Bloom - Bella Blvd.

I'm sharing a new layout on the Bella Blvd. blog today. The theme this week is Spring and Easter. My absolute favorite part of Spring is flowers. The California poppies that grow along side the roads, the daffodils, the blossoms on the trees. I love it all! So, I had to create a layout just full of pretty blossoms featuring a photo of my little girl last year:

You can read about my mixed-media approach on the Bella Blvd. blog here.

These layered circle flowers are a bit of a throw-back in the scrapbooking world, but I had a ton of fun making them and adding them to this page.

The Bella Blvd. Make Your Mark collection was perfect for this layout. So bright, paint-y and fun! Soon I'll be sharing projects made with their new lines. Can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

20 Minute Layout - Bella Blvd.

Hello, friends! I was a little ambitious with my most recent project for Bella Blvd.

I know this doesn't look very ambitious, but can you believe it took 1/5 the time I usually spend on a layout? We were challenged to create a project in 20 minutes and I decided to go for a 12x12 layout. Crazy? Pretty much, considering I usually take at least an hour. Not counting sketching and gathering materials, I made it with less than a second to spare.

See the post at Bella Blvd. here.

See my process on my YouTube channel here.

Thanks for stopping by! Tessa

Brave - Bella Blvd.

Hello, hello! I'm sharing this colorful layout on the Bella Blvd. blog today and thought it would be nice to share the story behind it here.

A few months ago Addie went to her first professional audition. Four years old and she was auditioning for a part in a Broadway show! This would be the first time she would go into a studio without her mama as the teacher. I was so nervous for her!

We did a little photo shoot so that we had a decent headshot. There was no time to book a photographer for a professional headshot, and really, this isn't something we do often (like, not at all) and I hoped my photography skills would be good enough. I got some amazing pictures -- this girl is a hoot to photograph! So many looks! The one on this layout is one of my favorites.

I remember wondering what she was thinking. Was she nervous about the audition? Scared? As it turns out, yes, but she was also BRAVE! I was so proud of my little girl! She was the fourth one to go in, and parents were not allowed. She went into the next room, did her thing, then came back grinning. I was so proud of her!

She didn't end up getting the part, and that was quite the life lesson to learn at four years old, but now I have an experience to remind her of when she's having a hard time. I can say, "Remember that audition? You were so brave! You can do hard things!"

For all the scrapbooking details, see the Bella Blvd. blog here.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! Tessa

So Fly - Bella Blvd.

Hello! Did you know that on August 23rd it's National Ride the Wind Day? I had no idea what this was, so I did a little research. It commemorates the anniversary of the first human-powered flight to win the Kremer prize. Pretty cool.

At Bella Blvd. we're creating projects based on all these random national days, so in the spirit of Ride the Wind Day and human-powered flight, here's my layout featuring a kite.

 

You can read more about the elements of this page at the Bella Blvd. blog here. I love horizontal strips of pattern and color - it's a design I recycle all the time. The Island Escape collection has some lovely B-sides and florals and this was a great way to get all my favorites on the page.

Thinking of kites made me think of last year's One Little Word - RISE.

I'm finding this sentiment very comforting right now. Maybe it can be of value to you, too.

Here's to rising with adversity instead of succumbing to it! Tessa

Happy National Sisters Day! - Bella Blvd.

Hello and Happy National Sisters Day! Ok, the official day was Sunday, but today on the Bella Blvd. blog I am sharing a really fun page celebrating one of my sisters :).

The Addison collection by Bella Blvd. couldn't have been more perfect to scrap this photo from a girls' trip to San Diego a few years ago. I made a beachy mini album of the trip, but I didn't do a lot of layouts, so it was fun to go back and match up the bright, fun colors of Addison with a photo from dinner.

I used the 6x8 paper pad to punch out dozens of 1.25 inch circles that I then folded and glued together to make flowers. The centers are fun buttons from my stash, stitched with embroidery floss.

A few hand-cut leaves in a contrasting yellow made them pop against my paint-scraped background. I just adore the Illustrated Faith paints!

See more at the Bella Blvd. blog here.

Thanks for stopping by today! Tessa

Scrapbook Circle Anniversary Blog Hop

Hello! Welcome to my stop on the Scrapbook Circle Anniversary Blog Hop! If you have just happened upon this post and would like to join us from the start, click here. If you just arrived from the lovely Diana Fisher's blog, you are in the right place :).

I am excited to be celebrating Scrapbook Circle's 9th anniversary with the creative team. We've all been having a ton of fun with the May kit, "Hello Sunshine." I decided that since we are celebrating a birthday of sorts, I would create a birthday page just for this special occasion:

I started with patterned papers from the main kit for my background. I love this great ledger by Pink Paislee and I just can't get enough of the black and white plus sign paper by Bella Blvd.Next I pulled a few sheets from the Amy Tangerine Rise & Shine 6x6 paper pad from the "Hello Love" add-on. I hand-lettered then hand-cut my title. I love that trend right now and will probably do it again soon!

My favorite part of the layout has to be the "balloons". When we were at CHA this past January, these tags were one of my very favorite embellishments. I'm so glad Lisa added them to a kit! I think they make darling balloons :). You can find them in the "Sweet Day" add-on.

I used foam squares to pop up my photo and a few of the balloons. I created the confetti look with three of my trusty Heidi Swapp mists.

Now on to the hop details:

* Each comment left on a creative team member's blog is one entry into a random drawing for one of FIVE May kits - so leave a comment below!

* The hop runs through midnight PST on the 21st.

* Winners will be announced on the Scrapbook Circle blog on the 22nd.

The next (and last!) stop on the hop is Scrapbook Circle's founder herself, the amazing Lisa Andrews! I hope you enjoyed your time here and that you have found inspiration throughout the hop. Be sure to follow Scrapbook Circle on Facebook here, and IG here.

Have a wonderful day! Tessa

I Mustache You a Question - Epiphany Crafts and Bella Blvd.

Yes, I am still rocking the mustache trend! My boys love funny facial hair and if a mustache on a stick will get them to cooperate for photos, I love it, too! This week Epiphany Crafts and Bella Blvd are teaming up for a cross-promotion that is filled with eye-candy and fun. I'm up first on the EC blog with this mustache-adorned paper bag album:

Bella Blvd's Kiss Me line includes a patterned paper covered in mustaches and hearts. The design inspired the title of my album, which led to a little photo shoot and Q & A session with my boys. I normally start a project with photos or a story, so this backwards process was a fun departure.

Because mustaches were the main idea, I created big mustaches for the cover and each pocket page. First, I cut mustaches that were about six inches wide with my Silhouette Cameo. Next, I covered the mustaches with adhesive. I used my tape runner, which mostly worked, but I resorted to my hot glue gun to secure ends and stubborn spots. Starting in the middle and working out, I wrapped the mustache shapes with yarn, pressing into the adhesive as I went. Once all wrapped, I embellished with an Epiphany Crafts heart.

Each boy has his own page spread, which includes his photo and a short list of things he loves. Opposite his photo page is a pocket page that includes a journaling card and a little brown bag that holds more journaling.  I plan to add a list of things I love about each boy in those little bags. Someone just asked me recently where I found those - Michaels, in the gift wrap aisle. In the large pockets created by the paper bag openings, I plan to include a love letter for each boy :).

I embellished the pages with a scattering of mist splatters, blue rhinestones, wood veneer hearts, and Epiphany Crafts round bubble caps. The navy blue vintage settings were a perfect match.

I had a lot of fun working with Bella Blvd papers for this album. The cute designs made this lovey-dovey album just charming enough for my boys. Be sure to check out both Bella Blvd and Epiphany Crafts this week for more projects combining these two great companies :).

Thanks for stopping by! Tessa