Knit Happens

Hi all,
Just a quick post for today - I am about to get ready for a night out to ring in the year of 2012!  But, I did have time to put together a cute and easy card.

My base is Sahara Sand CS.  I kept this one very simple.  The next layer is a white piece, embossed with my Cuttlebug Argyle folder.  I added some pink Recollections pearls to the corners, and I wrapped some So Saffron and Pretty In Pink grosgrain ribbons around the base.  I made a bow with the saffron ribbon using my Bow Easy and attached it with a mini glue dot. 

I stamped Knitting Peep onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I coloured it with Copics, and added some shading with my Prismacolor Pencils and OMS.  I cut that out with Label 1 Nesties, and added some Pretty In Pink sponging inside the stencil.
The sentiment comes with the image, and I stamped that onto white CS with black ink and cut it out with my Label punch.  I cut out a piece with the Modern Label punch as well, and mounted it behind.

Make sure to have a fantastic new year, and look forward to great things!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday 221

Hi all,
There is a great sketch over on the Mojo Monday blog this week: #221.  They have a square and circle option, which is great, but I'm not that great with circle cards, so I stuck with the safe route :-)
I had to play along, so here is the sketch:

Fun, right?

Here's mine (using a newer digi release from Some Odd Girl):

My card base is Sahara Sand CS.  The patterned paper is from SU's Ski Slope DSP pack, and everything is matted with black.  For the strip at the top, I used a white piece punched with my Martha Stewart icicle edge punch, added a black strip, and then some Chocolate Chip polytwill ribbon.
The sentiment is from the SU rub-on pack called Merry & Bright, and that was punched out with their ornament punch.
The snowflakes on the smaller Sahara panel are also from that rub-on pack, and I ripped 3 pieces of white CS to make the snow hills.

I printed Winter Mae onto Whisper White CS, coloured her with Copics, and cut her out with a thin white border around.  She is so cute and snuggly, isn't she?

Well, that's it for me today - I have to get ready for another family holiday dinner, so it'll be a busy one.

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Spotted Orchids

Hi all,
Last week was such a busy week, and this week is turning out to be no different!  The holidays are such a beautiful time, but can be a bit overwhelming.  Still grateful though!

I got to sit down and colour some beautiful flowers from the Stamping Bella store!  I always hear that orchids are not that easy to keep alive, and they are kind of the "diva" of the flowers - requiring misting and whatnot. LOL
These ones in rubber are not so bad though :-)

My card base is Sahara Sand CS, and my 2 patterned papers are from SU's old Ginger Blossom DSP pack, with black mats.  I also added some fun black zig-zag stitching with my Janome Sew Mini machine.  I like the look of the skewed panels - throws you off a bit.

I stamped Pot O' Orchids for Lulu onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I coloured it with Copics, and added some shading with Prismacolor Pencils and OMS.  I cut that out with Classic Square Nesties and added some Pretty In Pink sponging inside the stencil.  The sparkly orchid is from Martha Stewart - this pack is GORGEOUS!  I also added some spots to my orchids with Copics - thought it looked pretty interesting!

Copics used:
*Petals: R0000, R00, R20, R43 (spots)
*Leaves: G21, G24, G99
*Pot: E40, E41, E43
*Bow: R81, R85

I hope everyone had some delicious holiday feasts and minimal stress.  Wishing you a happy recovery and an easy transition back to real life :-(

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

SOG Challenge: Inspiration!

Hi all,
Now, I know we usually do our challenges on Thursdays, but this time, we are mixing it up and posting on Friday!  Last week, Kristy put out an amazing release of clear stamps (perfect for Valentine's Day or that specal occasion you have coming up)!  So, the ODDies are using the stamps from that release!  Just wait til you see what we've all got up our sleeves!

For this challenge, we have a picture for you to use as inspiration!  Take a peek:

What are you going to take from this one?  The colours?  The hearts?  The book? That cute ticket?  Take your pick...

Here's mine:

My card base is Sahara Sand CS, and I embossed the right-hand side with the Cuttlebug Spots and Dots folder. 
On the left side, I added a white panel, which has 2 rounded corners, and some Pretty In Pink sponging around it.  I also added 2 red rhinestones to the pointy corners. 
The sentiment and the arrow are stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink (and they both come with the image!).
The heart is one of those old SU Sticky Cuts, and I covered it with red micro fine glitter (va va voom).  The red orchid in the middle is from Martha Stewart.

I stamped Crushin Gwen onto Bella's Bestest Paper, and I used Versafine Onyx Black ink, and embossed her with Clear embossing powder.  I love that effect.
I coloured her with Copics, and cut her out with a thin white border around - makes her stand out a bit against the base.

Copics:
*Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13, R02
*Hair: E33, E37, E49
*Eyes: BG00, BG43, BG45
*Shoes: C3, C7, 00
*Dress: R00, R20, R43, R46, R29

We want you to play along this week - head over to the SOG blog to submit your creation using the picture as inspiration.  If you have any SOG images you can use, we love to see them!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Giant Lollipop

Hi all,

I have been so in love with my Uptown Girls images from Stamping Bella since they arrived.  I think I've used most of them, but this one was left out, so I had to ink her up!

A pretty simple layout...

My card base is Sahara Sand, the 2 patterned papers are from the Basic Grey pack called Olivia, and my mats are black CS.
Across the middle, I added a white strip punched with my Martha Stewart lattice edge punch, and added some polka dot Bermuda Bay ribbon.

I stamped Uptown Girl Claudia has a Candy (haha, love the names on all these images - they are long-winded) onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I coloured her with Copics, and added some shading with my Prismacolor Pencils and OMS.  I sponged around the egdes with Wheat Versamagic ink.
The sentiment can be found HERE.  Stamped in black ink, matted on black cardstock.

Copics used:
*Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13, R02, YR00
*Hair: E33, E37, E49
*Dress: BG000, BG11, BG13, BG15, BG18
*Shoes: BG70, BG72
*Lolli: YR21, YR04, YR07

I hope everyone is ready for the holiday - it crept up so quickly.  Eat lots of turkey, but don't get too sleepy, k?

Also, Emily is sick right now, so go and leave her some love!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Bellarific Friday: My Sketch!

Hi all,

Happy Friday to everyone - it's gonna be a great weekend!  Can you believe that it was 11 degrees Celsius yesterday in Toronto???  I heard it was 13 in New York.  That's just crazy!  Doesn't look like it's gonna be a white Christmas this year, I guess.

Down to bidniss...It's time for another Bellarific Friday!  For this week, we were given a sketch, that I designed.  It was lots of fun!  Here's a glimpse:

You might already know this, but I love large main panels! LOL

So, of course I designed a sketch with a big panel for a great image!

Here's my take:

My base is Kraft CS.  The patterned papers are from a CTMH pack called Jingle.  Love the colours and the patterns from that one, but I think it's a couple years old.  Everything was matted with black CS, and I rounded one corner on each of the squares.  I added adhesive rhinestones to one corner of each square as well (instead of buttons).

I wrapped some Old Olive grosgrain ribbon around the whole base and tied it in a knot. 

I stamped King of the Candy Canes (love that guy!) onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I coloured in the whole thing with Prismacolor Pencils and OMS - no Copics!  I cut it out with Label 2 Nesties, and added some Wheat Versamagic ink sponging inside the stencil. 

Ain't he cute?

So, da Bella Babes are gonna take a break from Bellarific Friday over the holidays.  We will all still be posting cards on our blogs, so don't stop coming by to look!  We just aren't doing the challenges until next year.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by! 

Frosty Days

Hi all,
I'm still in my holiday card mode.  For some reason, I just love Christmas and holiday images.  Best time of year for crafting - definitely.

So, I was playing with my Uptown Girls images again from Stamping Bella, and came up with this one:

My card base is Bashful Blue CS.  All the patterned papers are from the SU Frosty Days DSP pack (really unique holiday colours), and my mats are white and Close To Cocoa.  For the strip across the middle, I punched the white piece with my Martha Stewart Icicle edge punch, and I added Martha Stewart pearls around the whole card. 

I stamped the lovely Uptown Girl Eve Under the Mistletoe onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I coloured her in with Copics, and added some outside shading with Prismacolor Pencils and OMS.  I also added some glitter dots all around her for some extra whimsy :-)  The sponging around the image is done with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress inks.

Copics used:
*Skin: E000, E00, E11, E13, R02
*Hair: E71, E77, E49
*Dress: B32, B34, B37, B39
*Trim: C00, C1, C3
*Belt: C1, C5, C9, Yellow Atyou Spica Glitter pen

See you tomorrow for the last Bellarific Friday of the year!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

SOG New Release: Lovey Tobie

Hi all,

WOW, what a couple of weeks.  It seems so busy!!!
So, over on the SOG blog, there have been reveals this week of some brand new clear stamps Kristy is releasing - just wait til you see all the stellar work of the DT!

And naturally, I was supposed to post a card on Tuesday to show you the awesome Lovey Tobie!  BUT here's the catch...I didn't get my stamps in the mail until today! LOL
Gotta love the post - especially this close to Christmas.

So, I'm gonna show him to you anyway, even if I'm late.  But make sure you stop by the SOG blog to see ALL the new images this week!

I think you'll find that this is a very mushy and smushy and lovey release :-)

I went for a simple layout.  My card base is white (I wished I had that Cuttlebug embossing folder with the hearts, but alas, I never did pick that one up).  My patterned papers are from SU's Bali Breeze DSP pack, along with black mats.
I added some fun sparkly letters to one of the panels (they are from Recollections, I think).

I stamped Lovey Tobie onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I coloured him in with Copics, and added some shading with Prismacolor Pencils and OMS.  I cut him out with Label 18 Nesties, and added some Bashful Blue sponging inside that stencil.  He's a total hottie, right???

Head on over to the store - the images are going on pre-sale as they get released each day!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Holiday Wishes

Hi all,

I have been using my Staming Bella images to make holiday cards these days, and I have another one to show you...

I kinda went off of last week's Bellarific Friday theme of using all white, but I did add a Brushed Gold layer in there.  The rest of the cardstock is white, though.
I embossed the bottom layer with the Cuttlebug Snowflakes folder, and I cut the white mat with my Ticket Corner punch.
The sentiment comes with the image Uptown Girl Eve Under the Mistletoe - stamped it in Versamark, and embossed with gold embossing powder, then cut it out with my dog tag punch.

I stamped Uptown Girl's Christmas Tree onto white cardstock in Versamark and embossed it with Gold EP as well.  I matted that onto a white piece that was punched with the Ticket Corner punch.  Pretty easy peasy!

Don't forget about this week's Bellarific Friday challenge to make a card with my sketch!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Bellarific Friday: All White

Hi all,

Welcome to another beautiful Friday!  I hope you all had a great week, and have some good stuff cookin' for the weekend!

I also hope you were able to play along with the Bellarific Friday challenge that Em gave us last Friday - for today's post, we were supposed to make an all white card!  I mentioned last week that I love these - you really can't go wrong with all white! :-)

Here's mine:

Obviously all my cardstock is white LOL.  I used my Ticket Corner punch on the very bottom layer, and I embossed the next layer with my Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I wrapped some white organdy ribbon around that.  For the next layer, I rounded the corners with a punch.

I stamped the lovely Emma Lulu onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I coloured her with Copics, and added the grass and outside shading with Prismacolor Pencils and OMS.  I cut her out with Labels 10 Nesties, and added some Wheat Versamagic sponging inside the stencil.
I mounted that onto a Classic Oval Nestie die cut, then onto a Scallop Nestie die cut.  I attached some layers with flat tape, and some layers are mounted up on foam dots - I like the varying levels of depth, and the varying textures.  It works with white.

Next week's challenge????  A sketch done by.....ME!  Make a card using the sketch below and any of the images sold at Stamping Bella.  Send it to Emily (emily@stampingbella.com) by Thursday night, and you'll be entered to win some Bella Bucks, and your card will be published on the Bloggabella!

Have a great weekend!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Door With Wreath

Hi all,

Just playing around with one of my stamps from Stamping Bella designed by Mo Manning.  Emily has so many of her awesome images stocked - visit the section called Mo Manning in Rubbah! 

I chose to play with Door With Wreath by Mo Manning - a really nice, classic type of image.  It's not really one of her more whimsical images, but something more understated and lovely.

Pretty simple layout for this one - a white base, then a piece of SU Groom Specialty DSP with a Kraft mat.  I used those 2 for the corners as well, along with my Photo Corner Punch.

I stamped the image onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  As always, I coloured it with Copics, and added shading to it with Prismacolor Pencils and OMS.

Make sure you play along with our Bellarific Friday challenge this week - to make an all white card! Due by Thusday night!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

Bellarific Friday: Holiday Theme

Hi all,

Welcome to another Friday, which means another weekend!  {happy dance}
I hope you had a great week - I'm not gonna mention that the weather is slowly getting FREEZING, and I'm not ready...almost in denial, in fact.  I'm a summer girl :-)

Anyway, let's move onto the exciting stuff of today - Bellarific Friday!  We had an awesome challenge last Friday, which was to make a holiday card...my favourite!  I love Christmas and winter cards - they always have the BEST images, and they are the most fun to create!  I hope you were able to join in this week - Christmas is getting closer, and you'll need your cards soon.

Here's mine:

I went for a very simple layout and simple colours.  All my cardstock is plain white, and I have 1 panel of patterned paper from SU's Frosty Day DSP pack, and I punched those corners with my Ticket Corner Punch.  For the white layer on top of that, I embossed it with my Snowflakes Cuttlebug folder.

I stamped King of the Candy Canes onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I coloured the whole thing with Copic markers, and I added the ground shading and the outside shading with Prismacolor Pencils and OMS.  I cut him out with Classic Rectangle Nesties, and added some Wheat Versamagic sponging on the inside of the stencil.  I mounted that onto a white piece cut out with Scallop Rectangle Nesties.

Copics used:
*Skin: E0000, E000, E00, E11, YR00
*Hair: E30, E33, E37, E49
*Crown: Y32, Y35, Y38, C1, C3
*Candy Cane: R20, R43, R46, C1
*Jumper: B32, B34, B37, B39
*Stocking: R00, R02, R05, R08, C00

Next week's challenge???  An all white card!  I love this idea - I think white cards are so clean and classic.  So, make a white card using any of the images sold at Stamping Bella, and send it to Emily (emily@stampingbella.com) by Thursday night.  You'll be entered to win Bella Bucks, and your card will be published on the Bloggabella!

Have a great weekend!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!

SOG Challenge: Easel Card

Hi all,

I hope you're all having a great week so far.  Since I schedule most of my posts ahead of time, sometimes I don't know what's going to happen, but if everything has gone according to plan, last night I would have seen Breaking Dawn with my best friend!
Are there any Twi-fans out there?  I know there are, actually.  I've read all of the books, and seen all of the movies thus far, so I saw no need to disrupt the trend :-)

Anyway, back to bid-niss.  Today we have another awesome challenge over on the Some Odd Girl blog!  Last time we had an interesting recipe challenge, and this week, we are challenging you to make an easel card!  You should see what the ODD girls have done with this challenge!  This is one amazing team.
If you don't know how to make an easel card, there is a really quick and easy tutorial on SplitCoast HERE.

Here's mine:

My card base is Pretty In Pink CS, all my patterned papers are from the Basic Grey pack called Olivia, and everything is matted with black. 
I added 4 adhesive rhinestones to the front panel, and the sentiment and cloud come with the image.

On the underside, I used the corner flourish from the same set and some more rhinestones to hold up the easel. 

I stamped Grow onto Bella's Bestest Paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I coloured her up with Copics (love all those folds in the fabric!) and cut her out with a thin white border around. 

You can make your own easel card and head over to the SOG blog and link it up - we'd love to see!

Have a great Friday everyone!

Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for stopping by!