Bella Blvd Studio Blog

Christmas Layout Inspiration / Merry Mingle / Suzanna

Pinkies Up! LOL! Anybody elses city or town have an annual Christmas tea? It's a tradition here in the Richmond area (Virginia). Getting reservations for it is like getting a coveted Golden Ticket, it's insane how quickly they book up. I used the NEW Merry Mingle collection to document photos of myself, tree side, sipping tea and eating delicate sandwiches. If you haven't already seen it, I did an unboxing over on the the Bella Blvd YouTube channel, be sure to check it out. Click HERE to watch.

Here's the full layout;

I began with the Let's Decorate as my main inspiration, it's a very busy patterned paper with lots of color. Being busy, it needed some toning down so a strip of bright yellow (Cookie Exchange) created a border and the tone on tone of the Making Spirits Bright served as some grounding.

My photos were too big to fit in the Polaroid frame but the frame was perfect backed with some smooth white cardstock to provide a spot for journaling. I could have also added journaling underneath the title had a third photo been available for the Polaroid. There's always options!

Placing the red ornament and the ephemera Cheers above the photo allowed for some separation between the photos and the busy background paper, almost like a leading line that leads your away from the busy and to the photos, important to the memory keeping. There is rather strong use of red and green in the page so using the Aqua baker's twine in the ornament topper allowed for another bright pop of color.

Between the ephemera words, all the words in the chipboard Ciaos and the Doohickey alphas and phrases, there's always a plethora of title and subtitle or support phrase options! I opted for the letters in the Doohickey stickers to create my own title; Pinkies Up! I mean, you can't be a "proper" tea sipping lady without your pinkie up, right?! I used several of the many trees available in the ephemera Icons at the bottom of the layout, tying the top of the page to the bottom.

I love that Merry Mingle steps out of the traditional red and green color palette and has lots of great colors to choose from.Thanks for stopping in today! I hope this inspires you my scrappy peeps and that you have a merry day! See you back here next time!

Suzanna

Supplies Used

12 x 12 paper; Making Spirits Bright, Cookie Exchange, Let's Decorate

Ephemera Words and Icons

So Much Fun Puffy Stickers

Epoxy Stickers

Doohickey Stickers

 

 

So Fun | Bella Blvd My Life 365 | Erica Thompson

Hi, friends! Erica here, and I’m back with another layout using the Bella Blvd My Life 365 collection. This time, I focused on the January products from the collection to create a clean and simple 12x12 scrapbook layout. Let me walk you through how I brought this layout together!

I started by trimming down a piece of white cardstock and matting it onto a sheet of Bella Besties pattern paper. Next, I layered the entire piece on a 12x12 pattern paper from the My Life 365 collection to create a solid, polished base with a pop of winter color. I used one of the Bella Blvd. Cut Outs as the centerpiece for my layout. To make it stand out, I backed the cut out with coordinating papers from the Bella Besties 6x6 paper pads. The smaller patterns in the paper pad are perfect for this technique! I popped up the cut out using foam adhesive to give the layout a bit of dimension.

For this layout, I included two photos of Liam and me, matted with coordinating pattern papers from the My Life 365 collection. I placed the photos just above the cut out, making them the focal point of the layout. To frame the photos, I added die cuts from the Life 365 collection to the left and right sides. I also tucked in tags at the top of the photos for extra texture and dimension. To finish the tags, I tied a bit of twine through them for a subtle detail that adds a little bit of texture. 

At the bottom of the cut out, I created a small cluster using die-cut stickers, a piece of a border sticker, and some Bella Blvd. epoxy stickers for shine and texture. These little details help bring the layout to life and tie all the elements together.

To finish it up, I added some journaling  at the bottom of the layout. I absolutely love how this layout turned out! The Bella Blvd. My Life 365 collection is perfect for creating layouts that document memories all year long! 

If you give this layout a try, I’d love to see how you interpret it! Share your creations and don’t forget to tag me or Bella Blvd. on social media.

Winter Fun with Bella Blvd My Life365 Collection | Erica Thompson

Hi, friends! Erica here, and I’m back with another layout featuring the My Life 365 collection from Bella Blvd. This winter-inspired layout captures a fun snow day with Liam, and I absolutely love how the pops of red, cozy elements, and distressed details bring this design to life.

 

 

I started with a piece of white cardstock, trimming it down slightly and matting it onto a 12x12 piece of Bella Besties pattern paper. To add texture and visual interest, I distressed the edges of the white cardstock and created two small tears—one at the top and one at the bottom. I folded the edges of these tears down to expose the color of the paper underneath.

 

 

Using January products from the Bella Blvd. My Life 365 collection, I added a horizontal strip of patterned paper across the center of the page. To give the design more depth and contrast, I layered a smaller strip of patterned paper beneath the main strip, letting the colors and patterns peek out at the top and bottom edges. At the top edge of the strip, I adhered a border sticker from the Doohickey sticker sheet for added detail.

 

 

The focal point of this layout is two photo strips featuring Liam enjoying his snow day. I matted the photos on coordinating patterned papers to create a cohesive look and bring in vibrant pops of color. To frame the photo area, I tucked in tags and tabs at the top of the photo strips. I tied a small piece of twine through one of the tags for some added texture. The bright red in Liam’s hat and gloves inspired me to add small pops of red throughout the layout using stickers and embellishments from the collection.

 

 

I added a fun snowman die cut and the “Winter” title from the My Life 365 ephemera pack. To create a fun cluster, I layered various stickers, die cuts, a small section of the border sticker, and some epoxy embellishments around the title. To complete the layout, I added journaling strips along the bottom of the layout. In the areas where I had created the distressed tears, I tucked in puffy sticker snowflakes, and enamel embellishments to add texture and interest.

 

 

I love how this layout turned out! The combination of distressed edges, wintery elements, and bold pops of red make this page perfect for documenting a snowy day. The Bella Blvd My Life 365 collection is such a versatile and fun collection, and I hope this layout inspires you to get creative with your winter memories.

Merry Mingle | 12x12 Christmas Scrapbook Layout | Inessa Persekian

Hey friends!

Inessa Persekian here and I'm so glad to share my latest project—a Christmas party layout featuring three photos! The assignment for this project was to use two or more photos on a layout, and I had so much fun putting this one together. I used the Merry Mingle collection, which I’m still loving! It’s filled with bright colors and fun elements that perfectly capture the festive spirit of the holidays.

Here's how I created this layout:

I started with a 12x12 sheet of the rainbow-striped Colorful Christmas paper from the collection. On top of that, I layered a trimmed 11.5x11.5” Making Spirits Bright paper. For the final layer, I used an 11x11” sheet of textured white cardstock and roughed up the edges for added dimension.

I placed my photos 1.5 inches from the top of the white cardstock and spaced them about ¼ inch apart. For the title, I combined the Christmas and Party pieces from Ciao Chip. I added the adorable Bella-Pops “You Are Invited” embellishment, featuring a cute house, snowman, and tree. To finish the design, I used pieces from the Ephemera Words pack and Icons pack, plus some epoxy enamel dots and a cheerful tab for extra flair. For a little bling, I added some gold shimmer spray around the layout. 

I love how this layout came together! It’s festive, colorful, and full of holiday cheer. I hope it inspires you for your next project. If you have any questions about the process or products, let me know!

Wishing you a fabulous holiday season and a very Merry Christmas!

Inessa Persekian

@paperandbling

Products Used: Merry Mingle 12x12 Collection pack, Ciao Chip, Ephemera Words, Ephemera Icons, Christmas Mix Enamels, Very Merry Epoxy, You're Invited bella-pops. 

Christmas Cookie Season! | Merry Mingle Collection | Tara Chaussee

Hi everyone! It's Tara with Secretbees Studio and I have a super fun and cute layout featuring the new Merry mingle collection and one of the fabulous, easy to use Christmas cut outs!If you are looking for a quick way to get a big, beautiful title on your layout, these cut outs are for you!

I used the 'Happiest Season Of All' cutout and to add a bit more dimension to it, I traced a slightly larger outline onto the red dotted 'Santa Season' paper and then cut that out removing all of the center sections. I think this helps the white letters pop against whatever background is used. Then I backed all of the letters, except for three, with the beautiful patterns of the Merry Mingle collection! In the remaining letters, I added photos of my grandbabies making- and eating- Christmas cookies! The letters in this cut out are large and open enough to allow for small photos which really add to the charm of this layout!

I used a 10 and 5/8 " square of the black dotted 'String The Lights' paper as my background mounted that on a slightly larger piece of white cardstock and a square of the green 'Let's Decorate' patterned paper. Because there was already so much color and pattern in this layout, I kept the embellishments fairly simple and added a cluster to the top left and the bottom right. Some of the ephemera pieces are behind the title and others are in front of or popped up with foam tape!

The finishing touches were some shiny epoxy hearts, holly leaf stickers and tiny dots! To highlight the red in the layout, I also added a few groups of cheery red stitches! I added in the smaller title and date on a thin strip of the blue 'Making Spirits Bright' patterned paper to the bottom of the page.

Thanks for stopping by the Bella Blvd blog today! I hope I have inspired you to do some Christmas crafting!

Merry Mingle Collection

Santa Season, String The Lights and Making Spirits Bright patterned papers

Ephemera Icons, Puffy and Epoxy Stickers, Doohickey Stickers

Other supplies: White cardstock, red embroidery thread

 

A Home for Christmas | Merry Mingle Collection | Scrapbook Layout | Yvette Weber

 

Yvette is here today to share a heartfelt layout using the beautiful Merry Mingle collection, which truly means so much to me as my favorite Christmas collection. The vibrant colors and embellishments are delightful; they capture the joy and excitement of welcoming our newest family member, Handsome. I want to share a little backstory that makes this even more special: we initially set out to shop for dining room furniture, but fate led us to this precious boy at the animal shelter, and we couldn't leave him behind. Bringing him home has filled our lives with so much love and happiness, and it genuinely warms my heart to document this beautiful journey.

 

 

I started my layout with a piece of white cardstock. I cut apart the beautiful "Merry and Bright" patterned paper from the Merry Mingle collection, distressed the edges for a fun touch, and arranged the cutouts in the center of the cardstock.

 

Next, I selected the reverse sides of the "Cookie Exchange" and "Santa Season" patterned papers, cut them to size, and added them to the top of the layout, creating a warm and festive look!

 

 

I placed two photos in the top left corner of the page, using foam tape to elevate them and create depth. Then, I layered beautiful Ephemera Icons, Ephemera Words, and Ciao Chipboard stickers around them, transforming the space into a captivating story.

 

 

In the bottom right corner, I layered two beautiful Icon houses with a phrase from the Ephemera Words and my third photo. Cutting this photo into a circle fit perfectly atop the die-cut house, showcasing the beauty of creativity and thoughtful design.

 

In the bottom right corner, I layered two beautiful Icon houses with a phrase from the Ephemera Words and my third photo. Cutting this photo into a circle fit perfectly atop the die-cut house, showcasing the beauty of creativity and thoughtful design.

 

 

I created an eye-catching title by combining the festive Christmas phrase with vibrant alphabet stickers from the Doohickey cardstock collection. This striking combination adds a personal touch to my project!

 

I added the beautiful polka dot border stickers to the top of the layout, followed by hand-stitched scallops that align with the sticker design.

 

 

I completed the layout by adding more hand-stitching, puffy sticker hearts, and white paint splatters.

 

Thank you so much for joining me on the blog today. I truly appreciate your time and hope you enjoyed my latest page. I hope it inspired you to scrapbook and create your own unique layouts.

Yvette xoxo

 

Merry Mingle Collection:
12 x 12 Collection Kit
Chipboard Stickers - Ciao
Ephemera-Words
Ephemera - Icons
Puffy Stickers - So Much Fun
Cardstock Stickers - Doohickey
Patterned Papers: Merry And Bright, Santa Season, Cookie Exchange

 

Merry Mingle | Santa Fun | By: Annette Allen

 

Welcome Bella friends. Annette Allen here with you today to share a little more Christmas cheer with the new Merry Mingle collection. I love creating Christmas cards and yes they all get mailed out to family and friends. Today I am showing you how just a few cuts and lots of Merry Mingle Ephemera can create the cutest cards. You can't go wrong with this adorable Santa. 

 

 

The first card,  I am showing you how you can use many of the fun papers to create a card. So let's get started. 

 

 

Create card from white cardstock A2 size.

 

When I cut shapes they are usually out of dies, but I know that there are many cut files that you can use to get the same designs. I have used a die for the background that I die cut 5 times on the Merry Mingle Making Spirits Bright, Ornament Exchange, Let's Decorate and It's a Party papers. The border is from the Bella Besties Gingham & Strips. 

 

I started with adhere the border first using foam tape to the card base. Make sure to center your frame and then fill in the rectangle designs that we cut for each window also using foam tape. 

 

 

Pick out these fun Merry Mingle Ephemera Icons and Words and create a fun scene that is for sure to bring a smile. I added foam tape to the back and added them to the center of my card. 

 

To finish I added one of the dots from the Very Merry Epoxy stickers to the top of the tree. This adds a little sparkle to the card. 

 

 

How about a little ink blending? It is an easy technique to do to add a little color to your background. 

 

 

Create card from white cardstock A2 size.

 

Cut an A2 panel on the Colorful Christmas paper and adhere it to your card base using liquid glue.

 

Cut a white panel measuring 4 x 5 1/4 and ink blend a green ink. Start in the center and make a circle movement but do not go to the edges of the panel. Use a light hand so the ink is darker in the center and lighter as you go out to the edges. 

 

I mixed Copic Opaque and water and splattered my panel to give the snow effect. Make sure to let dry completely. Adhere your panel to the card once dry using liquid glue. 

 

Pick out more of that cute Ephemera and create a fun scene. I used foam tape for a little dimension. 

 

 

I added another one of those fun Epoxy Very Merry stickers to the tree.

 

On this card I picked out two Christmas stamps and stamped them directly onto my card using black ink. If you do not have stamps you can pick out a fun sentiment from the Ephemera Words or create your own sentiment using the Luna Alphabet Puffy Stickers. 

 

Bella Blvd Merry Minge Collection:

 

Making Spirits Bright 

Ornament Exchange

Let's Decorate

It's a Party paper

Bella Besties Gingham & Strips

Very Merry Epoxy Stickers

Ephemera Icons

Ephemera Words

 

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a wonderful day.

The Cutest Cookie | Merry Mingle Collection | Brianna Lepper

Hey friends! Brianna Lepper here with another layout using the super adorable Merry Mingle collection. I took this photo of my daughter last year using a snowman cookie from Starbucks. It was a cute trending circulating on social media and I knew I had to participate. I’m so glad that I did! Here’s my page:

To start, I chose to add two strips of the Let’s Decorate 12x12 patterned paper to the top and bottom of some white cardstock. I then took the Cookie Exchange paper and trimmed two pieces into a 4x6 size.  I centered those and adhered them down onto my page. Next, I matted my photo using the Ornament Exchange paper. I popped it up on foam tape and placed it right in the center of my layout. 

I wanted some embellishments to frame my photo so I built two clusters on each side using some Ciao Chip Chipboard stickers as well as some Epoxy stickers.

Next, I created my title using the Luna Alpha stickers in McIntosh, Bell Pepper and Gulf. 

Here’s the 2nd part of my title:

Next, I added in a few Puffy Icons and then some of the red smaller dots from the Epoxy stickers. I also added in some phrase pieces from the Ephemera Words pack. 


Here’s one last look at this sweet page:

Thanks so much for stopping by today, I hope that I’ve inspired you in some way. I’ll see you in my next post friends!

Bella Blvd Supplies Used:

Merry Mingle Collection: 12x12 Patterned Paper, Ephemera Words, Ciao Chip Chipboard, Epoxy Stickers, Puffy Icons and Doohickey Cardstock Stickers. Bella Besties: Luna Alphabet Stickers in Gulf, McIntosh and Bell Pepper. 

 

Inessa Persekian | Merry Mingle & Letter Scramble

Hey friends!

This is Inessa Persekian (@paperandbling on my socials) and I’m so happy to be on the Bella Blvd blog today. I'm sharing a layout featuring a 4x6 photo using the Merry Mingle collection paired with the Ice Letter Scramble Alphabet. I had such a blast working with this collection—I absolutely adore it! It’s one of my favorite collections this year, thanks to the bright pops of color, playful icons, and overall perfection. Let’s dive in, and I’ll tell you all about this layout!

I love starting my projects with a white textured cardstock as my foundation. I added a variety of die cut stars using my nested metal star die set. I cut stars in various sizes and patterns and layered them around the top and bottom of my photo. To adhere them, I used a mix of foam adhesive for added depth and regular liquid adhesive, along with some stitching using gold thread.

I created two main clusters of stars.  To make the stars extra special, I added gold stitching to the outlines of some of them and stitched others directly onto the background. I even left some of the gold thread hanging loose for a touch of texture.

For the title, I combined pieces from the Letter Scramble and the Ephemera Words. I also added stickers from the 12x12 sticker sheet, using phrases like "together" and "jolly" to tie the theme together. To finish off the layout, I included a few enamel dots as berries for shine and dimension, along with some gold splatter for extra sparkle and bling.

I love how this layout turned out—the mix of colors, textures, and gold accents really makes it shine. I hope this inspires you to create your next layout! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

See you next time!

Inessa

 

Papers used for the stars: Let's Decorate, Cookie Exchange, Making Spirits Bright, Santa Season, Colorful Christmas, Borders, Ornament Exchange

 

Daily Details for the 4x6 photo mat. 

 

Products Used: Merry Mingle Collection Kit, Merry Mingle Ephemera Words, Ephemera Icons, Cookies & Cocoa Bella Pops, Christmas Mix Enamels, Very Merry Epoxy, Ice Letter Scramble, Gold Spray, Gold Thread, White Textured Cardstock

Merry Mingle | Christmas Shaker Card Fun | Annette Allen

 

YAY! for the Christmas season. Annette Allen here with you today and I have to say I can't get enough of this fun Merry Mingle collection. It is full of Christmas fun and the possibilities are endless. You know already that I am the card creator, so today I have for you two cards using the Merry Mingle collection. 

 

 

First up we have a shaker card. I know you all love a good shaker card.... right? Creating shakers is easy and I am going to walk you through it now. 

 

 

Create card from white cardstock A2 size.

 

Die cut a scalloped rectangle on the Cookie Exchange backer paper. Make sure your scalloped rectangle covers almost the entire card. I know most companies offer die cuts or you can machine cut this pattern on your machine. Adhere the rectangle to your card base using liquid glue.

 

Die cut or machine cut a decorative rectangle that measures 4 x 5. You want your rectangle to have at least an opening in the center. This will be for the shaker part. I used a die cut on the It's A Party backer paper. 

 

Now cut another rectangle measuring 4 x 5 on the Clear Cuts Cheerful acetate. Adhere this Clear Cut to the back of your decorative rectangle using tear tape. 

 

 

Flip the decorative rectangle over and add foam tape to the areas where you can't see the foam from the front. I only wanted the shaker to be in the center so I made sure to close that off with the foam tape, so the sequins stay's in this area. 

 

Cut a 4 x 5 piece of white cardstock. In the center of your white cardstock put a small pile of fun shaker bits. Make sure it is in a pile and not spread out. Because we are going to flip the top right over it once we pill the foam tape protector off the foam so it will adhere to the top of the white panel. Now we have a shaker. 

 

Adhere this shaker to the center of your card using liquid glue. 

 

Now let's decorate the front with some of the new Merry Mingle Ciao Chip. I choose the JOY sentiment and added some foam tape to the back. This will give the sentiment just a bit more dimension. 

 

Let's also add the BE MERRY Doohickey sticker to the center of the wreath using foam tape. It is already sticky but I wanted the dimension. 

 

 

Next up we have layers of the Merry Mingle papers mixed with the Clear Cuts. 

 

 

Create card from white cardstock A2 size.

 

Cut three strips on the Let's Get Ugly paper measuring 1 1/4 x 4 1/4, 2 1/4 x 4 1/4 and 1/2 x 4 1/4.

 

Cut two strips of the Clear Cuts Cheerful measuring 1 x 4 1/4. 

 

Cut two strips of the Let's Get Ugly backer paper measuring 1 x 4 1/4.

 

Now let's adhere this fun strips to the card base. I started from the top and worked my way down. You will need foam tape and liquid glue. 

 

Use foam tape on the top one. Leave some room to the tuck the Clear Cut under it. The third adhere to the card overlapping the clear cut. 

 

Repeat process for the rest of the pieces. The foam should only be on the Let's Get Ugly paper only. 

 

Cut a rectangle measuring 2 1/4 x 3 1/2 of the Making Spirits Bright backer paper and add some foam tape to the back and adhere it to the center of your card. 

 

Pick out this fun sweater image from the Merry Mingle Ciao Chip board and add it to the center of the small rectangle. 

 

Pick out the sentiment and the heart from the Ephemera Words and adhere to your card. 

 

And to finish let's add the Bella-Pop Cookies & Cocoa Tree cardstock sticker to the center of the sweater. 

 

 

I know I said it before.... but don't you just love Christmas? This new Merry Mingle collection just makes me love it even more. All the patterns are happy and colorful. 

 

Bella Blvd

Merry Mingle Collection

 

Cookie Exchange backer paper

It's A Party backer paper

Clear Cuts Cheerful

Merry Mingle Ciao Chip

Doohickey Stickers

Let's Get Ugly paper

Let's Get Ugly backer paper

Making Spirits Bright backer paper

Ephemera Words 

Bella-Pop Cookies & Cocoa

 

Thank you so much for stopping by today.

Have a festive crafty kind of day. 

Home For The Holidays! | Merry Mingle Collection | Tara Chaussee

 

Hi everyone! It's Tara with Secretbees Studio here with a sweet mini album made with the new Merry Mingle collection! This one is all about being home for Christmas and all of the fun we have there!

I was inspired by the red brick decorative house in the ephemera icons pack and created a larger cut file complete with windows for my mini album. I layered on the front house pieces using the adorable patterned papers of the collection, keeping true to the color scheme and even added in a couple of Christmas trees as well! I left the windows open to add some working tiny lights to the inside of the front cover for a charming cozy effect.

Included in the ephemera words pack of the Merry Mingle collection are all of these amazing large and colorful word dies and I wanted those to be the stars of the pages. Each page features one large word and then simple embellishments with plenty of room to tuck in one single photo or a few smaller ones!

Each of the large word dies were popped off the pages a bit and then I tucked in more of the cheery ephemera icons as well as the adorable puffy and epoxy stickers! On the Memories page, the star ornament is attached to the word with a small brad so it has some festive movement!

 

This little house album was so much fun to create and I can't wait to start filling it with my holiday photos! This Merry Mingle collection is so fabulous and I know you will find something in it to inspire your holiday crafting!

 

Merry Mingle Collection:

12 x 12 patterned paper

Ephemera Words and Icons

Puffy Stickers

Epoxy Stickers