Bella Blvd Studio Blog: Guest Blogger: May Flaum

With the weather quickly warming up around here, I find myself looking for scrapbook inspiration that is simple to recreate and quick, but also load of creative fun. With that thought in mind, I created Camp Scrap at Big Picture Scrapbooking. My new class is full of fun layouts ideas + loads of prizes and companies featured like one of my newr faves - Bella Blvd!

Today I'm excited to pop over here to share a new layout and some ideas for quick and fun scrapbooking this summer!

Here are 5 tips to get you started:

1. Keep it simple by starting with a base of cardstock. This will let you use up scraps of papers, and it's faster if you just grab a favorite neutral.

2. Figure out what your story is before you start gluing stuff down, or even pulling out embellishments. Whether it's 2 sentences or 20, you'll be able to plan better.

3. Pull out those journaling stamps! Especially if you utilize my tip #1 (use cardstock base) you can stamp right onto the layout and get a quick jump on journaling. You'll feel great that you utilized a stamp, and it will look super cute I'm sure!

4. Don't be afraid to break apart layered product. I adore the Blooms A Bella flowers because they're so versatile and I'm able to get a lout out of each one.

5. When you're all done, try inking, misting, or painting a bit to add a final splash of color!With these tips in mind, I put together this layout. I used Bella Blvd's Camped Out Collection - I just love it's outdoorsy summer goodness! I was able to use bits and pieces, along with a Blooms A Bella flower and a journaling stamp to finally scrap this photo I've been wanting to work with for a long time.The Blooms a Bella have a bunch of layers (6 in each flower to be exact), so first I pulled it all apart and then decided what two layers I wanted to work with. I inked the bottom layer, then layered the smaller petals, 'good times' sticker, and rhinestones on top. I think stamping with an image (and some Staz-on ink) would be fun too!Another thing I did was to take this cute camping list from a sheet of patterned paper (Bits A Bella) and circled the ones that applied, while crossing out the others. Taking this "mark what works" approach was fun, but it also let me make the product more customized to my own needs.Substituting patterned paper for ribbon is such a budget and stash-friendly thing for me to do, and I love when I can combine a strip of paper and a punch to make it decorative edged too! The "notes" stamp (from Bella Blvd's Honey, I'm Home collection) I used by Bella Blvd is one of my current favorites - it's a fantastic size and shape, and totally versitle. Sometimes I use just the "notes" portion.

My final thought to share with you, is enjoy your summer scrapbook time. Whether it's once a week or once a month, making a bit of time amid the crazy activities and hot weather is important to keep that creativity flowing. Whether it's doing quick pages, making cards, trying out new techniques, or just keeping a creative journal you'll be glad that you did!

Personally, I'm going to ride off in to the sunset today with some Bella Blvd Estate Sale products in hand, and make the most of my creative hour!

-May

PS - if you'd like to get any more info about me, or see what I'm up to you can find me most days blogging over here!

Comments

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This is so beautiful, I'm quite speechless and this does not happen very often. To me it looks like you're just throwing things on the page and they find (correct) places by themselves, amazing job!!

I'd NEVER trust my hand enough to throw ink on my page when it's done :)

Posted by: Tante Käthe | June 09, 2010 at 11:07 AM