Decisions, Decisions!

Happy Bellariffic Friday folks! It's been a busy week in Bellaland. Let's start with our weekly challenge. This week it was a sketch. I've flipped it so that I could color up one of the latest release images. This is Uptown Girl Winona Loves Winter. In fact she loves it so much that she's skating and sledding all at the same time. Hehe.

You probably know the basics by now, I stamped Winona onto Bella's Bestest cardstock and colored her with copics. The Nestie Petite Oval die classic and scallop pull the image center stage. The snowflake border on atop the blue dp is an EK Success punch.
A red and white ribbon take the place of the vertical panel in our sketch - I just really wanted to add a ribbon. In the lower right corner I added a felt snowflake from my stash and topped it with a half pearl. Glitter makes the snow glisten.

Next up is all the Bella activity - Elaine is keeping us busy on all the Social Media sites...here's where your decision comes into play...would you prefer to see us in blogland or on Facebook or on Splitcoast stampers Forum? You've got choices. Lots of you have joined in on the fun in multiple locations, so pick the venue that works best for you and check out all the chatter and ideas being shared.

Last, we have a new Babe in the house. Kim O'Connell officially starts on December 1st but she's playing along and even has a blog give away to celebrate coming on board. Check out her work, I'm sure you're going to love her fun style!

And if you're still with me you might want to know that next weeks challenge is Holiday Wishes or a Winter Themed card.

Have a great weekend!
Cath

New Winter Rubbah...

Happy Bellariffic Friday folks. Mr. UPS man arrived on my doorstep yesterday and that meant I was able to delve into some new rubbah!!!! And you will love the new stamps. They come pre-cut and mounted for ease of stamping. They're even a real pretty blue too!

So with this week's snow theme, I pulled Ramona Loves to Glide. I stamped her onto Bella's Bestest paper and colored her with copics. I cut out a little ice rink using a Nestie Petite Oval die and then hand cut the rest of Ramona out to be added to her skates. With the snow theme, I decided to incorporate paper die cut snowflakes using a combo of Memory Box die and Martha Stewart Arctic Snowflake puch topped with a rhinestone, snowflake paper and a snow sentiment.

Design paper is from the My Mind's Eye Be Merry 6x6 pack and cardstock is Bazzil and Bella's delish Kraft. Glitter adorns the ice rink and machine stitching was added to the seams. For a little extra pop, I topped the buttons on Ramona's coat and the dots of her scarf with a Sakura Black Glaze pen. Her fur bordered hat was given a little extra fluff with white flocking adherred atop Art Glitter glue.

If the Nor'Easter storm we had on the Eastern coast didn't reach you, I hope you can find some snow enjoyment from the rest of the sisterhood. Head on over to Em's blog to see more snowy creations. If you find some time to create with us next week we're back to a sketch. And here it is...hope you can find some time to play along. And I'd love to see what you come up with so don't forget to send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night.

Keep a look out for Mr. UPS man in your neighborhood...your orders should be arriving soon and I can guarantee that the wait was worth it.

Enjoy your weekend and Ciao for now!
Cath

Cold Weather is coming....

Hope you've had a productive weekend! I spent lots of time in my craft room. First organizing and finally taking things out of boxes. Now that the house is ours, I thought it was time to see what I have and what I've been missing. What I found is that I still have LOTS of stuff that I just don't need anymore. So I filled a box of items to donate to my local Girl Scout Daisy troop. It's perfect for an activity box when they need fill in time.

I also spent time up on the mountaintop today. There were spots of snow hiding in shady areas but it was mostly just COLD. It was the first time I pulled out the hat and gloves of the season. And I rode my bike for the first time in two months. It felt awesome even if it was cold. No worries, I had a down coat on and the fur hood even fit over my helmet so my head stayed warm. The adventure became the inspiration for this afternoon's creativity session in my now organized craft room. I pulled out Stamping Bella's Hat and Mitts. Ya know that I stamped them onto Bella's Bestest paper and colored them with copics. It was pretty easy actually and I only used 5 copics - R39, R37, R35, R32 and YG97. For the fur I did breakout W1 and W3 and then applied Flocking onto Quickie Glue. Also couldn't resist adding some glitter to the mittens. Of course, I then cut them out and popped them up onto Dimensionals. The side embellishment is paper cut using Memory Box Frosty Border die. I topped it with Kaiser half pearls.

Fellow Babe Marybella is probably loving that I made this into a circle card. Pretty easy with Nesties. I used circles and squares to make the base and image panel. The sentiment is from the Uptown Girl Christmas Tree set. I applied it with VersaMark and then added black heat embossing powder. Design paper is Simple Stories Generations 6x6. And here's a quick view of the inside. This was easy too - it was from the paper pack - Woo Hoo.

Now I'm off to work on Friday's Bellariffic Challenge card....add SNOW. Hope you find time to play along!

Ciao for now,
Cath

Warm Hugs

Another week has flown by and as the wind came whipping across my neck of the woods it brought some cooler temperatures too. Kind of put me in a hunker down and nesting mood. So for this week's Bellariffic Friday sketch challenge I decided to pull out Lulu's Snowman. I know it's a little too early for the white stuff just yet but when snow is upon us there's never enough time to get all the cards done I need.

This image makes me smile. I remember building snowmen as a kid and now have the pleasure of some pretty cute neighbors that dress theirs up in high fashion! To build this one I started with Bella's Bestest paper, copics and prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. The image panel was cut using layered Nestie circle dies. The edges were sponged with Tim Holtz Distress Ink for a soft pink glow. The sentiment was cut using layered Nestie petite ovals classic and scalloped. The snow is a combination of Glitter applied over the top of liquid pearls and Viva Decor Paper Pen in cream.

The papers are Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly. They're actually from a sheet of 12x12 that I've been hoarding and thought it was time to break in to. The scalloped border was made with a Nestie and it's the back side of the pink paper. The black cardstock is Bazzil and there's some Neenah classic crest white and Kraft as well. Did ya notice the button bedecked snowflake? I made that with a Martha Stewart punch.

Next week you can play along by adding lots of BLING to your creation. Em's got a new release brewing so some Bella Bucks to spend might just come in handy! I'll have a picture to share with you in a few days...we're traveling yet again for another wedding and I need some time to get my creation done. Head on over to the Bella blog though and see quite a few new images from the other babes and don't forget to leave a comment for yet one more chance to win Bella Bucks. If you're playing along for next week email a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com.

Ciao for now.

Cath

Warm Wishes

Hope you all are staying warm. This weekend it was pretty warm for January and we still have yet to had a winter snowfall. But I decided it was time to color Hat and Mitts by Stamping Bella before I got bored with winter images and moved on to spring. This image was pretty easy to color which was big plus since the last few weekends away has begun to grow dust bunnies in the house. I've been a dusting fanatic.

I used Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch #149. This year you have two weeks to participate. That's exactly what I needed this time around. Design paper is from Basic Grey's 6x6 Eskimo Kisses pack. Cardstock is Bazzil and Neenah Classic Crest Solar White. I used Bella's Bestest for the image panel and stamped with Memento tuxedo black ink. Coloring was with copics and believe it or not, I also added a little prismacolor pencil blended with gamsol. The cuff was lightly colored and then I applied a layer of White Flocking so it's nice and fuzzy. The sentiment is from the Uptown Girl Quinn image but I thought it fit perfectly here too. Finished card is 5x5.

Thanks for stopping by! See ya back here again soon!

Cath

Quinn sends You Warm Wishes

Good Morning! Did you survive the weekend of Holiday feasts and shopping? I had some new recruits with me this year...young nieces and a nephew. They were my runners.. it was hysterical to see them with a goal and how much fun they were having when they actually found what they were looking for. We come from one of the crazy families that actually shop on Black Friday. With the changes stores made this year, we actually started on Thursday night. We came home from turkey dinner, had a quick nap and were out the door at 11:00 pm. We shopped for hours and I took them home around 4am so they could sleep the day away. I on the other hand took another quick nap and then headed out for round 2 with my Mom. At 6am the stores were empty, parking was easy and we still got what we were looking for.

Now how about a card?

This is Uptown Girl Quinn and she comes with the sentiment. She's staying cozy warm with her ruffly pea coat, scarf, and Uggs. I would be covering up my legs if I was her but she's a little bit more resiliant than I am to the cold. This week Stamping Bella is sponsoring the sketch at CPS. So with that decision made, I started by stamping onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I colored with copics and added shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Snowflakes falling were made with lots of glitter applied with a Quickie Glue pen. The snow at her feet was made with Opal White Liquid Pearls topped with glitter.

The design paper is from the 25 Days of Christmas 6x6 paper pad. I found this in the Bella shop a month ago and had to have it. If you haven't looked at the What's New tab in the Shop, you should. That's where I find all the new things...papers, embellishments, stamps. It's all in one neat little place so you don't have to hunt it down.


Want to see what the rest of the babes did with the layout? Head on over to the CPS blog and take a peek. You might even want to play along. Here's the sketch in case you do.

See ya back here later in the week.

Ciao,
Cath

We have a Winner!

So sorry for the late post on this...I have all my kids coming into town next week since they are scattered all over the East Coast now, out on their own and not everyone could take time to head "home" to Rochester for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be having our own pre-holiday bash exploring the mountains, heading to Breaking Dawn and telling tales to new "friends" the kids are bringing home. I'm super psyched and had a bit of grocery shopping we had to get done today. I was up bright and early coloring but I didn't have time to post.

So without further ado...the winner of my blog candy is ..... well, Anonymous. Yup, someone left an anonymous post and her lucky number came in.


Someone said, "Cathabella,Thanks so much for giving back!! I don't comment on your post & I should, as all I would ever say is how beautiful & what an inspiration you are to me... I have your blog on my tool bar!!! We have an old 1800's victorian that we have restored. It's our vacation home in the old mining town of the beautiful Mt's of Georgetown CO. We allow our friends,family & do auctions for donations, for free,as we feel so bery blessed to have it. We are not wealthy! God has just blessed us with this home & we want to,"Give Back" as well. Thank you for your inspiration!!!

So, I don't know how to identify you other than we share a love of small mountain towns but it looks like God has found a way to give back to you too! Please contact me by email by next Thursday at craftycath@gmail.com and I'll send your goodies out ASAP. If for some reason this isn't claimed, I'll pick again and announce it on Friday.

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful comments, for following me,and for encouraging me. The past year as a Bellababe has been fantabulous and I've learned so much from everyone!

Ok, now I do have a card for you today too!

Ebrubella gave me a wonderful idea this week with her Bellariffic Friday card. She colored up Snowman with Cardinal designed by Mo Manning but released in rubber through Stamping Bella. Her sketch was of a scallop matted circle with snowflakes. I had an aha moment. What if I made it to look like a snowglobe and added the snowflakes as if it was just shaken? So I googled snow globes and hand sketched a base. I cut it out onto a peice of faux wood Cosmo Cricket Wanted 6x6 paper and then added Tim Holtz Vintage Photo distress ink so it looked like a stained piece of wood. I stamped the image onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with copics. I also added lots of glitter cuz this snowman is in a fresh snowstorm. The background paper looked perfect to me with the birdies all over. It came from the Mistletoe Memory Box 6x6 pack.

Liquid pearls topped with glitter was used for the snow on the ground. The snowflake was stamped using a Judith stick stamp using Memento London Fog ink.

Ok - I've got some more stamping to do before the day is done so enjoy and I'll see ya back here soon.

Ciao, Cath

I could go for a cup of joe...

Happy New year everyone! I finally have internet in my new home. Yeah! Insert happy dance here. I don't have any furniture yet as the movers have had numerous delays....arg....but we are making the best of the move.

It took us less than an hour to learn that the dog behind our house (a mutt but big like a Saint Bernard) can jump the fence. So much for having a fenced in yard. Also, our dogs have never seen a full screen door and when Bella saw the said dog enter our yard she took off like a jet right through the screen. Great - now we have a screen to fix. I'm making do with one fry pan, two plates, and a glass I borrowed from Hose 22 over Christmas break. Thank goodness I'm resourcefull. The matches I gave my husband as a gag for x-mas were also a hit as we were able to light the one candle I threw into the car last minute. I now have a nice Balsam scent going while I create.

With my new found free time, I created a card. I actually started this before the holidays but I was dying for a mug of Cappucino today so this seemed fitting. A hunt through my Chirstmas tote (I love to buy gifts ahead and pull things out as I need them) came up with a third plate and a mug. I'm enjoying a cup of joe right now.


This is Minty Coffee by Stamping Bella. I'm not in love with it (the card that is - I love the image) but it's a start with the limited supplies I have on hand. I don't even have the darn sewing machine to give me that finished look. Ah, how we learn to appreciate things when we live without. I'll tell ya that living without you and my Bellas has been killing me!

My new Spellbinders Beaded Circle die, a gift from my Sissy and the mini-Bellas, was the perfect backdrop for this image. I double matted the image with both ivory and black cardstock using a Classic Circle die. I actually made two of the same size and hand trimed the black to fit next to the image panel. I then shaded the image panel using Wheat Versamagic Chalk ink and a sponge while keeping the image in the die. Of course I started with Bella's Bestest paper , Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and Copics but added some French Grey to the steam swirls and the counter.

I almost lost the whole image as I was trying to accent the berries and candy cane with a clear Sakura Glaze pen. When it dried I noticed it was white and just cringed at the thought of starting all over. I decided to add a little more red to the berries and it left a small amount of the white behind as if it was a sheen and I touched up the candy cane. This has really been a challenge in making do - that's for sure.

I'm off to explore my new town but I'll be back soon.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Mimi Lulu plays in the snow with her Mommy

It's our last Bellariffic Friday post of the year folks. That makes me kind of sad. But don't worry, we'll be back after the Christmas and New Year's Holidays. That should give you some time to prepare for your celebrations and then play with all you new toys. Hope Santa brings you all you're wishing for. Maybe you'll even have a few new stamps to show us!

This week we had a sketch challenge from Paulineabella. It was an awesome one! I had no trouble picking papers, colors and an image to color up. I've been having some fun with Kraft paper so I used it as my card base - besides it went perfectly with the We R Memory Keepers design paper. I selected Mommy and Mimi Lulu in the snow from Stamping Bella to sit center stage.


Mimi was stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest paper. Then I pulled out my copics and played. Remember, I'm challenging myself to play with some of the colors that otherwise sit in the case. So I pulled BG72,BG75 and BG78. Yum!

I added a strip using my new Martha Stewart Pine needles punch. A satin ribbon from Mary Maxim topped with a stray button I found in my drawer (love when you clean house - you find all kinds of neat goodies) along with some hemp cording. The image pops because I added a black Glaze pen on the hair. Liquid pearls were used to highlight the snowflakes and glitter makes them glisten.

The sentiment can also be found at Stamping Bella.

Stop by the Bella blog to see what all the other Babes and sistahs have to show us and leave a comment for a chance to win some Bella bucks.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your Holidays!

Cath

Have you built a snowman yet?

Hello folks! Our winter wonderland continues. And it's so cold that the snow crunches underfoot. I LOVE when that happens. Of course it was so cold that many of the schools were closed again today. On my way home from work, I admired the snowmen the kids made on their day off. It inspired me to ink up Snowman Circle from Stamping Bella.


Did ya notice that I started with Kraft cardstock? Yup, I decided to change it up. Still pulled out the Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then I colored with copics and "painted" the white snowman with Close to my Heart White Daisy pigment ink. Glitter applied with a Quickie glue pen helped make him glisten. A Sakura black Glaze pen helped add some shine to the top hat and buttons. Various Spellbinders Circle Nesties and Lacy Circles (which I finally found in stock at Mary Maxim - Woo Hoo) cut the papers for matting the image panel. The center border strip was punched with a Martha Stewart punch. The sentiment is also a Bella. It too was cut with a Nestie. The snow was created using Liquid Pearls adorned with glitter.

Machine stitching brought the image panel together. Cardstock is Papertrey Ink Kraft, prisim red and black. White is Neenah Classic Crest Solar White. The design paper is from K&Company.

Enjoy your week and see you back here on Friday for our last challenge of the year. I've got my card done. How about you? Come on play along with us one more time this year.

Ciao,
Cath

Do you have enough snow for Lulu?

Hello folks! Were you able to stay warm this weekend? It's been colder than heck in South Eastern Michigan. No snow though. Well, lots of little fluffy flakes blowing around but nothing has stuck yet.


Now Lulu here, sure likes having an accumulation of snow so she can make her snowman. And isn't he cute? This is aptly titled Lulu's Snowman from Stamping Bella. I ordered this the day of Emily's release and I was thrilled to have this waiting on my doorstep when I returned from the Thanksgiving Holiday. The Echo Park paper defined the colors I would use and I have to tell you that I loved making this card.

I colored Lulu with copics but added shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I've found that Bella's Bestest paper and Memento Tuxedo Black ink work great for the foundation so I started there. Snowflakes were added with liquid pearls and the blanket of snow was made by adding glitter. I've packed up almost all of my ribbon - I know, silly move, but I've been a pack rat for so many years that I am finding odds and ends I've saved from packages anticipating that I could reuse them down the road. And look what I found, this great piece of hunter green grossgrain ribbon. I actually think it came from an Eddie Bauer box - woo hoo. It's recycled and matches perfectly.

I'm off to pack another box or two.... Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Cath

Snowbunnybella...I think I am

Happy Bellariffic Friday to you. I have to tell ya that this weeks Stamping Bella challenge is getting me in the mood for some winter snowy fun. I know, you probably think I'm crazy but I love a cold snowy day when the ground crunches beneath your feet and your breath floats softly on the air. Can't wait to head to the Catskill mountains for some skiing this year too. Let's pray that my RA coopertes so I can actually enjoy it.

Today, I show you Snowbunnybella by Stamping Bella. She looks so happy in her little fur parka even with her bare legs. Ok, so maybe I should have made them black stockings but I had a color theme going on.


To get this going, I started with Bella's Bestest paper, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and copics. The soft shading at her feet and around her was done with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Check out the detail of the liquid pearls topped off with glitter to make the snow at her feet and the fur on her parka. I love the way it actually looks real! The little flakes falling were left without glitter but I think it still sets a wonderful winter scene. How about you?


Cardstock is Bazzil, while the design paper is a combination - K&Company shimmer and specialty paper. I added a snowflake border along the bottom with an EK Success punch. See Sissy - that's card number two that I was able to use this punch on and you thought I didn't need another snowflake punch. A girl can NEVER have enough snowflake punches in my book! He he - picked up a new Martha Big punch I can't wait to get at. Sorry, back to the card...the ribbon is Papertrey Ink's Ocean Tides and it is a wonderful teal - seafoam green. A few Stamping Up! felt snowflakes adorned with a teal bauble sit on top. Of course, I had to add a little machine stitching as well. Ta da.. easy peasy.

Now take a look at Mini-Bella Ashley's Snow day creation. She couldn't entice Madison and McKenzie to play along this week but she's caught the Bella bug. Great job Ashley and thanks for joining the sistahs!



Now next week's challenge is going to take some thinking...but I think you will put the result to use in the upcoming holiday season. Make a gift or gift card holder using Stamping Bella images. I know that I could use a few of these. So put your thinking caps on and get creative. Then send a copy of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night.

Hope you enjoy your weekend. For a change I think we are actually staying put. That means I've got major packing to do. But at least we secured a house to rent in our new town...Coxsackie, NY. Move in date is set for New Years Eve. What a way to ring in the New Year aye?

Ciao Bellas!
Cath