Bella Blvd Studio Blog

Stepping out in Dad Style with Guest Designer Suzanna Lee

Do you have a paper manufacturer whose collections you purchase with each and every release, no matter the theme or relevance to your life? That company that makes your papercrafting heart sing? Bella Blvd is that company for me and has been for as long as I can remember! Needless to say, when Stephanie invited me to guest design for Bella Blvd, I was ecstatic!

Let me tell you a little bit about myself! I am Suzanna Lee; mother, wife, Physical Therapist, cat nap partner and a whole host of other titles! I have long had a hand in the crafting world but my love for patterned paper and fussy cutting began when we moved here to Glen Allen, Virginia and my paper collecting hobby became a paper cutting and layout creating hobby!

I will be sharing two blog posts with you, this one today and another on the Friday so be sure to come back for more! Today I’m sharing with you two layouts created with the Dad Style collection.

My scrapbooking style can be varied and the layout above showcases one of those styles; clean and linear. The focus of the layout is on the photo of my husband and children with a “father” quote that is showcased exceptionally with the “Dad Style” collection. The bulk of this layout are patterned papers with a sprinkling of the stickers as support.

The earth tone colors are perfect for this masculine layout that celebrates the guiding light that a father is to his children. The contrast of the dark and light mimic the strength and gentle softness and compassion that one seeks in the father figure.

A little water color behind the blue Wonky Alpha Stickers was a perfect way to pull some of the colors from the polka patterned paper in this collection and emphasize them.

The element that really stood out to me upon first seeing the Dad Style collection were those shoes! The collections Stephanie designed for the Winter 2018 releases are different; still whimsical and playful but a little bit more grown up. The shoes in the patterned paper and ephemera die cuts really spoke to me so I had to find a way to use them, hence this layout!

By using a longer title, “Stepping Out with Dad & Having a Fun Time” I was able to incorporate many of the elements found in this collection; the shoes and clocks in the die cuts, a pennant and bits and some Sticky Mix Stickers on this grid based layout.

I was able to use the heart cut apart card both here and on the previous layout! Here, you see the outer part of the card, with the heart cut out and creating a window for the first part of the title. If you go back and look at the first layout, you will see the heart itself with the “My Hero” phrase cut out. The versatility of Bella Blvd products gets me every time!

If you are of the process video persuasion, be sure to visit my YouTube channel as one of these layouts will be up on my channel today with the other to follow tomorrow.

You can find me on social media in the following places;

YouTube | Blog | Instagram

 

 

Illustrated Faith Round Up

 

Happy Friday friends!   Today we are bringing you some inspiration from our friends over at Illustrated Faith and their blog.

This past month has had their team busily documenting their faith in a variety of beautiful ways and we wanted to share their inspiring creations with you.

Bible Journaling | This is Love – Napkins, Stamps, and Matte Medium

 

Illustrated Faith; Tape Runner, Date-It Stamp, Black Eyed Pea Ink Pad, Black Eyed Pea Number Stickers, 12x12 Paper Pad, You Are Loved Card Stock Stickers, Pen Pack

 

Mixed Media Hybrid Bible Journaling | Open My Heart

Illustrated Faith; Clips, Tape Runner, Date-It Stamp

 

Illustrated Faith; Pen Pack, Apple of My Eye Enamel Hearts, Criss Cross Washi Tape, Adams Mix Cute Clips

 

 

Bible Journaling with All People All Nations

The new Illustrated Faith products have made my crafty heart so happy!  They are so beautiful, and the All People All Nations collection is no exception!  The bright, bold colors can be mixed and matched with just about any color scheme you can dream up!  Or you can go bold and add all the colors to the same page like I have!

The entire collection reflects on God's love for all cultures and nations, and I wanted to reflect on that truth in my own study. 

Galatians 3:28 (ESV)

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

What a beautiful reminder to love without boundaries!  We live in a world that often falls in the trap of bigotry and ostracism, but as Christians we must be above that; We must love as Christ has loved us!

If you guys have had any worry about the quality of the Clear Brush Script Stickers, then fear not;  The quality of those stickers is amazing!  As you can tell, I have layered my sticker on top of thread, watercolors, and a raised ephemera pieces, and yet you still can't see the edges of the sticker!  These really do look like you brushed them right on yourself!

There is no difference in the Lord's love for us; therefore, there should be no difference in how we love others.  We are called to love all nations and cultures as Christ loves us. XO Lydia

 

Supplies:  IF All People All Nations Collection (Ephemera Pieces & Cardstock Stickers), Watercolors, IF Wordfetti Booklet, IF Brushed Words Booklet, IF Puffy Crosses (One in a Melon), If Enamel Hearts (Mrs. Blueberry), IF .35 Precision Pen

Shanna Stops In!

Hi there friends! I hope you are having a great week! I wanted to share with you one of my favorite watercolor techniques! Watercolor + straw = BEAUTIFUL watercolor art! Before I started Illustrated Faith I was a preschool teacher and one of our favorite ways to watercolors with the kiddos was with beautiful watercolor puddles and straws, the kids loved watching the watercolor blow across the page creating a beautiful, colorful background!! Are you ready to give it a try? Come on, if the kids can do it, you can too - right?! 

One of the things I love using this technique with is clear stickers because you can use them as a mask and it creates this really fun effect! The new sticker books with big bold statements lettered by my friend Katy Fults! For those that say you "can't" hand-letter THIS the perfect answer! 

1. Grab your supplies: bible, bible mat, clear stickers, illustrated faith watercolor and highlighter tape. 

2. Place your clear sticker down on your margin (so many great choices! Which one will you choose!?) Make sure to push the edges down well or use a straight edge to push it down well on the page. 

3. I used the highlight tape to mask off the verse I was working on ( for me: Jeremiah 17:7) 

4. Decide which colors you want on your page. I like using analogous colors (colors next to each other on the color wheel) for this so you don't need to worry about the colors getting muddy as they run into each other. 

5. Use a brush that will pick up a lot of water add color and start with one color, working around the image add a couple puddles. Quickly work to get your straw and blow it in the direction you want it to go. I like to work in a circle, turning my page to make sure I hit it from every direction. 

6. Keep adding colors and repeating step four until you get the desired effect! 

7. Sit back and say TA-DA!!!!!


I hope you enjoy this simple technique to create a HUGE impact on your beautiful pages! 

Have the most fantastic day!

Social Media Round Up

Hello Bella Friends!  Today we just wanted to take a moment and recap some of things that our incredibly awesome Creative Team has been doing this month! 

 

First up we have Sabrina Pool who created this super cute digital layout using our Illustrated Faith Bright and Brave Collection.  We love the bright stars and how they pop on the page.  And really, who can't help but smile at the cutie in the photo??

 

 

 

Next up we have Lydia Cost who made these sweet and juicy Valentine's Day cards using our Fruit of the Spirit Collection. LOVE!!!  

 

 

 

 

And last we have Sara Wyles who created some altered art using our Mom Life Collection!  If you are looking for a Mother's Day gift that is fun to create, this IS IT!  

 

 

We have many more creative and inspiring ideas coming your way so please check back often!  

 

 

 

 

 

Smile Heart wall decor

Good morning everyone!!

Sarah here this morning to share a little wall decor I made thinking of my mom. And on the plus side, I got to dig into the new Mom Life collection! I was so excited to get this collection and I have to say I love all the new collections, they are even more beautiful in person!

I had recently been unpacking and organizing another box of my scrappy stash and found a canvas heart frame. It was actually supposed to be used as a little bulletin board, but I thought it would be great for a little home decor.

I knew I wanted to break into Mom Life, so I chose a picture and dove into the collection. In the ephemera pack there were already beautiful floral die cuts, but I wanted more. So I pulled out the My Tribe paper and started to fussy cut some of the flowers out. Its so hard to chose just a few to use, I had to remind my self that all of them didnt have to be used on this one project, even though I really wanted to play with them all!! 

I decided that I wanted my photo backed with some more of the pretty papers, with the canvas background I thought it needed some more color to separate my photo from the background. So I pulled out some more of the My Tribe paper, Daily details and started to cut and add layers. Once I was happy with the layers and the way they looked I popped it up on foam adhesive and added it to the middle of the heart.

At this point I wanted to start tucking the ephemera pieces and the fussy cut flowers in the layers and behind my photo. I popped some of them up on foam adhesive, bent a few of them up, but just like a lot of my layouts I worked on a diagonal, I started from the bottom right, worked some of the pieces around the right side of the photo cluster and then moved to the upper left corner.

After I tucked the pretty flowers here and there on the diagonal, I went back in to my Bella goodies and pulled some more pieces that work perfectly with this collection. I love the little pom poms  and the epoxy stickers, so since they matched I started to add those in too. The little Pom poms added some more texture to my project and then the hexies mini epoxy stickers added some shine popping out around the heart. I did add a few cute clips.  Those little bows are so cute and girly and I  love to use them, so I pulled them off there clips and added them. I wanted something that would act like a title and I had a bunch of the acrylic words and Smile just stood out to me. We were all so happy in this picture, smiling and enjoying our selves, so Smile was perfect. I added that to the right of the photo and that finished off my wall decor. I had no clue where I was going with this when I started but I am so happy with the way it turned out!

Mom Life Collection: Daily Details, My Tribe, Ephemera pack, Acrylic words; Baby Girl-Cute Clips, Illustrated Faith Pom Pom clips;Bananas for you, Apple of my eye, Basics-Hexies epoxy stickers-Bananas for you, Oh my Heavens



 

Let Your Own Art Inspire You

I cannot wait for all of you to get your hands on the Fruit of the Spirit collection!  It is so gorgeous!  Within a couple days of having it, I'd already created 3 projects because I just couldn't help myself!  

I had this sweet photo of my son from a trip to a California farmer's market, and I just knew that I had to scrap it, with the amazing illustrated fruit in this collection!  Every time I see that photo of his absolute strawberry massacre and his sweet smile, I just light up!  Isn't that what scrapbooking is all about friends!?

I wanted to use that perfect stamp set in the collection to create some stitched strawberries!  This is how I start just about every crafty project I have.  I start with one small detail and build from there; I never know where it will lead! 

I began by stamping out the strawberry illustration onto some white cardstock, pulled out my IF watercolors, and painted away!

Next I cut out my little strawberries and ran them through my sewing machine.  It has become my signature to stitch the edges of all the little paper pieces, and I love that!  Aren't they just the cutest?!  I couldn't wait to get them on a layout!

I've been sticking to the 8 1/2 x 11 format recently because it's a great size for me to document small photos of my little one!  I decided I was going to flip through my own albums to get some inspiration for this layout!  I definitely scraplifted myself, and I think I'm going to do it more often because it made the process a breeze and so enjoyable!

While working on this layout, I peered down at that cute smile and realized how precious it must be to the Lord that he can find such joy in the small things!  Wouldn't it be amazing if we could get back some of that childlike joy and be joyous with even the mundane?!  I want to be like my son and that strawberry!  I want to be filled with joy in all circumstances, and you know what, God commands us to do just that!

Philippians 4:4 (ESV)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Yet again I was inspired by my own work, and I had to put the remainder of my stitched strawberries in my Bible!  I wanted to remind myself that the Lord asks me to be filled with joy!

Don't be afraid to inspire yourselves!  It's one of my beloved past-times to check out the latest inspiration via Pinterest or Instagram, but sometimes it's just as inspiring to look back on your past work!  And just as it did with this project, maybe even that project will spark an idea!  Have a blessed weekend, sweet friends! XO Lydia

Supplies:  IF Fruit of the Spirit collection, IF Enamel Hearts; Olive You, IF Alpha Sticker Book, IF Wordfetti Sticker Book, IF Mini Hexies; Apple of My Eye, Bella Blvd Ciao Chips; Today, IF Watercolors, IF Acrylic Paint, IF Cute Clips; Eve's Mix

 

Valentine's Inspiration with Fruit of the Spirit

This week at Bella Blvd headquarters, it's all about showcasing the gorgeous Fruit of the Spirit collection.  Valentine's day is next week, and I can hardly believe it's that time already!  I'm a hopeless romantic, so I love all things Valentine's Day.

I thought I would share with you guys today how you can use the new Fruit of the Spirit collection in an unconventional way by creating some Valentine's cards!  These cards just make me giggle, and I can't wait to give one to my husband.  All the cute fruit ephemera in this collection inspired some cute puns on my behalf!

I had a lot of fun leaving these open-ended phrases on the cards; I finished off the phrases by typing the end inside the card.  Before I adhered the front of my card to the base, I simply ran my cardstock through my typewriter to add a clean and cute touch to the inside!

I hope that you have some special crafts put together for your loved ones in celebration of Valentine's Day!  We don't need a special day to share our love, but it is a nice reminder to let our loved ones know just how special they are to us!  I can't wait to see what you create for heart day! XO Lydia

 

Supplies:  IF Fruit of the Spirit Collection; Ephemera, Shape Tip-Ins, Cardstock Stickers, 12x12 Paper (Goodness, Gentleness, Borders & 3x4s, & Kindness), Bella Blvd Wonky Alphas, IF Alpha Sticker Booklet, IF Mini Hexies, IF Enamel Hearts

Head in the Game by Sarah King

Good morning everyone!! Sarah here this morning sharing a layout I made using Bellas Football collection!

This layout didn't quite go as I planned. Most of the time when I'm making a layout I'll stick with a white background, I just feel like it gives me a blank canvas to play on and keeps things bright. I do use full patterned/colorful backgrounds too, but usually white, and this layout happened to be one of those times!

I did pull out white card stock to start out with. I grabbed my Boarders & Details paper and cut some layers for behind my photo, even a boarder strip that had some footballs on it but it was looking too plain at this point for me so I went back in and started laying my photo and its layers on other papers from this collection and found this one and was so happy I did!!

I was way happier with this as my background and continued to build from there. I cut a star out of one of the papers and tucked it behind the left side of my photo and its layers and then decided I was going to add a little bit of white card stock to this layout. So I cut out a circle, popped up my photos and its layers on some 3D foam and laid it on top of my white circle.

I grabbed the ephemera pack and the fundamentals sticker sheet and started to add pops of red, blue and green around my layout. I popped some up on 3D foam to add some more dimension and I also decided I was going to run my fingernail under the side of my papers to add a little more texture to my layout. 

 I added my title in the center bottom of my photo from the ephemera pack as well and popped it up on more 3D foam, along with a football. I added another football to the upper right of my layout with some stars and other ephemera pieces for another embellishment cluster.

I tucked a larger ephemera piece, with a football helmet on it, behind my photo so that it was sticking out and could still be seen and added a tab as well. I liked that this brought more of the colors in that I wanted and I also liked that it had a big helmet on it too! I wanted a little more texture on my layout and I have a bunch of these adorable puffy stars and of course they match perfectly, so I grabbed my puffy stars in the colors that matched and I tucked them in here and there all around the layout and that finished it off for me. I had fun changing it up a little bit from my norm and I loved how this layout turned out!

 

Football Collection: Boarders&Details, Throw it!, Game Time, Call The Play, Ephemera pack, Fundamentals, Puffy Star Stickers: Ice, Blueberry, Pickle Juice