Bella Blvd Studio Blog

Saturday Sketches

Twice a month, we'll be bringing you a new sketch, and showing you a few takes on the sketch by our designers. Today, we have our second sketch for June, courtesy of Becky Fleck.

"Water & Waves", by Yohko Takiguch.

I love hexagons in this sketch. I cut out many hexagons from some patterned papers from “Sand & Surf” collection. I moved the title into the bottom of this layout to help the balance. I followed the sketch pretty closely except for the title.

Supplies:
Sand & Surf: Paradise, Surfs Up, Under The Coconuts, Flying High, GPS, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Miniatures, Chipboard Icons; Flags: Sand& Surf

“Athlete”, by Megan Klauer.

Summer is officially here which means once again: baseball games 4 nights a week. I came across this photo of my youngest son from last year & was excited to pull out the Making the Team collection. I stuck pretty close to the sketch at the beginning but the as I usually do; I ended up adding a few extra items to my design.

Supplies: 
Engaged at Last: Bachelor Party; Sand & Surf: Paradise; Freestyle Sophisticates: Gulf, Saltwater; Making the Team: Cute Cuts, Borders, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Chipboard Icons

“The Look”, by Kim Jeffress.

When I first saw this sketch I was a bit worried because I have never really been inspired by the hexagon trend. But then I thought, hey I could change up the sketch and use something else instead of the hexagons. I decided to fill the spaces with chipboard elements, stickers and words stickers and I love how it turned out!

Supplies:
Engaged at Last: Bachelor Party; Sand and Surf: GPS, Cute Cuts, Borders, Chipboard Icons, Flags; All American: Seeing Stars, Borders and Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Surf and Turf; Birthday Boy: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Designer Tape: Pickle Juice Stripe, Navy Dot

“Time For Fireworks”, by Wendy Wagner.

I love using sketches! They make the project go so much faster! I pulled out an oldie pic from 2006 to use with this fun layout. I loved the idea of it and was able to use my Cricut and the Accent Essentials card to make the shape with the pattern papers. I used some ink, stickles and a few pop dots. But I mostly kept the layout simple focusing on the sketch and the photo! Enjoy the July 4th everyone!

Supplies:
All American: Borders & Cute Cuts, American Pride, Seeing Stars, United We Stand, Boom Boom Pow, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle McIntosh; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Oyster, Sprinkles & Lace Surf N Turf, Sprinkles & Lace McIntosh; Feathers: Surf N Turf, White

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We hope you will take some creative time for yourself, and try out our sketch! Whether it's a card, or a layout, we would love to see what you come up with. You can link them here in the comment section, or share them on our Facebook page. 

All American Giveaway

With the 4th of July holiday coming up next week, we figured this would be the perfect time for a giveaway! We are going to give one lucky reader the All American collection, including patterned papers and chipboard, along with an assortment of coordinating products such as Freestyle Sophisticate pattern papers, buttons, feathers, crochet hearts, flags, and designer tapes. Everything you need to help document and celebrate this patriotic holiday!

Just leave us a comment on this post to be entered in the random drawing. We will announce a winner next Friday!

If you're looking for project ideas using the All American collection, be sure to check out the All American Gallery! All of the projects that our Design Team creates are added into the coordinating galleries, and the All American gallery has some great ideas! Next week we will be adding even more projects, as our designers are focusing on patriotic projects for next week's blog features.

Cards On Thursday: Window Card Challenge

Today we have more free-for-all card shares from our card designers. But this month, just as I have done with our layout designers, I have also added in some fun challenges for the designers to take on as they create their cards. The challenge for this week was to create window cards.

“Happy Birthday” window card, by Laurie Schmidlin.

I created a lattice window shaped card using my electronic cutting machine. I layered the Birthday Girl Borders paper on the inside (so it could be seen through the lattice). I decorated the front using some Birthday Girl Cute Cuts, a Crochet Heart, a Ciao Chip banner, and some Button Market Buttons. I tied the card closed using some twine.

Supplies:
Birthday Girl: Borders, Cute Cuts, Chipboard Icons; Spring Flings and Easter Things: Miniatures; Button Market: Pink Flowers; Crochet Hearts: Gulf Hearts

“Thinking of You” window card, by Laurie Schmidlin.

I took the challenge of "window cards" quite literally and created a window to decorate the front of my card. I used a couple of papers from the Love and Marriage collection. For embellishments, I used a couple of heart Ciao Chip pieces, a Crochet Heart, A Flag, and a Button Market button. The sentiment is from the Miniatures Card Sentiments.

Supplies:
Love And Marriage: Turner Hall Ballroom, Flags; Ciao Chip Elements: Stars & Hearts; Sophisticates: Miniatures Card Sentiments; Button Market: Pink Flowers; Crochet Hearts: Bell Pepper Hearts

“I Love You” window card, by Carina Lindholm.

On this card I started off by die cutting a label shape on the white card base. I then die cut a green frame using the same label die. I placed a blue-heart sticker inside the card, so you can see it through the “window”. I adhered a big chipboard heart inside the card and smaller chipboard icons, buttons and bling on the front of the card base.

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: Vows, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Engaged at Last: Miniatures; Ciao Chip Elements: Stars & Hearts; Button Market: Purple Flowers

“Just Because” window card, by Carina Lindholm.

I covered the front of the card base in blue-cloud paper and the inside of the card in grey patterned paper. Then I die cut two clouds on the front of the card. I adhered a sentiment sticker and buttons inside the clouds.

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: May Eighteenth, Turner Hall Ballroom, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Chao Chip Elements: Borders; Button Market: Pink Flowers; Sophisticates: Miniatures Card Sentiments

“USA” window card, by Kathy Martin.

This week Bella Blvd asked their card designers to create cards with windows and I couldn’t wait to get started! I love window cards, but for some reason I just don’t make very many. I’m happy for this little nudge to step outside the box a little! For my card I combined a Silhouette window card with a Spellbinders Nestability die to create a frame for the window.

Supplies:
All American: July Sky, American Pride, United We Stand, Chipboard Icons; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Pony; Button Market: Stars

“Hi” window card, by Kathy Martin.

Here’s a twist on a window card design, I went with this Silhouette butterfly cut card for lots of little windows. Since the card base is quite detailed, I kept the embellishments simple and layered some of my favorite little Bella Blvd goodies in the lower right-hand corner and created a simple sentiment with some rub-on alphas.

Supplies:
Kiss Me: Flutter; Crochet Hearts: Bell Pepper; Button Market: Fruit Punch; Flags: Floral, Sand & Surf

Layouts On Wednesdays: Instagram Photo Challenge

Today we have more free-for-all layout shares from our layout designers. But this month, I've also added in some fun challenges for the designers to take on as they create their layouts. The challenge for this week was to use Instagram photos on a layout. 

“Summer Vacation”, by Gina Lideros.

When Laura challenged us to use Instagram photos on a layout I felt that it was the perfect opportunity to use some of the summer photos that I have been taking. I printed my Instagram photos in a smaller format so that I could fit a total of 8 pictures on my layout. The Sand & Surf collection paired with pieces from Engaged At Last and Love and Marriage brought a colorful backdrop that compliments my summer theme.

Supplies:
Sand & Surf: Beach Balls, Surf's Up, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Chipboard Icons; Engaged at Last: Bachelorette Party; Love and Marriage: Borders; Baby Boy: On the Go; Designer Tape: Chevron Combo; Ciao Chip Elements: Stars and Hearts; Button Market: Orange Stars

“Destination Vacation”, by Becky Williams.

For this layout I created my title "Destination Road Trip-Destination Fun- Destination Vacation" using the little clouds from the Cute Cuts sheet in the Sand & Surf collection. I think this is the fastest I've ever scrapped any pictures, as these Instagram pics were from our road trip last week!

Supplies: 
Sand & Surf: GPS, Cute Cuts, Ciao Chip Icons, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniatures; Love and Marriage: Borders; All American: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Designer Tape: Black Chevron, 12mm Combo

“Instacool", by Jenny Evans.

My Instagram account is full of fun and silly photos of my boys, so I knew that I wanted to do a layout about them! I hadn't cracked into my Mr. Boy collection yet so I decided to pull it out, and it was perfect for my photos. I love the pop of red in this collection, great addition to the orange in the photos!

Supplies: 
Mr Boy: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Dinomite, Borders N' Blocks, Cute Cuts, Connect The Dots, Quadrants, Chipboard Icons; Designer Tape: Chevron Combo; Button Market: Text

Altered Project Shares

Today we have some fun and creative altered projects to share with you. I love seeing our altered project designers take ordinary items and turn them into something unique and cool using their favorite Bella products!

Altered Wooden Stool, by Jennifer Edwardson.

All my work surfaces in my office are quite high so I use a 'bar stool' to sit on while I work. I like to prop my feet on something so I decided to create my own little custom stool just for me! I found this square one at a local craft store and the height of it was perfect. I love the look of patchwork/quilting so I decided this would be a great way to incorporate some fun Bella color into my space on a truly usable piece!

For this square wooden stool I started by lightly sanding the rough edges before spraying it with white paint.

Once it was dry, I added a strip of designer tape along each of the 4 edges and covered it with Mod Podge.

Then I cut patterned paper into 1 1/2" squares and adhered them on top and I covered the entire top with Mod Podge.

I love that Stephanie created fabric to go with so many of the paper designs. I created a ruffle to go with the paper on top and adhered it around the edge using my hot glue gun. This was such a fun project to create and I love how it looks in my office.

Supplies:  
Sand & Surf: Paradise, Borders, Surf's Up, GPS; Love and Marriage: Ester Flemming Floral; Designer Tape: Ice Stripe; Licensed Bella Blvd Fabric

Altered Wooded Crate, by Jennifer Edwardson.

I've wanted to use one of these great wooden 'milk' crates for some time now but wasn't sure how I was going to fit it into my scrap space. I've been wanting to do some re-organizing of my Bella paper and bits and found that this crate was the perfect size.

I immediately got out all my Designer Tapes and started covering the slats. For the grey and gulf on the top I added a layer of Mod Podge as this will be a pretty high traffic area. Once I had all the slats front and back covered I traced the ends using some freestyle sophisticates and adhered them to each end and on the inside as well.  

I covered over this with a layer of Mod Podge as well. To make sure that my paper envelopes didn't fall through the openings in the bottom of the crate and cut 2" wide strips of more sophisticates and adhered them vertically inside to create a real base to sit my paper packs on top of.

I had some leftover Bella fabric ruffles from my stool project so I adhered this to the front using my hot glue gun. I tied twine through some wooden buttons and adhered them onto some Blooms a Bella and put them on the left to cover the seam of my fabric ruffle. See if I didn't tell you, I bet you wouldn't have noticed.

Then I sorted all my Bella Blvd by collection into plastic envelopes. I have always kept it flat in paper trays so it was already organized but I added the Just Write Journaling Stickers and the Alpha+Bits as well as the coordinating miniatures and Chip Shapes too. I used my label maker to title each package with the collection/collections that are inside. This way I can easily find a full line and just have to turn to my embellishment storage for the flags, buttons, tapes, etc. EASY and I LOVE how it came together.

Supplies:
Designer Tape: Yellow Chevron, Pickle Juice Dot, Grey Dot, Ice Stripe, Pickle Juice Stripe, Hot Pink Dot, Gulf Dot; Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Gulf, Freestyle Saltwater; Blooms a Bella: Sole; Baby Blooms a Bella: Azzini, Rossini; Button Market: Masculine Mix

Beach Plaque, Wendy Antenucci.

I saw this saying on the Creating Keepsakes blog from the Latest Find and loved it, it was perfect to dress up our new FL home! I grabbed an 8x10 canvas and began to lay out my words and designs.

I decided my canvas needed a little bit of dressing up before adding my elements so I grabbed some of my favorite mists and set to work creating a beachy background. After the mists dried I glued my words down and began to embellish my plaque with some beach elements. I love all the inspiration you can find online, but even more I love to dress up the printables into something that is unique for my family!

Supplies:
Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Pony, Ice; Sand & Surf: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Cute Cuts; High Five Alpha Stickers: Yellow

Sunshine Mirror, Wendy Antenucci.

I've seen many wreaths made of clothespins and they always look so neat. I decided when I saw the great Sand & Surf collection that it was time for me to make one of these wreaths.

I began by covering my clothespins with paper strips (about 75 clothespins). I then cut a circle out of heavy cardboard and lined my clothespins up around the circle. This was a little floppy and although the effect was great, I wanted to step it up a notch, so off to the local craft store to pick up a mirror which fit perfectly inside my circle and made the wreath much sturdier.

I adorned my wreath with various summery items for the finishing touch. I have left my clothespins unglued so that I can tuck pictures around my mirror as desired.

Supplies:
Sand & Surf: Borders, Cute Cuts; Ciao Chip Elements: Clouds

On-Going Guest Designer: Brook Stewart and Ann-Christin Larsen

When we were choosing our 2012-2013 Design Team back in September, we had a few additional designers that we just weren't ready to pass up. So just like last year, we decided to invite these designers to join our team this year as On-Going Guest Designers. They will be sharing projects with us every other month, and we are excited to share their work with you.

“Your First Pig Tails”, by Brook Stewart.

I was finally able to put my baby girl's hair in pig tails (it was long enough months ago, but she just hates it when I mess with her hair)! On this layout I just had fun mixing lines and colors and I'm just loving that extra pop of black against the softer colors. For my heart element, I cut out a piece of cardstock in the shape of a heart, glued a feather on top then cut out the feather along the edges of a heart. I love how it turned out!

Supplies:
Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Cotton Candy; Love and Marriage: May Eighteenth, Borders, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Wedding Miniatures; Sand & Surf: Borders, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Baby Girl: Chipboard Icons; Ciao Chip Elements: Stars & Hearts; Feathers: Punch; High Five Alphas: Blue, Brown-Cream

“Team Spirit”, by Brook Stewart.

It's baseball season around here and the All American Line goes perfect with our team colors! I especially love how the freestyle paper in McIntosh reminds me of the baseball stitching!

Supplies:
Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Scallop, Freestyle McIntosh; All American: United We Stand, July Sky, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Making the Team: Football, Cute Cuts, Journaling Stickers; Designer Tape: Chevron Combo

"Party", by Ann-Christin Larsen.

I wanted to make a fun layout. Even though I wasn’t going to get married (have been for 11 years lol), the engaged collection was perfect for that playful twist.

Supplies:
Engaged at Last: Chipboard Icons, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sand & Surf: Cute Cuts, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Love and Marriage: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Ciao Chip Elements: Borders

"Remember This Girl", by Ann-Christin Larsen.

This picture called out to me. I just love those special angles in a photo! My girl Luna jumped up and down and it was not easy to take a steady picture. I think this one was sooo funny!

Supplies:
Sand & Surf: Borders, Miniatures; Birthday Boy: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Kiss Me: Alpha+Bits Stickers

Bella Blvd Fabric Style

Riley Blake Designs markets our fabrics under Stephanie Hunt as the designer. When purchasing or searching the Riley Blake website it's actually easier & more efficient to find the Bella Blvd fabrics under "Stephanie Hunt" as the artist.

Too Cute To Spook Quilt, by Kathy Frye.

This quilt features the fun fabrics from Too Cute to Spook! The line features a great variety of prints and colors, so it was easy to design a great quilt for Halloween! Because the figures in the fabric were so cute, I recreated them larger with appliqué, and each of them took on a starring role in this quilt.  All of my grandkids love it! I love the darling witch, I tucked a little ruffle under her purple spider web dress.  But the mummy is my favorite, I used the selvages from the fabric to wrap him up.

Supplies:
Cotton fabrics from the Too Cute To Spook line (added a green grid from Puppy Park fabric line), threads, cotton batting, ribbon, ruffle fabric, steam-a-seam fusible

Framed Quilt Art, by Kathy Frye.

I am lucky that the office for Bella Blvd is close to where I live. I love to visit because it is decorated so cute! On a recent day, I commented on how cute the framed fabric squares were (made from the Sunny Happy Skies collection) that were hanging on the walls. There were 2 squares that were the same (hanging in different areas), so I asked if I could change one up. 

This project was so much fun to make, and was super fast and easy! I quilted a left over quilt square from a quilt that I made recently. Then I fused the quilted square onto the framed fabric, and fused on the rick rack around the edges. I sewed the buttons on after the quilted square was fused it to the fabric, so then I was sewing through all the layers and it would be secure. 

Supplies:
Stretcher bar frame, fabric to cover frame, left over quilt square, square of batting, fusible product (steam a seam 2 lite), rick rack, buttons

Tooth Fairy Pillows, by Tiffany Hood.

My two boys love monsters, and they're both at the age where they are losing their teeth. The tooth fairy has told me that it's been very difficult at night to find their teeth under their pillows, and sometimes she can't find them at all. So I found a solution for this problem- cute little monster friends that my boys can take to bed. They put their tooth in the monster's mouth, and then in the morning they'll find something special inside from the tooth fairy! I used the Puppy Park fabric line for the body, mouth, and teeth, and some brand new soft blue fabric from the Too Cute To Spook line for the eyes. I blanket stitched around the eyes, and then the Button Market buttons were the perfect final touch to give them a little personality.

Supplies:
Puppy Park Fabrics by Bella Blvd for Riley Blake Fabrics, Too Cute To Spook Fabric by Bella Blvd for Riley Blake Fabrics; Button Market – Text; Poly Fil Stuffing; Fusible Web; Pattern: Curiosities and Mischief by Art to Heart

Cards On Thursdays: Shaped Card Challenge

Today we have more free-for-all card shares from our card designers. But this month, just as I have done with our layout designers, I have also added in some fun challenges for the designers to take on as they create their cards. The challenge for this week was to create shaped cards.

“Let’s BBQ” card, by Shellye McDaniel.

I've had this apron template for quite a long time now, so I'm not sure who to reference. There are similar templates online and most for free! Again, I took my template and traced it onto a prepared card and then cut out; repeat with desired patterned paper. To attach the pocket, I machine stitched around the sides and bottom, leaving the top open. You can use a strip of paper or ribbon for the top.

Supplies:
Thankful: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Burlap, Our Spot, Chipboard Icons; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Pony; Crochet Hearts: Bell Pepper; Button Market: Red Flowers

“Red, White, and Blue” card, by Shellye McDaniel.

Using basic shapes make fun and easy cards! I used a star die-cut that I had on hand and traced onto a prepared card; make adjustments so that the most prominent part of the design isn't distorted and then cut out. Next, I transferred that shape onto a patterned paper and then cut out and applied to the card front. I love that the bit of feather creates a plume similar to a burst of fireworks!

Supplies:
All American: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Seeing Stars, American Pride, Chipboard Icons; Feathers: McIntosh; Flags: All American Words

"Thinking of You" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

I used one of the new Mini 8 Punches from We R Memory Keepers to create this shaped card out of kraft cardstock. Then I combined a bunch of different chipboard and stickers to decorate the card. For the sentiment card, I actually cut the "Thinking of You" sticker in half. I just didn't think it fit right in its original form! :) Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Banana; Sand & Surf: Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Engaged at Last: Chipboard Icons; Sophisticates: Miniature Card Sentiments; Ciao Chip Elements: Trees, Stars & Hearts

"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

I probably cheated a little bit on this shaped card! I dug deep into my cardstock stash and found a 6"x12" piece of black scalloped cardstock from Bazzill (do they even make those anymore??). I cut it down to 6"x10" and folded it in half to make this card. Hey "scalloped" is "shaped", right??! Then I decorated the card with lots of pink and black from the "Engaged at Last" line to make it very girly! Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Kiss Me: Flutter; Engaged at Last: Bachelorette Extras, Bachelor Extras, Just Write Journaling Stickers, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Bachelorette Flags

“July Fourth” card, by Kathy Martin.

Sometimes you have to step outside the box or in this case the A2 size card and create something different. For this round/star shaped card, I used a Silhouette cut file and Bella Blvd’s All American collection, a perfectly patriotic match! With a more detailed card shape, I felt the accents should be simple. A little Button Market star and flag are just right, don’t you think?

Supplies:
All American: July Sky, American Pride; Button Market: Stars; Flags: All American Words

“Little Cute Sweet” card, by Kathy Martin.

When I ran across this adorable truck shaped card cut from Silhouette, I immediately thought of one of my favorite Bella Blvd. lines, Baby Boy. The truck shape matches perfectly with the truck icons in this adorable line! Stars, stripes, polka dots and trucks, what could be cuter for a baby boy card?

Supplies:           
Baby Boy: Wild About You, Baby Blue, Chipboard Icons, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Button Market: Stars, Orange Stars

Layouts On Wednesdays: Two Page Layout Challenge

Today we have more free-for-all layout shares from our layout designers. But this month, I've also added in some fun challenges for the designers to take on as they create their layouts. The challenge for this week was to create two page layouts.

“Play”, by Jaclyn Rench.

You might never guess from these photos, but my little girl in teeny tiny. Her confident smile and precarious positioning on the playground equipment, shown here, might lead you to believe otherwise, though. The funny thing is, she thinks she is just as big as she looks, and is always attempting to copy the many things she sees her older brothers do.  Because this is so much a part of her personality right now, I knew I needed to document this memory in her scrapbook. I seamlessly mixed and matched elements from many different Bella collections to create this fun and happy page, showcasing this memorable stage in my daughter's life.

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: May Eighteenth, Esther Fleming Floral; Engaged at Last: He Proposed, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sand and Surf: Beach Balls, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers; All American: Chipboard Icons; Kiss Me: Bouquet Kisses; Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Gulf; Ciao Chip Elements: Clouds, Family Words, Trees; Designer Tape: Gulf Dot

“4 months old”,  by Jaclyn Rench.

My youngest son is four years old and I am STILL working my way through his baby album. Fortunately, the challenge to scrap a 2 page layout, was just the push I needed to pull out some of his early baby photos, the Bella Baby Boy collection and get to work! I love so many of the patterns and images in this collection that I wanted to find a way to incorporate as many of them as possible on my 2 page spread. My trusty square punch proved to be the perfect tool to allow me to include bits and pieces of many of the patterns, while also creating a quick and easy, cozy quilt design to showcase my photos.

Supplies:
Baby Boy: It's a Boy, Baby Blue, Momma's Boy, Wild About You, On the Go!, Heaven Sent, Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Just Write Journaling Stickers; High Five Alpha Stickers: Brown-Cream 

"Date Night", by Katherine McElvain.

Two page layouts are seldom created in my world so this assignment was a bit of a challenge. But  I realize that sometimes twice the space is great for accommodating more photos and more memories. In this case I had some fun pictures of a night out with some good friends at a murder mystery dinner party. I wanted to highlight all of our friends and fun, and two pages allowed me to fit it all in. The first page looks like one of my typical single photo layouts, and the second coordinates with a collage of smaller photos.  The photos had been taken indoors, at night, with a flash, so the color and quality was lacking. Therefore, I turned the grouping of photos to black and white to help create uniformity. I mixed a variety of Bella collections to create my color story of blues, purples and a bit of red.

Supplies:
Too Cute to Spook: The Boo Crew, Cob Webs, Cute Cuts; Socialite: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Cute Cuts, Dance Circle; Engaged At Last: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Love and Marriage: Smokey's In Love, Cake Tasting, May Eighteenth; Sand & Surf: Chipboard Icons; Feathers: Oreo-Black; Button Market: Wood Mix, Feminine Mix; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Blueberry; Simply Simona Chipboard Alpha: Oreo, Prune; Quattrofina Alpha Stickers: Milk & Oreo

“Happiness Right Here”, by Diane Payne.

For my 2-page layout I thought it would be fun to use a sequence of photos. For the larger photo I selected one with a lot of white space for my title. The swing photos were perfect for the Sunshine & Happiness collection, especially the Play Date patterned paper.

Supplies:
Sunshine & Happiness: Popsicle Kisses, Play Date, Happy Clouds, Chipboard Icons, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sand & Surf: Paradise, Chipboard Icons; High Five Alpha Stickers: Yellow, Piggy Punch; Ciao Chip Elements: Clouds; Designer Tape: Hot Pink Dot, Ice Stripe, Polka Dot Combo; Button Market: Fruit Punch, Hot Pink Flowers; Flags: Floral

“You Are My Sunshine”, by Sheri Reguly.

The starting point for my layout was this sweet photo taken of my daughter a few years back. I selected a variety of patterned papers and sticker accents that coordinated with the colors in my photo, as well as the patterns within her dress. A large die cut title balances the right hand side of my two page spread with the photo and journaling situated on the left.

Supplies:
Sand & Surf: GPS, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Miniatures; Love And Marriage: Just Write Journaling Stickers; Kiss Me: Borders & Cute Cuts; Baby Girl: Daddy’s Girl

Tuesday Inspiration

Inspiration is all around us, and can be interpreted in so many different ways. We have chosen one image, and asked a handful of our designers to create a layout based on the inspiration piece. It's always fun to see what part of a piece a designers finds inspiring, and how they translate that into their designs. 

{Photo Credit: Photo Card Boutique}

"Hello" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

I really love the colors, flowers, and even the flagged border (which is probably not even supposed to be the "inspirational" part of the piece!) on the right side of today's inspiration piece. On this card I hand cut lots of little flowers to create a border under the large "hello" sentiment. Then I used several scraps of paper to create a random flagged border underneath the flowers. I used mostly pinks, greens, and yellows/oranges like in the inspiration piece but I threw in a little blue also!

Supplies:
Sand & Surf: Paradise, Borders, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Love and Marriage: Smokeys in Love, Esther Fleming Floral, Borders; Engaged at Last: Bachelor Extras; Spring Fling and Easter Things: Flags; Sophisticates: Miniature Card Sentiments; Sienna Chipboard Alphas: Pickle Juice; Finally Fall: Borders

"For a Super Great Friend" card, by Gretchen McElveen.

Still inspired by the colors, flowers, and flagged border on the inspiration piece, I used just 1 large flower here and created a flagged border behind it. I used a pretty subtle background paper ("Smokeys in Love" from the "Love & Marriage" line) so that the brightly colored patterned paper would stand out better. Thanks for looking!

Supplies:
Love and Marriage: Smokeys in Love, Esther Fleming Floral, Just Write Journaling Stickers; Engaged at Last: Bachelor Extras; Sand & Surf: Paradise, Beach Balls, Borders; Sunshine & Happiness: Flags; Sophisticates: Miniature Card Sentiments; Finally Fall: Borders; Button Market: Fruit Punch

“You Are Special” card, by Shellye McDaniel.

I added a splash of color to the chevron paper by applying some Designer Tape over a portion of it. For this card I wanted to show how the patterned papers can be turned into beautiful blossoms. Each flower was given two layers, along with a smaller flower and button in the center. Using a stylus and molding mat, you can give shape to the petals and create a true 3-D effect.

Supplies:
Engaged At Last: Alpha+Bits Stickers, Bachelorette Party; Sand & Surf: Borders, Paradise; Kiss Me: Flutter; Sophisticates: Miniature Card Sentiments; High Five Alpha Stickers: Piggy Punch; Designer Tape: Pickle Juice Chevron; Button Market: Hot Pink Flowers

“Welcome Baby” card, by Shellye McDaniel.

We have four ladies at work who are expecting, so baby cards have been on my agenda lately :) This sweet elephant Cute Cut was a must-have!  I added her to the card-front with foam dots and then embellished. The small green circles at the bottom were cut from one of the Baby Boy papers.

Supplies:
Baby Girl: It's a Girl, Alpha+Bits Stickers, Cute Cuts; Baby Boy: Baby Blue; We're Expecting: Coming Soon; Sunny Happy Skies: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Ciao Chip Elements: Borders; Crochet Flowers: Dahlia

"How Sweet It Is", by Leanne Allinson.

This month's inspiration photo has inspired me in all sorts of ways! I love the color palette but I also love and have used the title from the vase. The pink gingham check has been replicated from the photo, on my back ground patterned paper, by using the Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Cotton Candy. I have even gone as far as cutting the designer tape into a banner shape, to mimic the color swatches.

Supplies:
Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Cotton Candy, Freestyle Pickle Juice; Birthday Girl: Miles of Smiles; Love and Marriage: Esther Fleming Floral;  High Five Alpha Stickers: Piggy-Punch, Yellow; Designer Tape: Cotton Candy Chevron

“Cutie Girl”, by Becky Williams.

I really liked the color combination from the inspiration piece. It is a combo that I don't typically reach for (the pink, red, yellow, brown) so it was fun to go through my Bella collections to find pieces that would work and had these pictures of my Lily that fit perfectly. I also used quite a few Designer Tapes in those colors to build up the background on the page.

Supplies: 
Love and Marriage: Cute Cuts, Smokeys In Love, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Engaged at Last: Bachelorette Icons, Engagement Icons, Bachelor Extras, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sand & Surf: Cute Cuts, Alpha+Bits Stickers; High Five Alpha Stickers: Brown-Cream; Designer Tapes: 12mm Combo, Hot Pink Dot, Cotton Candy Chevron, Pony Stripe, Pink Flowers, Pony Dot, Piggy Pink Stripe, Yellow Chevron, Red Dot

“How Sweet It Is”, by Malika Kelly.

I love the colors in the inspiration photo and so I tried to use all of them on a layout. I made a wave of color going from light to dark, mixing many of Bella's collections together! I love that they are so easy to mix and match! The words on this inspiration photo were perfect for my layout and so I used them for my title also trying to keep the letters to match up with the wave of color.

Supplies:
Kiss Me: Bouquet Kisses, Flutter; Birthday Girl: Dancing Queen, Celebrate, Miles of Smiles; Sand & Surf: Flying High, Alpha+Bits Stickers; Too Cute to Spook: Itsy Bitsy Spider; Love & Marriage: Alpha+Bits Stickers; Sophisticates: Sprinkles & Lace Punch; Freestyle Sophisticates: Freestyle Asparagus, Freestyle Banana; High Five Alpha Stickers: Pink-Red, Yellow, Green; Button Market: Pink Flowers, Pickle Squares; Crochet Hearts: Cotton Candy, Bell Pepper

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We hope you will take some creative time for yourself, and try out our inspiration image! Whether it's a card, or a layout, we would love to see what you come up with. You can link them here in the comment section, or share them on our Facebook page.