Tag: diy

card classes, card ideas, card making, card making idea, card techniques, cards, christmas cards, retro images, vintage cards

Have Yourself a Retro Little Christmas + FREE PRINTABLES!

Genevieve Speegle

I love retro images. Like LOVE, LOVE retro images. They make my heart smile and I feel all warm and cozy just looking at these darling illustrations. It’s no wonder, than, that they are the centerpiece for so many of my card creations!

Here are six cards I made recently. I thought you might enjoy these darling greetings.

This “Little Boy’s First Christmas” is one of my favorites. I love the color combo and the flower cluster so much!

Adding various sizes in your flower collage makes it look full and interesting – so, change it up! Add a variety!
Found this pine bundle in the floral section at Michaels and just took apart branches so that I could put them where I wanted them.

I was so happy when this sweet pink baby’s first Christmas card found a good home – I love the intricate lace, pearls, flowers, and seam binding!

Beautiful cards don’t have to be super fancy either. This one is simple, but just so happy and sweet!

Feeling inspired? Here are copies of the vintage images I used so that you can print and play with them too!

A few “must haves” when working with printables:

  • a great printer! I use HP OfficeJet Pro 6978 and it’s amazing (I use it a TON every single day for my business)
  • quality cardstock. Try Neenah Premium Cardstock for fabulous images
  • Stickles glitter – you won’t believe how it changes the entire quality of your card. For real

If you just want to get your hands on finished cards, be sure to check out my eBay and Etsy shop for lots of handmade goodies!

Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for all things crafty! Please stay in touch and share your finished projects with me!

Thanks so much for crafting with me today, and happy holidays!

xoxo

Genevieve

Bella Stitchery

card classes, card ideas, card making, card making idea, card sale, card techniques, cards, Thanksgiving, thanksgiving cards, vintage thanksgiving cards

Thankful

Genevieve Speegle

Happy Thanksgiving Month! Gobble gobble!

🦃

I am so excited to share my recent festive greeting cards with you, my crafty friends! 


Some kitchens may be full of baked goods and turkeys, but mine is covered in turkey images and craft goodies! 

I love vintage images so much and it’s always such a pleasure to make greeting cards around these darling illustrations.

This is also one of my favorite color combos (I got married in the fall just for these colors – lol).

I used lots of hand-dyed seam binding and 49 and Market flowers on these special collages. I also inked all the edges with Tim Holtz Walnut Stain Distress Ink throughout.

Check out my YouTube tutorial for some bow-making ideas – I have lots of cheats for ya! 🙂

You can find all these happy holiday greeting cards in my eBay shop and my new Etsy shop.

What’s your favorite holiday to decorate for, and what is the coolest DIY décor idea you’ve seen? Keep in touch – let’s make stuff together!

xoxo

Genevieve

Bella Stitchery

card classes, card ideas, card making, card techniques, cards, christmas cards, Christmas ideas, christmas layouts, fussy cutting, gen's scrapbook kitchen, handmade scrapbook, holiday scrapbook pages, scrapbook, scrapbook ideas, scrapbook layouts, scrapbook page, scrapbook pages

Pastel Christmas!

Genevieve Speegle

There’s something so precious about a pastel Christmas! I love the sweet pinks and yummy teals – they always make me smile!

This month’s Handmade Club Kit is all about shabby chic Santa, elves, holly berries, and cookies. I had a wonderful time cutting out all these darling embellishments and playing with them in different collage settings.

Crystal Stickles is the perfect accent to all these delicious images. I added them to the roses, the elves’ costumes, and the cookie frosting.

I already have several Christmas cards ready in my eBay and Etsy shop too (yes, I know it’s October, but I couldn’t help myself!) 🙂

Don’t they just make you smile? Have you tried fussy cutting? What do you think about the process? It seems like people either love or hate it. I think the biggest tool for your cutting success is super small, precise scissors. It really makes all the difference.

https://amzn.to/30WRNFU

If you’d like some tips on better fussy cutting, I have a YouTube tutorial all about it too:

Well, hope you’ve enjoyed this peek into my October Santa’s workshop today! Keep in touch and happy crafting!

xoxo

Genevieve

Bella Stitchery

card ideas, card making, cards, halloween cards, handmade cards, scrapbook sales, scrapbook sketches, scrapbooking, scrapbooking ideas

Trick-or-Treat

Genevieve Speegle

This is one of my favorite times of year, for sure! I love the colors of fall and spookiness of October. Welcome to my happy place!

I’ve been busy in my new home of South Dakota – trying to find my rhythm here and the best place and time to create. It’s not without it’s challenges, however, it’s sometimes nice to have a fresh start too.

Here are some of the layouts I’ve made this month…

(all these handmade goodies can be found in my eBay shop and my NEW Etsy shop!)

Of course, I’ve had to make some darling greeting cards too – they just make my heart so happy!

What have YOU been up to this month, my crafty friends? And where do you like to craft? What is your favorite space and time of day. I think I’m *just* starting to hit my stride, and it’s so nice to get back to making pretty things after the summer’s move.

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today – keep in touch!

xoxo

Genevieve

Bella Stitchery

handmade scrapbook, scrapbook, scrapbook blogs, scrapbook ideas, scrapbook layouts, scrapbook page, scrapbook pages, scrapbook sales, scrapbooking, scrapbooking ideas

Music, Dance, Art

Genevieve Speegle

There’s nothing quite as inspiring as getting your hands on a new paper collection. I love the excitement of flipping through the new paper pad and being delighted at each new turn of the page.

My craft table was overflowing with the new Passion collection by Stamperia last week. It’s all about dance, music, and art. The colors are fabulous and the illustrations just melted my heart.

It was so easy to make gorgeous premade scrapbook pages and I felt like I just burned through the entire pack before I knew it.

Cellos and ballerinas – what could be more lovely?! I did a lot of fussy cutting on these layouts too, so pop up elements on the page and tuck photo mats underneath.

I also used LOTS of beautiful Prima Marketing flowers, such as the Sugar Cookie flowers below to coordinate with the colors in the collection.

You can find all my handmade scrapbook pages in my eBay shop this week. Each one is made with love and ready for your favorite artistic photos!

Thanks so much for hanging out with me today! Hope you were inspired! Please follow Bella Stitchery on social media and stay in touch. Happy crafting, my friend!

card classes, card ideas, card making, card making idea, card techniques, cards, cute cards, free printables, handmade cards

Old Card Sketches Made NEW! Card Making Idea + Free Printable!

Genevieve Speegle

If you’re anything like me, you still have lots of paper crafting magazines lying around. I found a bunch the other day while cleaning my craft room and thought it would be fun to find some old sketches and “modernize” them.

The magazine I’m starting with today is an older Card Design Handbook. I love this sketch idea and thought it would be a great card idea for beginners or any level paper crafter!

Here’s my first in what may turn out to be a series. This card making design is super full and happy, yet easy to replicate to just about any occasion. Let me know what you think!

Here’s the image I used for the card. Feel free to save and print!

Do you like this idea?

Would you like to see more like it in the future?

What’s the oldest publication you have in your house?

You can purchase items used in this video from the following links:

– Hand Dyed Seam Binding in My eBay Shop

– Prima Marketing Pastel Dreams Flowers

– Sizzix Crochet Dies

– Cream Cardstock

​​ – Art Glitter Glue

– Ivory Lace

– Tim Holtz Big Chat

– Glossy Accents

– Vintage Photo Distress Oxide

– Crystal Stickles

Thanks so much for making happy cards with me today!

xoxo

Genevieve

Bella Stitchery

PS – my blog uses affiliate links. These commissions are at no cost to you.

boy scrapbook pages, easy scrapbook pages, family scrapbook layout, gen's scrapbook kitchen, handmade scrapbook, scrapbook, scrapbook blogs, scrapbook ideas, scrapbook layouts, scrapbook page, scrapbook pages, scrapbook sketches, scrapbooking, scrapbooking ideas

One Layout Sketch – 5+ Possibilities!

Genevieve Speegle

I love a good layout sketch idea. Even better – when one is versatile and can be used over and over again with different papers and embellishments.

BONUS: a sketch that lets me use lots of the random goodies I’ve been hoarding for years!

This week’s YouTube tutorial is just that! I’ll show you 5 ways to use this simple, yet charmingly adorable, scrapbook layout.

I’ll also show you a few different ways to make your stencil and some tips for crafting with heavier items.

It’s time to dig out all those random letters, buttons, brads, sequins, or flowers and get to craftin’!

I used dozens of fabulous Prima Marketing Fruit Paradise flowers for the layout above. I just love these darling flowers.

The layout above was made using lots of darling washi tape! I’m always excited to use washi tape, since I love using stickers, and it’s basically a giant sticker roll. 🙂

This layout idea even works with just cardstock – don’t have any extra embellishments lying around (ok, you know you do)? Doesn’t matter! Find a fun, happy print and die cut your large shape for a pop of happiness!

Hope you have lots of fun with this sketch idea. Be sure to check out my eBay shop for all these handmade scrapbook pages too and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for all things crafty!

xoxo

Genevieve

Bella Stitchery

gen's scrapbook kitchen, gothic, halloween, handmade scrapbook, Junk Journal, Kelly's Crafts by Kelly, paper crafting ideas, paper crafts, scrapbook, scrapbook blogs, scrapbook ideas, scrapbook layouts, scrapbook page

Gothic Halloween Torn Junk Journal

Genevieve Speegle

I’m so eerily excited at the way this junk journal turned out!

I started with the Gothic Halloween digital junk journal kit from Kelly’s Crafts by Kelly for this lovely project. All images were printed onto 65lb Neenah cardstock.

I wanted to create an old, gothic feeling journal, so I decided to tear all my pages (including the main book pages that I bound together with seam binding) instead of cutting them with a paper trimmer.

All edges have been heavily inked with both Vintage Photo and Black Soot Distress Ink.

I loved the illustrations so much that it was easy to let them be the star, so I added only a few embellishments here and there. I did make my own resin pieces for this book, however, and I think they really added a nice touch. I have a YouTube video all about that process too, if you’d like to see just how easy they are to make:

Hope you enjoyed this flip-through blog journey with me today. May it inspire your creativity this week. Please let me know what you think and follow me on Facebook and Instagram for daily crafty goodness!

I also have hundreds of handmade journals, premade scrapbook pages, and greeting cards in my Bella Stitchery eBay shop!

Thanks so much, and keep in touch, my crafty friends! xoxo

Junk Journal, Kelly's Crafts by Kelly, mini album

Lady Amelia’s Portrait Upcycled Music Book Junk Journal

Genevieve Speegle

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Junk journals are just such a joy to make. They are a little of this and that, and are filled with everything that make me feel happy at the time.

Here is a journal I made from a vintage Easter sheet music book and the Lady Amelia’s Portrait Journal printable kit from Kelly’s Crafts by Kelly.

Here’s the before and after of my 8.5×10.5 inch sheet music book:

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The album cover was embellished by several packs of the Prima Marketing Georgia Blues flowers (LOVE these!)

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You can see a full flip through, along with lots more pretty details on my YouTube channel:

My finished journal is also now available in my eBay shop, and ready for a good home.  🙂

Thank you so much, my friend, for crafting with me today! I hope this journal inspired you – please keep in touch and happy crafting! xoxo

bella stitchery, card ideas, card making, card making idea, card techniques, cards, cute cards, elegant cards, paper crafting, paper crafting ideas, paper crafts, thank you cards, Uncategorized

Calico Collage Sew Vintage Cards

Genevieve Speegle

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Printables are amazing for so many reasons – producing multiples, resizing, and more!

Find out why I enjoy them so much in today’s YouTube video:

I’m a new member on the Calico Collage design team, and was so excited to make some fun shabby chic greeting cards with you today, using their Sew Vintage collection.

For some of the additional products used in this tutorial, please check out these links:

– Prima Marketing Rossibelle Flowers: https://amzn.to/3kC0oDr

– Neenah 65 lb Cardstock: https://amzn.to/2DJ3tRu

– HP 8710 Printer: https://amzn.to/2DAtyCn

– Ivory Lace: https://amzn.to/2PKmvJB

– Shell Colored Buttons: https://amzn.to/3aitWkT

– Vintage Scissor Charms: https://amzn.to/3kyDGfo

I sell collections of hand dyed seam binding in my eBay shop too!

Hope you enjoy these darling creations as much as I enjoyed making them!

Happy crafting, my friends, and keep in touch! xoxo