connect with us!
on the SCHOOL theme still
I just read this to my kidlets today… *ahem* Jayden mentioned a couple of things that were missing from that list but I found it SO “A PROPOS”..LOL… I have said most of these at least 3000 times a day.. have you?
I think I may make this a canvas as a “reminder”
mwah to da sistahs who got a little teary eyed when they got to the last line 🙂
Em
anothAH sneaky peeky!
Ebrubella was hard at work!
wanna seeeeeeeeeeeee??????
K. i’ll show you.
remember this quote that is one of my FAVORITES in the “HISTORY OF EVER”?
Well I had to get that in RUBBAH no?
I sent this quote to MO-ABELLA and I nearly FAINTED when you will see what I got back 🙂
This is a great stamp for a child, a friend.. you name it!  the Teddy bear is the subject in question :). The stamp’s name is LOVE YA and of course it comes with the quote!
And here is AMY by GREENBEAN BABY! LOVE her!
you lovey?
I lovey! Thank you Ebrubella for making them come to life!
mwah.
So I was VEWY VEWY sneaky….
And I sent Lindabella an image that I KNEW she loved… but I knew there was anothah one that she associated with even more.. and YES it did involve a drink in her hand…BWAHAHAHAAHA.. I held off INNOCENTLY knowing that she would work on the one I sent her.. and BINGO.. she fell into my trap! I received an email from her saying while I LOVEEEE this image and it’s one of my favorites, I really love the OTHAH one that you had.. so can you send me that one too???!?!? HOOK, LINE, and SINKER… I said SURE!! So now we will be able to DROOL over 2 images colored by LINDABELLA…
here is the first one that I MANIPULATED her to colour.. (I SO SNEAKY)… of course she is anothah UPTOWN girl (haven’t stopped singing that song, By the By)…
Their names are UPTOWN GIRLS VICTORIA and JULIETTE’s NIGHT OUT (now aren’t those UPTOWNY names?)
Hope you LOVE them as much as WE ALL DO!.. and don’t forget.. if you place a comment HERE.. you have a chance to win them!! And if you place a comment on the post BELOW, you have a chance to win CLAUDIA!!
Don’t forget to look at their knobby knees (I LOVE THEM).. and their hairdos.. and their drinks..and their STATURE OMG I LOVE THEM. Have I mentioned that I love them?? I LOOOOOOVE THEM!!! Hope you love them too!
Nothing spells B-E-L-L-A more than a friendship stamp… WOMANHOOD, CHILDHOOD, dreams.. aspirations, associations.. memories. That’s what we are all about sistahs. You can NEVAH have enough characters that you can sympathize with.. we are very complex creature, we women.. aren’t we? That’s why I will have the occasional “tree” or “heart” or “icon”.. but my heart and soul and guts and whole BEING is about the PERSON.. who we are.. who we relate to.. well you get the picture
Enough babbling
Hope you LOVEY them as much as I do.
Let me know n’k?
Mwah to da sistahs who love knobby knees
Em
Uptown girl…. she’s been living in her uptown world…. a sneaky peeky before next WEEKY
don’t you just love Billy Joel? Ok.. NUFF of the small talk… I couldn’t hold it in any longer… JUST COULDN’T
It’s been a LONG time since BELLA was born.. and Bella had these relatives that we knew NOTHING about?!?! They just happened to find us about 2 months ago and we have been “tweaking” them ever since ( I wish I could be TWEAKED.. just a little eraser here… a little marker there… more eraser… you get the picture..LOL)..
See the problem I have is that I can’t really draw. I have all these ideas in my head that my artists can get out for me on paper… they are my “hands” shall we say.. now don’t get me wrong.. my artists have minds of their own and they come up with the MOST amazing ideas without MOI.. but when I have a thought and I need to get it out, I know which artist to contact and they so KNOW me.. they UNDERSTAND me.. it’s so strange!
So the vision I first started out with which has been put on hold for a little while was the forties romantic sketchy blurry supermodel… mystical… eerie… and beeYootiful! But she couldn’t “come out” of our heads and hands at that time and plus it was a little too fancy shmancy for da bella. BUt she is coming.. when da bella feels SHMANCIER.
So then, I went to the opposite end of the spectrum… LOL.. of course.. why can’t I be GREY sometimes? Why is it always black or white? hmph
So my next vision was kind of a model.. a little awkward (LOL) to make her real… very pretty.. and kind of yuppyish.. MODERN… CONTEMPORARY.. and FUN. I also made these stamps LARGER as a statement.
So here is a sneak peek of our new UPTOWN GIRLS series.. I FORCED-ED Paula to colour her in late last night cuz it would be a MIRACLE that I plan something ahead of time.. and she willingly agreed to do this for me… so here she is..
I hope you lovey her…
cuz I do…
I really DO…
I really really DO…
And she has 4 more friends being released 🙂
K. Meet UPTOWN GIRL CLAUDIA and her CANDY.. cuz every uptown girl needs a sweet no?
You won’t believe who drew these… LULU’s artist Chrystal! How versatile and amazing is she? I am SO proud of these images I have to say.. she depicted the exact look I wanted.. She’s an uptown girl with a human side… Fashionable yet awkward, Confident yet a little pigeon-toed, and well, she just wants to be your friend and hang out. I think she art journals too! LOL.. and makes cards of course.. VERY well rounded, our UPTOWN GIRL is.
Our Release is going to be on Monday (but check back cuz I may not be able to wait..LOL).. and I would love to hear from you.. so If you like CLAUDIA… leave a comment here and I will be sure to send you one 🙂
Contest closes on Friday 🙂
Mwah to da sistahs who are feeling like an uptown girl
I just couldn’t resist
MWAH MWAH MWAH!
art journaling MONDAY on TOOSDAY!
Hiya journaling sistahs and journaling lurkers 🙂
This week’s theme was TISSUE paper… crumpled, glued, glazed, layered.. you name it 🙂
Now the first tool I would like to stress as important for collage, gluing things down, sealing is a GOOD GLUE. you must arm yourselves with one. After trying a kajillion +10 brands, I really go back to the same one.. my PPA. Now I ALWAYS say that you must invest in good tools to achieve good results :). Every week I will post a couple of my favorite tools so that I can enable you a little more n’k? PPA matte after it dries looks like there is nothing there and your papers are sealed and protected.. it’s really AMAZIN-K.
Ok let’s see what da sistahood came up with for their journal pages!
Corey's creation!
Jennifer B's creation!
Sheryl's creation!
Paulabella's creation!
Lindabella's creation!
Rhian's creation!
my page
Violet's "SINGING IN THE RAIN"
So there you have it.. different ways to journal with tissue paper!! I LOVE the entries!! Please keep sending them!! (can I put more !!!!!!’s?)
Now NEXT WEEK’S THEME is DOODLING. Oh, the doodle.. grab a pen and just scribble.. draw a circle.. then another circle around it.. then scallops around that… oh did I hear dots? SURRRRE.. add some dots!  That’s the evolution of a doodle! Swirls, Flourishes, Circles, Shapes.. doodles you draw while on the phone.. stick it in your journal!
Here’s another expense 🙂 ready? I have tried ALL pens… I am LOVING the SAKURA MICRON pens right now.. I have THIS set which has a variety of nibs.. it’s AMAZING! PERMANENT! WATERPROOF! FADEPROOF!! I LOVE IT! (great for journaling and doodling.. not the best for drawing over acrylic)  And now for THE BEST WHITE PEN HANDS DOWN? the UNIBALL UM-153 in WHITE! FANTASTICALLY AMAZING..
Ok.. now me gots to go and do another page 🙂
Mwah to da sistahs who will participate this week!
BELLARIFIC FRIDAY THIS WEEK is METAL on your card… send it ovah!
Em
Forgotted… Today Is a civic holiday in Ontario..what does that mean?
has this ever happened to you? hmph. (LONNNG post)
Hiya sistahs,
just a little OFF crafting WOMANLY topic I wanted to discuss…LOL. So last week we had a BLAST in da BELLA home and BELLALAND of 2 days of crafting.. it was refreshing, fun, inspiring and liberating. It was simply blissful (and I never use those words). But this is a story that I have not yet shared. Paulabella did mention a little bit of it on her blog but I decided to discuss it in better detail here.. and it also has been a while since my last funny-OMG-I-Can’t-believe-this-happened moment post I have shared… so here goes. You ready? Don’t think I am a freak n’k?
Ok so some women RELISH going to the hairdresser.. head massage (my favorite), reading a magazine or ipad, just time to chill on your own.. right??? RIGHT?? n-uh-uh… not I. I get so STRESSED at the hairdresser.. looking at my watch every 5 seconds, looking in the mirror with my hair stuck to my head SLOPPED with color and of course a plastic bag wrapped around it for good measure just EMPHASIZING the chins, wrinkles etc.. cuz there is NO Hair to cover the bad spots! LOL.. I look at that white timer like it is the most important thing in the world… tick tock.. tick tock.. 45 minutes of itchy burning colour on my hair.. trying to look beautiful but to no avail cuz all I see peeking back at me is the chin, and a BLUR cuz my glasses are off.. hmph. I am a like my kids in my car going on a trip.. “are we there yet”? “is my color done yet?”… then the bell rings… FREEDOM.. but no.. my hairdresser is doing someone else’s CHINS-FREE head and I am sitting there waiting thinking she forgot about me. So I casually say “CHRISTINA???” (Ok, I kinda yell).. “MY TIMER RANG….. DID YOU HEAR??”…she says “yes Emily, I know it’s ready.. I am coming to put the GLOSS treatment on”… PLEASE INSERT SHRIEK HERE. I say to her “CHRISTINA, you KNOW I have no patience for gloss.. how long is that gonna take?”.. she says patiently “we go through this every time.. your hair needs it and it is 20 minutes”.. I just grunt, get washed, get GLOSSED, and wait again.. Then finally I go for my cut. Come blow dry time, I get up and run for the cash to pay .. she says “can’t i blowdry your hair?”.. I say “I GOTS-TA go Christina”.. love you.. MWAH! and off I go looking like a plucked chicken. Am I the only one who looks WORSE when a hairstylist does my hair?? Is that supposed to happen????
So it’s been 6 months ish since my last colour and I just kept putting it off due to experience above. My hair was getting GREYER and GREYER (thanks for noticing Susan..LOL).. Because my hair is curly I can get away with it for 6-8 weeks… but SIX MONTHS??? you can just imagine! but I DREAD IT so what can I do?
Enter Ryan.
“Ry, I can’t take my hair anymore.. I look like PEPE le PIOU.
“just go buy a box of colour some sort and I will put it in your hair.. don’t you remember I did that for you a while ago?”
ahem… YES I DO buster.. and I had to go to the hairdresser to FIX it.. don’t YOU remember that? (I’m thinkin’)
“Yes I remember.. maybe that is a good idea.. you’re right.. at least I don’t have to sit at the hairdresser’s for 3 hours.. ok I will buy the box and you will do it”
“OK”
enter PAULA
“Paula, wanna put colour in my hair? I RE-HEALLY don’t want Ryan to do it so since you’re here and you colour your OWN hair, could you PLEASE do that with me so that I can continue to do art whilST marinating in colour?
“Sure, get that box out”
“ok”
So Paula proceeds to take out the ingredients from the box (bought a FOAM cuz I thought it would be easier and bought MEDIUM ASH BROWN)
Paula feeling the vast quantity of hair on my head “Um Em, I think you need two boxes for your hair”
“What? Are you kidding me? ONE BOX IS PLENTY thank you very much”
“ok then”
So paula starts to massage the colour into my hair.
“Paula, do you think you should put a little vaseline or barrier cream on my forehead and near my ears to protect it from colour?”
” Nah.. are you kidding me? it’s FINE”
“ok”
so Paula finishes up the “blending” and the back of my hair is BONE dry. ie. NO COLOUR.
“Paula, do you think you could maybe rub some of the colour to the BACK of my head so that it will take the colour as well?”
“Emily I told you that you needed two boxes.. I ran out.. but don’t worry it will be fine”..
“ok”
So off I go to the shower to rinse and condition .. feels SILKY smooth..
I don’t dry it so it looks really dark but all hair looks dark when it’s wet right?
So we plan to go to the art store and Lindabella and Paulabella look at me and say “YOU GOING OUT LIKE THAT?”
I say “why”? They say “cuz your hair is wet”.. I say, I ALWAYS go out with my hair wet. Ok.. so off we went.
A few hours pass.
I come home. I look in the mirror. I SHRIEK.
my MEDIUM ASH BROWN is PITCH BLACK. and I mean PITCH black. like ELVIRA black. and the back??? Paula, the back?? is a 6 month old red/brown/blonde combo. You can just IMAGINE.
And the PIECE de RESISTANCE? THE COLOUR STUCK TO MY SKIN ALL AROUND MY FOREHEAD and VERY VERY CONCENTRATED around my ear lobes… AND IT DIDN”T WANNA RUB OFFF!!! (now Paula do you think I need Vaseline or Barrier cream? LOL)
So it’s 10pm and Ryan comes downstairs to check on us. I point to my hair and he casually suggests I should go to the pharmacy to buy some more color and that it closes at midnight so I should have enough time (his way of saying YOU LOOK LIKE A FREAK).
So off Paula and I go. and OF COURSE the pharmacy we choose has THE BRIGHTEST LIGHTS YOU HAVE EVER SEEN. So I am trying to duck in the hair color aisle… Paula is laughing cuz every aisle I pass there are TONS of people and all I want me and my TIGER STRIPED hair to be is INVISIBLE. So I grab 2 BOXES of LIGHT HONEY BROWN colour and go to the cash. There’s a lineup!! So I am STANDING THERE in PLAIN VIEW with this THING called HAIR on my head that looks like Daniel Boone’s HAT and have to WAIT for my turn under the BRIGHT LIGHTS! Of course Paula is having the BEST time seeing me SQUIRM. Hmph.
So we get home.. i RESUME position in my chair.. Linda is CACKLING and laughing.. Paula now has enough to SMOTHER my head.. it is 11:00pm at this point.
Moral of the story? ALWAYS BUY 2 BOXES .. LOL. And maybe it IS worth sitting at the hairdressers for 9879 hours to get a proper colour..
Hmph.
I hope I didn’t bore you to death..
Has anything like this happened to you? if so, you HAVE to share so I don’t feel like the only LOSER…LOL
DONT FORGET TO PLACE A COMMENT ON BELLARIFIC FRIDAY POST.. THEME FOR TOMORROW IS CHRISTMAS IN JULY!! IT’S not too late!
Mwah to da sistahs who need to cover DA greys
Em
Grrr… Bellariffic Friday will be posted on Saturday
Since my muse is back, I decided to play a little…
I went to Starbucks this morning and as I loaded (lol) myself back into the car, I got this VISION. I don’t know how it came to me but I had to play around and make this card.. I got to the store and I had to go immediately to our back table (do NOT pass go, do NOT collect $200).. and I had to “get this out”…LOL. Honestly, have you ever driven somewhere and you were so focused on something that you don’t know how you got there? Well that was me today…
Since having begun art journaling, I have become much “braver”.. braver in colour choices, braver in composition.. braver in expectations etc. and honestly, it has been liberating. and no matter how much you are shaking your heads (LOL).. I am going to somehow convince you that you must join this journal journey with me. Stay tuned for Monday’s post which will explain to you HOW you will be joining this journey with me….(you really have no choice sistahs)
Ok back to my playing. I decided I wanted to make myself a “pallette”.. so I took my bella’s bestest paper  and I took some removable tape or artist tape and i made myself a rectangle with the tape on the paper. Once that was done I took a few stamps in front of me and decided which ones inspired me at the moment… and the winners were… ECLECTIC #8 TICKET FULL BACKGROUND, JULIE’S SPRING BUTTERFLIES, and I WANT TO RIDE MY BICYCLE. Initially I wanted to use my I AM SCRIPT stamp as the background but it was sold out.. and I am so happy it was, because I was able to really play with the ECLECTIC #8 stamp.. I am IN LOVE with this stamp.. it is the perfect perfect background. Not offensive, not in your face.. just PERFECT.. I cannot wait for the I AM script to come back in so I can play with that!!
I love looking at a stamp for it’s different attributes. Is there a stem that I love? a basket? A petal? Is there a beautiful face, gorgeous hair I would like to highlight? How about just a shingled roof, or a pair of shoes? Once you open your mind and look at this  house stamp (as an example)  and see it as “MORE” than just a house.. a whole new world will open up to you. The house can be just a beautiful front door, a funky lopsided roof, a window etc… You will see what I mean in a second :).. When you stamp on a piece of paper smaller than an image you will be surprised at what new elements you see!
So having said that (aside from the yucky iphone shot), I want you to see what I came up with. I had a BLAST making it.. no worries at all.. just pure, blissful  stamping.
I also wanted it to be a kind of vintage-y feel in terms of colors.. (kinda like the 70’s avocado and brown) colors that I grew up in :). so I WHIPPED out my PRISMACOLOR pencils and mineral spirits and blended away :).. and the RED that I layered the pumpkiny colour with? I would have NEVER mixed those colours together in the past.. but I became BRAVE. and I LOVEY da results!
I love seeing the front of the bicycle with the basket only.. I love the portion of the butterfly.. and of course I love the GOLD dots and RED POPPY dots I used on the bicycle tire and the body of the butterfly
So that’s the SCOOP. The evolution of my COLLAGE-Y (is that a word?) card.Â
Hope you love it. Hope you are inspired.
Now go take out a stamp.. and look at it in a different way… and show me the results.. I am RIGHT HERE! see me? Waiting.
Mwah
Em
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