It's Stamping Bella Release Day!

And this is exactly how I feel about the new images from Stamping Bella...woo hoo...I'm jumping for joy!!! You're going to LOVE them...I had a sneaky peeky when I was at Bellaland last week and the ones I saw jumped right in my car to come with me.  :)

I thought this adorable Fabby image was the perfect way to kick off the Stamping Bella release.

The layout is from Jen-abella's Sketch For You To Try and I combined her with the Chick's Inspiration Challenge #6 for these Fabby-lous colours!  :)

I started by stamping Fabby with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured her with copics. Next I cut her out with my rectangle Nestabilities and layered her onto a scallop of Pacific Point. 

The base layer is Pacific Point with some My Mind's Eye 29th Street Market patterned paper sewn on top. I ran some Tangerine Tango through my Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder then added a strip of Pacific Point, which I jazzed up with some 7mm Burnt Honey Bella Bonbons and some Primas. 

Stamping Bella is releasing Fabby-lous new images today so keep checking Bloggabella to see what's new, cause Em will be posting them all day long. To celebrate the release, come to the Stamping Bella Forum on Splitcoast for the Release Party that starts at 9:15pm Eastern. There will be two challenges posted in the forum on Tuesday evening and one participant from each challenge will win $35 in Bella Bucks!!! 

Tomorrow I'll be sharing a card I made with one of the new images and I'll have another new image creation for you on Friday for my Bellarific submission. You still have time to play along this week...it's a sketch challenge which you can find here on Bloggabella, and you have yet another chance to win some Bella Bucks!!! What could be better than a shopping spree at Bellaland?!?

It's a Bellarific Week!!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Papillon Ketto and Friends

Well I'm back home again...I know...I was just here at Easter. But I came back because my dad had surgery so I wanted to be here for him and my mom. His surgery went well on Tuesday and he's recovering nicely. Really, I absolutely had to come back because when else will I get to tease him all I want and he's stuck in a hospital bed, unable to get away...LOL...insert evil grin here! I decided to drive back so I could bring stamping stuff with me. So be gentle on me for the next couple of weeks...I have limited stamping supplies with me, although my Mom thinks I brought enough for a small country.  :)

But, the best part of the drive back was that I got to stop at Bellaland and see my friends. Timing couldn't have been more perfect because Dana was in Toronto, visiting from Calgary, and my other friends had planned to meet at Bellaland for a visit. So I surprised most of them on Monday morning, and of course I did a little shopping while I was there. 

I picked up Papillon Ketto, this fabulous JilliBean Soup Minestrone patterned paper, and some fun Primas (along with lots more goodies). The layout for this card is Mojo83 and I was inspired by the Chicks Inspiration Challenge #5. 

Papillon is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured with copics. I didn't have a green that matched the green in the striped paper so I layered and blended four greens together to get this shade. I'm really enjoying blending and playing with my copics to find new shades. The image and the blue and chocolate layers were cut out with square Nestabilities. 

I used my SU scallop border punch on a strip of chocolate and added some String of Pearls baubles to each scallop. I also added a String of Pearls bauble to the center of the Prima. I sewed a zig zag stitch on the bottom layers (yes, I brought my Janome Sew Mini with me...I told you I can't live without it!) and finished the card with a fluffy kiwi bow. The finished card is 5 inches square. 

Here's a photo of the group of us at Bellaland (that's what I call my happy place, the Stamping Bella store). The front row is Leslie and Nicky (aka: Nickabella). Back row is Janet, Dana, Em (da Bella herself), me, and Miche. Hugs everyone...I miss you already! Hmmm...maybe I'll have to drive through Toronto again on my way back home in a couple of weeks.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Thinking of You By the Sea

This is where I'd like to be...sitting in a chair by the ocean, the sun beating down on me, a light breeze blowing my hair, sipping a refreshing drink...ahhhhh...if I stare at the picture long enough maybe it'll come true! giggle!

I decided to play with my first Weekend Sketch Challenge #77, which is hosted by Lori Craig. I combined it with the Chicks Inspiration Challenge #4. When I saw the Chicks inspiration piece I thought about an SU set I've had on my shelf for a loooooong time, Along the Shore. It was in a mini (I think) way back in 2005. And I must confess, it has never seen ink until today! Yikes! So I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Gina K pure luxury and coloured it with copics. I drew in the horizon line for the sea. I cut it out with my new Labels Four Nestabilities then I adhered it to some Tangerine Tango and trimmed around the edge with my scissors to create a mat. I REALLY wish Spellbinders would create a nice layering size for the Labels nesties. Spellbinders...are you reading this??? Could you please create a layering size??? Pretty Please!!!

The patterned paper is My Mind's Eye Bloom & Grow and I accented it with some ribbon from The Paper Source. The light one is called Pool and the dark one is called Deep Pool (that makes me giggle!). The sentiment is from the SU Trendy Trees set and it's stamped onto certainly celery and punched out with my word window punch. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

Bella Flowers

I have to tell you, this card uses my all-time favourite colour combo...pink, brown and green...LOVE IT! I combined two challenges on this card. The layout is from Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #11, and the idea for the card is from the Chicks Inspiration Challenge #2. It's a fun inspiration piece, so pop over, take a look and play along! YOU could be their next guest designer!

The image, Flower Bottles from Stamping Bella, is stamped with Memento Tuxedo black and coloured with copics. I stamped the flowers a second time, cut them out and popped them on dimensionals. I wanted the vases to look like glass so I coated them with crystal effects. The image is cut out with rectangle nestabilities and layered onto a scallop rectangle of chocolate chip. 

The finished card size is 6.5 x 3.25 inches. The base papers are S.E.I.'s Mimosa line (even the solid pink piece), and I used one of my new EK slim border punches for a little detail. I added some chocolate ribbon then finished the card with three punched flowers and three 5mm Light Amber Bella Bonbons. 

Thanks Karen for a fun sketch and thanks Cathy and Donna for the inspiration piece!

Thanks for stopping by!

Karen

A New Inspiration Challenge

My friends Cathy and Donna at Chicks with Ink Pads have started a brand new Tuesday Inspiration Challenge. Woo Hoo...another challenge to look forward to every week! Be sure to pop over to their blog to see the inspiration piece and get your creativity flowing. 

Here's the card I created from the inspiration piece. The finished size is 4.25 inches square. It's different than my usual style, but I really wanted to show the papers...they're both so pretty and so sparkly that I wanted to let the papers (from S.E.I. Mimosa line) take center stage. 

The sentiment is from Cornish Heritage Farms, and it's SUCH a true saying. I finished off the card with some retired SU ribbon and a "Joanne" button with a twine bow. 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Karen