Bella Blvd Studio Blog

My Happy Place Layout using Plaids & Dotty

 

Hey there, friends!  I hope fall is finally catching up to you wherever you are!  I don't know about you guys, but I've been longing for some colder temperatures.  As we experienced a lot of rain for what seemed like a week straight, I was able to get a lot of creating done.  I had a bunch of photos that had been sitting patiently waiting for me to document; This little Bible stack was one of them!  I really loved the way this photo turned out, and I wanted to use the purple in the layout somehow.  We rarely see purple in the scrapbooking world, and I knew just the paper to oblige!

I pulled out the amazing lilac plaid sheet, which is the bonus pattern from the Plaids & Dotty Collection! I'm pretty sure I've said it before, but this paper got me from the moment I opened the new release package!

I wanted to make this page all about that sweet Bible stack photo and that lilac pattern, so I left the rest pretty clean.

I helped my photo standout amongst the paper layers with a splash of black watercolor.  I don't often work with black, but I've been really loving the contrast recently.

I finished off my layout by adding a little embellishment cluster in the right bottom corner.  I wanted to use that tip-in shape from the Fruit of the Spirit collection because I loved the colors and the phrase.  It matched perfectly with a few hexies and sentiments from the word salad book.

 

 

 

I'm so glad you visited today to take a look at my layout! The plaids and dotty collection has fulfilled my basics dreams, and it's a must for every stash! xo Lydia

 
Plaids & Dotty Collection, Fruit of the Spirit Tip-In Shapes & Ephemera, IF Watercolors, IF Hexies, Wonky Puffy Alphas, Acrylic "Happy & Smile" Words, Word Salad Book, Wish Big Girl Sticky Mix

 

Love You More | Plaids & Dotty

Hi everyone.  Heather Leopard is here and I just have to say I LOVE Plaids & Dotty.  Like love it so much it inspired me to create a Love You More page for my beautiful daughter.

 

The great thing about this is no special tools were required and aside from the drying time for the paint, it's a quick and easy 30 minute scrapbooking page. I'd even go so far as to say 30 minutes with the painting and drying in front of a small fan.  Let me walk you through how this came together.

The first thing I did was choose the patterned papers.  That's right, I didn't even have photos but that's okay because I knew I had tons of photos of this girl to choose from. So I selected 3 colors (Punch, Bell Pepper and Ice plus Gulf so 4 I guess but Ice and Gulf are very similar). I also chose a mix of plaid widths.  Then, I assumed I could cut letters approximately 2 1/2 to 3" in width and about 4" high, knowing I'd overlap some letter to make it fit. Then I hand cut each letter. You can see them in the photo above and a sneak below. They're not perfect but I'm all about the perfectly imperfect!

Then I mixed paint, mists and water to create complimentary background paint colors. I didn't want it too matchy matchy so close enough was good for me. I used leftover paint to splatter color on the page. As that was drying with a small fan I have in my craft room, I went off to select and print photos. By the time I did that, the paint was dry.

I applied a bit of tape runner adhesive to the letter to secure them to the page. I also added my photos and once I got the placement just right I stitched over each letter with my sewing machine. 

I added puffy star and puffy heart embellishments in the same tone over the letters. I also added a cute little clip with bow over this photo since the other photo has a puffy heart.

Lastly, I added the word MORE to the bottom so that I can document this game we play of who love who more. I'm sure you know that game all too well. I also plan to add the journaling to the left of the word, More, right below the photo.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a great rest of your day!

 xoxo,

Heather

Plaid & Dotty patterned paper, Baby Girl Cute Clips, Ice Mix Puffy Stars, Ice Mix Puffy Hearts, Ice Mix Puffy Stars, Punch Mix Puffy Stars, Punch Mix Puffy Hearts, Milk Mix Puffy Stars, Orange Mix Puffy Stars, Orange Mix Puffy Stars, Punch Wonky Alpha Puffy Stickers

 

Journaling Pens 3 Ways

Hello, Bella Blvd. friends! Tessa Buys here with three ways to use the fabulous Illustrated Faith journling pens on your layouts.

1. When I was planning out my title for this page, I pulled the cardstock sticker alphabet from the Delight in His Day collection. The yellow was a fun addition to the pink and orange I was already using, but I felt like the stickers needed a little something. My solution? Polka dots! It only took a couple of minutes to add darker yellow polka dots with a journaling pen and the result was fun and cheerful, just like my girls!

2. To further dress up the alphas, I used the 0.25 black journaling pen to double-outline each letter. I've always loved the doodle-y look this gives alphas and it helps the yellow stickers to stand out even more from the background.

3: Speaking of doodling, I don't do it often on my layouts, but this time the watercolor background gave me an idea. After pooling pink, orange and yellow watercolor on my page, I splattered those same colors here and there. One of the random dots of paint reminded me of a heart, so I pulled out the pink journaling pen and began to doodle hearts in a few places on the layout. The tone-on-tone color keeps the doodling from becoming too busy, but it's a fun little detail that gives the page something extra special.

Of course, I wrote my journaling with the 0.25 journaling pen, too. I believe handwritten journaling is important. Not only does it document your handwriting, it also seems more personal and heart-felt. Not to say that typed journaling isn't just as meaningful. So, pull out those journaling pens and have a little fun with your next layout! 

Delight in His Day pattered paper, Delight in His Day cardstock stickers, Illustrated Faith journaling pens, Cute Bows, Illustrated Faith watercolors

These Colored Pens Belong on Every Project

Welcome to a new week, friends!  This week at Bella Blvd it's all about the amazing journal pens!  As a Bible journaler, they have a special place on my desk, because I can't live without them.  I thought I'd share a couple ways that I use them with you today!

 

I've been having a lot of fun using my colored Illustrated Faith pens throughout the Created to Create Kit; I've been using them not only for actual journaling, but I love to use them to create mixed media backgrounds too!  That's what I have chosen to do on this entry!

 

I went a little crazy with color for both my Bible page and my TN devotional page, so the assorted colors of journal pens were the perfect addition!  After creating my mixed media background with the IF acrylic paints and the journal pens, I used a few paper pieces and added some stitching!  It's amazing how a few basics like these amazing pens can be used to create in so many different ways!

 

 

 

I'm so happy you stopped by to visit today, and I hope you have a beautiful week of creativity and smiles! xo Lydia

 
Created to Create Kit, IF Acrylic Paints, IF Journal Pens, IF Homespun Number Stamps, IF Black Ink Pad

 

This is Thirty-Seven | Word Salad Stickers

Hello and happy Friday, friends! Tessa Buys here. I have long been a fan of word stickers, so I especially loved focusing on the Bella Blvd. Word Salad Cardstock Sticker Booklet for this layout.

I pulled a couple of sheets from the sticker book that matched the colors of my page. The Mom Life collection was perfect for documenting my recent birthday and a new headshot that I had done for work. The Bella Blvd. colors are well represented in the booklet, and the phrases throughout apply to many themes. It wasn't hard at all to find phrases and words that I could included in my journaling.

I used the Illustrated Faith watercolor box to paint journaling lines onto the background of my layout. I thought of the general things I wanted to say, then found stickers that I could use as portions of my journaling. The rest of the words I filled in with my pen.

To keep things visually pleasing, I used orange stickers on orange paint, pink on pink, and blue on blue.

If you love word stickers as much as I do, I know you'll love the Word Salad stickers. Whether you're getting creative with your journaling, adding captions, or including a sub-title on a layout, they're my new go-to! Happy creating!

Mom Life patterned paper, Mom Life cardstock stickers, Mom Life ephemera, Word Salad cardstock sticker booklet, Wonky Alpha puffy stickers (punch and orange), Puffy Hearts Stickers (punch mix and orange mix), Illustrated Faith Shanna's Favorites Watercolor Set

Explore the Summer Sea | Word Salad Scrapbooking Layout

Hi everyone.  Heather Leopard is here today with a layout that takes me back to last summer, when we were able to explore the gorgeous islands of Hawaii and Maui. We were literally on an Island Escape so the Island Escape collection was PERFECT for this particular project.  

This entire layout was actually inspired by the Word Salad phrase stickers.  I started with those, choosing the colors I wanted to include in my layout, not having a photo picked out yet.  Crazy, huh? I just knew I wanted to use them. I found colors that matched the Island Escape collection, knowing that I would be able to find a photo I hadn't scrapped yet from our Hawaiian trip.

I used Illustrated Faith paint to create lines across the page but first, I had to lighten the colors up just a bit.  I simply mixed the colors with about half the original color / half white and added a bit here and there until it matched the color of the phrases practically perfectly. Once dried, I added the phrases. At this point, I decided I needed to better define the stripes. Since we were at a black sand beach and I didn't have much black in the layout, I used my black marker to create a border around each color. I did it free-hand because my perfection is imperfection. If you want perfect lines, now's the time to pull out your ruler!

So for this next step, you can choose to embellish and layer around your photo before you place the word salad stickers or after.  I chose to do this before I completely adhered the word phrases down and it's what I suggest, so that you don't accidentally cover up any of the phrases. I used two papers as layers behind the photo and then I added die cuts as well as fussy cut flowers around the photo, tucking under her and over there for dimension.

Last but not least, is the title. I discovered that the acrylic word, explore, fit perfectly in the orange box. Once that was placed, I worked the rest of my title around that.  To finish off the layout I added heart and star puffy stickers that color coordinated with the box I was placing them in.  Admittedly, I didn't leave room for journaling so I might remove one of the puffy hearts under the photo or perhaps a phrase sticker at the bottom left and add my journaling there.

Island Escape patterned paper, Island Escape Ephemera, Island Escape Chipboard Icons, Illustrated Faith Delight in the Day Happy Heart patterned paper, Ice Mix Puffy Stars, Ice Mix Puffy Hearts, Punch Mix Puffy Stars, Punch Mix Puffy Hearts, Explore & Play Acrylic Words

 

First Day

Good morning everyone!  Kat popping in today to share a recent layout that I made with the Pop Quiz collection.  I can't believe it's already back-to-school time and I really can't believe that my sweet niece is now in Kindergarten!

The photo I decided to scrap was of my niece's first day.  The photo was so colorful and I really loved the rainbow vibe it was giving off, so I decided to combine the Pop Quiz collection with the new Plaids & Dotty collection to pull in some of those other colors.

I cut a bunch of strips, layered them, sprinkled in some random Word Salad stickers and puffy stars and that was pretty much it.  The layout came together quickly and easily:

Thank for stopping in - have a wonderful day and weekend!

Supplies:

Pop Quiz: Goofing Off, Test Anxiety, Get to Class, Exclusive Collection Kit Bonus Pattern, Cardstock Stickers, Ciao Chip Icons, Ephemera; Plaids and Dotty: Punch, Ice, Orange, Exclusive Collection Kit Bonus Pattern; Cute Clips: Pumpkin Spice; Tiny Text: Wild Berries; Puffy Stars Stickers: Punch, Pickle Juice, Blueberry; Word Salad Sticker Booklet

A Pretty Packaged Treat for Your Student

 

Hello there, friends!  I've been so excited to share this little tutorial with you guys!   I just love the idea of being able to give a little gift of encouragement, and what a better treat than a cookie!  These would be the perfect gift for your student to toss in their bag for later!

 

 

First I began by measuring how large I wanted my cookies to be; I chose to measure out my cookies to bake at about 2 1/2" wide.  I then cut my circles for my packaging.  The perfect size for my particular cookies was a 4" circle.  You could simply run your 4" die through a die-cutting machine; or if you needed a custom size, simply find something around the house to trace!

 

The next step is to line up your circles back-to-back.  I chose to hold my two pieces together with a bulldog clip, but you could also use a paperclip or clamp.

 

Now I simply ran the two pieces through my sewing machine, making sure to stay near the edges, so there would be plenty of room for my cookie. 

 

 

I made sure to leave about a 2-3" gap, so that I was able to slide in my cookie before sealing it up.

 

 

It is not necessary, but I chose to cover my cookies in plastic wrap.  This will keep the inside of the packaging from getting messy, and it will also keep the cookie fresh!

 

 

I slide in my cookie, making sure that it sits as far back away from the open gap as possible.  This allows for more room with sewing up the gap under the pressure foot.

 

 

It works well to place your clip on any buckled area around the gap, and then simply move the clip as your continue to sew.  This part I like to do manually, by turning the knob by hand.  Continue along the edge until you meet the already sewn portion.  I was tempted to sew over a couple stitches, but I chose to stop where I began, so that the packaging would be easy to tear open.  Don't worry about a few loose threads!

 

 

Now all that is left is to embellish!   I loved using the Sticky Mix, Chipboard Stickers, and Ephemera for this part!  I also loved including some puffy stars!  Either way your student is going to love them!

 

 

 

I hope you were inspired to share a little encouragement treat with the students in your life! I just love the Pop Quiz collection, and it's perfect for just that! xo Lydia

 

Pop Quiz Collection, Puffy Stars, Double-Sided Adhesive, Sewing Machine