Bellarific Friday - a holiday sketch card!

It's Bellarific Friday again, and I got a chance to stamp today during naptime. WOOHOO! This week's challenge was a sketch again, which I love!!

I used the fabulous Cutesy Ornament stamp from several years ago and colored it with my copics (I used W00, 1, 3, 5 and 7 and R00, 22, 27, 29 and 39 and N3 and 6 for the silver holders). After cutting it out with my long rectangle nesties, I also embossed it, then sponged on some sahara sand ink to match my papers. I used some Christmas dsp from SU! last year, and liked the muted tones of these snowflake papers. After adding the ribbon and getting the card all put together, I covered the red parts of the ornaments with my sakura glaze pen to give it a little shine!

I finished off the inside too, using some more dsp, the faux crocheted edge dienamic die from MFT, and a sentiment from a new SU! set.

Have a wonderful Friday everyone!!

Bellarific Friday - sketch time!

WOW! I'm playing in a Bellarific Friday challenge...it's been a LONG while since I've done that. This week there's a fabulous sketch to use, and I finally got to ink up one of my neglected Mo Manning stamps. I love this image...makes me think of my little Jack on our wonderful Maisy dog. Of course, she would NEVER let him actually do this...although I think my brother's lab probably would!!

I stamped Buds-Boy on an MFT Perfect Panel with Momento black ink, then got busy with my copics. I keep wanting to try using my Prismacolor Pencils a la Linda Heavens (have you SEEN her amazing work??) but I keep chickening out! So...for this card I used just my markers, but I'm still quite happy with it. It's very difficult to shade with black (almost as difficult as to take a photo of a black pet - I know, I have 2!!) but I think I did ok!

After I finished coloring, and figuring out what papers I was going to use, and stitching (don't look too closely at that...still getting used to my new Pixie sewing machine!) I decided it needed a fun sentiment. I pulled this from my old MFT Friends Furever set, and bent the sentiment as I placed it on the block so it would curve right along the cut circle.

I finished off the inside too, with some more DP stitched onto white, and I added another sentiment from that same set inside.

Be sure to hit Blogabella to see all the various takes on this fun sketch today!

Bellarific Friday - gettin inky!

This week's Bellarific Friday challenge was to ink up a Bella stamp that had yet to see any ink. I was lucky because I got a shipment of new (to me) Bellas just 2 weeks ago and I hadn't had a chance to play yet. So yesterday I finally inked up this adorable doggie stamp that I've been dying to use. Aren't they just adorable??

I stamped the image with palette noir ink and colored it with my copics. The background uses some MME Quite Contrary dp. I added some red satin ribbon, and the sentiment (also from Bella) and that was it. I'm into keeping things simple!

Have a great Friday everyone, and don't forget tomorrow is the big Paper Pretties release, be sure to check out all the new stamps on the home page. Oh...and the 50 cent Friday special this week is all Bo Bunny papers are on sale for 50 cents a sheet - wow, what a great deal!!

Bellarific Friday...finally!

I've been meaning to play along with a Bellarific Friday challenge for a while, and finally got the chance to yesterday! This week's challenge was a sketch challenge..my favorite!

I pulled out this old MiniwagonBella stamp (my Bella's haven't seen much ink since moving back from Germany, OIY!) and went to town. I used some SU! designer paper, punches and ribbon along with Pixie Pink cardstock (did you all see they are retiring a ton of colors - wow!!) and one of the beautiful crocheted flowers from my knitter friend.

This card also works great for the newest I Dream of Stamping challenge, which will be posted tonight to pull out and ink up that stamp you HAD to have that has never seen ink (or at least not for a very long time!) and she definitely qualifies!! Heck...I didn't even have copics the last time I colored a Bella!

Have a happy Friday everyone!

Goin' to the Chapel

German Phrase of the Day: Die Hochzeit ist heute Wochenende. = The wedding is this weekend. One of Julia's kindergarten teachers is getting married this weekend, and the chidren at school have prepared a song to sing for her at the wedding...so I'll get to see a German wedding. I'm quite exctied. I haven't made her gift yet (better get crackin'!) but I did make this card for another friend to give her.

Lisa asked me once again to make a card (and a few other projects) for her. She loves the Bellas, and since Daggi is just so cute, I agreed that Bella was perfect. Lisa wanted mostly white, with a touch of green. I stamped Hitched a Fella Bella onto Stamper's Select White from PTI with Brilliance Black ink, then colored the image with my aquapainter and watercolor crayons. He has a celery tie, and she has a celery sash. The roses are colored with Rose Red. For some sparkle, I added a star shaped rhinestone to her tiarra, and some spica clear glitter pen to her eyelashes.

For the background, I wanted to keep it white, but I wanted some texture. The card is 5.25" square, and I knew I couldn't cuddlebug a 5" square piece at once, so I decided I'd have to use Swiss Dots, so I could do part of it, then line up the folder to emboss the rest. I was amazed at how well that turned out!

Ok...now to get to work on her stationary set...and a few other projects before I'm away from my craft room (and computer) for 3 days in hospital.

Supplies: (all supplies from SU! unless noted)
Stamps: Hitched a Fella Bella by StampingBella
CS: stamper's select white, Certainly Celery
Ink: Brilliance black
Acc: WWC, aquapainter, rhinestone, celery organdy, swiss dots cb embossing folder, spica clear glitter pen
TFL!

Birthday Bella

German Phrase of the Day: Heute hat meine Schwester Geburtstag. = It is my sister's birthday today. Well, actually her birthday was in December...but it's a good phrase! :-) And actually, I sent this card to a good friend of my sister who's birthday was last week! (The same special lady who got the birthday card Julia made back here)



This was another VSN card, and I just love this Bella! I had just gotten her in the mail the day VSN started, so of course I had to get her all inked up! The challenge was to Bring on the Bling, so I added little bits of bling here and there. It's funny, several of my other cards had more bling to them, but this is what I came up with while working on this challenge. Oh well! I really like the party hat the best. When you look at the detail photo, you can see that I used some silver cord to make the frizzy bit at the top of her hat.


I also used another of my precious hat pins on this card. I just love those things, and am trying to be less stingy with them. See...I've used 2 now! ;-)



Quickly, I used the Cutie Pie DSP from SU!, BirthdayBella from Stampingbella (I think that's the one...I get confused sometimes though!) and the wonderful new cupcake set from MFT for the greeting. I colored her in with my aquapainter and watercolor crayons after stamping her with Palette Noir ink onto watercolor paper.



Have a great day everyone! We had a wonderful time at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa yesterday, and I think today will be a taking it easy day around here with Julia - then tonight I get to have a date with my husband! WOOHOO!! :-)



TFL!

-Jana

Here kitty, kitty!

German Phrase of the Day: Habst du haustier? Do you have pets? As I've talked about, we brought over our pets with us and have a dog and a cat here.

I made this card (and several others!) for my aunt because she just loves these Bellas! And this card is so perfect for her because she has 4 cats (yes...quite a few!!) We just left her house this morning and Julia was very sad to say goodbye, to her AND the cats!

It's a pretty straightforward card. Bella here is stamped with Palette Noir ink on watercolor paper and colored with watercolor crayons and an aquapainter. She's mounted on Taken with Teal cs, then Regal Rose. The card base is some leftover Cool Carribean, and I put some Petals & Paisley dsp at the top. The ribbon is SU! turquoise. And the sentiment is from the MFT set Essential Sentiments. Very useful set!!

Hope you all are having a great weekend...it's a beautiful day here in Sunny Florida, and let me tell you I am LOVING this sun! I've missed it for the last year or so! ;-) Also, sorry I'm not including the fine print this week...just not enough time to go back and find it all! Thanks for understanding!!

TFL!
-Jana

Ticket to drink

German Phrase of the Day: Die Geschafte schliessen um halb 21. The shops are closing at 8:30 pm. It has taken some getting used to that Germans will say half 6 when they mean 5:30. It can get confusing when making appointments and we're switching between English and German because I want to make sure they are saying what they mean.

When Karin came to visit me for VSN, she brought my new stamp set, Cheers to You! I HAD to have this set when I saw it online in the European catalogs, and I so love it!!

This was another VSN card. The challenge was to create a card inspired by a ticket, or with a ticket theme. I decided this was a ticket to drink! I made the background paper myself by stamping the martini glass multiple times and coloring in just the olive. Cute, huh? Then, who goes better with the Cheers to you martini glass than Cosmobella? I colored her outfit to match the card (old olive and cameo coral) then attached her to the card. I used the ticket corner punch to make the greeting look more like a ticket, and by adding 2 Bella charms, I managed to follow Beate's weekend sketch challenge from that weekend (it was #31)

TFL!
-Jana

Polished to Perfection

German Phrase of the Day: Lass dir Zeit! = Take your time! Literally translated it means Leave yourself (enough) time - which in my mind is quite different. I rarely leave myself enough time! And when you're trying to do a cool card in 45 minutes, it gets tough!

This was another VSN card that I really liked. The challenge was to do the Polished Stone technique. For the stone layer I used pretty in pink, regal rose, purely pomegranate and silver encore reinkers. I LOVE the way the colors turned out! And what better image for this funky background than Ipodabella! Since I still have my ipod and I rock out to it as often as I can I couldn't resist this cute little Bella. I really love the looking back Bellas...they're just so sassy!

I stamped Bella with Palette Noir ink on watercolor paper and colored her in using an aquapainter and watercolor wonder crayons. I used the Purely Pomegranate ink pad for lowlighting her top and the heart on her jeans. I colored her purse with ink from the Encore silver pad...I love how it stays sparkly! I wanted to put some liquid applique on her top, but I couldn't find it anywhere! Oh no...how will I survive without it? Good thing I have some new coming from the Prettie Boutique!

To finish off the card, I mounted Bella on some Purely Pomegranate then Basic Black cardstock, then layered the polished stone piece onto Basic Gray before adhering it to my Purely Pomegranate card (cut 4 1/4" by 11") I tied the silver organdy, black grosgrain and silver cord around the card, then mounted Bella on top. Lastly, I stamped the You Rock! sentiment from the Hanna Stamps Things Hanna Would Say set that I won last year. I really love that set...it's very versatile!

Check out those boots she's got! I have some tall brown leather boots that I bought in the Netherlands on one of my Pipoos runs in the fall, and I LIVE in them! Of course, they don't have heels quite that high...otherwise I'd have broken an ankle by now!! LOL. But, I understand wanting to keep on the comfy boots. :-)

Hope you've enjoyed this card...don't forget Monday night is the big night at Paper Pretties! I'll finally be able to show you a full card using one of the new sets Monday morning, so don't miss it! :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Ipodabella by StampingBella, Things Hanna Would Say by Hanna Stamps
CS: Watercolor, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Purely Pomegranate
Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Encore Silver, Palette Noir
Acc: aquapainter, WWC, silver organdy, black grosgrain and silver cord,

TFL!
-Jana

Ice Skating Fun

German Phrase of the Day: Ich war gestern in Munchen. = I went to Munich yesterday. Maybe that's where you all are...in Munich! Or else no one likes my VSN cards. Ok...so today I'll show you something different!

I checked the color challenge this morning on SCS and thought, I LOVE those colors. I'm big into the blues lately, and adding just a touch of red helps liven them up a bit. I also wanted to use Jen Del Muro's Sketch For You To Try (SFYTT) from Saturday. She really does awesome sketches!! Thus, Glideabella was created.

Glideabella was stamped with Palette Noir on watercolor paper, then watercolored with ink pads and WWC (I have to use the ink pads for the blues because they are "In Colors" but for all else I use the WWC - and for the red I again mix Real Red and Ruby Red to get closer to a true red.) For the blades on her skates, I picked up some ink from my Encore Silver ink pad with my aquapainter. I love how it keeps it's silver/sparkly tone. After coloring her in and mounting her on red cs, I stamped some snowflakes from Snow Fluries onto whisper white cardstock and punched them out with my 1/2" circle punch. I put them into the Build a Brads (these things are so awesome!) then adhered the ribbon to the standard size Soft Sky card, stuck Bella on with some dimensionals, then but my brads in right at the edge of Bella's layer. Lastly, I stamped the greeting with Real Red ink (altho if I had stamped it earlier I would have a little more space for it because I could have moved Bella over some!) The greeting is from GinaK's Sandy Claws set. I love this sentiment and think it works for so many different things.

So this weekend while dh and dd were in Frankfurt, she went ice skating for the very first time. My husband actually remembered to bring a camera with him (it helps that I handed it to him and said "pack this now please!") and even better, he remembered to take pictures! I'm kinda bummed that I missed her first skating adventure, but I'm glad he got to be there for it (and he even took video!) So, I will leave you today with a short video of Julia's first time on skates!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Glideabella by StampingBella, Sandy Claws by GinaK, Snow Fluries
CS: Watercolor, Soft Sky, Real Red
Ink: Palette Noir, Soft Sky, blue bayou
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, 1/2" circle punch,build a brads, double stitched blue bayou ribbon

TFL!
-Jana

Veggiebella's been busy

German Phrase of the Day: Sei doch vernunftig! = Be reasonable! But, I am never reasonable, why start now? I'm so excited for this weekend. Anyone else out there doing VSN this weekend? I have a girlfriend flying over from London and am sending dh and dd to Frankfurt Saturday morning until Sunday evening. All we have to do all weekend is STAMP, STAMP, STAMP! I can't wait!!! Of course, with the time difference we won't be starting until Saturday morning here (I think the first challenge is 6pm Friday night, so that's midnight here) we'll just get up in the morning and stamp - then take a break to go to a stamping store I've been wanting to check out. Come back, and stamp more!! We'll probably do the first half of Saturday's challenges Saturday night (6pm-midnight) then go to bed and finish up the rest on Sunday. It's gonna be awesome! So...if you're doing the challenges too, drop me a line!

Today's card is one I made a little while back. I had originally cut this cardstock for GinaK's launch party sketch #2 challenge, but couldn't make it work so I switched to basic gray paper for that one. I thought the flowery cuteness of this paper would work well with Veggiebella though!

As usual, I started with watercolor paper, and stamped my bella with Palette Noir ink. I colored her in with my aquapainter and watercolor wonder crayons. Don't you just love her lavender overalls? I mean, doesn't everyone need lavender overalls??? I mounted her on some So Saffron cardstock, then using my 1/2" circle punch I punched 1/2 a circle to make room for the bow. Debbie Olson does that and I think it looks so cool - so I had to try it. Yeah...I'm a follower, I know it!

For the card, I started with a 4 1/4" by 11" piece of So Saffron folded in half. I layered on some Almost Amethyst, then my sponged dsp (I think it's from the retired SU! Uptown) I slid the ribbon under the amethyst layer, attached Bella then tied the bow. Lastly, I stamped the greeting from the Hanna Stamps "Things Hanna Would Say" set that I won last November because I just thought it was perfect for Veggiebella here. After punching it out with my word window punch, I lightly sponged the edges before adhering it down, and Voila!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Veggiebella by StampingBella, Things Hanna Would Say by Hanna Stamps
CS: Watercolor, So Saffron, Almost Amethyst, Uptown dsp
Ink: Palette Noir, Almost Amethyst
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, 1/2" circle punch, lt. blue narrow organdy ribbon, word window punch

TFL!
-Jana

Knitabella for Mom

German Phrase of the Day: Ich freue mich auf das. = I am looking forward to it. Tomorrow that is. Big happenings over at Paper Pretties!! We're having a big party tomorrow night starting at 7pm CST in their new forum. Haven't been there yet? Be sure to go create yourself a login so you don't miss out on any of the fun!!

Today's card was done using sketch 157 from Splitcoast. I wanted to make a card with Knitabella for my mom - she's a knitter. I stamped her the other day when I was stamping a bunch of Bellas on watercolor paper using my Palette Noir ink.

I colored her in with an aquapainter and my watercolor wonder crayons. They are so easy to use, and I love having all the colors right in front of me! I chose colors using the Porcelain Prints paper - Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery and a tiny bit of So Saffron for the yarn. Maybe she's knitting a baby blanket (and no...that is not a hint...I am not expecting mom!)

For the sentiment, I didn't have a stamp here that I liked, so I hand wrote the sentiment with a black gel pen. I don't have the best handwriting, but it works well enough. I clipped the corners with the SU! tag corner punch, sponged all the layers with Not Quite Navy ink, and assembled. I couldn't figure out where to add any ribbon...so I didn't! She's pretty simple, but I still like her!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Knitabella by StampingBella,
CS: Watercolor, Not Quite navy, Certainly Celery, Porcelain prints
Ink: Palette Noir, Not Quite Navy
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, tag corner punch

TFL!
-Jana

Birthday Bella Card

German Phrase of the Day: Morgan koche ich für dich. = Tomorrow I am going to cook for you. Hmmm...maybe this means I should find some good food oriented stamps upstairs and cook up something cute to show you all tomorrow. I won't promise anything yet...but I'll see what I can do! ;-)

Last week I had an email from my friend and only card customer that she needed a last minute birthday card for a friend. The only thing she told me was that she likes the color combo of deep turquoise and oatmeal/beige. For this particular friend, I know I can always count on Bella to keep her happy! So out came my trusty Cosmobella. She really is my go-to-gal when I need to make up a fun, celebratory card.

I started by stamping her with palette noir ink on watercolor paper. Next, I colored her in using my aquapainter and WWC - everything except her top. Her top I colored with a pink marker, because I knew I was adding stickles, and they tend to ruin any watercoloring underneath! I also "tarted" her up a bit (another Britishism) with some blue eyeshadow and glittery mascara. I applied some crystal effects to her glass, and when that was dry, a tiny line of glue across the top and some dazzling diamonds glitter to rim her glass with sugar. I grounded her with a little grey shadow, added some rhinestones to her sandals, and then stamped Cheers with Tempting Turquoise ink.

For the card itself, I started with a 5 1/4" by 10 1/2" piece of Taken With Teal (a good deep turquoise) folded and then layered Kraft on top that had been stamped with the swirls from Baroque Motifs. I lightly sponged the edges before adhering it down. Next, I attached Ms. Bella who had been layered on some more Taken with Teal cs. I dug through my bucket o' big primas, and pulled out some colors to go with the layout, then put a small cream colored one in the center along with a rhinestone brad.

Next, I had to figure out where and how to put the greeting on. I pulled out my PTI sets and decided that Faux Ribbon had the best options...so I stamped it, punched it with the small oval punch, and layered it with a large oval of more Taken with Teal. Lastly, I lightly sponged the edges of the card with some vanilla craft ink - not sure why, just decided it would look good!

Since this was for a friend to send, I also stamped a birthday cake from the new MFT Icing on the Cake set on the envelope. Have to have everything just right, right? :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Cosmobella by StampingBella, Faux Ribbon by Papertrey Ink, Baroque Motifs
CS: Watercolor, Kraft, Taken with Teal,
Ink: Palette Noir, Taken with Teal, Tempting Turquoise
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, Primas, stickles, rhinestone brad, mini rhinestones, oval punches, crystal effects, dazzling diamonds glitter

TFL!
-Jana

Giddyup Cowgirl!

German Phrase of the Day: Heute wollen wir Plätzchen backen! - Today we want to bake cookies! Actually...I think I baked enough cookies last month so I'll hold off on this for a while.

Yesterday I was so thrilled to see Beate had a new weekend sketch challenge (WSC29), I just knew I had to do it! Julia was EXTREMELY cooperative yesterday, and we spent all afternoon in our craft room together. She made a Bella hospital with the pregnant Teddybella, doctorbella, and for the after mamabella. Then...she got to have a giddyupabella and another doctorbella to be a vet! She was quite busy, giving me plenty of time to whip out a few cards! :-)

Since she was happy playing with Bellas, I thought I would stamp a few out that I hadn't played with yet on some watercolor paper so they'd be ready whenever I had a few minutes to play. I got Giddyupabella back in November (actually, maybe even earlier...I'm not sure!) but hadn't played with her yet. She is stamped in palette noir on watercolor paper, and colored in with aquapainter and watercolor wonder crayons. I picked the colors from the Outlaw designer paper.

For the card base, I started with some Really Rust 5 1/4" square, sponged with rust. I sponged the dp with chocolate chip and adhered it down. Then, I pulled out some old Magic Mesh I still had lying around, and made my horizontal strip with that. I layered bella on some mellow moss (sponged) and then adhered her down. Lastly, I stamped the flower image from True Friend, inking it first with Mellow Moss, then coloring the petals with my Really Rust marker, and the outlying dots with chocolate chip. I punched it with my 1 1/4" circle punch, then mounted it on a 1 3/8" really rust circle. I punched a hole in the center and put in a vintage brad before popping it on with a dimensional. Overall, a pretty easy and quick card once you get the watercoloring done.

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Giddyupabella by StampingBella, True Friend
CS: Watercolor, Really Rust, Mellow Moss, Outlaw DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, Mellow Moss
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, magic mesh, circle punches, vintage brads

TFL!
-Jana

Cruising with Basic Gray

German Phrase of the Day: Du kannst mir vertrauen. = You can trust me. Doesn't that sounds like a used car salesman? Perfect for cruisabella!

I wanted to make a card for Jen Del Muro's Sketch for You to Try. (WARNING: When you go visit this blog entry, you WILL want to look at all the other American Art stamps that she links to - I assume NO responsibility whatsoever for your wallet! I already lost mine!!) And anytime I see a sketch with a tall skinny image who comes to mind, but Bella!

My good friend Stephanie in Canada (Hi Steph!!) sent me the 6 by 6 pack of Stella Ruby paper from Basic Gray while I was in the states last(THANK YOU!) and I knew I wanted to use that. I flipped through and thought the stripes would go well with the car...give it some movement! I took the colors from the paper - chocolate chip, ruby red, groovy guava, and some So saffron and celery highlights. Then, I watercolored her, layered her, and attached her over the wide chocolate grosgrain ribbon.

Lastly, I had to think about how to add an embellishment. I didn't want a flower, then I remembered my build a brads that I hadn't used yet. I pulled them down, then found a sentiment I could punch to fit inside - this one is from SU!'s Circle of Friendship and says Hip Hip Hooray! That is what my dh would say if I were ever able to afford to buy him this car! ;-) And if I looked as cute as Bella does. LOL!!

This Bella is makeup free. Lately I've been "tarting" them up (as my friend Lisa would say!) but this one is just out for a pleasure drive and enjoying the wind in her hair and doesn't give a hoot how she looks! (Of course she's gorgeous though...she's Bella!)

Anyway, hope you've enjoyed today's card and rambling! More coming soon!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Cruisabella by StampingBella, Circle of Friendship
CS: Confetti White, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Basic Gray Stella Ruby
Ink: Stazon black, Chocolate Chip, groovy guava
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, WWC, wide chocolate grosgrain, 1/2" circle punch, build a brad antique brass

TFL!
-Jana

Stamping with friends

German Phrase of the Day: Mein Computer ist kaputt. = My computer is broken. Kaputt is one of our favorite words. It was so funny to us when we first heard the word in Germany and realized that is how you say something is broken. We have so many slang words that have been appropriated from German.

Last week a friend of mine came over to make a few special Christmas cards. She wanted a special design for her girlfriends, a special one-of-a-kind card for her brother and new SIL, and then a more solemn card for the few older folks on her list (like her parents!) We sat down together and designed 2 new cards - for the more solemn card we cased this card I did a while back.

This first card is the special one for her brother and SIL who are expecting. We had some fun stamping this one, with lots of masking! Initially, we kept the teddy bear that is coming out of one of the bags on the left on teddybella, but it was too cluttered so we chose not to stamp it and it came out much better! She loved how fixafella looks a lot like her bro - which figures since I think Lisa likes a lot like Bella!

For the girlfriends card, we used Presentahbella. I actually purchased this stamp because I knew Lisa liked it and thought she would enjoy using it! While designing the cards together, I helped with color selection and the overall design of the card. I did much of the stamping for her, and let Lisa concentrate on watercoloring the images. Since she is quite an accomplished artist I figured this was the best way to break it down and keep us both busy while creating them.

On this Presentahbella card, we came up with the idea to hang the sentiment (from PaperTrey Ink) off Bella's ankle. Isn't that adorable? We just used some silver cord tied in the back so it doesn't show!! I love how little details like that really make a card.

We had a lot of fun making these cards together. I'll have to get Lisa all setup to stamp her own cards next year after I've moved back to the States...I've created another addict! :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Teddybella, Fixabella, Presentahbella by StampingBella, Holiday Wishes by Papertrey Ink
CS: Watercolor paper, creamy Caramel, cranberry crisp, always artichoke, retired SU! DSP, blue bayou, whisper white, wintergreen DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, creamy Caramel, cranberry crisp, always artichoke, blue bayou
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, word window punch, spica glitter pen, WWC, silver cord, purely pomegranate satin ribbon, stitched cranberry crisp ribbon, ticket corner punch

TFL!
-Jana

Final Bella challenge card...

German Phrase of the Day: Immer mit der Ruhe. = Calm Down. Or literally, Always with the calm. I like the literal translation...it works! This is a good phrase for this time of year. Everyone is hustling about, trying to be sure to get the present they think will make that person on their list happy. I actually have almost all of my shopping done already, but I have to say I was really impressed when I read this post of Erika's about her family traditions for Christmas. I have such admiration for that - and only wish I had thought if it myself! I think next year when we're back in the states we'll try to do something like that with Julia - at least the providing Christmas presents for another child/family part. I think she's too attached to getting presents herself at this point to stop.

This is the last card I completed for the Bella challenges last weekend. This was a sketch challenge provided by Jamie, and she also required us to use our first Bella. I suppose this technically isn't my first bella, but it is the first Bella I purchased! I just love cosmobella and want to be her. She is so perky and cute...it's almost disgusting! ;-)

She is stamped with Palette Noir ink on watercolor paper, and colored in with aquapainter and Watercolor Crayons. After coloring her, I added some Crystal Effects to her glass, and some sparkle to her flipflops. I distressed the edges, then layered her on some Certainly Celery with distressed edges.

The card base is Chocolate Chip, and I used some more of my old spring mini paper that I still have stashed away. I love the colors of this paper, and thought the stripes would go well with this layout. I used some wide celery grosgrain, and stamped the Cheers sentiment onto some scrap paper and then punched it out with my word window punch.

When I first saw the sketch I was really ensure of it, but after getting this together, I've decided it works! Definitely different for me to put the image flush to a corner like this...but I like it! That's one of the things I love about doing these challenges, it forces me out of my own box and expands my thinking.

Thanks for visiting today!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Cosmobella StampingBella,
CS: Watercolor paper, Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom, Certainly Celery, retired SU! DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, chocolate chip
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, Rhinestone stickers, word window punch, spica glitter pen, WWC, wide celery grosgrain, paper distresser

TFL!
-Jana

Tacky Snowbunnybella

German Phrase of the Day: Du hast ein schoenes Laecheln. = You have a nice smile. Laecheln is pronounced LAYKH-ehln. For some reason, this is a very hard word for me to remember. Perhaps now I finally will after having typed it! ;-)

And hopefully this card will make you all smile. It was for Shannan Steuben's Bella challenge to use EVERYTHING on your card and go overboard - glitter, ribbon, embossing, embellishments...anything and everything!

Bella herself is much as yesterdays, except I gave her pink tights today to keep her a little warmer. I also used Bashful Blue and Night of Navy to match the cardstock. Her corners are clipped and she's mounted on some Night of Navy CS, then I put some rhinestone stickers in the corners.

The card base is Stamper's Select White from PaperTrey Ink. I love that this cardstock has some good weight to it, so it doesn't feel flimsy! Then, I layer of Night of Navy, and then a layer of Bashful Blue which was cuddled with the snowflake folder, swiped with White Craft ink, and embossed with iridescent ice EP. That layer just sparkles like mad!

I used Navy grosgrain, white organdy, and some silver cord for ribbon around the middle, and then I punched the Got Snow? greeting using the word window punch (it just barely fit!) and used rhinestones for the "o"'s.

The sparkle does send her a little over the top...but I like it!!

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Snowbunnybella StampingBella, Got Snow? by GinaK Designs
CS: Watercolor paper, Stamper's Select White from PTI, Night of Navy, Bashful Blue
Ink: Palette Noir, , Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, Rhinestone stickers, navy grosgrain, silver cord, white organdy, ticket corner punch, word window punch, liquid applique, dazzling diamonds glitter, spica glitter pen

TFL!
-Jana

Snowbunnybella for Gina

German Phrase of the Day: Hast du schlechte Laune? = Are you in a bad mood? Actually, I'm in a better mood today. However, I have to clean...so it won't last long! ;-) However, I spent most of yesterday stamping some special projects..so I guess it's my turn to do some work!

Here's another of my Bella challenge cards from the other night. This card is my favorite of the 4 I made. It was for Gina's sketch challenge...which was an awesome sketch! I knew I wanted to use Snowbunnybella, and my snowflake paper, so I built the card from there.

I stamped the main image in Palette Noir ink onto watercolor paper, and then colored her in with an aquapainter and my soft sky and blue bayou ink pads, along with blush blossom and summer sun. I added a little redness to her cheeks and nose (it's COLD, right?) with some pretty in pink. After getting her all colored in, I applied some liquid applique to all her fur trim. Then, before heating it, I added some sparkle with a little Dazzling Diamonds glitter. Gives her a little extra glam! I then clipped the corners with my SU! ticket corner punch (not retiring thank goodness!!) and layered on some soft sky, which had also been clipped, then finally onto the blue bayou where I added the silver brads.

The base card is Blue Bayou, with a layer of Soft Sky on top, both sponged of course. To make the diagonal piece, I cut a strip of designer paper a little longer than the diagonal of the card and layered it onto some blue bayou (both sponged). Next, I attached this to my card on the diagonal, then I just trimmed the overhang. I figured this was easier than anything else I could have tried!!

Once that was done, I popped Bella up on some dimensionals, then I added the Making Memories snowflakes on a pop-up glue dot, and I stamped the greeting from my GinaK Designs set Got Snow below the snowflake. I love my bellas!! :-)

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Snowbunnybella StampingBella, Got Snow? by GinaK Designs
CS: Watercolor paper, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Wintergreen DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Blush Blossom, Pretty in Pink, Summer Sun
Acc: sponge, aquapainter, silver brads, MM snowflake and rhinestone brad, dimensionals, pop up glue dot

TFL!
-Jana

Bella de Ball Challenges...

German Phrase of the Day: Deine Wohnung ist sehr gemuetlich. = Your appartment is very cozy. Gemuetlich (actually spelled with a u with an oolot as opposed to ue) is pronounced: GAY-mewt-lihkh according to my calendar. Julia just asked me to read the phrase to her, and she new exactly what it said. She just amazes me!!!

Over the weekend I managed to make 4 new Bella cards for the Bella Ball challenges over on SCS. Last night before going to bed, I uploaded them all...and when I got up this morning I discovered they weren't coming up when clicking on the keyword search. I finally figured out that somehow in the last 2 weeks my Fan Club subscription had lapsed (Didn't they used to send us an email about that?) and so since it was a Sunday they had to be approved by a moderator. Therefore...I didn't get into the contests. Oh well...I still had fun making the cards. And hopefully, you all will enjoy them!

This first is one of my favorites. The challenge was to make a card using a non-bella StampingBella image. Since I recently ordered a few, this was an easy one. I really loved this topiary stamp when I saw it...I've always had a thing for topiaries. I decided I wanted to have three, so it was going to have to be a tall (or in this case, LONG) card. I flipped through my designer papers, and settled on this pattern from Porcelain Prints. I had actually just got this for free when I got my replacement pack of paper for the Holiday Harmony typo. I LOVE these colors together.

The card base is Not Quite Navy, sponged with the same ink. Then, I added the DSP (sponged of course) and the strip of Certainly Celery. Next, I worked on the topiaries. THey are stamped with Palette Noir ink onto watercolor paper, then colored with an aquapainter and reinkers. I used Cameo Coral to color in the flowers, and some certainly celery to create some green around/among the flowers. For the bow I used Not Quite Navy, and for the pots, I used my Encore Gold pad. I wasn't sure I could watercolor with that ink, but it turned out looking quite cool, with a nice little shimmer to them. I used creamy caramel with a touch of chocolate chip for the dirt in the pots.

I lightly sponged some celery onto the watercolor paper, then attached them each to a celery mat, and then a cameo coral mat. Initially, I didn't think I could fit any ribbon on to this card (what, no ribbon? Perish the thought!!) and so I did the paper piercing in the corners to add some interest. Then, I realized I could put the ribbon on top of the celery strip and it might look kinda cool...so I did. I like how you can see the green strip through the sheer organdy.

I'll have to use one of my Papertrey Ink stamps for a greeting on the inside...something from the garden set I think. Ok...I'll post more as the week progresses....and if I have some time I'll try to post one more later on today.

Supplies: (all supplies are SU! unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Bella's Topiary StampingBella
CS: Watercolor paper, Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery, Porcelain Prints DSP
Ink: Palette Noir, celery, creamy caramel, chocolate chip, cameo coral, Not Quite Navy, encore gold
Acc: crafter's toolkit, sponge, aquapainter, may arts ribbon

TFL!
-Jana