Brynn has a Baby Shower!

Happy Bellariffic Friday folks!  Today we had a theme for our challenge - Mix and Match.  I decided that it would be easy to add the sentiment from one stamp with the image of another.  So I colored up Stamping Bella's Uptown Girl Brynn and her Baby Shower.  But I added the sentiment from Uptown Couple Emily and Ryan.

 

 

I stamped Brynn onto Bella's Bestest paper, colored her with copics then cut her out. I used the Spellbinder Lotus Pendant die for her back ground and placed a banner behind her stamped with a portion of the sentiment.  The original sentiment says for your Bridal Shower.  I just covered the word Bridal when I stamped it .  The design paper is K&Company Itsy Bitsy Baby Boy.  Cardstock is Stampin' Up!

 

Next week we go back to a sketch.  Hope you can find time to play along with us!  And don't forget that we will be looking for Guest Babes from participants in our challenges.  Can't wait for January, maybe you'll be the next Guest Babe!

 

 

 

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by.

 

Cath

Flower Power!

Happy Bellariffic Friday folks!  Our theme is flower power and I've used an image I bet you wouldn't expect!  This card is heading to someone I know that just found out she is expecting again.  She has a house full of boys and I wanted to send her my wishes for a baby girl!  Of course, another boy would be just fine as hers are so dang cute but I thought a girl would be nice to try to even out the household.

 

 

I've used Mo Manning's image Toby is Two which is released in rubber through Stamping Bella.  This one cracks me up.  I know I've seen many a child throw a tantrum like this.  To bring in our flower theme I went with the design paper My Mind's Eye, The Sweetest Thing, Bluebell 6x6 paper and then the MFT Hibiscus flower die.  The sentiment comes with the image and I've stamped it onto Bella's Bestest paper and cut it out using the MFT Fishtail flags die-namic.  The background die is also from MFT, it's the Oval Decorative Doily Die-namic.

 

Next week we have another sketch...are you catching the pattern here?  Sketch, theme, sketch theme.  It sure makes it easier for me to remember!  So take a look and maybe you can play along.

 

 

Now I know the date shows the 13th but trust me - this is for the 6th.  And remember to send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night.  She'll include you in the blog lineup and one lucky creation will receive some Bella Bucks.  Want another chance to win some Bella Bucks, just leave her a comment.  She picks one each week for $10 in Bella Bucks.

 

Now I have some celebrating to share with you.  Today I turn 50!  Yup, and I'm happy about that!  I also will be celebrating my third anniversary as a Bella Babe.  On August 30th, 2010 Emily sent me an email to ask if I'd like to join the Babes.  I'm so glad she did.  I love her images and I love working with all the Babes since then.  So, I'm feeling the need to share.  I have a gift card for $25 in Bella Bucks to share with one random comment I receive on this post from now until September 7th!  No gimmicks, just leave me a comment and I'll pick a name when I get back from vacation!  I'm heading to Salt Lake City to celebrate turning 50 and surviving!  This has been a very full year and I'm so thankful for everything!   Oh and Emily posted that she has a new release coming soon!  Wouldn't you like to have some bucks to go shopping???

 

Enjoy the last dog days of summer!  I know kids head back to school soon and nights will be coming much quicker.  Get out and have some fun before the leaves start falling.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Cath

 

 

Polka Dots and more...

Happy Bellariffic Friday!  Today's Stamping Bella challenge is to add polka dots.  I used K&Company paper to help me out with that and a really cute image - Spit Happens by Mo Manning and released in rubber through Stamping Bella.

 

I stamped the image onto Bella's Bestest paper and colored with copics.  I then added shading for depth using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.  Then I cut the image out.  This one was pretty easy to do.  Then I combined paper and Nestie dies to add the trim, rectangle and sentiment panel.  This is making it's way to a niece that just found out she's expecting.  I love this baby and the sentiment cracks me up!

 

Next week our challenge is a sketch.  Hope you can find time to play along! 

 

 

Don't forget to send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night.  Then stop on by the blog to see the inspiration and leave a comment for a chance to win some Bella Bucks.

 

Have a great weekend.  I'll be helping daughter number two move into her first home!  She's so excited.  Things are good!

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Cath

Baby Congrats!

I love Stamping Bella! Wanna know why? Well there are lots of reasons but the best answer for me to that question is that I can find a stamp for every occassion I have. Take today's card using Babycakes! It's an oldy but goody. I have a friend whose daughter just found out she is expecting. I wanted to send her a quick note and immediately thought of this image. I wanted to keep it a little neutral since I don't know if it's boy or girl so I chose to color in shades of yellow and green but I've thrown in some pink on the hearts and blue on the plate.

I started by stamping the image onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then shaded with prismacolor pencils - alot - especially in between all the layers. I even added some glitter because if it is a girl she'd appreciate it I'm sure. Grossgrain ribbon tied into a bow, topped with a flower button and a sentiment were the only embellishments.

This is the sketch I've used as my guide but you can see that I made it a square card instead of a rectangle and the bow replaces the series of buttons on Ebru's sketch. Hope that's ok for you all. Oh and I've added Tim Holtz Scattered Straw Distress Ink to the edges of all the papers. And don't look too close at the top of the image panel...drat, I know you just went there...it came out a little dark but I wasn't letting this go to waste! Design paper is from K&Company and the cardstock is Bazzil. Spellbinders dies were used for the image panel and mat.

Next weeks challenge is to INK UP THE GIRLS - yup easy peasy, pick your favorite girl image and give it a whirl for us. If you have too hard of a time picking your favorite (I know that's the case for me since there are so many I love) then just show us one of your favorites. Don't forget to send a photo to Em@stampingbella.com by Thursday night and then head to the Bella Blog to see what everyone is lovin!

Enjoy your weekend!
Cath

Ramona takes to the skies...

Happy Bellariffic Friday folks! This week we had another great sketch from Ebrubella. I've loved having more sketches - have you? It takes so much fretting out of the card making. So armed with the sketch, I set out to color. I'm in a Ramona mood so I pulled another Stamping Bella new release stamp called Ramona and Teddy in their Balloon. Perfect for a pick me up or as a baby card depending on how you color. I went the new baby route. With the awesome polka dots, I choose dp with big polka dots too.

First I stamped Ramona onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then colored the image with copics and added depth and surround shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I also added Antique linen Tim Holtz Distress Ink to the edges of the image panel. This is the first card I've made in a long time that I didn't use a Nestie on. I did however use a Memory Box die to cut out the clouds. I've altered the sketch just a little by omitting one of the layers because the image is a little big and I wanted it to take center stage...well that and I didn't want to hide the polka dot dp.

Speaking of, I used K&Company DP - Small Wonders Boy and matted with Bazzil paper. A seam binding ribbon topped with a hemp bow and buttons were the only other embellishment. Well do you count machine stitching as an embellishment? hehe. Perhaps I shouldn't write this so late on Thursday night!

Next week we challenge you to use flowers on your card - paper, silk, fabric, or maybe in the image or on the design paper. It's almost May so show us your flowers. Link up your image to SCS using keyword BELLARIFFIC1612. And don't forget to head to the Bella blog and leave Emily some love. She so enjoys hearing from you and you never know, you might be the lucky winner of some Bella Bucks.

Happy weekend folks!

Thanks for stopping by,
Cath

Love Ya

Happy Sunday folks! I have been super excited to share today with you. If you're a regular visitor to the Crafty Cath blog then you know that I love to play with Karen Giron and the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge girls. I'm usually in my craft room on Sundays and having a sketch to start off with makes card making go so much quicker. So I usuallly stop by to see what the girls have in store. Well today, they have asked me to be a Guest Designer with them! Whoopie! Not only did it mean that I got the sketch a little early but have you checked out the rest of the team? They are phenominal so I'm very honored to play with them for the day. Thanks again Karen and crew.






Wanna see what I did with it? Ok, without further ado here is Love Ya designed by Mo Manning and released in Rubber through Stamping Bella. I just love how she comes to life and you can see the joy all over her face.

I stamped her onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored her with copics. By now you also know that I did add some shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I then cut her out and placed her on designer paper by My Mind's Eye (6x6 pack) from the Follow Your Heart collection titled Be Happy which I cut using a Nestie. I layered it onto a piece of soft green cardstock and then completed with more design paper and cardstock to finish the sketch. Two Robins Egg Dew Drops were placed on the middle panel to give it some attention and the center strip was cut using a Stampin' Up! scallop border punch. I incorporated a piece of the designer paper over the top of that since it had the most appropriate sentiment..."You are such a joy". A little machine stitching finishes this off.

Here's a close up. And check out how the rest of the Sweet Sunday stampers interpreted the sketch.
Karen Giron
Dana White
Karen Motz
Jennifer Tapler
Lynn Putt
Sarah-Jane Kale
Vicki Burdick

If you'd like to play along, link your creation on Karen Giron's blog. You have almost two weeks! Links close Friday, March 9th at 10pm Mountain Time.

Thanks for stopping by!
Cath

Spit Happens!

Here we are again! Another week has brought us back to Bellariffic Friday. Wooeee! And this week we were gifted with another awesome sketch by Ebrubella. I stuck to the sketch...pretty much! It called for a centered Oval image panel and since Mo Manning's Spit Happens released through Stamping Bella is a little on the large side...I layered it a little off center to fit my sentiment. I love that I have very little thinking or hunting to do for that matter now that most Bella images come with the perfect sentiment. And this ones a keeper!

I wanted to keep this card neutral...I'm making it for someone who doesn't know if they are having a boy or girl. They are 50 and learned that, well "Spit still happens!" Crazy huh? I found that the new My Mind's Eye Miss Caroline Dilly Dally 6x6 paper pack was perfect - neither pink nor blue. It was the inspiration for the colors I used. You've probably guessed that I stamped the image onto Bella's Bestest paper (my favorite) with Memento Tuxedo black ink. I colored with copics but I added lots of shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Colored carstock is Bazzil, Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry and Neenah Classic Crest solar white. The photo corners were actually beige but I colored them black with a copic marker.

I love my new Petite Oval Nesties. I bought the set of four large and small classic ovals and complimentary scallops and love they way they layer. I'm not really sure why they call them petite though since they are actually larger than the Classic set. I find they are perfect for larger images like this one. And notice that since the image takes center stage I opted not to add machine stitching. Hardly ever do that anymore!

Next week our challenge is to use Polka Dots on your creation! Make sure you share a photo of your creation with Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night. You can also link it up to SCS using keyword BELLARIFFIC0812. Bella Bucks are up for grabs at both locations! Then stop by the Bella blog to see what the rest of the sistahs have come up with.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by!
Cath

Baby Congrats!

I've got a quick post to share with you today. I'm playing along with this week's iSpy Sketch challenge. It looked perfect for this sweet baby image I needed a card for. My co-worker finally had her baby boy and I'm heading over for a visit. Can't wait to cuddle with the little guy.

So now you know my motivation, let's get to the details. I stamped Julias diaper bag onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with copics. I also added shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. The design paper is Baby Boy by K&Company. Nesties were used to make the pennant and image panel. Seam binding ribbon was added with brads to make this appear more like a team pennant. Yea - team boy! Woo hoo!

The sentiment is also from Stamping Bella. I stamped it and made a banner anchored with yet another brad. Pretty easy and minimal machine sewing.

Don't forget that this week's Bellariffic Friday challenge is ANYTHING goes! Yup color to your heart's content - just use any Stamping Bella image. Remember that there are Bella Bucks up for grabs for sending an image to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday. Double your chance and link to SCS use code BELLARIFFIC0612.

Enjoy your week - but especially your Valentine's Day!

See ya again soon,
Cath

Baby Boy

Are ya hanging in this week with all the hustle and bustle of the Holidays? I'm pretty set with all the shopping and just about all the wrapping too. I still have some special cards I need to make so I'll be spending some time relaxing in the craft cave before we leave for home on Friday evening. One of those special cards was this Baby Shower card for a co-worker. She's expecting her first, a baby boy, in three weeks. Her last day of work is Thursday and she and I are heading to lunch today for a little celebration. I couldn't let her go without a gift and card though.

I've used My Beary Best Friend, a stamp designed by Cristy Croll for Stamping Bella as my focal image. I stamped him onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored him with copics. No pencil shading today...I was able to create the texture and shadows with the markers alone. This was a quick and easy card.

The design paper has been in my stash for years. It's a 12x12 piece that I rarely buy anymore. The name is Peek-A-Boo from the new arrival line by Pebbles. The Baby Boy sentiment is also by Stamping Bella. I don't own any of the fancy MFT tag dies but I love the look. So I simply stamped this onto Bella's Bestest paper and then used a corner punch to make it look like a tag. The open scallop border was cut using an MFT die - love how easy that is to use. Machine stitching and a twine topped button finish this off.

Hope you get all your last minute things done and can enjoy some quiet moments of the season. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see ya in a little bit.

Cath

Note: I can't connect to the Stamping Bella site right now so I'll have to update all the links for you this evening. Have a great day!

Baby Time or Stipes revisited....

Today I share Babycarriageabella, an adorable expectant mother image from Stamping Bella. I often make cards on request and this is one of them. I think it's a little too stipe crazy actually. You now get to learn that I had intended it for last weeks Bellariffic Friday stripe challenge but wasn't in love with it. I also often make two cards for Friday's challenge because things didn't turn out quite like my vision. See, it isn't always smooth sailing in the Cath Craftdom.

Boy or girl we do not know so I used pink and blue, hence the extra stripes. Some things never change though, I started wtih Bella's Bestest paper and stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then I colored with a combination of prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol and copics. To spice things up, I added lots of glitter adhered with a Quickie Glue pen.

The sentiment is also by Stamping Bella. I handmade a tag to place under the sheer blue ribbon bow. A few blue metal brads are the final touch.

I'm hunkering down today. They are predicting our first Northeaster with 6-12 inches of snow for the mountain region. Great! Perfect inspiration for next weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge.

Thanks for stopping by and see ya again soon!

Cath

"Un-conventional"

Hello folks! Can you guess what I'm using this card for?

Well, I perused the Bella online store and chuckled when I saw the sentiments that came with this stamp. Yup- two sentiments come with the Daisy Stove stamp. One I used on Mondays card - it's Hot Stuff. The other I used for the inside of this card - "Heard there's a bun in the oven". And that kind of gives it away now doesn't it? Yes, this is a congratulations card for a co-worker that found out she's expecting her first child. And she found out it's a boy so I had to color it in soft blue tones.

I stamped this onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I changed things up a bit though because I colored this with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I went for a quick and easy card too. But you'll find machine stitching, shading with Tim Holtz Distress Ink, rhinestones and a sheer blue ribbon.

Think she'll like it?

See ya on Friday with our Bellariffic Friday sketch challenge.

Cath

It's a Boy!

I'm an Aunt again! Yipee. My sister had a healty baby boy on Friday morning and I had to make a card to celebrate. I decided to ink up Ketto's Clothesline and Ketto's Baby Lingerie. Since you have some boy and girl outfits as choices this is a really nice set. You know that before I could start to color I had to define a layout and choose my design paper. It's the beginning of a new month so I ran to Jen del Muro's blog in hunt of the August SFYTT. Though I took some creative liberties, I easily adapted the sketch to fit my image.

I set out stamping with Memento tuxedo black ink onto Bella's bestest cardstock. Coloring was done with a combination of Copics and prismacolor pencils blended with Gamsol. Design paper is by K&Company. At the time, I had a heck of a time finding this baby boy paper in the small paper pack but I wanted it darn it so I settled on the 12x12 one. The scale is a little larger than I would have liked but at least it's soft muted colors.

You know I couldn't resist a little glitter, even though this is for a boy. Don'tcha just love the way it sparkles and shines...and it's soft application thanks to the Quickie Glue pen. I couldn't pass up on machine stitching, love how it finishes off a card. The only embellisments are some bakers twine and a teal button. The sentiment is computer generated. I know - it should have been a Bella. I even anticipated a boy and ordered the It's a Boy Thing" sentiment in my last Bella order but the baby came first. Hmpf!

I'm off to work on this week's Bellariffic Friday challenge....Paper PieRcing. Hope you can play along too!


Thanks for stopping by.
Cath

April's SFYTT

My latest Stamping Bella order was filled with the baby animal stamps I bought with the intention of stocking up on my supply of baby cards. For my first one I've chosen Animals - Spotted Giraffe and Jen delMuro's April Sketch For You To Try (SFYTT). And I'm sneaking it in just in time as the month is quickly coming to and end.

Color inspiration came from October Afternoon's Campfire design paper. Of course, I started coloring with copics on my Bella's Bestest paper. But I added additional shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol and Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress ink. Cardstock is Bazzil. Machine stitching in both zig zag and straight stitches were added as well as some red brads.

Don't forget to get out an image for this week's Mother's Day Bellariffic Friday challenge. You can send Emily a photo of your card to be included in this week's post at emily@stampingbella.com.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Circles abound

Happy Bellariffic Friday! Did you get to play along with us this week? I loved the idea of a circle card. I must admit that I have never made one before but with all the Spellbinders Nestabilities out there, they made light work of the task.

I started my card last week. Had the darn thing all done even and then my niece McKenzie sent me her card for the Valentine challenge. Seems we had picked the same image and had even colored it in exactly the same way. Hmpf! She thought it would be great 'cause you would all think that I copied her since her card was posted last week. So, I set about making another card.

I've decided to share both with you so you get a double...first up is Beee Mine Huggabugg

and now Circus Seal with sentiment...
Which one do you prefer? For each of them I used multiple Nesties to make the cirles. The card base was also made using a Nestie but I folded my paper in half and let the die go over the edge of the fold so that it would remain one piece and not two circles. You know that I started out with Bella's Bestest paper, Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with Copics. You have probably guessed that I added some shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I also added glitter to both cards using the Quickie Glue pen to apply it.

The Mini-Bella's played along this week too. McKenzie has Tennibella to share. I sent this stamp to her for Christmas this year since she loves to play. It's the tiniest Bella I have ever seen and was perfect for her to work into a circle card. Notice how this Babe is branching out and also added a paperpieced dress? Wowser - McKenz, this is fabulous!


Madison shares Animals-Bunny. This made me smile and think of spring when I saw it. Great job with the coloring and I love her homemade sentiment too.


Next week's challenge is a sketch by our own super talented videobabe - Ebru.

It looks easy right? Won't you find the time to give it a try? Just remember to send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night. You might be the lucky winner of $20 in Bella bucks for participating. If you don't have the time to play - head to the Bella Blog to see all the other creations and leave a comment. Emily loves to hear from you. There's $10 in Bella Bucks up for grabs to one commentor.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Good Luck Mother-to-be...

I have a new niece or nephew on the way. Woo Hoo. TeddyBella and Good Luck sentiment from Stamping Bella seemed to work perfectly together to send well wishes.


You know I started with Bella's Bestest paper, Memento Tuxedo Black ink and Copics. And you've propably already guessed that I added prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I know - it's the same thing with every card but it works so why change it?

I chose to stick to a neutral palette since I have no idea if we'll be seeing a boy or girl. Basic Grey Lemondade 6x6 design papers were perfect to work with. I added colored cardstock by Bazzil and Neenah Classic Crest Solar white. I was in Rochester when I made this so no sewing machine. I decided to dress it up a little instead using Tim Holtz's Vintage Photo Distress ink. A few buttons adorned with hemp cording and twill ribbon finish it off. Finished card size is 5x7.

Hope you're staying warm this weekend. It was 4 degrees this morning as hubby and I ventured into the woods to walk the dogs. Brrrr.

And don't forget to stop by the Bella Blog on Tuesday to see all the new releases Emily will be offering in honor of CHA. Yup, she'll be heading to California but she's sharing the release with us on Tuesday. If you've seen the sneak peaks, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to resist.

See you soon.
Cath