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

Owlsome Stamp Set - Technique Tuesday WCMD Blog Hop

Hello and happy World Card Making Day! I had the chance to get creative with the punny and adorable Owlsome stamp set by Technique Tuesday in honor of today, and if you're here for the hop, great! If not, I suggest starting here.

One of my favorite things lately is to create with my four-year old daughter, Addie. Most recently it has been watercolors and washi tape at the kitchen table. Inspired by those precious moments and with those materials already at hand, I made this card for her.

Red, pink and yellow are so cheerful, fun, and oh-so-Addie. I watercolored one of the owls from the stamp set and while that was drying, I painted a background on my card. When dry, I added strips of washi tape, a chopped up sentiment, and the stamped images that I had colored and fussy-cut. A few scattered sequins had to make their home somewhere - Addie loves bling!

As always, I love working with Technique Tuesday stamps. The quality is fantastic and the designs are whimsical fun! Win your own Technique Tuesday stamps by commenting along this blog hop. Comments will be eligible if posted by October 8th. The winner will be announced on the Technique Tuesday blog on October 10th.

In the meantime, be sure to take a shopping break on this busy, crafty day and get this adorable stamp set for free! Here's how: 1) Select $30 in products in the Technique Tuesday store. 2) Add the stamp set to your cart. 3) Enter code WCMD18 at checkout and the stamp is yours free!

There's only a few more stops on the hop. You'll love what your next destination - Kymona Tracey - has done. Enjoy celebrating WCMD and happy stamping! Tessa

Technique Tuesday

Amy Kolling

Sandy Allnock

Daniela Dobson

Lisa Spangler

Heather Hoffman

Dana Kirby

Dana Joy

Mary-Ann Maldonado  

Emily Leiphart

Jill Dewey Hawkins

Tessa Buys

Kymona Tracey - NEXT STOP

Ana Anderson

Teri Anderson

Latisha Yoast

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

Technique Tuesday + Giveaway

Hello, friends! I recently had the wonderful opportunity to work with some fabulous stamps and dies from Technique Tuesday:

If it's not alphas or phrases, I'm not much of a stamper when it comes to layouts. But, these dragonflies were so fun to play with - and they stamped like a dream! My little girl, pictured here, recently learned about dragonflies and thinks they are pretty amazing, so she was extra excited to see me scrapbooking the two of us together with these stamps and dies.

I started by stamping the different dragonflies onto heavy cardstock with StazOn ink. Next, I used watercolors to paint the dragonflies in an ombre-inspired pattern from light pink to mustard yellow. Once dry, I used the die to cut out my dragonflies (so much faster and easier than fussy cutting!).

After watercoloring the background, I adhered the dragonflies to my page just at the body - the wings are free to bend and curl away from the page to give the feeling of flight.

I also used one of the sentiment stamps as a sub-title on my page. I love those fonts together!

Are you a stamper? How would you like to win some scrapbooking stamps and supplies from Technique Tuesday? Here's how:

1) Check out Scrapbooking Stamps & Scrapbook Supplies at Technique Tuesday.

2) Choose your favorite set.

3) Go to this Technique Tuesday blog post HERE.

4) Leave a comment below about your favorite stamp set - I'd love to know what you choose!

5) Technique Tuesday will pick a winner on August 1st!

Thank you to Technique Tuesday for the opportunity to play with such quality products. It was really fun to get messy with ink, paint and stamps for a layout!

Thank YOU for stopping by and good luck! Tessa