My Scrapbooking and Craft Journal

Happy Friday Everyone

2012-02-10T07:53:00.001-05:00

This week, Stamping Bella was an easy peasy Sketch Challenge and can you believe I had a hard time with this one, how silly is that. The designer paper right behind my image should have been half an inch bigger, it did not quite turn out like the sketch in size. To top it all off the ribbon is not straight :o(, hello earth to Ebru, I must have lost my mojo. I will make it up for the next challenge, I promise :o) but let's get back to our card shall we.

This is Tabitha the teacup Girl from the Green Bean Baby Collection. She is such a pretty image and I had to give her some loving with my prisma pencil crayons. Before I coloured her up, I stamped her on Bellas bestest white paper with Memento Black ink and then went to work with pencil crayons and gambol. For extra added detail I used glitter on her bow and tea cup and finished it off with a ribbon and a button. The designer paper is from a 6 x 6 paper pack from Basic Grey called Hopscotch.

Ok, next weeks challenge is even easier then this week because it's ANYTHING GOES, meaning use any one of Stamping Bella's images with any paper and layout of your choice. Don't forget to email your card to Emily by next Thursday and also you can load it onto SCS using the keyword BELLARIFFIC0612, good luck everyone and have fun !!

A Day Full Of Sweet Surprises

2012-02-06T17:32:00.002-05:00

Normally I don't like to announce my birthday but today is an exception. My first surprise took place at 7:00 in the morning by my wonderful children. They apparently woke up at 6 in the morning to prepare me and dad a lovely breakfast in bed and let me tell you they did an amazing job. The tray was filled with all the typical foods we eat for breakfast, which was 2 slices of toast, cream cheese, jam, olives, scrambled eggs, coffee for me and tea for dad. I was woken up by the sound of my kids singing happy birthday to you, they truly are mommies precious angels.

As I sent the kids off to school, I cleaned the house, folded the laundry and met hubby for grocery shopping and later on in the day my DH surprised me with a dozen white roses.

To continue the day with lovely surprises, I received a special delivery of the lovely flowers you see below. My dear friend Chanda from Calgary made my day complete with her thoughtfulness and true kindness a friend could ever ask. Girlfriend you brought tears to my eyes and I am truly blessed to have you as my friend. Even though we are apart we are kindred spirits, thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. Sending you many hugs and kisses !!!

Here are my husbands Lovely white roses below and let me tell you they smell like heaven. He normally gets me red roses but this time he said he wanted to get me white ones which I don;t mind at all.

To finish off the day here is the gift my family and bff got for me. The photo does not do justice at all for the beauty of this watch as it's surrounded by Swarovski Elements, simply gorgeous.

How could I end the day without sharing with you a card. Here is Uptown girl Posh has a present, she was actually mailed to my dear friend Chanda for her birthday which was 3 days before my own.

Well everyone, that's all for today, thanks for dropping by and have a terrific day !!

Love is in the Air...

2012-02-03T10:08:00.000-05:00

in Bella-land this week with plenty of Valentines / Love theme cards.

For my card, I used the stamp called BFFABUGGS cause I thought they were perfect for this weeks challenge and that I had never used this stamp yet, so I basically killed two birds with one stone.

As always, I stamped my image on bellas bestest white paper with Memento black ink and coloured up my girls with Prisma pencil crayons.

For Extra detail I sprinkled some glitter on there wings and surrounding areas. To finish it off I added a pretty Black tulle at the top corner. The designer paper is from DCWV called Madly in Love collection, and let me tell you this paper stack is one of the best Love theme packs ever, so many designs and colours to choose from !!

Let's move on to next weeks challenge, and once again it is a sketch and let me tell you this sketch is perfect for larger images like the new Uptown Girls for example. We sure hope you will play along with the rest of us and don't forget to upload in SCS website as well under the key word Bellariffic0512 and email your card to Emily by Thursday.

Thanks for dropping by and have a great weekend everyone !!

Burnt Out and Sick

2012-02-01T11:09:00.002-05:00

I am going to have to keep this post short and sweet my friends cause I am not feeling very good. I promised I was going to share with you a card I made last week but did not have a chance to post it until now.

As you may already know, Emily had a big release on January 17th and Matilda Swinging was on the list of new stamps. Here is another card I made using this image.

Don't forget this weeks challenge is a Valentines / love/ pink / red/ white card. Use any one of your Stamping Bella stamps to create this theme and email your card photo to Emily by tomorrow 5:00pm EST and you can also post it on Split coast stampers under the keyword Bellarific0412.

Thanks for stopping by and see you on Friday !!

What a Crazy Week It Has Been

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

I so badly wanted to post another card this week but just did not have the time to do so. My card had been finished and all I had to do was post it for all you to enjoy, oh well I guess it will have to wait for next week.

I should explain why I had such a busy week. My sweet dear husband went to Cuba last Sunday for a weeks vacation while I stayed back with the kids. He had been wanting to visit Cuba for quite sometime now and had the opportunity to do so with a bunch of his soccer buddies. This trip was originally intended for just the two of us but unfortunately with the kids in school and my daughters High School registrations and IB exams I could not go. Not to mention planning a surprise birthday party for my son's 8th birthday this weekend. I was running around like a chicken with his head cut off, preparing for the mini surprise party, cleaning the house, dropping the kids off to school, picking them up, preparing our dinners, laundry, homework and the list goes on. When my husband gets back from his lovely trip, it's my turn to go on one !!

Ok, enough about me venting, let's move onto this weeks Bellariffic Challenge which was a sketch, and here is my card.

I truly missed stamping up a Ketto image, so this week I decided to give some lovin to Agnes Ketto. I wanted her to be citrusy with orange, green and yellow, even though the only yellow are the two things in her hair. I started off with stamping my image on bellas bestest white paper with Memento Black ink and colouring this weeks image with Copic Markers and some pencil crayons. To give some dimension to her dress, I added liquid pearls to her skirt and dabbed some extra one's around the image. Once again this week I have forgotten my magic ingredient of glitter :o(

Next weeks challenge is one of my favourite themes and it is to create a Valentine / Love / Pink / Red / White Card. Ohhh I can't wait to see all the Lovely cards next week, and if you are loading it up onto SCS site be sure to use the key word Bellariffic0412.

Well everyone that's it for me for today. Wish me Luck on tomorrows B-day party. I will try to post some pictures for you guys to see on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend and happy crafting !!

What's Your Favorite Bella Image ?

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

If you ask me, I LOVE them all and choosing just one is truly impossible. This was the most difficult challenge of all but I had to pick one so I chose Uptown Girls Clarissa and Camille with a cafe.

Here is a little story behind why I picked this particular image as my most favourite. When Emily first introduced the Uptown Girls back in August, I was blown away with every single one of them but this particular image just struck a cord with me. One of the most important things I value and treasure in my life (aside from my family) are my friends. In my experiences, coffee and friendship go hand in hand and they truly are a perfect blend. Best memories are made between friends over a cup of coffee or two, because that's when you talk about anything and everything. There is just something very special about that hot cup of beverage that bring friends together, don't you think so ?

Let's move onto the details shall we. I stamped this image onto bellas bestest white paper with Memento Black Ink. This time I coloured everything with Caran D'ache pencil crayons and used a Green Metallic Sakura Gelly Roll pen for the centre circles of the cup. To finish off my card I did some sewing around the edges and unfortunately forgot to add glitter for the finishing touch.

Next weeks challenge is another Sketch designed by yours truly and we hope you will join in on the fun. All you have to do is create a card with this layout using aStamping Bella image of your chose, then you email a photo of your card to Emily by next Thursday 5:00PM EST. You can also upload your photo on Split Coast Stampers under the keyword Bellariffic0312.

A Sneak Peek in Bella Land

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to share with you just one of the images that will be released on Tuesday by Miss Bella herself, Emily.

Meet Matilda Swinging. She is such a gorgeous image to colour up and so versatile to suit any occasion.

I used copic markers and my Caran D'ache pencil crayons to colour up Matilda. The background designer paper is from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy True Blue 6x6 paper pad. To add additional detail to my card I thought a small sun at the top left hand corner would do just fine and in my opinion every card should be finished off with glitter.

If you would like to see more sneak peeks of what's to come, visit our very talented Bella babes web sites listed on the left sidebar or you can visit the Stamping Bella gallery over at Split Coast Stampers under the key word SBJANRELEASE.

Quick reminder, this weeks Bellariffic Friday Challenge is to ink up your favourite Stamping Bella image. I know this is a very tough challenge as we all have more then one but you have till Thursday 5:00pm EST to submit you cards to Emily and we hope you will participate.

Have a terrific Monday and a start of a wonderful week !!

We are Back...

2012-01-13T08:58:00.002-05:00

with our very first Bellariffic Friday Challenge for the new year and am I ever so excited. This year is going to be fun, fun , fun I tell ya. So many new things to look forward to, starting from many Sketch Challenges, Mixed Media Journaling on Mondays and have you heard Bella is back at Split Coast stampers. We are going to have a BLAST this year, and if I know Emily, she will certainly have awesome suprises up her sleeve like the new release sneak peek on Tuesday. You all must check out the Bella blog and SCS for all new images and details, I can't wait.. yeah !!!

Moving along to this weeks challenge, here is the card I made from the Sketch. Meet Meredith the Tea cup Girl, isn't she lovely.

I stamped my image on Bellas bestest white paper and used a combination of Copic Markers and Prisma Pencil crayons to bring this image to life. I cut around the image and placed her in the centre of a circle I cut with my nestabilities circle die and popped it up with the scalloped circle in the background. The paper pack I went with is Basic Grey called Hello Luscious.

Moving along to our next weeks challenge which is Ink up your Favorite Stamping Bella Image and give it some LOVE.

Hope you can make the time to check out the Bella blog to see what the Sistah-hood and the bella babes created. Have a great weekend everyone and see you on AJ Monday !!

Sweeping away 2011

2012-01-03T18:35:00.000-05:00

Well everyone, another year has come and gone and we have a brand new year to look forward too. I learned a lot in 2011 and I am certain 2012 is not going to be anything different. I am always open to new ideas, creations, art, literature, music, food and the list will go on and on. Like every year resolutions will be made and broken ( diets, weight-loss ) but the important thing is I try .

I would love to share with you a card I made that resembled me this year and here she is Housework Fairy available in rubbah over at Stamping Bella. Isn't she simple dazzling in her cleaing outfit and duster heheh, yep this was pretty much me this year. Honestly, when I had a full time job I really don't know how I did it all, I am so beat at the end of the day from all the things I do around the house. This weekend I watched the new movie of Sarah Jessica Parker called I don't Know How she does it and it was really good, if you haven't seen it I recomment you watch it cause it is the life of women.

I'm getting carried away here, let me get back into the card. This is a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 square card and I colored her with copics and Prisma Pencil Crayons. I wanted to add a couple of detail to each corner so I dazzled it with BLING and Lace to match her dress.

Next years challenges are going to be a lot of fun. Based on the comments you sistahs sent Lindabella it was obvious you love Sketches and we have half the year with super awesome layouts for all of you to participate in. Lets take a look at the first Sketch for 2012 which will be due on the 12th of January, so no excuses cause you still have plenty of time to finish it and email it to EMILY.

Wishing everyone a wonderful year of fun, excitement and creativity !!!

Mixed Media Friday Frenzy

2011-12-23T14:27:00.002-05:00

Hello folks, thought I share with you my last post before the holidays. I have spend pretty much the whole day in paint. I just finished tidying up the huge mess I made in my studio but I have to tell you I had so much fun making this 12 x 12 canvas.

I have recently came across this quote and simply fell in love with it and took it one step further by applying it on to my art work.

I really love the way this turned out, especially the colours. Hope this inspires you to paint your heart out. Well, everyone I am wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and the best 2012 evah sistah's !!

Mwahhh !!!!

Payton with a Bandana

2011-12-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday everyone, and are you all counting down for the holidays ? Well my kids can't wait to be home over the Christmas break which means I have to come up with stuff to do to keep them entertained and busy.

Today I wanted to share with you Payton and also a funny story that has to do with this image. When I got this image I have to be honest with you I could not figure out her hair and I thought she was wearing a bandana. So, I email Emily and asked her, " how the heck do you colour her head, is she wearing a bandana or is that her hair ". I emailed her this image and she was such a sweetheart about it, she said she loved my take on the image with the bandana but her whole head is the hair. Now come on please tell be if she looks cute with the bandana.

Here is the second take on the same card but with no bandana.

Well I thought this was a cute story to share with you all, regardless I thing she looks very cool both ways but I seem to like her with the bandana...hehehe

Thats all for today folks, keep warm and happy crafting !!

Bellariffic Sketch

2011-12-16T09:55:00.000-05:00

It's a cold and dreary day here in Toronto and I have made myself a lovely cup of Dark Chocolate and Truffle flavoured gourmet coffee, yummmmmy !!! The kids are off to school and I have a nice and quiet house to write up my Friday post.

This week was a lovely Sketch done by Robinabella and here is my creation.

I used another Mo image called Cupcake Princess Violet and you can get her in rubbah over at Stamping Bella. I coloured her up with my prisma pencil crayons and used a touch of Copic markers for the hair so it can stand out a bit more. The DP I went with is called Salt Air from Cosmo Cricket. I had this mini pack for quite sometime now but never had the chance to use it so I gave it a whirl with Princess Violet !!

This is the last Bellariffic Friday post for the year 2011 but that does not mean the bellas won't be sharing any more lovely cards with you so please do check back cause there is more to come.

The year 2012 is going to be quite Sketchy, meaning half of the year will be filled with awesome sketches, and don't we all love them !! To give you all a head start, here is a look at our first Bellariffic Challenge for 2012 which will be due on January 12. You have plenty of time so we sure hope you will participate !!

Have a wonderful weekend everybody and thanks for stopping by !!

Irma and Vieno

2011-12-09T08:56:00.002-05:00

This week in Bella land the challenge was to create an all white card except the image itself. I chose a stamp which had enough detail to colour up and really stand out against the beautiful and simple white background, and that's why I went with Irma and Vieno. This image is available in rubbah over at the Stamping Bella store along with many more Mo Manning images.

On Wednesday my dear friend Paula who also is my ultimate idol and mentor when it comes to colouring with prisma pencil crayons did the same image and you have got to go check it out cause it is drop dead GORGUSSS. I sure have to go through many many set's of pencil crayons to reach just a quarter of this ladies talent.

Now lets get to the details in my card. I stamped my two characters on Bellas Bestest White paper with Memento black Ink and coloured up my image with Prisma Pencil Crayons. As you can see I put in a lot of colouring detail and finished it off with fine glitter on the girls hats and coarse glitter for the snow. The background white paper was embossed with the cuddle bugs big circle embossing folder.

Next weeks challenge is a Sketch done by our very talented Robinabella, so lets take a look at it shall we.

Don't you just love this sketch, she sure did an awesome job with it and can't wait to get busy and I hope you can play along with the rest of us babes and sistah's. All you have to do is email your card to emily@stampingbella.com by next Thursday to have a chance to win not $ 20.00 but $ 40.00 next week. Know how is that for awesome !!!!

Thanls for stopping by everyone and have a wonderful weekend.

Oh so Bright and Merry with Mavis

2011-12-02T09:25:00.002-05:00

I love the month of December, full of festivities of the holidays, decorations and bright colours just warm up my heart.

This weeks challenge was a holiday card and I went with Mavis wearing Holly. Rather then using the more traditional colours of red and green, I opted more with Green and Pinkish. I wanted Mavis to match with the DP so that's the reason she turned out with a Pink outfit.

The photo below is a closer look at Mavis where you can see more of the colouring detail. I also have to mention that I love the banner die from Spell Binders Nestabilities. They are absolutely perfect for your sentiments and also adds that perfect finishing touch and even better, Emily has it available in her store so check it out.

I stamped my image on bellas bestest white paper with Memento Black Ink. To bring her to life, I coloured Mavis using a combination of Copic Markers and Prisma pencil crayons.

Next weeks challenge is a white card, the only thing that can have colour is your image. Be sure to email your card to Emily by Thursday evening.

Have a great weekend everyone !!

Gotta Love the Sketch Book Pro for the Ipad2

2011-11-28T11:08:00.000-05:00

Aside from Sketching in my Moleskine Art Journal I am also addicted to digital sketching on the iPad. Apple had an awesome deal on the SB Pro Application which I happened to purchase this weekend and here are a couple of sketches I whipped up on the iPad.

I used my finger to sketch the coffee mug but the Girl below was done using a Stylus. Let me know what you think of the digital world of art. I am currently looking into purchasing a Wacom Bamboo Create tablet. There are a lot of products out there and making the right purchase takes many hours of reading and research. I will certain have more to show you in the near future.

That's all for today folks and thanks for dropping by !!

Theo Gives A Prezzie

2011-11-27T15:44:00.000-05:00

I am so happy to announce Stamping Bella is the sponsor over at CPS this week and I just had to join in on the fun. I could not resist to use another holiday image which happens to be Theo gives a Prezzie, and he is one of my favourite images to colour up.

The sketch was perfect for a Holiday card and as always I used my Prisma Pencil Crayons to colour my image. I added some liquid appliqué around the gift box to give the effect of snow. He looks like he is sitting outside in front of someones door waiting to be picked up, or at least thats what I imagine.

Well folks that's all for today and thanks for dropping by !!

Free Form Bellariffic Friday

2011-11-25T09:47:00.001-05:00

This week is Free Form in Bella Land, and let me tell you it is one of my favourite challenges because you are free to use any Bella image of your choice with any DP and layout your heart desires. Lets take a look at my card for this week.

I used Florence the Flower Pot Girl and I stamped my image on bellas bestest White paper with Memento Black ink. I brought my image to life with my favourite colouring medium which happens to be Prisma Pencil Crayons. A little bit of Pink pearls and some ribbon on the corners added the perfect finishing touch to my card. If you are wondering about the large Scalloped Square behind my image, that is a Spellbinders Die called Lacey Sqaures.

Next weeks Bellariffic Challenge is a Christmas/ Holiday card. With the big festive season approaching this is a good way to catch up on your cards to send to friends and family. Also if you would like to participate in the AJ Monday, the theme is hearts.

Thanks for dropping by everyone and have a wonderful weekend !!

Art Journal Monday

2011-11-21T09:40:00.001-05:00

I have to be honest with you guys but I am finding it hard to make time for art journaling. Between the home, kids and other commitments I am pooped by the end of the day. I truly commend those who have a full time job plus home and kids but still find the time to participate and create.

This weeks art journal Monday at Stamping Bella consisted of making girls. If you know me, you will certainly know I LOVE drawing and painting them. I do find it very difficult at times to draw but the more you practice the better you get. I made two girls this week, could not resist so here is a look.

The quote around my first girl is from Albert Einstein whom I admire greatly and here is what he said...

" I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. "

My second girl has no quotes around her but she sure is styling with her neck scarf !! Her sweater looks a little blotchy cause I tried to make it look fuzzy by adding flower soft to it but as you see it didn't turn out right, oh well I tried.

That's all I have for today's AJ Monday and hope you will come by again next week.

Bellarific Friday Sketch Card

2011-11-18T09:57:00.000-05:00

Hello fellow bloggers and crafters, today is another wonderful Bellariffic Friday Challenge, and this time it happens to be a sketch and lets take a look at my card shall we.

I used Alice by Christy Croll and I think she turned out rather adorable with her huge tea cup. Lot's of colour detail went into this image I tell ya. I coloured her with my prisma pencil crayons and also used a smidge of copic markers. The detail on her cup was done with Sakura black glaze pen and finally finished her off with glitter. My sketch did not call for a sentiment but I couldn't resist to add You're tea-riffic on her, and this card already has a home it's going to and will certainly will be loved !!

I also want to mention once again about Paula-bellas giveaway so if you haven't read my previous post you have got to go over to da bella and see all the awesome goodies she is giving but in order to have a chance to win, you need to participate either with this week or next weeks challenge.

Next weeks challenge is "FREE FORM" and I absolutely love it. This is where you do what ever your heart desires but of course you must use a Stamping Bella stamp of your choice. Have fun with this one and hope you will participate with all the Bella.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and happy crafting !!

Carb Withdrawal, a Give away and a Card

2011-11-16T17:05:00.000-05:00

OK, here is my story for today, I have been on a no wheat low carb diet for 3 weeks now and today I have started really feeling the strain. I had watched a Dr. Oz where he had said there are 2 deadly white addictions, one being Cocaine and the other being Carbs. Obviously my addition is Carbs, I love my breads and pastas and of course in time my body started showing extra bulges here and there. Now I have to try extra hard to get back into shape and shed some major pounds. At the moment my nervous system is shot cause my insulin level trying to get use to this major change.

Enough about me and my carb addiction, lets move on to some fun and exciting news. My good friend Paula is having an awesome giveaway on her blog just click here and this will take you over to her website where she explains how you can enter to win some bella-licious goodies. All you have to do is just play along in this weeks Sketch challenge or next weeks "Free form" challenge. You don't have to submit in both challenges, but if you do, then your name will get entered twice. So, if you want to win just play along with us and submit your cards to Emily by Thursday November 17 and 24 at 5:00 EST.

Before I say good-bye for today, here is my most recent creation. It's Noelle bearing Gifts, isn't she gorgeous and you can get her in rubbah over at Stamping Bella. If you take a really close look at the second picture you can see I used tiny micro beads for some detail and I think it turned out pretty neat what do you think ? I like to try new and different things to make my cards stand out so this is what I tried with this card.

Well everyone, thanks for dropping by and here is another peek at this weeks sketch.

The Holiday Season is Slowly Approaching and...

2011-11-11T07:46:00.000-05:00

I am so behind in creating my Christmas / Holiday cards for this year. Thank goodness for this weeks Bellariffic challenge cause it has gotten me all pumped up to make more to send to friends.

Let me show you my card for this week, I used A Snowman and a Cardinal. This is such a wonderful image for the holiday season, and truly a treat to colour up.

I used some Copic markers but the majority was coloured with Prisma pencil crayons. Underneath the snowman, I used thick Martha Steward coarse sparkles to create the effect of a snow mound. I also used laced ribbon, flowers and some bling to Jazz up this guy.

The designer paper is from the Basic Grey collection called Jovial, the 6 x 6 paper pad.

Next weeks challenge is a really cute and simple Sketch designed by yours truly. I sure hope you will participate. All you have to do is email Emily a photo of your card no later then Thursday November 17 at 5:00 EST and she will upload them onto the Bella Blog for everyone to see and also you have a chance to win some bella bucks if your card gets chosen.

Also just a quick reminder for all of you who want to get into Art journaling and want to take part in next weeks AJ Monday, the theme is squares. Don't forget to send them to Em no later then Sunday !!

Well, I'm off to see what all the Bella Babes have created. Take care everyone and have a wonderful creative weekend !!

Creativity Rules

2011-11-07T20:13:00.000-05:00

Here is my AJ page for Stamping Bella this week. I used a variety of paints, pan pastels, water colours, stencils and rub-ons.

Next weeks challenge is Squares, so you can use frames, punches or just simply paint abstract squares all over your journal. Thanks for stopping by and happy Journaling !!

Is there Snow at your House ??

2011-11-04T09:26:00.001-04:00

Thankfully there is No snow at my house YET but I'm certain it's not to far away !! Arrrggg, I am not looking forward to another long cold winter season, are you ? Who knows, maybe I will win the lottery and fly off to Aruba, wouldn't that be a nice treat !!

OK, time for me to stop day dreaming and talk about this weeks challenge. I have to mention colouring the Lulu images always puts a smile on my face cause they are to darn cute and for my image I used Lulu's snowman from Stamping Bella. As always I stamped my image on Bellas Bestest White paper with Memento Black ink. To bring my image to life I coloured it with my Prisma Pencil crayons and I think they turned out rather cute. I tried to match the ribbon to Lulu's coat so the card has a balanced look to it, I hope it looks good cause I am a tad iffy with it.

Here is a closer look at the colouring details, and I'm happy with this colour combination. One thing these photos did not pick up at all is the glitter I used on the front part of the hats and the pom poms and trust me there are plenty of sparkle happening on those hats :o)

Let's move on to next weeks challenge shall we, and it is HOLIDAY WISHES. With Christmas and New Years just around the corner we can never have to much of holiday cards. Start dusting off your Stamping Bella holiday stamps and get busy. Be sure to email your card to Emily no later then Thursday November 10 @ 5:00 EST and she will post it on the Bella Blog on Friday.

Lastly, we want to hear from you regarding Themes for our Bellariffic Friday challenges for next year. What are some of your favourite challenges, please DO share and leave a comment !!

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for dropping by !!

Très Chic Uptown Girls

2011-10-28T07:52:00.000-04:00

I had been dying to use my Uptown Girls stamp for the longest time but did not have a chance until now.

For this weeks challenge I used Victoria and Juliette's Night Out with sentiment. Ok, I went a little bit wild with stripes but I think they look pretty Chic, Don't you ?

I did paper piecing on the girls dresses, some sewing and added a button with a ribbon. For colouring my Uptown Girls, I went with Copic Markers this time but the shading was done with of course my Prisma Pencil crayons. As always I stamped my image on Bellas Bestest white paper with Memento Back Ink.

Next weeks challenge, do you have Snow where you live ? add snow to your card and send it to Emily by next Thursday to have a chance to win some Bella Bucks.

I am off to see what Bella babes done with Stripes. Have a wonderful weekend everyone !!

You're the Best

2011-10-21T07:33:00.000-04:00

Welcome back for another Bellariffic Friday Challenge which was a Sketch done by yours truly. Even though the background colours of the layout were a Halloween theme, you certainly did not need to incorporate those into your card. Here is my take on the sketch and I used the stamp called Scarlett the Teacup Girl from the Green Bean Baby Stamp Collection.

Please don't pay attention to my horrible sewing around the edges of my card. I might have mentioned this before but I am not the greatest when it comes to sewing, I always find a way to mess it up. My colouring was done with prisma pencil crayons and I used bellas bestest white paper to stamp my image. For the centres of the flowers I used a Sakura Black Glaze pen to make them really stand out. As for the designer paper, I opted with My Mind's Eye Tickled Pink Collection.

Let's move onto next weeks challenge shall we, and it is Stripes. Use striped paper or embellishments on your card accompanied by of course a Stamping Bella image. Be sure to email it to Emily so she can post it on the Bella blog.

Before I sign off for this week, I would like to announce a new Bella Babe that has just joined our awesome team of designers and her name is Regan D'agostino over at the Stampy McStamperson Blog. Be sure to check out her beautiful creations and leave her some lovin. Well folks, that all for today, have a wonderful creative weekend !!

Jack and Ginger

2011-10-19T14:13:00.000-04:00

I had a special request to make a card for my BF who was invited to attend a 50th year wedding Anniversary. All I could say to her was " Wow, did you say 50 years ? " and she told me if they reach 60 years they get a special certificate from the Queen. Right away my husband and I calculated our ages if we ever make it to 60 years and we just simply laughed !!

Well, here is my card and I picked Jack and Ginger for the special occasion.

I Coloured my image with Prisma pencil crayons and added glitter for an extra special detail.

Just a reminder of this weeks Sketch Challenge, if you haven't done it yet you still have time. Email it to Emily by tomorrow 5:00pm EST and she will post all entries to the Bella Blog.

Boo

2011-10-14T09:26:00.000-04:00

Before I start on the details of my card I would like to share a couple of awesome news that has just hit bella land. First and for most we have an original Bella Babe making a come back to the team and I am very excited to announce it is Shannan Tuebner over at Pink Tulle with Feathers & Sequins, YEAH !!!!

Next news in line is Stamping Bella is offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders over $ 55.00 until 11:59pm EST on Monday October 17. If you haven't been over at the Bella blog lately I would highly suggest stop on over and see Emily's new mini release of some more Up Town Girls and wouldn't that free shipping be just perfect way to end your shopping !!!

Now let move on to our challenge shall we. This weeks theme was Halloween and I used Little Witchy that also comes with the Boo sentiment. I also use one of Julie Balzer's labels to stamp on my sentiment.

I used the traditional halloween colours fro the designer paper and also to colour her up. The DP I used is from Recollections called Ravenhead Manor. This paper pack is absolutely awesome for Halloween cards. I stamped my image on bellas bestest white paper with Memento black ink and coloured her up with Prisma pencil crayons.

OK, that covers all the news fro this week now let move onto next weeks challenge and it happens to be a sketch I have put together. I used the halloween colours as an inspiration so lets see what you all come up with so be sure to send your cards to Emily by next Thursday.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone !!!

Intro to Mixed Media Art Journaling

2011-10-12T07:23:00.000-04:00

Hello crafters, today I have a special video treat that I put together for those of you who want to get into mixed media journaling but really don't know where to start. I covered the basic requirements needed to get started and I will talk about each medium in more detail as I create and tutor my art pages. If you go into youtube to watch this video, I have attached some product links to Stamping Bella as she carries most of the items I use.

I really hope you find this video informative and obviously there are a lot of other items to cover and explore with but it does get very expensive when you get deep into it. You just have to experiment and find what medium and brand you enjoy working with the most, it really is all about trial and error. I feel like I am in a science lab sometimes cause I mix so many different paints to come up with the effect I want.

I don't want to ramble on to much here, but if you have any questions at all please leave me a comment or send me an email and I will do my best answer you with the information you need.

If you want to share your art journals or want to join challenges, Emily over at the Stamping Bella blog host one every week. She gives us different themes to explore weekly and it's really nice to see what everyone comes up with. I hope you will give it a try !!

My Red Carpet Art Journal Page

2011-10-10T08:21:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love to indulge into Mixed Media Art Journaling. Your imagination is truly a wonderful place to be as it takes you into a journey only you can travel. Emily's Challenge this week was to use just one colour to create your page and I used my favourite colour, RED. I mixed a little bit of white to lighten up my Red and also used black to darken it. To me the colour Red represent fashion, style, beauty, elegance just like the Red carpet at the Oscar's.

I let the Oscars be my main theme and focal point of my page. The only twist is, the actresses are little Fairies. The images were cut out from a fashion magazine and luckily the colours were bang on with the theme. This page turned out to be more beautiful then what I had anticipated. I hand drew the wings and coloured it in with Gesso and a little bit of red paint and in the centres of each wing, I added mini pink pearls.

I hope you have enjoyed Mondays Journal page and I will have more to share with you later on this week.

Thank you for dropping by and have a lovely week.

Fall Colour Challenge

2011-10-07T11:03:00.000-04:00

What I love most and really the only thing about fall is it's colours. Mother nature has a way with every season but the colours produced in fall are truly amazing. Every year my husband and I take the kids for a drive up North to see all the lovely trees that have changed it's colour to reflect the chilly days to come. Sometimes, I stroll around the local park and watch each tree transform into it's beautiful rustic tones as if welcoming Fall with open arms.

With the challenge this week I chose to use the stamp called Rustic Window Box by Mo Manning. I thought this stamp would be the most convenient to reflect the change of colours. I coloured each flower and leaves in the beautiful tones of Red, Orange, Yellow and Green. In the centres of all the flowers I dropped a small little dot of Liquid pearl to add interest and dimension.

My image was stamped on bellas bestest white paper with Memento Black Ink. I also used Copic markers and prisma pencil crayons for the colours tones.

Next week happens to be one of my favourite challenges of the year and it is Halloween. Get out your favourite scary cute Bella image and have some fun. I really do hope you will play along with all the bella babes and the sistahs. I also want to remind you of the Art Journal page for Monday, you still have time to get out your one favourite colour and get busy making you journal page. Be sure to submit your card and AJ pages to Emily over at Stamping Bella.

I am off to see what the rest of the Bella Babes have done with Fall colours, be sure to check them out as well and leave them some lovin. That's all for this week but be sure to check back on Monday for my Art Journal post. Have a great weekend all !!

Thinking of you - Bellariffic Friday

2011-09-30T07:24:00.001-04:00

I love playing along with the Bellariffic Friday Challenges every week and what makes it even more exciting and fun is seeing all the awesome entries made by all you peeps. This weeks challenge was to use dimension on your image or use buttons or bows, anything that pops up from your card. You all know I love Mo Manning images, so for this challenge I used the stamp called Sorry Shanna available at Stamping Bella.

As you can see I used foam dots on the boots to pop them up, but unfortunately you can't see that from the first photo. To finish up my card I added a Satin Silver ribbon and I think it turned out rather cute.

The designer paper is from October Afternoons Modern Home Maker. As always I stamped my image on bellas bestest paper with Memento Black Ink and gave it life with Prisma Pencil Crayons.

Let's move onto next week which happens to be a Colour Challenge. Use beautiful Fall colours on your card and submit it to Emily no later then Thursday October 6. Can't wait to see what you all come up with.

I just want to leave you with a little inspiration of fall colours so get cracking :o)

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and thanks for stopping by !!

Vintage Lady In My Mixed Media Art

2011-09-27T09:05:00.002-04:00

It's time to reveal my favourite mixed media art page to all of you and TA DA !!!

This page had a lot of different kinds of paints. I used Acrylic, water colour and Pan Pastels. Also added to the background are two different designs of napkins and various background stamps and stencils. My main image of the vintage women was printed onto a book page, then I lightly coloured her with my Prisma pencil crayons to give more detail to her and allow her to become the focal point my entire page.

I f you haven't already seen or heard of the Graphics Fairy blog, I would highly suggest you check it out cause there are hundreds of gorgeous vintage images you can download to your computer for FREE. The image of the vintage lady was found on this blog.

I hope this page inspires you to get your creative juices flowing !!

Thanks for stopping by !!

Life is uncertain. Eat dessert First.

2011-09-23T07:17:00.001-04:00

Don't you just love that saying, well if you have a sweet tooth like me I think you would very much agree with this quote by Ernestine Ulmer. Life is so unpredictable and full of surprises cause you never know what is going to happen tomorrow, so with that being said go do something wild and fun or simply do something you always wanted to do but never had the time.

OK, back to business friends, even though Pauline's Sketch did not call for a sentiment I could not resist to add this onto my card. For my image this week I went with a Mo Manning image called What's Cookin available in rubbah at Staming Bella and the sentiment is from Lulu's Two pies. I brought my image to life with my Prisma pencil crayon and used the Designer paper from Basic Grey called hello luscious.

Next weeks challenge is pop it up, meaning add dimension to your image by using foam dots. The rules are simple, just use a Stamping Bella Stamp and email your creation to Emily by Thursday September 29th.

Well folks, that's it from me today. Thanks for coming by and have a wonderful weekend. Now I'm off to see what master pieces the Bella Babes have done !! Mwah

Our very First Bake Sale...

2011-09-19T09:34:00.000-04:00

was this past Saturday morning and it was a flop. I spent two days baking and preparing not to mention buying lots on the ingredients required. The reason why I mentioned that was because I actually spent more then what I made. We were hoping it would be successful as there were tons of delicious sweets that were put together and presented so professionally. Oh well, it was an experience and no doubt our approach will be a little different next time, if there is going to be a next time !!

Here are some photos of what I put together. I made some cute tags to put on my packaging.

Below is a photo of Spritz cookies and Sugar Cookies.

I also made 10 mini loafs of delicious vanilla cakes, ranging from berry to walnut flavours.

These are pictures of the Bake Sale.

As you an see the kids really enjoyed it !!

I have to say it was a blast just getting together with our friends and enjoying each others treats and coffee's. We ended up sharing what we all made and brought a whole bunch of delicious goodies home for the rest of the family to enjoy.

If you Love Scarf's...

2011-09-15T13:00:00.001-04:00

you mush check out this awesome youtube video. Wow, this is one superbly edited video and a good one to add to your favourites !! Enjoy.

You're Tea-riffic

2011-09-13T16:51:00.000-04:00

I thought I share a card with you today and keep you in suspense for my favourite journeying page. Lately my focus has been drawing in my sketch book and to be honest with you I am enjoying it greatly. Believe it or not it has taken me back to my early teens when I was doing most of my sketches. Oh how I wish I kept even one to look back at today.

I made this card using the Cuppa Love stamp from Stamping Bella and as always stamped my image on bella's bestest white paper with Tuxedo Memento Black Ink and voila here you have it. With Fall just around the corner I wanted to use muted Fall colours for a theme. For extra added detail I added a ribbon and some black bling to complete.

Don't forget there is no Bellariffic Friday this week but next weeks challenge is an awesome Sketch by Paulineabella. No excuses not to participate cause you get an extra week to create !! For those of you who may not have seen it yet, here is the sketch.

Till next time, happy crafting !!

My Mixed Media Journal Page...

2011-09-12T10:45:00.000-04:00

Live the Life You've Imagined. What a great saying, and to be honest with you I am living the life I imaged. What more could I possibly ask for when I have all I want, a beautiful family.

Here is what I painted up in my art journal. I used variety of mediums to create this page, mainly acrylics and pan pastels. If you noticed, I did some sewing work on it as well to add a different element to my page.

Don't be afraid or intimidated to use different things in your journal. This is one place where there are no rules, you make up the rules yourself and be wild and free.

The next one I am going to share with you is my most favourite so far but you have to wait and come back to see what I came up with and I am certain you will enjoy it.

Have a wonder day bloggers and thanks for dropping by !!

An Illustrated Life - Danny Gregory

2011-09-11T12:54:00.000-04:00

I am seriously enjoying "An Illustrated Life" by Danny Gregory. This book is full of drawing inspiration from various illustrators, designers and sketchbook artists. I bought this book at Chapters yesterday and I'm already more then halfway through it. I was in awe with the artists in this book, such amazingly gifted people. I really enjoyed watching these videos on Vimeo and thought I share them with you, I hope it gives you as much inspiration as it gave me.

The Art of Breakfast from DannyGregory on Vimeo.

Red Hook - a film about Tommy Kane from DannyGregory on Vimeo.

Even though I am no where near the talents of these two artists, I was inspired to draw yesterday and here is what I came up with, yes I need to practise a lot and I mean I a lot before I can draw decently. One of my major problems is perspective, my objects or people I draw tend to be either to big or to small.. hehehe of well like I said, practise will make perfect some day.

I am signing off today with a quote form Robert Crumb:

" Draw from life as much as you can stand to. That's where you really learn things. And learn to express your real, personal feelings. And don't worry about creating masterpieces or only drawing the pretty thing. Look for the commonplace, the unnoticed details of everyday reality. To draw form life is to learn about life. But, you know, you need to be compelled by some inner need to fill the blank page. It's gotta come from inside. "

My Little Spotted Giraffe

2011-09-09T09:15:00.001-04:00

Thank goodness it's Friday and another Bellariffic Card. This weeks challenge was to create a card using an animal stamp, embellishment or paper. For my card this week I used the stamp called Spotted Giraffe by Stamping Bella, and isn't he just adorable.

As always I colored my stamped image with one of my favorite coloring mediums and those are my Prisma Pencil Crayons. To give it the effect of sewing, I did faux stitching all around my Little Giraffe to add that extra detail. To finish it off I used a very pretty Satin ribbon that I purchased in a Bazar when I was in Turkey. Let me tell you, ribbons, buttons and thread were in such abundance and so cheap in Turkey I bought tons. My mother-in-law was shocked at me for buying so much ribbon she couldn't help but mention how many cards was I planning on making... she is such a sweetheart !!

Moving on, there will not be a challenge next week as Emily, Paula and Linda are heading to Scrapfest-Mall of America so you have two weeks to create your card using this awesome sketch created by the lovely Paulineabella.

Be sure to Email your cards to Emily By September 22 so we call see your creations on the bella blog. That's all for today folks, have yourselves a wonderful weekend !!

Home is Where is the Heart Is

2011-09-08T13:31:00.000-04:00

Here is another one of my mixed media art work. I printed a vintage image onto a book page and coloured with various art mediums and Voila !!

ATC Size Mixed Media Art

2011-09-06T22:59:00.001-04:00

With any little spare time I have, I love to draw. My drawings range from funky divas to still life and flowers. I would like to share some more of my girl drawings with you. They are all ATC size and coloured with different types of colouring mediums. I hope you will find them inspiring.

The drawing above is Miss Sassy !!

This one is "Miss in Love"

This one is 70's diva.

If you take a close look at my 70's diva, her eyes have smudged. Art is a learning process, you will know what to use and what not to use by experience, and knowledge. The reasons why the ink ran was I used a liner that was not water proof, just like mascara...hehehe !!!

My most favourite multiliner is the Copic brand but be aware you must let it dry fully before you can start to experiment with paints. That is my tip of the day.

Back to School Bellariffic Friday

2011-09-02T00:18:00.000-04:00

This weeks card theme was back to school and I created my card using the Knowledge Speaks stamp from Stamping Bella

As always, my images was stamped with Memento Black ink on Bella's bestest paper. To bring my image to life, I used my prisma pencil crayons. The background of my card is from an old book page my good friend Lindabella gave me when she was teaching at bella land.

I'm so excited my kids are starting school, now I can focus on doing some Mixed media tutorials on you tube. I have so neglected making videos this summer but hopefully I will get back into it as soon as I have more free time on my hands.

Next weeks challenge is Animals, it does not necessarily have to be an animal stamp. You can use animal paper, embellishment and your image must be a Stampingbella stamp. We sure do hope you will play along with the rest of the bella team. Make sure to have your card emailed to Emily by next Thursday so she can post it on her bella blog for all the babes and sistah's to see.

Hope everyone has a wonderfully creative and fun weekend !!

Hearts, Circles and Sweet Birds

2011-08-30T01:08:00.000-04:00

I thought you might enjoy yet another of my Mixed Media art work on Canvas. Lots of paint and doodling happened on this canvas.

My Journal Art Page

2011-08-29T12:32:00.002-04:00

Here is my mixed media page with Isabelle Norris's Eclectic Stamp Set. I also used old book pages and napkins to create my page. For background coloring I used acrylic paints, Panpastels and watercolors. I will be doing a video on how I create my journal pages and the basics supplies you will need to get started so keep an eye out.

A Sketchy Friday Today

2011-08-26T09:50:00.000-04:00

Hello bloggers and welcome to yet another wonderful Bellarific Friday. This week was an awesome Sketch done by sweet Cathabella. Here is a look at my card and the sketch.

I used the image called Cupcake Princess Violet from Mo Manning which is available in rubbuh over at Stamping Bella. She was coloured with prisma pencil crayons and copic markers, I also used Tim Holtz distress ink called vintage photo to distress the edges of my image.

You can never make enough birthday cards cause there is aways a birthday !! Next weeks theme is however a Back to School card. We hope you will play along with the rest of us, just use a Stamping Bella stamp and email it to Emily by Thursday September 1st.

Have a wonderful weekend crafters !!

Doodle Freely - Mixed Media Canvas

2011-08-22T11:18:00.000-04:00

Here is me doodling on a big canvas measured at 20 x 28 totally inspired by Christy Tomlinson and Alisa Burke. There is so many mixed media involved in this and let me tell you I was up till 2:00am painting. I used from Panpastels to acrylic paints and water colours and more !!

I hope you enjoy this canvas and I inspire you to dig into your paints and have some fun !!

A Huggabugg Friday

2011-08-19T09:37:00.000-04:00

The huggabuggs happen to be one of my most favourite stamp series cause they are absolutely the cutest images evah !! I had quite a few to choose from so I picking one was not the easiest for me this time around, but I had to pick so I used Appley Bowl.

Ok, I wanted to do something different which I normally don't do enough of and that is changing the layout of my card. As you can see this time I went with a landscape format rather then portrait which I normally do. I think this looks rather good which means you maybe seeing more landscape cards in the future.

As always my images was stamped with Memento Black ink on bellas besets paper and of course coloured with Prisma pencil crayons. The designer paper I used is from Cosmo Crickets Social Club collection mini pack.

Next weeks challenge is a wonderful sketch done by the sweetest Cathabella and I hope you can play along with all of us. Be sure to email your cards to Emily by Thursday August 25 and you may just win some bella bucks !!

Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend !!

Love Ya

2011-08-17T09:51:00.000-04:00

It's going to be a quick post for today. I wanted to share with you one more new image called Love ya from Mo Manning made into Rubbah by Stampingbella. If you love Mo digi images and want them in stamp form just click here.

My image was completely coloured with Prisma pencil crayons and distressed with Tim Holtz Vintage photo ink.

The designer paper I used was from My Minds Eye called True Blue.

Also don't forget to check out the awesome release over at the bella blog and your huggabugg card for this Friday.

Meet Payton and Amy from Greenbean Baby Collection

2011-08-15T22:35:00.001-04:00

There is an awesome release happening over at Stamping Bella and here are just a couple of the Greenbean Babies, but to see the whole August release, head on over to the bella blog and check out more Greenbean Baby stamps and the brand new line called Uptown Girls, Mo Manning Images made into Rubbah, more Peeps,and LuLu's. Also there are two new Designers which happen to be our very own Paulabella and Beth. By the way Paula is doing an awesome giveaway on her blog so be sure to check that out as well !!

The photo above is Payton and is she not a cutie, look at her bow and cute dress !!

Meet Amy, her bow is more in your face cause she is totally styling and look at that pearl necklace !!! Gotta love her Polka dots. Both girls were coloured with my prism pencil crayons and stamped on Bellas besets paper.

Don't forget the Bellarific Friday challenge is still going on and this week is a card with your favourite Huggabugg stamp. That's all folks from my Craft Journal !!

Paper PieRcing in Bellaland

2011-08-12T10:40:00.000-04:00

This card is dedicated to all the ladies out there that are having a blast creating, painting, cutting, stamping, colouring, pieRcing and the list goes on. This is one passion that is never going to leave my side !!

This weeks theme was paper pieRcing and I used my Kissy stamp to create my card. Ok, I have to admit my piercing was not the straightest as you can see the holes are uneven and wonky :o) hehehe BUT I love her never the less. I wanted to create a vintage looking card so I used designer paper that would give me exactly what I wanted and I tried to colour her up that way as well. For extra added detail, I glued three red heart gems on her crown.

As you all know by now I always use bellas besets paper with Memento Black ink for all my images. Also my favourite medium for colouring my stamped images would be my prisma or Cara D'ache pencil crayons. In this image I used my prisma pencils.

Next weeks challenge is to use a Huggabugg image from Stamping Bella and let me tell you they are one of my favourite images to colour up cause they are so cute and adorable !!! If you haven't seen them already just click on the link and it will bring you to all the huggabugg images.

Well, that's all from my craft head quarters everyone now I am off to see what the awesome bella babes have created. Don't forget to visit the bella blog for all the wonderful inspiration the sistahood has posted. Have a wonderful weekend everyone !!!

Future Designer's

2011-08-11T14:26:00.000-04:00

My daughter had a couple of her friends come for a sleep over and I could not resist sharing some photos with you. These girls are amazing and so talented and polite, all around super kids and this is what they created yesterday. Even my little guy got involved to, but he used his washable markers to create his shirt.

The photo above is my Daughter's creation !!

This one is her friend Simran's creation !!

The bottom left is Sara's..

Well here is my little monster's creation. He opted for his initial and dots, not bad for a seven year old.

My daughter wasn't comfortable on the kitchen table so she took her shirt painting to the ground !!

As the day went into night, we all enjoyed the fire pit and marshmallow. The kids were having such a wonderful time. Really, these are the moments in there lives they will remember and cherish till they become mothers and fathers !!

Isn't he something, look at him meditating :o). Well I hope you enjoyed and be sure to come back tomorrow cause I will have my paper piercing card !!! Also, if you haven't been to the Bella Blog lately, I suggest just head on over there right away cause Emily has shows us some sneak peeks from her next new release hopefully coming soon !!!

My little Doodle Page

2011-08-08T22:08:00.000-04:00

I am totally loving mixed Media Art and have dived in heads first. Today the kids and went to Currys Art store near my house and caused some major damage and before Curry's I had gone to Stamping Bella to pick up my Faber Castell Pitt Pens which I am in LOVE with. Here is a page of my art journal for your viewing pleasure which I hope you will like as much as I enjoyed making it.

If you are wondering who got me started to create outside the lines, well it's Emily over at Stamping Bella. I am so grateful for her to show me what I can create using all sorts of different mediums.

The inspiration for this page came from Alisa Burke who I recently discovered and am I ever so glad I found her because her tips and techniques are truly my style. This was created with Caran D'ache water soluables, Sakura Micro Pens, acrylic paint, and Pan Pastells and of course Pitt Pens.

I hope this page gets your inspirational juices flowing. Till next time happy crafting !!

Bellarific Friday and My Wedding Anniversary Today

2011-08-05T09:33:00.000-04:00

I look back and can't help but to wonder how fast time really flies. It just feels like yesterday I got married to my DH and my kiddies are still a baby in my eyes not to mention I still feel like I am in my late 20's. Do you feel like that or is it just me.

Thanks for dropping by again my dear followers and new comers. This weeks bellarific challenge was to use metal anywhere on your card and here is what I came up with.

She is called Hollyhock BITTYBLOOM from the Bittyblooms By Chichiboulie collection available at Stamping bella. As always I stamped my image with Memento Black ink on bella's bestest white paper and colored her up with my prism pencil crayons. And as for metal, I used four silver brads on corners of my card. I think she turned our pretty Chic.

I wasn't to certain how this colour combination was going to look but I actually really like it. To be honest with you there is no such thing as a wrong colour combo because in my humble opinion I love all colours and choosing what colour I want to use makes it all the best.

Moving onto next weeks challenge and that is paper pieRcing not paper piecing. All you have to do is choose your favourite Stampingbella stamp and have fun piercing. Make sure to email your card to Emily no later then Thursday August 11 so we all can see in the the bella blog.

Well folks I am off to see what the awesome bella babes have come up with so be sure to visit there blogs and leave them some love. Have a wonderful weekend all !!!

Oh What Fun it is to Have Christmas In July

2011-07-29T00:01:00.001-04:00

Call me weird or wacky but I actually miss winter. I am not a summer girl, too much heat and humidity makes me cranky and I look for the shade and AC where ever I go. Making my card for this challenge was certainly refreshing and made me feel all chilly and festive inside. If you have been following my blog you will know by now that I am a big fan of Mo Manning images in Rubbah which are available over at Stamping Bella. For my image, I used the stamp called I even love the box which has been stamped on bellas bestest white paper with Memento black Ink.

I brought my image to life with my Prisma Pencil crayons and mineral spirits. The colour tones were chosen to complement the designer paper from Basic Greys Jovial collection.

Our next weeks challenge is to add metal to your card. Make sure to stop by the bella blog and check out all the wonderful cards for inspiration !!

A Circle Card for Bellarific Friday

2011-07-22T10:57:00.004-04:00

Hello bloggers and welcome to another Bellarific Friday Challenge. This week we had a choice with our sketch to go with the circle or square and as you can see I went with the circle.

I really enjoy making circle cards cause I find it challenging and unique from a standard A2 card. With my image this week I decided to use the final pixie that I hadn't used yet in a set of four called the PIXIES set A (4 pixies PARKER, PERSEPHONE, PORTIA, and PRISC. As always my image was stamped on bellas bestest cream paper with Memento black ink and colored her up with copic markers. To give it the illusion of her flying in the sky I added some cute clouds and coloured them in with prisma pencil crayons. I wanted the Happy Birthday sentiment tucked under her feet so I gently cut around her and glued down my sentiment.

Next weeks challenge is Christmas in July, so get your Stamping Bella Christmas images dusted off and get busy. I am heading to see what the bella babes have created and later on will be checking out the bella blog to see what the sistah's came up with.

Next week is going to be extremely busy week for me and the family. My husband has taken a week off so we will be doing local activities like the Wild Water Kingdom, African lion Safari, Science centre, Toronto Zoo and so forth. I will try to share as many photos and posts of our daily activities as I possibly can but bare in mind I will be a tad busy. If the weather is as hot as it was yesterday then God help me cause I can't stand the heat !!!

That's all the news from me Sistah's, have a wonderful weekend all !!

Hmmm, what did I Choose ...

2011-07-15T10:23:00.000-04:00

a Bella or Stella for this weeks Bellarific Challenge. I am a Bella girl 100 %, don't get me wrong, I love the Stella's too but the Bella's win hands down :-)

Here is Elizabella and she happens to be one of my favorite bella's because of her cute dress and the shopping bags in her hands. This stamp is so versatile cause you can paper piece her any way you like or color her up to your hearts content.

As you can see I went with paper piecing. Normally I don't go with these color tones but my hands and heart took me in this direction. The paper I used for the piecing is from Sassafras Sweet Smitten collection and as always I stamped my image on bellas bestest white paper with Memento Black ink and colored her hair and shoes with Copic markers.

Next weeks Challenge is a pretty sketch that can go two ways like so,

Not hard ehhh ??? hope you like the sketch and play along with the rest of the bella babes and the sistahs.

I am off to see what the awesome bellas have came up with, so without further ado I like to wish you all a wonderful weekend !!!

Did ya Miss Bellarific Friday...

2011-07-08T00:00:00.002-04:00

cause I sure did and there was plenty of time for you peeps to play along so no excuses. This weeks challenge was Ribbon so I opted with olive green lace ribbon around my favorite Lulu image called Lulu's Morning Fix.

Isn't she a cutie with her gorgus morning bathrobe and a nice cup of coffee or tea. This is me most mornings with a cup of coffee and the phone at my ear talking up a storm with my mom. I must say I don't have a bathrobe that cute, all I wear around the house are my comfy house pants and a long t-shirt.

If you look closely at my image you will notice she was colored with prisma pencil crayons. As always I stamped my image on bellas bestest cream paper with Memento black Ink and added a nice lacey ribbon for the finishing and required touch !!

Next weeks challenge, dust off your favorite Bella or Stella stamps and get busy creating. I have a couple of images in mind and I can't seem to decide, hmm I hate when that happens cause I love all my Bellas and Stellas. Well sistah's I am off to see what the awesome bella babes have created, be sure to give them a visit and leave them some lovin !!

Well, that all from me today everyone. Have yourselves a wonderful weekend and be sure to check out all the entries at the bella blog.

Hello Dear Friend

2011-07-01T08:27:00.001-04:00

It's not Bellarific Friday but I could not resists to post a little something. I would like to start off by wishing all my Canadian sistahs, bloggers, followers a Happy Canada Day !!!

It's a lovely day in Toronto today and I have nothing planned, most likely I will just lounge around in the gazebo sipping my coffee and chatting away with my friends on the phone.

For my image I used Call me Peep from Stampingbella of course. She was colored with prisma pencil crayons and as always stamped with Memento Black ink on bellas bestest paper.

Next weeks challenge is Ribbon and believe it or not I to have my card finished just like Linda-bella. Well bloggers one more news before I say good-bye, don't forget to stop by the forumabella where our sweet Jessabella is hosting Bellas book club.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by !!

Birthday Card for My BF

2011-06-28T10:55:00.001-04:00

I wanted to share this card I made awhile back for a very good friend of mine. Of course my friend looks nothing like this image but she looks more like me. So when she got her card I had to explain to her this was me shopping for her present :o) She absolutely loved the card and with a big giggle she placed it on her table.

This is a Mo Manning image in rubbah, and you can find her at Stamping Bella called Veronica. I have to admit most of my favorite images are Mo's illustrations cause they are simply adorable and fun to color. I used my prisma pencil crayons to colour my image and of course as always stamped her on bellas bestest paper with Memento Black Ink. I finished her up with a Grey bow and glitter and voila here you have it !!

Just a reminder, there will be no Bellarific Challenge this week but the theme for next week is Ribbon. I sure hope you can play along with the rest of us cause you have plenty of time and it's easy peasy.

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely day !!

Bellarific Friday Sketch Challenge

2011-06-24T12:00:00.000-04:00

Hello bloggers and welcome back yet to another wonderful bellarific challenge. I want to start off by mentioning my neglect on my blog lately, I have been very sick and trying to recover but no worries though I will be on my feet before no time.

This week was a sketch done by our very talented Jeanie-bella also known as Chicken and here is my interpretation of her wonderful sketch. I used one of the pixies from the stamp set called The Pixie set A there are 4 pixies in this set and let me tell you they are all gorguss.

I coloured her with my prisma pencil crayons and added lots of glitter to make her sparkle, after all she is a pixie and what is a pixie without pixie dust :o)

Before I sign off just to let you peeps know there will be no challenge next week due to the long weekend in Canada and the States. But we will be back July 8th so you have two weeks to make a card that has ribbon in it. No excuses now, you have plenty of time to participate.

Have a wonderful weekend and be sure to check out the bella blog to see what the sistah-hood created. Mwah !!!

You make Me Smile

2011-06-17T00:04:00.001-04:00

OK, I really couldn't resist posting this image extra large cause she turned out so darn cute. This is a Mo Manning image called Lacie with Ice-Cream available in Rubbah over at Stamping Bella and let me tell you she fit the challenge to the T. Look at her flip flops, her glittery ruffled dress, a juicy large ice-cream cone and lets not forget the cool shades, what else does a girl need, really ??

My image was stamped on bellas bestest paper with Memento Black Ink and finally brought to life with a combination of prisma pencil crayons and copic markers. I also added some Martha Stewart glitter on her dress and flip flops and finished off my image with glossy accents on her sunglasses.

Next weeks challenge is a fabulous sketch done by the very talented Jeanie-bella so I hope you give it a try. All you have to do is email a photo of your card to emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday to have a chance to win some bella bucks.

Thanks again for dropping by and I wish all you bloggers a wonderful sunny weekend !!!

My SFYTT Sketch Card

2011-06-15T07:40:00.000-04:00

Hello bloggers and welcome to my blog. Todays card layout comes from I Heart 2 Stamp and this month's sponsor is Stamping Bella so I gladly participated.

Wedding months are here and you never know when you will need that one perfect wedding card for that one special couple. I decided to use the Wedding Gown Circle Stamp for this layout and her is what I came up with.

As always my image was stamped on bellas bestest paper with Memento black ink and I colored it up with copics and prisma color pencil crayons. For that extra added detail I used a wired sheer pink ribbon and some pink pearls to complete this sketch.

Before I go, just want to mention this weeks Bellariffic challenge is bring on Summer so don't forget to get your cards into Emily tommorrow !!

The Vatansever Family Cottage

2011-06-13T18:39:00.000-04:00

Based on the title, you are probably thinking we have purchased a cottage, however that is not the case. For many years hubby and I were thinking and mentally constructing the perfect back and front yard the family would enjoy and here is the story behind the final outcome.

Last year we took a family vacation to Turkey and I have to admit our backyard was completely inspired by the summer homes in Turkey. Most families (mainly upper class) have two homes, one located in the city where they work and go to school and the other is a beach house located by the sea. We wanted to create the same atmosphere in our own backyard less the Ocean. To be honest with you I am very happy with the end result. Here are a few photos I would love to share with all of you.

This is how the portion of the backyard looked from my bedroom.

This is the Gazebo being built.

This is my handy husband. I have to mention and also give credit to myself when building the gazebo. Because I took the photos, there is no evidence I had a hand in building the gazebo and let me tell you without my help hubby would not have been able to do all of that by himself... just saying.

Here he is with the well earned beer :o)

Here is the final result.

My Pink and purple Hydrangeas, LOVE THEM !!!

OK, now moving on the the front yard. I promised I would update you all with the final results of our front yard and here is the before and after pictures.

My mini planter barrel.

Hope you liked all the photos I posted, now you all know what I had been up to for the past two months. From here on I will be enjoying my morning coffee you know where ; o)

Tea is a Cup of Life

2011-06-10T09:25:00.000-04:00

Hello bloggers and thanks for joining me for another Bellarific Friday Challenge. This week is particularly my favorite because I love to paper piece. You can create such wonderful effects with your stamped images just by adding designer paper of your choice. As you can see I am still on a Little peeps frenzy, this one is called Earl Grey Peep, isn't she adorable.

As always, my image was stamped on bellas bestest paper with Memento Black ink and paper pieced with Basic Greys "Life of the Party" mini paper pad.

Next weeks challenge is "Here Come Summer". Bring out your Stampingbella Summer images and get to work. Make sure to send your cards to Emily at emily@stampingbella.com by Thursday 5:00pm EST and she will post all the card entries on bloggabella. Hope you can play along with the rest of us cause we love seeing all the awesome entries the sistah-hood comes up with. Well, that's all the news I have for you today, till next time Happy Crafting Everyone !!!

This is Hot Stuff

2011-06-03T09:33:00.000-04:00

Hello bloggers and welcome to a Masculine Bellarific Friday Challenge. For my image this week, I decided to use Big Guy Grilling.

The story behind why I chose this image is quite simple cause this is my DH to the T. He even BBQ's in the middle of winter, yep you read it correctly, WINTER. We love to eat and entertain quite frequently and both my pregnancy's were in winter, my daughter was born in March and my son in January so you can see why there was a lot of BBQ in winter. To be honest with you my husband even has a belly similar to the one in the image but he would beg to differ.

As always I stamped my image on bellas bestest paper cause he is available in rubbah over at Stampingbella. As you will notice I did quite a bit of paper piecing on this image, hey maybe I can enter it again for next weeks challenge :-) hehehe, nahh I have a brand new image for that one already in progress !! The designer paper I used is from Cosmo Cricket Mini Deck called Social Club and also I used Basic Greys Marjolaine paper pad. The rest of my image was colored with prisma pencil crayons and to finish it off I used 3 coordinating buttons and voila we have a finished card.

As I was visiting the very talented Bella babe-a-roonies, I noticed I was not alone in my image selection. Well it seemed like Cathabella and Robinabella were in the same wave length this week as me, how cute is that and I must mention there cards are gorgusss.

Well bloggers, next weeks challenge as I mentioned above is paper piecing, if you don't know what that is take a close look at my card and you will see the hat the shirt and shorts were all paper pieced. Have fun and be creative and don't forget to email your cards to Emily at emily@stampingbella.com.

You're Tea-riffic

2011-06-02T13:55:00.000-04:00

I don't recall ever sharing this card with all of you. I was going through my older photos when I realized this was never posted. It's a small 4.25 by 4.25 square card and I used the percolator stamp from Stampingbella. I absolutely adore this image, maybe because I love coffee and tea a lot and this image gives me that warm feeling.

Today is just a quick post and not too much info to share. Oh OK, I do have just one small news and that is my driveway is all finished YEAH !!!! I will certainly have photos of the completed project so stay tuned for that one. Also don't forget to mail your Masculine cards to Emily no later the 5:00 pm EST today.

Limitations Live only in Our Minds...

2011-05-31T10:28:00.000-04:00

but if we use our imagination, the possibilities are limitless. Don't you just love that saying, how is this for some mixed media eye candy. I have to ~~blame~~ thank my addiction to Emily over at Stampingbella for opening my eyes and mind to mixed media journaling and canvasing. If you haven't checked out her tutorials on Mixed media on canvas you MUST cause they are awesome and technique rich !!! Below are videos incase you are interested in watching !!!

This journaling page was made with napkins and background stamps from Isabelle Norris called Eclectic Mini Bubblewrap, Mesh and Fresh Script Set and let me tell you these stamps are absolutely perfect for backgrounds on journals and canvases. I also used semi gloss acrylic paint from Claudia Hellmuth called Studio.

This page is of my son and I also used napkins here as well but the technique is from Christy Tomlinson.

If you haven't heard of her, do check out he blog and youtube channel as she is amazing with mixed media creations.

This one is a instax photo journal with mixed media and rub-ons. Hope you enjoyed todays post as it is something different and unique. Open your doors to creativity and don't limit yourselves to all the possibilities that are out there !!!

You Can Make a Feminine Card...

2011-05-27T08:55:00.002-04:00

using masculine colours, and my card is a pretty good example. I really wanted to use yet another peep image and I had to incorporate Navy Blue, Green and Kraft paper into my design. I have yet to purchase the boy peeps but let me a sure you they will all be in my Bella binder before you know it. As I mentioned on my last post, I am loving my peep stamps from Stampingbella. Here is another card with my favourite image called Little Peeps Heart. Mind you this image comes with the sentiment "I heart you" but I made mine into a Birthday greeting instead.

The banner in the centre is a Nestabilities Die called Banners and I absolutely LOVE this set. With just the right amount of distress ink makes the banner POP beautifully. You may not notice but I do have glitter dust on my card along with Baubles Mint Julep and Navy Blue bow. The designer paper I used is from a 6 x 6 paper pack from Basic Grey Called Marjolaine.

Well, bloggers I just have one more news and I am done for the day. Next weeks Bellariffic challenge is a masculine card. With fathers day just around the corner this theme is perfect to give to your father, grandfather, uncle, brother etc. As always, looking forward to seeing all your creations over at bellaland so be sure to mail your cards to Emily by Thursday 5:00pm EST. I am off to check out the awesome creations of the bella babes so till next time have a wonderful weekend everyone !!

Happy Thoughts with Little Peeps Flower Vase

2011-05-20T00:00:00.003-04:00

Gotta love the Peeps line of stamps, I don't know what it is about these adorable peep images but they are simply the cutest stamps ewah !!! For the challenge this week I used Little Peeps Flower Vase.

I stamped my image on bella's bestest white paper with Memento Black ink, and coloured up my image with prisma pencil crayons. I have to tell you, colouring this image took longer then normal cause I used many layers of colour and shading to bring this sweet image to life. It's not always very easy to match my colouring to the designer paper, even if I can match the colours, shading and highlights are the most important detail to colouring any image.

The designer paper I used to create my card is from a 6 x6 Cosmo Cricket pack called UPcycle. This paper pack is perfect for girly, girl and fashionista style cards, mind you the little peeps image is no fashionista type card but it worked well I think. To finish it off, I used glitter on my peep and her flowers, unfortunately you can't see the glitter from the photo but I assure you they are there.

Next week is a colour challenge which is Kraft, Navy Blue and Green. What a colour combination, can't wait to see everyone's creations. Make sure to email your cards to Emily by Thursday May 26th for everyone to see on the bella blog on Friday !!!

Wishing everyone a wonderful creative weekend...

Ready for some More Bella-licious Challenge

2011-05-16T12:59:00.002-04:00

Just when you thought things can't get any more funner, well let me tell you they can over at the Bella Forum. 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 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 all of you have fun and keep in mind the only rule is you MUST use Stamping Bella Stamps !! The PRIZE is a $ 20 gift voucher that will be awarded to ONE lucky participant and will be random;y drawn at the end of the challenge !

You have until June 14th at noon to link your creations to the new thread in our Forumabella so good luck and can't wait to see your "BABE" projects !

Here is my card for the challenge and I used the bella stamp called Florence the Flower Pot Girl .

For those of you who follow my blog regularly would know by know I use bellas bestest paper with Memento Black ink to stamp my images. In order to give her life, I used my prisma pencil crayons with gamsol and voila we have a beautiful image. My Embellishments are the three mini buttons and a tiny bow hidden behind one of the buttons. To finish her off, of course I used glitter !!

I also want to mention the bellariffic Friday challenge is a sketch by Paulabella, so be sure to play along with the rest of us and mail your cards to Emily by this Thursday. Have fun creating !!!

Fairy Sweet Friend

2011-05-13T18:02:00.000-04:00

Gotta Love Kraft paper, and what Emily said about Kraft being the new Black is so true !! As you all know this weeks challenge was to create a card using a bella image with Fraft Cardstock, and here is what I came up with.

Isn't she absolutely adorable and she comes in a set of 3 more gorguss Pixies. As always she was stamped on bellas bestest White paper with Memento Black Ink and colored with my prisma pencil crayons. The Sentiment however is from a Kraftin Kimmie stamp called Isabelle and I thought it went perfectly with my bella image. To finish her off I used glitter to really make her stand out like a pixie... ooohh I love glitter on every image, don't you !!

Next weeks challenge is an easy pessy sketch done by the very talented Paulabella who I will be seeing this weekend over in bellaland along with Lindabella. I am so excited to see these ladies cause really, they are outstanding artists. I hope you will play along with the rest of the bella babes and can't wait to see what you come up with. All you have to is send an image of your card to Emily by Thursday and she will post it on her blog on Friday for all of us to see !!

Before I go, be sure to check out the bella blog next week cause Emily did an awesome Mixed media tutorial, a really must see for every mixed media lover !!

Thanks for dropping by and have a fabulous weekend.

I believe in Fairies !!!

2011-05-12T13:04:00.000-04:00

When the sun smiles on me, I smile with the sun. It is absolutely bee-u-tiful today and what made it even more awesome is I spent the whole morning in bellaland with Emily, recording a mixed media tutorial. I have to tell you the next few videos are simply bursting with technique and product, it will certainly knock your socks off not to mention an update on Frankie. I will also be at Stampingbella again on Saturday to see my very talented peeps, Paulabella and Lindabella...SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT !!!

I have been on a roll with making cards and here is one I want to share with all of you. She is from a pixie set of 4 stamps called Parker, Persephone, Portia, and Prisc . Isn't she adorable, wait till you see the next one I made but that one will be for another day !!! The sentiment is from Kraftin Kimmie set called Talullahbelle.

I stamped my pixie on bellas bestest paper with Memento black ink and colored her up with my Caran D'ache pencil crayons. I am going through Gamsol like crazy and had to get a refill today :-)

Don't forget about the Bellarific Friday Challenge happening over the bloggabella. All you have to do is create a card using Kraft paper and your favorite bella stamp. Just email your card to Emily by Thursday 5:00pm EST and she will display it at the other awesome entries from the babes and the sistah-hood !!

Before I sigh off, here is a sneak peek at what the front of my house looks like right now. If you scroll down a few posts, you will see the before photos. When everything is fully done, I will post an after picture.

Well folks that all the news for today, and I hope the sun is shinning where you are !!!

I love Fresh Cut Flowers

2011-05-06T10:53:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone and welcome back again for this weeks Bellariffic Challenge which was flowers. I don't know about you but I absolutely LOVE flowers. My favorite in the garden would have to be hydrangeas and lilacs. The cute ball shape of the hydrangeas and the soothing aroma of the Lilacs make my day not to mention there gorgeous colours. My all time favorite in a crystal vase has got to be long stem Red Roses with mini white BabyBreath. OK, enough about me going on and on about flowers and lets move onto this weeks challenge.

The image I chose is called Flower Garden from Stampingbella. I stamped my image on heavy weight watercolor paper and used my Caran D'ache water soluble crayons. This is just a quick and simple card with an easy layout. To finish off my card I added the double bow and the button and voila.

Next weeks Bellariffic challenge is Kraft. Bring out your craft paper and Bella stamps and have some fun creating. Be sure to email your cards to Emily by Thursday to have a chance to win some bella bucks or just have some fun and see all the other awesome creations by the sistah-hood over at the bella blog.

Wishing all the moms a wonderful Mothers Day Weekend !!!

You're Super with TGF Stamp Set called Amazing Duo

2011-05-03T21:41:00.001-04:00

Here is my most recent card I made last night for my sons friend at school. I don't know about all you moms out there but I have a little teaser at home who loves to get attention by teasing his friends. Well, his teasing got a little out of hand and he got a note from the teacher that he is being monitored.

After hearing all about what happened, my son and I decided to cheer up his friend and also do a little peace offering by making him this really cute super hero card.

He was stamped on Bellas bestest white paper and coloured with Copic Markers. I kept it simple and boyish with the colours and layout. Hope you find it inspiring.

Don't forget this weeks Bellarific challenge which is Flowers, so be sure to play along with the rest of the sistahs and submit your card to Emily by Thursday !!

Happy Birthday - The Dormouse Image by Mo Manning

2011-05-01T19:51:00.001-04:00

Its Sunday night and the kids are in bed so I have some time to myself to do a quick post for you. I had actually finished this card long time ago but never had the chance to share it yet so here he is. This image is a digi from Mo Manning called The Dormouse. I printed my image on bellas bestest paper and used my Caran Dache pencil crayons to bring my image to life.

My main colour palette consisted of Pink, Brown and Purple, not your typical colour combo but I wanted to incorporate purple in it. I don't know what I was thinking of when I was colouring him, guess I was in a purple mood... LOL

I added some flowers to the bottom right hand side to give it that little extra detail, and I must say I really like the final out come. I hope you find it inspirational and thanks for dropping by. Have a super week everyone !!

Bellarific Friday - Mothers Day

2011-04-29T09:08:00.002-04:00

It's still a cold and windy day here in Toronto, and looks like it will rain again today. However, one good thing about today is it's another awesome Bellarific Friday Challenge with the theme of Mothers Day. For my image I chose "Sorry Shanna" and stamped the sentiment " I love you" and hand wrote the word Mom to give it a personal touch. I am certain my mommy will love this card when she receives it in the mail. Mothers Day is always very emotional for me because my mom does not live near by and I don't get to see her as often as I would like.

As always my image was stamped with Memento Black Ink on Bellas Bestest White paper and coloured with my prisma pencil crayons and copic markers. Here is a helpful idea to add a beautiful scent to your card. I always cut out and keep all the perfume samples in magazines cause they can be useful in cards. When you open up the sample, gently rub on the seal part to generate the smell and them add glue to the back to sandwich it between your layers. In my case I added it behind the white circle. I hope this little tip is helpful and give it a try !!

If you want to see all the Mothers day Card Creations, head on over to the Bloggabella to see what the other terrific babes have created. Next weeks challenge will be flowers, so use any Bella stamp that has flowers in it and have fun. Be sure to email your card to Emily by Thursday May 5th to have a chance to win some Bella bucks.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and thanks for dropping by !!

Rain, Rain Go away

2011-04-28T09:56:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, here is a quick update on our outdoor project. The weather was horrible yesterday with rain and it's still raining and windy today. You have got to see the mud my house is buried into. I can't wait for all this to go away.

The photo above is my back yard.

Spring Cleaning and More

2011-04-27T22:52:00.000-04:00

I have really neglected my blog lately due to high energy projects outside the house. Ever since we bought our home we really never did anything outside but this spring and summer that is all going to change. Right now the front of my house and our next door neighbours house looks like a war zone and here are some pics to prove it !!!

After many months of research and arguing with hubby we finally made a decision as to how we want the drive way and the backyard patio done. The front yard will be exposed aggregate and the backyard will be stamped concrete. The picture below is exposed aggregate. I don't want to bore you guys with the details but as you can see I am going to be very busy next month. When we finish everything, I will do another post with the after photos. I am certain everything is going to look awesome and this summer we are truly going to enjoy our home to the max !!

Before I go just want to mention one more thing. We are also building a huge gazebo in the backyard and here is the photo of what the Gazebo looks like, mind you our backyard looks nothing like the one in this picture. Well thats all the news for today, don't forget to have your Mothers day Cards emailed to emily tomorrow.

2011-04-22T09:18:00.000-04:00

Happy good Friday to everyone who celebrates Easter. This weeks Bellariffic challenge was free form and I chose Izzie with a cherry on top. I know this image has nothing to do with Easter but I really like this stamp and I have a birthday coming up so it's going to a special friend.

I stamped my image on bellas bestest white paper with Memento Black Ink and colored her up with my prisma pencil crayons. Next week is challenge is Mothers Day, hope to see all your fun creations over at the Stamping bella's blog. Make sure to send your image to Emily By Thursday April 28!!!

Happy Crafting everyone !!!

Winner of the Fujifilm Instax Mini 7S

2011-04-19T07:44:00.001-04:00

Hi Everyone, I have a wonderful announcement to make of the winner for the FujiFilm instax Camera. But before I do the announcement, I would like to thank each and everyone of you who stopped by and participated. I honestly wish I had enough cameras to give to all of you. Your comments were so inspirational !!!

The winner was drawn by my daughter from my huge Starbucks coffee mug. I was going to do random.org to get our winner but my daughter really wanted to be a part of the giveaway and we wanted to make it personal and from the heart, so without further a due our Winner is:

MONIQUE F from Self Expressions

CONGRATULATION !!!!!!!

Monique, I am certain you are going to have a lot of fun using this cute camera, and happy Journaling !!!

Thanks again Everyone !!!

YEAH, it's Friday and..

2011-04-15T09:16:00.000-04:00

another awesome Bellariffic Friday Challenge. I must say Lindabella did an awesome sketch and I enjoyed creating with it. I don't know about you peeps but I really like ovals next to my all time favorite of Circle cards. For this challenge I went with Cuppycake with a HUGGABUGG on top. cause I had just bought her and haven't used her yet. Isn't she cute with the pink tulle bow and mini flowers for extra color and detail.

I stamped this image on bellas bestest creme paper with Memento Black ink and colored her up with my prisma pencil crayons. The flowers were from a Marvy flower punch and the leaves are from a Martha Stewart punch.

The designer paper is from Crate paper called Emma's Shoppe Collection and I think this paper suits the image very nicely.

Well everyone, that's all I have for today. I quickly want to mention the giveaway for the Instax Mini is closed and I will be doing the draw soon so please be patient with me. Also want to mention to you about the Stamping Bella Forum, yes bella has a forum and we would love to see you there. If you have any questions for Emily or any of the other designers please feel free to ask and comment. Most importantly we want to see all your creations with the Stampingbella images.

Next weeks Bellariffic Friday is anything goes, meaning you are free to create your card anyway your heart desires and of course you must use a Stamping bella stamp. Be sure to email your cards to Emily by next Thursday.

Bella's at Scrapfest

2011-04-12T11:23:00.000-04:00

Wow, what an amazing Saturday I had in Kitchener. There is so much to share with you my friends so lets get started.

I walked into the auditorium and the Bella booth was just a few steps ahead, and who are the first two babes I see, yup it's Lindabella and Paulineabella waiting in line to pay for there goodies. Of course I had my video camera to capture every moment. Then I see Paulabella who right away covered her face as soon as she realized it was me recording and Robinbella greeting me with smiles, not camera shy at all, LOVE IT !!! Not to far from them was dear Cathabella with her sweet mom looking at Bella's new stamps. The Bella booth was jammin with excitement and Emily's make and take was out of this world and here are some photos of the day.

Here is Lindabella proudly showing off her gorguss mixed media canvas !!!

Here are a couple of Mini Bella's hard at work. Let me tell you these girls creations were amazing.

Here are some of Emily's Outstanding Mixed Media Creations she brought to Scrapfest for all of us to get inspired. I must tell you, that I am pumped after this Saturday !!

Here is sweet Isabelle Norris.

and here is a look at how nice and clean the bella table was :o) Hey, what fun would it be if you don't get dirty !!

Here is also a video for all the sistahs who could not make it to the show.

I am still not quite done with everything I have to say. Later on while my daughter and I were walking around I saw Paula and her BFF Mary chatting away so I joined them. I must tell you all what a sweet heart Mary is, and I am so glad to have met her. Anyways moving on, my daughter wanted to go to Currys art store to buy some canvases cause she was pumped from Emily's booth. So, Paula, Mary my daughter and I decided to ditch the fare for a little bit and head on over to Currys in Kitchener. Heheheh, oh what fun was that idea, I had Paula all to myself at Currys, now how often will I ever have this opportunity. Ok, I have yapped enough for today but before I say goodbye, don't forget about this weeks sketch challenge from Lindabella. Make sure to email your cards to Emily by Thursday.

Bye Everyone and thanks for coming !!

Happy Monochromatic Friday

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

I don't know about you but this was my first attempt at creating a monochromatic card. I have to be honest here and tell you I struggled with it for a while and the end result... why don't you tell me.

As you can see I chose green as my primary colour and shaded with the same colour tones to create this weeks Bellariffic Friday card. I stamped the image called Flower Bottles on bellas bestest white paper from Stampingbella and used my prisma pencil crayons to bring them to life. There is always a reason behind everything I do, and why I chose green is because I am very tired of seeing White (snow). I am so ready for spring colours and what best describes spring to me is the colour of the grass and trees.

Have you guys been over the Stampingbella blog lately, if not you really need to check it out. Emily did an awesome release on Tuesday full of sweet rubbah and I mean sweet. From pixies to Mo images and my favorite, Journaling stamps from two new Artists, Isabelle Norris and Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.

OK, next weeks Bellarific challenge is a wonderful Sketch done by the one and only Linda H. I do hope you will play along with the rest of the babes and be sure to check out the bella blog to see all the monochro-madness.

Have a wonderful weekend, and for all the local sistahs, I hope to see you in Kitchener for Scrapfest.

Happy Crafting !!!

Mix Media Eye Candy

2011-04-07T00:18:00.000-04:00

Today I would like to share something different with all of you and that is my love for mixed media art. I have been drawing these girls all day yesterday and today and let me tell you, it has been a blast working with various art mediums. Other then creating cards, I am heavily into mixed media journaling and here are just a few samples of my art work. If you share the same passion as I do, I would highly recommend checking out Stamping Bella's latest release as she has awesome stamps that are available for this kind of artwork.

She is called princess Oyak

She is Make a Wish Princess

This one is Miss Diva

Sneek Peek at Sorry Shanna

2011-04-03T13:56:00.000-04:00

Oh I am so excited and can't wait for Tuesday to come cause there will be a smacking new rubbah at Stamping Bella. I am very happy to share with all of you Sorry Shanna by Mo Manning which will be available in rubber on Tuesday. Isn't she an absolute doll, I love this image and colouring her with my prisma pencil crayons was such a treat. As you can see I went with the orange, yellow and pink colour tones which I normally don't choose and I think it looks pretty cute.

If you would like to see more sneek peeks at what's to come on Tuesday head on over to the other babes and see what they have for today, if not check back again tomorrow cause I am sure there will be sweet eye candy for ya.

Don't forget to participate in this weeks Bellarific Friday Challenge which is a Monochromatic card and email your image to Emily By Thursday to have a chance to win some bella bucks. With the new release coming up, who would not want to win !!!

Welcome New Bella's and Polka dots with Daisy Hippo

2011-04-01T06:00:00.006-04:00

Happy bellariffic Friday bloggers and welcome. I have a lot of great news to share with you all so lets get started. First and for most I would like you all to welcome three new awesome bella babes to the Stampingbella Team. If you haven't already seen or heard of these ladies, you must visit there blog and see there terrific creations cause they truly are superb and I am sure they would really love a nice warm welcome. Without further a do they are...

Jessica Diedrich from The Whimsical Butterfly Blog

Robin Mckinley joins us from Stampers Extraordinaire Blog

Tammy Hershberger is from Stamp Happy Blog

Lets move on to our bellarrifc challenge for this week which was to create a card using Polka Dots. Ohh how I love polka dots from small to large and in any shade of color . I had recently purchased Daisy Hippo and she really needed some lovin so I chose her for this challenge. I stamped the image on bellas bestest paper with Memento black ink and colored her with my prisma pencil crayons.

The sentiment was hand written by me with a fine tip calligraphy pen cause I thought it would add a really cute point of interest. Also I added faux stitching around my image cause my sewing machine is completely out of service and I am not happy :o(

Next weekend is Scrapfest in Kitchener and I am so happy and excited to tell you that Paula, Pauline, Linda, and Cath with her mom are going to be there. I can't wait to see the babes cause the last time I saw them was in November and I am so looking forward to seeing them again.

Finally our bellariffic Friday Challenge for next week is monochromatic. I have never created a monochromatic card before so this will certainly be a challenge for me. Well peeps, that's all the news I have for today, and don't forget to check out the bella blog to see what the awesome babes and sistah's have created with the polka dot challenge. Till next time happy crafting !!!

My Art/photo Journal Pages with the Fujifilm Instax Mini 7S

2011-03-31T14:47:00.003-04:00

For those of you who don't know, I am hosting a give away on my blog for a Fujifilm Instax Mini 7S. For details about this giveaway please click here.

I have been a busy bee lately with my art journal and of course my greeting cards. It seems all I have been doing lately is cutting, stamping, glueing and painting and no work gets done around the house. Once I close myself into my craft room I lose all outside contact, it's just me and my material. Today I wanted to share with you photos of my personal Art journal that I have been working on lately. I truly hope these photos inspire you to create your very own journal about your daily happenings.

The photo above was a day during March break where the kids, my bff and I went to Cora for breakfast then off to see RANGO. OK, you are probably saying why did she but a Q at the end of Rango, well I made a boo boo and had no clue how to fix it so I left it the way it is. Life is not perfect nor am I. When I look back one day to these pages, it will certainly put a smile to face.

Hehehe, OK this is one of my favorite pages cause this is where I confess to shrinking my husbands favorite sweater. I love to add humour to my journaling pages along with any scraps I have in my scrap bin and trust me I have too much scraps.

Ahhh finally I saved the best for last. My daughter is my inspiration and she shines so bright in my life. Can you believe she wrote that saying on her own and I had to put it into my journal so it is never lost or forgotten. I will certainly share more pages with all of you and do some video tutorials as well so keep checking back cause you'll never know what you will find in My Scrapbooking and Craft Journal !!

Don't forget tomorrow is Polka dots over at Stampingbella. Happy crafting...

Krafty Thursday # 49 with What's Cookin and another card Video Tutorial

2011-03-24T18:52:00.001-04:00

I have never participated in the Krafty Thursday Challenges my friend Jeaniebella hosts over at her blog every Thursday, so I am giving it a try this week with a Digi image from Mo Manning called 'What's Cookin'. I printed my image on bellas bestest paper and brought her to life with my prisma pencil crayons. I do have to warn you peeps when colouring Digi images the printer ink tends to smudge with the prisma pencils. If anyone reading this post has a solution or suggestion please do share cause I certainly don't have one.

I also did a video tutorial on how I created my card so you might enjoy watching it. Oh how I want to win that Krafty Chick badge to display on my blog :o)

Don't forget next weeks bellarific Friday challenge is polka dots, you have an extra week to create your master piece and submit it to Emily by Thursday March 31st. Thats all for today, happy crafting everyone !!!

My First Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge Entry and Video Tutorial

2011-03-22T14:06:00.004-04:00

You all know I had a very pleasant and relaxing day yesterday and here is one of the images I coloured up by Mo Manning called Little Umbrella. I was over at my friend Danabella's blog and she had posted the Sweet Sunday Sketch# 109 and me never participating in it before thought I give it a try so here is what I came up with. It's actually quite funny how Dana and I used completely opposite images to represent the sketch. My mind was at the beach and well, Dana was thinking of the snow storm that was heading her way but I am certain she wished she was on that beach !!!

Ahh, how I wish I was back at the hot beaches of Antalya. Last summer the family and I went to Turkey and let me tell you we were at the beach and pool side every single day. Of course after a month and a half of relaxing and eating, that stamped image you see above represents me full figure and all hehehe...

Don't forget there is no bellariffic challenge this week but next week is polka dots. Make sure to email your cards to Emily for all the babes and sistahs to enjoy.

Well, that's all for today and thanks for coming. Just a quick note, if you haven't seen my previous post about my awesome giveaway just scroll down for full contest details. I have opened to US residents as well so leave me a comment.

Ahhh My Monday Morning Bliss

2011-03-21T16:34:00.001-04:00

The kids have gone back to school today so you know how the saying goes, when the cats's away the mice will play. In my case the mice were away and the cat played and played with her Caran D'ache and Prisma pencil crayons :o)

I wanted to share a photo of my morning today and let me tell you it was pure bliss. I turned on my favorite songs on itunes and slowly sipped my fresh coffee. I was not alone, accompanied with me was Mo digi's and my favorite coloring mediums (hehehe) nice ehh. Not often do I have this much time spared just for me, but today I made sure I did and I enjoyed it tremendously.

Well, in the next couple of days I will have some really cute cards to share with all of you so I hope you will check back. That's all the news for today, and thanks for dropping by.