Fall trip

OK I have another layout to share from the 

Creating Keepsakes

"Mixed Media Scrapbooking Vol. 2". 

This one is all about a mountain trip I took last fall. 

Supplies: Patterned paper (DCWV, Bella Blvd), Ink (ClearSnap), Stickers (Bella Blvd, Fancy Pants), Chipboard (Little Yellow Bicycle), Bling (Little Yellow Bicycle), Buttons (Bella Blvd), Plastic Embellishments (Queen & Co.)

My assignment was to do something interesting with ink pads.

So I made these fun flowers with a cat eye ink pad!

I've made these before with an ink pad from one of my Noel Mignon kits.

And I have a tutorial on how to make them on {this post here}.

I added a mix of bling and buttons and stuff to make a fun center for each of the flowers.

*****

And a couple more close ups for your viewing pleasure!
:)

Oh man, that trip was a whole year ago!

Time flies!

OK happy day y'all!

:)

gretchen

While this is under construction...

...let me re-route you to the Creative Memories blog where I have a post up about how to create your own chevrons using the Creative Memories Square Maker (aka square punch).

{Products used: Creative Memories "Dream" patterned paper and layered stickers}

That blog is a lot prettier than this one is right now!

Check it out!
:)

Another peek-a-boo card!

Hey!
I made another card using the same tutorial that I shared yesterday.

This one is a girly birthday card and I used square punches instead of circles.

But I still cannot resist the cute hippo in Bella Blvd's new birthday lines!
:)

{Supplies: Bella Blvd Birthday Girl line}

And here is the hippo that is peeking out from the inside of the card!
:)

TGIF!
Have a great weekend people!!

:)
gretchen

Fun tutorial!

Hey!
Today I have a fun tutorial up on the Bella Blvd blog!
Actually this week is full of tutorials over there and this just happens to be my day.
Make sure to head over to the Bella blog and check out all the cool techniques and ideas that the other Bella designers have come up with to share with you!

*****

My tutorial is all about how to make a cute “peek-a-boo” birthday card.

Want to know how to make one??
:)

OK what you will need in addition to the basics (adhesive, scissors, paper trimmer, etc.), is your favorite Bella Blvd birthday products (specifically the Birthday Boy Cute Cuts, Borders, and other patterned papers of your choice), a sheet of kraft cardstock to be the base of your card, a scrap of cardstock that matches the birthday papers, a scalloped circle punch, and a circle punch slightly smaller than the scalloped circle punch.

Step 1.

 Make the base of your card.

I started with a card measuring 7” tall x 4” wide made out of kraft cardstock.

This will fit just right inside a legal envelope!

Then I layered 3 different patterned papers onto the front of the card.

Step 2.

      Using a circle punch (mine is 1 ½”), punch a circle in the middle from the right side of the card.
Just punch as far as your circle punch will reach.
My punch is not centered perfectly and I don’t really care!
This is a fun, playful card so if it is off-center it will only be more fun!

Step 3. 

      Now use that same circle punch to punch a piece of cardstock to match your card (I used orange cardstock). 

Then using a scalloped circle punch slightly bigger than the circle punch (mine is 1 7/8), punch around the circle that you just punched.

You will create a fun little shape that looks like this:

Now adhere the scalloped circle around the circle that you punched in the card. 

Step 4. 

Ok now move onto the inside of the card for a bit!
Cut the cute hippo out of the sheet of Cute Cuts from the Birthday Boy line.
Cut out one of the presents while you are at it and a small hat and a “happy birthday to you” from the Borders sheet.

Step 5.       Now adhere the hippo inside the card so that it can peek out of the circle on the front of the card. 

Then adhere the present with foam adhesive to the left of the hippo.
Give the hippo a hat by adhering above his head with foam adhesive. Cut up the “happy birthday to you” from the Borders sheet and adhere it to the inside of the card also. 

Step 6.

      Now go back and finish the outside of the card.
Add some tape around 3 sides and type out a sentiment to add above and below the punched circle.
Add stickers as desired to embellish.
Then you are done!

Fun, huh??!
Don't forget to check out the Bella Blvd blog too!

Have an awesome day!
:)
gretchen

How To Tueday

 I know it is Wednesday.
BUT yesterday (Tuesday) I had a little tutorial up on the Pebbles blog!

   

April showers bring May flowers, right?!!
Well I want to show you how to make an easy, but super fun flower using the twist ties that Pebbles makes!
You can find twist ties in the With Love and Hip Hip Hooray collections. {I used the Hip Hip Hooray twist ties to make this flower} 

*****

To start, fold the twist ties in half.

The twist ties have a pattern on one side and are solid on the other side. This will provide a nice variety of colors and contrast for your flower.

Go ahead! Don’t be afraid!
Just use the whole package and fold all of the twist ties in half!
And please don’t worry about making sure they are all folded perfectly in half.
If they are uneven, your flower will be more interesting!

Now punch a 1 ½” circle out of white cardstock.
You don’t have to use 1 ½” punch if you don’t have it.
You can use a bigger or smaller size - 1 ½” is just what is used in this example.
This is just going to be a base to attach the twist ties to, so it will be covered up ultimately.

Using adhesive dots (or your favorite strong adhesive), adhere the folded twist ties around the punched circle. 

Don’t worry about lining up the twist ties exactly or making sure they are even. 

That's too much trouble! 

Just have fun with it and let it look a little messy!

Your flower will look something like this when you have all the twist ties adhered to the circle punch:

The last thing to do is to add a center to the flower.
Punch another circle out of white cardstock.
This time punch it slightly smaller at 1 ¼”.  

Once again, you don’t have to use this size punch. 

You could use the 1 ½” punch again and it would work fine!
Or even go bigger!
(You really just want to make sure that your punch is bigger than the stitched dimensional circle that you are going to add next).
Then adhere the circle to the center of the flower so that it covers up the folded parts of the twist ties.
Finally, add a stitched dimensional circle to the center of the punched circle. 
And there you have it!
Your flower is finished!

You could use this flower as a large embellishment on a scrapbook page.
Or you could use it on the front of a “springy” mini-album or card. 

If I can get my hands on some more packs of the twist ties, I am going to make a few more flowers, attach them to straws, and put them in a brightly colored vase for a fun centerpiece on our kitchen table! 
You could even use it to jazz up an otherwise boring gift bag like I did here.

{it is really bugging me that the "for you" is crooked}
{but apparently it is not bugging me enough to fix it and take another picture}
{ha!}
*****

Well I hope your Tuesday was great and I hope your Wednesday is better!
:)
gretchen