Bella Blvd Studio Blog

Step-By-Step Monthly Project Sheet: Fall Themed

Fall has arrived and it's time to pull out those fall colored products and combine them to create a fun fall themed layout to document activities like a visit to the pumpkin patch, a day of apple picking, or an afternoon spent playing in leaf piles.

Click here to begin downloading October's free project sheet!

This month's step-by-step project sheet includes a complete supply list including tools needed and all directions to make this 12x12" "Apple Pickin" layout. Just click the link to download the PDF worksheet and print. Not familiar with our free monthly Project Sheets? Sign up via our homepage, HERE, to receive them in your inbox each month, or check out all previous Project Sheets via the "Project Sheet" icon on the right sidebar of our blog.

World Card Making Day 2015: Giveaway Winners

Thanks again for joining us for our World Card Making Day celebration! It's time to announce our giveaway winners!

Congrats Kelly! Email me at lauravegas.bellablvd@yahoo.com, with "WCMD ENAMEL DOODADS GIVEAWAY" in the subject line and we'll get your goodies on their way to you!

Congrats Dana! Email me at lauravegas.bellablvd@yahoo.com, with "WCMD BELLA BOWS GIVEAWAY" in the subject line and we'll get your goodies on their way to you!

World Card Making Day 2015: Take Four

Today is all about card making, sharing, and inspiration. There's just something special about giving and receiving a handmade card, whether for a holiday, special occasion, or "just because". We hope you'll hang out with today, as we have four posts planned throughout the day, with cards from our Creative Team. And you’ll even find a couple of giveaways mixed in too!

“Smile Always” card, by Lisa Dickinson.

If I’m short on time for creating a card, I always try to limit my supplies. The design process is always simpler if there’s aren’t too many decisions to make regarding product! And an easy way to do that is by color. For this card, I stuck with pink Bella Blvd supplies, pulling out just a few papers and embellishments in that color. I love that all the shades of pink of the Bella lines - from Punch to Cotton Candy, all coordinate seamlessly! I started with a pink gingham background and layered a Clear Cut over the top, stitching it in place. This is a great way to add some texture and another interesting layer without a lot of effort. On top of that, I placed a pink feather, chipboard shapes, a felt bow, and a crochet heart. With just a few miscellaneous buttons stitched on, this card is complete!

Supplies:
Simply Spring: Exclusive Collection Kit Patterned Paper; Tiny Tots: Toy Chest; Clear Cuts: White Confetti; Ciao Chip Elements: WhatNots; Crochet Hearts: Punch; Feathers: Frosting; Bella Bows: Cotton Candy; Designer Tape: Punch Chevron

“Thank You” card, by Becki Adams.

Machine stitching is one of my favorite techniques to use on cards. I love the handmade look it gives to cards. The Whatever is Lovely collection is a wonderful collection for cards because there are so many positive phrases. Happy World Card Making Day.

Supplies:
Whatever Is Lovely: Praiseworthy, Treasures & Text, 3x4's, Little Bits; Clear Cuts: Hearts Colorful, Bella Bows: Punch 

“Merry & Bright” card, by Christine Ousley.

So, are you working on your Christmas cards yet? It’s the best time to start! Bella Blvd has the cutest mini collection this year for Christmas. Add Make It Merry to Christmas Cheer and you’ll ready to get started! For this card, I used fun embellishments to give the card some WoW factor! These felt bows are so sweet and have their own foam adhesive. The enamel dots are also always a great addition to any paper project. Did you know that it is a good rule of thumb to decorate in odd numbers? That is why I chose to use 3 of the red dots. Thanks for stopping by and here’s to hoping you get plenty of cards completed today!

Supplies:
Make It Merry: Borders & Bits, Treat Exchange; Enamel Dots: McIntosh; Bella Bows: McIntosh

It’s time for the first of two giveaways that we have planned for you today! First up, we are giving away a complete set of our Bella Bows (assortment of 12 colors), valued at $40. Just leave us a comment on this post for a chance to win. We will randomly chose a winner, who will be announced Monday morning. 

Thanks so much for joining us to celebrate World Card Making Day! We hope you have enjoyed all of the fabulous cards that our designers created just for today. Happy card making!

World Card Making Day 2015: Take Three

Welcome to our World Card Making Day celebration! Today is all about card making, sharing, and inspiration. There's just something special about giving and receiving a handmade card, whether for a holiday, special occasion, or "just because". We hope you'll hang out with today, as we have four posts planned throughout the day, with cards from our Creative Team. And you’ll even find a couple of giveaways mixed in too!

“You Will Always Be My Favorite” card, by Stephanie Buice.

As a paper crafter I really couldn’t pass up the chance of making a card for World Card Making Day. Not that I need an excuse to play with pretty paper, but it was a pretty good reason to carve out some extra time to make one anyways. The flowers on my card were directly inspired by the flowers from the new Family Frenzy collection, I decided that I could use some crochet hearts and some of the red flower buttons to recreate them for what I needed. They turned out better than I thought and made the perfect focal point on my card.

Supplies:
Whatever Is Lovely: Praiseworthy, Lovely; Max: Borders; Color Chaos: Speak Freely; Clear Cuts: White Chevron; Button Market: Red Flowers; Crochet Hearts: Cotton Candy

“Think Happy Thoughts” card, by Jennie McGarvey.

I love card making, probably as much as I love scrapbooking. The Whatever Is Lovely collection makes creating cards not only easy, but beautiful as well. It's easy to pair any Bella Blvd embellishments with this wonderful collection.

Supplies:
Whatever Is Lovely: Art Prints, 3x4's; Make It Merry: Little Bits; Family Frenzy: Little Bits; Crochet Hearts: Gulf; Enamel Dots: Milk White

“Faith, Hope & Love” card, by Jennifer Chapin.

My mom's birthday is coming up, and since she is a spiritual person I knew that the Whatever Is Lovely collection would be perfect to make her a card. I started with a piece of patterned paper, then stitched vellum over the top that was punched with stars. I added lots of stitching and some messy thread under the sentiment. After adding a few hearts from the Illustrated Faith collection, it was done!

Supplies:
Whatever Is Lovely: Praiseworthy, Art Prints, Little Bits; Illustrated Faith: Love It Stickers

“Thank You” card, by Christine Ousley.

I always seem to be running out of thank you cards so I try to make at least one every time I sit down to create cards. This one was quick and easy to make because I had that great 3 x 4 journaling card that said it all perfectly! I added a sticker for some eye catching color and adhered it with foam adhesive. Foam adhesive is great for created dimension on your paper crafts. I use it on everything I create.

Supplies: 
Whatever Is Lovely: 3x4’s, Praiseworthy, Treasures & Text

We'll see you back here in a few hours for more card shares. If you're making some cards of your own today, we'd love it if you shared them with us on our Facebook page!

World Card Making Day 2015: Take Two

Welcome to our World Card Making Day celebration! Today is all about card making, sharing, and inspiration. There's just something special about giving and receiving a handmade card, whether for a holiday, special occasion, or "just because". We hope you'll hang out with us today, as we have four posts planned throughout the day, with cards from our Creative Team. And you’ll even find a couple of giveaways mixed in too!

“Hello” card, by Kat Benjamin.

I am not really a cardmaker, but occasionally, I do like to dabble in the craft. When I do make a card, I like to keep it bright and simple. I decided to use the Just Add Color collection and picked a few bright-colored gelatos to color in the flowers. Then I sprinkled some coordinating enamel dots around and that was pretty much it - easy peasy!

Supplies:
Just Add Color: Star Struck, Newsflash; Amorie Chipboard Alphas: Punch; Enamel Dots: Ice, Cotton Candy, Bell Pepper

"Happy", by Leanne Allinson.

When creating this card I chose three masculine colors and kept it very simple! The fussy cut stars are from the Lucky Starz collection and coordinate ideally with the Treasures & Text alphas from Max and the Classic Calendars Just Write Journaling sticker. It just goes to show how well each individual collection can mix and match perfectly with the other! To complete my card and add a little more texture, the Ice Enamel Dots have been layered on top of the sentiment emphasizing the playfulness of the patterned paper.

Supplies:
Fresh Market: Whole Lotta Seeds; Color Chaos: Ice Strandz; Max: Treasures & Text; Lucky Starz: Color Crazy Starz; Classic Calendars: Just Write Journaling; Enamel Dots: Ice

“Grateful” card, by Corri Garza.

I just love all the beautiful script words and phrases that are available in the Silhouette Store. They look so beautiful on cards. The apple 2"x2" square in the Fresh Market reminds me of fall so I thought this "grateful" sentiment would be perfect for my card. 

Supplies:
Fresh Market: Fruitful; Family Frenzy: Donut Day, A Lot Going On; Enamel DooDads: Ice

It’s time for the first of two giveaways that we have planned for you today! First up, we are giving away a complete set of our Enamel DooDads (assortment of 9 colors), valued at $45. Just leave us a comment on this post for a chance to win. We will randomly chose a winner, who will be announced Monday morning. 

We'll see you back here in a few hours for more card shares. If you're making some cards of your own today, we'd love it if you shared them with us on our Facebook page!

World Card Making Day 2015: Take One

Welcome to our World Card Making Day celebration! Today is all about card making, sharing, and inspiration. There's just something special about giving and receiving a handmade card, whether for a holiday, special occasion, or "just because". We hope you'll hang out with us today, as we have four posts planned throughout the day, with cards from our Creative Team. And you’ll even find a couple of giveaways mixed in too!

“Smile” card, by Christin Grønnslett.

The leaves are falling, it’s getting colder every day and any day the car windows will be frozen in the mornings, but fall also mean fresh air and beautiful lights (when it’s not raining….) meaning it’s enough to smile about.

Supplies:
Hello Autumn: Borders, Daily Details, Time To Rake, Autumn Floral, Trinkets; Campout: Borders

“Gatherings” card, by Kristine Davidson. 

I was browsing thru Instagram the other day and happened to see this cute little cut file with coffee cups! I loved it and I had to play with it and feature those wonderful Autumn Colors form the Hello Autumn Collection. I was able to use a few scrap pieces for this lovely card. A little gathering with friends for coffee? Yes, please!

Supplies:
Hello Autumn: Falling Into Fall, Gatherings, Autumn Floral, Borders, Daily Details, Treasures & Text; Family Frenzy: Little Bits; Fresh Market; Little Bits; Just Add Color: Ice Little Bits

“Give Thanks” card, by Kristine Davidson. 

Give Thanks was created as a little Invite for family members for our Thanksgiving Dinner. I love that I was able to use so many patterns on this card and so many great autumn colors from the Hello Autumn collection. 

Supplies:
Hello Autumn: Falling Into Fall, Gatherings, Autumn Floral, Borders, Daily Details, Treasures & Text, Trinket 

We'll see you back here in a few hours for more card shares. If you're making some cards of your own today, we'd love it if you shared them with us on our Facebook page!

Did You Know: With Stephanie

Happy Friday! Stephanie here, live from Bella Blvd headquarters! We’re going to start a new feature around here that looks like this … Did you Know?! I’ll stop in and offer updates and tid-bits that you’ll want to know about Bella Blvd, what we’re up to at the offices, and other behind the scenes randomness!

Today’s updates are TWO BIG ones!

First, have heard the big news? After nearly 8 years, it’s finally time ……. for Bella Blvd to host an event filled with workshops, other industry teachers, fabulous products, fun activities and sooooooo much more!

We can’t share the name of the event or the teachers quite yet … it’s still TOP SECRET!!! But we promise you’re going to love the concept, & you’re going to love the opportunity, that right here in the Midwest you’ll have a place to gather with your girlfriends, enjoy this awesome hobby & learn from some of the most talented people in the industry! I’m so excited about this. I’ve wanted to do it for years, and now the perfect team is in place and I feel confident in moving forward with it.

As the owner of Bella Blvd, one of the best parts of my “job” is traveling around the world sharing my products, the strategy behind the design and new techniques; but most of all, meeting each of you and forming beautiful relationships and some life-long friendships! I promise the event will be full of smiling faces, inspiring workshop projects and original activities!

What I will tell you is when:

October 2016

So you’ll have plenty of time to plan ahead and join us!

We will limit the attendees during the first year, so be sure to follow us here, on Instagram, and on Facebook. We plan to announce Registration shortly, in the middle of OCTOBER!!! Stay tuned and be ready. It’s going to be awesome! Can you tell I’m excited!

Next up.

Our partner, Illustrated Faith, has a huge announcement as well! Yesterday Shanna Noel opened a call for submissions for the 2016 Illustrated Faith Creative Team. If you love the Illustrated Faith products and our mission this is your opportunity to be showered with beautiful faith-focused products and be a part of an intimate team that glorifies God through the art of scrapbooking and paper crafting!

Illustrated Faith is seeking creatives in several categories: Bible Journalers, Scrapbookers, Card Makers, Planner Girls, Video & Photography/Media!!! Know your talents and submit today, international applicants are welcome! Team commitment will be six months.

All submissions due Oct 8^th, 2015

You can find the call and all the details RIGHT HERE.  

That’s all for today. Only two announcements but they are BIG IMPORTANT ones right!? Hope you enjoy a beautiful weekend!

Love,

Bella Buzz September 2015 Newsletter: Giveway WINNER

It's time to announce a winner for our September Bella Buzz Newsletter giveaway:

Congrats Jennifer! Email me at lauravegas.bellablvd@yahoo.com, with "SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER GIVEAWAY WINNER" in the subject line, and we'll get your goodies on their way to you!

 

Flashback Friday

*** Don't get too excited, as today is NOT Friday. It is in fact Thursday, and our beloved Friday (signaling the end of the work week for most) will be here tomorrow. We had a slight change of plans with the post that was scheduled for today, and had to make a little switch in the schedule. So enjoy Flashback Friday on this fine Thursday!

Welcome to Flashback Friday! Sometimes we get so caught up in using our newest Bella collections that we forget about all of the older collections that we still love and can find so many uses for. We know that so many of you have these same collections in your stash as well, and thought it would be fun to "flash back" and be inspired by them once again!

“He’s All Boy & All Mine”, by Stephanie Buice.

I love playing with Bella products old and new, it’s so fun to me to dig in my stash and pull out the papers that I loved but never quite got the chance to use for one reason or another. For this layout I took a clean grid design and dressed it up a bit with different blocks of patterned paper and embellishments, keeping it true to my style and favorite colors.

Supplies:
Max: Paper Pieces, Borders, Trinkets, Treasures & Text, Text Me, That’s My Boy; Lucky Starz: Candid Cards; Enamel Dots: Ice, Blueberry, Milk White, Bell Pepper, Guacamole, Oreo Black; Simply Simona Chipboard Alphas: Orange; High Five Alpha Stickers: Black-White, Green; Ciao Chip Elements: Baby Boy, Icons, Symbols, Stars & Hearts, WhatNots; Little Bits: Black

“Thanks For Owl You Do” card, by Julia Akinina.

I love this Hello Autumn collection, these pretty colors inspired me to create two autumn cards. I used the Owl image from the Daily Details sheet of paper for my first card. I added the machine stitching to make my card cozy. I love how my card looks like, this cute little Owl is simply adorable!

Supplies:
Hello Autumn: Falling into Fall, Gatherings, Autumn Floral, Perfect Pick, Daily Details, Treasures & Text, Trinkets

“You Make Me Smile” card, by Julia Akinina.

I decided not to use so much elements on this card because I love the patterned paper which I used for the background. So I choose the sentiment sticker from the Little Bits, and added some stickers and little pieces of paper. I used 3d form squares to add some dimension to the card. And at the end I create some splashes with the black ink.

Supplies:
Hello Autumn: Falling into Fall, Gatherings, Perfect Pick, Trinkets; Little Bits: Orange; Enamel Dots: Blueberry, Guacamole, Bell Pepper