Bright and Busy!

I love color and pattern and lots of everything on my layouts. It's happy and fun just like my youngest who recently had his 7th birthday. I knew a bright and busy look was want I wanted for a birthday page to record this event but how to go about it and still keep it under control  had me perplexed.

Enter the simple circle punch. Circle punches are simple timeless tools that never go out of style and every papercrafter should own a few. By punching all my papers with the same punch, the repetition provides unity in the design and even better, there was no measuring and cutting involved.

I've used the beautiful Double Dutch line for this layout. I love how the gingham adds such a summery look and it's perfect for boys as well as girls.

The Double Dutch Index Journaling Cards are great for journaling but they are also perfect for matting photos with.

Mini pinwheels make a sweet childhood accent on a page. I've created mine out of 2.5" squares of Double Dutch patterned paper.

Lily Bee Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Double Dutch (Marmalade, Hopscotch, Key Lime Pie, Croquet, Marigold, Celery) 

and Buttercup (Flowerpot)

Journaling Cards: Double Dutch
Stickers: Victoria Park ABC 

Bag of Bits:Double Dutch

Happy creating!

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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!

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Blog Hop Day 3 with Epiphany Crafts and Glue Arts

Happy Wednesday and Welcome to Day 3 of our blog hop. Today's post features our Sketch for May's Sketch Challenge by Ursula Schneider. Let's take a look at her layout she created with the sketch.


I love that she has mixed our older paper from This & That along with Double Dutch and Buttercup. Our papers are so easy to mix and match from line to line.





Here is Maisa's take on the sketch:


I adore how she has cut the doily shapes from our Double Dutch Croquet Paper and embellished them with the Epiphany Crafts Circle Accessory. Maisa also used the Glue Arts 3D Foam Pac to give dimension to our Bag of Bits Banner.




Now we'd love to see YOUR take on this sketch! (And we'll pick one of your pages to win a lovely collection of Lily Bee goodies!) Here's the rules to keep in mind:

*Your layout must use at least two Lily Bee products.
*Post your layout to any gallery or your blog and link the post in the comment section of this post. OR post your layout on our Facebook page. (But not both, please.)
*Be sure and title your post "Lily Bee Sketch Challenge #9" so we can find it easily.
*The deadline for entries is Thursday, May 31st at 9:00 pm PST.
*And of course, be creative and have fun!

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Take on Sketch Challenge #6

Hello everyone...Katja here!

It's my turn today to post a take on Lisa's great sketch from last week.
I took the sketch, flipped it around so my photo is on the right instead of the left side and made an A4 Layout.

Here is the sketch again...


















And this is what I came up with...

I have used some circles masks on my background paper and just went to town with different colors of mist. Then I added the circle stamp from the 'Picket Fence' stamp set and this gave me a base to work from and add all my embellishments.

And here is the fine print for the challenge:

1) Use at least two Lily Bee products (any two).
2) Post your layout on our Facebook page (please include the title Lily Bee Sketch Challenge #5)
3) -OR- include a link to your project in the comments of Lisa's post. Please do one or the other, not both.
3) The deadline is Tuesday March 20th, 9PM EDT. We'll randomly pick one winner to receive some delicious Lily Bee products!

Lily Bee Supplies:
Patterned Paper: Memorandum - Office Blue, Lemon, Whiteboard
Index Cards: Memorandum
Mixed Cardstock Stickers: Memorandum
ABC Stickers: Memorandum
Stamps: Picket Fence, Memorandum
Tiny Tablet: This & That
Let's see what you can create from this sketch!

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Simple Chevron Layout

Chevrons are so in right now and I admit i totally love them.  Today i am going to share a quick way to create this beautiful design element with an old tool/fad that you probably already have in your stash.

It's time to break out the old photo corner punch.  Punch a bunch of corners out of the same paper.  Here i am using the Double Dutch line.  I knew i wanted 4 chevron rows and you will need at least 5 to 7 corners.  What's cool about this technique is you can use small scraps to create this look.

Make a row of three corners by taking the second corner to the first corner matching up the edges.  Add the third corner to create mountain peeks.

Now you are ready to add the bottom part of the chevron.  Turn the corner upside down and match up the "v" of the corner.  Add the next layer and suddenly you have a chevron.  You can keep adding the next layers until you create a length you want. Easy peasy chevrons!

 

 Enjoy!

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Getting the most out of the Tiny Tablet!

There is no doubt about it that prescribing yourself one of these tablets is good for you ... the Lily Bee Tiny Tablet that is!

I love the tiny tablets that Lily Bee produces for each of its ranges.  It means that you can cut smaller pieces of paper to use on your layouts, but still have the benefit of being able to see lots of the lovely patterns.

I have used the papers in the tiny tablet from the Memorandum range on this layout about my family ...

I simply cut 1.5 inch squares from a selection of the papers and then laid them together under the photo to create this grid.  I then added a row of the banner stickers below the grid.

 

I used the Stationery range for the background and for the three circles that I included.  I splashed the background with a white mist for another layer of detail.  Once again, I placed the title around one of the circles ... this is definitely becoming a habit for me!  I also included that gorgeous family quote from the rubons in one of Lily Bee's older ranges.

The hearts were punched from another of the tiny tablets papers and I attached them to the layout with foam tape for dimension.  I then wrapped them with a little twine so it is like they are in a little nest.

I love the memorandum range!  Definitely a go to range for me.  I challenge you to grab a tiny tablet and create a layout today.

Lily Bee products:

Patterned paper - Memorandum: Office Blue, Grapefruit, Boardroom

Tiny Tablet - Memorandum

Mixed Cardstock Stickers - Memorandum

ABC Stickers - Memorandum

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Sketch Challenge #5

It's time to get back to our sketch challenge! With all the CHA excitement last month we couldn't fit it in but we hope you are ready to be challenged again this month!

Here is this months sketch and sample...

Lily Bee Products:

Patterned Papers:

Memorandum - Whiteboard; Lemon

Head over Heels - Swoon; Dreamy; Crush

This & That - Pretty Fabric

Happily Lost - Good Book

Index Journaling Cards:

Memorandum

Clear Stamps:

Memorandum

Mixed Cardstock Stickers:

Head over Heels

As you can see my Layout doesn't exactly match the sketch. I have used patterned papers instead of the three photos and chose to use just one photo placed next to the paper swatches. The sketch is for you to use as inspiration only, turn it around, mix it up, be inspired by it.

And here is the fine print for the challenge:
1) Use at least two Lily Bee products (any two).
2) Post your layout on our Facebook page (please include the title Lily Bee Sketch Challenge #5)
3) -OR- include a link to your project in the comments of this post. Please do one or the other, not both.
3) The deadline is Wednesday February 29th, 9PM EDT. We'll randomly pick one winner to receive some delicious Lily Bee products!


The most important rule is to have fun using the sketch and our fantastic Lily Bee products!!

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Finally Friday.

The weekend is just about here and if your week has been anything like mine, you're ready for some relaxation...and some scrapping, too!  So here's an easy layout you can put together in less than 30 minutes - perfect for a Friday night scrap session!

He Shoots, He Scores • layout by Lisa Dickinson

Lily Bee Supplies:

Happily Lost Patterned Paper - Sun Soaked

Stationery Patterned Paper - Pear

Head Over Heels Patterned Paper - Crush, Dreamy

Happily Lost ABC Stickers

First I printed a strip of photos about 2.5 inches high to span across my page.  Then I went to work cutting various sized circles from the patterned papers.  Mine range from 4.5" down to .75" but feel free to make them whatever size you want.  I layered two of my circles with die cut images cut from black cardstock:

When I'm printing my journaling directly on my background cardstock, I like to lay out the page elements on the cardstock first (without adhering anything) and roughly determine where my journaling will go and how much space I have to work with.  Then I set up a text box to fit that size and print my journaling out.

After arranging and adhering my photo strip and circles, I added a ttiny itle from ABC Stickers and embellished the page with a few sparkly pearls and rhinestones.

So celebrate the fact that it's finally Friday and do a little scrapping - we'd love to see what you create!

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2012 Mini Album Tutorial

Happy New Year everyone.  It's Ronda today with a step by step detailing this adorable mini album for the new year.  This quick & easy mini could be used for multiple projects such as a goal journal, a One Little Word album, a monthly glance at your year, etc.  So many possibilities in one sweet little album. 

Supplies:
a variety of Lily Bee patterned papers
Lily Bee Alphabets
Lily Bee Happily Lost Stamps
two 4 x 6 Chipboard pieces
scoring tool
Paint
Binder Rings
Border Punch
hole punch
Sewing Machine

First you need to cut two pieces of 4 x 6 inch chipboard pieces to create your cover.  You can usually purchase these pieces fairly cheaply from your local scrapbook stores.  I usually have a stack on hand so i can create my own covers.

Choose your favorite Lily Bee Patterned paper for the cover.  Here i am using This & That Milk Bottle.  I just love that blue!  Adhere to the front of the chipboard, gluing in the center of the paper.  Why you ask?  Well i knew i wanted to stitch around the edges of the chipboard so i didn't want my needle hitting the adhesive & getting sticky. 

I added a thin paint layer around the edges of the album to give it some texture.  I love that it is quick & a bit rough.  Next i stitched around the edges of the cover.  Yes you can stitch through chipboard.  Just go nice & slow, using a long stitch making sure your tension isn't too tight.

Next i added a chipboard accent piece.  I painted the top of the butterfly using the same paint i used around the album cover.  Next i added a bit of clear glue & some German glass glitter.  You could also use regular glitter as well. 

Once i added the butterfly to the album i decided the solid orange background wasn't popping enough for me so i changed it up with strips of leftover patterned papers.  I added two green stick pins for the antennae which added that pop of color i needed.

I grabbed my Happily Lost Banner Stamp and stamped it on a piece of neutral patterned paper.  I went with the same color palette as the paint.  This way my title could really stand out.

This album is titled Reflections.  In order to get the position right on the banner, i first wrote out my word and found the center letter.  I work out from there to fill in the rest of the letters.  Sometimes i add the first letter so i know how much room i have.  You also have to remember you may have to adjust your "center" letter depending on the font size of the letters.

Next choose a variety of coordinating Lily Bee Papers.  I have a fun bright palette of colors choosing warm greens, yellows, pinks, oranges, blues, and a hint of black.  They make me happy!  You will need twelve 4 x 12 sheets of patterned paper plus one 4 x 6 piece.  These are going to be the base of your interior pages.

These 4 x 12 pages become pocket pages similar to the So Blessed Lily bee album i did in 2010.  Score your twelve 4 x 12 pages at 2 inches and at 6 inches.  Fold the page in half at the 6 inch score mark.  Fold the 2 inch score mark down & punch the edge with your favorite border punch. 

You can adhere the two sides down and create the pocket.  I like to stitch mine down by stitching all around the edges of the page.  Now you have 12 pockets for your mini album, one for each month if you so choose.   

I have created these journal inserts for my pocket pages.  You can download the pdf of the interior pocket journal cards from my blog.  I am planning on using this to capture my month's at a glance.  I will place a photo on one side of the page & the pocket page on the other side. 

Because of the way i am doing my photos, i needed a cover page.  Here i have two options for the interior cover for you.  One uses the the journal card on the cover page to create consistency.  The other makes use of the scraps of patterned paper.  I gave you this option because you would need to print out an extra journal card to use it on the cover. 

Here's the start of my interior pages. I plan on placing a collage of photos on the backside of the green paper, opposite of the January pocket that is a snapshot of my month.  Like i said above, you can use this album for multiple projects.  

Have a blessed New Year

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