March SFYTT - in the knick of time

Happy Saturday folks. I'm trying to sneak in Jen del Muro's March Sketch For You To Try before tonights deadline comes and goes. I have a list of Birthday cards that need to go out so I decided to send Izzie with balloons.Isn't she adorable? Can you tell I'm on an Izzie kick these days? Well Christy Croll's creation designed for Stamping Bella is so darn loveable.

First I started with Memento Tuxedo black ink and Bella's Bestest paper. I then colored her face and flesh parts with copics. The rest is all paper pieced and then shaded with Prismacolor pencils. Design papers saved the day today. I just wasn't feeling the coloring buzz. So My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Madison Avenue and Breeze 6x6 packs were used. I cut the image panel with Nestie dies and shaded around the image while it was still in the die with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Victorian Rose and Tumbled Glass. The sentiment panel was stamped with my favorite Bella birthday font. I then cut it with Nestie Circle and Blossom dies and shaded with the distress ink again.

I think I stuck to the sketch with a slight modification on the placement. Machine stitching, some pink rhinestones and a little glitter on the sucker are the only embellishments.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend. I'm off to run some errands! (aka heading to shop for more goodies)

Cath

Izzie and her Easter Egg

Happy Bellariffic Friday Folks. I love Fridays...the start to a few days off and then there's sharing creations with you. This week we were challenged to create a Spring or Easter card. I used this as an opportunity to make an Easter card. I knew that one of my favorite Christy Croll images released through Stamping Bella would be the perfect. Meet Izzie. Today she's pretending to be a bunny and is holding a ginormous Easter Egg. I swoon everytime I color her ringlets. I have pin straight hair and would die for curls. I know, those of you who have curls would die for straight hair, right?

I used this opportunity to pull some spring green and pink design paper together. The background plaid is Authentique Splendid, the green gingham is from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found two Breeze and the pink is from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Market Street. All are 6x6 paper packs. Yup, I collect them and hoard them. I added some Tim Holtz Distress Inks to the pink strip and around the image while leaving the panel in the Nestie die.

I stamped the image onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with copics. I did add shading throughout with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I struggled with Izzie's coat. And actually I almost trashed this. I started with a soft yellow but it was too soft. I added some golden colors but it looked blah. Next was a little purple...nope that didn't work either. Lastly I used RV19 and it looked like a nice deep burgandy over all her other colors. To my surprise that's how I achieved this. It's a little bit dark but I liked the pop of color.

The little rosettes were made using scraps of the back side of the gingham paper - it's a green polka dot. I accented with some Close to my Heart leaves, stamped a Bella sentiment (from Eva Bloom stamp) onto the center strip and stitched it all on my machine. Oh and I added some glitter too. Done!

Next week we have another one of Ebrubella's fantastic sketches. Link your card to SCS using keyword BELLARIFFIC1312. And send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night to be included in the Friday lineup. There's Bella Bucks up for grabs at both locations. Hope you can play along. Now head on over to the Bella Blog to see some more inspiration and leave Emily some love. You might win the weekly $10 giveaway.

Enjoy your weekend! Thanks for stopping by.
Cath

Friends United

Hello Folks! Hope you're enjoying your week so far. It's gotten a little cooler here again - more like spring should be. I wanted to share a card I made over the weekend. I was looking through my stash of rubber and realized that I had never colored up this image called Friends United from Stamping Bella. I fell in love with all the quirky and funky outfits and only hope I did some justice in my fashion sense.

I started with my favorite Bella's Bestest paper, Memento Tuxedo black ink and copics. I then added lots of shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. You'll also find some Black Glaze pen working one of those sets of boots. I've added sparkle with rhinestone swirls in the lower right and upper left corners. I thought the heart border punch from EK Success added another element to highlight a best friend. A double sided satin ribbon bow topped with a button tied with hemp cording found its way onto the card too! I would much rather top a button off than leave it plain. And of course I love machine stitching too!

I'm still working on my Easter/Spring themed card for this weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge. Hope you've found some time to play along with us too! And did you see that the latest Bella Release with freebies sale is available through Wednesday. Don't know about you but I can't wait for some new rubber to make it's way to Cath's house.

Thanks for stopping by. See ya back here soon, ok?

Cath

Hippity Hoppity

Happy Bellariffic Friday folks! This week we were gifted with another wonderful sketch from Ebrubella. I took it as an opportunity to get an Easter card done. I've colored up Eggy with a Butterfly from Stamping Bella. I was searching through the stacks of paper I hoard and decided to pull My Mind's Eye Six by Six A Happy Heart. I wanted to keep a monotone feel using shades of pink but I also accented with black. I love the pop.

I started by stamping onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then colored with copics. Shading around the image was added with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. As accents, I've added machine stitching, Black glaze pen, Kaiser pearls and glitter along with Tim Holtz Distress ink while leaving the image panel in the Nestie die. A Martha Stewart border punch was used for the black border strip and I topped it off with a sheer black ribbon bow.

I couldn't fit the sentiment strip where Ebru placed it in the sketch so I stamped it directly onto the bazzil cardstock using Versamark and heat embossed with black embossing powder. I can't wait to see what you have made with the sketch. If you haven't already linked your card to SCS you still have time using keyword BELLARIFFIC1112.

Now for our challenge next week, make a Spring or Easter card/project using a Stamping Bella stamp. Hope you can join us. Don't forget to send a photo of your card to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night. Use keyword BELLARIFFIC1212 to link to SCS. There's $20 in Bella Bucks up for grabs at both locations and you're free to participate in both. If you haven't seen, there's some new rubber in the Bella family and some free Bucks might come in handy to help bring them home. I'm heading to the Bella blog to see what the rest of the sistahs have made. Want to join me?

Enjoy your weekend.
Cath

Sneaky Sneaky

I have the pleasure of sharing one of Stamping Bella's newest release images with you today. This is Fixer Boy, a Mo Manning image that will be released in rubber from my favorite stamp company. I was thirlled when I saw this cutie. He is full of detail and comes alive when colored.

I stamped him onto Bella's Bestest paper and colored him with copics....lots of them! And then I added prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol for shading. I mean really, what little boy (or big one for that matter) playing fix up comes away with a clean white shirt? I added French Grey 50% pencil to dirty him up. Of course his overalls are denim and he's wearing a red cap so he must have a pair of red high top Keds on too. My daughter had a pair of those when she was growing up. She never wore a tool belt but I did buy her a flexible tool box to store tools in for Christmas some years ago. I thought it might come in handy as she ventured off to college.

The design paper is from the My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline Howdy Doody 6x6 pack. I decided to keep this a little simple so I just added a blue cardstock strip adorned with a phillips head brad. The sentiment is from Billboardabella Words pack. I stamped and then matted with circle Nestie dies. This is going to my neighbor's son who is turning 3 this year. His Dad is a contractor and Sawyer loves to hang out and be just like him. He will love this!

I'm sure the rest of the babes have sneak peaks as well so make sure to head their way. And don't forget Emily, she's sure to have some things to share with you too! Woo Hoo this should be a fantastic week....shopping here I come!

Thanks for peaking!

Cath

Birthday's mean dessert!

Happy Sunday folks and Happy Birthday Sissy! Sorry this is a little slow in getting posted. I've been enjoying the wonderful summer-like weather we are having in Upstate NY. Actually got out my bike and rode 13 miles today. Woo Hoo it felt so great! I knew that my Sissy was getting dessert made from her girlies today so I used that as the inspiration for her card.

I've always been more apt to cook than bake. Not my Sissy, she can do both and she's a great baker. So here's Lulu's Two Pies from Stamping Bella. I've had her for months now and just got around to inking her. The colors are inspired from Tanya. The pretty blue and yellow reminded me of a French Bistro. I pulled the My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose Hattie 6x6 paper to work with. I stamped her first onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored her with copics. I also used some prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol for shading, the steam and the ground and surround coloring.

Nestie circle dies, a Martha Stewart border punch, black glaze pen for her hair and a prima paper flower adorned with a rhinestone finish this off. The sentiment is included with the stamp so you get a two for one! Love those. Oh wait - there's some glitter there too. I mean Lulu is high class here and she doesn't need to worry about splattering on her apron. Hehe. Lin's getting a chocolate molten cake so she might want to leave the glitter in the closet this time.

Now make sure you watch Emily's blog because she's been posting some sneak peaks for the upcoming release. I'll be sharing one of the new images tomorrow so come on back ok?

Enjoy your week and thanks for stopping by!

Cath

Theme Green

Happy Bellariffic Friday folks! We're here this week with a color theme in honor of St. Patrick's Day...so it can only be green! I have a stamp that always makes me think of a young Irish girl, it's Izzie has a Brelly a Christy Croll image designed for Stamping Bella. I lovvvve Izzie! With her little plaid coat and patent leather black shoes and curly red hair (hey, she's Irish so I had to make it red)!

I stamped Izzie onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then set out to color her with copics. You might have guessed that I added shading using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol for the ground, surround and on her outfit and umbrella for depth. I decided to extend the umbrella outside the Spellbinder square die again since the technique is a piece of cake. I also thought it would look neat to place Izzie off center and add a sentiment. With the Stamp-a-ma-jig it was easy to align it.

Design paper is from My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two "Rosy" collection. I accented with brown since I love how it looks with green. Finished card is 6 3/8 x 5. Accessories include Spellbinder Lacey Squares and MFT Scallop dies, Black Glaze pen on her shoes and pocket buttons, machine stitching, and a satin bow.

If you haven't linked your card up to SCS yet, you still have time. Use Keyword BELLARIFFIC1012. Next week we have another great sketch from Ebrubella. That girl sure can make cardmaking easier. I'm loving having 1/3 of the decisions done. All you have to decide is what Bella image to color and your papers. The fun parts... We'd love to see a photo of your creation so send a copy of your card to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night. She'll include it in the Friday lineup. If you have a SCS gallery, use keyword BELLARIFFIC1112. If you haven't figured it out yet...sketches always get linked using the odd numbers and since we're in 2012, they always end in 12. Easy huh!

Oh and you might want to head to the Bella blog not only to see what the rest of the sistahs have to share but to see some sneaky peaks of the next Bella release. You'll love 'em. Just sayin'.

Enjoy your St. Patrick's Day tomorrow. And don't forget your green!

Cath

Easter is on its way...

Happy Thursday folks! Spring is really on its way here. We've had gorgeous weather, even killed a mosquito in the house last night! For March in the North, that's unheard of. But I'm taking it as all the sunshine and warmth makes me feel good. It also has me thinking about Easter and pretty pastel colors. So I decided to color Lottie the Bunny, a Green Bean Baby creation from Stamping Bella. Now that I think about it, Sunday's card was a Green Bean Baby too! We're on a roll.

I stamped Lottie onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored her with copics. I accented the black dots and lines with a Black Glaze pen. It really makes them pop with color. If you look close there is also a smidgeon of glitter on the top pink dots. A little Quickie glue made that easy work. You might also notice that Lottie has some pretty spiked bangs. I added a little Farah Fawcett flair but using stokes of copic to create a little swirl too. I thought it might soften it just a bit. Don't know if it worked or not. Anyhoo, I then cut Lottie out and trimmed her to be placed on top of the image panel which was cut using Spellbinders Wonky Rectangle die. All it took was two dies...place one inside the other. You'll end up with a frame and a solid rectangle. I used the solid for the main image panel and the frame is behind it. Just loop some ribbon around the edges and it looks like it's floating.

Design paper is October Afternoon Sidewalk which I bought from the Bella store but doesn't seem to be available anymore. I like to stop in to check the new arrivals all the time. Emily is always getting in new goodies and posts them under "What's New". The paper flower was made using a scrap of the desgin paper. I just hand cut a circle and then made a swirl out of it and rolled it. Don't worry about imperfect cutting, that's what gives you the curly petal look. I inserted a pearl for the center.

I'll be back tomorrow with our Bellariffic Friday card which is a color challenge...use Green in honor of St. Patrick's Day. You still have time to play along with us. Just use any Stamping Bella image and send a photo of your card to Emily by tonight. You can also link your creation to SCS using keyword BELLARIFFIC1012.

Have a great day.
Cath

A Country Howdy

It's hard to resist a country feel when you grab the new Miss Caroline Dilly Dally design paper from MME. And with that feel I was compelled to color Green Bean Baby - Jamie by Stamping Bella. Now it's hard to not pick an image that another Babe hasn't done. Most times we're on the same page and create using the same image on the same day. Jamie is a little like that. Fellow Bella Babe Linda colored this a few weeks back and I was like seriously because she was already on my desk with the paper and sketch. But I was so excited to try some new techniques that I kept going.

I loved Karen Giron's SSSC 153 so much that I decided to use it again. With paper, sketch and image chosen I had some coloring to do. So I stamped Jamie onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo balck ink. Coloring was done with Copics. The grass was added using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. i tried something totally new for me. I wanted Jamie to be larger than the circle image panel. Having never attempted to use my Nesties on an image that extended outside the die I gave it a try. It was very easy. I actually used Linda's tuitorial here. Now I don't have to cut my whole image out and place it on top again. Woo Hoo.

The next new technique I tried was to make handmade felt flowers without a special die. I headed to You Tube and watched a couple videos, gave it a try and decided it was very easy. Just cut a small felt circle and then cut into it creating a big spiral. Roll it up and tack glue as you go. I was thrilled with the result.

We've had some glorious weather here and they are predicting 65 degrees all week. So excited for Spring.

Enjoy your week!

Cath

Retirement, the Big Race or a Job Well Done...

When I saw the Mo Manning image, Big Guy Jogging, released through Stamping Bella in rubber, I knew that it would be the perfect accomplishment stamp. And so with Ebru's awesome sketch for this weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge and a request for a Retirement card I set out to create.

My vision was for this Big Guy to appear to be crossing the finish line. The card is going to a police officer that has finally reached retirement so I thought the scene and the sentiment, "made it" were appropriate. The banner was created with the MFT pennant die. I strung four in front of the image panel. I knew it meant I had to alter the sketch just a little but I love the result. Of course the image was stamped onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento tuxedo black ink and then colored with copics. Ground and surround shading was added with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

Nestabilities circle dies, hand cut tails and a computer generated sentiment make up the sentiment tag. I wanted it to look like a first place ribbon. Design paper is October Afternoon Campfire. Red hemp cording and machine stitching finish this off.

If you haven't shared your card with us on Splitcoast Stampers, head on over and use keyword BELLARIFFIC0912. We hope you'll also find time to play with us this week. Our challenge is to use green on your card in honor of St Patrick's Day. Send a photo of your card to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night. She'll share it with us in the Friday Blog lineup. The SCS keyword for next week is BELLARIFFIC1012.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

A Mo Princess

What girl wouldn't want to dress up in a pretty, glittery dress with a magic wand and crown? Ok, well some of us wouldn't look good in a tutu (at my age that is) so I'll just stick with the coloring. Today I have a Mo Manning image released in rubber through Stamping Bella called Fairy Princesses. This cutie is sold in a set of two and became a part of the Bella family in January.

You can probably recite this on your own but just in case you're new, I stamped Mo's princess onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then colored her with copics. The grass and shading on the image was done using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Glitter was applied with a Quickie Glue pen and adds sparkle to her crown, star wand, wings and skirt. I love glitter! Design paper is from the MME Stella and Rose Hazel 6x6 paper pack. I've used kraft cardstock for the card base so I could play along with ex-Bella Babe Jeannie's That's Krafty Thursday challenge. It's pretty easy actually, just use kraft cardstock on your creation.



The sentiment is also by Stamping Bella and is included with another Mo image called Patience. I stamped it with Versamark and embossed it with white embossing powder. Three clear dew drops and some recycled Victoria Secret bag ribbon finish this off.

You still have some time to play in this week's Bellariffic Friday challenge. It's a great sketch from Ebru.

I'll be showing you another Mo image so come back on Friday ok? And don't forget to send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by tomorrow night. And link up your image to SCS using keyword BELLARIFFIC0912.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Matilda on her swing...

Since we've had polka dots on our radar after last weeks Bellariffic Friday post, I decided to bring them out in full fashion here. Meet Matilda on her Swing, she's one of the newest characters in the Stamping Bella family. I love the spring feel Matilda brings. In light of Spring, I decided to give Matilda yellow polka dotted rain gear. To do that, I had to stamp onto the design paper. I cut it out but made sure to cut around the rope too. I didn't want that on yellow polka dotted paper too. I then stamped Matilda onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I colored her with copics and then glued her paper pieced hat and coat on. Shading around the image was done with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

I've used the MME Miss Caroline design paper. The paper here is from the Dilly Dally pack and I think it's my favorite. Accent cardstock is bazzil. The image panel was cut using Nestabilities dies and the red border with an EK Successs border punch. The sentiment comes along with the image. I stamped it with Versamark and then applied black embossing powder. Haven't used this in awhile but I love the way it pops. No stitching can you believe it? Oh but I did add black rhinestones on either side.

Hope you enjoy your week. Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Thanks for the Inspiration

Please share your card with us for this week's Bellariffic Friday challenge on Splitcoast Stampers using keyword BELLARIFFIC0812! We'd love to see it and there's some $$$ incentive too! One random contibutor will win $20 in Bella Bucks. Every girl loves to shop, right?

So, today's theme is inspiration. For me, it comes from many places. Sometimes a stamp calls to me. Sometimes I find design paper or a layout in blogland. Stamping Bella's Uptown Girl Perry on her Laptop has two inspirations. First, it had Danabella all over it (for me). She keeps us babes organized and on track which is exactly what Perry looks like she's doing here. As Design Team Coordinator, it's typical for Dana to be sending us email with schedules, sketches, and updates. But mostly, she is our biggest cheerleader. The sentiment with Perry, "I'm here when you need me" is Dana to a "T"! Next, is you! Yes, those of you who visit and leave comments and Follow me. I love to check you out too! You give me ideas that haven't found their way into Crafty Cath's head yet; it's like learning a new language. This week, one of my newest Followers, Mary J., inspired me. I was checking her creations out on her blog and saw her card of Perry here. I loved ex Bella Babe Elaine's sketch but better yet was the way Mary chose to showcase Perry; it's Brilliant! Thanks Mary for the inspiration!

Since today's Bellariffic Friday challenge was to use Polka Dots, I upholstered Perry in a nice green polka dot print chair. Hehe, I used My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two Breeze design paper throughout. I loved the colors and the combination of stripes, polka dots and florals. To get started, I stamped Perry onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored the ruffle edge with a teal copic and cut it out. I then stamped the image again onto the green design paper. I trimmed the upholstery print out and placed it on top of the first stamped image. At this point you have a trimmed out white cardstock piece with colored ruffles and green upholstery which looks wierd with Perry in Polka Dots. I'm not done yet, I stamped the image one more time onto Bella's Bestest paper so that I could color Perry. Which I did with my copics and then I trimmed her out as well and placed her on top of the green polka dot design paper. I then added shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol and Tim Holtz Distress ink applied with a very small paint brush to the cushions (this little trick was taught to me by Paulabella). Now she's all set to sit in her floral papered room. Before I added the sentiment and striped paper, I cut a strip of teal cardstock with the edge of a Nestie Die. I loved the way the jagged edge tied with the ruffled edge of the chair. The sentiment comes with the image and was highlighted here with two sage Dew Drops. Needless to say this card took a lot of time to complete but I love the result!

Do you want to play along with us next week? Ya know you do! We've got another one of Ebru's awesome sketches to make it easy for you. Just ink up any Stamping Bella image and send a photo of your card to Emily@stampingbella.com by next Thursday. Emily will showcase it with the rest of the babes and sistahs. One lucky commentor and one lucky contributor will be winning some Bella Bucks. Then to double your chances, link a copy of your creation onto Splitcoast Stampers using keyword BELLARIFFIC0912. We'll be randomly selecting one submission to win another $20 in Bella Bucks. Woo hoo!

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend.

Cath