Get Happy!

The first few weeks of our summer vacation have been spent doing a variety of fun activities - a trip to the beach, backyard barbeques, crafty projects with the kids and movie nights. Throw in a few lazy mornings watching cartoons, s'mores around the campfire, and sunset viewing from the front porch and it's easy to see that so far, summer has been a pretty darn happy season.

It was that notion that led me to create the page I'm sharing today. It serves as a little reminder that these events shouldn't just be saved for summer vacation - every day is a great occasion to seek out happiness!

Layout by Lisa Dickinson for Lily Bee Design

The Handmade patterned papers add the bulk of the color on this page. The hexagon die-cut is backed with pieces from the Handmade paper, Patchwork. By placing them behind the white die-cut borders, they add a lot of punch without overwhelming the design. This is also a great use for some of those paper scraps!

The title is simple and bold, and clearly communicates the message of my page. It was also die-cut from white cardstock with the word "Happy" cut from the Handmade Sky Blue paper.

Lily Bee Supplies:

Handmade patterned papers - Patchwork, Sky Blue, Pattern Block

 I hope you're inspired to go do something that makes you happy today - and then scrap it, of course!

Read more...

Eat Well

As a woman with a family and a home, I don't very often get to eat at what I'd call a 'fine dining' establishment. Of course, it's not because I don't want to, but one can only afford so many $25+ plates in a given year before the bankers come calling.  At least that is the reality for our family.


Given that, when I do get the opportunity, I want it to be memorable.  That involves things like planning the right place and the right time and the right occasions. I can do that is to take extra care with my appearance and preparations.  But all of that will still allow the memory to fade.


Photos, however, will help keep it alive.  A well photographed location or plate of food can evoke so many things in people.  Why do you think they spend so much on marketing photos for all the major restaurant chains?  Because it evokes a certain 'something' when you see a mouth-wateringly juicy burger topped with the freshest, greenest lettuce and the ripest, reddest tomatoes and veritably dripping with secret sauce!!!


With all of that in mind, I decided to take out the big guns when my husband and I recently visited a local restaurant for our 20th anniversary.  I brought my big ole Canon DSLR to dinner with me and took time to shoot the food as soon as it arrived at our table.


I admit, I was a little embarrassed to do it, but the waitress even came by on one of my shooting occasions and gave me a thumbs up for being brave enough. 'Yeah!' I thought, 'I'm not so weird after all am I?!'  Well, maybe I am, but I did get some great shots and we'll not soon forget this occasion of Eating Well!

The rich, warm colors of my photos led me to the Buttercup Collection. That yellow damask pattern seemed the perfect compliment to our fine dining adventures and helped bring out the warm tones in my photos.

I also played with the round frame stamp from the Handmade collection to add a little extra color and texture.

I dug out my turquoise and grey washi tapes which blend so beautifully with the colors of Buttercup and created a bit of extra texture behind the bank of photos on the right side of the page.  The mini cardstock alphas make perfect photo captions.

And I couldn't resist creating another brad from the cardstock stickers and my Epiphany Crafts tool.


Give dining out photography a try and let us know how you like it!  I'd love to see what you come up with!


Lily Bee Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Buttercup (Queen Bee, Rain
ABC Cardstock Stickers: Buttercup
Mixed Cardstock Stickers: Buttercup
Journal Cards:Buttercup,  Double Dutch
Bag of Bits: Buttercup
Stamps: Handmade

Read more...