Bellarific Friday - Fall Photo Challenge

Happy Friday Crafters! It's been one heck of a week and I'm a tiny bit late on getting this post up today! I'm so glad it's the weekend and looking forward to a fun girls shopping trip with my Mom & Aunt. It's Bellarific Friday over on the Stamping Bella blog and I loved today's challenge because it was inspired by this photo:

I LOVE fall! I only wish we had more of it in Florida. It was 87 degrees today with  90% humidity so I enjoy making autumn cards that make me think of cooler weather, lol! For my card, I used the precious Tiny Townie Fay Loves Fall stamp and decided to make a fun little shaker card with falling leaves.

To start, I used my Copics to color the cute little Fay. I chose some non-traditional fall colors, but I think they work really well together. I used stickles and glossy accents on her buttons, flower bow, and the apples to give them a bit of shine.  Here's a close up of some of details:

Once the image was complete, I focused on creating the shaker window. I first cut out a scalloped frame using some really neat "wood" paper. It feels just like a thin sheet of wood and it die cuts like butter! It also has an adhesive back so it made it easy to stick the acetate on. I then cut a piece of fun foam with the same scalloped frame die to create my border to allow the sequins to shake around. I chose some really neat iridescent fall leaves for my shaker bits and decided to just put in a few so that it didn't overwhelm the image.  Once my window was complete, I backed the entire piece with pattered paper that coordinated with the mustard color in my image. For the sentiment, I heat embossed it onto some blue cardstock using gold embossing powder. I cut a little slanted banner on the edge and adhered it to the front of the shaker window.

I hope you enjoyed this challenge and be sure to pop over to the Stamping Bella blog to see what all of the other Bellas have created. Their amazing autumn creations make me so happy! Did I mention I LOVE fall?? Also, if you would like to participate in Bellariffic Fridays for a chance to be entered into a monthly drawing to win some Bella Bucks click on the link below for more details.

Next week's Bellariffic Friday challenge is a free form challenge. That means anything goes, no limits! It would be a great opportunity for a someone who is intimated by guidelines. I would love to see you all participate! Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies Used:

Bellarific Friday - Sketch Challenge

Happy Friday Crafters! It's Bellarific Friday over on the Stamping Bella blog and today's challenge was this great (MOJO) Bella sketch by Julee Tilman.

Even though yesterday was the first day of Autumn, my card for this challenge ended up taking on a very springy vibe! I chose this beautiful stamp called FLOWERSBEHINDMYBACKABELLA V.2.0 to be the main focal point of my card. I stamped the image onto Copic friendly card stock using Simon Say Stamp intense black ink because it's Copic friendly and I love how black it is. Before coloring her, I chose a stitched square die and ran it through my Big Shot. I love taking large stamps and cropping them to fit my projects. You don't always have to use the entire image, spotlighting is fun too! 

I colored the Bella with my Copic markers and I also did a little paper piecing on her sash and headband. I used a tiny bit of gray Copic to add shading to these pieces so they weren't so stark white. I also added some stickles and Spectrum Noir clear sparkle to the flowers and glossy accents to her sash and headband. Here are the colors I used:

Once my image was complete, I started building my background to match the sketch. I picked papers from a new My Favorite Things pack called Sweet Celebration. I also chose a fun blue glitter paper from Recollections for the scalloped frame. For the sentiment, I stamped it onto vellum using Versamark clear ink and embossed it in white. I then layered it over a piece of patterned paper a cut a fishtail banner in the end. I wrapped this over and adhered it to the back of the card. The finishing touch was adding a few enamel dots in coordinating colors to highlight the image a little bit more. Here's a close up of some of the little details I added:

I hope you enjoyed this challenge and be sure to pop over to the Stamping Bella blog to see what all of the other Bellas have created. These ladies are sooo talented! I keep pinching myself knowing I'm part of this wonderful team! Also, if you would like to participate in Bellariffic Fridays for a chance to be entered into a monthly drawing to win some Bella Bucks click on the link below for more details.

Next week's Bellariffic Friday challenge is a fabulous fall photo challenge. Use the photo below as inspiration for your card design. I would love to see you all participate! Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies Used:

Bellarific Friday - Background Challenge

Happy Friday Crafters! It's Bellarific Friday over on the Stamping Bella blog and today's challenge was to create your own background. I selected the adorable stamp Smarty Cat and decided to use the little accessory stamps that come with it to create my own patterned paper.

I started with a piece of smooth Bristol paper and cut it slightly smaller than a standard A-2 size card. I then stamp the little ball of yarn, mouse and fish bone randomly all of the paper to create a pattern. Next I grabbed some of my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers and did a little  messy water coloring on each little images. I also flicked some paint splatters just to get it a little more texture. I  stamped the little cat onto some Bristol smooth white cardstock and colored him up with some Zigs too. I added a bit of glossy accents to his glasses as well.

Here's the colors I chose to use and a little close up of the details.

I decided to do a little inlaid die cutting to really show off the image. To do this, I grabbed a stitched arch die and cut out a shape in my patterned paper. I then used the die on my cat image. I placed my cat image inside the space I had removed from the background. It fit perfectly but the cat disappeared just a tiny bit. So I decided to grab a piece of black fun foam and cut it using the same stitched arch die. I then adhered it to the back of my cat. This popped up the image and also because fun foam when die cut gets just a tiny bit bigger it allowed for a nice little black shadow which really helped the cat stand out from the busy background.

Before adhering everything to my card base, I grabbed some black and white twine and wrapped it a few times around which helped ground the cat image. I also stamped the cute sentiment that comes with the stamp onto a piece of white cardstock and cut a little slanted banner tail. I backed this with some polka dot cardstock. Everything then went on top of some more polka dot paper and adhered to my card base.

I hope you enjoyed this challenge and be sure to pop over to the Stamping Bella blog to see what all of the other Bellas have created. There are some amazing designs! I'm so lucky to be on this team with such a talented bunch of crafty ladies! Also, if you would like to participate in Bellariffic Fridays for a chance to be entered into a monthly drawing to win some Bella Bucks click on the link below for more details.

Next week's Bellariffic Friday challenge is a sketch challenge. Use the awesome (MOJO)Bella sketch below for your card design. I hope to see you all participate! Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies Used:

Bellarific Friday Sketch Challenge

Happy Friday Crafters! It's Bellarific Friday over on the Stamping Bella blog and today's challenge was to create a card using the following fabulous Mojobella sketch by Julee. 

I selected a super cute stamp set called Uptown Girls VICTORIA and JULIETTE's Night Out to be the centerpiece of my card. I stamped the image in Simon Says Stamp Intense Black ink onto some Copic friendly paper. For the color scheme, I was inspired by a new paper pack from My Mind's Eye called Hooray. I colored up the image and then added some special details using Stickles and Spica pens to achieve a look that gave the impression of sequins. I quite like how it turned out. I also added some Spectrum Noir glitter pen and glossy accents to the girls drinks.

Here's a close up of some of the little details:

As I mentioned, I was very inspired by the Hooray paper pack by My Mind's Eye and selected a few different patterns from that pack for my background. Following the guideline of the sketch, I layered the papers onto a plain card base. I die cut a scalloped oval from a piece of rose gold foil paper to frame my image. The sentiment came from another Stamping Bella set called Closeups Click and I heat embossed it in rose gold powder to tie it back to the paper. After adhering the girls, I had to pull out my enamel dots to finish off the design. I think I may be addicted to using them!

Be sure to pop over to the Stamping Bella blog to see what the other Bellas have created for this sketch challenge. They are sharing some beautiful designs! Also, if you would like to participate in Bellariffic Fridays for a chance to be entered into a monthly drawing to win some Bella Bucks click on the link below for more details.

For next week, the Bellariffic Friday challenge is to create your own background. Here's your chance to join us! Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies Used:

Candy Apple Halloween Card

Happy Thursday Evening!  Today's card is my first in what will be quite a few Fall/Halloween cards to come. This is my favorite season and I think because I live in Florida where we only have two seasons, hot and hotter, making Fall cards lets me vicariously experience another season! I was inspired this week by the latest Curtain Call Challenge - Candy Apple.

I used an adorably funny stamp from Sweet Stamp Shop called "Apples." I stamped it in Simon Says Stamp Intense Black ink on Copic friendly cardstock. I picked some red and green Copic markers and colored the little scene. I wanted the candy coating to look like shiny so I applied some glossy accents and set the piece aside to dry. I wanted to bring in the black & white polka dots from the inspiration photo so I grabbed a piece of glittery paper and die cut it with a circle die. I also cut the image with a smaller circle die once the glossy accents had dried.

I then cut some gray and white striped paper to add a little neutral background on the otherwise white card base. For the sentiment, I stamped it onto black cardstock with clear Versamark ink and used some white embossing powder to really make it pop. I adhered this along the bottom of the circles and popped it up with foam tape. To finish off the card, I used a few black enamel dots to add a little bit more interest. Here's a close up of some of the details:

Be sure to head over to the Curtain Call Challenge blog to see all of the wonderful entries. Have a great night and I'll be back tomorrow with another fun card share!

Supplies Used:

Just a Note Card - Color Throwdown #408

Happy Monday! I'm excited to share a card that I created after being inspired by the current Color Throwdown Challenge which called out primary colors of red, blue, green and yellow. I was dying to use this shaker die from Papertrey Ink and this was the perfect challenge to bring it out. 

I really enjoy using these shaker dies because they make the process so easy! I started by grabbing some polka dot cardstock in red, yellow, gray, khaki and black. I die cut the various parts of the pencil and then began adhering them all together. Once that was complete, I grabbed some acetate for the window and some fun foam to create the shaker container. Once I had assembled those pieces I filled the two separate windows with red & yellow sequins and seed beads and then adhered the backer piece to keep everything contained. 

For the card background, I used blue patterned paper adhered to a 5"x5" card base. I then used a notebook die to die cut a little piece of patterned notebook paper and backed that with a piece of chevron paper in primary colors. This is a direct inspiration from the Color Throwdown photo. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment onto the notebook page. I also die cut the scribble to put underneath the pencil. Lastly, I needed a few little embellishments so I grabbed some enamel dots and stars from my stash to finish off the design. 

Here's a closer look at the card and all the fun little details! 

I really love how this turned out and I think it would be a perfect Teacher card. I hope you enjoyed my card for today and be sure to pop over the the Color Throwdown Challenge to check out all of the creative and fun designs that everyone did. It's always so inspiring!

Have a wonderful day and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies Used:

Bellarific Friday with Peaches (September's Stamp of the Month)

Happy Friday Crafters! It's Bellarific Friday over on the Stamping Bella blog and today's theme is "Stitch it up." Also, it's time for the new Stamp of the Month and this month features the most adorable little pig named PEACHES. She's so precious! 

For this card, I decided to pull out my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers and do some watercoloring. I used Bristol paper (which is my favorite for Zigs) but you have to be very careful because it's not a traditional watercolor paper so it doesn't hold water to well. I found I struggled a little bit with that on the background, but I made it work in the end. Once I had Peaches all colored up, I grabbed a wonky stitched rectangle die to cut her out. Here's a close up of the colors I used:

I let the watercolor colors inspire me and I choose a plaid patterned paper with peach and mint green. I then choose corresponding solid colors and a really neat off gold glitter paper. I ran the background piece of peach cardstock through my die cutting machine using a really neat stitched lines die. It doesn't cut through the paper but just leaves lines in a cool stitched pattern. I glued this to my card base. Next, I backed my little pig with the plaid paper and a strip of the glitter paper and mint paper. I adhered that all together and then applied foam tape to the back. I wanted this piece to stand out a bit. For the sentiment, I cut it into a banner like strip and then criss-crossed a strip of glitter paper and mint paper just to bring in more of the color scheme. I added a few enamel dots around the sentiment and used some Wink of Stella to give the ice cream a bit of shimmer. Here's a close up of the card:

I kept the card pretty simple and really tried to keep the focus on PEACHES. Again, she is the Stamp of the Month for September over at Stamping Bella. What that mean is that each month, one stamp is featured for the whole month and you can get 20% off of that particular stamp. You have until the end of September to take advantage of that offer. She's just too cute to pass up!

Also, if you would like to participate in Bellariffic Fridays for a chance to be entered into a monthly drawing to win some Bella Bucks, be sure to pop over to the Stamping Bella blog for more details.

For next week, the Bellariffic Friday challenge is a sketch. Here's your chance to join us!

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies Used: