WELCOME TO BLOGABELLA

Hiya sistahs!

So I treated myself to this JUICY DSLR camera/video camera.. Ryan build me this jig thingamajig to mount my camera on.. and I am stuck figuring out how to work everything LOL.  Does that sound fair?  I think NOT.

I decided to shoot a VERY basic video which shows that I need a manicure DESPERATELY.. ( who has time? ).. and which is shot SOOOOO close  (things I need to play with re. jig).. and I was also playing and trying to teach myself how to edit (please ignore blank paper for 9 hours).. but I had to start somewhere right?

This is a BASIC video on how to ink a stamp.   If you have friends who are interested in stamping but don’t know how/what/where/if/why.. this is the first step to making someone understand how magical stamping really is.  Inking and stamping and feeling like an artist… sigh.. what could be BETTAH.

So I hope you enjoy this TOTALLY AMATEURISH video…  and would love to hear in the comments what you would like to see and if I can do it for you, you know I will!

Mwah to da sistahs who have time for manicures.  I’m jelly (what my daughter says for JEALOUS).

Would also LOVE it if you subscribed to our NEW YOUTUBE channel 🙂  Would make me SO happy!

Em

Hiya sistahs!

Here’s today’s Marker Geek Monday!  Enjoy!

Since Spring is here I thought it would be a good time to share some Copic colour combos for the Woodsies range from Stamping Bella. I absolutely love these little characters, they are so soft and sweet yet full of that character and fun we all love Stamping Bella for.

The graphic below shows five different combos for colouring the adorable Petunia seen in the Especially For You Petunia stamp. Of course, these work for any piggy image, including the other Woodsies images and the Stuffies range too.

You will notice that I don’t necessarily stick to colour families when colouring with alcohol based markers like Copics. By playing and mixing shades from different groups you can get a greater variety of results. Learning what works is a case of trial and error, and a good colour chart like Sandy Allnock’s Hex Chart really helps too (I’ll talk in depth about this in a future post, but go grab one – it is a great investment for Copic colouring).

I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that your results will look different from mine. Not just because digital representations of colour will not be an exact match for “real life”, but because your results will be affected by a variety of factors: the paper you use, how heavily you lay down colour, the amount of layering you do, the order in which you use the colours etc. The aim of these posts is not to get you replicating my results, but to encourage you to try different combinations, play with your markers and gain more confidence in experimenting. The more colouring you do, the more colours you play with and combine in different ways, the better you will become at colouring in your own style!

Have a go and let us know how you got on by sharing your work here in the comments section, over in the Stamping Bella Sistahood chat group on Facebook, directly on the Stamping Bella Facebook page or on Instagram by using the tag #markergeekmonday . You are also welcome to share your own favourite combos. We love hearing from you and sharing the enthusiasm for Stamping Bella!

MWAH!

~Elaineabella

Hiya sistahs

I hope you are having a great holiday, eating and spending time with family 🙂

Today’s Bellarific Friday challenge is a MOJOBELLA SKETCHYPOO

Let’s see what our baberoonis came up with shall we?

AliceWERTZabella used LEO the balancing STUFFIE

Angelabella used BUDDING CHICK

Danabella used GIGI the Giraffe STUFFIE

FAYEwynn-jonesABELLA used MERRY EVERYTHING

Kerribella used EDNA loves ICE CREAM and the matchin “CUT IT OUT ” die

Lesliebella used MEET EDNA and her matching “CUT IT OUT” die

Sandiebella used EDNA with a CUPCAKE ON TOP and our GROUND and GRASS stamps

Shelabella used EDNA WITH A CUPCAKE ON TOP

Stephabella used LEO the BALANCINGSTUFFIE

Tracybella used TINY TOWNIE BLOSSOM loves BALLOONS

TracyMACabella used MASON JAR of FLOWERS and it’s matching “CUT IT OUT” die

Seriously earth shattering no?  Ok I know I am a bit dramatic but COME. ON.  I cannot.

Now for our amazing SISTAHOOD!

Let’s see what was posted in our INLINKZ link for this challenge.  You can find the entries at the bottom of THIS post.

and now for our EMAILED contributions 🙂

FREE FORM.   all you need to do is use a CURRENT stamping bella image (one that is for sale on our website) and make any project you would like and submit!

you can use INLINKZ found below or you can email directly to me.  I expect LOTS and LOTS of projects this week sistahs 🙂 cannot wait to see what you create!

MWAH

Em

Hiya sistahs!

I just wanted to do a little recap of what was posted on social media this week 🙂  I know that some of you do not go on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram so I thought this would be a good way of sharing 🙂

This week I decided to play with watercolors.. like splishy splashy watercolors.  I have ALWAYS been enamored with watercolors.. I have also ALWAYS been scared to death of them LOL.  Now I have decided to embrace the power of the watercolor and have fun with them.

I colored up our new image THE CHICK AND THE LADYBUG in this image… now to cut and put on a card 🙂

here was the first image

and then I went a little NUTS with colour LOL

will make a card and show you 🙂

I also worked on the BUNNY WOBBLE and the PEONY.. I just love this image

look how yummy watercolor is.  like SERIOUSLY temperamental and delish (kinda like me LOL)

and the completed card

I also featured TracyMACabella’s UPTOWN GIRL CURLY CLARA needs your ADDRESS.. such a versatile stamp.. you can put the address in the bubble and stamp on happy mail envelopes, cut them out with their matching dies and put on gifts..  or on a card with your favorite sentiment!  You can also use her in your journals and put your favorite quote or thoughts of the day in there 🙂  .. so much fun!

Christine Levison showed this card using our new SLICK CHICK in our FB SISTAHOOD GROUP.. I just had to share 🙂

And that’s our weekly inspiration 🙂

Stay tuned for Bellarific Friday tomorrow!  It’s gonna be fun!

MWAH

hiya sistahs,

just a little post showcasing another one of Paulabella’s creations 🙂

Paula used MAKE A WISH HOPPY POPPY on this card.   THE BOW?  I CANNOT.

MWAH!

Em

I love Marker Geek mondays.. do you?  If you do, just take a mo’ (i love that..) to leave a comment down below.. I’m sure it would make Elaineabella feel so good 🙂

Here we go!

There’s more than one way to skin a cat ahem… colour a bear! I’m here to share three simple ways to colour one of Stamping Bella’s adorable Stuffie images. Today’s Marker Geek Monday graphic features Harry the Stuffie Gets Happy Mail . I have coloured him using Copic Markers, but the techniques discussed should work for any alcohol based markers that you have. I have supplied the Copic marker combination I used in the graphic below for those of you that do have Copics.

The first example is, as noted, just coloured and shaded with markers as normal with no special techniques. There is absolutely nothing wrong with colouring your Stuffies or other similar images this way, they look just as adorable like this, but it’s fun to play right? 😉

The second example shows Harry the Stuffie coloured in the same way as the first example, then textured with colourless blender solution (I simply used a Copic Colourless Blender refill) on a piece of textured fabric. The technique is really simple, you apply the colourless blender to the fabric, test and dab off excess on a piece of scrap paper then gently apply to the coloured image.

• Leave colouring of areas like Harry’s nose to the end, to avoid accidentally adding texture where it isn’t desired!
• Go lightly and gently, it is better to build up the texture by going back in stages than it is to go heavy with the colourless blender solution and end up with a blotchy mess!
• Experiment on a piece of scrap paper – see how long you need to hold the fabric to the paper to get the desired effect (not long – tap/dab and wait a few secs as the blender solution works its magic).
• This colourless blender technique works by pushing the colour around to create light areas. Test out some different fabrics to get different results. I used 16ct aida cross stitch fabric, but a textured rag/flannel works well too. Play around with what you have on hand.

The third example is quite therapeutic and uses just your markers to create a textured look that works really nicely for Stuffies!

• Rather than colouring with a flicking motion or in smooth circles, try using a loose squiggly motion.
• Practice on a piece of scrap paper.
• Create a base with your lightest shade, then using your darkest shade create some dabs and squiggles. Don’t think about it too much, be loose and fairly free with it (practice really helps with this). Work back down from your darkest shade to the lightest, and repeat where necessary. The idea is to create a smooshy, plushy look.
• You can add extra definition and depth to shadow areas at the end.

That’s it! These are by no means the only ways to colour your Stuffies, but hopefully the examples shown will give you some inspiration to play! Have a go and let us know how you got on by sharing your work here in the comments section, over in the Stamping Bella Sistahood chat group on Facebook, directly on the Stamping Bella Facebook page or on Instagram by using the tag #markergeekmonday . We love hearing from you and sharing the enthusiasm for Stamping Bella!

MWAH!

~Elaineabella