Recycling Inspiration

Some days, I find myself with a little spare time and my first thought? Scrapping! OK. That's a lie. My first thought is NAP! Hahahah! But alas, with three kids, napping during the day is not usually an option. So back to scrapping.

Sometimes I sit down to get started and suddenly draw a blank. I have photos, I have products, but design... uhm... Sometimes it just escapes me.

There are great inspiration blogs, with sketches, color challenges, product challenges. But lately, I have found that there's no need to invent the wheel again and again. I can just scraplift myself. Yup. Myself!

Case in point, this layout I created for Simple Scrapbooks magazine a few years ago. It's still of my favorites.

I took that simple, but graphically strong design and made another layout. And a card! The other thing I did was to challenge  myself to use up the scraps of paper I was creating with the punched circles. I used our Tiny Tablets, and only one big sheet of paper.

Lily Bee supplies:

patterned paper: Stationery-Mushroom

Tiny Tablets: Picket Fence, Happily Lost, This & That

ABC Stickers: Picket Fence, Happily Lost, This & That

Stamp: Happily Lost Acrylic Stamps

other: punches, stamps, pop up dots

So next time you are feeling stumped by scrapbooking, pull out your old favorites and do it all over again!

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still inspired...

Even with the delicious new ranges from CHA I am still finding so much inspiration from the older lines. Today I'd like to share two layouts, one using This & That and another with Happily Lost.

I absolutely adore this photo of my oldest and youngest together. Lucy dotes on Archie so much, it always warms my heart to see how much she loves him. Given how much I love the photo, I wanted to keep the layout simple to make sure it was the main focus. I've used one quite neutral paper as my background and then just added some splashes of colour by punching butterflies out of some of the brighter papers.

Even with a simple layout I wanted to include some dimension so I've added some bright baker's twine in big loops, letting them stand up from the page.

Products used:

This & That - Teacup

This & That - Linens

This & That - Brooch

This & That - Label Stickers

This & That - Mixed Cardstock Stickers

Stationery - Slushie

The second layout is one of myself with my dear friend Jenae who recently sold her scrapbooking store. This photo was taken at the farewell party. I've gone with pink and lime green as these were the colours of the store logo.

It is such a bold combination that the layout looked almost full before it was started and yet I wanted to include lots of detail. I decided to group my embellishments into tight clusters which allowed me to use a lot of little bits and pieces without the layout looking too cluttered.

Products used:

Stationery - Pear

Stationery - Slushie

Happily Lost - Hammock

Happily Lost - ABC Stickers

Happily Lost - Mixed Cardstock Stickers

This & That - Mixed Cardstock Stickers

Three Little Birds - Laugh Run-Ons

Don't forget to post your Lily Bee creations on our Facebook page - we always love to see how you've used our products - new AND old!

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Notes To Self...

When I first heard of this collection Memorandum - the first thing that came to my mind was office supplies, folders, notebook, stationary goodies, etc .... and that is pretty much what inspired me to create the layout/mini album.

I started out by creating my mini flip book - cutting rectangle pieces of the pattern papers and also using one of my border punches to create the look as the pages were torn from a notebook. Then to assemble the flip book - I sown the top portion of the pages together and decorated it with a bit of twine and clip.

And as you can tell, I've just discovered pintrest and am slowly pin away all the amazing inspirations, starting with all of these inspirational quotes.

Lily Bee Supplies:

Memorandum Pattern Paper - Boardroom (MEP127)

Memorandum Pattern Paper - 9 to 5 (MEP128)

Memorandum Pattern Paper - Whiteboard (MEP129)

Memorandum Pattern Paper - Lemon (MEP177)

And sharing another layout that I created using some of the older Lily Bee Collections - Happily Lost and This & That; and capturing the moments of Barcelona. (yes, I do miss the food there the most!)

And using these super cute ABC stickers from the This & That collection - these are so versatile and I can't resist using them everywhere

Lily Bee Supplies:

Happily Lost Pattern Paper - Stroll (HLP0089)

Happily Lost Pattern Paper - Good Book (HLP0085)

Happily Lost Acrylic Stamp

This & That Pattern Paper - Brooch (TTP0097)

This & That ABC Stickers

Stationery Pattern Paper - Slushie (SP0122)

Lovely Chipboard Stickers

Thanks for stopping by everyone!

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Special Moments

One of my favorite parts of scrapbooking is reliving those special moments.  Taking a photo & playing around with paper, remembering all the details and all the fun you had in that moment. 

Lily Bee Products
Memorandum Whiteboard
Head Over Heels Dreamy
Head Over Heels Flirt
Happily Lost Hammock
Hello Sunshine Posies
three Little Birds Rub-ons

I can still hear the laughter at this table.  We sat down to do a little make & take only to see our friends sitting across from us.  It was such a fun time that included creative play.  On the layout i wanted to capture a bit of that same fun atmosphere.  I used three different mists in the background and then layered a tag i made from one of the new papers.  Three simple blue strips grounded with chocolate stitches ground the large photo.  I added in splashes of pink to complement the photo.  the rectangular journaling really brought this page together.

Lily Bee Products
Stationary butter
Memorandum Boardroom
Memorandum 9 to 5
Memorandum Mixed Cardstock Stickers
Lovely Chipboard Stickers
This & That ABC Stickers
Brown Tulle Flowers

This beautiful door was lost on me.  I had been by it so many times and didn't stop to take in because i was on the way to somewhere.  Then one night, while waiting on my husband Andy to do some shopping, i turn around.  It was breath-taking and then i really started to see things with new eyes.  i had taken the scenery for granted.  This layout reminds me to stop and be grateful, to take it all in and see Paradise. 

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A layout and a sketch...

Happy Tuesday! I have a layout and a sketch to share with you today.

I created this layout based on the sketch below. The thing that I love about the Lily Bee Stationery line is that you can create fun backgrounds and still keep the design simple, which keeps the focus on the story! And those alphas...still my favorite scrapbooking supply ever!

Lily Bee Supplies Used:

Stationery - Oatmeal

Happily Lost - Mixed Cardstock Stickers

Happily Lost - ABC Stickers

This & That - ABC Stickers

Picket Fence - ABC Stickers

Domestic Bliss - Chipboard Stickers

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Finding Inspiration

Like many of you, I am constantly on the look out for inspiration. Usually I look outside of the scrapbooking world of creativity. But lately, I have been finding all sorts of inspiration through fellow scrapbook designers.

During a webinar interview last month, two of the designers used butterflies on their pages. I haven't used butterflies in a long time. I felt compelled to use my new punches & get creating. One of the designers stated using one tool or shape on a page is a good way to keep creating simple & less overwhelming. As I am always using more than one punch or shape on a page, usually, I loved the idea of keeping it simple.

Here is a simple card I created, 'Seize the Day', using layers of butterflies showcasing the Memorandum Collection. You can never go wrong using text background on any project & adding a splash of bright colors.


To continue with my keeping it simple plan, I created this layout, 'Sandy Legs', using the same butterfly.


Instead of layering the shapes in different colors, I added pop dots to some of the butterflies & created a tone-on-tone look on my page with the embellishments.

Lily Bee Supplies: (Seize the Day card)
Memorandum Whiteboard
Memorandum Grapefruit
Memorandum Lemon
Jingle Merry and Bright
Picket Fence Acrylic Stamps

Lily Bee Supplies: (Sandy Legs layout)
Memorandum Whiteboard
Memorandum Office Blue
Picket Fence Acrylic Stamps
Memorandum Index Journaling Cards
Lovely Chipboard Stickers

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Getting Beachy with Lily Bee

A while back, the great folks at Maya Road shared some products with our design team, including this great chipboard album.

Armed with Lily Bee "Picket Fence," some white paint and Maya Road resist, and a few sparklies, I set about creating this little album for my daughter about her first beach trip.

While I still had the products and pictures out, I decided to go ahead and make a companion layout for my album!

Lily Bee Products used:

Domestic Bliss- Chipboard Stickers

Picket Fence- Veranda Patterned Paper, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, ABC Stickers, Mixed Cardstock Stickers

Stationery- Slushie, Butter

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White Space

"White space is often referred to as negative space. It should not be considered merely 'blank' space'...it is an important element of design. The use of negative space is key to aesthetic composition."
This is the Wikipedia description of 'white space' and pretty much explains one of the design elements we often use in our crafting projects. I love working with 'white space' and have created a couple of Layouts showing the use of this key element.
My first Layout 'Special Times' has a lot of negative space towards the bottom half of the Layout whereas my other Layout has the negative space around the photo towards the left, top and bottom of the page. Most embellishments are grouped together in clusters or anchored somewhere on the page. I don't tend to place them just anywhere or by themselves as this will look unbalanced.
I also like to repeat some of my embellishments or design elements, like the circles and butterflies in the second Layout 'Sunshiny Day' or the little punched flowers in the 'Special Times' Layout.
I would love to see some of you posting your Lily Bee projects on our Facebook page using 'white space'!!
Have a great week!

Supplies ('Happy Times'):
Lily Bee: Picket Fence 'Fresh Air' paper
Lily Bee: This & That 'Pretty Fabric' paper
Lily Bee: This & That 'Milk Bottle' paper
Lily Bee: This & That ABC Stickers
Lily Bee: This & That Mixed Cardstock Stickers
Lily Bee: Happily Lost 'Hammock' paper
Stationery: 'Oatmeal' and 'Butter' paper
Hello Sunshine: Rub-ons
Lovely: Chipboard Stickers

Supplies ('Sunshiny Day'):
Lily Bee: Picket Fence 'Fresh Air' paper
Lily Bee: Picket Fence 'Porch Swing' paper
Lily Bee: Picket Fence 'Verandah' paper
Lily Bee: Picket Fence 'Cottage Garden' paper
Lily Bee: Picket Fence Mixed Cardstock Stickers
Lily Bee: Picket Fence Acrylic Stamps
Stationery: 'Butter' paper

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Friday Finds

Woohoo! It's Friday. We hope you had a good week. Here's some eye candy from our Facebook friends to get you inspired for some weekend scrapbooking.

By Irit Shalom

By Michelle Unruh

By Frances Durhum Sylvia

By Aphra Bolyer

Thank you ladies for sharing your work with us! And if you have your work posted on Facebook, we might be featuring it here soon! We love that you share your Lily Bee creations with us. Please keep it coming!

Have a great weekend!

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Looking Back & Looking Ahead

August is such a transitional month for my family, as the school year begins and we head into a new routine. I always find that it's a bittersweet time-- I am sad to say goodbye to summer, yet at the same time by late August I am ready for a more structured routine!

I thought this month would be the perfect time to document my feelings about our summer (more specifically that special time I have with my kids), and also to get excited for what's ahead- fall!

In this layout, "Ode to Summer" I punched many different circles and layered them across the page with one of my favorite photos from the summer. I also used a hole-punch to punch small "confetti" to sprinkle across the page.

Lily Bee Supplies used:
Memorandum: Mixed Cardstock Stickers
This & That: Pretty Fabric, Brooch, Milk Bottle, Linens, Post Card, Tea Cup, ABC Stickers
Hello Sunshine: Blueberry Pie, Chipboard Stickers.


For this "fall themed" layout I decided to pull out a few photos from Halloween last year that I have not had the chance to scrap. I used the fabulous Harvest Market Index Journaling Cards and paired it with some papers from the Christmas Town Collection, and Stationery papers in order to create a festive (yet non-traditional in the color scheme) Halloween layout.


Lily Bee Supplies Used:
Harvest Market: Index Journaling Cards, Mixed Cardstock Stickers
Stationery: Tomato, Mushroom, Butter
Christmas Town: Sleigh Ride
Catching Fall: 12x12 Rub-Ons

I hope you are having a wonderful August and you are finding time to look back and look ahead, and document your favorite memories.

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