Bittersweet Valentine's Day

Leave it to Basic Grey to come up with yet another beautiful line of paper just in time for my favorite card making holiday. Bittersweet is the name of this latest creation from Basic Grey. The rich fabulous shades of reds, pinks, browns, and hints of lavender are used in beautiful patterns of stripes, big florals, mini florals, dots, and swirls that give it that famous funky vintage shabby Basic Grey look. I prefer the 6 x 6 pads of paper because the patterns are shrunk down and perfect for cardmaking and altering items.

At the suggestion of many of my dear friends and family, I decided that I would like to try and get one of my cards published this year. I am very excited to let you know that I submitted one of my Valentine's for publication in Ready Set Create magazine, and it was chosen for the February/March issue. Ready Set Create is a beautiful online magazine and the February/March issue will be out soon and has more than 60 cards in it. I am so honored that they chose my card and I can't wait to see the magazine.

Thank you everyone for coming back to BellaWillow after my long absence. It was so nice to read all your comments and doggie stories. Judy was the winner with her cute little poodle story and has won the card. Please send me your snail mail Judy and I will get that out to you.

Thanks for stopping by and I will see you again soon with some new creations.

~ Pegi

Bella Willow Got A Makeover!!!

Hello to all my dear friends and family. It was quite the busy year for me in 2008, which left no time for some of the fun things in life . . . like stamping and blogging . . . but after so many requests from all my dear wonderful stamping friends, co-workers, customers, and family . . . I'm back! And . . . with a brand new look! BellaWillow got a new blog banner and some other fun stuff and we are loving it! I hope you like the new look.

This whole great adventure started after my cards were featured in a special Valentine's Day issue in my local newspaper. I then had a very successful 2008 craft show and boutique season. I sold a lot of cards, journals, picture frames, and altered items at three craft shows in my area and I sold over 200 items at the Holly House Boutique which went for three weekends during the months of November and December. That was a lot of fun. A lot of my friends and family kept asking me to send them pictures of what I had made. I have to tell you though . . . it was such a busy year for me . . . there was no time for picture taking. At one point during the year I was working 60-70 hours a week at the bank . . . and trying to find time to keep up with my crafting, taking care of sweet Willow and Izzy, and cleaning my house. I'll let you in on a little secret . . . my house is still kind of messy . . . but we're getting there! Oh yeh . . . . I had a horrible bronchitis/pneumonia during the months of October, November, and December, all while I was trying to make things for the boutique. After three rounds of antibiotics . . . I am just now getting over this horrible cough.

And then when I didn't think crafting could get any better, and after many special orders throughout the holiday season, I decided to create my own Etsy site so I could sell my crafts year round. So . . . after much research as to what all I was missing . . . an Etsy banner, business cards, a new matching look for my blog, a ditigal signature, and some other fun graphics . . . Stewart Goodwin of Goodwin Media designed all these beautiful new things for me. I still can't figure out how to get the digital signature, watermark, and cute "Supplies" graphic to work, but hopefully someone out there in blog land will come to my rescue . . . hint . . . hint!

Stewart Goodwin was awesome to work with. I had a vision of what I wanted, and he totally gave us all that and more when he designed Bella Willow's new look and all the accessories that go with it. He has designed websites for many famous clients including Donna Downey and Rhonna Farrar. Thank you Stewart!!

So here is my featured card for today. I made this card for all my dog loving friends using a stamp from Stamping Bella and coloring it in with my Copic markers. The paper is from DCWV and the ribbon is from American Crafts.

I would love to give this card away to one of my dear blog readers. So leave me a comment about your favorite dog, or a cute little dog story, or just a comment on how to use my digital signature and blog supplies graphic, and I will randomly draw a name on Monday, January 12, 2009 and send someone out there the little doggie card.

It's great to be back, and thanks so much for stopping by!

Big stamping hugs!

Pegi

"Hey Sugar" Picture Frame and Matching Card

Hello to all my dear stamping and blogging friends. Thank you everyone for all the beautiful e mails congratulating me on being featured in the "This Week" newspapers. Kara Hildreth did an absolutely outstanding job of putting together such a great piece. Thank you Kara for the fun experience and the beautiful story featuring me and my cards. I can't wait to send a copy to my Grandma who just had her 101st birthday this past Saturday.

I am starting to branch out from my normal cards and journls into a little "home decor". Lori from My Eyes . . . My Heart has asked me to alter a few home decor items to sell in her beautiful store.

When Lori first asked me to design some "altered items" for her store, I had no idea what I was going to make, but I knew I wanted something really special that she would be proud to show off to her customers.

I actually went to my local Goodwill store and found many many fun wooden frames and little boxes that I thought would look great with a little paper, ribbons, rub-ons, buttons, etc. to try and create a work of art that someone may enjoy displaying in their home.

My first project was designed using a flat wooden frame that I put paper on and then added rub-ons and finished off with a chipboard ornament. The paper is from the Hey Sugar line designed by Cosmo Cricket, and the ornament is from their Buck Naked chipboard collection. I finished the frame with some brown rub-ons and then inked the edges with Sahara Sand Versa Magic chalk ink. I also made a matching card using all the same Cosmo Cricket products.

I hope you are all having a great week, and I will be back again this week to share some more fun projects I have been working on.

Big stamping hugs.

~ Pegi

For You!!!

Hello to all my dear friends, family, co-workers, and especially my stamping sisters. I want to thank you all for your e mails wondering where the heck I am, and for your continued support as I continue to settle into my job at the bank. I am absolutely loving my job and business is really starting to pick up for me. It cuts into my stamping time though . . . and my time with Willow and Isabella . . . but I'm learning to deal with that. Even Willow is really learning to entertain herself and of course Isabella is content to just be snoozing somewhere out of the puppy's way.

I have so many wonderful things to share with you all. The little store that I used to teach at in Farmington sadly went out of business, but a new and even better store opened up in it's place. The name of the store is My Eyes . . . My Heart . . . The owner's name is Lori Brausen and she is absolutely awesome!!! She contacted me right before she opened up her store and asked if I would like to sell some of my cards and altered items, as well as teach again. I felt so honored and was very excited to accept. Lori is not only getting a lot of new merchandise for the scrapbookers, but she is going out of her way to make us cardmarkers happy too. She got a whole new shipment of Technique Tuesday stamp sets in and a lot of new paper and embellishments. She carries different iventory than Archivers, so it is fun to be able to shop at both stores. If you live anywhere near Farmington, please go and check out Lori's beautiful store.

Okay . . . now some even more wonderful news. I was contacted by a reporter for the This Week newspaper who wanted to do a feature story on me and my cardmaking. They are putting together a special Valentine's edition and wanted to feature me as an artist of the week. I don't consider myself an artist by any means, and I was so honored that they even thought my work was worthy of putting in a newspaper. So they came and took a lot of pictures of my cards . . . Valentines especially . . . and sat down and interviewed me. I had never done anything like that ever and although I was a little nervous at first, I had such a nice time. The reporter was awesome and my story will be in the newspaper this weekend. I will have to let you all know how it turns out.

The card I am featuring today was made for my fabulous boss for her birthday. Since her birthday is so close to Valentine's Day, I decided to use that wonderful new Basic Grey Two Scoops paper that I recently picked up at Archivers. I also inked up my new Stampin' Up! One of a Kind stamp set for this card. The ribbon is from American Crafts and the brads are from Basic Grey.

Thank you for stopping by today and I promise I won't be a stranger. I have been working on some wonderful projects, and I am very excited to share them with you.

Also, I want to share a picture of my sweet little Willow with you. She recently discovered a new spot to hang out . . . the wicker chair in the loft. She thinks she is a big girl now and very proud of the fact that she can jump up into the chair just like "Kitty".

Thank you everyone for stopping by!

Big stamping hugs!

~ Pegi and Willow

Thank You To My Secret Santa!

Hello to all my dear stamping and blogging friends. Life has been hectic, as usual, and it seems my stamping and blogging has had to be put aside for awhile as I continue to settle into my new position at the bank. I am still loving my job, although I do missing stamping and blogging and working from home. I miss spending time with my sweet little Willow but she is always waiting at the top of the steps for me . . . tail just a wigglin' . . . when I get home from a long day of work.

Now I have to tell you all about this awesome Ten Days of Christmas we have going on at work right now. For the past nine days I have been receiving special surprise "treats" everyday in my office from my Secret Santa. On the tenth day I will receive my gift and Santa's true identity shall finally be revealed. Whoever has my name is certainly spoiling me. I have received a lot of chocolates, cookies, chocolate covered peanuts, Frescas, Caribou gift cards, chap stick, and this Chatterbox designer paper. Hey . . . how did they know I can't resist some great designer paper??? LOL . . . I guess they all know I'm a card maker.

So for this card I decided to make it a thank you card for my awesome Secret Santa. I used the beautiful Chatterbox designer paper and I dug out my SU Delight In Life stamp set because I thought the flowers would match the paper perfectly. I loved the rich chocolate chip and blues and greens in this beautiful paper and tried to coordinate my ribbons to bring out that beautiful brown in the paper.

I also wanted to show you some pictures I took last weekend when my sweet little Willow had a sleepover with her best friend Izzy. Look how cute these two are together. Don't let that cuteness fool you though . . . those little girls were wild!!! They love to play together. I can't believe I could get them to sit still long enough for these pictures. Look at those little cuties!!!

I hope everyone is having a great week and getting excited for Christmas. Thanks for stopping by and I will see you again soon!

Big hugs!!!

~ Pegi

Life Is So Sweet

Hello to all my dear stamping and blogging friends! I hope everyone had a great weekend and that all is well with you and your families as you prepare for the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend.

I am so excited to report that Kristina, Paris, and I had a great Saturday at the Christina Huddleston Elementary School Craft Show. I want to thank everyone who came and bought my cards, journals, picture frames, and altered items. Big thanks go out to Amy, Tami, RuthAnn, Lisa, Sonya, and Kim for coming to visit us. We sure did have a fun day and I can't wait until we can do it again. Craft shows are so much fun.

This is one of the cards I made at my stamping retreat two weeks ago. The image is stamped using my Words We Love set from Technique Tuesday. I love these stamps. The images stamp so nice and clean. The designer paper is new from Cosmo Cricket, and the ribbon and crystals are from Archivers.

And now a couple of pictures of my booth at the craft show. I especially want to thank Paris' husband Brian for making that awesome chicken wire tri-fold frame that held 100 of my handmade cards. I also want to thank my dear sweet friend Paris for tying those cute little ribbons on all 100 of those clothespins . . . and for dragging in all the tables and the table cloths for me to use for my booth. I also want to thank my dear sweet friend Kristina for the beautiful little Department 56 Good Luck Charm she gave me at the craft show . . . it brought me good luck . . . and for hanging all 100 of my cards on that frame. Life is so sweet, and good friends make it all that much sweeter!

Big stamping hugs to everyone!

~ Pegi

I Love These Little Guys!!!

Who can't resist a cute little penguin? These two cute little guys are all ready for winter in their hats and scarves. I made these cards last weekend at my stamping retreat. The funny thing about these two cards . . . no stamping . . . they're rub ons. Who says you can't drive 2 1/2 hours to a stamping retreat and not stamp? Just kidding . . . I got plenty of stamping done too.

The paper, rub on penguins, and rub on sentiments are all from SEI. The ribbon is from Stampin' Up! and Creative Impressions. Those cute little red dots . . . Cloud 9 rain dots. They come in a lot of colors and they even have little snowflakes out right now. They are such a nice alternative to brads because they just stick right on your card.

So the big Christina Huddleston Elementary School Craft Fair in Lakeville, MN is tomorrow. If you live in the area, please stop by and say hello. I will be there with my dearest stamping friends Paris and Kristina and we would love to see you. Paris' husband was so awesome to make me a chicken wire tri fold wooden frame to set on the floor and Paris (bless her heart) made clothespins with ribbons on them to display my cards and frames. I will take lots of pictures of the craft show to show everyone. I can't wait!!! We are going to have so much fun . . . if I get some sleep tonight. I keep looking at my pile of to do things and keep wanting to make more things for the show. I better call it a day on that and try to get to bed so I am refresed for tomorrow. There will always be another craft show.

I hope everyone has fantastic plans for the weekend and I can't wait to share my craft show experience with you.

Big stamping hugs!!!

~ Pegi

To All My True Friends

Hello to all my dear stamping and blogging friends. I hope all is well with you and your families as you begin to prepare for the busy holiday season. Life has been good for me . . . hectic as usual . . . but good. I just went on my first ever stamping retreat last weekend and had such a wonderful, peaceful, productive weekend. My dear friend Paris Otremba from Inky Art organized it and she was the perfect hostess for our fun-filled weekend.

I had so much fun stamping and getting to know all the wonderful ladies that were there. We had so much fun talking, laughing, eating, and sharing funny stories with each other as we stamped well into the early morning hours.

I was on a mission to finish my things for the big craft show this weekend, and am very happy to report that I am just about where I wanted to be with having enough items to take to the show. I will have a lot of cards, small journals, large journals, altered picture frames, and a few altered items at the show. I hope they sell. You just never know with things like this. I will take lots of pictures of our booth and will give you all the report next week.

The card I made in this picture is my first time of using my Stampin' Up! True Friend set. The card base is SU's Old Olive, the designer paper is from Fancy Pants, the ribbon is from Creative Impressions, and I used various punches from SU to create the layered look for the sentement.

Tomorrow night I am going to a high school production of High School Musical and then Saturday we are off to the craft show. On Sunday I will be making 12 invitations for the company holiday party and finishing my ATC's for Taylor's swap. Big weekend with lot's of fun stuff planned.

Thanks again for stopping by and I will post more pictures soon.

~ Pegi

Infuse Gift Set

Hello to all my dear stamping and blogging friends. It has been a very busy week as I continue to settle into my new job, get ready for my stamping retreat this weekend, and prepare for the big craft fair on Saturday, November 17th. If you live near Lakeville, Minnesota . . . please stop by Christina Huddleston Elementary School that day where my dear friends Paris from Inky Art and Kristina from Balance, as well as myself, will be selling our handmade items. We would love to meet you.

I made this gift set for the craft fair using my favorite line of paper . . . Basic Grey. This particular pattern is from the "Infuse" line. The first picture shows the 5 x 7 tin covered in the designer paper and decorated with a band around it using my new Nestabilities from Spellbinder. I was so excited to find out that Nestabilities works in the Quickutz Revolution machine. It doesn't emboss, but it does cut. I finished off the band using the flower from SU's Doodle This stamp set and the stems are from SU's Doodle That stamp set. I used my watercolor crayons to color the stems.

The second picture shows all five cards as well as the tin. I used SU's Close to Cocoa for my card bases, Basic Grey's "Infuse" paper, ribbon from May Arts, swarovski crystals, scallop rectangles from Nestabilities, and a combination of SU's Sassy Stems, Doodle This, Doodle That, and Oh So Lovely stamp sets. The third picture shows the cards a little closer up so you can see the detailing.

I want to thank you all so very much for continuing to read my blog and for all your beautiful compliments, comments, and e mails as I continue to grow and learn and improve my papercrafting and stamping skills.

Thanks again to everyone for stopping by . . . and big stamping hugs to everyone!!!

~ Pegi

Christmas Journals

Over the past few months I have had a lot of fun making little journals for my upcoming craft show on November 17th at Christina Huddleston Elementary School in Lakeville, MN. I have made well over 100 of these little journals, in a variety of different styles, and I only have 40 left. My friends, family, and co-workers have wanted to see what I have been working on and they have all been buying them. I just take the proceeds and go buy more little naked journals at Office Max and make some more. They are really fun to make and I think they make a nice little gift for friends, family, teachers, etc. Last night the ladies at my stamp club were getting a chuckle out of the fact that the naked journals cost $1.29 to start with at Office Max and by the time I put the paper and all the embellishments on them I have well exceeded the $5.00 price I am asking for them. LOL . . . No wonder people are jumping on these for five bucks. Do you think I should up my asking price at the craft show?

Here is one of the journals I designed for my Stamp Club to make at last night's monthly meeting. I used Basic Grey's Figgy Pudding designer paper for the journal and the little decoration on the front is a piece of round Bazill chipboard covered in Figgy Pudding paper and decorated with a die cut from last year's Quickutz "Holiday" set. I recently purchased the set at Archivers on sale for 75% off . . . I paid a whopping $12.48. It came with two Christmas trees, the words Happy Holidays, and an embossing folder of Season's Greetings. What a steal of a deal!!! The photo corners on the journal are also a die cut from Quickutz. I use my Revolution machine and I am happy to report that I have just found out that Nestabilities are compatable with Quickutz machines. I am going out today to buy the square scallops at Anchor Paper Express in Burnsville, MN.

Thank you everyone for stopping by today and I hope you are all having a fantastic weekend. I do have a couple of questions for all of you today. So if you get a chance . . . please leave a comment. My questions are . . . "Do any of you sell your handmade items at craft shows?" "What kind of items do you sell?" "What kind of prices should I be putting on my items?"

Thank you for any advice you can give me on the craft show thing and I will talk to you all tomorrow when I will have a very special announcement to make . . . so stay tuned.

Big stamping hugs to all of you!!!!

~ Pegi