Belles 'n Whistles Stamps

Welcome Baby!

2012-01-23T09:00:00.000+01:00

Greetings BnW friends,
I can't believe the weekend is over, and here we are, another Monday! We just posted a new challenge last week over at the Belles 'n Whistles Challenge Blog, and a week has passed already. Where does the time go?

Over the weekend, I was playing with some baby announcement ideas, so I thought it would be great to share what I've created here today.

I actually made a total of 10 of these birth announcements, but silly me, didn't photograph the whole group of them. These cards do not open, but instead, you turn it over to read the birth announcement information. I do have a photo of the front and back of them, so you can see.

I kept the back side pretty simple, since I didn't want to have anything distracting from the information that will be written there. =)

The papers that I used are basic cardstock, and the blue shading was created using Stampin' Up ink, in Bordering Blue, and Brocade Blue. I used navy blue embossing powder randomly around the edges, and then a touch of paint to add to my "distressed look". The oval frame cut from nestabilities, is water color paper, inked with Distress inks, as well as some gold colored perfect pearl powder, and sprayed with a mist of water. How about that GORGEOUS Baby??? I remember when this first arrived on my doorstep, I went crazy... This has got to be the most beautiful of all baby stamps I've seen. "Sweet Dreams" truly is Sweet, whether it's used for either a boy or a girl!!!

I love how Elisabeth Bell has captured that sweet innocent look, and so life like too. Simply Precious! Wouldn't you agree?

I hope that you have been inspired today!
Thanks so much for stopping by.

A girly card

2012-01-20T20:21:00.000+01:00

Hi Friends!

It is time for updating the BnW blog again.

This time I have made a girly card with a beautiful BnW stamp.

The image is coloured with distress ink, and I have added some stickles.

My card is decorated with flowers and a doily.

I have also used a Martha Stewart punch.

Hugs Audhild

Snow Fight!

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000+01:00

Hello Belles 'n Whistles Fans I hope you are all doing well! I'm just dropping by to let you all know that yesterday started our first challenge for 2012 over at the BnW Challenge Blog! Come and join us for our 'FROSTY' challenge! Anything snow, ice, cold, Winter themed! And now our challenges are monthly challenges to give a little extra time to enter! Here is my icy inspiration:

I used Snow Fight Snowbaby from the Snowbaby collection. I colored her using my Copics. Papers are from an older Bo Bunny collection I found in my scrap box. Sentiment is from Whimsy. All embellishments are from my stash.

Looking forward to your frosty entry at our BnW Challenge Blog

Hugs,

Gift Tag for Yummy Treats!

2011-12-28T09:00:00.020+01:00

Hello Friends! I hope your Christmas was filled with lots of Love and Happy Memories!

For today, I made a tag that I wanted to put on a goodie bag for a friend of mine. I planned on making her those Chocolate Pretzel Rods and placing them in the Martha Stewart bag with this little tag on the top. I used Pizza Time .. yes yes yes! But I covered up the pizza with sprinkles of little colored beads to make it look like she was baking little donut cookies or something of a dessert straight out of the oven. :)

Thank you so much for visiting us here .. we love seeing you!

Big Hugs,

Elise

Merry Christmas and our Final Winner

2011-12-25T09:00:00.000+01:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!
Was "Santa" nice to you this year?

We want to take this time to say a special
Thank You to each and every one of you who came and visited us each day throughout this years Advent Festivities.
It sure does mean a lot to us that you are all stopping by, and of course leaving some love.
It sure makes what we do as BnW Designers feel worth every second of our time.We truly hope that you will all find some time to join us in some challenges over on the Belles 'n Whistles Challenge Blog.
We've had a nice assortment of winners this year, and I know that we can't wait to see what beautiful things you'll all make with your new stamp.
Now, as promised, the final winner of 2011....

Janneke

Wowee - Congratulations hun... Today is your lucky day.
Please Email Summer, and tell her that YOU are the lucky girl to win the final prize of our Advent Festivities....
She has a special prize for you. =)

Thank you again to all who joined us this year....
Wishing you all a joyful Christmas and a Happy 2012.

Advent Door #24

2011-12-24T17:27:00.000+01:00

Merry Christmas!!! Today is the last day in our Advent festivities... I'm soooo very sorry for the delay in today's post. This time of year it gets a little hectic, and to help fix our "oops" I went into my files to see if I had anything that would be inspiring for you today, and I DO... We truly do applogize for our delay.

We have a winner to announce..... Congratulations Marion H You are our lucky winner today.
Please use the button on the side bar to contact Summer, and let her know which "Holiday" stamp you'd like to have. =)

Okay, I'm going to make this short and sweet.... How about a Snowglobe? It's the very 1st one that I've ever tried, so I am pleased with the outcome. However, I'm sure there is much more that I can learn when working with these.

What do you think?

closer

Thanks so much for stopping in today.

This is your last chance to enter for a chance to win a special prize from Belles 'n Whistles.
Today's Prize is extra Special.... You'll just have to come back tomorrow and see if YOU are the lucky winner or not.

Advent Calendar Door # 23

2011-12-23T01:00:00.000+01:00

Hello dear Belles'n'Whistles friends!

This is Kathrin here with our 23rd day of advent.

Before I tell you a bit about my creation I want to announce the winner of advent calendar day # 22.

It's

In Rosies Book

Congrats! Please contact Summer with your choice of stamp.

Oh, it's only a little bit til christmas - here in Germany we are celebrating christmas eve and this is where the family comes together, the tree is up (yes, we don't put up ours earlier, christmas eve is the traditional day of putting it up and decorating it) and the kids - and also the adults of course - can finally get their presents.

Well, I guess some of you are like me - there's always something missing but with christmas being so close or even for older kids giving out a gift card or money is the best. But handing out these does not mean they can't be wrapped beautifully... And so I made a gift card/money holder to share with you today.

I made it the shape of a gift - and

Pepper with Gift

was the perfect stamp to use here.

I even made the ribbons on the bows matching.

The gift card/money holder opens up like this - it's just folded in the middle - and on the inside I added a little pocket for the money/gift card and of course a little greeting.

I had my tags made first so I made the whole gift card holder match in color - which meant mainly browns again. But I love the elegant touch this adds.

Also today you have a chance to win a stamp of your choice. Just add your name to Mr. Linky.

Wishing all of you peaceful and very merry christmas!

Hugs,

Kathrin

Advent Calendar #22

2011-12-22T09:00:00.003+01:00

Welcome to day 22 of the BnW advent calendar.

First of all I want to congratulate julieprice3

who is the winner of the advent calendar day 21.

Please contact Summer to claim your prize.

Remember to let her know what stamp you would like to have.

Today I want to show you how to make a chocolate box card.

You need: cardstock, pattern paper, glue, gelantine, spellbinders dies, score pal, a paper cutter, pencil, scissor and embelissments

I begin with the card.

Use a cardstock 24,5cm x 15cm

Score at 11cm and 13,5cm.

Fold the card

Now it is time for making the box inside the card.

Use a cardstock 22cm x 20cm.

On the longest side of the box I score at 8cm, 10cm, 18cm and 20cm

On the shortest side of the box I score at 2cm, 4cm, 16cm and 18cm

Here is a picture of the scored lines (I have used a pencil to draw the lines so you can see them better)

Then cut of the cornes as you can see in the picture above.

I distress all the edges on the box and the card.

I also distress the pattern papers I am going to use inside the card, before I glue the parts together.

Then it is time to make the window in the box, inside the card.

I use a spellbinder dies as a template and draw the shape on the pattern paper.

Then I use a scissor to cut ut the window.

Here you can see the pattern paper after I have cut out the window.

I cut a square in the box and glue a plate of gelantine to make a window.

Glue the pattern paper over the gelantine window. Glue the box together, and put it inside the card.

Remember there has to be an opening at the top of the box, so you can put chocolate inside.

Then it is time to decorate the front of the card.

Here is the inside of the card. I have used spellbinder dies to make a frame so you can write greetings.

I have also cut out a frame and placed it over the gelantine window

Thank you for joining the advent calendar.

Welcome back tomorrow.
To have the chance to win a stamp of your own choice, remember to put your name below.

Hugs Audhild

Advent - Door #21

2011-12-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

Greetings my friends,
Oh my oh My...... Look how close to the end of our Advent festivities we are!

I hope that you all have been enjoying the fun, and the inspiration that you've been seeing here at Belles 'n Whistles, this holiday season.

We have a winner to announce.... Yesterdays winner is.... hellerlittle

Congratulations!!! By now, I'm sure you all know the routine.... Simply click on the "Email Summer" button on the side bar, and shoot her an email letting her know that you won, and which Holiday stamp you'd like to have. Whether new or old, the choice is yours. =)

I really didn't prepare anything in particular to show you all today, BUT... I do have something quite messy to share.... You see I've been a part of an art journaling class... The assignment was to be messy.... They said that the sloppier your work looked, the better, they didn't want to see any sort of neat and tidy work... OHHHH MY... that was quite a challenge for me, BUT.... It's fun, the art journaling class, really helps you start to think outside your comfort zone.... since I used an absolutely Darling stamp on this crazy mess of mine, I just had to share it....

Talk about an honest to goodness MESS.... LOL

Alright, that has nothing to do with what we're doing today, but I just had to share it anyway.. LOL

Today, we have TWO questions for you... and we TRULY WOULD LOVE to hear your anwers...

So rather than putting a linky thing at the bottom of the post, you can simply enter by leaving your comment with your answers. This is going to be fun to see what you all think!
Question #1: If you could choose ONE THING that you wish you could do better (in the crafting world) What would it be?

Question #2: What things do you hope to see from Belles 'n Whistles in the coming year?

Summer, and the rest of us here at Belles 'n Whistles can't wait to hear what your answers will be.

Simply leave your answers in the comment section, and we will choose a winner using Random.org, come back tomorrow, and see if you've won. It's THAT Simple! =)

Advent Calendar - Day 20

2011-12-20T09:00:00.003+01:00

Hej ladies!
Today I would like to show you a little card with a matching lamp. But before doing so I need to tell you who the lucky winner from yesterdays window no 19 is (chosen by randomorg) - and it's Penni! Please contact Summer with your choice of holiday stamp! (see contact info in sidebar)

Remember the star tutorial presented on my blog earlier? Well - here's another take on that. It's the same technique - with the folds - but I used a wine glass as the lamp stand.

A view from above:

I also made a matching card to go with the "lamp". Here using Christmas Angel Daniella.

Here's the card and the lamp together! Note - I will use an electrical tea light - just for safety.

I hope you like it. In order to enter for a chance to win a Holiday Stamp of YOUR Choice from BnW - simply enter your name below. The lucky winner will be announced in the blog post tomorrow.

Kram - Anki

Advent Door # 19

2011-12-19T09:00:00.000+01:00

Happy Monday - We are on the Home Stretch now for our 3rd Annual Advent festivities. Have you all been enjoying all the fun and inspiration?

I can't believe that Christmas is only a week away. I feel as though I haven't had a chance to sit back and enjoy looking at my tree, and lights, it seems I'm always crafting, or baking, or just creating something instead. Such a busy time of year!

How about a winner from yesterday before I share with you what I've made to show you all today?

Congratulations go to #26 Scrapalajen!!!
Please contact Summer with your choice of holiday stamp! (see contact info in sidebar)

Okay, so now for a little "Home For The Holiday's" Treat.... and I do mean treat!

Who wouldn't want to come home to a nice tray full of their favorite cookies? I have created just the thing for such an occassion.

I had so much fun painting, and then decorating this tray, I also brought it to a craft fair, and believe it or not, it was one of the first things to be bought. I know the girl who bought it, so I know it's gone to a good home. I really hated to part with it, but you know how it is... How many things can I really keep???

I have found that after applying a good coat of Modge Podge, and allowing plenty of drying time, that I can then spray a thin coat of Shellac on it, and it will no longer have a slightly sticky feel. I also tested it out, and used a damp cloth to wipe it, and it works wonderfully.

I just had to put it to the test of "Cleaning"... Obviously, this is wood, and you wouldn't want to submerge it in dish water, but wiping it with a dish cloth that is damp doesn't do it any harm.

This tray was such a hit at the craft fair that I was at, that I ended up needing to make 2 more trays for someone else, because they also fell in love with it. Gotta love getting a special request, right?

I really got lucky too, because wouldn't you know that today there is a new challenge over at The Belles 'n Whistles Challenge blog, using "Warm Colors".... If this isn't warm, then I don't know what is... We certainly would Love it if you could find some time to come join us for the challenge.

All you need to do to win a Holiday Stamp of YOUR Choice from Belles 'n Whistles is simply enter your name below, and then come back again tomorrow, and see if your number was the lucky number chosen. =)

Good Luck, and Thanks so much for visiting today!

Happy 4th Advent - Door 18

2011-12-18T09:00:00.000+01:00

Happy 4th Advent Everyone! I hope all of you are enjoying a wonderful 4th Advent weekend. Only one more week to go! Are you all ready?

Today we have another question and answer game for you. But before that we like to congratulate yesterdays winner, which is: Mary D ! Please contact Summer with your choice of holiday stamp! (see contact info in sidebar)

Ok and to be in todays drawing for one holiday stamp of your choice you only have to answer the following question:

From all Belles 'n Whistles stamps released so far
which one is your favorite stamp?

Please leave your answer in the comments section after entering your name in the Linky Tool and you'll be entered into today's random drawing!

The BnW DT

Advent Calendar Door # 17

2011-12-17T09:00:00.006+01:00

Hello dear B'n'W Fans!

Oh, where has time gone? Door # 17 of our advent calendar is opening already...

This is Kathrin and today I am sharing with you my favourite christmas tradition. But before I do so I am sending congrats to

Bonnie OClair

for winning one of those georgeous BnW christmas stamps, drawn randomly. Please send us a mail.

Okay, now on to my favourite christmas tradition. I know there are several and different ones in each country anf of course most of the ones we have in our family are german. Some are taken over from my own childhood, some are just "because you do so" traditions but we also added one to our family - and maybe because we created it ourself it is my favourite one.

Here in Bavaria, in the south of Germany, it's not Santa who brings the gifts but "Christkind" - christ child. It's meant to be little Jesus but it's always shown as a beautiful angel with golden locks, big wings and a long dress.

Of course it's not working alone - it has a big amount of angels helping her/him (it's neutral in German so I really don't know if I should call "it" her or him LOL). And some of them are out every night to pick the wish lists from the kids' windows where they put them.

Every year on the first or second sunday of advent the whole family comes together at our dining table, we bring papers, pens, cookies and hot drinks, are listening to christmas songs and are all together writing our wishlists. Well, we are not only writing them but also decorate them and each year we create some real masterpieces including decorated envelopes. I kept them all... ;) And we are always having a lot of fun together, are laughing and singing and every year this one special afternoon ends way too fast - but the girls are so much excited about placing their wishlists so the angels can pick them up.

We had to think of something special since there is a balcony conected to my girls' room and so they have two doors and two really big windows so nothing the little angels might find those wish lists. So we have a string with cloths pins that have letters attached forming the word "Wunschzettel" which is the german word for wishlist. And to those pins we connect the letters... During the night the angels come to pick them up and in exchange they leave a little chocolat angel every year.
The girls have always been wondering how those angels can come inside the house to take the letters and I remember that one year when they just started thinking about what a classmate said about Christkind and his/her angels not existing. Exactly the night when we took off the whishlists our cat seems to have jumped on the table where our advent wreath was standing and it was decorated with that golden angels' hair. One of these stuck to the cat's fur and fell off close to the string with the wishlists. I didn't even realize it before my girls saw this one "angel's hair" and were sure again Christkind and the angels are real and one of these angels has come to our house last night...

So, for the card I am sharing today I have used

Angel's Song

since it fits so wonderfully to my story about the Christkind's angels...

So, I hope you've all written your wishlists! And if you forgot to do so just enter your name to Mr. Linky here to have a chance to at least find one gift under the tree - a beautiful BnW stamp.

Happy 4th of advent everyone!

Advent Calendar Door 16th is open!

2011-12-16T09:00:00.000+01:00

Hello all, Iris here! Today I have some yummy recipe to share with you and also a card I made! But before I continue let's congratulate ScrappyAndrea who was randomly drawn from yesterdays entries! Congratulations - Herzlichen Glueckwunsch! :-) And the song we were looking for was of course 'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas' !

Ok let's start with the recipe now. It's not only a very yummy recipe i have to say, it's also pretty quickly made. Do you bake Christmas cookies? I love to bake! Especially baking all kinds of different Christmas cookies and cakes has a huge tradition in our family. So I have to admit my first Christmas cookies for this year I already made in early October...LOL....no I'm not joking! Of course they didn't last long ;-) I always find a reason to make some more and try new recipes too. But the recipe I like to share with you is one my Mom already made every year and they are one of my favorites and on my cookie plate every year! They are called:

Fruchthaeufchen - Fruit Piles

Ingredients:

200g / 6.5 oz unsalted butter

125g / 2/3 cups sugar

1 TL / tsp vanilla extract

2 egg yolks

finely grated peel from 1 lemon

pinch of salt

250g / 2 cups flour

2 EL / tbsp milk

100g / 3.5 oz slivered almonds

100g / 3.5 oz raisins

150g / 5 oz finely diced fruit cake mix (candied, diced mixed friuts)

Using an electric mixer or stand mix whip the butter until frothy. Gradually add sugar, pinch of salt, vanilla, egg yolks and finely grated lemon peel. Spoon by spoon add flour and milk and mix until combined. Fold in almonds, raisins and mixed fruits. Using 2 teaspoons put little piles on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 - 20 min. at 175 C / 350 F.

Enjoy!!!

***********************************

And this is the card I made with the stamp 'Andrew's Christmas Stocking' from the new 2011 Christmas Collection! This cutie stamp is available in the store right now, but you have to hurry there are only 10 left!! More details and info about this card is available on my blog!

Please leave your name with the linky tool for a chance to be in the drawing for another Holiday stamp!

Thanks for stopping by today and good luck to you all!

Advent Calendar - Window 15

2011-12-15T09:00:00.000+01:00

WOW !!!! We've already reached our 15th day of our Advent Calendar... Where is the time going?

Congratulations go to Mary Lou Please be sure to contact Summer, using the email link on the side bar, and let her know you won, and tell her what Holiday stamp you would like to have.

We have another quick and easy.....but definitely fun, one for you today!!!

In order to be in the random drawing for a chance to win one of the BnW Holiday stamps, whether it be NEW or OLD, You'll have to answer JUST ONE Question......

Can you tell us what Holiday Song these lyrics belong to?

"With Candy Canes and silver lanes a glow..."

Simply leave a comment, and tell us what you think the song is, and you'll be entered into today's random drawing.

Have Fun!

xoxo
The BnW DT.Please leave your answer in the comments section after entering your name in the Linky Tool...

Advent Calendar - Day 14

2011-12-14T09:00:00.005+01:00

Hej ladies!
Thank you for following our Advent Calendar. Before I show you my Holiday tutorial I would like to announce the winner from yesterday. The lucky number is:.........12 - Gila

Please contact Summer through the sidebar button to claim your stamp of choice.

I decided to create a little lantern/lamp. I'm sure you've done these before - as I did a long time ago in school.

* Take your favourite DP and cut it in the desired size.

* Score at the bottom and the top - I scored at 3 cm - please note cm and not inch.

* Cut stripes from the top score line to the bottome one. Note - do not cut all the way. I cut 1 cm wide stripes.

* Then - roll the paper together to a cylinder and glue the sides together.

* It should look like this now:

* Take a window sheet and glue it together so that it also forms a cylinder.

* Insert the cylinder into the paper lantern/lamp and decorate as you like. I used cute little Brooke, some lace, ribbon with X-mas stars and socks etc, flower and leaves.

Then I inserted a little tea candle - but not a real one - but one that runs on battery. Here's a pic from another angle.

Hope you like this tutorial and try to create one as well. Remember to leave your name in the Linky Tool below so that you have the chance to be in the random drawing for a Holiday Stamp from

Belles 'n Whistles. Then check back in tomorrow to see who the lucky winner is and what hides behind Advent Calendar - Day 15.

Kram and good luck!

Anki

Dashing Thru The Snow Day 13

2011-12-13T09:00:00.009+01:00

Hello Friends! Thank you for joining us daily on our Advent Calendar .. we love your visits! Before I continue, the winner for yesterday is:

#19 Alethea

Please contact Summer through the sidebar button to claim your stamp of choice. Congratulations hun!

For today I created a card with the image "Angel's Grace" and added Liquid Pearls around her to look like snowflakes floating around her. I really love her ... she looks so peaceful and comforting.

Also, a reminder .. have you all been checking back at the Belles 'n Whistles Store every Thursday?! If you haven't .. then click here to see what's going on all through the month of December. I'll give ya a hint ... "HUGE SALE". lol!

Thank you all for visiting us daily and being so wonderful! Hope you're all enjoying the Holiday Season and we'll see you back here again tomorrow!

Warm Hugs,

Elise

The 12th Day of Advent....

2011-12-12T09:00:00.000+01:00

***Yesterdays winner has been announced now - sorry for the delay again***
The linky tool is now up an running!!! All earlier commentators will be added as well!

Helllllooooooo! I almost broke out into song when I wrote the title of this post.... LOL I was beginning to sing "On the 12th Day of Christmas my True Love Gave to me....." ha ha.... but oh no.... That does NOT fit today's post.....

Yes it's me, Lynda.... I'm the silly one of the group, so it would end up being me who would just start singing randomly.... Speaking of randomly.... we have a winner to announce, don't we?

Congratulations go to Louise Please be sure to contact Summer, using the email link on the side bar, and let her know you won, and tell her what Holiday stamp you would like to have.

Alright, today I have a handmade ornament to share with you. You just know that I can't get through the holiday season without creating some ornaments, right? Well guess what? THIS ornament was created for a very special girl.... a fellow DT member from one of my other Elisabeth Bell teams... I think she will like this one for sure.... What do you think?

Of course, you are going to want to see the back side of this ornament. I can tell you, it's not going to be anything that you'd expect it to be. LOL

My goodness, this one took a little bit of time and patience, and a whole lot of modge podge too. ha ha... But I fell in love with it, and will definitely be making more of these from time to time... Who knows, you may even find a tutorial soon.... =)

Thanks so much for stopping in today, and joining us for our Advent celebrations...

Don't forget to leave your name in the Linky Tool below in order to be in the random drawing for a Holiday Stamp from Belles 'n Whistles. Then come back again tomorrow, and see if you've won or not. Are we having fun yet??? LOL

Door 11 - Happy 3. Advent

2011-12-11T09:00:00.000+01:00

Hello Belles 'n Whistles Friends! Wow can you believe it?? Today is already the 3rd Advent Sunday. That means we are lighting our 3rd candle on the Advents wreath already. Just two more weeks ....

Congratulations to Sissy4477 who was randomly chosen from all the entries yesterday. Please contact Summer (see contact link in sidebar) with your choice of one holiday stamp. And of course you were all right, the lyrics are from the song 12 Days of Christmas.

Sleigh Bells Ring

Do you like the sound of sleigh bells? I think it has something magical and whimsical to it and there is just nothing like the unique soft jingling noise they make. Whenever I hear them I instantly think of a sleigh ride through the mountains in a starry winters night, covered in thick blankets and lots and lots of snow. I can hear the horses stamping and snorting and I can almost feel the wind in my face.....lol yes you can say I really love them :-) I also have them decorated everywhere in my house through winter season. Even though I'm living here in Florida now where there's no snow at all ;-)

Thanks for visiting us today and don't forget to enter your name in the linky tool for another chance of winning a Holiday Stamp of your choice!

Hugs and Good Luck to you all!

~ Iris

Please Do Not leave comments in the linky form.

Enter ONLY your Name in the Title Spot.

Advent Calendar - Day 10

2011-12-10T09:00:00.000+01:00

***Yesterdays winner has been announced now - sorry for the delay***

Here we are - already up to our 10th day of our Advent Celebrations... Can you believe it???

We have another fun one for you today!!!

Congratulations go to Sandy Mathis Please be sure to contact Summer, using the email link on the side bar, and let her know you won, and tell her what Holiday stamp you would like to have.
In order to be in the random drawing for a chance to win one of the BnW Holiday stamps, whether it be NEW or OLD, You'll have to answer JUST ONE Question......

Are you ready for the question?

Do you know these lyrics?

"On The First Day of Christmas My True Love Gave To Me...."

Simply leave a comment, and tell us what you think the song is, and you'll be entered into today's random drawing.

Have Fun!

xoxo
The BnW DT.

Advent Calendar - Door 9

2011-12-09T09:00:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone, Iris here again! Today I have a special 'Holiday Spotlight' for you! I have three Spotlights to show, picked from recent BnW challenge entries! Wow that was really hard, choosing only 3 holiday projects out of all these fabulous entries! I also want to say a big thank you to all of you who are entering our challenges and like to play with us every other Monday! HERE you can enter our on going challenge!

But before I can treat you now with some eye candy I would like to announce yesterdays stamp winner :-) I don't want to keep you waiting any longer:

Julia D.

is our winner! Congratulations! Please contact Summer (see link in sidebar), tell her that you won and what holiday stamp you'd like to have!

And without further ado here is some eye candy for you....

This beautiful card is created by Marlies from Scrapcards by Marlies, using 'Catch a Flake' Snowbaby.

Kylie from Inklings from Kylies Kraft Room made this gorgeous card using another Snowbaby: Snow Fight

Another stunning creation made by Sandy from Sandy's Stamping Scene. The cutie she used on her card is called 'Merry Sledding'.

And now don't forget to enter your name in the linky tool! Maybe tomorrow it's your name that will be announced here as the daily winner! :-) Good luck!

Thanks for visiting today!

~ Iris

Please Do Not leave comments in the linky form.

Enter ONLY your Name in the Title Spot.

Advent Calendar - Door 8

2011-12-08T09:00:00.000+01:00

Hello my dear Belles 'n Whistles Friends and welcome to another day of our Advent Calendar! It's Iris here and I like to open door number 8 together with you today! But before we unveil the door for today I like to announce the winner from yesterday... tadaaaaaaaaa ... the winner of one Holiday Stamp of your choice is:

Jan Farnworth

Congratulations sweetie! Please contact Summer using the email link in the sidebar and let her know you've won and what Holiday stamp you would like to have!

Ok, now let's see what's behind door number 8 ......

Altered Note Book

I altered a cute little note book and used the recently released cutie pie 'Jam Jars'. Isn't she just so sweet with the jar in her hands and the basket full of strawberries? I colored her using my Copics. DP is from Basic Grey's Indie Bloom collection. I found the little note book in the $1 bin at Michaels. I always find something useful in these bins and never leave the store with out browsing through them ;-)

Thanks for visiting us today and don't forget to enter your name in the linky tool for another chance of winning a Holiday Stamp of your choice!

Hugs and Good Luck to you all!

Iris

Please Do Not leave comments in the linky form.

Enter ONLY your Name in the Title Spot.

Advent Calendar - Day 7

2011-12-07T09:00:00.000+01:00

Greetings everyone! It's Lynda here, with some beautiful things to show you.... Many of you may recognize these things. Because today I'm going to show off some of YOUR beautiful work.
I've decided that today we should put YOU in the spotlight, and showcase some of the things that our Belles 'n Whistles team have looked at and adored, over this past year....

But before I do that, we have a winner to announce from Yesterday.....

Congratulations go to Erin Please be sure to contact Summer, using the email link on the side bar, and let her know you won, and tell her what Holiday stamp you would like to have.

I tell you, going through Belles Photo Gallery, there is SOOOOOO Much to see, so much inspiration, and creativity. It's been very difficult to choose what ones I would show here today.

I have 18, but I think I had better narrow it down some more... I hate to have to do it, because there are sooooo many beautiful creations in the gallery from just 2011. But I will do my best here.

Okay... Phew... I've managed to narrow it down to only 10...

BUT WOW - What talent we see don't we?
Aren't these some pretty fabulous creations?

Remember, there are LOTS and LOTS of inspiration inside
Belles Photo Gallery.
If you have any photos where you've used a Belles 'n Whistles Stamp,
We'd love to see you upload it there. =)

http://www.bellesnwhistlesstamps.com/gallery/

That's all from me today, Thanks so much for sticking with me through this long post.

Please Do Not leave comments in the linky form.

Enter ONLY your Name in the Title Spot.

Thanks and Good Luck!

Happy St. Nick Day!

2011-12-06T07:36:00.000+01:00

Hello Belles'n'Whistles friends!

Today is the 6th day of advent - and it's a special one. Yesterday evening a lot of chrildren here in Germany put out a nicely cleaned boot in front of their door. And while they were sleeping tonight St. Nick - who we call Nikolaus here - came by and filled it for them with candies and maybe a little gift...

In my family he even leaves a little letter to the kids. He's usually meant to tell the kids if they've been naughty or nice this year. So in the letter he tells them what they should change next year but also the things they made or goals they reached that he is proud of.

So my kids even got up earlier today just to have enough time to read his letter and check on their candies and gifts. The twins got a one year subscription of their favourite girls magazines and for my oldest we decided to pay one month of her cellphone bills - and all of them were happy.

Isn't this a great way to start the morning off?

To also make your day starting great I am announcing yesterday's winner:

It's # 17 - Pysselbus!

Please contact Summer by email, tell her you won and also let her know which of those cute BnW holiday stamps you'd like.

Don't be sad if it wasn't you this time, there are more chances to win. And for today you only have to let me know if you've been good enough this year to deserve a new holiday stamp.... ;)

Have a wonderful St. Nick Day everyone!

Belles 'n Whistles Advent - Day 5

2011-12-05T09:00:00.000+01:00

Happy Monday.... Today we are celebrating the 5th day of Advent.

Are you all having fun with this so far? Well today we have something extra fun for you.... So we'll keep this Short and Sweet....

The winner from our 4th day of Advent is

#22 - Crafts By Kim

Congrulations!!!

Please be sure to contact Summer, using the email link on the side bar, and let her know you won, and tell her what Holiday stamp you would like to have.

In order to be in the random drawing for a chance to win one of the BnW Holiday stamps, whether it be NEW or OLD, You'll have to answer JUST ONE Question......

Are you ready for the question?

What Holiday Song has these lyrics?

"I don't know, if there'll be snow,..."

Simply leave a comment, and tell us what you think the song is, and you'll be entered into today's random drawing.

Just a quick note :
TODAY we have a new challenge over at The Belles 'n Whistles Challenge Blog.
It's a fun one, and I'm sure you will ALL enjoy it. Why not hop over, take a peek, and join us for yet another chance to win something fun from Belles 'n Whistles.

Have Fun!

xoxo
The BnW DT.

Advent Calendar Day 4 - Yum Yum Holiday Recipe

2011-12-04T09:00:00.010+01:00

Hello Friends! Welcome to Day 4 of our Advent Calendar!!

The winner of yesterday is:
Martina's Welt
Congratulations hun! Please contact Summer by clicking on the button on the sidebar with your choice of stamp! Yayy! :)

Today I'm sharing with you a "Yum Yum Holiday Recipe" .. and if you're like me .. a lot of times I want something quick and easy yet tasty.

I've decided to make something that I know we'd all enjoy at our home .. with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee or even a glass of cold milk. And it's SO easy to do .. and FUN for my little boy to help with also. He actually helped me make these. And those little round things at the bottom of my Starbucks cup is something my hubby decided to do. lol. He did the recipe with marshmallows.

Here's a little recipe card that I made using Little Light

I realize the font is too small to see, so here's the recipe .. hehe ..

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

Ingredients:

Pretzel Rods

Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Assorted Toppings: Sprinkles, Crushed Cookies, etc...

1. Melt semi sweet chocolate in microwave or on stove.

2. Ladle chocolate over 3/4 of each pretzel rod and tap off excess chocolate. Roll in toppings such as sprinkles or crushed cookies.

3. Dry on cooling rack until set.

4. ENJOY!

Not only that, today is Sunday. We've decided that each Sunday of the Advent, we will also award the random winner their choice of Digital Word Art.... There are 4 sets to choose from. If you haven't yet seen them, why not stop over at Belles 'n Whistles, and check them out.

Thanks for visiting us and we'll see ya back tomorrow!

Hugs,

Elise

Day 3 Gift Tags & Bags

2011-12-03T09:00:00.041+01:00

Hello there! Today is Day 3 of our Advent Calendar Celebration and I am using a couple cuties to decorate a "Gift Bag & Tag".

But before I get started, the winner for yesterday is:

#15 Bonnie
Congratulations hun! Please contact Summer with your choice of stamp by clicking on the sidebar button. :)

My little boy performed in his very first Christmas play for school as well as sang in Chapel, and I decided to make him a little goodie bag for after his "performance". lol! I used Andrew's Christmas Stocking at the base of the bag and I used Angel's Song for the tag. One of my little boy's favorite things is Hot Wheel cars, so I put one in there (it was a bit too big for the bag .. hehe) and then I'll put a little money in there as well. :)

Thank you so much for visiting us! I hope you're having fun on our Advent Calendar .. see ya back tomorrow! :)

Hugs,

Elise

December 2nd: Advent Ornament Highlights 2010

2011-12-02T09:00:00.008+01:00

Hi Friends!

Welcome back to our 2nd day of the Belles 'n Whistles advent calender.

Before we go any further let me first congratulate

Olivia

Please use the Contact Button on the side bar
and let Summer know which Holiday day stamp you would like.

Today I have found some beautiful advent ornament from the gallery, to show you.

The ornaments are from 2010, but still beautiful.

If you want to see more gorgeous creations, take a look in our gallery.

I wish you a wonderful day, and hope you will visit our blog tomorrow.

Hugs Audhild

Enter your name in the linky tool,
and you will win YOUR CHOICE of ANY ONE of the Belles 'n Whistles "Holiday" stamps... whether it be new or old....

Belles 'n Whistles 3rd Annual Advent Celebration

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000+01:00

Today to get things started, simply enter your name in the linky tool,
and you will win YOUR CHOICE of ANY ONE of the Belles 'n Whistles "Holiday" stamps... whether it be new or old.... Tis the season!

Come back again tomorrow, to see if you've won, and play along again.

Snowbaby

2011-11-30T20:48:00.000+01:00

Today is the last day of November. I am still working with my christmas cards.

Each month this year I have made 3 christmas cards/projects. Now I am so happy, because I have many cards, so I do not have to stress in December.

Here is one of the cards I have made.

I have used a beautiful snowbaby girl from last years collection.

You can still buy these stamps in the shop.

I hope that you all will be back for our advent calendar tomorrow.

Thank you for visiting

Hugs Audhild

Celebrate

2011-11-28T09:00:00.023+01:00

Hello Belles 'n Whistle Friends! Hope all of you had a lovely weekend .. and for those of you in the States .. hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend full of good food and company!

For today, I've made a card using Pepper with Gift. Isn't she so delightful?!!

I've used non-traditional Christmas colors and I love how this image can be used year round.

Don't forget that in a few days, we're going to be starting our Belles 'n Whistles Advent Calendar .. right here! So come back and visit us daily beginning December 1st okay? We have lots of things in store for all of you lovelies!

Also right now we have a "Christmas" theme over at our Belles 'n Whistles Challenge Blog that we'd love for you to play. Pop on over for some fabulous inspiration from my sweet DT sisters and awesome GDT!

Thanks for visiting and I'll see ya soon!

Hugs,

Elise

Happy b'day Julia

2011-11-26T09:00:00.006+01:00

Today my cute niece Julia turns 3! Happy b'day sweetie!

Of course I needed to create a little b'day card for her. I coloured little Pepper with gift with my copics.

Made a little card 5 x 5 with DPs, flowers and pearls from stash.

Make sure that you don't miss the Sale that ends this weekend over at BnW.

Kram and hope you are going to have a fab weekend!

Anki

A baby card

2011-11-25T09:00:00.001+01:00

Hi Friends!

Today I want to show you a baby card. I have made a shaker card this time.

I have used a sweet little girl stamp. The image is coloured with distress ink, reinkers. The frame is made by using spellbinders dies. Inside I have put some glitter to make it sparkle.

I have written the babys name by using a quick kutz alphabet.

The card is decorated with flowers, laces, doily and pearls.

Thanks for stopping by

Hugs Audhild

Angels Grace Christmas Tree

2011-11-20T16:01:00.001+01:00

Greetings Belles 'n Whistles Friends!
Can you believe how fast the month of November is passing us by? Christmas is just a little over a month away.
I've been a busy little bee in my craft room, trying to prepare for my holiday mailing list, and creating gifts etc. There never seem to be enough hours in the day it seems.

Today I have a little something to share with you, that I created after I saw something similar in a store. Although, what I saw in the store was made out of some sort of mesh wire, and I had the idea to create mine with lots of ribbon and lace.

This little tree is actually a solid chipboard type of cone, and rows of ribbon were glued on with hot glue. I just really love the way this turned out.

Each of the ribbons used on this tree are velvet to the touch. It is so much prettier in person. I wish I could capture it's beauty on camera, but.... a camera can only do so much.

I've used the new "Angels Grace" stamp at the top of my tree because she seems to go sooooo beautifully with this tree. Have you all had a chance to go shopping and get your own holiday stamps this year from Belles 'n Whistles? They truly are adorable, aren't they? Oh how I love the holiday season for crafting. =)

It won't be long now, and we will be having our 3rd annual Belles 'n Whistles Advent festivities. I hope you mark your calendars, and join us this year.

Thanks so much for stopping by....

Hugs,
Lynda

Angel's Grace

2011-11-11T09:00:00.000+01:00

Hello Belles 'n Whistles Fans, Iris here! Today I like to show you a Christmas Card I made with one of the newly released 2011 Christmas stamps, called Angels Grace. Oh isn't she such a beauty and so charming?

You can get her and 12 other beautiful stamps from the 2011 Christmas release in the store HERE. Make sure to order soon as they are flying from the shelves! Some more good news: The other Christmas stamps from earlier releases are in stock as well! So what are you waiting for...fill your stockings! :-)
More photos and details are available on my blog.

Hugs,

Iris

Did you guess?

2011-11-08T09:00:00.003+01:00

Hello ladies!

So wonderful to see that so many actually left the right guess on my previous post.

I therefore had to use Randomorg in order to pick one lucky winner of cute little
Andrew's Christmas Stocking:

I coloured him with my copics and you will see my finished card this week.

So - who's the lucky winner?? Well - congratulations Claudine!!!
Please email me your contact details.

I hope that you've checked out all the new stamps and the DT ladies will be showcasing them as of now until X-mas. A hint - check out supertalented Iris blog today.

Make sure that you don't miss the wonderful Digital Word Art by our very own Lynda!
Also - mark your calendars: The Belles 'n Whistles Advent Calendar starts again on December 1st here on our Inspirational Blog!!! Lots of Inspiration, Holiday Spirit and of course Giveaways are waiting for you!

Wish you a wonderful day and happy shopping!

Kram - Anki

In the Spotlight

2011-11-07T09:00:00.046+01:00

Hello there! Today, I've chosen to spotlight a couple GORGEOUS cards that I've found in our Belles 'n Whistles Gallery. Of course .. ALL of your cards are absolutely STUNNING and I would love to spotlight your card a next time we do this! :)

The first card I've chosen is from June using Merry Sledding. Oh gosh how I love her subtle colors, and how everything looks so delicate and divine! Her style is something words cannot explain .. I love it! Thank you June for such an AMAZING creation!

And here's another INCREDIBLE creation I found made by Just Barbara using Baking with Nana. Does this blow your mind or what?! Whew! This whose scene that she created is so AMAZING! I love it! Thank you Just Barbara for this sensational creation!

Thank you SO much for visiting us and sharing all of your WONDERFUL creations! It was extremely tough to spotlight just 2 creations since EVERY single one in the gallery is simply fabulous! All of you SO rock!

Oh and just to let you know, we have another new challenge over at our Belles 'n Whistles Challenge Blog "Anything Goes" .. come check it out and join us! See ya there!

Hugs,

Elise

Can you guess?

2011-11-04T08:00:00.000+01:00

Hello ladies!

Today I will keep the post very short - because I'm superbusy with preparing my b'day party. Yes - I'm turning 25 again *lol*. So in order to celebrate my birthday - I also want to give a little candy away.

If you can guess what this little puzzle piece is showing - then one of you will receive this new stamp (full reveal November 8th). I will pick the winner by random org if there are more than one leaving a correct answer.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Kramis - Anki

My Sweet Love...

2011-10-28T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hello friends!! Today is my turn to post for you and I have chosen to share with you a card I've actually made for my hubby! It will be our Anniversary tomorrow and I wanted to let him know just how special he is! :)

I've taken the Belles 'n Whistles stamp called Sweet Love and personalized the heart in the middle with my own handwriting using my Copic writer. I thought that was a great place to add the date and how many years that we have been married. I've taken a circle sentiment and punched out some small hearts to add to it as well as add some liquid pearls on the hearts. I've also added the liquid pearls to the stamped couple too.

I have a larger photo on my blog as well as a special photo of me and hubby if you'd like to pop on over for a look. Thanks so much for checking in here today!

I hope that both hubby and you have enjoyed my creation!! Have a great weekend!! :)

A girly card

2011-10-26T22:47:00.000+02:00

Hi friends!

Today I want to show you a card for a sweet little girl. I have used this cute stamp of a girl and her teddy bear.

I have coloured the stamp with distress ink, reinkers and added some stickles.

All the edges are inked and sewed.

The card is decorated with flowers and a lace.

Thank you for visiting

Trick or Treat

2011-10-25T09:00:00.000+02:00

Greetings! I hope you are all having lots of crafting time. This is the season where crafting REALLY gets fun. I just love all the festivities of Fall, and then it runs right into Christmas holidays after that.

I thought I'd share a fun little Halloween Treat Bag with you today. Believe it or not, this is something that doesn't take much time to put together. I think the longest process was the coloring of the adorable little "Witch With Broom". She's so adorable, I never get tired of coloring her.

The one thing I can't believe is that my dark purple ribbon running across the bottom and the knot barely show up in this photo. In real life it's a beautiful contrast against the black. Why my camera is playing tricks on me is anyones guess. Isn't that little witch just the cutest? Elisabeth Bell sure does know how to capture such precious moments in a the lives of little ones, doesn't she?

I really have to say that I'm loving the paper spider web in the background. If I remember correctly, I cut that using my Cricut, and it had to have been cut from the "Paper Dolls" cartridge. I really can't remember, but it sounds about right. ha ha.... The little orange gift bag cost me less than a $1.00 and was the perfect bag to decorate and fill with all sorts of fun Halloween goodies.

This project (without counting the stamping and coloring time) took about 10 minutes to put together. I love it when there are moments when something is adorable, but still quick and easy. Don't you?

I hope you have enjoyed this quick little treat bag idea today, and give it a try yourself.

Thanks so much for stopping in today. Oh yes, and lets not forget, we have a brand new challenge going on over on the challenge blog this week. Use your Pins & Pearls, and join in the fun. We would love to see your beautiful creations.

Lady Bug

2011-10-20T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hej friends!

Today I have a little mini-card to show you where I used Breezy Going.

I love this Ladybug DP (that I got at our local craft shop - Pysselakuten) so much that I didn't want to cover it at all. That's why you only see pearls and a ribbon on this card - except for the cute little stamp of course.

Coloured her with my copics as always.

Have a wonderful day!

Anki

with love

2011-10-18T09:00:00.004+02:00

Hally tuesday B'n'W-friends!

Today I am going to share a card I made using "A Pen Friend". This image is just so cute and I could use it again and again...
For today I went with browns and pinks and some cream. I tried to color the image quite soft, with enough shadows but not too many bright areas.

As the sentiment I decided to go with a postage stamp that goes wonderfully with the image. I didn't have the exact thing I wanted so I combined the frame of a Whimsy Stamps stamp and the heart and saying of Stampin' Up.

I also wanted to get a more distressed look here and used my Distress It All on the edges of my papers. I am a tool junky - but I really love this one! It's so much faster and less messy than distressing my papers by hand...

These are the Copics I used to color the image:

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Christmas is Coming Soon!

2011-10-17T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hello friends! Do you realize how close we are to Christmas?!

I love hand-made especially during the Christmas time! I love making gifts, wrapping, tags and also enjoy the cookie-making process as well! So I thought now would be a great time to start thinking about some fun gift-giving ideas for the Holiday Season! (And don't forget our FUN "Advent Event" coming in December right here on this blog! There is always so much fun and inspiration from the BnW team! Be sure to follow along with us now so you don't miss a single thing!)

I was thinking of Summer and her new baby she had this year and realized that this would be her very first Christmas! And with all of the new babies in our family, it was always a tradition to make an ornament for the new baby! So here's what I came up with:

I've used some round 4" chipboard and covered it with papers so that the back of the ornament has a nice finish on it as well. I've also taken some ribbon and placed it in between two coasters and glued them together so that it is a bit thicker and sturdier to hang on a tree.

I typed up the "baby's first Christmas" on the computer and punched it out to attach to the front...you could also add in the year if you'd like. I've taken an older Belles 'n Whistles stamp (the Christmas tree) and stamped it along the side of the circle so that there would be space left on the right side of the image. I then separately stamped this very sweet Rockin' Around stamp, colored her with my Copic markers and cut her out and popped her up in front of the Christmas tree.

Now wouldn't this be a precious gift for baby? You could customize it just by changing up the colors of her hair and added a name and date with it as well. They're so fun and easy to make! So be sure to grab up your favorite Belles 'n Whistles Holiday stamps and start making yours for the quickly approaching Holiday Season!! Thanks for checking in today!! See you again soon! :)

Spooky but cute

2011-10-14T09:00:00.001+02:00

Happy Friday!
Today we have wonderful Autumn day. The sun is shining, but Mr Frosty has paid us a visit during the night. Minus 4,5 C this morning...brrr....... So Isac and I are off to do some clothes shopping. Can't believe it how fast he grows ;-)

Today I wanted to show you a little cute card with warm Autumn colours and of course the cute little witch.

Colouring: Copics

DP: SU

Ribbon: SU

Flowers: Prima, Wild orchid

Hope you like it and have wonderful weekend! Tomorrow Isac starts the local ice-skating school - we'll see how that goes.

Kramis - Anki

All Things Grow With Love

2011-10-13T06:00:00.000+02:00

Greetings my dear Belles 'n Whistles Friends,
Wow, it seems like an eternity since I've posted here. I certainly have not forgotten about all of you, our fabulous followers, but you know how it goes when life gets busy busy busy..... I've kept myself busy with "behind the scenes stuff" But ohhh I'll not tell what that is all about. Not yet anyway....

Today I thought I would share something I have made for an art journaling class that I'm involved in. I have found a new love for creating an art journal. Nothing is ever wrong, all kinds of crazy things are acceptable. As a matter of fact, I found out that the further out of the ordinary for me, the better things seem to turn out. This week the class theme was called "Bloom & Grow" ... Well of course I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this theme.... So I took a couple of absolutely adorable little Belles 'n Whistles stamps, and set out to create a "Bloom & Grow" style art journal layout. So today I am sharing my creation with all of you.

I of course used some of the darling little fairies from the fairy collection. Aren't they just darling?

For my "Floral Stamps" I really couldn't tell you what company they are from, to be honest, they were just taken from my "Random Stamps" case. You see, it's always good to search those dollar sale bins at the stores, you never know what you may find.

I used Tim Holtz Distress ink in Peeled Paint and Walnut Stain to create a distressed background. I wrinkled the pages, ran them under water, and completely crumpled them up in my hands until they were a tight ball.

When I was done with that I lay them out to dry.

Once they were dry enough, I used clear Gesso for my pages, this made the pages a little more sturdy to work with, as well as accepting stamped and painted things a little easier.

I began my layout, and let me tell you, I had a TON OF FUN with this spread.

I am curious... Have any of you ever done "Art Journaling"???

I wonder what the vote would be on whether any of you would like to play along if we did a short class, completely for fun of course.

Maybe we could even incorporate some art journaling into our BnW Challenges?
What are all of your thoughts on this?
Just my curiosity, you know how that goes, don't you?

Thanks so much for stopping in today, and I truly hope that you have enjoyed my Art Journal spread.

these fairies are just tooooo precious, I had to use them this week.

Belinda with Teddy

2011-10-12T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hello Belles'n Whistles Friends, Iris here! Just a little reminder that our new challenge started on Monday! Lovely Elise is our host this time and she wants us to use our favorite Elisabeth Bell stamp. To read all about the challenge click HERE! And here is my challenge creation:

I colored sweet Belinda with Teddy with my Copics. DP is Basic Grey 'Kioshi'. To cut my card base I used my Cricut. Other punches and dies used are Spellbinders and EK Success. The flower, ribbon, rhinestones and button are from my stash. I did not use a sentiment so this card can be used for many different occasions.

Can't wait to see all your lovely creations!

Have a wonderful week!

Bloom Where You Are Planted

2011-10-10T09:00:00.001+02:00

Hello Friends! It's my turn to host a challenge over at Belles 'n Whistles .. and so I've chose a quite simple theme .. "Use Your Favorite Elisabeth Bell Image". I have so many favorite images, so I just chose which one I wanted to play with next. And I chose this cutie ... Planting Some Love.

I hope to see you over in our Belles 'n Whistles Challenge! :) My DT Sisters have created some GORGEOUS things for you to inspired by! Thank you so much for visiting me and I'll see ya again soon!

Hugs,

Elise

twinkle, twinkle little star

2011-10-07T09:00:00.001+02:00

Happy friday everyone!

I know, looking outside the window so not reminds us of christmas at the moment but you know it - it will be here soon. To be prepared I am already working on some christmas cards and today I want to share the one I made using "Star of Bethlehem".

I have been making a tutorial for the European Copic Blog on how to color golden - and this image was my # 1 pick. Not only because the areas were large enough to really show the single steps but the more since I always thought they will look like angels if their dresses would be colored in gold. Weren't I right?

I combined some golden glitter cardstock with really soft papers in white/cream with a hint of green. And there are also two little bells next to the flowers so it not only looks christmassy, it also sounds like it.
The saying is german and means "silent night, holy night".

Beside the YR23, Y17, Y15, Y13, Y11, Y00 and the golden and clear Spica At You pens for all the golden areas I went with these Copics to color the image:

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

On the way

2011-10-06T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hej ladies!

How are you these days? Has fall arrived yet? Here in Sweden we are experiencing what we call "November weather" -and with that - I mean rain, rain and rain.......

Today I have a short post for you - showing this cutie "Country ride". I decided to use Lynda's colour challenge red, blue and yellow for this card.

Hope you like it!

I also have a question for you - which one of the SweetArt girls is your favorite?

Also - don't forget to join us over at our BnW Challenge.

Kramis

Anki

For You

2011-10-03T09:00:00.024+02:00

Hello Friends! Hope you're all doing very well! I decided to make a tag with this adorable Sweet Apples. I decided to make her black/white with dashes of pinks on there. And then I also added some flower soft that I have around the edges since it contained pinks and greens like on my image.

Thanks for visiting us and I do hope to see you over at our Belles 'n Whistles Challenge Blog too! Right now the challenge is to "Use Your Favorite Color Combo" ... sweet and simple and FUN! :)

See ya soon! Have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Elise

Boo!

2011-09-29T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hello friends!

I know, it's still some time until Halloween will be here but this little witch is already practicing to be able to scare you all that special night. Okay, I think she is way too cute to scare anyone but I am not going to tell her that to not make her sad...

I used the typical Halloween colors here but left out the orange. Instead I went with green and black and purple which is colorful enough to me. LOL
I tried to add as many typical Halloween things as possible: a drippy goo border, a batty fence, a spiderweb, the witche's shoe and papers with spiders and ghosts. I also love the cheesecloth on Halloween cards since it seems like there are real spiderwebs included here. And I also added some black paint around the edges of the papers.

These are the Copics I used to color the image:

Wishing all of you a wonderful day!

A christmas card

2011-09-28T22:33:00.000+02:00

It is not long until christmas, and I am still working with my christmas cards.

So far I have made 3 christmas cards each month this year. Hopefully I will avoid stress in December.

This is my 2nd card this month.

I have used a beautiful stamp from BnW. This is one of my favourites.

The image is coloured with distress ink, reinkers. I have also added stickles, star dust, to the image.

Beautiful pattern papers from Maja design.

The card is decorated with flowers, roses, pearls and laces.

Thank you for visiting the BnW blog.

Hugs Audhild

2011-09-21T23:35:00.000+02:00

Hello friends!

It is my time to update the BnW blog. Today I have used one of the rereleased Elisabeth Bell images.

Isn't this little girl cute?

I have coloured the image with distress ink, reinkers.

All the edges are inked and sewed.

The beautiful pattern papers are form Maja Design. I have decorated my card with pearls, flowers and a butterfly.

Thank you for visiting us.

Hugs Audhild

Cuddle with Me?

2011-09-19T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hello friends and happy Monday!

Today is my turn to post on the Belles 'n Whistles Inspirational Blog....I hope you will come over to follow us here so you don't miss any of the gorgeous inspiration from the DT!! :)

**Don't forget there is one more week left to enter the Belles 'n Whistles Color Combo Challenge that our lovely DT member Lynda has set up for us! Be sure to stop by and have a look!**

I have something to share with you that is soft and sweet today...

AWW!! So girly girl! :) I love the softness the feather creates to the layout design.

I've used the darling Eden with Teddy from the Belles 'n Whistles Forever Young Collection.

She really needs a friend to cuddle here and her teddy looks like he's up for the job! :)

Besides the feather, I've added lots of pearls, circles, squares, oval and a die cut scroll at the top. The colors chosen are mostly pink and I've computer generated my sentiment and punched it out.

Since I have only boys in my family, it was so nice to make a nice pink girly creation!

I hope you've enjoyed my creation and you are always welcome to stop by my blog for more inspiration using the Belles 'n Whistles stamps! Thanks for dropping by! :)

Smiles, Vicki

Pretty in Patches

2011-09-16T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hello Belles'n'Whistles fans!
Today I am going to share one of the new stamps that were release some time ago:

Pretty in Patches.

Okay, it is an oldie but a goodie and I am so happy Summer gave this stamp a new home in this wonderful family called Belles'n'Whistles.

I did made a monochrome card this time using white and brownish grey tones. I used these markers to get the image colored like this:

Of course I also had to add some Crackle Paint and a few flowers, but I didn't want to add to much so the image is still the focus point on this card.
The saying is by Stampin' Up.

Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend!

Spotlight Time!

2011-09-14T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hello Belles 'n Whistles Fans, Iris here! Wow it's Wednesday already, can you believe we are in the middle of the week already...phew time is flying!

Today I like to show you cards I found in our Gallery, these were entries from one of our past challenges and they are so very pretty and adorable so I thought it's time for a spotlight posting to give them some more attention ;-)

This one was created by Mo

Image: Sweet Dreams from the Forever Young Collection

And here is another beauty made by Lynne

Image: Beary Big Hugs from the Sweet Things Collection

Do you want to be in the spotlight on our inspirational blog? Then upload your Belles 'n Whistles creation into our Gallery. Keep your fingers crossed and maybe next time it's your creation to be spotlighted here on our blog!

Have a great day and thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Iris

Best Friends

2011-09-09T09:00:00.002+02:00

Hello Friends! I hope it's getting cooler wherever you are, and you have some relief from the heat. Here in Vegas .. no relief yet. lol!!!

Well, I've created a card using a most sweet image from Belles ' n Whistles from the newest SweetArt Release called "Sweet Summer Days". ahhh, this is such a wonderful image! When Summer gets this in stock again, be sure to snatch it up quickly .. because I'll tell you .. this can be used for so many things and it was a pure pleasure to color! :)

The Fun Stuff:

Image: Sweet Summer Days from Belles 'n Whistles

Paper: K&Co

Medium: Distress Inks

Thanks so much for visiting us here at Belles 'n Whistles! We sure do love seein' ya!

Hugs,

Elise

Wish.....

2011-09-07T06:00:00.000+02:00

Good Morning!!

Well this week has started off so beautifully!!

I can tell that Autumn is on its way!

Even here in Texas it is only in the low 90's!!
LOL! That may not sound nice to some but after

this summer it feels a bit chilly even! hehe

Anyways I am having a hard time getting away from

summery colors and whatnot so here is one

more with my fav colors:

The image was colored with distress inks and twinkling h20's.

Of course I have used a ton of crackle paint as well!

If you use it let me know ~ I would love to check out how

everyone else is using it!

Don't forget to play along in our challenge and

thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Have a fabulous week!

:)Kathy

Halloween Cutie...

2011-09-05T09:00:00.000+02:00

Little Witch with Broom is from the Belles N Whistles Holiday Collection.

I've paper pieced her hat, robes and the pumpkins. Coloring with Copics was done on her face, hair, robe trim, broom and the background. DP is Cosmo Cricket Matilda. She was stamped on white cardstock, cut out and mounted on a black glitter scalloped frame. MS spiderweb punch for the top and bottom borders. The card base is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" cream cs base.

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave!

Have a wonderful day!

Pickin' SWEET Apples!

2011-09-02T07:00:00.000+02:00

Hello friends!!! Welcome to September!! Did you think that you would never see me again?!! NOT A CHANCE!! :) I just couldn't give up my love of being a Belles 'n Whistles design team member!! Besides, I adore all of my fellow Belles 'n Whistles DT sisters...so I just had to stay, I just took a bit of a break and now I'm back to stay!

I hope you don't mind too much anyway!

Have you checked out the A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E new Sweet Art Girls II Collection yet?! If not, what are you waiting for!! Go grab your faves while they're still in stock! They always come back in stock, but they sure go quickly! And if you're looking for ideas with one of your fave images, be sure to check out the beautiful Belles 'n Whistles on-line photo sharing gallery!! There are projects from other BnW lovers besides creations from the DT too!!

So today, I wanted to share a creation that I made using the current Belles 'n Whistles Challenge going on right now which is a very beautiful sketch from our lovely DT sister Anki! BUT...there is a "twist" with this sketch, she would like for you to use your favorite shape on a portion of your layout.

So here's what I've come up with for the challenge:

I've used the precious SWEET APPLES stamp on my creation and for my favorite shape, I've fashioned a template and cut out an apple to go with my image! :) I just love apples! Apple pie, apple salad, taffy apples...so yummy and Fall is the perfect time to pluck them off the trees!!

I was able to get out some new flowers I've got and I've added some seam binding and a button to the apple shape for a "country" look. I've also added some touches of sparkle here and there.

I hope you've enjoyed my creation for you today and I look forward to sharing many more Belles 'n Whistles creations with you! I'm so very excited to be back with you all!! See you soon!

Hugs, Vicki

Thinking of You ...

2011-08-31T09:00:00.040+02:00

Hello there! Well, the Summer vacation months have now come to a close .. and now we are all probably reflecting on what fun we had these past 3 months! And gosh how did those 3 months FLY by right?! Now Fall is right around the corner .. which is such a WONDERFUL season!

You know that Halloween is around the corner and Thanksgiving and Christmas is coming right up too! :) The festive feelings start bubbling up and getting ready for all of the fun celebrations!

This little girl here in my card is called "Patches 'n Braids" .. isn't she just ADORABLE?!!!! Hope you're all having fun with Belles 'n Whistles new release .. I know I sure am!!!

And don't forget to stop on by our Belles 'n Whistles Challenge! Anki created a wonderful sketch with a twist for us! :)

Have a beautiful day and see ya all soon!

Hugs,

Elise

Snowflakes in August

2011-08-29T15:19:00.003+02:00

Hello BnW Fans! Today a new challenge is starting over at our BnW Challenge Blog. Anki is our host today and she came up with a great sketch! Why not check it out and play along?! Click HERE for all the information.

This is my challenge creation.The sweet image is called 'Catch A Flake" from the Snowbabies collection. I colored using Copics. DP is Bo Bunny. Dies and punches used are from Spellbinders, Marianne Design and Martha Stewart.

Thanks for stopping by and we would love to see your entry over at our BnW Challenge Blog

Hugs,

Witches Brew....

2011-08-25T14:17:00.000+02:00

Good Morning!!

Well my girls went back to school this week

so I am in a sort of fallish mood!

I decided to break out some Halloween stamps

and some new papers!

I just love this sweet little witch, Little Witch with Broom.

Since I am awful with black I decided to paper

piece her outfit with some dp. I added a ton of glitter

to the circle behind her to! I also didn't have any

black flowers so I painted some white ones with

black soot distress inks!

Don't forget about our challenge that is going on right now!

It is a nice and easy one ~ Anything Goes.

Well that is it for today!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope

you all have a fabulous day!

:)Kathy

Pretty in Patches

2011-08-19T06:00:00.000+02:00

Hello Everyone and Happy TGIF! For my card I like to show you today I used the super cute stamp 'Pretty in Patches' from the just 'reborn' SweetArt Girls II collection. There are now 17 SweetArt Girl stamps available in the store.

I colored this beautiful little girl using my Copics. DP is from my new Bo Bunny "Garden Girl' paper pad and I thought it is just perfect for this stamp. Flowers are from my stash and punched out using my retro flower punches.

Please remember our Belles n Whistles challenge is still going on! So come and join in the fun!

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,

Make a Wish

2011-08-17T09:00:00.039+02:00

Hello Friends! How are you all doing? Can you believe that the Summer is almost over?! Oh my goodness! I swear it just started last week and it's already coming to a close!

For today's card, I've chosen to use Fairy Wishes ... this little girl is so precious isn't she? This is such a sweet image to make for any girl ... any age!!

I hope you'll also stop by our Belles 'n Whistles Challenge Blog .. we have an EASY challenge of "Anything Goes"! Stop by and check out my DT sisters works .. oh they're so FABULOUS!!! And Summer has THE cutest images to play and choose from!!!

Thanks for visiting us and we'll see you again!

Hugs,

Elise

A reminder.....

2011-08-15T21:29:00.001+02:00

Hello Belles 'n Whistles Fans! I just wanted to remind you that a new challenge started today on our Belles 'n Whistles Challenge Blog! The theme this fortnight is 'Anything Goes'! Isn't that nice and easy?! So lets see what you've got! You can use any stamp designed by Elisabeth Bell to enter our challenges. It doesn't have to be a Belles 'n Whistles stamp. But if you have one we would love to see what you are creating with it! ;-)

Here are a few sneaks from the DT creations

If you want to see the complete creations please visit our challenge blog!

Hope to see you at our challenge blog and looking forward to your designs!

Hugs,

Blog Hop Winners ... Stop Here...

2011-08-12T09:00:00.005+02:00

Hello out there.... Is anyone in the mood for an exciting announcement?

We have some winners to announce today.

Those of you who hopped along with us for our Very First All Customer Blog Hop, are going to want to sit still, because what you are about to read will DEFINITELY be suspenseful....

Here is a recap of the newest additions to the
Belles 'n Whistles Family.

I'm trying to figure out if we should announce our Grand Prize winner, first, OR should we announce our random drawings from comment that were left???

Here we go....

First we have our 5 winners that were taken from comments that were left on 5 different blogs.
Pysselbus

Frida

Judy

Gry

Sparcstation

Congratulatons ladies, you have each won a stamp of your choice from the Belles 'n Whistles' Newly Released Collection. Please Contact Summer with your choice of stamp.

Next, we have 4 ladies that have mentioned the 2 specially colored images that they saw along the hop. All Chosen Randomly of course.

Yvonne
Kim Kelley
Lindha

Frea

Congratulations to each of you. Please Contact Me to receive both Word Art Digital Sentiment sets.

Alright, are we ready to announce our Top Three Winners? These 3 ladies, all participated in our blog hop, and their cards/projects were voted on by the DT. Definitely NOT an easy process.

Drum Roll Please.......

Our 3rd Place Winner

winning 2 Stamps from
this new Release.

Mary Lou

.

.

.

.

Our 2nd Place Winner
winning 3 Stamps from
this new Release.

June
.

.

.

.

.

.

.

And our Grand Prize Winner
winning this entire release

Chelsea Le

2nd and 3rd place winners, Please Contact Summer . Please be sure to mention to Summer what you won, and your choice of stamps..

And Chelsea, the same for you, but you will be receiving this entire release.

Christmas card in August

2011-08-11T20:21:00.000+02:00

Hi Friends!

I hope you enjoyed our bloghop. I loved it myself, so many beautiful creations from our customers.

Well, back to my card. Today I have made a christmas card. I have used one of the lovely snowbaby stamps.

My image is coloured with distress ink, reinkers.

I have also added stickles, start dust, to the image.

All the edges on the card are inked and sewed.

I have decorated my card with ribbon, lace, flowers and roses.

Thank you for visiting

Hugs Audhild

Belinda with Teddy

2011-08-10T07:00:00.003+02:00

I would first like to thank all the lovely hoppers who've joined us at the
Belles N Whistles customer blog hop yesterday!

If you missed yesterday, you can still join in today as it's a 2 day hop
(there's still time!!!)
and get awesome prizes!

Okay, getting to my post....

I have the lovely Belinda with Teddy and she was colored with Copics. She is one of the new releases from the Sweet Art girls 2 collection. I've made a simple card, 4 1/4" x 5 1/2", that is quite easy to mass produce specially if you're in a hurry. The border is a MS punch and I scored the top and bottom of the band. And some bling ... just because ;o)

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave!

Have a wonderful day!

BnW Release and Our First Ever "All Customer Blog Hop"

2011-08-08T00:00:00.026+02:00

Welcome to the

Belles ‘n Whistles “All Customer Blog Hop”

Today we are celebrating the rebirth of the darling SweetArt girls designed by none other than Artist Elisabeth Bell.

Belles ‘n Whistles now has a total of 17 SweetArt girls in their store, available RIGHT NOW! They were just too beautiful to be left sitting in the archives. Elisabeth Bells talent deserves better than storage, don’t you think?

We are so excited about this special release, because we have decided to have many of our Belles ‘n Whistles Customers joining us for this special occasion. Along this hop you will find the new releases, mixed in with the wonderful works of our loyal customers.

The Hop Starts Here. You will find the master list of participants below. To keep things easy, please follow this master list and leave a comment on each blog.

You are definitely going to want to do that anyway, because YOU could win a stamp from Belles ‘n Whistles, just for leaving some love along the way.

Blog Hop Participant Prizes…

We will have a top 3...

With the number 1 spot being the "Grand Prize Winner"

The Grand Prize Winner will receive the Entire Release!

2nd Place Winner will receive THREE Stamps of their choice.

3rd Place Winner will receive TWO Stamps of their choice.

These three awards will be based on participants of the blog hop, and will be voted on
by Summer, and the BnW DT.

There are even more ways to win!!!

If you are NOT a participant, but just hopping along with us,

we will have FIVE winners chosen by Random.org

just for leaving comments along the way.

Not only that, but we have a little extra added surprise for you….

Somewhere along the way, you are going to see 2 different new SweetArt Girls that are also part of this release. They will be colored images, no card, just a Sweet piece of art with their official stamp name on them.

It works like this….
If you spot one of those images, make sure you mention what you saw, and there will be FOUR winners from THOSE comments to win not one, but TWO brand new Digital Word Art, that just so happen to go perfectly with some of the Belles ‘n Whistles Stamps.

What do you think of those? Guess what? You can find them in the Digital Stamp catagory over at the Belles 'n Whistles Shop.

When you have finished with the hop, please be sure to come back here and leave a comment telling us what you thought…

Our blog hop will last for only 2 days, Closing at 11:59PM, August 10^th. Winners will be chosen and posted right here on Friday, August 12^th.

Soooo, are you ready for some awesome inspiration, and some exciting prizes? Sit back, grab a cup of coffee, tea, or Lemonade and enjoy all the fun and exciting things we have to share with you today.

Here we go…..

The MASTER LIST…..

Starting with

TanyaJ

Carol(Granny)

Anki

Vanja

Janneke

JennyL

Audhild

Penni

Lorraine

Marion H

Lynda

Tammi

RhondaMiller

Lilian

Kim T

Elise

Becky Dunham

Martina B.

Alethea

Iris

Kathrin

Mary Lou

Louise Hodge

Chelsea Le

Kathy

Gry

Sebrina

Kat

Vicki

Laetitia

Linda

Bonnie O’Claire

June

Crafty Kitten

and then back here and leave us your feedback

I’m so glad that you stuck with us… Did you have fun?
What did you like best about this first ever “All Customer Blog Hop?”
Make sure you leave your comment, letting us know what you thought.

Thanks So Much for hopping with us, and making this hop a memorable one.

Belles 'n Whistles Invites You......

2011-08-05T13:40:00.000+02:00

This post stays on top until Friday August 5th. Please scroll down for newer postings!

Greetings!

How about we shake things up a bit?!
We thought that we would invite you all to hop in and get involved.
What could be more fun? Trust me, you won't want to miss this.

Prizes, fun, and a new release are all a part of the fun.

You're Invited to join us here on August 8th, 2011, for our very first

"All Customer Blog Hop"

This event is going to be such fun.

If you would like to be a participant,
please enter your name and blog address in the Inlinkz feature below.

This list will be kept private until the day of the blog hop.
You will have until Friday, August 5th, 2011, to sign up.

IMPORANT

When creating your card or project, please use ONLY a Belles 'n Whistles Image or any of the older SweetArt Stamps that were once sold by Sugar Nellie.

Include a link in your post back here where the master hop list will be located.

grab the "All Customer Blog Hop" badge above, to help advertise for this fun filled event.

The more the merrier, I always say!

PRIZES!!!!

Did someone say prizes? Well of course there will be prizes.

We will have a top 3...

With the number 1 spot being the "Grand Prize Winner"

The Grand Prize Winner will receive the Entire Release!

2nd Place Winner will receive THREE Stamps of their choice.

3rd Place Winner will receive TWO Stamps of their choice.

These three awards will be based on participants of the blog hop, and will be voted on
by Summer, and the BnW DT.

There are even more ways to win!!!

If you are NOT a participant, but just hopping along with us,

we will have FIVE winners chosen by Random.org

just for leaving comments along the way.

Each will win a stamp of their choice from Belles 'n Whistles

Sooooo, What are you waiting for?

Sign ups start now!

Tea Time with Belle

2011-08-05T09:00:00.018+02:00

It's my turn to post today and I am pretty late to submit this for our

Belles N Whistles Challenge with a theme of "girly cards"

I used Belle's Strawberry Tea and of course she was colored with Copics. Die cuts are spellbinders floral motifs. I do not remember what the DP is, it's been in my stack of papers for awhile - I have been hesitating to use these DP for a long time because they are so pretty!

Here's another view. I used the remaining scrap and placed it under the MS flower punch.

There's still time join in our first

Customer Blog Hop which will be
on Monday, August 8, 2011!

We would love to see you there!

You can use any Belles and Whistles and old Sweet Art Ebony images to join in and yes, as always there are prizes!!!

Thank you for stoppping by and for any comments you may leave!

Have a wonderful day!

Babycard

2011-08-02T19:10:00.000+02:00

Today I want to show you a card for a cute little baby boy.

Maybe some of you have visited the Belles 'n Whistles challenge blog.

There you can see that I have used this image for a cute little baby girl too.

This is one of my favourite Belles 'n Whistles images.

I have coloured it with distress ink, reinkers.

All the edges are inked and sewed. I have also used a stamp on the pattern papers.

I have used two different pattern papers on my card. The babycard is decorated with flowers.

Thank you for visiting

Hugs Audhild

Christmas in July

2011-07-29T13:08:00.000+02:00

Hi Friends!

I think some of you know that I have a goal to make 3 christmas cards each month. I begun in January. I have managed to keep my goal so far.

This month I desided to make a card with one of the beautiful stamps from the Snowbaby collection.

The stamp snowbaby Catch a Snowflake is so beautiful.

I have made a twisted easel card.

The image is coloured with distress ink, reinkers.

All the edges are inked and sewed.

I dont remember where the pattern paper comes from.

The snowflakes are from a Martha Stewart punch.

Thank you for visiting

Special

2011-07-28T09:00:00.001+02:00

Hello Friends! How are you all doing? Hope you're getting in some fun activities during the Summer months .. maybe a vacation to a place that you've always wanted to visit? I just want to go to Disneyland over and over and over again .. can never get tired of the place! lol!

Great thing about it is .. my hubby and little boy loves Disneyland as well (yup! Even my hubby loves Disneyland! Yayyy!). Hopefully we'll get to go before the end of the year ... I'd really love to go right before Christmas!

Anyway .. I started going off in daydream mode .. lol! Here's my card that I made with Little Friend:

Thanks for visiting stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Elise

Sweet Dreams

2011-07-25T09:00:00.002+02:00

Hello Everyone! Today I like to show you my card I made for our ongoing BnW Challenge which is Complimentary Colors.

I chose the colors blue and orange together with the cute 'Sweet Dreams' image from the 'Forever Young' collection. I stamped the image onto iridescent cryogen white paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I colored the cutie using my Copics. The leave flourish is from Cheery Lynne Designs and the border punch is a MS punch. All other embellies are from my stash.

Copic colors used are: B 000-00-01-04-06; YR 0000-000-00-12-15-18; E 50-31-25 (Hair); E 000-00-01-11 (Skin). For shadows and to tone the colors down a bit I used: T 0-1-3 and W 00-0-1-2-3-5

So why not join in on the fun?! You have one more week to enter this fun challenge...simply click HERE for all the details! We would love to see what you create!!!

Luv 'n hugs,

becoming a big brother

2011-07-22T09:00:00.001+02:00

Hello Belles'n'Whistles fans! Nice to see you here today.

As all of you know our own Summer gave birth to a wonderful baby girl only a few weeks ago. Of course I needed to send her a little something for the baby. But being a big sister my own I know how it feels when you have been the one the whole world was about and then everyone seems to be interested in the new baby... ( We all know this is never truth but that's how the "big ones" feel sometimes). I know Andrew is great but I thought he might enjoy a little something as well. And since I guess my letter made it all the way across the ocean now I am sharing the card I made for him.

I used "Wheeling By" here - and also "Little Eden". I know, she's usually bigger but I stamped her, scanned her and let her shrink so she would fit on/in that cart. And so it looks like a big brother that is proudly carrying around his little sister... Wouldn't it be fun to see these two passing by your house?

These are the Copics I used to do the coloring:

Wishing all of you a wonderful weekend!

Thinking of you

2011-07-15T08:00:00.000+02:00

Hej ladies!

How are you these days? Enjoying your Summer break? We are officially on holiday now - so I'm slowly getting into the "vacation mode" ;-)

However - today we have a busy schedule since our son Isac turns 5 today. We will be busy with the last minute preparations for his b'day party. Keeping my fingers crossed that the sun will show up so that we can spend most of the day outdoors.

I also wanted to show you a card that I made at a scrapevent earleir. We had to follow a sketch and here's my card.

I used Fairy Fond Thoughts for my card.

DP and ribbon from SU.

Pearls from stash

Sentiment from Aud Design.

Hope you like it and now I'm off to decorate the b'day cake!

Have a great weekend!

Kramis - Anki

Dreamin'

2011-07-13T09:00:00.002+02:00

Hello Friends! Hope you're all enjoying your summer months .. I know this little cutie here definitely is! I've used Fairy Fond Thoughts and I think she is sitting there day-dreaming of something beautiful. hmmmm .. what could she be thinking of? Maybe a friend that she's going to flutter off to visit .. just to give her friend a that flower and a hug? Even stay awhile to chit chat and share some laughs? :)

Well, here she is:

Thank you for stopping by and visiting, and I do hope you'll come over to Belles 'n Whistles Challenge blog to play with us in "Flowers and Pearls"! Such a fun easy challenge!!

Hugs,

Elise

Purrrrrfectly Sweet

2011-07-11T09:00:00.002+02:00

Greetings, and Happy Monday!!!

I just had to share this adorable card. I don't know what it is, but lately I've really been enjoying pink and blue combinations, as well as purple and teal. I decided to play with some beads for this card. Something I should do more often I'm sure, but I tend to forget that I have them. I've used "Here Kitty Kitty" from the SweetArt Collection. She's such a doll, isn't she?

My image was colored using Copics, and I really fell in love with the color combo that I used. I actually colored this image, before ever picking my papers.... I played with a little bit of paper folding, (notice the flowery paper going across) and what's even better is that my sewing machine is fixed, my sister got me all straightened out with it, now if only I could maintain sewing a completely straight line, but that's another story.... I just have to keep trying I suppose.... Practice makes perfect they say, but... who needs perfection, I just need to be straighter.... Any tips???

Soooooo - can you believe that I picked every single one of these papers from my scrap stash??? I really have got to start using some of those scraps. They're really becoming bothersome... I've told myself that I WILL NOT buy new DP's until I use a good portion of my scraps first. So be prepared to find my cards with all sorts of different things... You never know what I might find... ha ha...

That will be all from me today, I don't think you want to read my rambling, but that's all I seem to do lately.... Later today is cleaning the craft room time... Oh how I dread doing that, but I just can't stand it anymore. I always seem to make such a mess...

My question for you is..... Do you clean up after yourself RIGHT after finishing your project, or do you tend to let it get stacked up or a complete mess before cleaning????

thanks for taking a peek.

Flower and pearls

2011-07-09T17:00:00.000+02:00

Happy Saturday ladies!

It's my first day on my Summer break from the office and yes - the sun has been shining - so I'm one happy lady :-)

Today I would like to show you a card that I made for a newborn little girl (the first granddaughter to one of our neighbours and friends).

Of course I had to colour Sweet Dreams ;-) with my copics.
This was also the card that I planned for the BnW Challenge - flowers and pearls. So ladies - head over and join us in our BnW Challenge. Looking fwd to see what you create.

Have a great weekend!
Kramis - Anki

Fairy Dance

2011-07-07T09:00:00.001+02:00

Yes, it's another Fairy post from me!

It's Fairy Dance... Colored with Copics. :)

Sky was airbrushed... Paper is Webster's Pages.

Thanks for stopping by and for any comments you may leave!

Have a wonderful day!

Fairy Wishes

2011-07-05T09:00:00.004+02:00

I hope you're not sick of these fairies yet as I have quite a few more to finish doing using this layout. :) I am pretty determined to finish my goal .... lol!

Fairy Wishes (currently out of stock) was colored with Copics. Background was airbrushed. I applied spica, white and gel pens on her wings, dress, cake... for added shimmer and shine. Paper is a 6" x 6" Webster's Page.

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave!

Have a wonderful day!

Birthday Wishes.....

2011-07-01T09:00:00.001+02:00

Good Morning!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Today I am sharing my card that I have made for our ongoing

challenge "Things with Wings." You still have a couple days to

play along and it is great for the new Fairy images!!!

The pretty papers are from Bo Bunny and the flowers are from WOC!

The base of the card is cardboard as is my border! I then used a ton

of distress crackle paint! It needed something extra so I threw in

a couple of buttons! That seems to be my answer lately! LOL

Well break out your "wings" if you haven't already!

We love stopping by and seeing all your creations for

the challenges!! Hope you all have a great week-end!

:)Kathy

Spotlights from Ribbon & Lace Challenge

2011-06-30T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hello fellow Belles 'n Whistles friends and Happy Thursday to you all! Today I like to show you some cards that caught my eye from our Ribbon & Lace Challenge (which is NOT our ongoing challenge)

The first card is from 'hellerlittle' using 'Sisters' :

Next is Adeline Ng with this adorable card using SweetArt Girls 'Happy Mail':

And last but not least Judy with the adorable 'Lilypad Dreams':

Thanks for stopping by today and if you want to have a cahnce on being featured as a spotlight on our inspirational blog upload your creations to our Gallery and/or enter our fortnightly challenges! We now accept all Elisabeth Bell stamps in our challenges. Our current challenge theme is "Wing it" and you still have time to enter! Please click here to go to our BnW Challenge Blog!

Hugs,

Iris

from the garden

2011-06-27T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hello dear friends, and happy monday! This is Kathrin and today I am sharing a little greeting from the garden.

The stamp I used is

A Blossom For You

from the Sweet Art Girls.

I went with a blue, grey and white color theme and love the soft touch this gives the image. The round sentiment says "garden greetings" and in the middle it means "sowed in spring, grown in the warm sun, watered by the rain, nourished and cherished by me - to make you happy". I think this is wonderful with this image and a little flower picked in your own garden.

I put some Brushed Pewter Crackle Paint to the edges of the papers, the coloring was done with these Copics:

Okay, I am off to enjoy the sun. My girls had two weeks of vacation and it was raining all the time - and today when school re-starts it´s sunny and really hot. Oh, how unfair is this!
Only 5 more weeks to go until the summer holidays - really keep my fingers crossed those will be better!

YEEHAW!!!

2011-06-23T09:00:00.001+02:00

Hello friends! Vicki here to show you a fun little creation I've made!

This will be my last post as a Belles n' Whistles DT member, but I would like to say thanks for making me feel welcomed onto the team. I really enjoyed my time as a DT member, but it's time for me to move along little doggie! :)

This darling little girl is from the SweetArt Girls Collection and she's called Giddyup Horsey!

I thought this would also be a great card for a July 4th type of theme because of the red, white and blue color combo on my creation. I've had this western style paper for quite a while, so it was fun to get out and use some of it for this. I've tried out the crackle paint along the edges of my paper and added a few embellishments that I thought would look "western" to match my theme here.

You can always stop by my blog to see other Belles n' Whistles creations any time! I will always adore these darling stamps!! Thanks again for having me along for the ride! It's been fun!

HUGS and BLESSINGS to you all!! :)

happy vacation

2011-06-22T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hello ladies!

Happy vacation - this is what this card says. And I can tell you - I could really use some too. My husband had 1.5 weeks off but instead of relaxing and taking some family time we (finally) re-did our bathroom. It´s still not finished and I can´t stand the dirt everywhere in the house anymore. So I made this vacation card and am just dreaming of really being able to enjoy the summer. Okay, not that there is any weather to enjoy so far.LOL

The saying means something like to "leave all cares behind" and so even if you aren´t able to go on a trip far away you can have your little holiday buy just sitting there, enjoying nature and thinking about whatever comes to your mind. Just like this cute little fairy seems to do. She´s listening to the birds and sounds of nature, smelling the flowers and just dreaming the day away. Maybe a little later she´ll lay in the grass and watch the clouds...

This cutie is called "Fairy Fond Thoughts" and this name is so perfect for her. Of course she needed to be colored in pink, always the first color that comes to my mind when I think of fairies. And of coures I also had to add a bunch of Stickles to her wings... I love how they just let the color shine through and remind me of dragonfly wings...

So, I am wishing all of you a wonderful day and if you have a chance to - take the time to leave all cares behind, even if it´s just for a few minutes!

Wing it.....

2011-06-21T13:19:00.000+02:00

is the theme of our newest BnW Challenge! Hi Belles 'n Whistles Fans! Hope you all had a fab start into the new week! Yesterday a new fortnightly challenge started over at our BnW Challenge Blog! Kathy is our host this time and she wants to see wings on your project! So come all and lets play with wings and join in on the fun!

The cute Fairy Wishes stamp is colored using Distress Inks. This cutie is out of stock at them moment but I'm sure Summer will have it back on the shelf shortly! DP is from Prima's paper pad Sweet Fairy. Other embellies I used are: flowers, pearl swirl, glitter, dragon fly and fairy charm, metal butterfly, gauze, ribbon and lace. The Swirl die is from Marianne Design and the pearls on the swirl are made using a Viva Decor Pearl Pen. To see more detailed pictures click HERE.

Thanks for visiting us here today and I hope to see your creations over at the BnW Challenge Blog !

Hugs,

Congratulations Summer and Family

2011-06-17T13:01:00.000+02:00

Highlights from the gallery

2011-06-16T09:00:00.002+02:00

Hello Friends!

Have you visited our gallery lately?

If not, I hope you find some time to do that.

It is so many beautiful creations and a lot of inspiration there.

Here are two beautiful cards from the gallery

The first card I want to show you is made by Marcea.

I love the beautiful colours she have used. The colouring is amazing.

A wonderful decorated card.

The second card I want to show you is made by Mo.

She has used my favourite colours on the card.

The cute image is wonderfully coloured.

I love the way she has decorated the card.

Thank you Marcea and Mo for publishing your cards in the gallery

Princess

2011-06-15T09:00:00.000+02:00

Hej!

Hope you all are doing fine. This is the time that we all want to spend as much time as possible outdoors - right? So when do you get the time to craft or do you just take a Summer break?

Well - I do craft - but during the evenings when hubby and son are sleeping...hihi.....

Here's a card that I made for a little girl's (cousin to my nieces) Christening. I used the supersweet image

Sweet Dreams for my card.

She's coloured with copics. Added the pattern on her outfit with my white ink gel pen.

DP from my local craft shop. Lace and pearls from my stash. Flowers from SCACD.

Also - a quick reminder - Summer is having a SALE over at BnW for the Snowbabies collection. It's valid until June 30th - make sure that you check it out.

Kramis and looking fwd to hear from you

Anki

A Touch of Summer Cheer....

2011-06-14T08:00:00.006+02:00

Greetings Belles 'n Whistles fans... I do believe I have completely lost my marbles... or maybe it was my "flip-flops"... I have a little story to tell you, before I show you something I altered just for Summer.

Some of you may know already, that I work at a school for special needs kids, with severe behavioral problems. If you don't know it, guess what? NOW you DO! ha ha...

About a month ago, a girl who used to work there came in for a visit, and she brought at least 3 HUGE bags of "FLIP FLOPS" Every single pair were brand new, and still had their plastic hangers on them, and tied together the way that they have them in stores. She knew someone who wanted to donate them. Many of the kids got to take several pairs, but they only were in smaller kids sizes... Well that still left us with oodles and oodles of "Flip-Flops". Well... I was determined that I WOULD find a way to do something with a pair of flip-flops....
Sooooo..... HERE COMES SUMMER!!!

It's a Flip Flop Wall Hanging - isn't it so summery, and fun? I used "Little Best Friends" from Elisabeth Bells Digital Gallery, as well as "Tube Wear" and "Bronzing Beauty" from Belles 'n Whistles. I thought this would be a fun decoration to hang up during the Summer Season.

Rather than having the back of one flip-flop overlapping the other, I traced it with a marker where I wanted it to overlap, and then used a hot knife to trim one of the flip-flops, so they would fit perfectly together. I then used Hot Glue, to connect them, so it's now all one piece. The rest is self explanatory, as I'm sure you can see, it was just all about layout and embellishing. I coated the sign that says "Welcome Summer" with clear crackle paint for effect.

Sooooo, there it is, one of my craziest of altered items, but ohhhh it was SOOOO MUCH FUN!!! and SEE? I knew I would find a nice use for those flip-flops. =)

Citrus Splashin' Summer!!

2011-06-08T09:00:00.002+02:00

Are you feeling HOT HOT HOT where you live?

In the Midwestern United States, we are certainly feelin' the heat with record temperatures!

So I thought I might interest you Belles n' Whistles fans with a fun little creation today to soothe some of those sweltering heat waves!

They are having a fun time cooling off in the pool underneath that bright sun! :)

I've used the darling Splashing Good Times stamp and took out the sun stamp from the Dessert, Mr. Sun and Fishbowl stamp set of the Changeables Collection to make a fun Summer Splash Scene.

I've colored the image in with my Copics markers and added some chalk for the grass and sky areas. Of course I topped it all off with lots of sparkle and shine! As you can see, my main theme here are the Summer colors with sort of a "citrus" feel. So if you are feeling a bit hot, why not stay inside and get your Belles n' Whistles stamps out to play! There is always a really fun challenge going on that started Monday over at the Belles n' Whistles Challenge Blog...hope you stop by to check it out and play along!!

I've entered this card in a couple of fun challenges going on:

*Belles n' Whistles - lace or ribbon or BOTH! (I've got both across the center of my card!)

Paper Play - Summer Citrus Splash

DYSU? - orange

Sweet Stampin' - Playing in the Summer Sun

Sketch Saturday - sketch

The Corrosive Challenge - Summer Colors

A Spoonful of Sugar - Here Comes Summer

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today!! Hope you've enjoyed my card and don't forget to subscribe to our blog here so that you don't miss a single inspirational project from the Belles n' Whistles DT as well as fun things that happen right here on the blog!! Hope to see you around! :)