete and ready to give away.

Supplies:
Christmas Wishes: Trees For Sale; Sophisticates: Petite Pieces; Birthday Girl: Party Dress, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Designer Tapes: Red Dot; Ciao Chip Everyday Elements: Trees; Button Market: Stars

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!

“Great Pear” card, by Laurie Schmidlin.

I just love chevrons and polka dots together, and Bella has so many cute chevron and polka to choose from! For this card, I combined some patterned paper from the Making the Team and Birthday Girl collections. For the focal image, I stamped the pears (from the Itty Bitty by Unity Great Pear stamps), colored one of the pears in using my Copic markers, and then added a heart sticker.

Supplies:
Making The Team: Quadrants; Birthday Girl: Miles of Smiles; Sophisticates: Miniatures Card Sentiment, Short Stories; High Five Alphabet Stickers: Black-White; Button Market: Text, Stars

“So Happy For You” card, by Laurie Schmidlin.

I love to make shaped cards! When I sat down to create this baby card, I thought a baby onesie would be the perfect shape! After I cut the card base out using my Silhouette Cameo, I added the hearts patterned paper. I stamped the flowers (from the Celebrate in Style Itty Bitty by Unity), cut each of them out, and then popped them up for added dimension. The sentiment is stamped using the Itty Bitty by Unity So Happy For You stamps. To finish it off, I add a big white bow and a Crochet Flower.

Supplies:
Birthday Girl: Borders; Crochet Flowers: Daisies; Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron; Unity Stamps: So Happy For You, Celebrate in Style

"Baby" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

The sweet Kiss Me line can work for baby projects too! And those flags are the 'Just Married' pack but, hey, they work! The stamp on this card is the 'It's a Boy' Unity stamp. I stamped it on a piece of patterned paper and then cut it out. I wanted this to be a girly card, so I covered up the 'It's a boy' on the center with a flower button. Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Kiss Me: Love Notes, Flutter, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Button Market: Hot Pink Flowers; Flags: Just Married; High Five Alphabets: Pink-Red; Unity Stamps: It's a Boy

"Thinking About You" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

I went a little tape crazy on this one! So many of the designer tapes match the Kiss Me line and I could not decide which 1 or 2 to use. So I just used them all! :) I stamped the sentiment from the 'Orange You Glad' stamp set onto a scrap of patterned paper, cut it out, and then rounded the corners to make it look like a tab. And once again I could not resist fussy cutting a few small flowers to embellish the card.

Supplies:
Kiss Me: Bouquet Kisses, Borders & Cute Cuts, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Designer Tapes: Pickle Juice Chevron, Punch Chevron, Gulf Dot, Piggy Pink Stripe; Button Market: Pink Flowers; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Blueberry; Unity Stamps: Orange You Glad

“Happy Birthday” card, by Carina Lindholm.

I think this little toad is just too adorable! I stamped him on white cardstock and colored him using water color pencils. I added some glitter to the present and one of the balloons to give the card some sparkle.

Supplies:
Birthday Boy: Eat Cake, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Unity Stamp: Birthday Toad, Cake Wishes

“Home” card, by Carina Lindholm.

I stamped the cute little house on white cardstock and colored it using Copic markers. I cut off the corners on the left side to make the tag. I really love the color of the chevron paper that I covered my card base in. I think it gives a cozy feeling to my card.

Supplies:
Thankful: Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Chipboard Icons; Unity Stamps: Welcome Home

“Leaf Without You” card, by Kathy Martin.

One of my favorite things about autumn are the colorful falling leaves so this Unity/Bella Blvd. stamp was fun to color with warm hues. The brown burlap patterned paper is a favorite of mine and I thought it would pair perfectly with some jute.

Supplies:
Thankful: Burlap, Bountiful; Button Market: Merlot Flowers, Masculine Mix; Unity Stamps: Leaf Without You

“Cupcake Birthday” card, by Kathy Martin.

I love working with Bella Blvd’s Designer Tape and I thought it would be fun to use strips to stamp my sentiments on. Not only are the Baby Girl chipboard cupcakes perfect for baby themed projects, but I like to use them for yummy birthday cards too!

Supplies:
Designer Tape:  Yellow Chevron, Pickle Juice Chevron, Piggy Pink Stripe; Baby Girl: Chipboard Icons; Button Market: Pink Flowers; Unity Stamps: Cake Wishes, Hip Hip Hooray

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!

“Thanks for the Lift” card, by Alice Carman.

I could not help, but stamp these adorable images multiple times so I wanted to make a card where I could do that. Did you notice that I removed something from the original image?  I took the gift box away so I could use it for a different theme. It’s super cute the original way too, but I thought I try something different. 

Supplies:
Birthday Girl: Miles of Smiles; Designer Tapes: Yellow Chevron; High Five Alphabets: Pink-Red, Yellow, Black-White; Unity/Bella Blvd Stamps: Hip Hip Hooray, Celebrate In Style

“Eat Cake Wish Big” card, by Alice Carman.

Who doesn’t love cake??? I love the clean smooth image you get using these stamps. I also cut out the image of this stamp as well so I could use it up against another Bella Blvd stamp. 

Supplies:
Crochet Flowers: Dahlia; Designer Tapers Pink Flowers, Yellow Chevron, Blue Gingham, Punch Chevron, Gulf Dot, Jail Bird, Orange Stripe; Button Market: Wood Mix; Stick Pin Flags: Spring Flings; Unity/Bella Blvd Stamps: Cake Wishes, Tell Me More

“Birthday Boy” card, by Alice Carman.

This birthday toad is darling! I added some google eyes to make him more animated. He almost looks as though he’s about to jump off the card. Lol.

Supplies:
Birthday Boy: Toadilly Cool; Too Cute To Spook: Flags: Birthday Boy Flags 2; Unity/Bella Blvd Stamps: Birthday Toad

"Baby" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

I think the "It's a Boy" stamp is so cute! I stamped it onto a piece of patterned paper and then cut it out to use as an embellishment for this card. Then I added all kinds of stickers and bling to decorate the rest of the card. Thank you for looking! 

Supplies:
Baby Boy: It's a Boy, Momma's Boy, Borders, Miniature Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Unity Stamps: It's a Boy

"Toadilly Cool" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

I used "Birthday Toad" stamps to create part of the sentiment on this card. These stamps are "toadilly" fun! Ha! And of course I had to cut out the frog from the Cute Cuts sheet to compliment the sentiment!

Supplies:
Birthday Boy: Cute Cuts, Eat Cake, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Flags 2; Sunshine & Happiness: Happy Clouds; Designer Tapes: Orange Stripe; Unity Stamps: Birthday Toad

"Welcome home" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

I used the "Welcome home" stamp to create a flag to coordinate with "Fall" and "Thankful" flags I used on this card. I stamped "Welcome home" on a piece of patterned paper, cut it out, wrapped it around a pin similar to the ones on the Bella Blvd flags (I found these in the craft section of Wal-mart!), and then cut a dovetail in the end for a little contrast. Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Thankful: Homey, Borders, Burlap, Bountiful, Chipboard Icons, Flags 2; Baby Girl: Daddy's Girl; Flags: Fall; Unity Stamps: Welcome Home

“Happy Thanksgiving” card, by Gail Hoecker.

I love fall. The crisp air is so refreshing, and the colors. Don’t get me started! This was a fun card to make. First off, the Bella stamps made by Unity are the best! They stamp so clear, right out of the package, no messing around trying to make them stamp a good clear impression. Next, I stamped the turkey on a variety of papers, cut the feathers out and popped some of them up. But don’t think about this little guy for your Thanksgiving dinner, he is way too cute to eat!

Supplies:
Thankful: Homey, Turkey Tracks, Perfect Day, Bountiful, Burlap, Our Spot, Borders; Unity Stamps: Happy Thanksgiving

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And now it's time for a giveaway!

Giveaway #1 - Cake Wishes Stamp

Giveaway #2 - Hip Hip Hooray

All you need to do to be entered in our random giveaway is leave us a comment on this post. We will announce a winner Saturday afternoon.

Cards On Thursdays

It's time for more free-for-all cards from our design team today, and we have a wide variety of cards to share with you.

"Hi" card, by Deanna Misner.

One of my favorite new papers in the Birthday Girl collection is "Party Dresses". I love those flowers and could cut them out all. day. long. So that's exactly what I did for this card. Instead of making it a birthday card, I chose just to make a really girly card with the flowers. I added the really big flower from "Cute Cuts" and anchored the sentiment with some Designer Tape.

Supplies:
Birthday Girl: Party Dresses, Miles of Smiles, Cute Cuts; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Punch; Designer Tape: Gulf Dot, Pickle Juice Dot

"Happy Birthday" card, by Deanna Misner.

Polka Dots and cupcakes make me happy, so for this card I used what makes me happy. I hand-cut the cupcake, topped the cupcake's cherry with a cute little button, and added a banner sentiment. All the things I love rolled in to one card!

Supplies:
Birthday Girl: Miles of Smiles, Celebrate, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Chipboard Icons; Button Market: Hot Pink Flower; Designer Tape: Punch Chevron

"Happy Birthday To You" card, by Deanna Misner.

When I first opened up my product package with my daughter, she squealed and fell in love with this hippo at first sight. So this one's for her - her favorite colors and her favorite hippo. And I love the fun, funky font that comes with each collection so I used it to continue the sentiment up the side of the card. Also, to bring in a little more color (other than the pink and the purple) I added the notched yellow journaling card to the top and the bottom.

Supplies:
Birthday Girl: Sugar Rush, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Chipboard Icons; Button Market: Hot Pink Flowers

“Score, It’s  A Boy” card, by Alice Carman.

I wanted to do something different instead of a typical baby theme so I went with a sporty theme. What Father doesn’t buy a mini glove or ball for their newborn son? 

Supplies:
Making the Team: Fan Club; High Five Alphas: Pink-Red; Ciao Chip: Oyster; Button Market: Masculine Mix; Unity Stamps: You’re A Hit

“Lovely Smile” card, by Alice Carman.

I love bright and happy colors and Spring Flings and Easter Things is perfect for that. I smile every time I use this collection, how can you not? It’s so happy!

Supplies:
Spring Flings and Easter Things: A Tisket A Tasket, Borders, Sunny Sunday, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniatures Stickers; High Five Alphabets: Pink-Red

“Boo” card, by Alice Carman.

I’ve been so inspired by all the Halloween decorations I’ve seen in stores lately. Here’s my take using Bella Blvd’s Too Cute To Spook stamp, paper and embellishments. I ran out of O’s so I decided to use the head of my Frankenstein as the missing O.

Supplies:
Too Cute To Spook: Cute Cuts, Miniature Stickers; Ciao Chips: Orange  Chipboard Alphabet; Love Dovey: Borders N’ Blocks; Stamps: Too Cute Too Spook Kit

"Miss You" card, by Gail Hoecker.

I did a little hand stitching as a border on this card. Yes, I have a sewing machine and it could go a lot quicker, but I just love the look of the thicker floss sometimes. For the larger section of the card, I used a cute cut, no paper piecing necessary. As a good friend of mine says, "let the paper do the work for you!".

Supplies:
Spring Flings & Easter Things: Egg Hunt, Cute Cuts; Button Market: Wood Mix; Flags: Spring Things & Easter Things

"The Best Thing" card, by Gail Hoecker.

I love mixing and matching lots of papers, so this card design is perfect, four different papers on one card. I punched out circles and popped them up on one of the strips in the same paper as the background. To get even more paper designs on one card, you could punch your circles out of all different patterned papers. Fun card to play around with...try it!

Supplies:
Supplies: Sunshine & Happiness: Petal Power, Sunny Side Up, Juicy Good Time, Happy Clouds, Alpha+Bits stickers

"Congratulations" card, by Gail Hoecker.

I love using the Unity stamps made for Bella Blvd. They stamp nice clear images each time. Today I stamped in Versamark ink and used white embossing powder. When I stamp an image for a card or scrapbook page, as I did here in white, I will stamp a bunch of different images using the same ink and embossing powders. You might love the way it looks and would have never using that combination for another stamp.

Supplies:
Baby Girl: Pretty in Pink, Daddy's Girl, Sweet Dreams; Unity Stamps: New Set of Wheels

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!

“Hello My Friend” card, by Gail Hoecker.

I stamped and embossed two of the flowers and leaves from the Bella Fiori stamp set. I cut them out and added some stitching for the stems. Added a few pops of color with the Baby Girl Snuggly Safari and Pink High Five Alphabets. It was fun to get my embossing powders out and play around. I hadn’t done that in long time.

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Petal Power, Sunny Side Up; Baby Girl: Snuggly Safari; High Five Alpha Stickers: Green, Pink; Too Cute to Spook: Miniatures; Unity Stamp: Bella Fiori

“Dream Big Birthday Boy” card, by Gail Hoecker.

Yep, I glittered again! Not only did I glitter but I glittered on a “boy” card! I love the Mr. Boy stamp set, especially the dinosaur. I use that one a lot since my grandson is obsessed with dinosaurs right now. He’s five so I’m guessing I can use these stamps for another 10 years before he tells me to stop!

Supplies:
Mr Boy: Quadrants, Cute Cuts; Quattrofina Alpha Stickers: Peep and Saffron; Unity Stamps: Mr Boy

"How's it Hangin'?" card, by Deanna Misner.

I adore this little monkey stamp, and I have just the person who's going to love this card. One of our little friends LOVES monkeys, so I plan to send this card to her while she's away at summer camp. To make him hang in the tree, I used the tree from the Cute Cuts paper, and embellished it with hand-cut leaves from the Borders paper. It's a fun and whimsical card that I hope she'll love!

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Petal Power, Cute Cuts, Borders; Baby Girl: Daddy's Girl; Quattrofina Alpha Stickers: Yellow; High Five Alpha Stickers: Yellow; Unity Stamp: Let the Spoiling Begin

"A little Birdie Told Me" card, by Deanna Misner.

For this card I tried a little something different. I don't have stamping ink that is white, so I applied my favorite white mist to the small flower stamp with a paint brush. Although the images aren't perfect like they would be with stamping ink, I still really like the way they look--kind of washed out. I repeated the pattern in each circle, and then stamped the sentiment across the top.

Supplies:
Baby Boy: It's A Boy; Baby Girl: Pretty in Pink; Unity Stamps: Let the Spoiling Begin, Birdie Told Me

“Great Pear” card, by Kathy Martin.

For this card I used one of my favorite prints from the Sunshine & Happiness collection, the back side of the Sunnyside Up paper. I really like all those circles! I repeated the colors when choosing stamp ink, patterned papers and Designer Tape. I also double stamped my pear image to lighten the color. You can do that by stamping it first on a piece of scratch paper and then onto your card. Double stamping and using textured card stock creates this distressed look.

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Sunnyside Up, Borders, Great Pair Stamp; Button Market: Neutrals Mix; Designer Tape: Pickle Juice Dot

“It’s a Girl” card, by Kathy Martin.

When you have a great collection of coordinating patterned papers like in the Bella Blvd. Baby Girl line, it’s easy to create fun backgrounds like I did with this card. Just a few strips will do. It’s a great way to get a lot of mileage out of your supplies and use up those scraps. The little dress stamp is the cutest and it’s super fun to color! Wouldn’t it look sweet on a birthday card too?

Supplies:
Baby Girl: Snuggly Safari, Borders, Cute Cuts, It’s a Girl Stamp 

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

Bella Blvd & Unity Stamps Inspiration Day

We are back with another Bella Blvd & Unity Stamps Inspiration Day! We asked some of our Card Designers to focus on the Sunshine & Happiness collection, along with our co-branded stamps that coordinate with the collection. 

"It's Summer Time" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

I have to admit, I am not much of a stamper! These Sunshine & Happiness stamps are so cute, though, and I had a great time using them! I stamped the image with black ink onto plain white cardstock, punched it out with a large circle punch, and then used markers to add some color to the image.

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Petal Power, Sunny Side Up, Popsicles Kisses, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniatures Stickers; Spring Flings and Easter Things: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sophisticates: Yellow High Five Alphabets; Unity Stamps: Orange You Glad

"I'm Thinking About You" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

I used the other stamp in this set as the sentiment for this card. I stamped the image with black ink onto plain white cardstock, cut it out, and then added it to the bottom right corner of the card. I kept the background of this card pretty neutral so that the flowers and striped border across the card would really pop. Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Petal Power, Happy Clouds; Baby Boy: Momma's Boy, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Winter Wonder: Icy; Estate Sale: Linens; Button Market: Neutrals Mix; Ciao Chip: Family Words; Unity Stamps: Orange You Glad

“We Make A Great Pear” card, by Kathy Martin.

For this card I wanted to use this adorable Unity/Bella Blvd. pear stamp on the new Bella Blvd. Designer Tapes, but I wasn’t sure if the ink would smear. I decided to use StayzOn ink just in case and I love the shine it creates! I also did a bit of paper piecing using this bright and happy yellow polka dot paper for one of the pears. To accent the card further I created a hand zigzag stitch border and placed a pickle square button next to the phrase. That button name is too fun! I like the square shape and shade of green too! I only had one roll of washi tape before Bella Blvd. came out with their Designer Tapes and I think I’m in love!

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Popsicle Kisses, Great Pear Stamp; Designer Tapes: Teal Stripe, Pink Stripe, Blue Gingham, Yellow Chevron, Pickle Juice Dot; Button Market: Pickle Squares

“We Make a Great Pear” card, by Kathy Martin.

It’s such a pleasure to create projects with the new Bella Blvd. Sunshine & Happiness collection! The colors are so bright and cheerful and the new Designer Tapes and Button Market accents coordinate perfectly! I’ve always been a huge fan of buttons and I absolutely adore these great button shapes and colors! They look like citrus candy! For the pear stamp I chose this bright pink to coordinate with the line. For one of the pears, I paper pieced it with this green patterned paper, the ideal color for a pear!

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Popsicle Kisses, Petal Power, Happy Clouds, Great Pear Stamp; Button Market: Fruit Punch, Pickles Squares, Pink Flowers; Designer Tapes: Yellow Chevron, Teal Stripe, Pink Stripe, Pickle Juice Dot

“Orange You Glad” card, by Alice Carman.

This collection was sooo cute to work with. It put me in a happy place all day especially using the Bella Blvd/Unity stamps. I know you card making peeps just adore the fact that you can play with happy paper and stamp on it! What else could you ask for? Sunshine & Happiness is really happiness on a 12x12 paper…LOL!

Supplies:
Sunshine Happiness: Happy Clouds, Popsicle Kisses, Sunny Side Up; Stamp: Orange You Glad

“Love” card, by Alice Carman.

Buttons, stamps, paper…oh my! Don’t you just love the new embellishments that match Bella Blvd’s paper collections? I thought I'd turn the single stamp into background paper to use alongside Bella Blvd’s papers. What do you think? 

Supplies: Baby Boy: Heaven Scent; Sunshine Happiness: Borders; Stamp: We Make A Great Pearl; Button Market: Purple Flora

“Sending You Sunshine" card, by Deanna Misner.

For this card I chose to use a traditionally "baby" stamp to send something other than a little bundle of joy. Well, I guess it's still a bundle of joy, just not in the same sense. I used this Unity stamp from the "We're Expecting" line to send a friend some sunshine to brighten their day.  This card is a mini, measuring only 3.5"x3.5", so that the stamp would be the most prominent image.

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Happy Clouds, Alpha+Bits, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Miniature Stickers; Unity Stamp: Birdie Told Me

"Hang in there" card, Deanna Misner.

This was a fun card to create because I stamped the image with several different colors onto different patterns so that the dresses would each be different. I also hand-cut the pink flowers from the Borders paper to give each one a little more detail. To create the border around the card I combine two of my favorite things right now: Bella's Designer Tape and my scalloped border punch. For the custom look, I simply applied the tape to white cardstock then ran it through my punch. I'm sure I'll be doing that again!

Supplies:
Sunshine and Happiness: Borders, Popscicle Kisses, Alpha+Bits; Sophisticates: Quattro Alpha Stickers Avocado; Unity Stamp: It's a Girl; Designer Tape: Pink Flowers

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And now for our giveaway time!

Giveaway - Orange You Glad stamp

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 Saturday morning.

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 highlight today and asked a few of our Design Team members to create some cards using these stamps. 

"We Make A Great Pear" card, by Sheri Feypel.

I love to add embossing to my cards, whether it with embossing folders or heat embossing. This card ended up with both! I used the Great Pear Unity Stamp for this card, and heat embossed the image on white cardstock. I cut it out and added it to the card. I love the clean/fresh look to this card, which is exactly what I was going for.

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Borders, Petal Power, Sunny Side Up, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Unity Stamp: Great Pear

"It's A Boy" card, by Sheri Feypel.

For this card I stamped my image on pattern paper and cut it out. I then added it to the journaling square with foam pop dots. I added the flags along the left side to add a splash of color, while keeping it simple.

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Sunny Side Up, Happy Clouds, Popsicle Kisses; Baby Boy: Cute Cuts; Unity Stamp: It's A Boy

"We Make A Great Pear" card, by Gail Hoecker.

I used colored pencils, gamsol (mineral spirits), and blending stumps to color the green pear. I used one of the orange clouds to stamp the leaf of the yellow pear. I love to try to think of using what I have in front of me in a different, unique way.

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Sunny Side Up, Popsicle Kisses, Happy Clouds, Borders; Unity Stamps: Great Pair

"Orange You Glad" card, by Gail Hoecker.

Again, I used colored pencils, gamsol, and blending stumps; this time to color the oranges. I cut them into different sizes and layered some with foam dots. I haven't had my pencils and gamsol out since I moved and that's been almost a year! So much fun to play around with!

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Popsicle Kisses; Spring Flings and Easter Things: Mom's Bouquet, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Unity Stamps: Orange you Glad

“U Are Fabulous” card, by Alice Carman.

My challenge this week is to use the stamp in a different way than what it appears to be. When I looked at the “It’s a Girl” stamp I didn’t see a dress, but the shape of it. I stamped it on to Bella Blvd papers and cut the shape out. Then I used it in a circle almost like a flower on my card and this is what I came up with. What do you think?

Supplies:
Socialite: Cute Cuts, Tango, R.S.V.P, Dance Circle, Alpha+Bits; High Five Alpha Stickers: Black/White; Unity Stamp: It’s a girl

“B Happy” card, by Alice Carman.  

I used the “It’s a Girl” stamp here again and this time I used it like a bow tie. I stamped it on Bella Blvd paper and cut the shape out. Then I layered it on a few times to make my bow tie. Just a happy card to share with you, and some different ways to use our fabulous Bella Blvd/Unity stamps.

Supplies:
Socialite: Alpha+Bits; Flirty: Party Girl, High Maintenance, Bits A Bella

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And now for our giveaway time!

Giveaway #1 - It's A Girl stamp

Giveaway #2 - Great Pear stamp

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 Saturday morning.

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 highlight today, along with the new Baby Boy and Baby Girl collections, and asked a few of our Design Team members to create some cards using these stamps. 

"Congrats" card, by Laura Vegas.

The Calendar Month stamp, from Bella and Unity, is one of my favorites. It's so versitle, and can be used on just about any card you create. You can use it just like a calendar, and mark an important date for the person you're giving the card too. Or you can use it as a fun background accent, which is how I usually use it. I used a few strips from the Baby Boy Borders paper, along with a few of the Chipboard Icon pieces, to create this fun little baby card. I even used a flag from the Wedding Party set, to tuck in with the onesie.

Supplies:
Baby Boy: Borders, Chipboard Icons, Alpha+Bits; High Five Alpha Stickers: Blue; Flags: Just Married; Unity Stamp: Calendar Month

"Birthday Girl", by Laura Vegas.

When I saw the cute cupcake chipboard pieces, I knew they would be perfect for little girl birthday cards. I started by embossing the front of my card, with a flower embossing folder. I added on a few strips of Baby Girl and We're Expecting pattern papers. The Calendar Month stamp makes a fun accent piece on birthday cards. I heat embossed the stamped image with yellow embossing powder, and then added High Five Alpha Stickers to it for my sentiment.

Supplies:
Baby Girl: Borders, Chipboard Icons; We're Expecting: Baby Boy Bump; High Five Alpha Stickers: Blue, Red/Pink; Unity Stamp: Calendar Month

"A Little Birdie Told Me" card, by Alice Carman.

As a card maker I try to think outside of the box when using my stamps by finding different ways to stamp. Today my challenge is to use the calendar month stamp alongside another stamp. My theme is baby and of course I used our new Baby Girl collection. I thought stamping another image onto a stamped image is a little different from anything I’ve ever done. What do you think? Does it work? I also paper pieced my birdie stamp as well to give it some color without having to color it.

Supplies:
Baby Girl: Sweet Dreams, Borders; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Punch, Black-White High Five Alphabets; We’re Expecting: Bella Baby Bump; Unity Stamps: Calendar Month, Birdie Told Me

"New Set Of Wheels" card, by Alice Carman.

On this card I used the calendar month stamp and turned it into a fence on my peep card. I cut out a few of the grid boxes from the calendar stamp and lined it up to make a fence. I also paper pieced the New Set of Wheels stamp and stamped directly onto the Sunshine Happiness Play Date pattern paper to make the stamp pop.  

Supplies: 
Baby Boy: Heaven Scent; Sunshine & Happiness: Play Date; Baby Girl: Pretty in Pink; Unity stamp: Calendar Month, New Set of Wheels stamp

"Brand New Baby Boy" card, by Gail Hoecker.

Supplies:
Baby Boy: Wild About You, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniature Stickers; Sophisticates: Yellow High Five Alpha Stickers; Unity Stamp: Calendar Month

"5th Birthday Party" card, by Gail Hoecker.

Supplies:
Baby Boy: Wild About You, Cute Cuts, Miniature Stickers; Sophisticates: Yellow High Five Alphabet Stickers; Unity Stamp: Calendar Month

"A Little Birdie Told Me" card, by Morgan Bandkowski.

I love using the Unity stamps & was so excited to be asked to use some of the new releases! They are so easy to use & stamp great! I attend a lot of baby showers, so both of these stamps are perfect to add to my collection. 

Supplies:
Baby Girl: It's A Girl, Pretty In Pink, Daddy's Girl, Alpha+Bits; Flags: Thank You

"Congratulations On Your New Set Of Wheels" card, by Morgan Bandkowski.

Supplies:
Baby Boy: Baby Blue, Heaven Sent, Borders; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Oyster

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And now for our giveaway time!

Giveaway #1 - New Set Of Wheels Itty Bitty stamp

Giveaway #2 - Birdie Told Me Itty Bitty stamp

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 Saturday morning.

Inspiration Unlimited Week: Unity Stamps

This week while we are in California at the CHA Trade Show debuting all the brand new products that we revealed over the past 2 weeks, we are going to share with you projects, projects and more projects with everything new! If you are starving for new inspiration and ideas, you're in the right place! The Bella Design Team have done wonders with the new products and now we can finally show you! Each day we will be featuring one of our new Collections and/or Embellishment products and showing you some great ideas! Get ready for a fun energy boost ... here we go!

Today, we are featuring projects that focus on our Unity/Bella Itty Bitty Stamps!

"We Make A Great Pear" pillowbox, by Sheri Feypel.

This is the cutest little pear stamp ever. Why wouldn't you want this cute stamp with a chevron pear on it?? I heat embossed the Great Pear stamp and added it to a pillow box covered with a little bit of Baby Boy and Sunshine & Happiness papers. This would make a really cute gift box for a pair of earrings!

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Popsicle Kisses; Baby Boy: Baby Blue; Unity Stamp Company: Great Pear 

"Life Begins" card, by Katherine McElvain.

To make this card I wanted to use this cute ultrasound stamp in a unique way. To do so I stamped the image in sequence on a curve to create a half circle. I wanted the image to be highlighted so layered it on craft cardstock and bordered it with two of the Bella Blvd baby boy papers. Added some twine, popped up a coordinating sticker, and this card was quick, easy and finished in no time.

Supplies:
We’re Expecting: Baby Boy Bump; Baby Boy: Baby Blue, Alpha and Bits; Unity Stamp: So Happy For You

"It's A Girl" card, by Alice Carman.

I colored my stamp and used a few papers from the different Bella Blvd collections to enhance my card. Don’t you just love the new crochet flowers and the buttons? The Sophisticates letter stickers are a must when crafting, especially the new Sophisticates alphabets. I love that you get 4 different fonts and styles. Don’t forget Bella Blvd/Unity stamps not only comes with a image stamp, but you also get a sentiment which can be used all different ways. I only stamped the word, “girl” from the sentiment stamp, so you can break up the sentiment stamp or use the whole thing.

Supplies:
Baby Girl: Sweet Dreams; Sunshine & Happiness: Sunny Side Up; We’re Expecting: Baby Bella Bump; Sophisticates: Black and White High Five Alpha Stickers; Button Market: Text; Crochet Flowers: Daisies; Unity Stamp Company: It’s A Girl