Bella Blvd Studio Blog

Family Joy Layout featuring New Cut Outs| Christine

The newest product from Bella Blvd are Cut-Outs and they coordinate with the Santa Squad collection.  These not only take the need for a cutting maching out of the picture, BUT even better than that... they help speed up the layout creating process!

Christine joining you today to show how I used the "Wreath Cut Outs" and how that product made my creating a little more simple!

One of the things that's really neat about these sets is that they come with pieces that are big enough that they dictate a starting point for your layout.  I always have a starting point, but often waffle back and forth on what that will be.  These take that element out of the design process.  So for example on this one, because I opted to use the biggest element, the wreath, I had to build my whole layout around that! From there you can put your own spin on it.

You could definitely color the cut out using a marker, inks, or even paints to completely modify the look of it.  I decided to leave mine white backing it with a variety of patterned papers from the Santa Squad collection.  I always enjoy a Christmas layout done in non-traditional colors, and while Santa Squad gives you that option, it also gives you the option to go traditional!  Adding the Cute Clips to the top of some of my trees was possibly my favorite touch of the whole layout!

With all the beautiful paper elements Bella Blvd has to offer, it's awesome that they also have epoxy and acrylic options in the mix as well. Adding those in is a such a great way to add dimension and texture to a project! On this layout I used an acrylic word for my title and some epoxy hearts as embellishments alongside my other hearts.

There are a couple more details that I want to point out on this!  First off, the Heart Hugs!  They always make a great addition to projects and goodness, there's nothing better for texture.  Secondly, possibly my favorite of all of Bella's new products, the Florence Alphabets.  I had actually gotten away from using alphabets because they were the wrong size and I was always out of the right color or letter.  Florence Alphabets come with SO many of each letter that you can keep using them for a ton of projects.  I rarely complete a layout these days without getting into my Florence Alphabets!

Thanks so much for joining me today and I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Santa Squad Patterned Paper, Florence Alphabet, Cut Outs, Acrylic Words, Epoxy Stickers, Heart Hugs, Cute Clips

 

 

Strips of Santa Squad | Scrap Busting with Allie!

Hi friends! Allie here today with another fun layout using Santa Squad! I just love this collection so much! It's so much fun and so easy to use! 

This page is digital, but I think the layout would be very easy to replicated if you had some scraps of paper to use up-- if you're like me and have a hard time not using EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE of your favorite collections! 

Add in some fun die cuts and stickers (seriously. These die cuts are adorable!) and you have a really fun layout! 

Do you use every bit of your papers? 

Santa Squad collection -- Papers, die cuts, and card stock stickers 

 

Mixed Media & Bella Cuts by Kim Watson

Friends...! Are you as excited as I am for Christmas next week??

I thought I'd get into the holiday mood by scrapping a photo of my DD from when she was young....& what better way to do it than with some of the NEW Bella Cut Outs, Santa Squad & some mixed media mayhem LOL.

This is the result.

It's Christmas by Kim Watson

I was desperate to use the super, cute, blue-snowflake paper but being so bright, I thought a mixed media 'mat', might make the layering of the other goodies easier.

This was my process:

1. White Gesso
2. Dry time
3. Lime green & Forest green glimmer mist
4. Almost dry
5. Pink, Red & Magenta color powder....spritz with water
6. Dab, mix, smoosh, swirl & get messy until it looks right
7. Dry
8. Splatter with Magenta, Gold, Forest Green inks
9. Dry
10. White splatter
11. Dry
12. Add ALL other fun bits

The resulting color-chaos is exactly what I was aiming for. 

By selecting patterned papers that worked within my a narrow color palette to back the 'gifts' Bella Cut Outs; helped diminish the business of the page. I love how the large felt bow adds great dimension & ties the blue of the background into the central cluster; as does the chipboard tree & acrylic gingerbread man. 

The title, 'Christmas', another of the NEW Bella Cut Outs, was backed in red dot paper, again to reduce the business of the overall design, yet adding much needed color punch!

The photo backed with layers of tissue paper, a tab & holly die-cut, nestles in-between the x2 Bella cuts, adding balance to the top right corner of the page. 

Magenta thread clusters help with color balance & add simple texture, for visual interest. 

Ok...so I have a secret to share.

You can clearly see the torn paper section edged in gold paint & backed with pink patterned paper, right? Well what if I were to say, it wasn't planned like that hahaha!!

Seriously, it wasn't. It was a cover job for the large, gold paint puddle that happened when I knocked a bottle of gold mist over. The paper was so wet, it tore when I was trying to mop up the paint...now bear in mind the page was 90% finished, so I wasn't about to start all over again. So the best thing to do in a situation like this, is to improvise & make it part of the design.

Voila! One interesting tear, edged in gold, with pink hearts peeking through. 

Do you know what?! 

I absolutely love the result. Sometimes happy accidents can take you by surprise & this was one of those times :D

So allow me to finish off by saying how much I love the Santa Squad & Bella Cut Outs. They are the perfect go-to supply when you can't be bothered to die-cut anything or if you don't have access to a cutting machine. I urge you to look at the other designs, you are going to want them all.

Follow the links below to the Bella online store for all the supplies I used. Have an awesome week friends...until next time. X

Santa Squad Collection ,Bella Cut Outs

The New Bella Cut-Outs!

Hello Bella fans! We've heard you loud and clear! You've been asking for a more convenient way to get the look of die cuts without a machine, and these are our answer!  Meet our newest product in the Bella line up, Cut-Outs! 

Inspired by the mainstay cutting machines comes this easy-to-use product! No machine necessary; These no fuss, easy to use Cut-Outs are sturdy (300gsm), white paper cuts in gorgeous Bella Blvd designs. Each package contains a title, card size cuts and extra pieces too! Ready to use for your layouts, card and crafting projects! Quick and easy and ready to create!

Here are our first four designs and some beautiful inspiration to go with them:

Find them HERE

Layout by EricaRose Thompson

Find them HERE

Layout by Tya Smith.

Find them HERE

Layout by Tya Smith.

Find them HERE

Layout by Tya Smith.

From backing these with patterned papers, painting, stitching, adding glitter, or even using them as they come, the possibilities are truly endless! Keep your eyes out for our Creative Team's upcoming projects because they are full of inspiration using these fun new products!

So, now that you've seen them in action, which are your favorites? We hope you'll give them all a try, and when you do, be sure to tag us on our social media accounts so we can see your projects and share in the excitment! 

 

Snow-globe ornaments | Kim Watson

Hello Bella fans!

In our house we are getting ready to haul the tree out & decorate our home for Christmas. Using this fun event as a motivator, I decided for today's post I would show you how to make some cute DIY snow-globe ornaments using the cute Santa Squad collection.

Snow-globes by Kim Watson

Look at how sweet all the little characters look surrounded by sequins & sparkly bits! They are going to look adorable on our tree!

Step #1:

Sketch out a few snow-globe shapes to use as templates.

Step #2:

Cut the globe shapes from discarded plastic packaging, & patterned paper for the stands.

Step #3:

Machine stitch the globes closed, leaving the bottom edge open for filling.

Step #4:

Fill with a mixture of bits....I used Bella-pops, sequins & punched snowflakes.

Step #5:

For this globe & used a combination of die cuts & Doohickey stickers.

Step #6:

Here, Santa is a Bella-Pop & he is holding an enamel candy cane, surrounded by a festive sequin scatter. 

Step #6:

 

To enable the globes to hang, all I did was attach a bakers twine loop to the top with a chipboard sticker. 

They came out so well....that I am going to make more. Our tree is sure to be a hit with these little guys hanging all over them. Thanks so much for stopping by. Be sure stop by the Bella online store & grab some of these cute Santa Squad goodies for yourselves.

Have a wonderful day further.

Santa Squad Collection

Merry Woofmas Layout | Tegan Skwiat

I love everything about the Santa Squad collection, especially the little dog graphics! They are perfect for documenting a couple Christmas photos of my Cairn Terrier, Pixie! And I am thrilled that Bella Blvd offers cut files now because I had so much fun working with them on this layout! 

At first I was going to create a layout using the entire Bella Blvd Bird Wreath Christmas cut file, but then I decided the bottom part of it would make a fun accent to the top of my layout. I then embellished this piece  with Bella Pops pieces, Ephemera Icons, and Epoxy Hearts. I love the fun unexpected detail it adds to the page.

I used the Bella Blvd Triangle Trees Cut File to create a large tree on my page. I decorated my paper tree with Santa Squad Ephemera Icons, Doohickey Stickers, Gingerbread Acrylic Shapes, and some Snow Fun Epoxy Snowflake Shapes. I usually want to just hoard the Bella Pops because they are THAT cute, but it made me feel so good to actually use one here! I love the Dachshund Through the Snow doggie Bella Pop under the Christmas tree! 

I used the fun Bella Blvd Merry Word Cut File and a Bella Besties patterned paper for part of the title. I then embellished this section with more adorable Ephemera Icons pieces, Chipboard Shapes, and Epoxy Heart Shapes. Did you notice the little Epoxy Candy Cane Shape I added to the dachshund's mouth?

Thanks for stopping in today. I hope I have inspired you to grab some of the adorable Santa Squad collection and document some Christmas pictures of your squad...fur or no fur! 

Santa Squad Collection: All Wrapped Up Patterned Paper, Tree Trimming Patterned Paper, Santa Delivers Patterned Paper, Borders Patterned Paper, Ephemera Icons, Doohickey Stickers, Squad Epoxy Shapes, Hearts Christmas Mix, Snow Fun Epoxy Shapes, Gingerbread Acrylic Shapes, Dachshund Through the Snow Bella Pop

Bella Besties Graph & Dot Patterned Paper: Guacamole, Ice

Cut Files: Bird Wreath Christmas, Merry Word, Triangle Trees

Festive Christmas Tags Perfect for Gift Giving

Hello everyone.  Heather Leopard here with a project I had so much fun working on...festive Christmas tags perfect for gift giving. Take a look at these cuties below and then I'll walk you through how I created them.  Seriously so easy...

There's two things I especially love about these. One, these are personalized. I had the gift recipient in mind when I was creating these so I added elements that I knew that person would particularly love. Two, I got to be creative. Need I say more?

To get started, I used a tag template I had to hand cut the white tag. At the time, I had no idea I would be backing the tags so this white tag became my base. I picked Rudolph from the Caio chipboard and found this adorable reindeer games die cut so I just knew these had to become my first tag.  I then layered a die cut present with dimensional sticker presents to fill in the empty space on the tag.  As I was looking at creating a more colorful base for the next tag, I ran across the reindeer patterned paper in the 6x6" paper pad so I cut that out slightly wider than the white tag and adhered them with glue only at the top of the tag.

Next up was Mr. Gingerbread Man.  He is just too adorable with his little blue bow tie and I know someone super special who loves these guys so this one was an easy choice.  I cut a tag from blue snowflake patterned paper and backed it with red patterned paper since I am now layering these cuties. I added a strip of washi tape Christmas trees, then the gingerbread man and his cupcakes.  To fill the void above him, I added a sentiment die cut.

Last but not least is this fun tag that reminds me of an old truck filled bursting with presents. As you can see I found die cut sentiments to match each of these and this was no exception.  I found this die cut that matches the license plate perfectly. The presents are part of the dimensional sticker so this was the easiest one to assemble.  I just added the snowflake to the top and it was complete.

I can't wait to gift these to my special people but in the meantime, I hope I showed you just how easy peasy it is to create your own tags.  And once you have the idea for all the tags, you just replicate the backgrounds using the same templates and then change out the stickers with what you have in your stash.

Santa Squad: Candy Canes patterned paper, Bella Besties, 6" x 6" paper pad, Caio Chip, Ephemera Icons, Ephemera Words, Bella-Pops cardstock stickers, Christmas tree designer washi tape

12 Days of Christmas Books | Kat Benjamin

Good morning, everyone!  Kat here today to share a fun little project that I'm really excited about.  This is my daughter's first year where she kind of understands what is happening with Christmas.  She knows who Santa is and she's so excited about trees and lights and we're trying to educate her all about the reason for the season.  I also really want her to be excited about the big day, so I decided we'd do a fun little countdown to Christmas once there were 12 days left. 

I found a cute little set of books at Target that had a fun variety of all different subject matter, from the 12 Days of Christmas, to baby Jesus, to Santa's reindeer.  I wrapped each of them and put a number tag on them so we can countdown to Christmas Day.  

I broke out the Santa Squad collection to make all my tags and it coordinates so well with a bunch of other great Bella products.  I think I used a little bit of everything from my stash to create these and I had the best time!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Does your family do anything fun to count down the days until your favorite holiday?

6x6 Paper Pad: Santa Squad; Doohickey Stickers: Santa Squad; Ciao Chip: Santa Squad; Bella Besties: Freehand Graph & Dot Pickle Juice; Clear Cuts: Hearts McIntosh; Florence Alphas: Pickle Juice, White, McIntosh, Guacamole, Ice; Designer Washi Tape: Red Stripe, Oh Christmas Tree, Snow; Ephemera Icons: Santa Squad; Ephemera Words: Santa Squad; Bella Pops: Hedge Hugs, Spread Some Cheer; Epoxy Stickers: Snow Fun; Heart Hugs: Christmas, Wild Berry; Acrylic Shapes: Gingerbreads; Enamels: Christmas Mix; Bella Bows: Guacamole

Merry Christmas Digital Greeting Cards by Tya

Hello there and Happy Holidays! One thing that I really love about digital scrapbooking is that I can whip up my own custom handmade cards in no time flat! And during this busy season, I am thankful for any project that saves me time but looks like I spent a lot of time creating it ;) I love making my own greeting cards and have really fallen in love with creating them this way. 

When I create my cards digitally, I make sure to size them so that all I have to do is print the images out and then glue them to a card base.  These four cards are all created to be an A2 sized card (4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches). All I need to do is print them, glue them and send them! To add some dimension, you can certainly add some real twine, buttons, enamel dots or any other real embellishment you'd like. I'm telling you, digital cards are really fun!   Here are some close-ups of the cards I created with the adorable "Merry Christmas" Digital Collection.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for stopping by today. I hope I have inspired you to give digital card making a try! I use Photoshop to create my cards and it really is super fast and easy ( well once you decide what cute papers and elements you want to use lol! ) Happy Holidays and Happy Crafting!

 

 

Merry Christmas Complete Collection

Plaids and  Dotty Collection

Santa Squad Gift Card Holders

Hi everyone!  Corri here today sharing some gift card holders I made featuring the adorable Bella-Pops from the Santa Squad Collection.  My kids always ask for at least one gift card for Christmas.  These cute gift card holders are a great way to make the gift cards feel more special than the plain holders from the store. 

 

For my first gift card holder, I found this gingerbread house in the Silhouette Store and embellished the front with the gingerbread Bella - Pop and some ephemera pieces.  

The base of the house slides out to hold a gift card. 

For my second gift card holder, I cut this present shaped gift card holder from the Silhouette Store and then added the Santa Bella-Pop along with a tag from the ephemera pack.  

 

This one also has a slideout insert to hold the gift card. 

For my last gift card holder, I grabbed this pop up gift card holder and added the puppy Bella-Pop and some trees and a sentiment from the ephemera pack.  

 

The interior of the card has space for the gift card and for a handwritten message.  

Give these cute gift card holders a try! There are so many cute icons in the Santa Squad collection, you will love dressing up your gift cards for quick and easy gift giving.