Oh Spring where are you??!

I know it is officially Spring, but the 30 degree temperatures I have woken up to over the past few days are reeeeeally making that hard to believe. 

But here's to wishful thinking!

And here are a couple fun spring-y cards using all kinds of Bella Blvd products!

I went a little flower crazy on this card as I did a lot of fussy-cutting and combined pieces from the new Bella Blvd lines with the "Spring Flings and Easter Things" line from last year.

Hey it works because all these lines mix and match so well together!

One more...

I used a sheet of the new Freestyle Sophisticates as the base of this card.

 Then I used different elements from several Bella lines to embellish the card.

I used stickers from the "Spring Flings and Easter Things" line.
The striped strip is from "Engaged at Last" and the big flower sticker is from the "Sand and Surf" Just Write Journaling Stickers.

I even dug through the Bella buttons and flags that I have been hoarding and made myself use some on this one!

:)  

Come on Spring!!

I'm ready for ya baby!

:)

gretchen

Oh wait there's one more!

See I told you CK was doing some sweet giveaways!

Go leave a comment on {this post} over on the CK blog for a chance to win some of these cute stamps from Fresh Squeezed Stamps!

Go now!

Comment!

Win!

And you are welcome!

:)

Another chance to WIN!

Creating Keepsakes has really been doing some hot giveaways lately!!

Here's another one:

Go leave a comment on {this post} over on the CK blog for a chance to win an assortment of the new Engaged at Last line from Bella Blvd!

Y'all know I love this line!

{ok, yes, I am a little biased}

In case you missed them the first time, here are some cards I made with the Engaged at Last line:

OK!
Now go leave a comment and {hopefully} win!

:)

gretchen

I will make a deal with you...

Go leave a comment on {this post} over on the 

Creating Keepsakes blog for a chance to win these goodies!

Then if you win, let's share the prize!

Because there are a couple of things here that I need!

:)

Happy Tuesday!

gretchen

Cheer up

Yeah, yeah, it's Monday once again.

The weekend is over.

Sadness!

Well cheer up!

:)

Supplies: Patterned paper, Stickers, Chipboard (Bella Blvd), Bling (KI Memories), Cardstock (Creative Memories)

*****

Happy Monday y'all!

:)

gretchen

fun FREE download!

How cool are these journaling cards?!!

These seem perfect for all you Project Lifers.

And you can download them for free over on the CK blog!

Go to {this post} on the CK blog to download now!

:)

And good night!

gretchen

All American

It's a new line from Bella Blvd!
And this week the Bella Blvd blog is full of inspirational projects using this line.

I contributed a couple of cards!

I do love this new line! 

It's got the traditional red, white, and blues going on but there are some light blues and grays mixed in also. 

Very fun! 

Stars, hearts, flowers, and fireworks … All American has a little bit of everything! 

Stars are some of my favorite accents to use on a page so I am pumped about all of them in this line.
And the "Stars" buttons in Bella's Button Market are perfect to coordinate with this new line too!

Now go check out the Bella Blvd blog for all kinds of projects, layouts, and more cards using this new line!

And thanks for stopping by here today!

:)

gretchen

Great giveaway!!

Ohhh this is a good one!!

Go leave a comment on {this post} over on the CK blog for a chance to win all this!

One lucky winner will win the “Birthday Wishes” 6×6 paper pack from Die Cuts with a View, the “Treading Waters” border punch from Fiskars {I love this punch!!}, the “Playtime” paper pack from Grace Taylor, & the Xyron Create-a-Sticker Max!!

*****

That's a dang good giveaway so go comment!!

And happy Monday!

:)

gretchen

Don't forget to wear your green!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

And here are a couple of cards full of Bella Blvd products just for the occasion...

I used a heart punch to make the 4 leaf clover on this card. 

I punched 4 hearts out of the same patterned paper and arranged them to look like a clover. 

Easy! 

I started to make this card entirely green but, believe it or not, it seemed a bit too green! So I threw in a little yellow and I like the contrast!  

Happy day!
Get out an enjoy it!!

:)

gretchen

ALL AMERICAN!!

WHOOP WHOOP!!

It's a new line from Bella Blvd!

AND it is the first patriotic line from Bella!

"All American" is the name of the collection and it rocks!

It is full of the traditional red, white, & dark blue with some fun light blues & grays mixed in!

This line has all of the Bella Blvd staples to go with it: stickers, tapes, chipboard, & flags!
Y'all know how I love my hearts so I think this piece is my favorite patterned paper in the bunch:

Love it!!

Now head over to the Bella Blvd blog to see the entire collection!

And you know there is a chance over there for you to win some!

:)

This collection starts shipping on April 1st but you have a chance to win some before you can buy it!

Go!
Go leave a comment over there!

Go now!

And happy Friday to ya!
:)

gretchen

FYI

A little birdy told me...

...that Bella Blvd has a fun announcement to share on Friday!

Anybody want to take a guess at what the announcement might be??!

Sketchy

Hey!
Good morning!
I thought I would share the post I had up on the CK blog last week here on my own blog today.

(and if you were one of those kind people who left a comment for me over on the CK blog, see the post below please)

*****
I always love the "CK Sketches" article in each issue.

I do love a good sketch!

So I thought it would be fun to make something with the sketch in the March/April issue.

There is a twist though: I only used the right side of the sketch!
Sketches for 2-page layouts are really 3 sketches in 1!
Using just the right-hand page of the sketch, here is the layout I made:

I must admit to stealing the title of this layout from another layout I have in this issue.

What can I say?
I had a bit of “title-ers block” when making this page!

I thought the circles on this sketch would be a good way to make me branch out a little bit.
And I was right!
I put my circle punches to good use here.
I used a 3″ circle punch to crop the 3 photos.
Then I used a 1″ circle punch to create the scalloped border across the page.

One more fun thing on this layout…

See the “sweet memories are woven with good times” border?

Well, I actually cut that from the strip on the bottom of a sheet of patterned paper that holds the bar code.

This particular patterned paper is from Close to My Heart.

It’s like they didn’t want me to waste a single bit of their pretty paper!

Lots of companies are doing this now too, so don’t just throw that strip away after you cut it off!

See if you can use it!

*****
Thanks for stopping by today!
Have a great Monday!

:)

gretchen

Hey Carolyn, Brenda, Linh, Michele, Anelsie, Connie, Jill, & Barb

Thanks for leaving a comment over on the CK blog for me!

Now I need each of you to email me with your mailing address and answer this question for me: pink or blue or yellow?? 

{gretchenmcelveen at yahoo dot com}

Don't ask questions, just do it!

:)

Thank you!!

*****

And because I can't let a post go without sharing something fun, here is a card I made with a mix of different Bella Blvd products. 

Happy Saturday y'all!!

:)

gretchen

You might want to read to the end of this post

I've been loading up this blog with cards lately, haven't I?!

Well here's another one for ya!

This card is a little combination of 3 different lines from Bella Blvd: Kiss Me, Sand & Surf, and Engaged at Last lines.
These lines really do mix well together.
You might not think it, but trust me!

I am double-blogging today!
:)
I've also got a post up on the Creating Keepsakes blog {here}. Go check it out, leave a comment over there, come back here & tell me that you did, and I think I will just have to send one of you commenters a little happy!

So thanks for leaving your comments!

I love it!
:)

gretchen

You make my days better

I've got another quick card to share with you today.
I'm loving making stuff with these new Bella Blvd lines!

I used the "Love and Marriage" line from Bella Blvd here to make a general greeting card to send to a friend.

I love the soft, pretty colors in this line and there are many pieces in this line that can be used beyond wedding projects!

OK that's all I've got!

Short & sweet!

Happy Wednesday!
:)

gretchen

Thinking Spring...

Typical Alabama weather: it was in the 30s yesterday and today it was in the 60s. 

Craziness.
I think the rest of this week is supposed to be in the 60s and that has me thinking about Spring! 

I didn’t do this on purpose but this card has a very Spring-y feel to it to me. 

Everything here is from the Engaged at Last line from Bella Blvd. In my Spring-y mood, I pulled out my butterfly punch to add a few butterflies and put the finishing touches on this card.

:)

Happy almost-Spring y'all!
:)

gretchen

Classy & Fabulous

Hi!

Quick card share...

I used some of the "Engaged at Last" line from Bella Blvd to make this one.
Like usual I got a little crazy with the flower-cutting here!
 I adhered some of them with foam squares to add a little dimension to the card and added some bling to the centers for a little sparkle. 

Also I punched a bunch of circles and used them to create a scalloped border on either side of the card.

Hope you've had a great weekend!
:)

gretchen