Stamping Bella Girlies

Have you ever had a brand or style of stamp that just doesn't seem to suit you? One that no matter how many tries, you just can't get the hang of? Well, for me it was the Stamping Bellas for the longest time! I don't know why, but I just getting get the knack of them. After one particularly disasterous attempt at colouring a plump woman with large hair, I swore off these stamps completely.

Until now! Anyone who knows me well knows how much I treasure and appreciate my girlfriends! They are true gifts in life and should be appreciated because they can really make the difference between happiness and despair.

Unfortunately I've been really sick lately and am off work for a while, and to someone who is constantly on the go - this has been a tough blow for me. Always an obsessively high achiever, I'm having to take life slowly and rest a lot. Not an easy pill to swallow.

Thank you God for my wonderful friends who surround me! But especially thank you to my beloved Andrea who despite her own physical pains, spent an entire night in the hospital watching over me, and has listened to my worries and stresses without complaint or judgement.

So this card with the girls having some wine is who we SHOULD be - and will be again I'm sure. But for now, we'll be these girls with the coffee and taking it a little slower.

So I've given my Stamping Bellas another chance, and am now LOVING them! I seem to have found a groove, helped by their gorgeous new designs. And these sentiments just call out to me! They are so real life!

For both cards, I've used this brand new 6x6 paper pad "Gathering" from Authentique. I love, love, love the weight, feel, and design of this paper. It is fabulous and I'll be looking for more from this brand.

I'm also trying a more "European" flair to my cards with the dimensional flowers. These are all from Prima who've had some gorgeous new things this fall. If you follow my blog, you'll know of my obsessive love for the Prima Printery line! All of these jewels are also from the Prima line. I LOVE the colours of them.

Of course, I've used some Nesties. Not sure I could make a card without a Spellbinders Nestabilities die quite honestly!

I've stamped my girls on Copic XPress It in Memento, even though I've been experimenting with the Cryogen (still on the fence) and back to some Neenah again. I always come back to my XPress It.

I'll list my Copic colours below. Make sure you stock up now if you are a Copic girl like myself! And don't forget about the refills! Rumour has it prices will be going up in the New Year. Great reason to add to your collection, don't you think?

Happy stamping!

Sarah

xx

Wine stamp:

E79, E77, E74, E71, E70

G85, YG63, G24, G40

W7, W5

YR18, YR16, YR15, YR12

E55, E53, E51, E50

BG72

E11, E01, E00, E000, R20

E35, E55, E31, YR20

E37, E27

BG10

B0000

Cofee stamp:

E35, E33, E31, E23

YR24, YR23, YR21, YR20

E11, E01, E00, R20

RV14, RV13, RV11, RV10

V17, V15, V12

YG17, YG13, YG11

BG10

C5, C4, C2, C1, C0

I'd like to enter the following challenges:
Frosted Designs - Die Cuts
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes
CR84FN - Brown, Tan, & Green
Crafty Cardmakers - Recycle (I used cut off scraps for the edge strips)
Craft Your Passion - Photo Inspiration
Our Creative Corner - Photo Inspiration
Stamping Bella