Keeping Calm & Carrying On

Friday Photos: Puerto Rico Part I

Ciao ciao! Today I'm recapping my trip to Puerto Rico, which was devine by the way. I traveled to PR for both business and pleasure and enjoyed every minute of it. I feel, literally, like I have a whole 'nother family down "der". ;)

I can't even tell you how much I laugh when I hang out with Nilamarie (she's on the far left). Nilmarie owns a darling store, The Scrapbook Gallery, and has some wonderful customers and employees!

I love how the pink tablecloths reflected onto the ceiling....love it!

The workshops were full of peeps, some of which had returned since I met them last year and also plenty of new-bees.

We created this darling "HOME" themed mini album.

Don't even ask what's going on here.....

:) I told you we like to laugh!

There was plenty of Bella Blvd to go around!

Thank you Nilmy for an amazing stay in PR. You are like a sister to me, and your family is amazing. I wish you all the success and happiness in the world. I am SO GLAD we have become such great friends in the process.

For those of you interested in the "pleasure," or vacation portion of my trip to PR be sure to visit again tomorrow ;) for plenty more photos!

Ciao ciao for now!

Traveling Soon

After a brief break in traveling I will be in flight to Puerto Rico in less than 2 weeks! I will be returning to The Scrapbook Gallery, owned by this gem Nilmarie!

If you "like" The Scrapbook Gallery on FB, you can watch this funny little movie we made promoting the event back at CHA in California. (I couldn't figure out how to embed it here, so click on the image to head over to the store's FB page)

We have a whole bunch of fun stuff planned including four different workshops and a crop party night with make-n-takes, giveaways and challenges!

I can't wait to see all the beautifully dressed Puerto Rican women in my workshops! Last year we had a blast, and I was so impressed with our fashionable they all were! ;)

Here's a couple more workshop peeks! I'll be teaching both layouts and mini albums!

Looking forward to a mini-vacation at the tail end of this trip as well. Steven will be flying out to join me for some romantical beach time! I'll be sharing more updates from Puerto Rico later. (I will be teaching March 23, 24 & 25th)

Ciao ciao for now! Or..... Adios!

Italy Recap: February 2012

Ciao Ciao! I'm home from Italia, caught up on my sleep and back at work! I couldn't help but share some pictures from the beautiful "homeland", Italy.

Returning to Italy is always bitter sweet for me. Ever since I studied there and lived there during college, I can't help but get sappy when remember the European way of life, the delicious food, and the overall atmosphere. Allyson traveled with me this go around, five months pregnant and all! We arrived in Napoli (or Naples) at dinner time, the night before our first workshop.

The weather was chilly, but the hotel was beautiful! Check out the amazing rooftop! I can only envision what it looks like in the heart of summer!

Our room was white, clean and so fresh! Check out the beautiful arch!

I loved this little bed-tray in the room. Very sweet and charming, don't you think?!

This is Lory. She's the event planner and organizer of the Paper & Co. Show in Italy.

Upon arriving Lory informed Allyson & I that our workshop kits had still not arrived and that they were held-up or "stuck" in customs. Panic quickly sunk in. What are we going to do? How are we going to teach our workshops? I have never not had my kits show up ever!  Thankfully, Lory was wonderful and helped put our worries at ease. She translated every word, her and Teresita were wonderful helpers and we made the most out of what we had with is. We spent hours in the hotel room organizing pieces and creating remnants of projects for the workshops.

It was craziness. But in the end the students were understanding and very nice. I felt awful, even though there was nothing I could do to help the situation: the boxes were in customs and I could not do anything to change it. So the classes were a bit shorter than anticipated, but as the boxes of product continue (still today) to arrive in Italy, Lory and her team are mailing out the complete kits to all the attendees.

So, in reality the students got even more than they paid for-product wise. It was just very difficult to teach without all the materials.

This is Antonella. Isn't she beautiful? She was wonderful, and so funny. I could listen to her talk all day. I did my best with the little Italian that I speak to understand and communicate with her. But she was just so darling, and smiley and happy. Loved her ;)

Making new friends is always such a blessing that comes along with owning Bella Blvd. To teach alongside Celina Navarro and Donna Downey was an honor. They are both so generous and friendly and have so much wisdom and creativity to offer!

And even though the weather was "the coldest it's been since 1985" (yes, that's all we heard EVERYWHERE we went!) we made the best of it and enjoyed a couple days in Rome after the event.

Just as I remembered it. Astounding. Breathtaking.

The streets are my fave. Just wandering around and getting lost, walking and discovering sweet little shops, beautiful fruit stands and people watching. It's such a great way to take it all in!

And, it just so happened that Mamma Mia was playing at the theater. So we went...it was AWESOME! Even though it was all in Italian we knew the story line and loved every minute of it!!! Worth. Every. Penny.

Well, that's all for now....hope you enjoyed my short little tour of Italia!

I've Been Traveling....and Still Am

For those of you that follow me through Bella Blvd (and here also) you know I've been in California releasing my new products at the CHA Winter 2012 Craft & Hobby Trade Show.

That's me! Hi. ;)

The show was wonderful. It always is. The booth turned out great. I'm so grateful for all the designers, assistants, Bella employees and family and friends that help me prepare for this big week of business!

The new paper collections received great responses. But I have a gut feeling that Baby Boy & Baby Girl will be our top paper sellers.

This is Laura Vegas, my Design Team & Special Projects Coordinator. She lives in California so it was wonderful that she drove over to hang with some industry friends, help us out at the Bella booth and come along on some fun business dinners!

As always my girl rocked it! I'm always amazed when I watch them with customers. We've made so many wonderful friends through this hobby & industry and always look forward to catching up with them.

This is Tonya and Cynthea. They are with the adorable Doodlebug. We've been friends since I was in high school. Bucca Di Beppo's was our meeting spot for din din one night. Great times.

The two have bets on my wedding colors: Cynthea's vote is for Pink & Gray while Tonya is cheering for Pink & Brown. oh boy! (btw, I HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT ANYTHING WEDDING! STILL just very happy to be engaged!)

Thank you for always reading, for supporting me and telling all your friends about Bella Blvd too! I feel blessed. 

Today I will be arriving in Napoli, Italy where I will be teaching at the Paper and Company Show. I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures...so I can share with you soon!

I'm excited to be a part of this awesome group of teachers!

It's going to be wonderful and I've been doing my best to brush up on my Italiano with a few books while in the air! Wish me luck!

Arrividerci!

Layout: And Counting...

As promised, this is the last layout featuring Canada photos. (at least for now!) It's quick and simple one that I hope will inspire you to document a special friend or someone in your life you are grateful for. After all, don't forget the month of November it's all about an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE!

When I sat down and thought about it, I met Allyson when I was 16 years old. (that's more than 10 years ago!). We've been friends all this time and never once have traveled together, just the two of us!

So in honor of our "11 Years and Counting..." of friendship I created this simple single page layout. I wanted to include purple because it's Allyson's all-time favorite color and everytime I see something purple I think of her!

The journaling is important here and reminds me how great of a friend she has always been!

What friendships are you thankful for? Don't forget to let him/or/her know it!

 

O Canada: Scrapbookin' Adventures

After taking the ferry to Vancouver Island, Allyson and I arrived at Jennifer's beautiful store, Scrapbookin' Adventures where we taught more workshops! A while after our visit, Jen sent me a copy of the local paper that did an article under the "Women in Business" Column. To my surprise she had submitted the story about my trip to her store and how it helps her business!

So I scanned the original and printed it on white cardstock, matted it and *HAD TO* scrapbook it, of course ;)

I created a couple additional pieces to put inside the pocket--a photo of the store....

I also i ncluded the original newspaper clipping too.

and the photo on the front of the pocket includes some of the students in the workshops!

The "in the press" pocket-page title are mixing and matching chipbaord alphas from my Sophisticates product collection at Bella Blvd. Check it out!! I love layering these guys! I've got one more layout to share with you tomorrow from Canada----it's more of a "friends" layout! See you then!

O' CANADA: BC Crop for Kids 2011

I've created several layouts from my trip to Canada last year. I'm going to spread them into a couple different posts, consider this part 1.

Allyson and I traveled last September/October for the annual BC Crop for Kids fundraising event.

Each year Sandra and team raises thousands of dollars for the local Children's Hospital. I was excited to represent Bella Blvd in a couple different workshops at The Ramada hotel.

This layout has a bunch of photos from those couple of days including the huge hotel crop, some traditional details (the White Spot), and people that we met too.

I'm all about the details. Stitching is so time consuming, but really pays off most of the time. I love adding details to the Sophisticates chipboard alphabets!

During the event we roomed with Jennifer Edwardson of Scrapbookin' Adventures. Before heading to Vancouver Island to teach at her store, she took us shopping and around downtown Vancouver. 

More chipboard alphabets and numbers, buttons and stitching!

I saved some of the Canadian money (dollars and coins) too. One of my other layouts uses it in a more subtle and clever way!

Every layout needs a little bit of pink, right?!  ;)

I mixed and matched the Quattrofina alphabet stickers to add the subtitles and details throughout the 2-page layout.

I used my handy dandy tiny flower punch and my scraps to create trios of flowers throughout.

See what you can do with a couple sheets of cardstock, needle, thread, buttons and scraps?!

Here's a look at the completed 2-page layout:

I'll be sharing more from my trip to Canada soon! 

 

GOTTA HAVE IT + Important Lesson

That's right peeps! It's finally time! The Bella team and I will be busy this week packing and shipping to LSS and online stores all around the world! You can begin looking for the goodies to hit stores by the end of the week! 

If you're an online shopped visit the Bella Blog for a list of links of stores carrying Bella on the sidebar. I haven't been able to resist scrapbooking with the new products. Fresh paper just deserves to me cut, adhered and smelled too ;) 

This layout falls a little out of my chronilogical order that I've been sharing around here lately, but thought I'd post it today with the shipping reminder! Winter Wonder is so fun and versatile. The color palette I created lends itself well to any kind of outdoorsy photographs and events!

The Simona Chipboard alphabet letters dominate the title of my page. I layered them on top of one another and added some Miniatures Sticker elements to the centers of some of the letters.

In order to fit all the adjectives about me at 26  years old that I wanted to include, I printed some smaller onto cardstock and snipped them into flags, and fastened with brads.

Here I used one of the Just Write Journaling stickers as the matte for my chipboard numbers, that I also covered, trimmed and distressed with one of the Just Write Journaling stickers.

These photographs were taken literally 2 days before my brother-in-law died in the car accident in 2010. I can't help but think of that every time I look at these photos from Canada. Thank God I was home to be there for my sister and my family and wasn't still in Canada.

The reason I point this out is because scrapbooking is about documenting the moment.

At any given moment our lives can change. That's what this page reminds me of. I was happy in this moment of this adventure in Canada. I was also faithful, which prepared me for the next months and years that were ahead. It's crazy how one day you are happy and carefree, and the next your entire life changes.

Don't forget to document the moment. It will make a huge different days, months and even years from now. If you haven't seen that come true yet in your albums, I promise someday it will.

Inspiration for Mini Album Workshop

I found this cute book of advice in my local Anthropologie early in the summer and have been carrying it around in my purse for months. Every now and then I take it out and catch up on some fun little facts/advice. 

The book is full of fun little notes from Moms all over the world. It's also separated by categories like Housework, Love, Laundry, etc. Some of the notes I know are so true and really kind of funny.

So why am I telling you about this book?

Well, it was my inspiration for this Mini Album workshop that I'll be teaching in 2012.

My version is titled, "Mother Knows Best."

I shared a peek into this album recently and just wanted to tell you a bit more about the "story/idea" behind it. The class description goes something like this...

I've learned many important life lessons from my mom and other moms that I know. Their life experiences offer wisdom beyond measure and have helped mold who I am today. This mini album is designed to document and hold safe all that special advice from moms whom I adore. Each page is an envelope to hold letters, notes and golden rules on the very important subjects of love, friendship, honesty and more. Maybe you are a mom that would like to leave behind important notes and advice for your children....this is the perfect workshop for you also. Include hand written message in this mini album along with photos of you & your children. This sweet & sophisticates mini album is approx. 5.5" x 7.5"

I will be working on finishing this mini album and it's envelope contents in the next couple months. I know it's going to mean a lot to me to have all the advice from some of my favorite moms, include my own, my sister and aunts, plus lots of my scrapbooking friends too, inside the album-all in one safe place!

What's inspiring you lately?

New Portraits

Can you believe that Steven, my love took these photos? I know, I know I guess I don't give him enough credit! After all I've been handing him my camera for years now...goodness knows he should be well-used to taking photos with it ;)

I've been using the same portraits (these below) for nearly 3.5 years now!  I'm so happy to have something new and fresh! I need to remember to do this more often!

The good things about these 2 versions is that you totally missed the "fat stage" in between the three years! Thank goodness I don't have portraits. Phew!

Anywho, today is my Friday Blog post day over at the Bella Studio Blog! Be sure to stop by for sneak peeks of the newest Bella Buzz newsletter that will be released on Monday. I didn't create anything for this month's issue...but it's totally awesome and inspiring. I PROMISE! Here's one of the layouts that prevoius Artista Michelle Clement created for a homework challenge.....

If you haven't already signed up to receive the e-newsletter for FREE, be sure to enter your name + email address here and we'll take care of everything else!

Over at the studio blog I shared some peeks at new class projects. Here are some additional photos of the mini albums I've completed for both Puerto Rico and Italy trips next Spring!

This everyday Home album is full of pockets, tags and more to document your everyday life and what you've built ont the foundation of your home/apartment/abode/loft....

The "Mother Knows Best" album was inspired by a recent book I've been holding onto and carrying around in my purse. I know, if you know me, you know I'm not a book reader---this is isn't a novel---it's a book with tidbits of advice and tips from moms all over the world!

Why not create your own mini album with advice you'd like to leave behind for your kiddos. Or in my case, because I'm not a mom yet, I'm putting great lessons I've learned from some of my faovrite moms and friends!

Each page of the album is an envelope. I can't wait to fill it up.

Last but not least I designed a mini album with my brand new Spring Flings & Easter Things product collection....

The book is approx. 6x10" and is an abc album. 

I don't know about you, but it sure is super easy for me to come up with a list from a to z of things I love about Spring....

a= April, b=blossoms, c=candy, D=dye (eggs), E=Easter, F=family....

Start making yoru list today....

I'm sorry that I can't quite share the entirety of these mini albums...but that would be no fun, right? You can see more images, including full-front views of the mini books over at the Bella Blog!  I hope you have a fun weekend...I'm doing some scrapbooking today...wha-hoo!

Inspiration Unlimited: Nevada

Say hello to Ginger Nelson of Down to Details and the brilliant (& beautiful) Teresa Collins. I'm so blessed to be in Nevada this weekend with "my Gail" teaching 2 Bella Blvd workshop for pre-IU attendees!

Today has been super inspiring. IU kicked off with hundreds of women lining the halls and waiting for the store to open and file into the meet & greet to check out all the workshop projects. I'm looking forward to sitting in on a couple workshops, doing a bit of shopping tomorrow with Gail and checking out the Friday Night Crop Party! woot woot! These ladies are a blast and so much fun to get to know! 

You know the event is awesome when it's past midnight and you still want to scrapbook. I'm sitting here in my hotel room wanting to pull out my supplies and work on a kit I brought along.....heck Gail's snoring is going to keep me up all night long anyways ;)

Here's to making new friends and getting creative! Wishing you were here!!!

12x12 Layout: Freedom

The fourth of July is always fun in my family, mostly because of all the kiddos. Last year it was so hot that it was almost unbearable to stand outside during the parade...but we did it! Using non-holiday themed products is always fun when creating a holiday layout. Stars and stripes are so easy to come by that this page was super easy!

I selected camping paper (navy blue stars) from October Afternoon, a basic red polkadot from My Mind's Eye and alphabets from Studio Calico and Jilliibean Soup to create the title.

The Freedom quote is printed on cardstock, and the unexpected vintage flower & feather coupled with Martha Stewart's tissue paper flowers coordinate with the red, white and blue theme!

Well, today Gail and I are at the Green Valley Ranch Resort in Henderson, Nevada participating in the Pre-Inspiration Unlimited kick-off. It's such a fun event filled with so much excitement and anticipation each year. I honestly don't know how Ginger and Teresa Collins do it. They pull of an amazingly beautiful, perfectly organized AWESOME weekend event. I'm so thankful to be a part of it....and this weekend at the closing ceremonies we have huge announcement for next year ..... can't wait!

I'll be sharing photos soon....

Scrapfest Photos: Part 2

Workshops, workshops, workshops. That's what it's all about at Scrapfest. There are hundreds of workshops for everyone to choose from. How humbling that Bella Blvd was on your list! Our workshops were full!

We had to work quickly & efficiently, but everyone was prepared!

(In case you're wondering....yes I walked the entire Mall of America in those shoes ;)

Since Scrapfest was in Minnesota and Bella Blvd is short car-ride (about 5.5 hours) away, it was a pleasant surprise to actually recognize a couple faces throughout the weekend.

That head-mic made me feel like I worked at McDonald's drive thru....the job I never did have as a teenager! ;)

The Mr. Boy workshop titled, "Stay Little Forever" was my personal favorite.

I had some great assistants in my local Design Team Girls. 

(Morgie & Katherine)

So much preparation goes into an event like Scrapfest. It takes a whole crew of people from Bella Blvd to get me ready to stand up in front of class and teach.

I want to thank my team including Robin, Jenna, Morgan, Katherine and Beth.

Everyone worked very hard ... even Morgan with her recently torn ACL trucked it around the MOA all weekend. 

And to Jen, our Archiver's leader in our workshop classroom, you and your team rocked! Thank you for keeping everything going, watching the clock, cleaning up after everyone and just for being you. It was great meeting you and your sister and the team too. We couldn't have done it without you!

 

 

Scrapfest Photos: Part I

Honestly, I thought there would be much more "free-time" since the workshops I taught were only 45 minutes each. Heck, what was I thinking? The weekend was over before I knew it and I hadn't posted anymore photos to share. I'm sorry for the delay as I'm on back-to-back Bella Blvd teaching trips. 

I hosted a Crop Around Town about 20 minutes from the MOA at the Archiver's in Roseville.

The crop was full of excited and talented scrapbookers, all waiting to learn a bit more about Bella Blvd. First I introduced myself and my local Design Team girls that traveled with me and then shared a bit about my story and how I started Bella Blvd.

We had some fun door prizes.....that got everyone all excited......

She's crossing her fingers...pick me, pick me! This woman wanted so badly to win our Tail Waggers & Cat Naps giveaway prize because it turns out she fosters cats and dogs and has piles and piles of photographs to scrapbook of all those furry friends she loves so much!

We had some fun prizes to giveaway and got everyone involved with a little scavenger hunt-style game....The photo above was, "The first person to find a compact mirro and run it up to Katherine waiting at the front counter wins......"

We launched a Bella Blvd Sketch Challenge in conjunction with the "Saturday Sketch" feature at the Bella Blvd Studio Blog. We wanted the Sketch to inspire a layout with at least one Bella Blvd patterned paper on it. Turned out lots of the women were inspired and hopped right to it!

Here's a great mix of the two collections, Mr. Boy and Family Dynamix.

This page was super cute and including product we gave out everyone's goodie bags (Hello Beautiful & Socialite)

Some more Mr. Boy & Hello Beautiful being combined above for a new puppy layout!

We allowed cards inspired by the sketch to be entered into the challenge too! Here's one featuring Bella's newest Too Cute To Spook products!

Making the Team mixed with Mr. Boy!

It was great seeing everyone mixing and matching Bella Blvd products the way they are meant to be used! I really wish I could have joined them and scrapped all night long too!

We also created this clever little party favor make n take for our croppers, designed by Beth (Local Artista). 

Well that's it for Part 1 of my Scrapfest Recap. I'll be back tomorrow with Part II sharing photos from my workshops (3) at the Mall of America. Thank you to all the wonderful scrappers at Roseville. We hope to see you again next year at Scrapfest!

More Layouts from Brazil

I always take so many pictures when I travel to Brazil. Like I've said before, I do my whole-hearted best to scrapbook in chronological order which is why I'm sharing these layouts with you now. 

That is, because now you officially know how far behind I am: Photos are from May 2010. {insert humble face here.}

I visited a beautiful store in Sao Paulo, the capital of Brazil: Scrap & Company owned by Lucy and Elka. Of all the stores I saw on my trip, this one reminded me the most of stores in the US. It's modern style and homey staff was very comforting.

Towards the end of the trip we headed to Rio to see Anna of AC Album & Scrap. After some workshops, it's always relaxing to enjoy a fun day of touristy sightseeing. This year: The Sugar Loaf mountain.

Tucked behind the main photo are small journaling cards I printed with the history behind the Sugar Loaf mountain. (I'm sorry I don't have a better photo of those---I forgot!)

I'm going to take the day off tomorrow, as I'm sure most of you will be too! Enjoy your extended weekend! Chat soon...