Lily Bee Design

Focus On Monday | Fatherhood

Good Monday morning!  Welcome to another week full of inspiration here on the Lily Bee blog!  This week we'll be focusing on all things "Fatherhood."  Our team has a great line-up for you - lots of fun layouts, cards, and more! 

Today I wanted to share this layout I created featuring my husband.  He is the best dad to our four kiddos - always ready to "go, go, go, see, do!"  He is lots of fun and he's always game for whatever the kids want to try out.  This layout features one of those days - it was so cold outside, but the boys wanted to set up the slip & slide.  It was supposed to be summer, but the temperatures just weren't there yet.  The cold didn't deter Brad though - he put on his swim suit and got soaked with the boys.  He didn't care that he was freezing.  He was making his boys laugh and smile, and that's all that mattered to him!

Supplies: Destination (bon voyage, letter stickers, chipboard stickers, circle & tag stickers, label stickers, embellishment bundle); Pinwheel (apricot tree, letter stickers, chit chat stickers)

Stacy also has a great layout to share!  Here's what she has to say:  I wanted to convey how joyous my kids feel when they are with their dad.  There is a tight bond between these three as you can tell from their smiles.  I often forget to take photos with Steve or me in them so when we are out on a day trip or vacation, I make it a point to catch at least one.  I used the large, circular chipboard piece to ground the cluster and draw the eye right next to the photo.  I cut out small circles from the Pink Mist paper and added it as confetti.  I also cut the banner from the Jean Bean paper and added the twine and button to the top.
 

Supplies:  Sweet Shoppe (Paper:  Licorice Whip, Gumball, Pink Mist, Jelly Bean, Strawberries and Cream; Chit Chat Stickers; Alphabet Stickers; Chipboard Stickers; Circle Stickers; Label Stickers; Accessory Bundle:  Badge, Twine)
 
I bet you have a special dad in your life as well, whether it's your own father or the father of your children.  How about pulling out (or taking) some photos and creating a layout to honor him?  Be sure to check back each day throughout the week to see what we have to share with you! 

Lily Bee Design + June PageMaps Day 1

I'm so excited to announce that the Lily Bee design team is working with Becky Fleck's PageMaps sketches this month! Becky is known in the industry for creating amazing sketches and this month is no exception!

 Here are a few of the layouts our design team created with Becky's June sketches:

Adrienne Alvis

"I honestly haven't scrapped a double 12x12 page in years, but I was so inspired by the sketch that I got started right away! I had some cute photos of my daughter learning how to pump all by herself on the swing so I used lots of spring-inspired colors with a few pops of red scattered about from the Pinwheel and Sweet Shoppe Collections. I used my die-cut machine for the sunburst and photo frame shapes and used lots of chipboard stickers for some added dimension."

 

Christine Newman

"This layout came together very quickly when I realized that I had the perfect photos to go with the yellow and blue color scheme in the Sweet Shoppe collection. I was excited to see the stitching in the sketch because sometimes I forget to take out my sewing machine, but I always love the look of sewing on my pages when I remember!" 

Lily Bee Supplies: Sweet Shoppe Collection (Jujube paper, Gumball paper, Lemon Drop paper, Jelly Bean paper, Licorice Whip paper, letter stickers, label stickers, chipboard stickers, chit chat stickers, Embellishment bundle)

 Leslie Ashe

"I love this sketch!! The multi photo’s are PERFECT for this little black & white/color sequence pictures of my precious niece, Presley, blowing (or trying to) bubbles. I stayed with that design & changed up the background with more of a “lattice” pattern on top of the Lily Bee floral paper (to mimic the flowers near Presley). I put my embellishment bundle going up the right side with my journaling going down the page. I also put my title at the bottom, slightly different from the original sketch."

Supplies: Pinwheel ( Flip Flops Paper, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, Chit Chat Stickers, Letter Stickers, Label Stickers), Sweet Shoppe (Embellishment Bundle, Letter Stickers, Circle & Tag Stickers, Chit Chat Stickers, Chipboard Stickers), Destination (Circle & Tag Stickers, Letter Stickers, Chipboard Stickers, Embellishment Bundle)

Patricia Roebuck

"I loved the sketch as is with the four blocks and two photos. I picked a striped background to go with the theme of the layout. For one of the blocks, I made an envelope with a tag and twine peeking out. I added some stitching around it to look like a pocket. I added layers of die cuts, stickers, chipboard, in the two blocks without photos and used the buttons, brads, twine, and flower chipboard to break the vertical lines from the background patterned paper."

Lily Bee Products: Sweet Shoppe (Lemon Drop Paper, Strawberries and Cream Paper, Gumball Paper, Embellishment Bundle, Letter Stickers, Chipboard Stickers), Pinwheel (Lime Rickey Paper, Flower Box Paper, Embellishment Bundle, Chipboard Stickers), Destination (Landmark Paper, Bon Voyage Paper, Boarding Pass Paper, Chit Chat Stickers, Embellishment Bundle, Label Stickers, Circle & Tags Stickers)

Summer Fullerton

"I am a huge sketch fan they are a great way to take the guess work out of scrapbooking. While I often take a literal approach to sketches the sketch I used this month simply called for me to change things up. I used a mix of my favorite Lily Bee patterned papers to create a grid background. I pulled the paper edge element from the sketch and used it to compliment the grid and then topped off my design with 2 photos just like the sketch. This is the beauty to sketches they can be easily manipulated to fit your story."

Supplies Used: Destination Patterned Paper (Luggage, Souvenir, Bon Voyage & Atlas), Letter Stickers, Embellishment Bundle, Circle Tag Stickers, & Chipboard Stickers Pinwheel Patterned Paper (Picnic Basket) 6x6 Tiny Tablet & Label Stickers, Sweet Shoppe Patterned Paper (Lollipop) and Embellishment Bundle  

We are excited to work with her and even more excited to sponsor her sketch challenge this month, which will be revealed tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by today. Now head over to the PageMaps blog to see the sketched that inspired these fabulous layouts!

Digital Download - Cutting File Freebie

Hi! Diana here with you today. If you have a digital cutting machine, like the Silhouette Cameo, you might be looking for some inspiration on what to do with it next. I know there are many times I know I want to use my Cameo, I just don't know where to start with it.

Today I am challenging you to incorporate your digital cutter into your layouts. I used the Lily Bee exclusive pennants studio file and made the "BOY" in the title from my Cameo as well.

This week is also Circles & Tags week — which I love! The Circles & Tags sheets are so versatile and I used them on just about everything. This layout uses the Pinwheel set.

 

In the up-close picture here, you can see where I used some of the pennants. I cut once with a double-sided piece of paper (Pinwheel Picnic Basket) and got two looks by flipping the pennant over before I glued it down. I also stitched through them for some extra texture.

I have a FREEBIE download for you today. CLICK HERE to access the Lily Bee banners Studio File download that was used on this page and coordinates with other Lily Bee products. 

Cards on Wednesday | More Chipboard Stickers inspiration

We hope you have been enjoying this weeks focus on the new Lily Bee Chipboard Embellishments!

Today, Summer and I are here to share a few different takes on using the chipboard embellishments to create both some clean and simple and more intricate cards.

Summer always amaze me at how has the ability to create simple and gorgeous projects and these cards are no exception!

 

Although Summer kept her basic designs clean and simple, she added a lot of texture just by using different pieces of the chipboard embellishments.

Supplies: Destination (Letter & Chipboard Stickers, Embellishment Bundle and 6x6 Tiny Tablet) 

It's as easy as layering some of the chipboard pieces over patterned paper to create a simple but effective card! She adds more texture by adding a little bakers twine in the mix!

Next, she created this cute card by lining up

Supplies Used: Destination (Letter & Chipboard Stickers and Embellishment Bundle)

 

Again, I love how she has added just a little twine to the chipboard to create layers of texture!

I took a slightly different approach to my cards. For this card, I used the chipboard to create a window flower box:

 

 Supplies used: Pinwheel (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Chipboard Stickers, Embellishment Bundle), Autumn Spice (Clear Stamps), Sweet Shoppe (Chipboard Stickers)

Layering the chipboard over each other adds a lot of height and chunkiness to your card!

Next, I create this card by just adding in some of the chipboard pennant shapes to the quilted background I made from some scraps of a tiny tablet pad:

Supplies used: Sweet Shoppe (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Chipboard Stickers), Pinwheel (Chipboard Stickers)

My last card was pretty simple - I just added the chipboard buttons to fill in some space from the label sticker!

Supplies Used : Destination (6x6 Tiny Tablet, ABC letter stickers, Label Stickers), Sweet Shoppe(Chipboard Stickers, Embellishment Bundle)

Hope you have enjoyed this cards! Please come back and check out what the rest of the team has created with these awesome chipboard embellishments!

 

May Sketch Challenges | One More Time

Hi Lily Bee fans!  Christine here, along with Patricia, showing you another take on our monthly layout and card sketch challenges!  You can see the original May layout sketch post here, and the card sketch post here.  Since our focus this week is on chipboard embellishments, Patricia and I have created projects that feature Liy Bee chipboard stickers.  If you have not yet played along with this month's sketch challenges, you still have time to link up!

 

Here is our May layout sketch.

 

Here's Patricia's layout using the sketch.

Supplies:  Sweet Shoppe (Cotton Candy Paper, Strawberries and Cream Paper, Letter Stickers, Chipboard Stickers), Pinwheel (Flower Box Paper, Flip Flops Paper, Label Stickers, Chipboard Stickers), Destination (80 Days Paper, Boarding Pass Paper, Landmark Paper, Luggage Paper, Atlas Paper, Souvenier Paper, Bon Voyage Paper, Label Stickers, Letter Stickers, Chipboard Stickers)

 

Patricia says, "I used the sketch by turning it and cutting a piece of cardstock to mask and mist squares onto the background.  Then I cut smaller squares from pattern paper to pop dot over them.  I wanted to be able to embellish around the squares with the chipboard pieces.  So I added pieces under the photo, pointing to the photo, and up towards the top of the misted squares.  All leading your eye back down to the photo.  I made this piece a little artsy because of our high school jazz band, and the chipboard word pieces fit perfectly for the theme."

 

I absolutely adore Patricia's interpretation of the layout sketch, and all the details she included!

 

Here is our May card sketch again.

 

My friend's birthday was this past week, so I used the sketch to make her a birthday card!

Supplies:  Pinwheel Collection (Lemonade Stand paper, Picnic Basket paper, Flower Box paper, 6x6 Tiny Tablet paper pad, Chipboard Stickers, Embellishment Bundle, Label Stickers, Letter Stickers)

 

My interpretation of the card sketch was pretty straight-forward.  Instead of two circle embellishments on top, I used a bigger flower chipboard sticker to anchor the scallop strip across the top. 

 

The sentiment strip on the bottom left is anchored by a stack of chipboard embellishments, including a button tied up with twine.

 

We'd love to have you join us in both the layout and card sketch challenges for May!  How will you interpret the sketches? 

We'll pick one winner from all our challenge entries this month to win a Lily Bee prize package. Here's a few things to keep in mind:
- Your layout must use mainly Lily Bee products (approx. 50% - 60% older or newer lines to showcase Lily Bee Design).
- Post your layout to our Facebook Page or Flickr Gallery to be eligible for monthly challenge prize.
- Title your post "5/7 Sketch Challenge" or "5/14 card sketch challenge" so we can find it easily and then leave a comment on this blog post letting us know you've entered.
- Deadline is May 31, 2013, Midnight CST
- One winner from all the challenges will be announced in next month's Kristen's News feature.

Don't forget, you can enter multiple times! The more you play, the better your chances of winning!  :)

 

Happy creating!

Project Life on Friday

Happy Friday, Lily Bee fans!  Christine here today to show you some Project Life pages I made using the Destination and Sweet Shoppe Collections! 

I just happen to be on Week 16 of my Project Life, which included a short road trip to San Francisco.  I knew that the Destination collection would be perfect for it in my Project Life album.  I also had some photos of homemade ice cream and some friends over for dinner, which made Sweet Shoppe a must-use for me. )

This is my 3rd year doing Project Life and I have a pretty easy going philosophy this year.  I don't try to keep up.  If I don't get to it for a couple of weeks, I just start with the current week and get to the previous weeks if I can.  If I don't I'm not too worried.  I love looking at my previous years' albums and I figured any pages I get done is awesome.  I also don't use weekly title pockets to show what week it is, because I just want my album to be continuous and I don't want to HAVE to do a 2-page spread per week.  This is how I'm making Project Life work for me this year and it is much more enjoyable and less stressful!

For this week's pages, I used a lot of Lily Bee Chit Chat, label, and Circle & Tag stickers right on top of my photos.  I love the little touches they add to the page.

Lily Bee Supplies:  Sweet Shoppe Collection (Jelly Bean paper, Licorice Whip paper, Marshmallow paper, Label stickers, Chit Chat stickers, Circle & Tag stickers), Persnickety Collection (ABC Stickers)

I used a lot of patterned papers to make journal cards in this page.  Below I cut out a 3x4 piece of patterned paper and used a 2.5" square punch to punch out a window to look like a polaroid. Then I mounted it on top of white cardstock and wrote my journaling.

I hand-cut the banner out of the Sweet Shoppe Jelly Bean paper to make this journal card.

 

At the end of the week we went on a road trip to San Francisco, so I used the right side to document that.

Lily Bee Supplies:  Destination Collection (Atlas paper, Luggage paper, Tickets paper, Postcard paper, Passport paper, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, Embellishment Bundle, Circle & Tag stickers, Chit Chat stickers, Label stickers, Letter stickers)

I created a title for this side because all the photos are about our road trip to San Francisco.  I love using the label sticker to stamp the dates!

I took little leaflets from the places we ate at.  They fit perfectly into the 3x4 slots with some patterned paper backing.

I used a circle tag sticker on top of a circle-punched patterned paper and centered it right onto my photo collage.

 

I loved using these versatile Lily Bee Design products in my Project Life pages!  Each collection made my pages come together easily.

Have a great weekend!

 

Cards on Wednesday | Mother's Day

Hi Everyone!  Cindy and I have some Mother's Day card inspiration for you today.

Cindy created this stunning and striking card.  She was drawn to a sentiment she found on a card at the local Hallmark store. Printed it on the card and created her simple design around it. She used the white background as her canvas so the small colorful details would pop, and for a little added texture, she embossed the small hearts layered with the large red hearts. I love look of the two contrasting patterns.

Supplies: (Pinwheel: Picnic Basket, Apricot Tree, Ice Cream Truck & Letter Stickers; Sweet Shoppe: Label Stickers; Buttercup: ABC Cardstock Stickers)

I decided to make two cards, one that is cute and one that is more traditional.  The first one uses these adorable elephants I cut with my Silhouette.  I love how the pattern papers from the 6x6 tiny tablets are smaller.  They added so much texture to the elephants.  I kept the design simple, so I stamped a repeating phrase on the background for the sentiment (I <3 U Mom) in a light color.  I think this would be a cute card for a new Mom or for a child to give.

Destination (6x6 Tiny Tablet), Pinwheel (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Embellishment Bundle), Sweet Shoppe (6x6 Tiny Tablet)

For this card, I cut out a shaped card and layered another piece of pattern paper a little smaller on top.  Stitched around the base of the card. Using my Silhouette again, I cut a doily and leaves to place under the chipboard flower.  Added a border punch from the Destination collection to bring the eye to the Sentiment.  And added a label, chipboard button and twine to finish it off.

Sweet Shoppe (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Label Stickers, Chipboard Stickers), Pinwheel (Embellishment Bundle), Destination (6x6 Tiny Tablet)

Thank you for joining me and Cindy today.  Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Moms & Mommihood | Sketch Challenge

Happy Tuesday Lily Bee friends and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LILY BEE DESIGN OWNER & DESIGNER, KRISTEN! We're wishing you a fabulous day, spoiled by your precious boys!

Adrienne, Leslie, and I  are excited to share a new sketch with you this week and show you how we used it for our layouts incorporating this week's theme: Moms & Mommihood!

This is the sketch we used:

First up, here's what Adrienne had to say about her layout:  "I was really inspired by Wendy's sketch and how the photos took center stage.  I swapped out one of the photo spots for an embellished square that directs the eye towards my journaling.  I cut out the "details" arrow from the Flip Flops patterned paper and popped it up with some foam adhesive to give it some extra dimension.  I also used a variety of letter stickers for my long title to give it some color and I added a few pops of black throughout my page to help bring it all together." 

And here is Adrienne's awesome layout:

And some of the fun details:

Supplies Used:  Sweet Shoppe (Lemon Drop, Licorice Whip, Letter Stickers, Label Stickers, Chipboard Stickers), Pinwheel (Cherry Blossom, Jump Rope, Flip Flops, Chit Chat Stickers, Letter Stickers, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, Chipboard Stickers, Circle and Tag Stickers), Destination (Chipboard Stickers, Embellishment Bundle)

Next up, Leslie!  Here's what Leslie said about her layout:  "-first up, I just wanted to say a little bit about why these pictures of my  great niece, Presley mean the world to me. If you’ll notice in my journaling, I  tell a short story about my title, what this sweet girl means to me & how her mom, at the tender age of 19 years old – fought and WON the  courageous battle of stage 2A Hodgkins Lymphoma. After her intense treatment of  chemo & radiation, she was told she could never have children.  But as you  can see – she was blessed. She was blessed which made us ALL blessed. Especially  me. Aunt “Lala”   about the sketch - I changed up the sketch a bit by adding another  layer of squares & using 3 photos with 3 patterned papers. I had A LOT to  journal about this layout so I made specific room to the left to tell my  story."

And here's Leslie's gorgeous page:

And some close-ups of the details:

Supplies:  Pinwheel (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Circle & Tag Stickers, Chit  Chat Stickers), Destination (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Circle & Tag Stickers, Brad  Badge Button & Baker Bundle, Chipboard Stickers, Letter Stickers, Boy Voyage  Paper, Luggage Paper), Sweet Shoppe (Chit Chat Stickers, Licorice Whip  Paper)

And finally, here's my layout based on the sketch I created:

I always have a hard time sticking to a sketch exactly...even when they are my own sketches!  This one also took on a life of it's own once I got started, but I think that's okay - sketches aren't set in stone, it's just a matter of finding a starting point!  Here are a few of the details:

Supplies: Sweet Shoppe (Gumball, Licorice Whip, Salt Water Taffy, Marshmallow, Pink Mint, Candy Stick, Chipboard Stickers, Embellishment Bundle, Chit Chat Stickers, Circles & Tags, ABC Stickers)

We'd love to have you join us - how will you interpret the sketch? 

We'll pick one winner from all our challenge entries this month to win a Lily Bee prize package. Here's a few things to keep in mind:
- Your layout must use mainly Lily Bee products (approx. 50% - 60% older or newer lines to showcase Lily Bee Design).
- Post your layout to our Facebook Page or Flickr Gallery to be eligible for monthly challenge prize.
- Title your post "5/7 Sketch Challenge" so we can find it easily and then leave a comment on this blog post letting us know you've entered.
- Deadline is May 31, 2013, Midnight CST
- One winner from all the challenges will be announced in next month's Kristen's News feature.

The more you play, the better your chances of winning!

 

Focus On Monday | The Great Outdoors

Greetings Lily Bee Fans!

This weeks focus on is all about the great outdoors and today, Christine and I have created layouts with a beach theme using two completely different collections, Destination and Pinwheel.

Christine's Beach Love layout is striking with the vivid and bold colors from the Destination collection. Her design is filled with lots of elements to compliment the details of all the bits and piece she has layered allowing her photos to pop off the page.

Supplies:  Destination Collection (Luggage paper, Atlas paper, Tickets paper, Port paper, chipboard stickers, embellishment bundle, label stickers, letter stickers, chit chat stickers)

"Living close to the ocean and the beach means we get to enjoy the sand and the water often!  I wanted to evoke a nautical feeling for this layout, so I chose brown, blue, and red colors from the Destination collection."

"I love that the "B" side of each piece of paper is a different woodgrain pattern!  I love everything about this collection.  It is perfect for scrapbooking vacation photos, or just a drive to the beach to enjoy the sun, sand, and surf!"

How lucky is she living so close to the beach? Thanks for the inspiration Christine!

For my layout, Catching Some Waves, I used the bright and colorful papers from the Pinwheel collection, which compliments my photos nicely. As much as my son hats to put his head in the water, I love that he at least enjoys boogie boarding. It's fun watching him wait for the perfect wave to ride on.

Supplies: Pinwheel (Kite Strings, Picnic Basket, Apricot Tree, Lemonade Stand, Lime Rickey, Jump Rope, Cherry Blossom, Embellishment Bundle, Label Stickers, Letter Stickers, Chit Chat Stickers & Circle & Tag Stickers) Stationery (Harvest Blue)

I mixed up a variety of patterns for my background with the beach-y theme, using surfboard die-cut accents to convey the story behind my photos. I love how they turned out and how nice they look against the white background with a mix of colorful patterns.

Thanks so much for hanging out with us today. We hope you are inspired to put on your flip flops and scrap your favorite beach photos. Cheers!

Cards | Nautical Trendspotting

Hello! Diana here with you today. This week we are trendspotting here at Lily Bee. I am a huge fan of the nautical trend. I have always been a fan of a great navy and white stripe, but the addition of the anchors and red accents makes me swoon.

Diane and I made a few cards for you inspired by the nautical trend — showing you that you don't need to buy a nautical-themed paper collection to still achieve a great nautical project. This is Diane's card.

The nautical theme is everywhere ...clothing, home decor and crafting supplies. The good news is you don't have to have themed supplies to make a fun nautical themed card. Here I used the Memorandum collection for the entire card, even the little flag at the top with my nautical themed greeting.

Supplies for Diane's card:
Memorandum (9 to 5-MEP128, Whiteboard-MEP129, Grapefruit-MEP175, Office Blue-MEP176, Lemon-MEP177, Cubicle-MEP132)

Below are some cards I made.

For my anchor card, I focused on the red, blue and white chevron stripe in the Destination collection. Clouds, the map background and dark woodgrain round out the overall look for the card.

SUPPLIES:
Destination Collection - Landmark
Destination Collection - Postcard
Destination Collection - Port
Handmade Collection - ABC Stickers

 

This lighthouse was cut using the Silhouette Cameo and a variety of papers from the Destination collection. The mix of patterns adds to the fun of the nautical theme.

SUPPLIES:
Destination Collection - Tickets
Destination Collection - Postcard
Destination Collection - Boarding Pass
Destination Collection - Landmark
Destination Collection - Circle and Tag Stickers 

Focus On | Trendspotting

Hello Lily Bee friends & welcome to a brand new week here on the Lily Bee blog!  I'm Wendy Sue and this is my first time hosting on the blog - I'm excited to introduce this week's theme - Trendspotting!  Our team has been busily tracking down the latest trends and working on fun projects to share with you throughout the week.  Today, Nicole and I are teaming up to share a couple of trend-infused layouts with you!

First up, here's Nicole's gorgeous layout:

And here's what she had to say: 

I’m not gonna lie - I spend way too much of my time on Pinterest.   When looking for inspiration for this project, a few things popped out at me -- neutral p allette pages, metallics &/or ombre designs. I love the look of  each, so why not combine them into one!

I gathered some of my favorite Lily Bee  papers, using the 6x6 Tiny Tablets, and punched some circles in varying degrees  of color and them layered them onto cardstock. I added in the metallics through  stitching and some sequins from my stash and voila! the page was done !

Supplies: Sweet Shoppe (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Chipboard Stickers), Pinwheel (6x6 Tiny Tablet), Christmas Cheer (Mini ABC stickers), Stationery (Oatmeal paper), Persnickety (6x6 Tiny Tablet), Autumn Spice (Clear stamps, 6x6 Tiny Tablet)

I've been loving all of the unique takes on projects using the triangle trend that is so popular right now!  I decided to incorporate a slew of triangles onto a layout and this is the outcome:

I didn't start out with much of a plan - just started cutting triangles and arranging them on the background until I came up with a pattern I liked. 

I also added some circle elements just for fun (you might notice they are arranged in a "visual triangle" which is another fun triangular design element!)

I added some word stickers with little staples, and even added machine stitching to some of my triangles.

I completed my layout by adding a photo strip and a bit of hand journaling.

Supplies: Pinwheel (Cherry Blossom, Lemonade Stand, Picnic Basket, Lime Rickey, Jump Rope, Flip Flops, Cart Wheels, Chipboard Stickers, Label Stickers, Chit Chat Stickers, Circle & Tag Stickers)

I love following the latest trends and watching to see how the trends can be incorporated into any person's projects, regardless of their personal style! What are your favorite trends - have you tried them out on your projects yet? What are you waiting for?!?

   

Tutorial Friday | Framed Dry Erase Board

Well, hello there! Cindy here with a simple tutorial showing you how to convert a large size picture frame into a functional dry erase board.

And by all means, this idea isn't anything new, but kinda new to me. During a four day crop I attended last week, one of my friends showed us how to convert a 5x7 frame into a dry erase board, which was inspired by many ideas on Pinterest. During one of our shopping trips, we hit up Hobby Lobby and I couldn't resist their 50% off deal on all their frames. I love the design and color of the frame, which can easily be spray painted.

Supplies: Pinwheel (Jump Rope & Lemonade Stand, Embellishment Bundle), Christmas Cheer (ABC Stickers)

To begin, remove the glass from the frame and wipe it clean with vinegar & water or plain a spritz of windex, set aside to dry.

Use the insert backing as your foundation and add your pattern paper using a little adhesive to keep it secure. I added a strip of quote bubbles to the bottom of my pattern background embellished a few of them with abc cardstock stickers.

You can easily leave the entire frame bare, but I added an 11x5 inch piece of cork board.

Place the covered insert into the frame and push in tabs to secure into place.

Instead of using the foam squares that came with the package of cork board, I used my hot glue gun. Generously cover the back of cork board and adhere to the outside of the frame.

Add velcro to bottom of frame and dry erase pen and attach.

Make sure the cork is at least the same depth as the frame, so it's flush with the frames edge. Gives it a clean and smooth look without looking too bulky.

Voila! I now have a nice dry erase board hanging in my kitchen I can use to jot down items I need to pick up at the market on a weekly basis. I also use the cork board section to hold coupons, which helps having them out in the open rather inside a container or my purse. Because I am always letting them expire or forget I have them, like I did my $10 Kohl's cash that expired on the 14th.

I added layers of paper flowers and adorned with a large embellishment button and used glue dots to adhere it to the frame. I kept this simple so I can change it up whenever the mood strikes. Plus, it would be fun to change it for every season or holiday.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek at my project. Hope it inspires you to create something functional to display in your home.

Outside your window | Challenge

Good morning Lily Bee fans!! Becky Williams and I are here today to share with you a little challenge. This week on the Lily Bee blog, we are exploring what is outside the window! 

We were challenged to scrap 4 photos about "things" out our window - and no PEOPLE !

For a lot of people, the spring weather has not been co-operating.... Becky shares this pretty page today:

Supplies: Pinwheel (Sprinklers, Flower Box, Flip Flops, Picnic Basket, Cartwheels, Cherry Blossom, Chit Chat Stickers, Embellishment Bundle), Destination (Port, Bon Voyage, Souvenir), Christmas Cheer (Index Journaling Cards), Persnickety (Index Journaling Cards, 6x6 Tiny Tablet). 

Becky shares this with us:

We'd been enjoying kind of a crazy Spring so far but loved the warmer weather until it decided to snow! Yep, snow in Texas in April. I'd just taken pictures of the flowers in our yard, signs of Spring, and then we got the snow- thankfully the flowers survived. I mostly take pictures of my family so this challenge was a nice change of pace for me and helped me to take a closer look at the beautiful things around me, even in the snow. 

I love how Becky has layered stickers and her fussy cut paper pieces!

Take a look at those pretty butterflies too! Makes me hopeful for spring for sure!

Well, up here in Canada, the weather is bad. In fact, as I type this, there is snow falling again. Truth be told, the only thing you would see out my window today is snow! So, I pulled out some photos from last summer for this challenge:

Supplies: Sweet Shoppe (Patterned Paper - Lemon Drop, 6x6 paper pad), Pinwheel (Patterned Paper - Kite Strings, 6x6 Paper Pad, Chipboard Stickers), Autumn Spice (Clear Stamps), Persnickety (Journal Cards)

Although I scrapped about summer, I used a lot of fun, spring color from both the Pinwheel and Sweet Shoppe collections. The Lemon Drop paper is perfect for large sunbeams, which I detailed with some gold metallic thread:

The Pinwheel collection has a lot of great colors in it for spring - and those hexagon piechart shapes are perfect!

You can see that the chipboard embellishments add just the right amount of texture to your page ! I love the florals in the Pinwheel collection.

How will you interpret this challenge???? Do you have some ideas flowing already? Well, share them with us and We'll pick one winner from all our challenge entries this month to win a Lily Bee prize package.

Here's a few things to keep in mind:
- Your layout must use at 60% Lily Bee products.
- Post your layout to our Facebook Page or Flickr Gallery to be eligible for monthly challenge prize. 
- Title your post "4/16 Challenge" so we can find it easily and then leave a comment on this blog post letting us know you've entered.
- Deadline is April 30, 2013, Midnight CST
- One winner from all the challenges will be announced in next month's Kristen's News feature. 

The more you play, the better your chances of winning!

Negative Space | Sketch Challenge

Hello, Everyone!  Leslie and I are here today with another sketch challenge for you using our theme for the week, Negative Space.

The sketch is bold, but can be interpreted so many ways.  Instead of triangles, use hearts or circles or another shape.  Repeating patterns are always a great element to add to your design.

I absolutely love how Leslie changed the triangle shape and then brought it all the way around to point to her photo.  This is what Leslie has to say about her gorgeous project, "I focused on the arrows from the sketch and used them as my “base” pointing to my photo. I hand cut them and only added adhesive in the middle so they can stand up a little.  I finished it off by adding my title and lots of fun embellishments that represent my favorite go to shoes right now."

Pinwheel (Flip Flops Paper), Sweet Shoppe (Chipboard Stickers), Destination (Tickets Paper, Port Paper, Label Stickers, Embellishment Bundle, Chit Chat Stickers, Chipboard Stickers), Christmas Cheer (ABC stickers), Persnickity (Index Journaling Cards, Mixed Stickers)

I decided to stay with the triangles, but made them smaller.  Using the sketch as inspiration, helped me make the rest of the layout fall into place adding my own touches.

I turned the cut pattern paper over to mask the area where I wanted to add some stamping.  I was going to use the same pattern paper to pop dot over the negative space, but decided on the Port pattern paper for more color.

Using my Silhouette, I cut out a card with a leaf pattern to tuck behind the picture.
The Flip Flop pattern paper inspired me to mask and ink the speech bubbles. 
Sweet Shoppe (Strawberries and Cream Paper, Gumball Paper, Licorice Whip Paper, Jelly Bean Paper, Embellishment Bundle, Label Stickers, Chit Chat Stickers, Chipboard Stickers), Pinwheel (Kite Strings Paper, Picnic Basket Paper, Jump Rope Paper, Cart Wheels Paper, Flip-Flops Paper, Chipboard Stickers), Destination (Atlas Paper, Port Paper, Chipboard Stickers)

How will you interpret the sketch?  
We'll pick one winner from all our challenge entries this month to win a Lily Bee prize package. Here's a few things to keep in mind:
- Your layout must use at 60% Lily Bee products.
- Post your layout to our Facebook Page or Flickr Gallery to be eligible for monthly challenge prize. 
- Title your post "4/9 Sketch Challenge" so we can find it easily and then leave a comment on this blog post letting us know you've entered.
- Deadline is April 30, 2013, Midnight CST
- One winner from all the challenges will be announced in next month's Kristen's News feature. 

The more you play, the better your chances of winning!

 

 

Focus On | Negative Space

Hi everyone, it's Diane here to introduce a new theme for the week that I know you are going to love...using negative space. Basically, negative space is the space which surrounds an object in an image. It is often used to frame an object. For my layout, I used negative space in the form of a banner to frame my photo.

I cut out the banner using my Cameo and popped it up off the background page to add more dimension. Next, I layered small flowers, butterflies, pinked circles and small banner pieces between the two layers and on the top layer.

The simple banner across the page left me with lots of white space for adding my title and some finishing touches. I used the space at the top for clouds and butterflies and the bottom left corner for my title.

Supplies: Pinwheel Collection (Sprinklers - PWP307, Flip Flops - PWP311, Cart Wheels - PWP312) Christmas Cheer Collection (Figgy Pudding - CCP271) Double Dutch Collection (Key Lime Pie - DDP177, Croquet - DDP178, Mixed Cardstock Sticker - DDS184) Memorandum Collection (9 to 5 - MEP128, Office Blue - MEP176, Lemon - MEP177, ABC Stickers - MES135) Happily Lost Collection (Amazing Views - HLP0085, Hammock - HLP0087, Stroll - HEP0089, Sun Soaked - HLP0090)

Thank you for coming by the blog today. Make sure to check back each day this week for even more inspiration using negative space.