Laura Vegas

we have lots of great stuff going on this week on the bella blvd blog. first off, we have a special week-long guest designer joining us. shannon tidwell! i've been a long time fan of her work, mostly at 2peas and for KI memories. it's been a lot of fun working so closely with her on this feature. she's heading up a week long challenge feature, where we have a different challenge every day this week. shannon has created lots of layouts for the challenges, and then our design team is playing along as well.

today's challenge is to use patterned papers from at least 4 different collections. that's actually really easy for me. i've always loved picking and choosing patterned papers from lots of different collections, and using them together on one layout. so i decided to double the challenge for myself. i choose patterned papers from EIGHT different collections for this layout.

the great thing about bella blvd papers, is that they have such great tone-on-tone patterns. this makes mixing papers easy to do. and you'll find so many of the same colors and shades, in many of the collections. when i was looking for a green patterned paper for this layout, i ended up with about 5 different choices, from 5 different collections, all of which would have worked. same with the aqua, or red, etc.

i thought it would be fun to do another sunburst on my layout. it's such a great way to use lots of patterned papers, and it looks super cool too! but, these sunburst do take a lot of work and thinking. lol! i snapped a few quick photos, while i was creating mine, to let you peek at my process. keep in mind, this is just the way i do them. doesn't mean it's the best way 😉

the word "happiness" from the sunshine & happiness chipboard set, was the starting point for this layout. when i went to choose my papers, i used these colors to make my choices.

and here's the final papers that i decided on. like i said, there were lots of choices for each color. i just made sure to have a good mix of patterns. chevron, polka dots, plaid, etc.

i knew i wanted my sunburst to go across the top of the page. so i cut a piece of white cardstock to the same size that i wanted my sunburst to be. i believe this is 4.5×12 inches. usually, you'll want to have something placed over the center of the sunburst. a photo, an accent, etc. my intention was to put my title over the center, and i knew i was going to use a large circle to add my title too.

so i arranged the circle template over where i knew i would be putting it, and then traced around it, onto the white cardstock. i made a pencil mark in the center of the circle, along the edge of the paper. then i used my ruler to draw the lines out … from that center pencil mark, to the outside edge of the paper. i varied the size of the bursts, making some thinner and some wider.

since i was going to be placing a large circle over the center of the sunburst, i knew i didn't need the bursts to go all the way to the middle. if more of the bursts would have shown, and i had something smaller being placed over the center, i would have traced the lines further in. if that makes sense. after drawing all my lines, i numbered each burst, so that i could easily keep track of where they go. otherwise, it's like a puzzle, getting them back together. then cut them all apart, using your paper trimmer.

i then used each burst, as a template, to cut out my patterned papers. i used just a tiny bit of removeable adhesive, to stick the template piece to the backside of the patterned paper, and then cut them out. i won't lie. i spent FOREVER getting a color combo and arrangement that i liked. several of these bursts, i cut out numerous times, from different papers, trying to get the right look.

then i adhered each piece to a 12×12 sheet of white cardstock. this is just the piece that i'm building my entire layout on. i started with the two orange corner pieces, and then worked my way in. on a few other projects, where i have created sunbursts, i have machine stitched along each burst. which takes FOREVER. so i skipped that on this layout.

and here you can see where i placed my large circle, over the center of the sunburst. i used my circle cutters, to cut two different circles, slightly varying in size. the top piece is an embossed white cardstock, and the bottom is a text paper. i adhered the layered circles to the layout using pop dots.

in my journaling, i mention "all my girls". i should clarify that only two of these are technically "my girls". the other four are previous daycare girls of mine. i've always lovingly called almost all of my daycare kids "mine". i used a photo template from kerri bradford studio, to create my photo collage.

i used my favorite grid patterned paper for the bottom part of my page. i really need to get more of it, because i'm down to my last sheet. the text paper along the left side, is the same paper that i used as the bottom circle on my title piece. the text is mostly red, which i thought was good, since i only used one piece of red paper on my sunburst. plus, lots of the words in the text are printed in other colors. most of which are the other fun colors that i used. it was meant to be used.

i ended up with all of these oddly shaped scraps of patterned paper, from cutting out my bursts. the day i created this layout, i had bought this tiny flower punch. i picked it up, after i realized i had no small flower punches, and recently, i had the need for one. since it was on my desk, i just decided to use it. i punched these little flowers out of each of the six papers i used on the sunburst. i adhered them along the text strip of paper, and then added little silver accents to the centers. i finished embellishing the layout with lots of little word stickers, in my six coordinating colors, and a few chipboard clouds.

make sure and stop by the bella blvd blog all week long, to check in on the fun. there is a TON of inspiration going on, with LOADS of new projects being shared. and we want YOU to join in on our challenges too. we're inviting you to play along, and then upload your projects showing your take on any or all of the challenges. you can link your layout at the end of each post this week. we're giving one lucky participate a prize package worth $100! but to be entered in the random drawing, you have to participate. for each project you create and link on our posts, your name will be entered in the drawing. so the more you create, the more chances you have to win. have fun, and good luck!