Pack Your Bags

It's the holiday weekend in the US and I'll be heading out of town to see my Sissy and the Mini-Bellas. The twins turn 10 this weekend and I'm so happy we'll be sharing it with them this year. I pulled out a stamp I've never used before, Pack Your Bags from Stamping Bella. Paulabella used this to make luggage tags that were adorable. But it's another one of those things that sound good and I buy the supplies but never get around to doing. I chose to make this into a card - cuz it seemed easier - for this weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge.

Let's see if you can find everything - kraft- check, I used it for the background paper, green- check, I incoroporated it in the coloring of the luggage and in the plaid design paper, navy, I pushed it a bit with this one but colored the middle case a dark navy blue with light blue shading for some pop. I really liked the warm earth tones of this creation and hope it flies for everyone. The sentiment once again came with the image so this was a twofer. Love them!

I colored on Bella's Bestest paper of course. Stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo balck ink and colored with copics. The surround shading was achieved with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I have one lone embellishment, the brads in the upper left corner which are actually furniture tacks with the pin portion sniped off. I adhered them using Scrap Dots which I purchased when I visited Stamping Bella. The stuff is great for glueing items that don't lay flat. It comes out soft so you can get your embellishment level but then don't touch it until it dries. When it does it's hard as a rock and clear and level. Yeah!

Next week challenge is masculine. We're thinking you might be able to get your card done for Dad of that special man in your life in honor of Father's day. Use any Bella stamp but don't forget to send a photo of your card to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night. We'd love to have your card in the Friday lineup!

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Cath

Ambitious Cowgirl

Today I share with you Ambitious Cowgirl, another Stamping Bella image. Her torment over what she wants to be when she grows up caught my eye. I never wanted to be a cowgirl but I ALWAYS wanted to be a ballerina. And - I LOVE stars and knew that I could incorporate them into this card.

I began with Bella's Bestest paper, Memento tuxedo black ink and copics. Then with the help of Nestie circle and star dies, I created the layout. Cardstock base is kraft and colored cardstock is Bazzil. Design paper is from a Bo Bunny 6x6 paper pack. Machine stitching and a Stampin' Up! brad finish this off.

Oh - one last thing, the sentiment came with the image. If you've been shopping in Bellaland lately, you'd notice that almost all the Bella images are now coming with a sentiment. Is that Sweet or what?

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Boys rule!

Hello chicks! I'd like you to meet Arthur. Arthur is half of the Christy Croll dynamic duo Annie and Arthur. I don't make very many boy cards - there's way more girls in the family and well, I love glitter, ribbon and glam. I LOVE this guy though. And Paulabella's sketch for this week's Stamping Bella Bellariffic Friday challenge was perfect.

Arthur was stamped onto Bella's Bestest paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink. I know I sound like a broken record with that but hey when it works it works. You probably guessed that I colored with copics too, right. And wait here's another surprise, I added shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. You guys sure are smart. The design paper, from the My Mind's Eye Lime Twist line, defined my color scheme. A brad from Stampin Up! fit perfectly into a single hole red button and I used it to anchor the Stamping Bella sentiment. Yup, this is a late card, if you know Cath, it's become my mantra. I can't seem to catch up and get ahead. Ah well, better late than never right?

Want to play with us next week? Well get your Green, Navy and Kraft supplies out - we're having a color challenge. Any Bella stamp will do but make sure to send a picture of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night to be included in the Friday lineup. And ya never know, you might be the lucky winner of the random Bella Bucks for participating.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cath

Henrietta Lulu

So I dove into my supply of rubber that hasn't seen ink and found this adorably shy Lulu. Her name is Henrietta and she's from Stamping Bella. What makes these so great (to me that is) is all the black accents; her hair, her shoes and the stripes in her dress. That gives me ample opportunity to bring some extreme highlighting with the Black Glaze pen. The black pops and is defined so much more when you use this tool. And I'm thrilled that I don't have to look very far because they are available through Stamping Bella too!

So I stamped Lulu onto Bella's Bestest paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored her with copics. I highlighted the cherries on the bottom of her skirt with Viva Decor Paper pen in red. I did add some ground under her feet...it's not like she is standing in the air...with prismacolor pencils - French Grey 50% and French Grey 90% (Paulabella's formula for success). The design paper is Basic Grey and I matted each layer with Bazzil cardstock. Card base is Neenah Classic Crest solar white and it's 6x5.

A Nestie label helped with the sentiment panel. This particular sentiment comes with the stamp so you get a two for one and you didn't have to think about what to say - sweet! Some machine stitching, a sheer black ribbon and a corner punch help me finish this off.

If you haven't seen us on Facebook lately, or been to the Forum, you'll want to check it out. Jessabella has been busy planning some fun things for you.

We thought we'd have some fun not only every Friday for our beloved Bella-riffic challenges, but also to throw out a little extra fun for those valued members of our Forumabella, so beginning today, and every month on the 15th thereafter, there is MORE fun to be had in Bella-land!

Our kick-off challenge is a Bella "BABE" challenge: to use Bellas And Bring on the Embellishments!

Any embellishments will do, as long as you use more than one! We want to see you guys have FUN with this- pull out your favorites from your stash...or perhaps something fabulous you just got? There are no rules other than that, and you MUST use Stamping Bella Stamps! The PRIZE is a $20 gift voucher that will be awarded to ONE lucky participant and will be randomly drawn at the end of the challenge!

You have until June 14th at NOON CST to link up your creations on the new thread in our Forumabella...so good luck and can't WAIT to see your "BABE" projects!

See ya back here for tomorrow's Bellariffic Friday!

Cath

Sweet Sunday Sketch

I love to spend Sundays in my craft room. But heck, I hate when I am sketch challenged. I've found that I can usually count on a sistah to help out though...Danabella participates in the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge, it's perfect for this Sunday crafter. This week I couldn't believe my lucky stars - the sketch is awesome so I quickly got to work on a card.



I pulled Sorry Shanna by Mo Manning - another rubber image released through Stamping Bella. OMG I fell in love with this one. Had fun with her hair, her dress and those boots. Yup, pretty much found this one came very easily. The paper is Basic Grey Hello Luscious. It's a 6x6 paper pack and I can't grab it without thinkin of my Sissy. This is a little off the beaten path I know, but she acquired the knick name Lucsious Linda from one of our family members - probably only because it rhymed but I have a thought of her everytime I hear/see Luscious. Hey Sissy! Back to the card - Kraft cardstock is Papertrey Ink, colored cardstock is Bazzil. And since I used Kraft, I'm going to enter this in Jeaniebella's TKT Challenge. Check it out here.

I colored on Bella's Bestest paper and stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink. Coloring was done with copics and shading was done with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Shading around the image was done using Colorbox Robin's Egg blue ink applied with a sponge while the image remained in the Petite Oval Large die. The sentiment comes with the image - another plus. The border was cut using a Stampin Up! punch. Other tools were a corner punch, sewing machine, and K&Company adhesive rhinestones. My finished card is 7 1/2 x 4.

Have a great day!

Cath

A Krafty Bellariffic Friday

Ack...so did anyone else feel trapped on Thursday/Friday? What I mean is that Blogger was down. You could see blogs but couldn't leave comments. I saw some great stuff but couldn't leave comments. How the heck am I supposed to remember all the blogs I went to to go back and try now? Oh and I couldn't post the Bellariffic Friday challenge. Tried all night Thursday. Tried early Friday morning. Nothing - nadda, no ETA. Then of course I had to go to work so here I am bright and early Saturday morning posting late. Sowwwry.


This week we were challenged to use Kraft cardstock. Not usually a hard task for me. I love it and even enjoy participating in fellow Bella Babe, Jeanie's, "That's Krafty Thursday" challenge. But I have to admitt this card didn't have the usual momentum for me. I always pick my image, then my paper, then my layout and then start to color. As I color, I tweak the layout - adding embellishments deciding stitching etc. You see the card come to life. This one gave me a hard time. Perhaps it was that it followed two awesome new images from Monday's release. Not that I don't like this image just that it didn't WOW me like those did. Can't wait for my new rubbah to hit my doorstep. For now, I have Beach Hut and Ball from Stamping Bella.

So here are the details: Bella's Bestest paper, Basic Grey design paper, Papertrey Ink Kraft cardsdtock, Stamping Up! Dusty Durango cardstock, Memento Tuxedo black ink, copics, prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol, colorbox Robin Egg ink surrounding the image, Petite Ovals large Nestie, Glitter, and machine stitching.

Hey, did ya check out that sun? Wanna know how I made it? Easy, I cut a one inch circle using a hand punch. Then rubbed some Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress ink around the edges to shade it. The back circle was cut using a Classic Inverted Circle Nestie.

Next week's challenge is a sketch.

Hope you can play along. And for all you Babe fans, join us on the Bella Forum for one more challenge and another chance to win some Bella Bucks. Jessabella has some FUN things in store for you.

Enjoy your week!

Cath

Lulu's Garden of Daisies

I'm so excited...today is release day at Stamping Bella. I haven't seen all the images but after seeing the two I was able to play with over the weekend to preview, I have to tell ya I'll be placing an order as soon as I get home from work. Now don't beat me to all that new rubbah - k?



Today I have a new Lulu image. This time she is carrying a boatload of daisies and boy were there alot of them to color. But they're small so it wasn't a crazy task just don't ask me to count how many there are. I colored Lulu up with copics on Bella's Bestest paper. I found inspiration from a design paper pack by My Mind's Eye, Happy Go Lucky, a new set in the Lime Twist release. I matched it with Bazzil cardstock, some lace I bought while in Michigan this weekend at Mary Maxim, some rhinestones and a dew drop colored with copics to match. The trim on Lulu's dress was made by applying Viva Decor paper pen in cream.

The sentiment comes with the image. I cut it out with a Nestie Petite Ovals large die. I then kept it in the die and added shading with VersaMagic Wheat chalk ink applied with a sponge. A corner punch helped me trim the image panel. You can't really see, but I added black glaze pen to Lulu's hair along with Ultrafine Black glitter. Love to do that. It makes her hair pop.

I did add extra shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. You can really see it in the bow on her dress. It's a new color to me, Raspberry, and I had to incorporate it in. Oh and also the grass at her feet.

I'm off to look at all the other new stamps and to see what the rest of the Babes have to share. You can check out the whole release on Emily's blog here.

You've still got time to get Krafty for this Friday's Bellariffic Friday challenge. It's pretty easy too - it's to use any Bella stamp and Kraft paper. You've got some right? Well get it out and come play.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

A Bella Teaser

If you read the Bella blog on Friday, you've seen that Emily is planning another release. She promises that this is her favorite yet. Well, I don't know what all the images are but I was lucky enough to get a few to play with. I thought I would give you a little teaser with another Mo Manning image released in rubber through Stamping Bella.


This is Sadie with Potted Roses. Oh my lord I had fun coloring this and paper piecing too. Yup, I gave her a designer apron straight from the Madeline Collection, a 6x6 paper stack from Prima Marketing. I loved the teal, green and brown combo. In fact all the design papers came from this collection. Cardstock is Kiwi Kiss by Stamping Up!, and a dark brown and teal by Bazzil.

Of course I started with Bella's Bestest paper and colored mostly with copics. But it wouldn't be complete without shading from prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

The image panel was matted in brown cardstock cut with a Nestie Deckled Mega Rectangle large die. I hand made the sentiment banner and attached it with glue. Machine stitching is back since I'm home and able to use all my tools. Gosh I love my craft room. A simple double sided satin ribbon bow is the only adornment.

Be sure to check out the rest of the babes to see what they might have to show you and stop back tomorrow for another preview. Don't forget to run over to the Bella blog tomorrow to see what else Emily has in store.

Have a great evening.

Cath

May flowers....

So this week's Bellariffic Friday challenge was flowers, as in April showers bring lots of them. Well, has anyone noticed that April is over and we are still getting a ton of showers? My lord our ground is wet. I guess it'll mean less watering but hello, the dogs paws continually have to be wiped before they can come in the house. It's driving me nuts!

I'm trying to think beyond May flowers and chose to color Lacie with Ice Cream, a Mo Manning image released in rubber through Stamping Bella.


I just love the jovial features of this image - the flip flops balancing on the toes, the big sunglasses with the flower adornments and that lovely smile. See May turns to June and then it's summer. Sun and fun and ice cream - I love ice cream. So I figured I could add flower design paper, both of these are from the Cosmo Cricket DeLovely 6x6 mini deck, some prima flowers and of course we already noticed the cute little flower on her sunglasses. Did I make it? Is that enough flowers for ya?

If you've followed me long enough, you know my paper of choice is Bella's Bestest. I love the way both pencils and copics glide easily over it and how beautifully they blend. Since I like to stamp and immediately start to color, I always choose Memento Tuxedo black ink. Stamping Bella sells the reinkers and that makes me feel good about reducing the amount of trash I leave behind. Today, I used mostly copics to color Lacie. I did add prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol for the grass and sky shading. A clear Sakura Glaze pen colored over the sunglasses gives it a more realistic glass appearance.

Believe it or not, I'm on the go again this weekend so I had limited supplies and no sewing machine. Ack, can't believe how much I rely on that tool now. I tried adding some ribbon but girls, I have to tell ya that I really liked the simple look so much better. So that's it. What do you think?

My niece, Mini-Bella Madison has a card to share with us this week as well. We put this together when she came to visit me a few weeks ago. Funny thing, she had it all colored and asked me to help her come up with a layout. I looked at the image and said, well it's nicely colored Madison but it's not a Bella image. Her heart sank and she started to freak. She told me Paula had sent it to her so it MUST be a Bella. My sister quickly looked on the Bella website and found the stamp, Bella's Garden. Phew....see folks, don't forget to take some time to peruse the Bella site, I'm sure that like me, you'll find lots of goodies that you've missed.


Next week's challenge should be an easy one...Kraft paper. Incorporate it into a card or project using a Stamping Bella image and send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night to be included in the sistah lineup on the Bella blog. And don't forget to check in to see all the inspiration. Leave a comment too and you could be in the running for some Bella Bucks. And did ya notice that Madison and McKenzie's friend Ashley won some Bella bucks last week for participating? Congratulations Ashley and thanks for playing along with us each week.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Fitting in a Mary Maxim class

I'm heading to Michigan to bring our last kidlet home from college today- forevah too. She'll be finishing up an internship and then graduating. Woo Hoo we're getting closer to having them all off the family payroll. Since I'll be heading right through Port Huron, I've begged Brenda to let me see my buds and teach a class. Yeah, we'll be doing things a little differently since we'll just be coloring and no cardmaking but I get to see everyone again and that makes me happy. Our first image is Florence the Flowerpot girl from Stamping Bella. I colored that up a few weeks ago. Our second image is from Stampavie, Marguerite taking Ruben for a walk. I saw these new Sarah K images on the Stampavie blog at CHA time. Loved them. I owned a greyhound for years so this image reminded me of my daughter and Lexi.



Design paper is Hazel from the Stella and Rose collection from My Minds Eye. Cardstock is Bazzil and my image was colored on Bella's Bestest and stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink. I've colored with copics and have added shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. A few prisma flowers adorned with buttons, a rhinestone swirl and glitter are my adornments.

Maybe I'll see you at class tonight!

Cath

The Wedding Season begins...

As we move into May, I've found the wedding season approaching. Trying to plan ahead, I purchased Wedding Gown Circle in my last Stamping Bella order. And like many of the Bella images, it now comes with an appropriate sentiment. Paulineabella made a beautiful card in March that gave me the inspiration for this one.


I started by stamping the image with Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest paper. The image is small but fits perfectly into a two inch circle punch. I didn't want the little border that that leaves though, so I cut this out by hand. I then added a couple Floral Doily Motif Nestie dies along with the classic circle large. Coloring was done with Copic markers in cool grey tones along with BG10, appropriately named Cool Shadow, for the surround shading. Of course, I had to get in some girly bling too and added Bella glitter with a Quickie Glue pen and some Kaiser half moon pearls.

I loved that this didn't take that long to color but I can't say the same for the time it took to decide on a layout. After adding the circle dies, the image panel became pretty large. To compensate I had to make the card 5x7 inches. But no matter what I added, I ended up taking it all off and opted instead for simplicity on the card front. The double satin ribbon and embossed paper seemed the only adornments necessary.

I'm off to work on this week's challenge card - flowers but first I have to decide which Bella image I'll be working with. Hope you find time to play along with us as well.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cath