Paper Expressions

Wilbur's Flying High on Love

2012-02-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

This card makes me feel like I'm at the country fair. The image is Wilbur with Balloon from Stamping Bella. With his heart balloon I thought he would be perfect for sending some Valentine sentiments. Can ya tell I'm trying to squeeze these all in? I have a few more days yet so you might see one or two more. Hehe.

My sketch today is TCPtues195. The banner gave me the idea of a prized pig at the fair...flying high with his heart. So I ran with it. The design paper is My Mind's Eye Love me! Cardstock is a bunch of scraps but most likely Bazzil. I stamped wilbur onto Bella's Bestest paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored him with copics. Nesties helped make the layers of circles. The clouds were cut from a Memory Box die (a first time use for me and I've had them for almost a year already!) A clear Sakura glaze pen was applied to the circles on the hear balloon along with a little white pigment ink from a Signo Uniball pen. The banner was hand cut and then strung using jewelry braiding cord I found on clearance at JoAnn's eons ago. The black circles are plastic Bella Baubles. No stitching today...

We never got the snow they predicted for us today. This is the freakiest winter I have ever experienced in my life! We're halfway through February and we haven't had any snowfall to date. At this rate, we'll be ready for fair weather before you know it.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Cath

Lucille is in the house

2012-02-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Oh my word I love the new Uptown Girls by Stamping Bella! As soon as my package arrived with the new release stamps, I knew I had to put some ink to them. First up is Lucille sends her Love. Isn't she perfect for Valentine's Day or even an engagement card to the girl who found the love of her life! I mean seriously, look at all those hearts. She's the picture of a girl in love isn't she?

Ok, so this week we were given yet another awesome Bellariffic Friday challenge by Sketch-extraordinaire, Ebrubella! I did take some creative liberty on the layout. I was using 6x6 pages from the My Mind's Eye Lost and Found Madison Avenue collection. But the Uptown Girls are tall and there wasn't enough dp paper to go all the way around. Because of that, you'll notice that I stopped the matt of pink dp at the ribbon. But I added a strip of striped DP and a scallop of soft pink polka dotted paper instead. It's just a slight alteration so I didn't think harm was done.

You know that I stamped Lucille onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored her with Copics. I then added shading using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Her dress was accented with red Stickles and look at all that glittery sparkle. I even added some to her shoes and yes, her toe nails got a dot of red glitter too! As if that wasn't enough, I also added lots of glitter around the bouquet of hearts and applied it using a Quickie Glue pen. The sentiment, which comes with the stamp was hand cut. You'll also find a simple grossgrain ribbon bow and machine stitching. Finished card size is 6 1/2 x 5. Here's a closer look.

Now hop on over to the Bella Blog to see what the other sistahs have created. Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance at the weekly $10 drawing for Bella Bucks. Think you'd like to play along with us???? Next week's challenge is ANYTHING GOES...easy color whatever you want. Simply send a photo of your card to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night and she'll include it in the weekly blog lineup. And, there is a weekly random drawing for $20 in Bella Bucks for contibuting. Want to double your chances? Link your card up to Splitcoast Stampers (SCS) using BELLARIFFIC0612 keyword. Now that's case sensitive so don't forget the caps. If you haven't linked your card yet for this week's sketch - don't worry, you still have until Thursday the 16th but use code BELLARIFFIC0512. You see, you get an extra week to play along AND you get a chance for another $20 in Bella Bucks. That's double your chances. Love those odds!

We're finally in for some cold weather this weekend. I plan to hunker down and color! Woo Hoo. How about you?

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by.
Cath

I Spy...

2012-02-05T10:27:00.000-05:00

Girls if you are anything like me, you search blogland in the hopes of finding something new to catch your eye. Maybe it's a layout, a color scheme, or a new embellishment to adorn your cards. I often look for new ways to shade my images or for that matter, images that have stared me in the face but never seemed to call to me until I saw how someone else made them gorgeous. Today's image is one of those. I've colored Cuddly Owlies a Cristy Croll image from Stamping Bella. Last year I spied this card made by Kim Teasdale using this stamp that called to me. Funny but she has started a new blog called iSpy Sketches using this practice...ya know something makes an impression on you and you go from there only it's sketches not images.

I have to tell you that at first sketches scared me to death, but now I love them! They are the starting point to making any card for me. Yeah you choose an image and paper but how you're going to showcase it usually comes first for me. It's like do you always put your pants on one starting with the same foot first and if you switch it up you feel goofy. Ok maybe that's just me but you get the picture.

So using Kim's new sketch and visions of her gorgeous card I set out to make a card. I also used a couple of things that have been collecting dust in my closet like the Cuttlebug heart die, the Love sentiment stamped using a Stampin' Up! alphabet set I bought in 2003 and have never used! Yup you should see some of the stuff I have that I never get to use. So let's get on to some more details.

You know that I started by stamping the Owlies onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then colored with copics and shaded with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. The shading along the edge is Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass distress ink applied while the image panel was still in the Nestie Petite Oval die. A double matt of teal and then brown cardstock was made using Nestie Scalloped Petite Ovals in Small and Large. I wanted to give a little more depth to the image so I actually colored the larger owl again, cut it out and popped it up on dimensionals. The red hearts were glittered up with a Sakura Jelly roll pen and then topped with clear Glaze pen but I don't think you can see that very well.

The papers are October Afternoon Farmhouse. Finished card size is 5 1/2 square. If you look close you'll find a heart border using a Martha Stewart punch. There's also some teal hemp cording and a button topping the heart die. There's a little bit of a coutry feel from the papers and I guess that would be a likely place to find an owl anyway right?

Enjoy the rest of your day!

See ya back here soon.

Cath

Fishing for a Valentine

2012-02-03T06:58:00.000-05:00

Happy Bellariffic Friday folks. This week we are sharing Valentine's Day cards. Last month in Stamping Bella's January release there were quite a few Valentine's images released that I couldn't wait to get my hands on. My first pick is Ramona Fishing which comes with the sentiment.

I decided to use a soft pink color scheme so the hearts colored up with new copic color would pop. I also couldn't resist having the heart dangle off the main image panel. Let's get on with the details. I started with Bella's Bestest paper and inked Ramona up with Memento Tuxedo black ink. She was then colored with copics and shaded with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. The image panel was cut using circle nesties and then I hand trimmed the heart and attached it. A coat of Stampin' Up! Crystal Effects was applied to make it shine. The sentiment was stamped using the Stamp-a-ma-jig to ensure placement. EK Success scallop punches were used for the sentiment panel. The design paper is from My Mind's Eye Lost and Found collection called Madison Avenue.

I was dying to use some glitter on this but instead left the shining heart to draw you in. Gosh dang I love this image! As a special bonus (and because I didn't use a ton of colors) I have taken a picture of the copics used to make this cutie. I don't think I could do it every week but you get lucky today.

Next week we have yet another fantastic sketch from Ebrubella. And isn't this a funny...I mean I just went to grab the image to insert into my post and the sketch is so similar to my card above. All that open space on Ebru's will be perfect for some new Uptown Girls though. Ooohie I hope you can play along with us. Send a photo of your creation to emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night. If you're a regular on Split Coast Stampers (SCS) you can link your creation using BELLARIFFIC0512. You'll have until the following Thursday to play with us there. Yes, you gain an extra week if you play on SCS AND a chance to win $20 in Bella Bucks as well. Now join me over at the Stamping Bella Blog to see what other Valentine creations the sistahs made.

Have a great weekend.
Cath

I Love you this much...

2012-02-01T06:42:00.000-05:00

I told you I'd have more Valentine cards to show you. This is an image by Cristy Croll released in rubber through Stamping Bella called Aptee'tude. I started by stamping her onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and coloring was done with copics. My image panel was cut using Nesties Petite Ovals Large die and then I stamped the sentiment, which comes with the image, onto it. I cut my finished image out and placed it onto the oval.

Design papers are from My Mind's Eye Lime Twist collection. Cardstock is Bazzil. I love machine stitching. I think it gives a nice tailored look to cards but I didn't want to "clutter" all my paper up. So I only stitched the back panel and kept the smaller rectangles plain. My only other adornment is some dew drops that I colored with my copic markers so they would match the shades I used on my image.

See nice and easy right? Ok you're turn now. And it'll be perfect timing for our Bellariffic Friday challenge. This week the theme is...you guessed it Valentine's Day. Use a love theme, red/white/pink color scheme or a Valentine image from Stamping Bella on your card and submit it to Emily by Thursday night to be included in the blog lineup. Then check back and see what all the sistahs have made as inspiration for the rest of your Valentines.

See ya on Friday.
Cath

Sending You Love

2012-01-30T07:04:00.000-05:00

My Bella order arrived on my door step Friday and I was tickled pink to head to the craft room this weekend. I ordered lots of Valentine images so you'll be getting for the next few weeks. First up is yet another Cristy Croll image released in rubber through Stamping Bella. This is Sending you Love. I thought it would suit my nephews just fine!

The Sweet Sunday Sketch crew has new sketch that I couldn't wait to try. I missed the last one and not because I didn't like it but because I had some projects in mind that didn't fit it. Anyway, I made it happen this week. I started by stamping with Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest paper and colored with copics and pencils. The heart was done with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol as well as some shading throughout. The design paper is Love Me from My Mind's Eye. The sentiment comes with the stamp and here I used a Nestie Banner die and inserted it into hearts I also cut using Nesties. Niagra Mist VersaMark chalk ink was used for the surround shading.

Quick and easy! Don't forget that this weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge is Valentine, card about Love or uses red/white/pink colors. If you're linking up to SplitCoast Stampers use keyword BELLARIFFIC0412. Can't wait to show you mine. It's one of the new Valentine images from Bella's January release.

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Jan12 SFYTT

2012-01-28T19:34:00.001-05:00

It took me until the end of the month, but I finally tackled Jen del Muro's SFYTT (sketch for you to try). If you participate, you know that her monthly format makes it easier to play along. Paticipate every month throughout the year and you'll be eligible for a chance to win the Grand Prize which is goodies from each of the monthly stamp company sponsors. Last year, one of the frequent Stamping Bella challenge participants, Tanya Atkisson AKA Orangegymnut, won. The lucky dog! Check out this month's sketch...

I thought that Stella doing a Balancing Act would fit perfectly into the sketch and the timing was right on for building my Valentine stash. I started by stamping her onto Bella's Bestest paper, with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored her with copics. And yes, I recently had the 12 new copic colors delivered to my house..so playing was definately in order. I loved the new R56 and used it here with R39 for the darker shaded hearts. I even love the pinky mauve hues you get when you leave it on its own.

The design paper is from the My Mind's Eye Love Me 6x6 pad. Circle Nesties, Robin's Nest Dew Drops, a seam binding ribbon bow and machine stitching complete this card. Oops, I forgot a few things...I added glitter to the bath tub as if it was filled with bubbles and Crystal Effects to some of the hearts so they would shine. I also used an EK Success border punch along the horizontal red center strip. Here's a closer look.

Hope you're having fun this weekend. Hubby and I went a great hike today with the pups and I still found time to create so it was a banner day for me! I'll have some more to show you shortly so come on back ya hear?

Thanks for stopping by,
Cath

Bee Mine Valentine

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Ebru has given us another awesome sketch to work with this week. And since we are so close to the holiday of love I decided to color another Cristy Croll called image called Beemine Huggabug released through Stamping Bella.

Notice that I switched up the sketch a little by swapping out the circle image panel for a heart one. I then cut my Huggabugg out and adherred her to the heart too. Design papers are from My Minds Eye Lost and Found Madison Avenue. The image was of course stamped onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and then colored with copics.

Here's a close up. Note that the sentiment was only partially stamped. The full sentiment is "Valentine Wishes" but you wouldn't see all of it so I only stamped Valentine. The swirls are cut from a Sizzix die and were adorned with pink rhinestones. Machine stitching and a purty black ribbon bow finish this off.

Next week you have some options if you want to play along with us...you can create a love card, a Valentine card, or a red/pink/white card. How easy is that? Don't forget to send a photo of your card to Emily@stampinbella.com by Thursday night. You can also link your card up to SCS using the case sensitive keyword BELLARIFFIC0412.

I received word that my new Bella images are shipped and on their way. Can't wait to see Mr. UPS man. I've got some coloring I want to do.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by.
Cath

What's Cookin'?

2012-01-22T17:30:00.001-05:00

One of the things I love most about weekends is that I actually have the time to cook a real nice meal. I love to cook - way more than I like to bake - and weekends provide me the luxury of having time to shop for ingredients and prepare the dish. Yesterday, I found time to make this card in the morning and then cook a chicken pesto dish for dinner. Woo Hoo! Glad I made more than we needed so I can have lunch for tomorrow. I LOVE leftovers how about you?

Now back to the card. I used Mo Manning's What's Cookin' image released in rubber through Stamping Bella. I stamped her onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored her with copics - lots of copics. In fact I was asked by a follower to take a picture of the copics I use. I told her that I use a ton...she watched me color this and believe me I had about 30 copcis on the table when all was said and done. So I don't mean to keep secret the colors I use, it's just that there are so many that it would take me forever to keep track of them all for ya.

The design paper is October Afternoon Modern Homemaker. I matted it with Bazzil deep teal cardstock. The sentiment comes with the stamp as a straight line...I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp each word and place them vertically on the panel cut using Nesties Labels 19. I then cut the rolling pin out from a piece of scrap design paper and layered it on the image panel. Along the edges of the image panel, I used Tattered Roses Tim Holtz Distress Ink on Bubble mesh background stamp. I like the way it gives you a frilly edging. Ground and surround shading was added using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

You still have time to take advantage of free shipping on the newest Stamping Bella release for orders over $65. Simply add jan2012 for the discount code through Monday. I can't wait to get my order. Hope you found time to check out all the new characters like Ramona, Matilda, Millie and Milo as well as some new Uptown Girls and Mo's. Sistahs, there are so many to choose from. I'm in love..I know I always say that but seriously this release was fantastic!

Enjoy the rest of your day!
Cath

Bye Bye Boy

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

You're probably here because today is Bellariffic Friday....AAAANNNDDD you probably want to find out what my favorite Bella is...well I might have stretched that a little. See, it would have been too hard to pick just one Bella. I mean, I have so many favorites. So I picked my favorite Boy Bella. Yup, I'm on a boy kick and decided it would be way easier to pick that. And that would be Bye Bye Boy an image designed by Mo Manning and released in rubber by Stamping Bella.

By now you probably know that I stamped this cutie on Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored him with copics. Lots and lots of layers of copics. Of course the surround and ground shading were done with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I once again just colored the image without having paper in mind but decided I couldn't go wrong with primary colors. I easily found Basic Grey's Life of the Party plaid design paper in primary colors - woo hoo. I spruced it up some though by cutting a circle out to frame the image and then added stars cut from primary colored cardstock using Nestibilities. The sentiment which comes with the image was applied with Versamark and then heat embossed with Black Embossing powder. Haven't used that in forever! A few red brads and machine stitching finish this off.

Next week we have another awesome sketch so I hope you can play along with us. The code for SCS is BELLARIFFIC0312.

Have a great weekend.
Cath

Birthday Boy...

2012-01-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

The Dear Husband has requested a birthday card for his brother. I typically find it hard to design a card for adult males since so many images in my collection are for girls and kids. But I think this one fits the bill. This is Beer Peep. He was released last January at Stamping Bella.

I colored him over the weekend while the family was skiing. I decided to stay in the lodge and color while they all had fun in the 6 degree F weather. And that was at the base lodge. It was -10 at the top and the snow machines were working non-stop. Nope, me and my Bellas had alot more fun in the lodge sitting by the fire place. I had stamped Beer Peep onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento tuxedo black ink and colored him with copics. Shading was added with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

In a totally unCath creative move - I just plain colored. No paper to inspire me just go with the flow and hope to find design paper later. Didn't take long, Out of the Blue design paper by My Mind's Eye Lime Twist collection came to the rescue. I paired it with Kraft cardstock and a Dark Teal Bazzil cardstock. Distressing was added to the image and sentiment panel using Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink. Machine stitching finishes this off. Done!

Now for some business...some of you might have noticed that your computers freeze up when you click the comment button when visiting my Blog. I have been dealing with this all week. Apparently Blogger rewrote code and rolled it out at the end of last week. Some Blogs are experiencing problems with the new Threaded Comments code - mine happens to be one of them. For some, there is no problem at all...for others the blog page freezes up. I'm trying to get it fixed so I appreciate your patience in the meantime.

I'll see ya back here for another Bellariffic Friday challenge - which isn't a challenge at all...simply ink up your favorite Bella image. I can't wait to see what's your favorite. Wanna know mine?

Come back Friday....
Cath

Meet Katherine...

2012-01-16T06:00:00.003-05:00

Katherine is one of Stamping Bella's newest Uptown Girls. You want her? Well starting tomorrow she will be available in the Stamping Bella store. She's part of Emily's newest release! And she's got some new sistahs that will be introduced too. There's Dottie and Patty too. And we have some new designers and characters joining the Stamping Bella family. Em has been showing us little pieces of them on her blog and on Twitter and I can't wait to see ALL of them tomorrow! Yeah, she keeps us in suspense too. Ya know she warns us every time that this is gonna be the best release evah and she nevah seems to dissapoint us. From what I've seen so far she just might live up to her promise!

Now onto Katherine; whom I love cuz she's my namesake even if she is spelled with a "K". Katherine was inked onto Bella's Bestest paper and colored with copics. But I added lots of shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Since she's so dang girly, I added lots of glitter to her dress. My daughter saw this and said she wished I could buy her that dress! Wow, that made my day!

For me, the chocolates would have been all dark but that wouldn't be very appealling for you so she's got a heart box full of color. And that would be a box of awesomeness, hence the perfect sentiment that comes with the image. Love that Bella now includes one with just about every new image!

The design paper is from the Basic Grey Bittersweet 6x6 pack. The cardstock is Bazzil. Finished card is 5x6 inches. Want to see some more sneak peaks? Head on over to the Bella blog or Splitcoast Stampers. All the sistahs should have something to share for you. And then check out the store on Tuesday for the release. Just make sure you save a little something for me ok?

See ya soon.

Cath

A BIG Heart for Valentine's Day

2012-01-13T06:00:00.002-05:00

It's the first Bellariffic Friday of 2012 and we were given a fabulous sketch from Ebrubella. In fact she's made sure that we have lots of gorgeous sketches this year so I hope you can play along! I've chosen to get into the Valentine spirit...and have pulled out Little Peep's Heart from Stamping Bella.

As you can see I paper pieced the great big heart and had very little coloring to do but I still started with Bella's Bestest paper. I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo black ink on both the cardstock and the design paper. I then colored with copics and shaded with Tattered Rose Distress Ink by Tim Holtz.

I've taken the liberty of some creative freedom and have placed the sentiment on a banner stretching across the heart instead of along the bottom of the image panel. I felt like I had to put something where Ebru sketched the sentiment so I added pink and white twine by My Mind's Eye and topped it with a button. Kaiser half pearls were placed in the upper right corner and machine stitching finished it all off. Wooo Wee I love this image.

Design paper is a combination of Basic Grey Bittersweet and Bo Bunny Crazy Love collection.

Next week our challenge is to Ink up your favorite Stamping Bella image. You can do that right? You now have two ways to play, send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night and she'll include it in the Friday Blog lineup. You can also link it up in SCS to the Stamping Bella thread using keyword BELLARIFFIC0212. Emily is giving away $20 in Bella bucks in both locations. Which could come in handy with the hints of a new release coming soon. And I've heard that there may be some new Uptown Girls coming to the neighborhood. So stay tuned.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by.
Cath

Posh in Blue

2012-01-11T02:59:00.007-05:00

Let me tell you, this girl definately doesn't have the blues but I thought I would try a blue party dress for this Uptown Girl. If you haven't already met her, this is Uptown Girl Posh has a Present from Stamping Bella. She brings a smile to my face and a definate party atmosphere to these birthday sentiments.

Coloring was done with copics, so that meant I started with Bella's Bestest paper and Memento Tuxedo black ink. Shading below her feet was added with prismacolor pencil blended with gamsol. I tried to bring out some of the embellishments that have been gathering on my shelves so you'll find some Kaiser half pearls atop Prima paper flowers. Of course, this is a party so I had to bring out the glam too; you'll find some rhinestones bedecked in silver and some plain. Aaaannd I couldn't resist glitter. Yup, I actually started to photograph this and said, wait something is missing and sure enough it was the glitter sparkling on the bows and the skirt of this lovely dress. I applied this with the Quickie glue pen and lord knows how I lived in this craft before finding that wonderful tool!

The sentiment comes with the image so there's no need to hunt for one. I hand cut it into a tag and applied Tim Holtz distress ink to the edges. Design paper is a combination: the background is from Stella and Rose Hattie collection while the French Script is from a GCD pack called Ella Blue. Oh and I also added some shading along the corners of the image panel using Memento London Gray ink and Isabelle Norris' Eclectic Mini stamp called Bubble Mesh.

If you haven't heard the buzz, you now have two chances to participate in the Bellariffic Friday challenges. Now that Em is back on SCS we are linking cards in the gallery using keywords. This week it's BELLARIFFIC0112. You'll have until Thursday January 19th to link for a chance at a $20 gift voucher. But email a photo of your card to be included in Em's Bellariffic Friday post this week by 5pm Thursday January 12th and another $20 gift voucher is up for grabs. Yes, you can participate in both locations - and with the tease of a new release and some new Uptown girl images that sounds pretty cool to me. Here's Ebru's awesome sketch for this week. Hope you can play along!

Cath

Warm Wishes

2012-01-08T16:20:00.005-05:00

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

Izzie and her Birfday Cake

2012-01-07T06:58:00.005-05:00

I'm sharing another Birthday card today. You can never have enough of these laying around. Can't tell you how many times throughout the year I could kick myself for not having a stash of these. So, done in pretty girly colors I bring you another Cristy Croll image released in rubber through Stamping Bella called Izzie has a Birfday Cake. Izzie and her curly hair have been a favorite of mine so I had to buy all of her images!

I'm really liking all the pink and teal blue colors here and you'll never guess that the paper is actually from the Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses 6x6 paper pad. Yup, I had it on my desk and said hey, that would be perfect. Now the layout is borrowed. I was cruising through blogland after the holidays trying to find some inspiration and landed on Sarah Gough's blog. She did a fun spring feeling card using this layout so I've borrowed it. I didn't have the tools she used but I think mine is pretty close and goes to show that if you hunt in your own supplies, you'll find more than you thought you had.

For starters, I used the Spellbinders Parisian Motifs die for the image panel. The black scallop border was cut using another Nestie die made for Heartfelt Creations. I actually bought it not knowing that it was a double sided die - I really bought it for the other end. The flowers were made of paper and were cut using a Nestie Petite Scallop die that I just rolled tight. I don't own any of the flower making dies out there but thought hey, I might be able to give it a try. Since this will be hand delivered it's ok. But the flowers are pretty high if this was to be mailed. I added some leaves cut form an EK Success punch. The grossgrain ribbon was from my stash and it actually came from a gift which I hoarded knowing I could put it to use again. See, I was right! I also added Black Glaze pen to the polka dots and shoes because I love the way it makes them pop off the page. This is girly, so I also couldn't resist adding glitter to the rose buds on the cake.

Details: finished card size 5 1/2 x 5 1/4, Bella's Bestest paper for image, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses dp, also pink polka dot from October Afternoon Sidewalks, Memento tuxedo black ink, copics, prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Spellbinders dies, EK Success leaf punch, Black Glaze pen, glitter, dimensionals, machine stitching, grossgrain ribbon.

Want some more inspiration? Well Emily and Stamping Bella are back on Splitcoast Stampers as a Member Company again. Splitcoast is an awesome place to view galleries, learn from tuitorials, participate in challenges and hang with your favorite companies. When I started cardmaking some 15 years ago, I was always looking for ideas here. Ha, but although I looked alot, I hardly evah put my stuff there. And now that I have a blog, I find that I hardly have the time to link to another gallery, but for you I'll do it. It might take me some time to update it though so hang tight k? Here's the link to the Bella threads. And look close at the Uptown girls in the banner, Emily is already dropping hints that a new release is in the near future and these Uptown Girls will in it. Yeah - love me some Uptown Girls!

Phew, I didn't mean for this to be that long...
If you're still with me, thanks for stopping by. See ya on SplitCoast Stampers and back here again soon.

Cath

Buzzy is sending Birthday Wishes

2012-01-03T20:17:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year folks! So sorry for the sporatic posting over the holidays...I travel alot so we can be with family and friends and I just couldn't get everything done. I'm looking forward to a travel free January and lots of weekend time creating. Did you get lots of toys to play with too? Ha - doesn't matter how much I have, I always want more.

My first task is some Birthday cards so I can get in front of the eight ball. It might actually be my first New Year's resolution...get ahead. Yeah, sounds good now let's see how long I can keep it! I pulled Buzzy Huggabugg, a Cristy Croll image released in rubber through Stamping Bella for my nephew's birthday card...it's in February so I'm staying on target for the resolution! I wanted to pair the winged character with the planet theme of the October Afternoon Rocket Age design paper. I stamped Buzzy onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and then colored him with copics. His wings were colored and then topped with Quickie Glue and glitter. I then cut him out and mounted him with Dimensionals. The sentiment actually comes with the Bye Bye Boy image but I thought it would fit here as well. It was cut out with Nestie, Petite Ovals large and shaded with Tim Holtz distress ink in Weathered Wood. You'll also find some soft blue ric rac from my Grandma's ribbon stash, brads and machine stitching.

Ahh, it feels great to create again! You know you want to join me. Why not give a whirl on Stamping Bella's first Bellariffic Friday Challenge of 2012? It's a sketch to help you get back into the groove. Just send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday the 12th. Emily will include your creation on her blog along with all the sistahs. Can't wait to see it!

Enjoy all your new treasures.

Cath

Here's a Present Sissy!

2011-12-29T05:22:00.005-05:00

My word the holidays wear me out! I've been in transit too and just want to find some time in my craft room but alas it's going to have to wait until next week. I wanted to share a quick card I made for my Sissy. Actually her gift will be in it or part of it anyway. She wants cash for a new high tech camera, so I had to at least make her a pretty card to put it in, right?

This is Izzie has a Prezzie, a Cristy Croll image designed for Stamping Bella. I love Izzie, her curls and swaying skirt just make me smile. I was a little done with Christmas so I decided to color her in bright cheery colors and paired it with October Afternoon Sidewalks 8x8 design paper. Of course I started by stamping her in Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest paper and colored with copics. I've added additional shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

Machine stitching, glitter, a border cut with a Fiskars punch and a new "package button" are the finishing touches. The sentiment tab was handmade using part of a Bella sentiment stamp and an inverted corner punch. This will be hand delivered so I could layer to my hearts content!

Have any New Year's plans yet? We'll be heading to Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada to celebrate with some of our Michigan friends. Stay safe and enjoy yourselves.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T06:31:00.005-05:00

Just wanted to send everyone some holiday greetings. I'll make this short and sweet because I'm sure that you are running around to finish your preparations or you're heading to a holiday party...

This is one of my all time favorite Christmas images from Stamping Bella. It's called Merry Christmas branch with birdies. The scene is so peaceful...with the stark branches and little birdies holding their holiday sentiment. I've added some snow to help add to the serenity of the scene and some red stickles to the berries so they sparkle.

The main image panel was cut using a Labels 14 Nestie. Bella's Bestest paper, Memento Tuxedo black ink, copics and prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol were the main tools. The design paper is from the Echo Park 6x6 Seasonal pack I bought from the Bella online store earlier this year. I've added machine stitching and a light application of Tim Holtz distress ink in Antique Linen to the edges of the image panel along with three clear baubles from my stash. I finished it up with a red seam binding ribbon and bow topped off with a button strung with a red jute bow.

I wish you all a safe and very Merry Christmas and holiday season!

Ciao,
Cath

Baby Boy

2011-12-21T06:09:00.004-05:00

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!

Happy Birthday Dana...

2011-12-19T21:42:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday to you! So glad to be sending you these wishes my friend. I've chosen to color up a Cristy Croll image called Cuppycake with a Huggabugg on top. She's just so irresistible and I know she's sitting atop a mound of frosting and you hate frosting but it still looks pretty.

I started by stamping this Huggabugg onto Bella's Bestest paper with Memento tuxedo black ink and coloring with copics. I then added shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. The cupcake is adorned with glitter and her antennae with rhinestones. The sentiment (one of my favorite Bella's that isn't currently available) was stamped using the stamp-a-ma-jig so I could ensure the placement of each word. The sentiment panel was cut with various oval Nesties and was also adorned with rhinestones. The leaves were cut with an EK Success punch. The layout is another one from Karen Giron and the SSSC #148 and it looked perfect for my image.

The papers are also from the Echo Park Victorian Garden 6x6 paper pack. I couldn't resist the musical note paper...can't you just hear me singing Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...

Have a great year Danabella!

Love ya,
Cath

A Bunch of Thanks

2011-12-17T09:07:00.005-05:00

Happy Saturday folks! Today I'm sharing a card that I was asked to make for a neighbor well actually the neighbor's sister-in-law. There's a story here, as if you didn't expect that from me! Well, Shannon is quite young, just had her fourth child and was having headaches. She went to see what was up and low and behold she had a brain tumor. They did surgery the next day. I was in shock! The poor thing had no warning but she's recovering and doing great. She asked if I would make a card to send to her surgeon. As if I'd turn that request down!

So out pops Paisley Pixie, a Cristy Croll image released in rubber through Stamping Bella. The bouquet of flowers is just so sweet and exudes thanks so it was a perfect fit. I used Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge layout again, as it too was a perfect fit! Sweet!

I stamped Paisley onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink (do you tire from reading that each and every post? hehe I just figure that anyone new stopping by should know the tools I like to use). Of course, you can probably guess that I also like to color using Copics. I did add some shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol too. And as if a fresh kiss of dew came by, I added glitter with a Quickie Glue pen to some of the flowers. You might want to click on the photo to enlarge it to get a better look. (If it still comes out the same size, simply increase the page size - I do it all the time to see the detail people put into their creations).

Design papers came from the Bella shop, it's a 6x6 double sided pack of papers from Echo Park Paper named Victoria Garden. Oh how I am addicted to paper! A satin wire ribbon helped me form the bow and little purple rhinestones finish off the left corner. The sentiment is also from the Bella shop. I didn't want to add too much stitching because I didn't want to crowd the edges of the paper but I did add it to the image panel. Voila, another card done.

Off to wrap a bizzillion presents! Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Cath

Last Bellariffic Friday Challenge of 2011

2011-12-16T06:00:00.002-05:00

WOW...I can't believe we've reached the end of another year. Now hold on to your panties...I know there are a few more weeks left before we hit 2012 but this is our last Bellariffic Friday challenge. Up this week was an awesome sketch by Robinabella...wanna see what I did with it?

I looooved this sketch. It was the perfect backdrop for Lulu's Birthday Cake, an image from Stamping Bella.

I started with Bella's Bestest paper, Memento Tuxedo black ink and copics. Of course lots of shading was added with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Colors were inspired by the My Mind's Eye Lost and Found "Rosy" 6x6 design paper ...yummy chocolate browns and corals which I accented with kraft. After all the shading was done I added Stampin' Up! Cryastal Effects on the frosting for shine and glitter to the flowers and candles for sparkle. A seam binding tape ribbon and bow were topped with a button and jute. I also added Bella Birthday sentiments (this one is no longer available but there are plenty of others) cut using the Stampin' Up! Word Window punch.

Additional details can be found in the machine stitching, rounded edges cut with a corner punch and brown rhinestones in each of the four corners.

Hope you have some great weekend plans. Don't forget to keep checking the Bella Babe blogs over the next few weeks to see some more inspiration. We might not have challenges but we still have projects to share.

Ciao for now,
Cath

Over the River...

2011-12-12T20:00:00.004-05:00

A very welcome sight this weekend was all the cars heading down the road with fresh evergreen trees on top. One of my favorite memories of Christmas past was the simple joy of heading into the woods, with a fresh coat of snow to pick out the annual Christmas tree. I had fun with that task every year with my daughter as well....until I met the dear Hubby and his kids. They would go to the Nursery at the end of the road, into the greenhouse, to the very back and pick the tallest, fatest tree. Hmpf! Daughter and I miss hunting down our tree to this day.

To keep the joy of that moment alive I have colored up "Car with tree on top" a stamp from Stamping Bella. Is that appropriate or what? I also decided to play along with fellow Babe Danabella and this weeks SSSC over on Karen Giron's blog. I have altered the sketch a little. I've turned it a bit and added the strip in front of the image instead of behind it. I was not happy with the shading of the Tim Holtz distress ink this one is Rusty Hinge...it didn't blend into the shading surrounding the image very well. So I glittered the heck out of the edge and thought it reminded me of a snow storm...perfect for the over the river and through the woods adventure.

I stamped the image onto Bella's Bestest paper of course using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with copics. The design paper is called Christmas Home by Teresa Collins - thank you Sissy! It's a 6x6 paper pack and I love the deep patterns. A Memory Box die was used to cut the snowflake adornment. Then I spritzed it with Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist in Heirloom gold. It's really sparkly IRL! The sentiment is also from Bella and I cut it out with Nesties Labels 19. Finished card is 6x5.

Love the fun feel of this stamp...it brings a smile to my face!

Hope you enjoy.

See ya back here again in a little bit. I've got some catching up to do with you all.

Ciao,
Cath

Decorating with White

2011-12-11T06:38:00.006-05:00

Hello Folks! So sorry to have dropped out of commission...my computer would not understand that the power cord WAS attached so it drained the battery. I've been struggling for weeks with it...holding the cord ever so delicately so that it recognized the much needed power source but then I'd look and it was draining again. I finally gave in and took it to the shop. This is the first time I've bought a service warranty that I actually got to use. Anyhoo, they beat their repair estimate by two weeks and that made me so happy.

So now that I'm back in commission, I have my all white card to share with you from Stamping Bella's Bellariffic Friday. I've colored Ornament with Holly. The delicate lines of this one appeal to me. So I started with Bella's Bestest paper and Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then I colored with copics but I did need prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol to add shading. Then I glittered it up.

Oh, and I added Stampin' Up! Crystal Effects onto the berries for a little shine and copper Viva Decor Pearl Pen to the "dots" on and around the ornament for just a little more pizzaz. The image was cut and layered using Nestabiites Classic Rectangles in Large and Small and then Large Scallop. I cheated a little bit if you haven't noticed...I added a layer of creamy ivory to help make the ornament pop. I also think it helps pull your eye across the page. The background was dry embossed using my new Sizzix embossing folder from the Sugar and Starry Night set. T

Next week we have a wonderful sketch from Robinabella. Hope you can find time to play along.

Ok that's it for today. But I've got some more creating to do. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and holiday preparations!

Ciao for now,
Cath

I Even Love the Box (2)

2011-12-02T05:00:00.000-05:00

Bellariffic Friday is once again upon us. This week we are inking up more Holiday images to share with you. I decided to dust off I Even Love the Box, a Mo Manning image released in rubber through Stamping Bella. Can't tell you how thrilled I am that Emily decided to bring us these great images to color. The expressions are so fantastic. This one melts my heart. Every kid shows more excitement from sitting in the box than the actual gift...that's for sure. I colored this up last year for a Mary Maxim class but this year I went with a little softer palet.

You know that I started by stamping this with Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest paper...white if you can believe it. I added lots of surround shading with Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress ink. The image was colored with copics but I did add shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

The design paper came from last year's Bella stash. I brought home a boat load of it when I went for a visit and should have realized that there was no way I could use it all...but I loved all the papers and couldn't decide. I'm sure that you've never had that happen to you have ya? As if I needed more, I bought the red paper this year online from the Bella shop. It's from the Echo Park 6x6 holiday pack. I accented with a seam binding ribbon, some light green dew drops, and a metal tag that says "believe" that I thought would be perfect.

Next week we have an all white card challenge. These cards can be so elegant looking. Can't wait to see what you come up with. Hint hint...won't you play along? Now head on over to the Bella blog to see some more inspiration.

Ciao for now.
Cath

Uptown Girls Victoria and Juliette's Night Out

2011-11-30T01:39:00.005-05:00

I have yet another Uptown Girl image to share with you today. This one is for a girlfriend celebrating a birthday this weekend. I couldn't resist coloring Victoria and Juliette's Night Out by Stamping Bella designer Lulu. These girls are chic! And along with their sentiment I think they are the perfect image for a BFF on her birthday, or to celebrate a fun adventure which you might be planning (which we are). We're going to be meeting half way between Michigan and the Catskills along with our hubby's to celebrate New Years Eve in Niagra on the Lake. It's a gorgeous quaint little town and I'm so looking forward to the event.

You might have guessed that I stamped these girls onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then set out to color them with copics but I'll tell you that I did add lots of prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol too for extra depth shading. I love the way their dresses turned out. I gave Victoria on the left a sparkly celebratory dress full of glitter. Juliette's flowing skirt was also accented with charcoal extra fine glitter. The image is pretty tall so it takes up alot of card space and doesn't leave much room for embellishing but I actually like the clean lines of this. The finished card size is 5x7. Color inspiration for the dresses came from the October Afternoon Sidewalk dp.

I'd like to give a big shout out to Leslie Good who won Paula's stamp giveaway. Whoot whoot. All she had to do was play along with the babes and well, Leslie is pretty much a regular participant. In case you didn't know there are Bella Bucks up for grabs each week to one lucky participant and one lucky commentor. If you'd like to join us this week, we are inking up Holiday images. What a great way to knock one off your to do list. I know I still have quite a few more to go. Don't forget to send a photo of your creation to emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night to be included in the Friday blog lineup.

See ya back here on Friday!

Thanks for stopping by.
Cath

Quinn sends You Warm Wishes

2011-11-27T08:26:00.004-05:00

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

Uptown Eve Sends Holiday Cheer

2011-11-25T06:00:00.001-05:00

It's Bellariffic Friday again and I'll keep this one short and sweet 'cuz I'll bet you want to head out to get some Black Friday shopping done if you're in the States that is...I know that's where I'm gonna be. Our challenge this week was free form.. and I colored up Uptown Girl Eve Under the Mistletoe. She looks so classy and elegant to me so I decided to color her skirt in shades of darker grays to give the appearance of black. I also wanted to add the look of fur around the edges as if she was going to an Uptown Holiday Ball.

As you have probably guessed, I stamped her onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and then colored her with copics. I used cool gray colors to gain the appearance of black. Her belt buckle was done with a Black Glaze pen. The fur was accented with glitter and the mistletoe was defined with Cream Viva Decor paper pen. Shading was added to the folds of her skirt, the ground and around her using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

The sentiment is actually from the Uptown Christmas Tree image. It fit perfectly onto my image panel. Well, the sentiment is a long one so once you determine the placement using the stamp-a-ma-jig tool, you can stamp one word at a time.

The design paper is from My Mind's Eye Lost and Found collection of 12x12 papers. The solid teal is actually the reverse of the glittered polka dot paper. Black carstock was used to matt and cut using the Pine branch border punch from Martha Stewart. The image is tall so the finished card size is 5x7.

Next week's challenge is Christmas/Holiday again to boost your stash. Hope you can find time to play along. Don't forget to head on over to the Bella blog to see what the rest of the Babes and sistahs have to share.

Enjoy your weekend!

Cath

Anastasia

2011-11-20T19:15:00.004-05:00

I'm finally getting around to coloring some more of the images from the Stamping Bella August release. Anastasia is another one that caught my eye and made me chuckle. She's heading to Colorado to Vicki, the winner of my blog candy. I couldn't resist coloring a card to enclose with all her goodies.

Anastasia was stamped with Memento tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest paper. I then colored her with copics. Loved that head of hair and the big glasses. I wanted to use some more of the Crate Paper Random 6x6 dp and loved the country style of this. Shading was added too with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

A Stamping Bella Thank you sentiment was cut using Nestabilites Pennants die. Machine stitching and two Dew Drops are the only embellishments. This card came together rather quickly. I didn't think I was going to be able to craft this weekend because our kids came in for a visit but I forget they sleep till mid morning. With my early morning routine, finding time to get this done was a piece of cake!

Hope you can find time to play along with our Free Form Bellariffic Friday challenge this week. Remember, you have two chances to win some Bella Bucks, one with Emily and one with Paulabella who has some of the Uptown girls included.

Ciao,
Cath

Big Girl Pants

2011-11-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

While Ebrubella gave us a wonderful sketch to play with for this weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge, I couldn't resist pulling out one of my newest stamps from Stamping Bella's August release - it's a charming Mo Manning image called Big Girl Pants .

I started by stamping onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with Copics. Prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol also helped me add depth to the swirls of her hair, the folds of her pants, the ground beneath her feet and the sky around her. My color inspiration came from the beautiful floral design paper called Countryside from the Crate Paper Farmhouse collection. I complimented it with Crate Paper Romance designs. Both were also part of my latest Bella order.

The sentiment comes with the image and since I had limited space with the layout, I cut it up and matted it with cardstock. Finishing touches were machine stitching and a satin ribbon bow.

Next week our challenge is free form...which means color or use whatever suits your fancy from the Stamping Bella collections. Paulabella is offering up the chance to win some additional prizes too if you can play along with us. Head on over and Read all about it.

Enjoy your weekend....I have kids coming into town and a trip planned to see Breaking Dawn. So psyched for today to be here!

Ciao,
Cath

Spencer the Bookworm

2011-11-15T18:15:00.004-05:00

I couldn't resist Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge again this week. And to mix things up a bit, I have a non-holiday image colored up. I've read through your comments and have determined that a few more boys cards are in order...it's so easy to do girl cards and I have way more uses for them but I guess a little attention to the boys wouldn't be so bad!

So here's a Green Bean Baby image called Spencer the Bookworm. I love to read! The layout was nice and easy and paper from the My Mind's Eye Lime twist line called Fly A Kite was my color inspiration. I stamped Spencer onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored him with copics. The ground and surround shading was done with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Believe it or not, I didn't use one Nestie on this card! Now that's quite a feat since I love those dies. But alas, the only adornment is the border cut using an EK Success punch. Oh and I did add some Stampin' Up! Crystal Effects on Spencer's glasses to make them look a little more real.

That's it. Pretty easy!

Now we're almost mid week and I hope you have time to play along with our Bellariffic Friday challenge. This week we have a sketch from Ebru. I must tell you that I found it very easy to incorporate into a card. Yup, I colored like a banshee over the weekend and I have my card done. Now don't forget to send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com and you might win some Bucks!

Ciao for now!
Cath

We have a Winner!

2011-11-12T20:07:00.007-05:00

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

Uptown Girl Christmas Tree

2011-11-11T06:00:00.002-05:00

It's 11/11/11 today, how cool is that? Annnnd you still have the day to comment on my Blog giveaway here....I'll be announcing a winner on Saturday so I hope you find time to leave a comment.

Now, we're celebrating the upcoming Holidays in Bellaland today. For me that means time to get another Christmas card done. Woo Hoo - that's three done this week! I could not wait to get my hands on the new Uptown Holiday images. As soon as my last order arrived on my doorstep I dug Uptown Girl Christmas Tree out. Lindabella gave us a fabulous sneak peak of this and it totally inspired me.

Armed with the Sweet Sunday Sketch from this week and My Mind's Eye holiday paper I started to create. I stamped the image using Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest white paper. I know it looks more like ivory but that's because I added Tim Holtz distress ink in Antique Linen all around the edges. There is also Pale Sage prismacolor pencil blended with gamsol directly surrounding the boughs of the branches but it blends in with all the shading. Most of the coloring was done with copics and then I applied lots of glitter. The string of lights also is highlighted with Sakura Gel pen in red and then topped with lots of glitter. I even sparkled the heck out of the presents under the tree.

The sentiment comes with the image so I decided to stamp it to look like a tag on a present and tucked it neatly under the red seam binding bow. Voila! Must say that I enjoyed making this card. Hope you likey!

Wanna play along with us again next week? Well we're making it easy for you and giving you another great sketch to get you started. Seems that alot of you would prefer to have this part of our challenge decided for you so you're in luck! This is once again from Ebrubella.

Can't wait to see your creations. Now head on over to the Bella blog to see the rest of the inspiration.

Enjoy your weekend. And it's Veterans Day in the US so here's a great big thank you for all they did to make our life better.

Cath

You Perk Me Up!

2011-11-08T15:00:00.004-05:00

All the posts about snow and the holidays had me thinking about a nice cup of joe or maybe it's hot chocolate. Who doesn't love to come in from the cold to enjoy a nice cup of something hot? And the holidays also have me thinking about early morning shopping trips and a quick stop for some Starbucks! I'm starting to get a little excited. Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and so is the annual family Black Friday shopping trip and lunch! Woo Hoo and lots of us will actually be home this year to participate. I'm going to digress for a minute here but I thought I would share a funny...we sold our house in our hometown so now our visits back require us to stay with my Mom. Well Mom has my sister and her growing family coming in and my brother with his three boys so there's not much room in the inn so to speak. Hubby and I will be staying at a hotel. And since we will only have one car I'll need a little help getting places. I asked him for his thoughts about transportation for Friday and he told me he would bring me anywhere I wanted/needed to be...but does it have to be at 4 am he said. OMG he had me cracking up! Of course he does!

Sooo let's get back to my card.

I used this weeks Sweet Sunday Sketch and immediately flipped it too! Danabella has a tendancy to do that and I just loved the way it looked so I followed her. My image is Perk Me Up Peeps and it comes with the sentiment! I stamped it onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then paper pieced the cup and colored the Peeps with copics. I added lots of shading on the paper and under the cup using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I couldn't resist adding a winter theme since I had the Basic Grey Jovial design paper on my desk.

I had some crap on my fingers when I was working with the image panel and it made a smudge. I ended up covering it up with some clear baubles in the upper right hand corner. The snowflake border punch is from EK Success and I finished it off with machine stitching.

Check out Karen's blog to see the rest of this weeks creations.

How's your holiday card coming for this weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge? You still have time to join us. Send a photo of your creation to emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night and you may win some Bella bucks!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Holiday King!

2011-11-06T10:44:00.004-05:00

It's getting to be that time of year again. The store flyers have Christmas sales all over, coupon inserts are full of baking ideas and your online Bella Babes will be showing you holiday card inspiration! I'm a little excited about all of them except maybe the baking...I'm a much better cook than I am a baker.

So what to color???? How about one of my newest images from Stamping Bella designed by the phenomial artist Cristy Croll? I adore her images and King of the Candy Canes had to make its way into my stash. I started by stamping him on Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored him with copics. I used the design paper as my color inspiration. It's from a 6x6 SEI pack I bought at the end of the season last year called Kris Kringle. The red background paper is full of sparkles and the stripes caught my eye because I like the addition of the soft blue. A little untraditional but I love the color.

For my copics, I pulled out BG75, BG72 and BG70. I must tell you that I was thrilled when copics came out with BG70 but I find it doesn't blend with BG72 all that well. No problem, I simply grabbed some BG75 with my BG70 tip and it gave me a nice transition from the BG72. Phew! Shading is one of the reasons I love to color with copics. I simply love the depth it gives images.

Once I finished coloring, I cut the image out. I then applied Polar White Flower Soft along his crown and stocking top. I placed him on top of a circle cut using a Nestie and textured using a Darice "snow" embossing folder. The sentiment is also by Stamping Bella and I framed that in a panel cut using the Petite Oval Nestie large. Shading was added using Tim Holtz Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. Machine stitching and a few Swarkovski red crystals are the finishing touches.

I'm linking this to Cristy's challenge #71 for her Anything Goes challenge. November is a free form month and well that only means I have to stew on which image I want to color. Hehe and that CAN be a challenge!

Enjoy your weekend and hope you can find some holiday inspiration for this weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge.

Don't forget to leave a comment on my first blog giveaway...Friday will be here before you know it!

Ciao,
Cath

Have a little Snow?

2011-11-04T06:00:00.001-04:00

We did! Last Saturday we only got 4 of the 12 iches predicted for our area. I know that there were many though that got more than they expected and tons lost power. Mother Nature does not seem to be happy with us this year! For this weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge we didn't go quite so extreme, but we did ask for some snow.

For that, I decided to color Mo Manning's Penguin with Gift released in rubber through Stamping Bella. I then added glitter, a sentiment and felt snowflake to tie in the theme. This image is so fun and adorable. Everytime I see him, he makes me smile. Reminds me of Happy Feet. I of course started with Bella's Bestest paper, stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with copics. The surround shading and ground were done with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. And just as snow glistens, I added glitter to the ground here to add lots of sparkle.

Now I know this might be hard to see in the picture but I actually cut a hole in the Basix Grey Jovial design paper with a Nestie. The opening left me with a place to put the image. But I wanted to showcase it a little more so I made a scallop border with two Nesties and adorned it with more glitter and then put it over the opening. Machine stitching brought it all together. A little red twine, a felt snowflake topped with a pearl button and a Bella sentiment cut with the Stampin' Up! word sentiment punch complete the ensemble.

Next week we're looking for Holiday cards! I for one am thrilled to get some in my stash. So pull out your favorite Bella Holiday stamp and get at it. But don't forget to send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday to be included in the Friday lineup. Then head on over to the Bella Blog to see all the inspiration.

Lastly, the Bella Babes are look for your help. In your opinion, what challenges do you like to see? What do you like to participate in the most; sketch challenges, themed or perhaps color challenges? Please leave me a comment or go to Emily's blog and leave it there! We are gathering valuable information for the upcoming season and YOU have some say in it!

Have a great weekend!

Thanks for stopping by.
Cath

11/1/11 and a prize is up for grabs

2011-11-01T20:00:00.007-04:00

Hello folks. I have a few of my favorite Stamping Bella treasures up for grabs. But I need your help. You see, it's been a year since I joined the Bella Babes and I've been ever so grateful for all the sistahs who stop in to see my creations. So I have some of the items I use on just about every card I make to giveaway...Bella's Bestest paper, Black Glaze pens, Memento Tuxedo black ink pad and refill, Quickie glue pen and Bella glitter, Tim Holtz distress ink and sponge applicator, Bella Baubles, and of course Bella stamps! One of which is from the new Uptown Girls line.

I think the month of November puts me in a thankful mood. I often recall how I started with this craft and the people I've met along my journey that have influenced me. I start with my Mom who asked me to join her in a Stampin' Up! class, Lizzy from my LSS who showed me so many new card styles and techniques, Jen del Muro whose own blog giveaway got me to start my blog and then Lizzy who showed me how. Brenda encouraged me to bring copic classes to Mary Maxim but Paula showed me how to color. Sure I had my Copic certification, but Paula showed me how to add depth to images so they came to life. Through her I found Emily and I can't explain the thrill I felt when she called me Cathabella. With that I've gotten to meet more Babes (Dana, Ebru, Linda, Pauline, Robin and Regan) at Bellaland and Scrapfest and Leslie too and they've given me friendships I adore. Then there's you, one of the many faces that visit me each week and leave me comments and encouragement! You're my blog friends and an integral part of my day...I Love Ya!

So, as I start this next year, I'd love to hear from you. Tell me what you've liked about my cards or images or posts this past year. Was there something I did that stands out more than all the others or perhaps there's something you'd like to see? Leave me a comment and we'll see what I can do. Here's some rules...

1) Feel free to leave me a new comment on this post each day from now through 11/11/11 (how cool is this date?). I will announce a winner on Saturday, November 12th.

2) You will have one chance in the pot for each comment you make.

3) Since it's my followers that keep me going, feel free to leave two comments a day if you follow my blog. Not a follower yet, no problem you can start now. And for those of you not signed up with Blogger, I allow annonymous comments. Just leave me an email address so I can get in touch with you.

That's it...no hoops and no need to have a blog or post anything on it.

Thank you for keeping me going each and every week!

Good Luck friends!
Cath

October SFYTT - just in time

2011-10-30T11:17:00.006-04:00

Phew, I'm sneaking this in just in time. I love that Jen del Muro has changed her Sketch For You To Try (SFYTT) into a monthly format; it gives me time to fit it in~! I'm mean seriously, who couldn't play if you had a month to do a card?

Today I colored up Uptown Girl - Posh with sentiment. She seems so aptly named with her ruffly, glittery dress, so full of girliness. Because she is tall (close to 5 inches)and due to the sketch, I wanted to place her packages outside of the image panel. I love the way that looks. But experience has left me wiser. Here are the steps: stamp image with Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest paper, cut with Nestie, stamp another image of the packages, color, shade with Prismacolor pencils, machine stitch image panel to matt panel, attach colored and trimmed packages, add glitter. Then attach to card layout. Color inspiration came from the design paper. It's by My Mind's Eye Lost & Found II Rosy 6x6 pack which I got from my trip to Archivers in Columbus.

I think this image is so fun. And I think the sketch works great too! I just may have to make a few more of these up!

We only got about 4 of the 12 inches of snow predicted over night and todays sunshine is melting it all away. Thank goodness. We haven't had time to rake the leaves yet and well, they haven't even all fallen off the trees yet either. But it's a beautiful backdrop of inspiration for this weeks Bellariffic Friday snow challenge. I'm off to color again!

Thanks for stopping by and see ya again soon.

Cath

Baby Time or Stipes revisited....

2011-10-29T07:38:00.004-04:00

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

Pushing Stripes

2011-10-27T22:43:00.004-04:00

It's Bellariffic Friday again. If you've been following along, you know that this week we were challenged to use stripes. I've got some...well, if you look close you can see a strip of stripes in the lower design paper. And I'm pushing your imagination with the black and green diamonds to instead see ribbons basket weaved into alternating black and green stripes. Ha, can you see it?

This about wraps up my Halloween card blitz. But Trick or Treatabella is a must every year. I mean I wish I had legs like hers that I wouldn't mind showing off with my spiffy black boots.

You have no idea how much Halloween design paper I have and never get around to using. The papers I used here are from Imaginisce Hallowhimsy line. They are 12x12 pieces but the scale was just right. Ms. Bella was stamped using Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest paper. She was colored using copics - I love using E99, E97, Y21 and YR23 as they blend so beautifully together. A piece of black velvet scallop ribbon and a sheer orange ribbon bow are the only adornments, well as long as you don't count machine stitching as an adornment. I did however add lots of Tim Holtz rusty hinge distress ink to shade around the image while it was still in the Nestie die. Its a real warm color and I love the added pop.

Next week we ask you to add some snow to your card. Ha, never thought I would be thinking about that so early in the season but girlfriends, we got snow last night for the commute home from work. Big fat wet fluffy flakes and they were sticking. Ack, I'm not ready for snow yet. So bring it on, either in the image, using glitter or flower soft or whatever suits your fancy.

Enjoy your weekend and see ya again soon!
Cath

What's Brewing?

2011-10-24T17:56:00.000-04:00

My most favorite Halloween image has got to be the Mummy, the Witch and the Pirate designed by Cristy Croll for Stamping Bella. This trio is just too cute and reminds me of so many little ones who will be flocking the neighborhood next week.

I used a combination of prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol and copics to color. Some things never change like using Bella's bestest paper and Memento Tuxedo black ink. You might remember that I colored this last year too. Well, I wanted to switch the colors up a bit and really like this combo. The bold red pirate outfit is my favorite. And I used E71, E74, E77, E79 to color the couldron. I always envision black but this is a lovely brown/black. The colors have neat names like Champagne, Cashew and Maroon and I never really dig them out so I gave it a whirl and love the result!

Design paper is from the Authentique 6x6 Glowing Bundle pad which you can find in the Bella shop. As you can see, it's perfect for fall and Halloween. I also used a piece of orange spiderweb and word paper from the Teresa Collins Haunted Hallows pad.

I know this is going in the mail so I chinced on embelishments - Mr. Postman loves to charge me lots of extra postage and isn't nearly as careful as I would be with my creations so this is going flat! Machine stitching and a simple sentiment I've had in my stash for ages finishes this off.

I'll be linking this up to Cristy's challenge blog for her Halloween challenge...hey when you're on a roll, you go with it.

Ciao for now,
Cath

Gossmere's ready for Halloween

2011-10-23T10:21:00.006-04:00

Where the heck did the month go? I can't believe that next week is Halloween and I have hardly started to get my cards done. I cannot think of Halloween without including Gossmere, an image by Cristy Croll for Stamping Bella. Her dark feel just oozes the thrills and chills of Halloween doesn't it? Then I remembered a piece of My Mind's Eye 12x12 design paper from their Haunted line called "Raven" I knew would create an awesome "scene".

So, I stamped Gossmere onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored her with copics. I did add some extra shading with the black prismacolor pencil blended with gamsol. Then I also dug out the purple glitter Atyou Spica pen and Golden Star Sakura Gelly Roll pen to add some sparkle to the crown and purple sash. After cutting Gossmere out, I glued her to the design paper and added a Halloween sentiment. This one is from Stampendous...I like the way the lines look scrawled with an unsteady hand instead of solid. This is actually a much bigger stamp but I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig and inked it in sections and placed the sentiment where I wanted it. Love that tool now that I know how to use it. Machine stitching added just enough to tie it all together especially with the rich velvet on the candlestick.

Pretty easy right?

Dig out your stripes and play along with this weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge. Just send a photo of your creation by Thursday to emily@stampingbella.com to be included in the weekly lineup. Who knows, you might be our lucky contributor winner. Not abe to play, don't worry head on over to the Bella blog and leave Em a comment, she loves them. She also has some Bella Bucks every week for one commentor. Now that is pretty easy.

Want to see some more of Cristy's creations? Check out challenge #69 on her challenge blog here for more Halloween inspiration.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Cath

Stella Celebrates Halloween

2011-10-21T05:54:00.006-04:00

Happy Bellariffic Friday folks! This weeks challenge was an awesome sketch from Ebrubella. It was a perfect road map with all her colored papers and embellishments. All you had to do was insert your image. If only I was that computer skilled.

Today I have a project I made for some special girls in my life! They are young enough to still appreciate the fun of going into the neighborhood on October 31st so I thought they might enjoy a little festive decoration. I started with Spooky Stella and of course my Bella's Bestest paper. I stamped with Memento tuxedo black ink and colored with copics. Since I wanted to cut the image out to create a scene, I didn't use any pencils. Design paper is from Haunted Hallows 6x6 paper pack by Teresa Collins. It was a gift from my Sissy that I couldn't wait to get into. I loved the blank October page and filled the lower half with another piece that fit perfectly with halloween words and of course the big 31. I framed the 31 in the lower left hand corner with a Nestie.

The Spider Web border is one of my favorites from Martha Stewart. The ribbon is from Making Memories and came as a set of 4 Halloween themed styles. The sentiment is also from Stamping Bella. I used some Tim Holtz distress inks to add some color. Emily has all Distress Inks on sale 50% off this week. Call the store to find out if she has what you're looking for in stock. I love these inks and use them all the time. This is one of her weekly sales though so ya better hurry you only have until Wednesday.

Next week we are challenging you to BRING ON THE STRIPES. Use either striped paper or embellishments. I know I have more than a few ribbons that would be perfect for this. And there is always Bella Bucks up for grabs to one lucky participant and one commentor so head on over to the Bella Blog to see some more inspiration.

I also have two new Babes to welcome to the neighborhood. First is a welcome back to Shannan Teubner whom I followed when Stamping Bella first caught my eye. Next is Regan D'Agostino who has been a long standing weekly contributor. She's got a fresh, fun style I know you're going to love. Check out their blogs and give them a nice big welcome.

Shannan Teubner
Regan D'Agostino

On a sad note, Tammybela has decided to step down so she could spend some more time with family. We all know the pressure of trying to balance family, work and our play time so I wish you well Tammy! It's been a pleasure craftin with you Dirty Girl!

Well the weekend has finally made it's way back around. I for one can't wait to make some time for my cards. My double weddings out of town was fun last weekend but dang the 10 hour drive home on Sunday killed me. I didn't get anything done...as you noticed this week. I owe ya so check back over the weekend to see what I've been creatin'.

Ciao for now,
Cath

Bellariffic Halloween

2011-10-14T08:14:00.006-04:00

Today we are sharing Halloween creations at Stamping Bella for our Bellariffic Friday challenge. I had so much fun with this challenge. I decided to look a little outside the box and repurposed Everyday Princess another Cristy Croll creation.

This Princess was made a little Goth with her dark purple and black sparkly skirt. I couldn't resist. She was stamped onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink colored with copics and cut out. No, I didn't make a mistake which had to be fixed by the cutout, it was my intention. I really wanted her to pop on the center image panel. I covered that with Basic Grey Eerie design paper I have had for a few years now but find it perfect for the season. Then I used rectangle Nesties to layer cardstock.

A sheer purple ribbon bow was adorned with a Boo sentiment from Stamping Bella placed onto a tag cut using Nesties Tag 5. I added a little distressing with memento ink and toped it off with a black button which was tied with black Bella cording I found in the jewelry department at JoAnn's. I couldn't resist when I saw the name. I thought the addition of the flying bats would further transform this princess into a holiday favorite. They are from an EK Success border punch - only they are the pieces that punch out - I just love them and reuse them.

You like? Next week we have a sketch challenge for ya. As you know, I so love these. Our very own Ebrubella has done half the work for you. Check this out, it's a roadmap to an adorable looking card and perfetly themed already for you too!

Won't you play along? There's always the incentive of Bella Bucks to one lucky commentor and one lucky contributor so head on over to the Bella blog to check it out.

And if you haven't seen already, there were three new Uptown Girl images released this week just in time for the holidays. Emily is offering free shipping on orders over $55 through Monday, October 17th. Use the code freeshippingoctober at checkout. It's her way of saying thankyou for your patience after the August release. She offered us so many new stamps then and you all went hog wild that the Bella elves couldn't get the orders out fast enough.

I'm out of town to share some time with family and friends at two weddings! What a weekend this is going to be. Anyhoo, I'll see ya back here next week.

Thanks for stopping by.
Cath

Wedding Cake take 2

2011-10-12T06:00:00.002-04:00

You'll have to excuse the photography for this one folks. I took the picture over the weekend outside in the sunshine. I never noticed the glare on the image until I went to upload it. ARRRGGG! We're heading out of town for our double weddings in Columbus so I had to post this regardless of the glare.

You might recognize this card from earlier this summer. I made card one for wedding one. This is the second one and I decided to use a little different color scheme. I love the teal, taupe combo. Color inspiration came from the Basic Grey Cameo 6x6 paper pack.

I stamped Lulu's Wedding Cake from Stamping Bella onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then set about coloring with copics. I also added some shading using prismacolor French Grey 90% pencil blended with gamsol. Machine stitching, Viva Decor Paper pearls, a Sweet Sunday Sketch, glitter and a fabric rose (tinted with copics) complete this card.

I'll see ya back here Friday for the Halloween Challenge. And if you haven't stopped by Em's blog yet - you'll want to check out the new release of Uptown Girl Holiday images. Just in time to help you make some spanky sweet Holiday cards. And to sweeten the deal she is offering free shipping on orders over $55.00 just enter coupon code freeshippingoctober. I've placed my order today...

See ya Friday!

Cath

Summer Days - turned Fall

2011-10-10T06:36:00.004-04:00

Today I have a Fall "Summer Day" scene to share. That sounds wierd doesn't it? Well our very own Paulabella has designed a line of stamps and we got to see them in Stamping Bella's August release. Since it's now Fall, I decided to color my Summer Days scene using a little bit darker shades and I envisioned the flower pots as mums. I found this awesome design paper Paula actually sent to me. I believe it's from a Memory Box 6x6 pack. The colors were perfect.

This is a two inch square stamp so coloring goes pretty quick. Now the layout time, that took me awhile. I knew I wanted to stamp on the design paper so I had to place the image panel off center. Some machine stitching, distressed edging (with a nail file and Tim Holtz distress inks), a little Bella sentiment and this card was good to go.

Of course you already know that I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's bestest paper. The panels were all cut using Nestabilites dies.

If you liked the last Stamping Bella release, you might want to check out Emily's blog today. I've heard whispers of a mini-release and I've seen Lindabellas blog. There is an awesome Uptown girl coming to town.

Have a great week!

Cath

Madison is ready to hit the town

2011-10-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

I had soooo much fun coloring this Uptown girl. Meet Madison has a Margarita! She's one of the newest girls in town from the latest Stamping Bella release. I couldn't wait to get her into my craft room. Ya gotta love the Uptown girls with their long skinny legs and gorgeous dresses!

This week's challenge was fall colors so I actually went with orange, black and white...perfect Halloween colors even if this isn't a Halloween image. Ya can't think fall without thinking of trick-or-treat colors right? I scored some great orange design paper from the My Minds Eye Honey Cake 6x6 pack. I stamped Madison onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. My color medium of choice was copics but I added depth shading using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

Her dress has some spanky charcoal glitter applied using my favorite Quickie Glue pen. I also appplied Black Glaze pen to the buttons to give them some pop. The sentiment is a bonus as it comes with the image. I stamped it in sections so it fit in my image panel onto two lines. And since it's Friday I'll be so happy to see 5 o'clock come along.

Madison is pretty tall too so you'll notice that you don't need to fuss alot with embellishments. I don't think she needs it anyway with her fruity drink and sparkly dress. I did add machine stitching and matted with a MFT open scallop die.

Wanna play along with us next week? Well the theme for real this time is Halloween. If you don't have a Halloween themed stamp from Stamping Bella in your stash just pull another one of your favorites like I did here and simply use Halloween colors in your paper and/or embellishments. That's what I did and I can't wait to show you how I repurposed one of Cristy Croll's stamps. Send a photo of your creation to emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night to be included in the Friday lineup. And don't forget to stop by to see what the rest of the sistahs have to share with us at the Stamping Bella blog. Hope I see a card from you there.

Have a fabulous weekend and I'll see ya back here soon.

Cath

Arthur and Annie

2011-10-04T20:51:00.006-04:00

Today I have a great pair to share with you. This is Arthur and Annie, another Cristy Croll creation released through Stamping Bella. So do you think I can pass this off as a baby congratulations? I mean I was asked to make a card for a new Mom who just had twins - a boy and a girl. I immediately thought of Arthur and Annie - ya know a little glimpse of the future for this new Mom.

I started by stamping onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I inked Arthur first. I Then stamped him again on scrap paper and cut out his head to create a mask. I placed the mask over my stamped image. Then I stamped Annie onto the clear plate with the Stamp-a-ma-jig. That way I could tell where to line up my stamp block again. I placed the clear sheet over Arthur to find the right placement for Annie. Line up your stamp-a-ma-jig, remove the clear sheet and stamp Annie onto your paper right over the mask over Arthur's image. Simply remove the mask when you are done and voila you have a perfect overlay of Arthur over Annie. You can reverse who you want in front but all of Annie's curls had me choosing Arthur's image to cut out.

Coloring was done with copics and surround shading was added using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Design paper is from my new My Minds Eye 6x6 Lost and Found two Sunshine pack. I love this paper! The sentiment was computer generated onto vellum and held in place with metal brads. The border is by Stampin' Up!

There you go - quick and easy.

Don't forget that our theme this week is fall for the Bellariffic Challenge. I hope your scenery outside can give you lots of inspiration.

See ya Friday.

Cath

Planets and Galaxies

2011-10-02T14:46:00.006-04:00

Happy Sunday folks! Wooee I've been busy. It's rained the past two days and its cold so I've been hanging in the craft room. Wanna see what I have to share this morning? Just checked and it's now afternoon but I swear it still feels like morning...why can't I have a few more hours to the day? Ok, my Bella shipment arrived and I ordered the October Afternoon Rocket Age 8x8 design paper. I thought it would pair perfectly with the Planets and Galaxies stamp. Of course Paula beat me to the post though - she stopped into Bellaland and brought her stuff home. Mine was a little delayed waiting for all the new release rubbah to get in.

I love playing on Sunday because I'm pretty sure that I can find something to color using Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge and today was no exception. You can see the sketch here if you want to play too.

I think this came together pretty nicely. Of course I started with Bella's Bestest paper and Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then I colored with copics. Highlighting was done with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. This is heading to my nephew so I didn't bother with machine stitching...he's more interested in what's inside anyway. I followed the sketch for the most part but added my usual "belated" birthday sentiment panel. Dag nabbit I tried to get this done on time but the UPS man took to long to get my stuff here. Honest, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Finished card is 4x8. Tools used were a corner punch, EK Success border punch, Nesties circle and star dies.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Apple of my eye - SFYTT

2011-09-30T05:56:00.002-04:00

It's here...Bellariffic Friday has come around again! This week we were challenged to Pop it up...now that's not really a challenge - I put dimensionals on just about every card these days. But...for this card I gave it an extra lift.

I started with Appleybowl Huggabugg another Cristy Croll creation released through Stamping Bella. I have had this stamp on my wish list since last year. It finally made its way to my craft room last week, just in time for fall.. I stamped her onto Bella's Bestest paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink and then colored her with copics. Of course, I also added some shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. My other new found favorite for shading is Tim Holtz Distress inks and I added them to the edges of the lime cardstock along with the image panel.

Want to know where all the dimensionals are? Well, first I POPped the image panel. Then I stamped and colored another bowl of apples. I cut them out and POPped them up on top. I didn't stop there, I stamped and colored one more batch of apples, colored them and cut them out to POP them up one more time. Woo Hoo - that's 3 layers high! Take a closer look.

I added a few extras too...glitter on the wings, crystal effects from SU on the bowl of apples, machine stitching, Cuttlebug embossing folder with distress inks for the green layer, and a simple twine bow. The sentiment is also by Stamping Bella but its from the Polky Apple stamp. I thought it was perfect cut with a Nestie pennant die and adorned with a hand trimmed apple.

Check out all the glitter and shine...

The design paper is 12x12 double sided from Imaginisce called Apple Cider Apple Crisp and it came home with me last Novemeber from the Bella store. Who could resist names like that? It was the last sheet and I was dying to pair it with this stamp. Well the sun and moon finally aligned and the two came together...he he I crack myself up! So dramatic huh?

The sketch is the September SFYTT by Jen delMuro. I'm sneaking it in just in time!

Now head on over to Em's blog to see what all the other Babes and sisters have done. Did you know that there are Bella Bucks up for grabs for one lucky commentor? Yup, so stop on by, leave a note and check back next week to see if you scored. If you want to play along with us - our theme next week is Fall. Hopefully my card today can give you some inspiration in that department. Oh and there's Bella Bucks up for grabs for one contributor too so get your fall colors out and show us your stuff.

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

I Heart You

2011-09-28T05:55:00.005-04:00

My word, where is the week flying to? Hubby and I spent some time this past weekend in Naples, NY for the annual Grape Fest. Have I told you yet how much I love fall? Well I do and the weekend was fabulous! It was slightly cooler on Saturday with grey skies but as the day moved along so did the clouds. No rain was the hit of the day. I had some fun looking at the vendor's wares in town and found a neat painted canvas banner to decorate my front porch for the winter season. We stopped at a country farm market and I found mums at a bargain...only wish we had more room in the car to bring another one home with us. Anyhoo when you play all weekend it means the real stuff has to get done during the week. After working all day there doesn't seem to be enough time to get it all done. Anyone else have that problem?

So here is a little card I made to play along in this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge. I started with BeeBee Bittybloom by Stamping Bella stamped onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I colored her with copics and used prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol for the grass. The surround shading was done using Tim Holtz Distress Ink applied with the Adirondak Alcohol Ink applicator. Design paper is from the Authentique 6x6 bundle Uncommon which I found in the Bella online shop. I had to glitter this cutie up and pulled my favorite Quickie Glue pen to apply it. The sentiment actually comes with another stamp Lilly Loveaboo but I remembered that I had it and that it would fit perfectly with this image too. Remarkable I know (that I would remember that is). Image and sentiment panel were cut using Nestabilites dies. The center strip was cut with a SU border punch.

This card was a just because but I think BeeBee would be great for Valentine's Day too. Hmm can I remember that when the time comes?

Now I'm off to work on my POPped card for Friday's challenge. YOu still have time to play along too.

Thanks for stopping by.
Cathy

Irma & Vieno

2011-09-23T06:00:00.002-04:00

I am sooooo glad that Mo Manning has brought her fabulous images to Stamping Bella! I simply love to color them. And this pair, Irma and Vieno, part of the latest August release are no exception.

We were given the sketch from Paulinabella so thankfully one decision was down. Next came the paper which was a recent purchase of My Mind's Eye 6x6 pads. This one is from the Lost and Found Christmas collection. I stamped the pair onto Bella's Bestest paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with copics. I added the look of aging with Tim Holtz Distress Inks and surround shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

Other extras are velvet ric ribbon, a felt snowflake with a Ruby rhinestone and glitter - lots of it. It's one of the best things about snow scenes...you can make them sparkle like real snow by applying glitter with a Quickie Glue Pen. The sentiment is also from Stamping Bella and was cut using a Spellbinders Nesties pennant die.

Next week your challenge is to add some POP to your creation, ya know like dimensionals to Pop something up. Now that's an easy one. I do that alot on my cards so the image panel draws you in or under a button or flower. Don't forget to head on over to the Bella blog to see what the rest of the sistahs have come up with.

Enjoy your week!

Cath

"Un-conventional"

2011-09-21T06:00:00.001-04:00

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

Fabby!

2011-09-19T20:15:00.005-04:00

Ok, I love this girl. Fabby is a Cristy Croll image released in rubbah through Stamping Bella. Doesn't she look like she's having the time of her life? I can't tell if it's because she's a dancer and finally made Broadway or she just won the lottery and is heading shopping! How cool would either of those be?

Me, I'm doing the happy dance because the sketch is this weeks Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge so I didn't have to think about it. Fellow Bella Babe, Dana is part of the team and I love to check out her blog on Sunday morning. Head on over to Karen's blog to see the rest of this weeks creations.

Let's get down to the details. Fabby was stamped onto Bella's Bestest paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with copics. I then added two mediums to give the image panel shading, first, Prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol for the surround color and then Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Scattered Straw for the corners. Oh and I also shaded the white Nestie Blossom Circle with the distress ink too. I'm not so comfortable with all the mixed media art work my fellow Babes have been sharing but I'm slowing trying.

Since the My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose Gertie paper was on my desk, I used it here for the dp. The center of the flower was dry embossed using a Cuttlebug Polka Dot folder. Two buttons from my stash and bakers twine adorn the right while a sentiment tag adorns the left. The sentiment actually comes with the Daisy Stove image (you'll be seeng that a little later this week).

You still have time to work on this weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge. It too is a sketch challenge from our very own Paulineabella. Take a look and play along won't you?

Thanks for stopping by ...
See ya later.
Cath

Uptown Girl Claudia...fall style

2011-09-17T09:12:00.005-04:00

OMG where did the week go? EEkkk, I realized I never made my way into the craft room which means you've been staring at the same pumpkins for days now. I'll make it up to you. I've got something up my sleeve I'm trying to put together for you all. Stay tuned.

In the mean time, how about a little Uptown girl to make your day? My Bella shipment arrived and I'm in hog heaven with my markers and papers. To start, I decided to color up Claudia in nice fall colors. I have a niece with a birthday next month and that means I'm finally ahead of the game. For color inspiration I used the My Minds Eye Stella & Rose Gertie design paper. Colored cardstock is AC Cardstock. Of course I had to stamp Claudia onto Bella's Bestest paper - only the best for my Bella's. Memento Tuxedo black is my ink of choice so I can color right away and then out came my copics. Believe it or not I had colored a goldfish this week and the golden yellows were on my desk..I had an aha moment and felt they were perfect for matching my paper and giving us a hint of fall.

This stamped image is pretty big so you don't have a lot of room for frills afterwards but I knew I wanted a ribbon. Couldn't find the right shade in my stash though so I pulled out my copic marker Y21 (Totally Love this color) and colored it to match. The sentiment comes with the image and I love making tags so I pulled out a new Nestie ribbon tag and used only the bottom. I feel like bows are naked without an adornment so I pulled a button from my stash and adhered it with bakers twine. Shading around the image was added with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

If you look closely at the sucker you can see that I also added some glitter... it's easy if you use your Quickie Glue pen. You might remember fellow Bella Babe Paula's sneak peek creation, she used a alternating color scheme too. The image has the swirls but who hasn't seen these suckers with alternating colors? It screamed for me to repeat the creation here.

Ok so now I'm off to create some more ...I'll see ya back here tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day.
Cath

Are you ready for Fall?

2011-09-11T20:20:00.004-04:00

I noticed quite a few changes over the weekend. Days are cooler, the woods smell crisper lots of pine and earth, leaves are staring to turn yellow or are littering the lawn...it means fall is here. Woo Hoo!!! I love fall. Love the colors, the scents, the decorations love everything about it.

So, I had the impulse to color fall. Here's my first card of the season and I used Row of Pumpykins by Stamping Bella. I stamped it onto Bella's Bestest white paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then I colored with Copics. The ground was shaded using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Design paper is Memory Box 6x6 Blackbird collection. Cardstock is Bazzil. Nesties Petite Ovals Large and Labels 18 make up the image panel. I had to add some machine stitching and then finished it off with some black brads, a satin ribbon and bow and green victorian brad.

Hope you enjoy your week.
Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Butch and Mimi

2011-09-10T08:30:00.005-04:00

So the Bellariffic Friday animals arrive a day late. I woke up bright and early to finish this for you all and I hope you likey.

I'm a big dog fan myself but Butch and Mimi from Stamping Bella were too resistable. If you've followed Lindabella you know that she has a cute but demanding little Westie named Bessie that reminds me of these two. Now she was lucky enough to have the living model, I had to wing it. So don't look too closely at the ears...I think they are a tad bit too dark. Hmpf!!! I started with Bellas's Bestest paper and stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink. Coloring was done with copics and surround shading was added with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol.

I ran to fellow Babe Danabella's blog last Sunday to find the Sweet Sunday sketch. I was psyched to use sketch 133 as my quide ... it doesn't fit the sketch exactly because I didn't want to use two papers. I had this piece of dp from Fancy Pants sitting in my stash that I wanted to use and I couldn't find anything else to go with it. Funny, I have a TON of paper or so the hubby would say, but I hate when you can't find coordinating pieces. Guess that means it's time to buy some more. Hehe. Anyway, I added a hand dyed seam binding ribbon, some metal brads applied with Scrap Dots and a computer generated sentiment. Those lovely circles were all done with Nesties. Of course, I also had to whip this through the sewing machine for a nice finished look.

Hubby is working so I'm creating and doing some laundry and picking up. Hope you are enjoying your weekend as well.

See ya later folks.
Cath

Animals Friday

2011-09-09T06:39:00.003-04:00

Today is Bellariffic Friday - Animal style. Or at least it's supposed to be. Friends, I just couldn't get a card done in time. With my hubby working long days I vowed to pay attention to him and feed him with a nice meal once he did get home so it cut into my creating time drastically.

Our county is still responding to the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. On top of that we just had 4 straight days of rain and with creeks already running high it meant more flooding again. School has been delayed until next week so Highway crews can repair the washed out roads and bridges.

So, I promise to finish the card that is in pieces on my work table over the weekend.But for now, hop on over to the Bella blog and see what the rest of the Babes have to show you along with all the sistahs too!

Please make note that we are taking next Friday off as Emily, Paula and Linda will be heading to Mall of America to teach some classes and demo Stamping Bella stamps. When they get back we have a sketch from super talentd Paulineabella for you. That means you'll have two weeks to play so I'll be waiting to see your lovely creations.

Until the weekend...
Cath

Rain or Shine

2011-09-06T06:53:00.002-04:00

I made this card using Shower Bugg, a stamp designed by Cristy Croll for Stampng Bella, after a weekend filled with sun, rain and Neighbors helping Neighbors. Let me explain...

We had some more rain this weekend. It was the fear of Greene county after last weekend's Tropical Storm Irene. My husband along with numerous volunteers in and out of state and the National Guard have been manning the emergency operations center and dealing with the cleanup of mountain towns that lost a great deal. They have been working all day, all night to bring some normalcy to these people who have suffered greatly. I made my first trip up on Saturday and saw the creeks that had swelled to massive rivers. They took everything in their path and have left a trail of downed trees, caked clay and mud and everything else they picked up along the way...boats, school buses, cars, timber, house parts and a ton of rocks.

On Sunday I actually went up to the ski resort town of Windham. Much of the town is open to local traffic or relief workers only. That is, what is left of the town. A local group from my hometown called Neighbors helping Neighbors volunteered to do laundry services for the mountaintop folks. It was a free service with the machines, soap and manpower being donated by the Coxsackie neighbors. I volunteered to help by driving up to retrieve dirty bags of clothing while passing out the clean clothes done the night before. What I found was destruction that I could not comprehend. Parts of the roads were swept away and the Transportation crew was working diligently to fill it back in. As the water raged down the culverts in front of people's houses it took the only means of exit from their property with it. Huge ravines were created with cars on one side and the road on the other. In many places the road was reduced to one lane as the workers tried to rebuild what the water took. Once in town I found the bridge with the house that came to rest against it, the school bus that floated down the street, cars that were imbedded into the banks of what was once the creek. Restaurants and shops with blown out windows, doors ripped off and all the contents sitting alongside the street caked with a red clay mud that seemed to be the new ground cover in this once idyllic resort town.

A trip to the actual ski resort had me in shock. The parking lot is now a mess. The water ripped it to shreds as it rushed down the mountain. Beautiful landscaped break walls were blown out. It picked up black top and rippled it so that huge craters were left behind.

The DOT is using the lot across the way to store great amounts of stones that are being used to secure roadways again. An ever present sign on the trip up or down the mountain was construction trucks used to transport the rock up, dump trucks and waste vehicles trying to bring in containers to clear the trash away. As you can imagine, trash is the new problem. Where do you put a mountaintop full of trash and household possessions that have been destroyed. Mold is also a growing concern.

I have a few pictures I've gathered to put this all into perspective for you...

Beth's Cafe in Prattsville, NY. This is the local diner Shaun and I had breakfast at last month on one of our exploration trips on the motorcycle. It was flooded up to the second floor.

Right across the street from that a garage was moved from its foundation where it came to rest on another building and a police cruiser.

A house down the street had the misfortune of being built next to the creek. When the creek flooded it created a new path right under the foundation of the house. The house is for sale...I don't think it's likely that a buyer will come in now.

This was a goreouse Victorian house. It reminded me of a child's doll house that might have been recklessly tossed in the play room. Note that the foundation was destroyed and it is actually leaning forward. To put it into perspective for you, the ground is mid-way to the first floor window.

Power lines held but the telephone poles could not withstand the force of the water. Crews are working nonstop to restore power.

Roads rippled like ribbon candy as the water plowed a new course.

And this was a common scene of roads with broken access.

This home lost its backside to the Batavia Kill, a creek which meandered through Windham, NY.

Cars ended up all over the place.

The Holiday was a means to have numerous volunteers ready to help clear towns. I think it will be some time before all is well here again.

Please keep the victims of Mother Nature in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Summer's End

2011-09-04T20:29:00.004-04:00

Well folks, I'm sad to see the summer come to a close. But that's what Labor Day weekend brings here in the States. I felt that I had better get to coloring Ida Lulu by Stamping Bella before another summer comes and goes. Yup this is season number two and yet she was still in her original wrapper. See, I get a little intimidated too...

Now I can't take credit for the design of this card though. I was doing a google search like always and came across a card by Sandra McLean that I fell in love with. I had to share it with you. What I loved best about this was the neat addition of fishnet stockings. Look close now because I had to hand draw them in. Awesome idea Sandra! Ida looks so sexy!

To start, I stamped Ida onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then I colored with copics. I also added some shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. To make her hair pop, I went over it with a Black Glaze pen. Her sunglasses have a coating of Crysal effects by Stampin Up! If you look closely at the flower in her hair and on her bathing suit, I added a pink swarkovski crystal.

The background paper is AC cardstock, the design paper is October Afternoon. Spellbinder nesties helped frame the image panel along with machine stitching. The blue sky shading and grass were done with pencils. The sentiment is from Verve and it had a ton of dust on it...seems Bella's find their way into my cluthes most often. Hehe. A simple black ribbon bow finishes this off.

I hope you enjoy your holiday.
See ya soon.

Cath

Reading Reverie

2011-09-02T05:00:00.000-04:00

It's Back to School time! And for the first year in eons, I don't have to fret over buying supplies or hauling a ton of stuff up 3 - 4 flights of stairs in the dorms or student housing. All our kidlets are done with school! I know that it does mean lots of school-age children, parents and teens will be reading! So for this weeks Bellariffic Friday post I have colored up Reading Reverie by Stamping Bella.

I had a stash of design paper from Paula sitting on my desk that I decided to use. I have no idea who the manufacturer is but I loved the green/brown combo and thought the September calender paper used on the circle was so perfect! I stamped the image onto Bella's Bestest paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with copics. I also used prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol to add shading, the grass and the soft blue glow around the image.

Glitter applied with a Quickie Glue pen added some bling to this studious babe's skirt. The white border strip was made with a Stampin Up! punch. Machine stitching and a satin bow finish this off. Please note, I had a hard time getting that pink satin to photgraph right. Sorry, I hate when that happens.

Next week your challenge is to use Animals...paper, stamp, or embellishments but make sure it's a Stamping Bella image. You can submit a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night for a chance to win some Bella bucks and to be included in the weekly Friday lineup. Double your chances and stop by the Bella blog and leave a comment for another shot at some Bella bucks!

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your weekend!

Cath

Have a Grrrrreat Birthday!

2011-08-31T18:33:00.006-04:00

I know it's been awhile...Irene got in our path over the weekend and has wrecked havoc on our county. If you haven't seen the news, we've lost whole towns! The power of Mother Nature amazes me. Places that hubby and I visited over the summer on our weekly motorcycle explorations are no longer there. 13.5 inches of rain fell and swelled creeks to rivers that engulfed houses and streets and swept away everything in its path. It's left inches of thick mud, fallen bridges and sunken roads all over the place. I thank our lucky stars that we only had minor basement flooding but my husband, as County Administrator, has been at the Emergency Operations Center all day and night. As the week has worn on, I see his spirit diminishing. Please pray that financial and physical contributions can help these people pick up their lives again.

I finally found time to create and set out to make my nephew his Birthday card. He'll be 2 so I thought I could still get away with another Stamping Bella image designed by Cristy Croll called Amimals Daisy Lion. My first thought was to use it for a Baby Shower card but the birthday came first. For a little change of pace, I used kraft cardstock as my base and image panel. I still used Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with copics and was pleased that the colors looked as vibrant as ever. The design paper is a combination of Cosmo Cricket 12x12 sheets. The background is a backside of Gretel Woodland and the dots are the back side of Mr. Campy Skipping Stones. Nesties helped me make all the cutouts including the sentiment panel. Machine stitching, yellow brads, and a gross grain ribbon are my embellishments.

I'm still hunting for an image to color for this week's Bellariffic Friday challenge - the theme is Back to School. Won't you play along too?

Hope you and yours are safe!

Thanks for stopping by.
Cath

Bismark to the Rescue!

2011-08-26T06:24:00.004-04:00

So you know it's Bellariffic Friday and you know that this week I designed the sketch for our weekly challenge...well I almost through up my hands and said "I can't". Believe it or not, I have mental blocks, creative flats, tired mistakes too. I had a great idea for this card - I won't share it right now 'cuz I'm still going to try it ...just when I have a day to dedicate to it. So for now we have Bismark coming to rescue me from telling ya all I have nothing to share. Bismark is another Mo Manning image released in rubber through Stamping Bella.

I know, it's also a little early to be thinking of Holiday cards, but I thought it was another opportunity for me get ahead of the game. Ppppft! Now there's a funny. I'm notorious for making the cards....just not sending them out! Part of it is because I like looking at them and the other is I'm moving on to the next one that needs being made. How about you? Does this happen in your craft kingdom too?

So I bought this new paper ... and had it sitting on my desk. I've searched high and low for the paper pack to tell you the manufacturer but it's buried somewhere. Do you see where this project is going? Wait it gets better....I colored this to be the main focal panel onto Bella's Bestest paper, colored with copics and went to add some surround shading with a new ink color. It looked great on my sample but ACCCKKK it killed all the hard work I put into coloring Bismark. So what's a girl to do but cut it out! So I salvaged it with a little snip here and then there and Voila it's saved! Then I decided to add a little more color to the strands of hair by his nose...next thing I knew you couldn't see his nose or his eyes, I had gone too dark. Now dagnabbit I was tired and needed to get to bed but I had to get this finished. So I restamped the image and colored just the face, cut it out and placed it on top of my mistake. Now we can really say Voila!

I cannot believe how much trouble this card gave me. But the moral is, crafters prevail! We turn mistakes into opportunities. I must say that I love the definition of the extra layer of face. I could have just said that I added another layer for depth but I think it's a much better story with all the mistakes. And then, I really like the look of the image all cut out. It gives us a chance to pull out a Cuttlebug embossing folder to spruce up the image panel. Oh and the surround color that went bad, well it was called Niagra Mist and it looked perfect on the edges of the bone. I had gotten some on each of the ends and I really like the way that turned out. So see, don't give up!

Phew...that was a mouth full. They don't call me Chatty Cathy for nothing! Now next week we are getting into the Back to School mode. So pull out any Stamping Bella image and create a Back to School themed card or creation. But don't loose out on the chance to win some Bella Bucks. Send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Cath

Hi from Alice

2011-08-23T06:32:00.005-04:00

Well, I was on the road again over the weekend and had NO time for the craft room. Had some good times with old friends in Michigan though. We laughed our butts off. Now, I'm like a banshee making some things to show you. Don't worry, it'll get done.

Today I share with you another Cristy Croll stamp released through Stamping Bella called Alice. She looks so much like Alice in Wonderland to me that I have a hard time not trying to color her hair blonde. I fought the urge though because I wanted to try this rolling locks of dirty blonde hair. I have dirty blonde hair and I must say I hated being told that was the color - made me feel unclean for pete's sake. Anyway, back to the card. Design paper is from the My Mind's Eye Lime Twist line called Happy Go Lucky. Pink cardstock is by AC Cardstock and the white back ground is Neenah Classic Crest Solar white.

I stamped Alice onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with copics. I didnt have alot of room leftover in the Large Oval Nestie so I didn't do any surround shading...now that wa even harder than the blonde hair. With the little bit of space I had leftover I added the Hi sentiment which is also from Stamping Bella.

I couldn't resist some machine stitching and a frilly seam binding tape bow. Lots of scallops were added using Lacey Ovales die by Spellbinders, a Martha Stewart border punch and an EK Success border punch. Phew, one down two to go. Most importantly, I have to finish this weeks Bellariffic Friday challenge, it's a sketch by moi! Hope you can play.

And I saw that you still have time to order some of the new releases and get the extra bonus stamps free. Emily extended her offer through Wednesday so head on over to the Bella store to score!

Thanks for stopping by. See ya soon.

Cath

BFFabug

2011-08-19T06:00:00.005-04:00

Designer Cristy Croll's Huggabuggs were center stage this week for the Stamping Bella Bellariffic Friday challenge. Personally I love these characters so I didn't find it to be much of a challenge at all other than deciding which one I would color. BFFabugg has been in my sights ever since I saw Paulabella's creation a few months back. Then she went and sent me that card. It now sits on my desk in my craft room and gives me lots of inspiration so I thought I would give it a try.

That decision down I still had to come up with paper and layout. I cruised on over to Cristy's blog for some more inspiration and found a ton in her gallery. And actually I found this layout with papers by Echo Park (that I had) and incorporated my image. I'm not sure who the original artist was but head on over and see if something catches your eye.

Of course I started by stamping on Bella's Bestest paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. For a change, I decided to color using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. But of course some things never change so I colored the faces and some of the detail work with copics. Shading around the image panel was done using Tim Holtz distress inks first in antique linen and then in vintage photo. Simply keep the image panel in the Nestie die and apply using a sponge.

A Martha Stewart punch was used on the white latice border strip and again I applied vintage photo distress ink to add the appearance of aging. A simple seam binding ribbon bow was topped with a button and bakers twine. The sentiment is one of the 5 included in the Billboard sentiments pack from Stamping Bella. A Nestie tag die was used to cut it out and then again I added distress ink too for aging.

Next week we have a sketch for you designed by me! I tried to make it pretty easy and I'm already thinking of ways to dress it up. I hope you can find time to play along.

If you were thinking that you needed to grab some of the new release stamps, Em is giving you a sweet deal with some free stamps. The special is good through Monday the 22nd so make your way over to the store and check out all the new rubber.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

You Go Girl!

2011-08-16T20:02:00.006-04:00

I have another new image to share with you from Stamping Bella's latest release. If you haven't checked it all out, head on over to Em's blog to see the 29 new stamps. Yup, it's an awesome release... Mo's, Lulu's, Three Sisters, Green Bean Babies, and our very own Paula too. There's something for everyone! And some free stuff too!

This one is On the Pot Girl a Mo Manning image released in rubber. The sentiment comes with her and I think it's perfect! I can think of plenty occasions that encouragement like this would bring a smile to the recepient's face!

The image was colored with copics on Bella's Bestest paper. I did of course add surround and ground shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Design paper is Memory Box Pixies and the sketch is the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge for this week. Check out Karen's blog to see what Danabella and the rest of the sketch girls have to share.

There's plenty of time to get your mojo going to play with us for the Bellariffic Friday challenge. Pull out your favorite Huggabugg image from Stamping Bella and create! Then send a photo of your creation to emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday to be included in the Friday lineup.

See ya soon and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Clarissa and Camille

2011-08-15T06:38:00.004-04:00

I have two more Uptown Girls to share with you today. It's release day at Stamping Bella folks and that means lots of fun things to see and drool over and shop for. But first, a little coffee. I was so thrilled to color up this stamp. First, I love the new Uptown Girls and second, the image is perfect for so many people I know.

I colored the newest Uptown girls Clarissa and Camille on Bella's bestest paper using Copics. I also used prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol to add shading. Even pulled out Sakura gel pens to add some shine to the coffee mug.

Pink cardstock is by AC cardstock, pink design paper is Cosmo Cricket Upscale 6x6, and the striped paper is from the stash Paula sent me so I don't know where it came from. The colors were definately the inspiration though. The image panel was cut using a Nestie die and the sentiment (which comes with the stamp) was cut free hand and then bent to wave like a banner in the wind.

I'm heading over to place me order so check out Em's blog to see what the rest of the awesome designs are and to see more great samples from the Bella Babes!

I have another new release to share with you tomorrow so stop back. Have a fantabulous day!

Cath

Suck-it-up!

2011-08-12T05:48:00.004-04:00

It's Friday folks, but better than that, it's Bellariffic Friday. I mean seriously, I get so excited waking up on Fridays knowing that at the end of the day I have two whole days off. But having Bellariffic Friday is a day iced with creativity and inspiration. This weeks challenge was paper piercing..honestly, I would have preferred paper piecing but that's what makes it a challenge right? Suck-it-up Stella called to me this week!

I have so many people/occassions to use this card for that I might have to make a few spares. But mostly it was for me. I bought a new bike to get in shape - it's a lot less impact than walking and believe it or not with Rheumatoid Arthitis, I can pedal easier and have no knee pain. I started pedalling through the rolling hills on a 9 mile course. I'm now up to 12.25 miles each night. Pretty wierd number to stop at right? Well if I go any further on my current route, I'll have the pleasure of flying down a steeeeep hill but I don't think I could get back up it to get home. Some day I'm gonna suck-it-up and give it a shot but for now I'm strengthening my legs...ski season is around the corner!

Now on to the card. I stamped Stella onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento tuxedo black ink. I colored her with copics and added ground shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I cut the image out using a Nesties labels 14 die. While keeping the paper in, I also added shading around the image with Versamagic chalk ink in wheat applied with a sponge. You'll see lots of stitching on this card but I was fearful of ruining all my hard work so I wasn't tackling all the curves with my sewing machine...that's where the piercing comes in. I simply added a few swirls with a pin and topped them off with black rhinestones to center your focus.

The center design paper panel was created with pages from Echo Park's For the record 6x6 pack. Machine stitching was used to put it all together. I know I have more thread on this than paper! I backed the panel with a Nestie die in Neenah classic crest soar white. The background paper is from the Basic Grey Jovial line (that's a holiday pack but it worked).

I hope you can join us with next week's challenge. It's time to bring out your Huggabugg's and show them some love. Send a picture of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday and you'll be included in the weekly lineup. And keep your eyes open on the Bella blog because you'll get to see the inspiration from all the sistahs. If that's not enough to have you stopping by, the new release just might be. She says it's Monday but all the excitement could mean she'll go postal, I mean public a little early. I know the new Uptown Girl line will definately be in my shopping cart and then there are some new Green Bean Babies and Paulabella's new line. I'm near bursting with excitement myself!

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Uptown Girls Chelsea & Lauren are here...

2011-08-11T19:28:00.004-04:00

So sorry for this late post. Emily is at it again....a new release is on the way. She has been giving us a few sneaky peeks on her blog since Tuesday. First there was Paulabella with Claudia then Lindabella with Victoria and Juliette. If you haven't seen them yet you had better run over to either their blogs or Em's to catch the news of the Uptown girls. I was so excited yesterday when she asked me if I could color up these two BFF's. Well at least that's what I think they are. I mean couldn't you just picture yourself sitting with your BFF catching up on this and that with shopping bags at your feet and a drink in your hand?

Well, unlike these gals you would NEVAH catch me eating Sushi - my daughter sure - but I don't have lean long legs like this either. Hmpf. The Uptown girls were created from the vision of Em but the artistry of Crysal, the designer for Stamping Bella that also brings us Lulu's. I thought the last release, packed with Lulu's, was to die for...I'm telling you Em has outdone herself this time. And still to be seen is the new line of stamps designed by our one and only Paulabella. Whooowee.

So anyway I got this image late yesterday with a plea to complete a card for today. I was so excited to be asked that I told Em I'd stay up all night if I had to. Well, it wasn't all night but it was Midnight and I wanted to take a picture of my desk for you to see but it was too dark. I had about 50 markers, 10 design papers, multiple sketches and Nesties galore all over. In the end I settled for my first pick - a soft muted yellow and gray print by Cosmo Cricket called UpScale...I mean of course the Uptown Girls would need some UpScale paper and checkout the bags that mixed in. Is that perfect or what?

I started with Bella's Bestest paper and colored with copics. Lots of them...and then shading with lots of pencils. Glitter was added to Lauren's dress and along the top. Crystal Effects by SU was applied to the black shopping bag to mix it up a bit. The ribbon was from an adventure Paula and I went on last summer to Archivers. The sentiment comes with the image. Woo Hoo another two for one deal!

Stop back tomorrow for my Paper piercing challenge. Luckily I got that done before these fabulous girls arrived.

Circus Elephant

2011-08-08T19:37:00.006-04:00

I could not wait to show you this card. Ya know how you fall into a rut and everything starts to look like the last thing you did? Well that's how I was feeling. So I was cruising some blogs over the weekend and fell in love with Nicole Aspinall. She's one of the newest Krafty Kimmie designers and her work is amazing. She was the inspiration for my card today...actually she was the color artist and layout designer too. Check out Nicole's creation here. See the similarities?

I incorporated Amimals Ellie-phant designed by Cristy Croll for Stamping Bella as my image. I stamped onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento tuxedo black ink and colored with copics. Not a surprise I'm sure is that I added grey prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol for extra shading and the ground cover. By leaving the image panel in the Spellbinders die I was able to add surround shading with a sponge and Versa Magic Chalk ink in wheat.

I have loved this My Mind's Eye 12x12 design paper from the Lost & Found line and was thrilled when I found it on an adventure last year with Paulabella. Nicole's card was the perfect catalyst to cut into it. I love when I can say - hey I have that! I used Papertrey Ink's Ocean Tide colored cardstock. The small strip of paper across the middle was actually the back side of the dp.

How could I resist adding glitter to the circles on Ellie's ears when it would mirror the circles on the dp? The answer, I couldn't. So I got out my Quickie Glue pen and Bella glitter. Then I remembered these glittery prima flowers I had and used Scrap Dots to adhere the pearl buttons. I had to let it dry overnight before I could attach them but it was worth the wait...I think they are perfect. Finishing touches are stitching, rhinestones, and a sheer grey ribbon bow.

This image comes with a sentiment - "I would never forget your birthday" actually it happens to me all the time. I don't forget per se but I always seem to be late in the execution of the card making. Does that happen to you?

I've got lots of new ideas I want to get to work on so I'll see ya later this week.

Thanks for stopping by.
Cath

It's a Boy!

2011-08-07T17:15:00.006-04:00

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

Heavy Metal

2011-08-05T06:00:00.001-04:00

It's Bellariffic Friday again folks and this week we were challenged to add to some metal hardware to our cards or maybe metalic paper. I decided to use this challenge to bring out some embellishments I've had forever, namely metal brads! Check out the pink ones in the corners and the big rhinestone one decking out the chipboard flower (and yes that's another item that's been ignored).

I went back to some roots too and left my markers alone for this one. I was looking through the Bella shop and found a sentiment that made me happy, it's a Dr Suess saying called YouER than You and I felt if was full of encouragement and pride. I stamped the image onto Bella's Bestest paper with Memento tuxedo black ink and then used various design papers to layer color. The plaid on the left is also from Bellaland but no longer in the shop. It's by Echo Park's Little Girl line called Madison. The Green polka dot is from their Little Boy line called Rad Plaid. Not so plaid you say, that's because it's the back side. The pink papers on the right are by Little Yellow Bicycle (both the front and back sides).

A satin green ribbon adorns the middle and a big chipboard flower layered with the silver rhinestone centered brad. It felt good to create without using all my coloring tools but I'll get back to them again shortly.

Hope you can play along with us next week, the challenge is Paper Piercing. That's piercing mind you like using a tool to punch holes. Can't wait to see what you come up with. Don't forget to send a photo of your card to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday evening to be included in the Friday Blog lineup.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

How about some Wedding cake?

2011-07-31T18:27:00.006-04:00

I'm working on a theme here...first it was the Bridal shower card and now on to the Wedding Cake. I was inspired by an ad in Martha Stewart Living for her annual Wedding Issue. The cover was a colorful cake with orange and pink blossoms cascading down the sides and I had an Aha moment. I knew that Lulu's Wedding Cake, a stamp from Stamping Bella, had the same wonderful design.

I started with Bella's Best paper, memento tuxedo black ink and copics. Having a good sketch helps and I love creating on Sunday's because I can catch fellow Bella Babe Dana and the Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge. If you want to play along here's the sketch. You can link your card on Karen's blog here.

I found this awesome design paper from the Bella online shop. It's Crate Paper's Emma's Shoppe collection. Yup, I'd say it was a perfect match. Some soft shading was added with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. The pearls were made with cream and kiwi green Viva Decor Paper pens. Love these! I have a tip to share though...have your image all colored, cut and ready to go. I added the pearls first and then had a heck of a time trimming it...the pearls were wet and can't go under the arm of my Carl paper trimmer, at least not without some casualties. I think I salvaged it anyway just don't look too closely at the lines.

The sketch called for three accent lines so I chose to use my Martha Stewart heart scalloped border punch. I also added a ribbon rose and added some leaves cut using a Nesties die.

Hope you enjoyed your weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Christmas to Beat the Heat

2011-07-29T05:52:00.004-04:00

Happy Bellariffic Friday folks! This week we were challenged to dust off our Christmas Bellas 'cuz it's Christmas in July! Good thing too! Every year I say I'm going to make two Christmas cards a week - alright I hear ya laughing already - ok maybe just one. Still laughing aren't ya? I know - life happens and I barely have the energy to do all the normal errands let alone think about the Holidays in July. Now that I've started, however, I just might be able to keep at it.

So how about some details? This is another adorable image illustrated by Mo Manning and released in rubber last summer titled The Choir. I've had the darn stamp that long and this is the first it's seen ink. I was a little intimidated as most of the Babes have done a phenominal job of coloring it in the past. I googled choir boy images to help me with color - I didn't want the typical red and white robing instead choosing to add a splash of blue. So I settled on blue with white and gold over robes adding the red in the music books.

The background design paper is Cosmo Cricket Be Good Believe which I have also had for a year without getting into... see the pattern here? The blue is new though, it's Basic Grey Oxford which I picked up this week on my adventure to see the family in Maryland. A fun time was had there but let's get back to the card. The music notes paper is from October Afternoon Very Merry Sing the Carols...of which the other side is a fabulous pink with snowflakes and the reason I bought the paper. Got a little lucky there didn't I?

Of course I stamped this onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento tuxedo black ink and colored it with copics. Prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol were only used this time to add ground shading and the soft blue glow around these angels. A soft seam binding ribbon made into a bow was topped with a felt snowflake and a flat bottomed pearl. The scallops were made with EK Success punches while a corner punch was used on the blue paper. Of course I had to add a little glitter to the star so I pulled out my favorite Quickie Glue pen to apply it.

Next week's challenge is Heavy Metal. No, not music...add some metal embellishments to your card. Now this I can't wait to see. Hope you can play along. There's some Bella Bucks on the line for one participant. Not able to play you say? Well head over to the Bella Blog anyway and post a comment, we've got some bucks for one commentor as well. And I've heard rumblings of a new release soon so what would be better than some Bucks to go shopping with?

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Cath

It's Wedding time!

2011-07-24T06:22:00.001-04:00

Summer brings so many invitations to weddings and showers. I know I've colored this stamp already but daughter called and needed an engagement card for a college friend. I couldn't resist Wedding Gown Circle by my favorite stamp company, Stamping Bella.

Coloring was easy. Copic colors BG10, BG70, and C2 along with a little shading using French Grey 50% prismacolor pencil blended with gamsol made short work of it. But I added lots of glitter applied with Quickie Glue and some soft grey pearl buttons using a Viva Decor paper pen. Then the rest was done using various circle and square Nesties and my Cuttlebug. I even put the background paper through it using the Polka Dot embossing folder.

The design paper is by 7 Gypsies and added enough pattern to make this girly. While I stamped the image onto Bella's Bestest cardstock all the remainging white is Neenah Classic Crest. The soft blue is Bazzil.

This is short but sweet I hope...I'll be enjoying some time with my family for a few days but I'll be back.

Enjoy your week and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Sparkle Baby!

2011-07-22T05:36:00.005-04:00

Hello folks it's that fabulous time of the week again...Bellariffic Friday. Woo Hoo. This week Ebru has given us a wonderful sketch challenge with some options too, a circle or a square card. Ebru anticipated your indecision so she still added a circle image panel regardless of the card shape you chose.

I went square and chose Addy'tude loves to Sparkle. I've had this Diva for some and decided to give her some love. Of course, I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest paper and colored her with copics. Some shading was added with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol around Addy. I was excited to pick a somewhat smaller circle panel than would fit the whole stamp so that I could have her scarf flow off it. I simply cut and colored another one and paper pieced it on top after the image went through the Nestie. Easy Peasy.

This girl looked like she was decked out and dressed for an evening out on the town so I wanted a nice classy look. The black design paper is by Pink Paislee called Bayberry Cottage - love the sound of that. The pink dp is from the My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose Hazel collection. White cardstock base is Neenah classic crest solar white and the pink is by Papertrey Ink. The black is a scrap of Bazzil I had laying around.

I wanted to add sparkle to fit the sentiment so I added a black rhinestone for the clasp on the purse, glitter around her ring and black glitter on her dress, as well as clear rhinestones around the edge of the scalops of the circle. The big blue rhinestone was meant to be...I had already stamped and cut the sentiment panel and then went on the hunt for the perfect anchor embellishment. The square was the perfect size without any triming and I thought it added a nice new color too.

Have you been sweltering in your next of the woods this week? It's been wavering towards 100 degrees most of the week here. I'm dying with no central air. I'm not really fond of it most days becuase it locks out the world and I like to hear the birds and life around me but I sure could have used it this week. We have a window unit in our bedroom and I found myself running in there to post this just so I wouldn't continue to swelter.

Next week's challenge brings thoughts of snow for most - it's Christmas in July. Yup, we're going to help you with your Chirstmas collection - so dust off your Holiday stamps and play along. And you know there is some Bella Bucks too. If you can't make a card, don't worry, head on over to the Bella blog and leave a comment - one lucky one will win some bucks too!

Stay cool and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

A Potter's Bench

2011-07-18T21:41:00.004-04:00

We all need a good work station. If you've seen my craft room you know that my Executive desk is my pride and joy. For my gardening, I've always wanted a nice potter's bench. Mo Manning has a wonderful illustration which was released in rubber through Stamping Bella, aptly named Potter's Bench. You can bet it caught my eye.

Not surprising I stamped this onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then I added color with copics. I also added ground shading using prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. This image comes with the sentiment too so you get a twofer. I wanted this to look a little like a state fair prize ribbon so I used a Nestie die to cut out the flower and made the sentiment to look like a banner.

The card base is Neenah Classic Crest solar white, and colored cardstock is a combination of Stampin' Up! Dusty Durango and Bazzil. Design paper is from the 6x6 Basic Grey Hello Lucious paper pack. Machine stitching and a dew drop are the finishing touches.

Hope you all have a great week. Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Sneaky Sneaky Bella

2011-07-15T05:00:00.000-04:00

Another Bellariffic Friday is upon us. What I love most about the characters Emily and co bring to life, is the limitless occasions they fill. Have you ever perused the Stamping Bella store? I mean Bella, Stella, Izzie and Lulu take us through so many of life's important and trivial events. So it's quite a challenge to enter the coffers and pick just one each and every week. Guess that's why it's called a Bellariffic challenge huh?

Today I share Sneaky Sneaky Birthday Bella. I started by stamping the image onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then did a combination of coloring with copics, sakura gel pens, and prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I even paper pieced the couch and added additional shading with prismapencils. The pillows were stamped onto Bella's paper again, colored and cut out and placed on top of the couch pattern. Design paper is from My Minds Eye Stella and Rose collection and the colored cardstock is Bazzil.

A soft pink hand-dyed seam binding ribbon was added to make a bow and then topped with a yellow button tied with a thread bow. Machine stitching finishes this off along with a Bella sentiment stamped directly onto the design paper.

So are you ready to play along with us next week? We've made it easy for you - our very own Ebrubella has given you a sketch that you can make into a circle or square card. Whatever floats your boat.

But don't forget to send a copy of your card to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday to be included in the Friday lineup and try your luck at winning some Bella Bucks.

Enjoy your weekend.

Cath

Biker Babe

2011-07-12T20:00:00.002-04:00

Hi folks. Hope you enjoyed your weekend. Wanna know how I spend mine? The weather as been super cooperative here so we've been out and about exploring the glorious mountains - on motorcycle. Now don't think I'm the typical biker babe type - I'm more of the Ralph Lauren of bikers. In fact, many times you'll see me wearing Ralph instead of Harley. But I must say that there is nothing better than hopping on the back of the bike, armed with a map to explore the countryside. In fact, Hubby and I have already been out more here than any summer in Michigan. And I'm lovin it!

Crafting time is also a must! After this weekend I felt compelled to bring out Bikababearella by Stamping Bella. I stamped her with Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest paper and colored her mostly with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. We ride a Red Harely Davidson Road King Classic...nice and big with black leather saddle bags. Bella here doesn't have saddle bags but I wanted her bike red. I also decked her out with jeans and her leather. Hubby has a rule about that here - jeans and steel toe boots are a must but he has given me some consession with the leather with the hot summer sun. I'm now sporting a nice little tan thanks to tank tops. I've used My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose 6x6 design paper and paired it with Papertrey Ink Kraft as well as Stampin Up Dusty Durango and Baja Breeze cardstock. The sentiment was cut with a Nestie die and shaded with Tim Holtz Distress ink. The rhinestone swirls gave me the vision of dust kicking up as Bella races by...ha I've got quite the imagination don't I?

Here's some views of the mountains I was able to capture as we zoomed by...they are so much more majestic in person.

Don't forget to grab your favorite Bella or Stella to play along this week with the Babes. You still have time to create and send a photo to emily@stampingbella.com before Thursday evening.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Love Ewe

2011-07-10T18:33:00.004-04:00

I have loved the sentiment "I love ewe" placed alongside a sheep since I can remember. I don't know why but it's endearing to me. It's probably why I couldn't resist buying the sentiment from Stamping Bella along with Curly Ewe.

Stamp in hand I could't think how to color a sheep. When in doubt Google it. I found that most really aren't white, they are more dirty ivory. Armed with my favorite tan like copic shades of E44, E43, E42 and E40 I set about coloring this cutie up. First though I had to stamp him on Bella's Bestest paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink. Coloring this took no time at all...the layout was a different story. After many starts and stops the result finally appealed to me.

Various circle and square Nesties were used to make the many layers to the image panel. The paper is some scrap design paper I had laying around. An EK Success border bunch was used for the center white strip, I then topped that with red seam binding tape and made a nice bubbly double bow.

Hope you had a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Glorious Geraniums

2011-07-08T06:00:00.004-04:00

Happy Bellariffic Friday folks. Can't believe how fast two weeks flew - after having a little break so everyone could celebrate the Canadian and American holidays we are back with a ribbon challenge. Hope you found time to enjoy your families, friends, food, ok and maybe some creating time too. Hubby and I decided to explore the fabulous Catskill mountains by motorcycle and I have to tell ya the views are breathtaking here. From one peak we actually had a 5 state view. But we also had a day of rain so I found time to create and complete this weeks challenge.

Summer at the Groden's always has geraniums. I struggle between choosing pink ones or red ones. I LOVE red, reminds me of the front porch of the Grand Hotel on Macinac Island in Michigan. They have about a bazillion red geraniums in white window boxes lining the front promenade. With that in mind you'll know why I just had to color Rustic Window box, a Mo Manning image released in rubber through Stamping Bella, in brilliant red. I chose Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety 6x6 design paper and paired it up with my favorite compliment - black cardstock. The solid red cardstock is Ruby Red by Stampin' Up!

The image was stamped on Bella's Bestest white cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with copics. I have to tell you that I drew inspiration from Tammybella's card a while back...she colored the windows in. Windows usually intimidate me but after looking at hers, I tackled this and really like the result. Thanks Tammy!

Of course, I needed to add a ribbon for the challenge so I made a bow out of black grossgrain and added a red button tied with black Bella jewelry cording I found at JoAnn's. I know you probably thought it was a Stamping Bella product but no - it seems like I find lots of Bella's in my life to love. I also added a small sentiment using one of the Billboard sentiments stamped on a tag cut using the Nestie Tags 5 die. I also chose to use black machine stitching so it would pop with all the white and red. Oh and the scallop was made using the MFT big scallop die-namic.

Now head on over to the Bella blog and see what all the sistahs have to share. If you want to play along next week, the challenge is to use a Bella or Stella. And don't forget to send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday so she can put it in the post and we can see too.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Where's the Beach?

2011-07-05T04:53:00.004-04:00

This month on the Stamping Bella Forum, Jessabella is hoping you'll play in our "Citrus Cool" challenge. You have until the 14th of July to enter a photo of your creation here. Up for grabs is $25.00 in Bella Bucks. Woo Hoo!

I decided to color up Mavis builds a Sandcastle. I have a feeling that lots of them are being made this week as everyone gets into Summer mode. I chose a combination of Basic Grey June Bug and Marrakech 6x6 design paper as my color inspiration. I then paired it with AC Cardstock and Neenah Classic Crest solar white. Mavis was stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink onto Bella's Bestest paper and colored with copics. Then I cut her out using the Fiskars Swivel Bladed fingercutter. Love that tool. I didn't want a white border on this one so I simply went over all the edges with the corresponding copic marker and voila it looks like I cut right up to the image.

Other extras are a sentiment that was computer generated and cutout using the Petite Oval Nestie, machine stitching, an EK Success border punch and sunglasses covered with Stampin' Up! Crystal Effects for the appearance of real glass. The card layout was one I saw on Karen Giron's blog while surfing this weekend.

I hope you can find some time to play along with us too! And you still have plenty of time for this week's Bellariffic Friday challenge to use ribbon.

Enjoy the summer sun and carefree days. And thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Happy Fourth of July

2011-07-03T17:13:00.008-04:00

It's been poouring all day today. I mean raining cats and dogs pouring. So what's a girl to do but spend some time in her craft room. And since it's been raining so much, I thought I would finally color Rain-never-stopped-me-abella. I felt it was fitting for the day, where although it's been wet and dreary - it's still a day off and that's better than a day at work. Ok, I didn't dance in the rain but I did do the happy dance since we celebrate the holiday tomorrow and have one more day off.

Now you've probably guessed that I stamped this Stamping Bella image on Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored her with my copics. I added surround shading with Antique Linen Tim Holtz distress ink. Nesties helped make the star cutouts and the layout is Jen del Muro's July SFYTT. The sentiment is a bonus as it comes with the image. I simply made a banner out of it and topped it off with a button tied with a jute bow. If you haven't tried Scrap dots, you might want to - it was perfect for adherring the button on this card. The glue by Helmar goes on wet and allows you to balance objects that don't lay flat - like buttons. It dries rock hard though so no more buttons falling off because glue dots can't hold the weight of em.

The design paper is from the Cosmo Cricket Togetherness 6x6 mini deck. Ack, it's the first time I've dipped into this pack and I've had it for about 4 months now. Told you I hoard things. Colored cardstock is Ridinghood Red by Stampin Up! and some dark blue from my stash. Card base is Neenah classic crest solar white.

You still have time to play along with the Bella Babes this week for our Bellariffic Friday challenge. This week your challenge is to use ribbon. Not much of a challenge right - I mean I use ribbon on just about every card I make. But give it a whirl and share your creation with Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday evening so she can include it in the weekly line up. You never know, you might be the lucky winner of some Bella bucks. Sweet huh?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Izzie has a Cherry on top!

2011-06-27T21:04:00.006-04:00

Today I thought I would give one more shot at the June SFYTT. Since Stamping Bella is this month's sponsor, I decided to color an Izzie. They are one of my all time favorite Bella's. This one is Izzie with a cherry on top. I paired it with October Afternoon Fly a Kite design paper and thus the colors began.

First I stamped her on Bella's Bestest paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then I colored with copiccs. I did add some shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Soft shading with French Grey 90% was done on the skirt and the cupcake, Burnt Ochre was used on her face and Scarlet Lake for the frosting. Since I cut her out, I didn't have to add any surround shading or ground. I did add Black Glaze pen to her shoes and Stampin Up! Crystal effects to the frosting for some shine.

Machine stitching pulled it all together along with Nestie Circle, Blossom and Petite Oval dies. The sentiment is also a Bella. It's not currently in inventory but there are plenty of others.

You still have a few more days to participate in Jen's challenge. Hope you can play along.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

A Sketchy Bellariffic Friday

2011-06-24T06:09:00.006-04:00

I must say that I love sketch challenges more and more. I used to be scared stiff of them and have now grown comfortable in the fact that half of my guess work is done. And I even feel free to interpret the sketch in my own way. This week's Bellariffic Friday sketch from Jeaniebella was no different. When I got it, I immediately turned it on it's side and said sweet! Yup, it was just like that. Then the ball started rolling with the image. Cupcake princess Violet, a Mo Manning image released in rubber through Stamping Bella is a rather wide image. I didn't want to take up that much real estate on my card so I decided to leave some of her dress outside of the edges. The rest is coloring.

The story starts with Bella's Bestest paper and Violet stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink to be colored with copics. But I wanted depth in the folds of her dress so I added my favorite French Grey 90% prismacolor pencil and blended with gamsol. I left the edges of the image free this time but I did add ground beneath her feet with pencil as well. Design paper is from Prima Marketing - The Madeline collection of 6x6 papers. Cardstock is Bazzil and the card base is Neenah Classic Crest solar white. The sentiment is from Bella as well and I framed it with a Nestie's Labels 10 die. I added soft shading using VersaMagic Wheat chalk ink. Then I added some glam with pink rhinestones and glitter to the dress ruffles.

Next week the Bella's are taking a break for the Canadian and American holidays. Don't worry, we'll be back the folowing week, July 8th, with a RIBBON challenge. Now that's a pretty easy one and you have plenty of time to get creative. If you need some Bella time before then, hop on the Bella Forum and see what's up there. Jessabella is always pulling something together. Like a Book club chat on Friday the 1st or the new monthly Forum challenge which happens to be a Citrus color challenge this month.

See ya soon and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Summer Fun

2011-06-17T06:38:00.004-04:00

This week's Bellariffic Friday challenge was to bring on Summer. Yeah Baby! That's what I'm talking about...I am so ready for summer heat, flowers, lazy weekends you bet. I colored Clara Lulu from Stamping Bella as a little invitation. I thought an inside sentiment of "for some sun and fun" would fit perfectly.

I started with a sketch from Jodi Collins that I fell in love with. Background paper is kraft cardstock that I ran through a Cuttlebug folder. Then I added various scraps I had on hand of October Afternoon paper. I stiched them to Bazzil cardstock. The bottom scallop was made with an EK Success punch and then I ran some Tim Holtz distress ink over the edge with a sponge. The sentiment is a Bella too. Actually it was a freebie I got one time and it had more words but I just inked what I needed.

You know I started with Bella's Bestest paper, Memento Tuxedo Black ink and copics. And of course I also added shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. Mostly French Gray 90% to add depth to the image. I also added some glitter with a Quickie Glue pen and Black Glaze pen for her hair. The Banner flags were cut out from another sheet of October Afternoon paper and adherred with foam dots.

Next week's challenge is a sketch from Jenniebella. Won't you give it a try and play along with us?

Enjoy your weekend.

Cath

Thanks a Bunch

2011-06-16T06:43:00.005-04:00

Today I have a Thank you card to share with you. I used Paisley Pixie from Stamping Bella because she looked so cute with her hand picked bouquet of flowers. This was also so appropriate 'cuz I'm giving this to my neighbor who came and watered all my flowers last week while I was away.

Ya know that I stamped Paisley onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. My color medium of choice is Copics. You will find ground and surround shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. The design paper is by My Mind's Eye Lime Twist Life of the Party. I hope they keep making these 6x6 paper packs because I couldn't live without them. The ribbon is aa scrap that I saved from some packaging I knew I could find a use for. I borrowed an idea from Karen Motz to highlight the image with a fine tip black marker and rhinestones. I've used it before but she recently posted a card and it caught my eye so I had to incorporate it into this.

For a little extra, I also added Bella glitter using a Quickie glue pen. I love the way it sparkles and looks like dew drops.

I'm cramming to get my card finished for Bellariffic Friday. The theme is Bring on Summer. It seems that our change from early 90's to 60's last week presented my body with more than it could handle and I've caught a summer cold. Ack! Don't worry, I think I can make it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Paper Pieced Challenge

2011-06-10T06:00:00.003-04:00

Well another week has flown by and here we are at Bellariffic Friday again! I love Friday's...it's a great opportunity to see some awesome talent. Hope on over to the Bella blog and see for your self.

For me, I pulled out my new Umbrella Peep stamp. I knew the umbrella would be awesome to paper piece. So I pulled out the My Mind's Eye Lime Twist paper pack and found a petite flower pattern that seemed to be the perfect design for a spanky 'brelly. Wish I had it actually - mine is a boring black. Of course, I stamped the image onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then I colored little peep with copics but really there was so very little that this came together rather quickly. I did add some shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol around the image and for the ground. The sentiment comes with the stamp and it's pretty big so I tried a layout that went horizontal. My finished card size is actually 5 x 6 1/2.

I added an open scallop border using a MFT die-namic. The skies ar still blue but filled with a little rain. I simply added some glitter to a fine application of Quickie Glue. I felt like this still needed something so I followed the flower theme and made my own paper rosette. Yup you read that right...I used the MFT Large zig zag die-namic and then curled it until it looked like a rosette. The leaves are cut from an EK success punch. Nesties helped make the image panel.

Next week's challenge is all about Summer. So bring it on with your stamps, your colors or your embellishments. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cath

CruisinBella

2011-06-08T18:00:00.002-04:00

I love thinking outside the box. What I mean is that I have a need for a graduation card for a niece heading into the world having completed her Bachelor's degree from LeMoyne. I didn't want to make a traditional cap and gown card though. So I pulled out Cruisinbella. Perfect! The cover sentiment is "Good Luck". The inside says "On the road to success!" I'm telling ya, I love my Bella's. I can find a stamp there for every occassion.

Let's get on to the details about this card or I'll be going on and on about my stamp collection. I stamped Bella onto Bella's Bestest paper using Memento Tuxedo black ink. I colored her with copics and added lots of detail shading with prismacolr pencils blended with gamsol. I envisioned this 'vette colored in shades of peach/orange so I went on the hunt for paper to match. I found what I was looking for in the My Mind's Eye Stella and Rose 6x6 paper packs. I think this is Mabel but I often take pages out and have them laying on my desk so they get jumbled up. The sketch is a Sweet Sunday sketch from a few weeks back. Fellow Bella Babe Dana is on the design team and I often find inspiration with this challenge.

The border was made using the MFT die-namic scallop. The ribbon is actually seam binding tape but I didn't crinkle this one up like I usually do.

You still have time to get a card done for this week's Bellariffic Friday challenge. This week we are honing our paper piecing skills. So get crafty and send a photo of your creation to Emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday night.

See ya on Friday! Thanks for stopping by.

Cath

French Style Birthday

2011-06-06T22:12:00.006-04:00

I've owed you some extra lovin after leaving you high and dry last week so I spent extra time in my craft room and have a few extra things to share this week. First up is a Birthday card that has a French Flair, or so it feels to me.

This is Cuppycake with a Huggabugg on Top by Stamping Bella of course! Ack, I saw her and had to have her. I must say that I sat with her in front of me for some time though before I knew how I wanted to color her. Then it hit me, how about some chocolatey brown/black with a lucious yellow? So the ball started rolling.

I stamped this little Huggabugg onto Bella's Bestest Paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then colored her with copics but I added LOTS of shading with prismacolor pencils. You see I started with pink frosting. But it didn't have the right feel for me so I added Pale Vermillion PC921 and Pumpkin Orange PC1032 pencils and of course French Grey 90%. It made such a difference on the frosting - mellowed it and made it dreamy. If matched the chocolatey colors much better. Wanna know what I used for the cupcake base? Well E77, E74 and E71 copic colors did that with French Grey 90% again. It really makes a difference to use it to add definition - I've got fellow Bella Babe Paulabella to thank for that wonderful tip.

Design papers are from Pink Paislee and colored cardstock is Bazzil. Now I wanted to link this up for the new Monthly Forum challenge as well. This month we are challenged to Bring on the Bellas and Embellishments. So Jess here goes, I have three buttons, lots of glitter on the frosting and on her antenas oh and I have a hemp cord bow and some grossgrain ribbon along a Stampin Up! border. So did I add enough? Hope so. You all have until June 14th to link up your creation and try for some free Bella Bucks. Can't wait to see what you have to share.

I'll be back before the end of the week with another creation so come on back now ya hear? Oh, and thanks for stopping by. Have a great week. Don't forget to get your paper piecing project done for this week's Bellariffic Friday challenge. Mine is done and posted waiting for the clock to tic. Ha, told you I was busy.

Take care!
Cath

June SFYTT

2011-06-05T18:44:00.004-04:00

Hello sports fans...sorry, I meant crafty fans! I let on last week that Stamping Bella would be sponsoring this months Sketch For You To Try - by Jen del Muro. I usually play anyway - it's actually where I started. Seriously, look back in my archives and you'll see that I always did the SFYTT. (Well that and anything that Amy Sheffer was making.) But seriously, it's actually how I found Bella. You see, at the time Jen was a Babe and I loved everything she did. So, I of course had to have me some Bellas. And thus the craze began! Never thought I would find myself amongst such great talent but I'm lovin it and am so thankful for the opportunity.

What to color for this special occasion? Well my new Lulu loves Poppies made the cut. Yup back in the day I bought one or two stamps every now and then. Today, UPS makes a trip to the homestead every month from Canada. I could not wait for this release to make it's way here. So glad that I am finally able to play! And guess what - I love Poppies too! Nice big orangey red ones. So I natuarly went red on this card. I thought the pop of green was a necessary break from all that red - how about you?

Since we were given the sketch, I really got to focus on coloring Lulu up. I started with Bella's Bestest paper and inked Lulu with Memento Tuxedo black ink. Then I colored her with Copics. I wanted pop so I cut the completed image out and placed her on layered circles cut using Spellbinders Nestabilities. The green was also cut with a Nestie. It was actually too wide for the area I wanted to use it in so I cut it down the middle and layered it on top of itself behind the middle panel. There - fixed that problem. The design paper has been in my stash for years - told you I love poppies. It's a 12x12 pack from Autumn Leaves called Pretty Poppies. Some of the designs are a little too big but I thought these were perfect. The sentiment is one of Stamping Bella's but the font is a little different and I don't have it so I generated this one on my computer. A button and black hemp are the only adornment. Well that and some machine stitching of course.

I hope you'll give this sketch a try - it's yet one more chance for you to win some Bella bucks. You've got all month so find some time to play along and link up your creation on Jen's blog post here.

See you later and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

You're our Grill Guy

2011-06-03T05:00:00.001-04:00

Sorry if you stopped by this week and found last Friday's post staring you in the face. With my trip to my sister's over the Memorial day weekend, I couldn't get ahead. Can't tell you how much I look forward to heading to my craft cave tomorrow. I did have time to create a card for this week's Masculine Bellariffic Friday challenge. And this also puts me ahead for Father's Day. Yipee! I share with you, Big Guy Grilling, a Mo Manning image released in rubber through Stamping Bella. Looks just like my DH. And of course, I think he's hot so this card is for him!

I stamped the Big Guy onto Bella's Bestest paper with Memento Tuxedo black ink. I then started to color with copics but also added shading with prismacolor pencils blended with gamsol. I bought the October Afternoon Seaside plaid design paper earlier this year from the Stamping Bella online shop. But I hoarded it. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to pull it out. The green polka dot paper is also October Afternoon - from the Campfire 8x8 pack. Colored cardstock is a combination of Stampin Up! and some scraps. The navy "plaid" border is from EK Success - Paulinabella got me looking high and low for it and I found it at Scrapfest. The sentiment was computer generated and cut using Nestabilities dies.

We have a few exciting things going on I wanted to share with you. First, our new Bella Forum Challenge. You have until June 14th to participate. This will be a monthly challenge for Forum participants. Another chance for you to win some Bella Bucks...pretty cool huh? Our first challenge is a BABE challenge, Bella's and bring on the embellishments! Not too hard right? Also on the Forum is a new Bella Book club. If you love to read, this is the spot for you.

Next, Stamping Bella is sponsoring Jen del Muro's June Sketch For You To Try. Check it out tomorrow and get your Bella's out - you have all month to play along.

Now if you're still with me, I'll share that next week's Bellariffic Friday Challenge is Paper Piecing. New to that, no problem. Simply stamp an image onto your favorite design paper then cut out part of it to piece onto another image stamped onto your favorite cardstock - like Bella's Bestest. It's fun and guess what - no bleeding or coloring outside the lines to worry about. Can't wait to see your creations.

Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Cath

Pack Your Bags

2011-05-27T06:18:00.004-04:00

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

2011-05-22T20:21:00.004-04:00

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!

2011-05-20T06:00:00.002-04:00

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

2011-05-19T07:01:00.003-04:00

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

2011-05-15T15:29:00.005-04:00

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

2011-05-14T07:44:00.006-04:00

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

2011-05-09T19:00:00.001-04:00

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