Bella Blvd Studio Blog

My Candy Girl and Bella Besties Week, Day 6 | Nathalie DeSousa

Hello Bella Blvd friends!

Nathalie with you today to share one more project featuring this week's inspiration:  My Candy Girl and Bella Besties Ombre/Heart collections.   With it being so close to Valentine's day, what better way to celebrate the day than to document love.  These are some of my favorite photos of my kids loving their first cousin, nothing better than Family love to make it all better.

 

 

I started with the Sprinkle With Love paper for the background.   I then added a piece of Cookie Dough paper, plus added two decorative edges ( All Girl paper), these will anchor the layout.

 

 

Using a polaroid photo metal die, I cut 8 frames from Bella Besties Ombre/Heart collection -in Gulf, Guacamole, Peep, and Punch-, making sure that the frames show the vibrant color change in the papers

 

 

I backed the light colored frame die cuts with the photos, then used the light negative piece of the frames to back the leftover frames.  These were then glued across the top and bottom of the page. Having those empty photo frames just adds  interest to the page.

 

 

I used the empty frames to add embellishments (My Candy Girl collection) and also add my journaling.   It kept the embellishments simple so that they won't overwhelm the page.

 

 

For the title, I combined Ciao Chips and ephemera.  I repeated the look of some of the frames on the Ciao chips by adding a bit of ink to them.   

 

 

I hope this inspires you to combine My Candy Girl and Bella Besties collections in your next project.   You will love the endless possibilities you can create.

 

XO

 

 

SUPPLIES:

MY CANDY GIRL COLLECTION:  Patterned paper, Ephemera, Doohickey Stickers, Bella Pop, Chipboard Stickers

BELLA BESTIES Ombre/Hearts COLLECTION: Gulf, Guacamole, Peep and Punch

CIAO CHIPS

BELLA BOWS - LIttle Girl

Let Us Adore Him + Cut Files Week -Day 6 |Nathalie DeSousa

Hello Bella Blvd friends!

Nathalie with you to continue with this week's Let Us Adore Him and Cut files theme.  I have so many images of my littles (niece and nephew) enjoying the season, and since I need to build their Christmas albums, I decided to combine the new Bird Wreath and the collection in this layout

 

 

I started by cutting the cut file base from Pickle Juice Ombre/Heart paper. I cut all the smaller leaves, flowers and button flowers from patterned papers from the collection.  My choice of the Oyster Ombre/heart for the background just enhances all the colors of the leaves and flowers. I framed the layout using the Humble paper. The tones of the paper reflect those on the wreath.

 

 

I used foam dots to add dimension to the small pieces on the wreath.   I started assembling the page with the wreath, then moved onto the title. I mixed ephemera words with Doohickey stickers for the title of the page,

 

 

 

I replace the birds with a picture of the littles, and instead opted to add a few extra flowers and leaves around the photo.   I added ephemera pieces to the two corners of the picture to help add interest to the page.

 

 

I love how this turned out, and I hope you have found inspiration for your documenting!

 

XO

 

Bella BLVD supplies:

 

LET US ADORE HIM Collection: patterned paper, ephemera, chipboard stickers, doohickey stickers, enamel dots, puffy stickers

BELLA BESTIES Heart/Ombre collection:  Oyster, Pickle Juice, Punch

Cut File - BIRD WREATH  design #391902

 

THANKGIVING week | Nathalie

Hello there!

Nathalie with you today to kick off Thanksgiving week here, in the Bella Blvd Blog.   I have to say that my favorite project of the year is my Gratitude Journal, it totally has made me focus on all the small blessings. So, i pulled one of my entries from the journal to crate this page using a few goodies from Bella Blvd.

 

I started this page with the photo  and  a few Aria Puffy stickers.  I just put the picture on the layout (Bella Besties), and used a ruler to add my large title using a rainbow of colors.

 

I wanted the title to be one of  the highlights of the page, so I pulled Aria puffy stickers, and glued them on the page in rainbow-colors order.   I made sure that   there was plenty of space available for the photo.

 

 

I chose the YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE collection to complete the page.  I created two tags from the papers and layered them behind the photo.  

 

 

In order to frame the title, I used a few papers from the YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE collection to create the paper strips and  glued them at an angle at the corners of the page.   I made sure that the paper strips meet at specific spots on the layout, so that I can add interest to the page.

 

 

To finish the page, I changed the last word to an acrylic piece.  This brings texture to the page, and breaks the monotony of the puffy stickers.   I added a few butterflies to add movement to the page, and make the viewer eye move through the page.

 

 

I love how this turned out, and I hope this inspires you to create a project that documents your gratitude using Bella Blvd. products

 

XO

 

 

Bella BLVD Supplies

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE COLLECTION:  patterned papers, chipboard stickers, trinkets, ephemera, Doohickey stickers

HOME SWEET HOME collection:  Doohickey Stickers

BELLA BESTIES (dot/grid)  White

ARIA PUFFY STICKERS:  Bell Pepper, Orange, Punch, Plum, Ice, Gulf

TRINKETS - White

ACRYLIC WORDS - Love

 

 

Mood Board Week - Day 5 | Nathalie D.

Hello Bella Blvd friends!

Nathalie with you today to share a bit more of inspiration using our Mood Board.   As Fall has started, we are all wrapped up by the coziness of the season.   Thick and chunky knits, saturated colors, texture, and of course leaves.  These are  the themes that repeat in our Mood board, too.   Let me  show you 

 

 

I love Mood Boards ( sketches are not my thing!), and this one just sums up Fall.  So, I chose a bit from each square to create my layout

 

 

As soon as I saw the painted squares and the pastel paint pots, I knew that I had to start my layout with a bit of mixed media on the background.   I simply used acrylic paint mixed with gel medium to create the overlapping brushstrokes in the background.   I added lots of color splatters all around the strokes, and set is aside to dry.

 

 

In the mean time, I used two cut files and Bella Besties to cut a few leaves.  I picked the colors of the leaves based on the colors of the leaves in the mood board, and also a bit of red to match the apples in the picture.

 

 

I love the arrangement of the leaves in the mood board. I am borrowing that setting to place all the leaves in my background ( I trimmed the painted cardstock to 8 x11.5" ).   A bit of foam adhesive helped to create levels and dimension between the leaves.  I nestled the picture inside the curve of the leaf arrangement.   The mood board also shows a bit of knitting/knitted texture,  I choose to bring a bit of the stitched look to the leaves by drawing small vein lines with gel pens in each leaf.

 

 

I decided to place the bulk of my leaves at the top of the page.  Then chose the scalloped edges of the My Candy girl to soften the edges of the painted background before attaching it to a Blueberry Besties background.  The contrast of the colors just brought all the painted backgrounds together.

 

 

For the title, I am mixing an acrylic word with Aria Puffy stickers.   Once again, I am playing with textures, and also the slim lines of the words in the phrase square of the mood board.   I added a extra embellishments, then added a few drops of gold and white ink to finish my page!

 

 

I love how this turned out, it was so much fun to take a few ideas from the mood board and transform them into this page.   Remember to share your projects, inspired by the board, with us!

 

XO

 

BELLA BLVD Supplies

BELLA BESTIES Collection:  Ombre/Heart in Blueberry, Bell Pepper, Mckintosh,  Orange, Oyster

MY CANDY GIRL Collection: Patterned papers, Doohickey Stickers

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE Collection:  Puffy Stickers, Patterned paper, Doohickey stickers

HEART HUGS: Boy

ARIA PUFFY Stickers : Blueberry

ACRYLIC WORDS:  Adventure

 

 

Bella Besties + You Are My Sunshine Week | Nathalie DeSousa

Hello Bella Blvd friends!

Nathalie with you today to continue with our Bella Besties + You Are My Sunshine collections week.  We are in the last weeks of Summer here in Toronto, and the colors and designs in the collections are perfect to document all those glorious sunny day memories. Let me show you what I have created:

 

 

 

I pulled a few pictures of my family's last visit for this page.   Since there is quite a bit of blue tones in the picture, I decided to use Bella Besties Ombre/Heart in Blueberry as the base for the layout

 

 

What better way to contrast the dark blue of the background than to add color.  I cut a few 1.5" diagonal strips of paper from a few papers from You are My Sunshine and glued them to the base.   These lines reminded me of sunrays, so it was easy to follow the line to add my photos ( I backed these with papers from You Are My Sunshine that had the same tones as the background).

 

 

Once the photos were in place, I added the Chipboard stickers to create my title.  I stacked the letters so that they flow better with the diagonal lines.  I added my lines of journal right below the title.  Then it was all about embellishing the page.

 

 

I love butterflies, and the ones in You Are My Sunshine collection are perfect for the page, as they have all the colors of the papers.  I made sure to create clusters of them around the photo -along with some ephemera and Doohickey pieces-, and added one last cluster at the bottom left corner of the page. This just balances the page nicely, plus one of the best ways to showcase the gorgeous Bella Pops.

 

 

I just love how this turned out, and how easy this came together.   Remember to share with us your project ideas featuring these collections. I cannot wait to see what you create!

 

XO

 

Bella Blvd Supplies:

BELLA BESTIES Ombre/Hearts Collection - Blueberry

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE Collection -  Patterned Paper, Chipboard Stickers, Doohickey stickers, Ephemera, Trinkets

Butterflies Bella  Pop

 

Bella Besties & Rainbow Rays | Guest Designer Sarah Millerhouse

Hello everyone! Do we ever have a special treat for you this month! We have invited Sarah Millerhouse to be our Guest Designer for the month of August! That's right! Every Saturday this month she will be sharing one of her beautiful projects with you! We can't wait for you to see her amazing work as we're sure you'll love her as much as we do!  As a matter of fact, we loved her work so much that we just had to ask her to stay... and she accepted! So not only will her guest posts this month show you her outstanding style and love of color, but we know that she will most likely become one of your favorites in no time! Welcome to the team Sarah!!

Here is a short bio from Sarah:

As a chef's wife, a mom of two amazing kids, an elementary assistant principal for 1,100 sweet students, and a catering business owner and manager, my days are very full! However, I always find the time to capture our memories through scrapbooking because it's important to me. I have been passionate about creating scrapbooks for almost twenty years, and I love it more and more as time goes on and my style evolves with the art of the times. I lost my dad at an early age, and I believe that my need to document every detail of our lives comes from that loss. He loved to take pictures and document memories, and I am so thankful for all that he captured during his time here. My hope is that the future generations of my family will be able to treasure our memories and the legacy we are creating through my scrapbooks! 

Here is her first Guest Designer post...

My favorite color is rainbow! I absolutely love that Bella Blvd has so many beautiful papers and patterns that encompass every color in the rainbow! For this layout, I used the Bella Besties collection and mixed in some patterned papers scraps from My Candy Girl and To the Moon.

I started by making the graphic pie shapes in the background. To achieve this look, I started by marking where I wanted the center of the wedges to be on the background page (7 inches from the left side and 7 inches from the top edge…I wanted it to be just off-center). As an educator, it is always fun when I can throw a little math into my layout making. I knew I wanted 12 colors, so I knew I would have 3 colors on each of the 4 sides of the paper. I used a ruler to measure and mark the segments on each side (every 4 inches). I then marked where the center of the wedges would be on each of the patterned papers (again, 7 inches from left and top) and used a ruler to trace where each segment would be on the layout.

I like things to be exact and wanted the hearts to be going the correct direction in each segment (you don’t necessarily have to do this), so I cut each pie shape out of the patterned papers in the exact spot it would be on the layout. Once I had each of the segments cut, I heavily distressed the edges of each piece using an edge distresser tool. I glued them down and rolled up the edges to create more texture.

I then cut a 6 inch circle out of scrap cardstock. I cut random size wedges out of color coordinating patterned papers from the My Candy Girl collection and the To the Moon collection. I distressed the edges of these and layered them around the circle, trying to match each color section with the background. Before I glued this down, I added some white gesso to the background around where I knew the circle would be. I also added white splatters using acrylic paint. Adding the white hues gives the layout dimension and helps draw your eye to the center of the circle. I popped up the circle using foam adhesive to add even more dimension and texture to the layout.

I added lots of embellishments from these same collections! I used the puffy and epoxy stickers and incorporated the flowers, hearts, and stars. I put them down tone on tone, and I love how this looks! Bella Blvd knows how to do color, and all the embellishments in the different collections mix and match and go together! I also added dots of glitter in each color. I then added the sweet photo of my family on a walk at sunset, rounded the corners, and embellished around it using word phrases from My Candy Girl and a few more hearts.

I finished by adding my journaling on some layered and distressed patterned papers from the collections I used! I absolutely love the finished project and so appreciate how well all the colors work together! 

 

Stars & Stripes Week Day 6 - Tegan

Hi Bella friends! It has been an amazing week of stars & stripes hasn't it?! For my project,  I immediately reached for the Bella Besties patterned papers when I decided that I wanted to create a rainbow striped background to document a day at the pool. Come take a look! 

I first created my background by adhering 1 1/2" strips of the Bella Besties Plaids & Dotty Patterned Papers.  I used Gulf, McIntosh, Orange, the purple bonus paper from the collection kit, and Pickle Juice. I then cut out a star using the Freehand Graph & Dot Patterned Paper in Punch. I used elements from the Home Sweet Home and Splash Zone collections to embellish the star. 

I then cut out a star using the Blueberry Freehand Graph & Dot Patterned Paper. I embellished it with die cuts from the Splash Zone collection and cute little Puffy Stickers in McIntosh. I love all of the color that can created using Bella collections!

For the last star, I used the Freehand Graph & Dot Patterned Paper in Bell Pepper. I embellished it with a chipboard cloud and an adorable die cut camera piece. A green corrugated Heart Hug sticker adds some texture. And who else has some of these adorable Bella Blvd felt paper clips left in their stash? 

Did you notice the adorable cut out waves at the bottom of the page? I used the Bella Blvd Waves cut file and the Freehand Graph & Dot Patterned Papers in Gulf and Blueberry to create them. I think they are so cool and I love the 'motion' they create on the page. I had a blast mixing and matching the Bella Besties Patterned Papers with the Home Sweet Home and Splash Zone collections! 

Thanks for joining us this week! I hope we have inspired you to use stars and stripes on your next project! Have a great weekend everyone!

Bella Blvd Products Used: 

Freehand Graph & Dot Patterned Papers: Punch, Blueberry, Bell Pepper, Gulf

Plaids & Dotty Patterned Papers: Gulf, McIntosh, Orange, Purple from Collection Kit, Pickle Juice

Home Sweet Home Collection: Ephemera, Chipboard Stickers

Splash Zone Collection: Ephemera Die Cuts

Trinkets Puffy Stickers: McIntosh, Blueberry

Bella Blvd Cut File: Waves

Father's Day Week 2 |Nathalie

Hello there Bella Blvd friends!

Nathalie here to continue with our Father's Day week.  We are drawing inspiration from Bella Besties and To The Moon collections for our projects.  I have been blessed with a loving husband who is amazing at parenting our teenage kids, especially our -now- 20 year old son.   So, what better way to celebrate them than with a clean, colorful and dimensional page.

 

 

The new patterns in the To The Moon collection are gorgeous, and the  best way to use many of  them is with a grid design!   For this, I cut 2" strips of the My Whole Universe paper , then trimmed each strip to 2x2 squares, and thus created the solid squares in the grid.   I used these to draw my grid on a Bella Besties  Ombre/Hearts Ice paper, and use some white embroidery floss to hand stitch it.

 

 

To complete my grid design, I went back to the papers, and cut 2x2" squares from a few of the papers that match the color of the solid squares.   I used foam adhesive to attach the squares to the grid, making sure that the patterned squares formed a zig zag through the page.  

 

 

There is plenty of pattern and color in the background; so, I opted for a piece of Blueberry Chevies Clear Cut paper to back the picture.  A few pieces of ephemera and stickers adorn the corners of the picture.

 

 

For the title, I am using Aria Puffy Stickers in Orange, and placed them in the solid orange squares. A few enamel stickers and trinkets help to  make the title pop from the squares.

 

I added a few embellishment clusters through the page, always making sure that each piece coordinates with the color of the square they sit on.     To finish the page, I sprinkled a few more enamel dots around each of the clusters.

 

 

I love how this turned out.  The grid, the colors, dimension and patterns are perfect for this memory of my boys. Remember to come back tomorrow for more inspiration!

 

XO

 

 

Supplies:

TO THE MOON  Collection:  Patterned Paper, Ciao Chips, Doohickey sticker, Ephemera, Epoxy Stickers, Puffy Stickers

CLEAR CUTS :  Blueberry Chevies

BELLA BESTIES Collection:  Ombre/Hearts - Ice

BELLA BOWS: Baby Girl

HEART HUGS:  Boy

TRINKETS : Blueberry

ARIA PUFFY STICKERS: Orange

 

My Candy Girl & Bella Besties Week Day 3 | Nathalie DeSousa

Hello everyone!

Welcome to a new day of MY CANDY GIRL & BELLA BESTIES week.  Nathalie with you today to share some inspiration using this amazing combination of collections.   I just love the colors of the collection; so, my project is just an ode to the color palette, and that awesome cupcake cart ephemera!

 

 

I started the page with the Bella Besties Hearts & Ombre ICE paper for the base.  I had a series of photos of my little one ( Goddaughter) with a new cupcake cart toy ( this was a present from us after finishing her first school year).   My choice was to keep the pictures as a film strip and just play with color around it

 

 

I used a few of My Candy GIrl patterned paper to create a few layers of paper behind the picture ( I am using lots of red and pink to contrast with the blue background).  I fussy cut a few donut images from the NOT SHARING paper.  I mixed these with ephemera icons and stickers to create a cluster at the top left corner of the pictures ( the Bella bows are perfect to add texture and a finishing touch to tags).

 

 

I pulled the Girl Pennant set, to bring more of the felt texture to the page.  This time, I colored the small wood sticks with white acrylic paint, then glued them to the bottom right of the photo strip.  The small bow ephemera is just perfect to keep these together.

 

 

Once, I set the picture on the  background, I added the scalloped edge chipboard, as well as one of the border stickers from the Doohickey stickers to anchor my page.   I used the top line of  the piece to add my title -a combination of stickers and chipboard stickers).  I added a bit of foam adhesive behind the cupcake cart ephemera and capped my title with it!  A few more of the fussy cut donut images, complete this page!

 

 

I love how this turned out!  Lots of color to celebrate my little one.  Make sure you check the collections, you are going to love all you can create with them!

 

XO

 

BELLA BLVD SUPPLIES:

MY CANDY GIRL COLLECTION:  patterned paper, ephemera, doohickey stickers, chipboard stickers

BELLA BESTIES Hearts & Ombre:  ICE

BELLA BOWS:  Baby Girl

BELLA PENNANTS:  Girl

BELLA TRINKETS: White

 

 

 

Bella Besties + Chloe Week Day 4 | Nathalie DeSousa

Hi Bella Blvd Friends!

Nathalie here to share more inspiration with Bella Besties  and Chloe collections.  Let me start by saying that we are not cat lovers, however we are fond of our cat-nephew, Chico.  However, my niece loves her fur-brother/baby, and truly if there is a cat-heaven, they bond was forged there!  They are made for each other!  So, I pulled two of their pictures to create this new layout...

 

 

How cute are these pair?  Well, it was the photos that gave me the idea for the title, which is the focal point of the page.  I started using a metal die ( Altenew) to cut the word "Cattitude" from one of the 6x6 Chloe collection paper pad.

 

 

For the word, "Attitude", I decided to give it a bit more of dimension with just die cuts.  So, I used the metal dies to cut each of the letters from Bella Besties (dot/graph) in Gulf and Bubble Gum.   I glued them together with a bit of an offset so that they give the impression of a dimensional/shadowed letter.

 

 

I used the new Bella Besties ombre/hearts in Orange to cut the word, "Attitude"; then glued it to the top of previous die cuts.  Once again, they were glued together with a bit of an offset  so that the shadow/dimension shows behind the orange letters. 

 

 

I am using the B side of the Smitten paper as the background for the layout.  First, I used foam adhesive to attached "Cattitude" to the page.  The next word was glued to the background right below the previous word.  Then it came to working with the photos;  the smaller photo was framed with a piece of Chloe collection 6x6 paper pad.  The larger photo was backed with ephemera piece from the collection.

 

 

I used chipboard stickers, doohickey stickers, ephemera bits and pieces and epoxy stickers to create the clusters around the photo and title of the page.   The cat  shaped ephemera pieces are just too cute.   All that was left to do was add a few lines of journal, extra enamel shapes.  The final detail was to frame the page. This time, I used the photo corners from the Doohickey sticker page to set the corners of the page in place.

 

 

Remember to come back for a bit more of Bella Besties and Chloe inspiration.   I cannot wait to see what you create with these two collections!

 

XO

 

 

SUPPLIES:

BELLA BESTIES - DOT/GRAPH - Bubble Gum, Gulph

BELLA BESTIES - OMBRE/HEARTS - Orange

CHLOE COLLECTION - Patterned paper, 6x6 paper pad, Chipboard icons, Doohickey Cardstock stickers, Ephemera words, Ephemera Icons, Epoxy Stickers -Hearts Cat Mix-, Bella Pops - Cat in a Box