Life changes......

Hey everyone.  Today is another bellariffic challenge but it is also a sad day.  I'm not good with expressing what I have to say, so I'll do my best.  Today will be my last post as a bella babe.  Yes,  I am stepping down after 3 awesome years working with Emily and all the bella babes - past and present.  A special thank you to Emily for bringing me on board.  I was thrilled beyond words when she asked me to be a 'babe'.  Life brings many changes, and I have been finding it harder each week to push myself to be creative. 
My heart just isn't it in like it should be.  Maybe someday it will come back, but for now I choose to step down so I can concentrate on other important areas such as family.

I'm not going anywhere, and will still post when the mood strikes me. I thank all my followers for all your support and I hope you continue to stop in once in a while. I do a lot of traveling with Bill on weekends, so I will keep you posted on our travels with new photos as they come along.

Okay, so lets get on with today's card.  It was a sketch challenge this week, and lucky me received my new bella stamps from Emily's last release, so I coloured up one of the new Uptown girls.  Let me introduce Uptown Sandy and her sombrero.

I stamped Sandy on bella's bestest paper and coloured her using copics and pencils.  I used spellbinder skinny rectangles to cut her out. Designer paper is Cosmo Cricket - Salt Air.

I turned the sketch upright to make it work for me.  I love when you can do this!  I added the sentiment that comes with this stamp set.  It was cut out using one of dies from Spellbinders Spendid Circles, then I cut another circle with a teal c/s and then layered it behind.

Finishing touches - ultra fine flower soft for the sand, glossy accents on her glasses and some amber rhinestones.

To see more samples done using this sketch layout, stop over at bloggabella to check them out. Leave a comment for a chance to win some bella bucks.

Next week your challenge will be to use buttons on your card.  You can email Emily your card by thursday night.

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a wonderful long weekend (for us Canadians). 

Again, thanks for all your support over the 3 years. 
See you soon,

Hugs, Pauline

Fun in the Sun...

Hi everyone.  TGIF!! and welcome back to another bellariffic challenge.  This week our theme was 
Sizziln' summer, and I found the perfect image to colour.

Here is Little Umbrella.

This is a Mo image which I've had since it was released and never had the chance to colour her up.  I used copics to colour and prismacolour pencils for shading.

After cutting her out and layering her on papers I added some sand around her towel.  It's actually ultra fine flower soft - sand colour, I thought it worked perfectly.

Paper is from Fancy Pants - Beach Babe - it's the perfect paper for fun in the sun images.

Finished off with some glossy accents on her glasses - (love the white reflection in her glasses), some peach seam binding ribbon and a button.

For more sizzlin summer images be sure to hop over to bloggabella to check them out.  Leave a comment for a chance to win some bella bucks as well.

Next week our challenge is back to a sketch, if you get a chance to play along you can email your entry to Emily by thursday night.

 
Well, that's about it for me, wishing everyone a wonderful weekend, keep cool!  See you again real soon.

Pauline

Sketch #12

Hi everyone! Welcome to another bellariffic challenge.  This week we had a sketch to follow.  We had a choice of either a circle card or a rectangle, and I opted for the rectangle.  

Here are the sketches:

 And this is what I came up with:

You will noticed I flipped the sketch to make it work better with my image.  The image I'm using today is called Flower Bottles.  I have used this one many times, just love the simplicity of this stamp.
I stamped it on bella's bestest paper and then coloured using pencils.  After cutting it out using spellbinder labels 22, I left the die in place and lightly sponged over the image using  Soft Sky (SU) ink. I then went along the edges of the die with antique linen (I used the same sponge that had the soft sky on it, just to give it bluish hue to it).

For the punched border strip I used a Martha Stewart punch.  Designer paper is MME- Notable. Finished off with some soft aqua seam binding ribbon, glossy accents (flower centers), glitter and pearls

You can see more inspiration for this weeks sketch challenge over at Bloggabella. 

Next week our challenge is 'SIZZIN' SUMMER'.  All you have to do to play along is use a Stamping Bella image, then email your card to Emily by thursday night, and your card will appear on bloggabella on friday as well as your name gets entered in for the draw for $20 in bella bucks.

Thanks for stopping in today.  Have a wonderful weekend.

Pauline

Friendship

I hope you had a chance to see some of the sneak peaks we had going on this week, and there are probably still more to come. Are they cute or what?? Don't forget to win these stamps you can leave a comment on the posts over at bloggabella.

Now for this weeks challenge.  Our theme was Friendship.  I have wanted to colour this image but never seem to get around to doing it, so I did so this week.

This is Uptown Belinda and Bernadette the bench buddies.

 

I started by stamping them on bella's bestest paper and coloured using prismacolour pencils and blended with gamsol.

Designer papers are from MME - Collectable- Unforgettable.  Other papers used were Kraft and Aqua Mist (PTI).

Finished off with some bella dots. And I just realized I didn't even use glitter on this card - ACK!! I was going to add some to the bottom frill on her skirt, oh well, I guess I still can.  I just loved how this turned out, I guess I got a bit excited and forgot about the glitter - hehe!

To see some more deliciousness be sure to stop over at bloggabella and check out all the other entries.  Leave a comment for a chance to win some bella bucks.

Next week, not only should we be having our release, but our challenge is back to a sketch.  You can go round or square, the choice is yours! You can email your card to Emily by thursday night.  This will qualify you in the draw to win some bella bucks.  Who couldn't use some bella bucks with a release coming up!

Thanks for stopping in today.  Love hearing for you, so keep your comments coming.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone.  See you again real soon.

Pauline 

Summer Days

Ah! summer days.  I love them, but not with all of this humidity.  The humidex has been quite high these last few days, with temps reaching in the 90's with the humidex factor, but I have not turned the air on yet.  Next week looks quite a bit cooler with temps starting out in the high 50's for Monday, the slowly rising to the 70's be weeks end.

Okay enough about the weather, that's really not why you stopped in.  This weeks bellariffic challenge was a sketch - and a very easy one at that.  Here is the sketch we had to follow:

and this is my card

The stamp I'm using if from a set of four called Summer Days.  I just love this set, it is so versatile, I have used it many times and will continue to do so.  Image was stamped on bella's bestest paper and then I coloured the image using prismacolour pencils and blended with gamsol.

Designer paper is from MME- vanity fair.  Finished of with a bit of glitter on the flowers, a piece of twine made into a bow and then added a button.

Emily is giving away some bella bucks just for leaving a comment over at Bloggabella, so be sure to stop by and see all the other gorgeous creations for this weeks challenge and leave a comment.

Next week our theme is "FOR MY SISTAHS - FRIENDSHIP", I know there a lots of Stamping Bella images that would fit this category.  You can email your entry by thursday night to Emily for it to be posted on bloggabella on friday.

Thanks for stopping in today and love that you leave comments.  Have a wonderful weekend.

See you again real soon,
Pauline

Inspiration challenge #3

Hi and Happy Friday!! Welcome to another Bellariffic challenge.  This week we had an inspiration picture to help us along.  Here is what we had to work with, I love the pinks/yellows/oranges and greens.

and here is what I came up with:

I pulled out Uptown Flora the Cyclist for my image. She was stamped on bella's bestest paper and the coloured with prismacolour pencils and blended with gamsol.  Skin tones were done with copics. 

Designer paper is MME - In Bloom  (purchased at Micheals). To kind of fill in some of the white space around Flora I used MFT's fishtale flags layers stax, then added a small bow (made with my bow maker) using pink silk ribbon, then added a small yellow rosette.  Glitter was added to the ruffle on her dress as well as the basket of flowers to finish this off.

Be sure to stop over at Bloggabella to see what the other babes and sistah's came up with this week.  Leave a comment for a chance to win some bella bucks.

Next week we are back to a sketch challenge.  You can email your card to Emily by thursday night for your card to appear on bloggabella on friday. Here is next weeks sketch:

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful weekend. Till next time....

Pauline
 

thinking of you

Hi, hope you had a great week. For the most part the weather was great, 80's today, a bit breezy, just perfect and it looks like it is going to be a fantastic weekend as well.  This weekend is a 3 day weekend for us Canadian's, as we celebrate Victoria Day on Monday. I'm so looking forward to the long weekend! 

For our bellariffic challenge this week we had a sketch to follow, and it was a fairly easy one at that, at least I thought so.  This was our sketch:

and this is what I came up with:

Basically no stamping except for 'thinking of you' which was taken from the stamp set: matilda on her swing.

Designer paper is from Prima papers - Tea-thyme 6x6, Dies used are Spellbinders- A2 scalloped borders one, and one of the dies from the 5x7 detailed scallops set.  Finished off with some pearls and a piece of dusty rose ribbon.

Be sure to stop over at bloggabella for me inspiration from this weeks challenge.

Next weeks challenge is another inspiration - see below.

You can get your inspiration from the colours, or the image.  You can email Emily your card by thursday night to be included in the showdown on friday.  Also your name will go in for this weeks draw for $20 in bella bucks!

I guess that's about it for me for today.  Thanks for stopping by, and I really appreciate your comments.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone.  See you again real soon.

Pauline  

Kraft-tastic challenge

TGIF, and a rainy one at that.  This week our bellariffic challenge was to use Kraft  on your project. It was one of those weeks, where I didn't get a chance to do much in the line of carding, so last night I finally manged to get my card done.  I used this image with birthday's in mind.  I'm show casing Funky Plants hanging block image today. This stamp is also on sale!

I stamped the flowers on bella's bestest paper and the coloured it up using copics.  After cutting out the image and sponged some distress dried marigold around the edges. Designer paper is a piece from my scrap bin called Sassafraslass.  

I also used a new Spellbinder die for the triangle decorative piece on the lower left side.  This die set is called Gold Elements One.  I just love the intricate swirls to this die set.  I used Kraft for my card base as well as the scallop layer behind the image.

Finished off with a beautiful silk bow and some glitter on the flowers.

Want to see more inspiration? Then be sure to hop over to bloggabella and check it out. Leave a comment for a chance to win some bella bucks.

Next week our challenge is back to a sketch. If you get a chance to play along, you can email it to  Emily by thursday night.  Again by doing so you have a chance to win $20 in bella bucks.

I want to wish everyone a very Happy Mother's Day on Sunday!

Thanks for stopping by, see you again real soon.

Pauline

Sketch challenge #9

Hello!  It's Friday, and that also means it's another bellariffic challenge day.  This week we had a sketch to follow - I love sketches, it sure helps speed up the card making.  I think most times that is what takes me the longest is what layout am I going to use.
 So this week the thinking was already done for us.  Here is the sketch:

 
And here is my card:

 For my image I used Little Peep's flower vase. 

I stamped her on bella's bestest paper and coloured using copics.
Designer paper is Basic Grey- Lemonade.  Finished off with a prima flower, pearls and glitter.  I even paper pieced her dress - it's so small you probably didn't even notice - LOL.

Okay, so for next week our challenge is KRAFT-TASTIC.  So use kraft paper on your card and your all set.  You can email Emily by Thursday night to be included in the show down on friday.

You can view more of this weeks challenge entries by stopping over at bloggabella.  Leave a comment for a chance to win some bella bucks.  Could be useful for Emily's upcoming release.

Thanks for stopping by, and hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Weather is co-operating - lots of sunshine and warm conditions for the weekend!

See you again real soon,
Pauline  

The way you move

TGIF! which also means another bellariffic challenge.  This week our challenge was 'bling it up'.

I haven't had a chance to use any of my new images lately, so I thought I best start to colour them before Emily decides on another release.  You just never know when the mood strikes her! LOL.

For my image I'm using  The way you Move a Diane Duda image  in rubber by Stamping Bella. 

I stamped the image on bella's bestest paper using black memento ink, the proceeded to colour her with copics and pencils.

Designer paper is by Prima - Fairy Flora.  Dies used are MFT- Die-namics rounded banner stax, Memory Box - Fairytale flower border, Papertrey - clouds.

For the clouds I just laid the die down and lightly sponged some Papertrey Aqua Mist around the tops of the dies to form the clouds.  I like the way the clouds fill in all the white space around her.

For my 'bling' I added glitter as well as some purple rhinestones along the fairytale flower border.  Finished off with some purple seam binding ribbon.

Please stop by Bloggabella and see what the other babes and sistah's came up with for our challenge this week.  Be sure to leave a comment for a chance to win $10 in bella bucks.

Next week we are back to another sketch.  We hope you have a chance to play along, and if you do you can email your entry to Emily by thursday night.    

Thanks for your visit today.  Have a great weekend. Till next time,

Pauline 

Bellariffc sketch challenge #8

Hi everyone.  Hope you had a good week.  Temperatures has been warming up quite a bit this week - we hit 20 C or 68F yesterday, but looks like back down to single digits for the weekend and even a chance of snow on Saturday!!!

For our bellariffic challenge this week, we had a sketch to follow.  Here is the sketch

I'm still working on lots of card orders, so thought this one could serve as my post for this weeks challenge as well as a birthday card.  You know how much I love anything floral, so I pulled out jar of wildflowers to colour this week. 

I stamped the flowers on bella's bestest paper and then coloured with copics.  After cutting it out using a s/binder circle die I left the die in place and sponged some distress antique linen around the edges.

For the next layer I used a new s/binder die set that was just begging to be used (lol), this set is called Adorning Squares.  I cut a 4x4 piece for dp, then cut and embossed one of the dies on it.  I then layered a piece of dark brown behind it so it would make the intricate design pop. 

Designer paper is Kaisercraft - Lil' Primrose.  I finished off with some yellow/orange seam binding ribbon, glitter, glossy accents for the centers of the flowers, and some taupe pearls.

For more inspiration this week, be sure to stop over at bloggabella to see all the other entries.  Leave a comment for a chance to win $10 in bella bucks.

Next week our challenge is 'bling it up'.  So whatever your heart desires, whether it be bling or glitter, just make is sparkle!! You can email Emily your entry by thursday night.  By doing so this enters you for a chance to win $20 in bella bucks.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a good weekend.

Pauline  
 

Splendid Spring

Is it really a splendid spring?  Well it's been raining since Tuesday, so I guess April showers bring May flowers, which I guess means spring has arrived!

There are so many Stamping Bella images that would suit this weeks challenge - Splendid Spring.  I went with one of my favourite Mo images - Sadie.

Sadie was stamped on bella's bestest paper and then I coloured her using copics and shading around her was done with prismacolour pencils and blended out with gamsol.

I wanted to use this paper from Basic Grey - Stella Ruby.  It's been sitting on my table for quite a while now, just waiting for the right image to match it up with.  When I decided to colour Sadie for this weeks challenge I knew Stella Ruby would fit her perfectly.  The only piece that is not from the Stella Ruby 6x6 pack is the yellow piece behind Sadie that is vertical - that was just a piece of scrap I had.

After cutting Sadie down to size I sponged some distress ink - frayed burlap around the edges to give it a bit of vintage feel.  I used a Martha Stewart border punch for the scallops along the bottom.  

To finish this off I wrapped some burlap twine around the card, then added a burlap twine bow, some prima flowers, wooded Studio Calico butterflies, pearls and some glitter. 

For some more 'springtime' inspiration be sure to stop over at bloggabella and check them out.  Leave a comment for a chance to win some bella bucks.

Next week we are back to a sketch for our challenge.  You can email your entry to Emily by thursday night to be included in the showdown on Friday, as well as a chance to win some bella bucks.  Here is your sketch to follow:

 Thanks for stopping by today, enjoy your weekend.

Pauline 

Sketch challenge #7

Hi everyone.  Hope you had a good week.  TGIF!!!
Today, I'm back with a card for this weeks challenge.
We had a sketch to follow. We had a choice whether to make a circle or a square card.  I was running out of time this week, so I opt for the square card, less thinking - lol!
I do like doing circle cards though.  Here was the sketch we had to follow:

For my image I picked an Uptown girl-
Madison has a margurita.

 Madison was stamped on bellas bestest paper using black memento ink.  I then proceeded to colour her using copics, and the shading around her was done with pencils.  I really like the colour combo I used, aqua & peach/orange.  

I think the designer paper is from MME - it was just a scrap piece in my scrap bin.  For the strip across the card I used a Cheery Lynn border die, then wrapped a piece of peach seam binding ribbon above that.  For the smaller circle, I couldn't find a sentiment that I really wanted to use for this card, so I just opt for the bow and a prima flower.

Finished off with some glossy accents on her margurita and some glitter on the lime and the ruffle on her dress. 

I'm sure there are lots of great inspiration cards for this weeks challenge, so be sure to stop over at bloggabella to check them all out.  Leave a comment while there for a chance to win some bella bucks. 

Next week our challenge is Splendid Spring-  Oh so many image choices for this challenge.  Can't wait to see what you come up with.  You can email Emily your entry by thursday night - again, by doing so you have a chance to win $20 in bella bucks. 

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and leaving a comment.  Have a wonderful weekend. Till next time...

Pauline  

Inspiration challenge #2

Hi everyone.  For this weeks bellariffic challenge we had an inspiration picture to inspire us.  I just couldn't get the picture to speak to me, so I just went with the colours.  Here was our inspiration to follow:

and this is what I came up with:

The image I'm using today is a set that Paula (former bella babe) designed .  I just love this set, I have used it many times. The set is called Summer Days.  I stamped it on bella's bestest paper and used copics to colour.

All the dies used are from one set called Marvelous Squares (spellbinder).  Designer paper is Authentique- Renew.  Kept this simple and just added a bit of glitter and some tiny white pearls.

For more inspiration on this weeks challenge stop over at bloggabella.  Leave a comment for a chance to win some bella bucks.

Next weeks challenge is a sketch.  If you get a chance to play along, you can email Emily your entry by thursday night. You have the option of doing a square or a circle.

 Thanks for stopping in today.  I wish everyone a very blessed Easter weekend.

Pauline
 

 

From the heart

Hello again, and welcome to another bellariffic friday.  This week we had a sketch to follow, which makes card making so easy!  I think that has to be the toughest part of card making for me, is how am I going to do my layout.  I spend many hours blog hopping looking for different layouts.

For my card today I'm using a Mo Manning image in rubber by Stamping Bella.  This one is called "This buds for you", such a sweet image. I'm sorry I can't seem to find it in the store, I thought for sure it was there!! Yikes!  A perfect card for Mother's Day, birthday's, or just a special friendship card.

As usual, I used bella's bestest paper and coloured with copics.  Shading around the image was done with prismacolour pencils and then after cutting out the image I sponged some versamagic sea breeze around the edges.

Designer paper is my MME - fine and dandy- tickled pink.

I used a doily for the piece behind the image and the strip under the image on the blue zig zag piece was cut from a MFT die.

Finished off with a sentiment from Verve, some leaves punched from a MS leave punch as well as a die cut from Memory Box (lavish branch) and then added some prima flowers.

For more inspiration for this weeks challenge hop over to Bloggabella and check them out.  Leave a comment for a chance to win some bella bucks.

Next week we have an inspiration challenge.  You can see it here:

You can email your card to Emily by thursday night to be included in the lineup on bloggabella on friday.  

Have a great weekend, and thanks for coming by today.

Pauline
  

For the boys,

Hello, and welcome to another bellariffic challenge.  This weeks challenge was 'for the boys' and I must say I really didn't have much in the way of 'guy' stamps, but I did manage to find  one in my favourite image  lines - 'peeps', so today I'm show casing Beer Peep!

He was stamped on bella's bestest paper, then coloured with copics.  I sponged some versamagic wheat ink  around the image after cutting it out using a s/binder rectangle die.  
Designer paper is from Basic Grey - Oxford. 

Finished off with some dark chocolate twill ribbon by Martha Stewart.  

I guess this would also make a perfect St. Patrick's day card as well, with the green paper and the beer image!

Be sure to stop over at Bloggabella and check out all the other 'guy' creations, and leave a comment for a chance to win some bella bucks.

Next weeks challenge is back to a sketch.  This is sketch #6.
Hope you get a chance to play along, if you do, make sure you email Emily your entry by thursday night.

Thanks for stopping in today, and have a great weekend!