Lily Bee Finds

Lily Bee Design Birthday Blog Hop Day 3

Welcome to Day 3 of the Lily Bee Design birthday blog hop! I hope you are having fun celebrating with us and getting lots of ideas & inspiration along the way!  

If you've been following along all week you know that there are a lot of chances for you to win a prize package from Lily Bee each day of the hop! Today is no different...here’s what you need to do to be eligible to win:

• Follow the Lily Bee Design blog  (click "Follow" in the upper right hand corner above "Connect with Us")
• Leave a comment on each designer’s blog
• Leave a comment on the Lily Bee Design blog telling us what your favorite way is to stay connected to new scapbooking products, challenges, events, etc. in the scrapbooking industry (what are your go-to social media platforms?).

• Bonus entry opportunities:
  • Like Lily Bee Design on Facebook 
  • Follow Lily Bee Design on Instagram and tag yourself and at least one friend on the Lily Bee Design blog hop photo.
  • Follow Lily Bee Design on Twitter and Tweet or Re-Tweet the blog hop info
  • Follow Lily Bee design on Pinterest
  • Pin any of this week’s design team projects that have inspired you, tagging #lilybeedesign so we can easily find the entries.

That’s a lot of ways to win! Plus, since this is a 3-day blog hop with new projects every day, there's even more chances if you participate in our hop yesterday and tomorrow! You have until Sunday March 3, 2013 to complete the hop. Winners will be announced next week!

Let's take a peek at what the design team has in store for you on the hop today.

• Andrea Budjack
• Nicole Nowosad
• Patricia Roebuck
• Stacey Michaud
• Back to the Lily Bee Design blog

Enjoy the hop! Remember, you have until 3/3/13 midnight CT to hop in all three days of our hop.

Thanks for celebrating with Lily Bee Design!

Lily Bee Design Birthday Blog Hop Day 2

Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us during our blog hop yesterday. While you still have time to participate in yesterday's hop, today we're back with a new hop with a different set of designers who are ready to show you their gorgeous "Cards on Wednesdays" creations.

Let's take a peek at what you'll see as you hop along to each designer's blog.

We have a lot of chances for you to win a prize package from Lily Bee each day of the hop! Here’s what you need to do to be eligible to win:

• Follow the Lily Bee Design blog (click "Follow" in the upper right hand corner above Connect with Us)
• Leave a comment on each designer’s blog
• Leave a comment on the Lily Bee Design blog telling us what your favorite new Lily Bee Design collection is.

• Bonus entry opportunities:
  • Like Lily Bee Design on Facebook 
  • Follow Lily Bee Design on Instagram and tag yourself and at least one friend on the Lily Bee Design blog hop photo.
  • Follow Lily Bee Design on Twitter and Tweet or Re-Tweet the blog hop info
  • Follow Lily Bee design on Pinterest
  • Pin any of this week’s design team projects that have inspired you, tagging #lilybeedesign so we can easily find the entries.

That’s a lot of ways to win! Plus, since this is a 3-day blog hop with new projects every day, there's even more chances if you participate in our hop yesterday and tomorrow! You have until Sunday March 3, 2013 to complete the hop. Winners will be announced next week!

Now, on with the hop...

• Deanna Misner
• Melissa Mann
• Ursula Schneider
• Becky Williams
• Back to the Lily Bee Design blog

Thanks for stopping by today to celebrate with us!

 

 

 

Lily Bee Design Birthday Blog Hop Day 1

Four years ago, Kristen launched Lily Bee Design, went to her first CHA and the rest is HISTORY! We are so thankful for our customers and fans, who continue to support us, as well as our amazing design team who inspires us each day with their amazing talent. 

We are celebrating our 4^th birthday this week with daily blog hops and we’re giving YOU the chance to win the gifts! That’s right, each day will be a different hop with more chances to win! 

Since it's "Challenge Tuesday" it only seems appropriate to kick off today's blog hop with a sketch challenge. Nicole created this fabulous sketch and we'd love to see your layouts that are inspired by this sketch. 

You have until 3/31/13 to play along with this sketch. Just use at least 60% Lily Bee products and post your layout to our Facebook or Flickr group to be elegible to win.

Now on with the blog hop. We have a lot of chances for you to win a prize package from Lily Bee each day of the hop! Here’s what you need to do to be eligible to win:

• Follow the Lily Bee Design blog  (click "Follow" in the upper right hand corner above Connect with Us)
• Leave a comment on each designer’s blog
• Leave a comment on the Lily Bee Design blog telling us what your favorite new embellishments are from our collections 

• Bonus entry opportunities:
  • Like Lily Bee Design on Facebook 
  • Follow Lily Bee Design on Instagram and tag yourself and at least one friend on the Lily Bee Design blog hop photo.
  • Follow Lily Bee Design on Twitter and Tweet or Re-Tweet the blog hop info
  • Follow Lily Bee design on Pinterest
  • Pin any of this week’s design team projects that have inspired you, tagging #lilybeedesign so we can easily find the entries.

That’s a lot of ways to win! Plus, since this is a 3-day blog hop with new projects every day, there's even more chances if you participate in our hop tomorrow and Thursday! You have until Sunday March 3, 2013 to complete the hop. Winners will be announced next week!

Now, I hope you’re prepared to be inspired! Here's a sneak peek at what our designers have in store for you today as you hop along to their blogs.

                             Cindy Liebel
                             Leslie Ashe
                             Lisa Dickinson
                             Summer Fullerton
                             Heather Leopard
                             Lily Bee Design blog

Thanks for helping us celebrate! Make sure to check back tomorrow for another blog hop with all new projects from our design team!

Focus on Monday: Celebrating Four Years of Lily Bee!

Good morning, everyone! And welcome to a very special week here on the blog as Lily Bee celebrates its fourth birthday! All week long we'll be throwing a party with lots of inspiration, ideas, and prizes! The festivities officially kick off tomorrow, and today I'm here to share a little bit of early celebration with you.

Supplies: Autumn Spice (Nutmeg, Brown Sugar, All Spice); Persnickety(Finicky, Index Journal Cards, Mixed Cardstock Stickers, ABC Cardstock Stickers)

All of the design team's projects this week will focus on some sort of celebration, and I chose to make a layout using photos from my husband's birthday dinner last year. I do have more photos from this day to scrap, but I had Lily Bee's Persnickety and Autumn Spice collections out on my desk as I was looking for photos, and the blues, yellows, and warm tones of the papers worked perfectly with these photos of his celebratory meal.

 

Be sure to check back every day this week for more fun as Lily Bee celebrates four inspiring years!

Come Celebrate with Lily Bee!

Lily Bee will be celebrating our 4th Birthday! Come celebrate with us beginning next Tuesday, February 26th-March 1st. Lots of Inspiration from our Designers and giveaways!

Friday tutorial

It's Friday and that means it's time for this month's tutorial!!! Today I (Deanna) thought I would share with you a little bit about my design process. I know there's always talk about defining your style, and one of the easiest ways I've come to do that is through my creative process.  I've decided that my "style" is somewhat simple, balanced, and a little graphic too.  Now that doesn't mean that I don't like to be trendy, or try different techniques, but in flipping back through my layouts these are the 3 characteristics (simple, balanced, and graphic) seem to always be present. SO,here's a quick look at how I create that type of layout.

Usually I start with a sketch. This is one I drew while talking on the phone. lol! Once I picked out the photo I wanted to use, which was vertical, I chose to turn my sketch 90 degrees to the left. And though I didn't stick to it exactly (no chevron mask was used for the background), the final layout is pretty much just like the sketch. Here's how I made it work. 

When I first start creating I begin by adding strips of patterned paper to the sides of my layout. To me, it kind of gives the blank canvas a frame within to work. That may be backwards for some, but I like to see my space in its framework.

Lately I've enjoyed stacking papers of different sizes and patterns. I love playing with the different combinations, leaving room to "tuck" embellishments later on in the process. Even though there are 4 to 5 different papers here, I usually end up with something that still looks like a square or rectangle. Again, this is where balance comes in to play. The blue floral paper is opposite of the cream/yellow/green bokeh paper but still in proportion to each other. 

Next of course I add my photo and a few embellishments, circles and star accents for the sides.  This layout is still feels balanced although now it's balanced on the diagonal. I've also tilted the picture to add a little more interest. The picture is one of motion and I wanted to continue that idea of motion and playfulness. To me, a completely square/straight/level photo wouldn't have conveyed that.

Next I add the groundwork for my title in the middle of the page and photo to maintain the focal point and balance. 

Finally I've added the title as well as a couple of talk bubbles and banners on the sides. When I did that, I had to shift a few circles around, but then I'm what I like to call a "paper pusher" too. Sometimes I move papers all over the place before they get their final resting spot. But here's the final layout. Simple, balanced, and a little graphic.

And there you have it, a step-by-step of my creative process and my thoughts behind why I do what I do. The end result is a variation of the sketch. It's also balanced, simple, and a little graphic. Just my style! 

Hope you all have a fantastic Friday! 

 

Cards on Wednesday | Simple Stripes

This week on the Lily Bee blog, our focus is on daily routines. And since one of my resolutions was to send more "real" mail (i.e., "snail mail") making simple cards is something I like to slip into my daily routine every now and then. I rarely have more than 10-15 minutes to create a card, so I like to keep it easy, but I also want the recipient to get something with a special handmade touch.

With that in mind, I made this card and matching tag, using thin strips of patterned paper from the new Sweet Shoppe and Pinwheel lines to create a striped pattern:

Lily Bee Supplies:  Sweet Shoppe (Lemon Drop paper); Pinwheel (Cartwheels, Lime RIckey, Flip Flops papers); Autumn Spice (Clear Stamps); Handmade (Clear Stamps).

The happy colors and patterns in the new lines make it a breeze to select a few to adorn a card. I cut five papers into thin strips and adhered them diagonally across my card and tag, adding zig zag stitching between the strips.

For the simple sentiment, I used the circle from the Handmade Clear Stamps and the word "hi" from the Autumn Spice Clear Stamps with gray ink. A few tiny rhinestones finish off this card that would be perfect for sending some happy mail.

On the tag, I used the same circle outline stamp with the word "Happy" from the Autumn Spice Clear Stamp set. I added the word "be" with orange pen and few more rhinestones. Tucked inside a card or package, this tag would brighten up someone's day.

Hope you're inspired to add a little creative time to your daily routine - happy scrapping!

Challenge Tuesday : Scrapping The Everyday

Good morning, Lily Bee fans! Meilssa here with a layout and a scrapping challenge for you today!

All week the design team is focusing on scrapbooking daily routines here on the blog, but "routine" doesn't have to just mean certain things done at certain times or on certain days- it can also be something that's a routine occurence around your home. 

Supplies: Persnickety (Finicky, Huffy, Ritzy, Index Journal Cards); Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet, ABC Cardstock Stickers)

As I was flipping through my photo library, I found these two photos of my husband reading in our living room with one of the cats sitting nearby (or on him- and this is the guy who says he doesn't like cats- ha!). These pictures were taken only four days apart, and I probably have a dozen more similar to them on my computer- this is something that happens all the time at our house!

There are lots of other daily occurences like this that I could scrapbook- my husband's daily cups of coffee and tea, going for a run through the neighborhood, taking a trip to the gym- so many things that we do on an almost daily basis and might not even think about, but things that still may change over the years (for instance, our kitty in the top photo has since passed away). Documenting these things in your scrapbook is a great way to capture snippets of daily life that will be fun to look back in in the years to come.

Can you guess what my challenge is for you today? It's to scrap something from your everyday life! You can do this on a layout, in a mini book, or even on a Project Life layout- it's up to you!

There are just a few rules to keep in mind for this challenge:

• 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 "February Everyday Challenge" so we can find it easily and then leave a comment on this blog post letting us know you've entered.
• Deadline is February 28, 2013, Midnight CST
• One winner from all the challenges will be announced Friday, March 1, 2013. The more you play, the better your chances of winning!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Focus On Monday | Daily Routine

Happy Monday!

This week, the design team is focus on is daily routine and to start you off, I (Cindy) am have a layout documenting tidbits of our lives during the month of January. At the moment, I am using my camera phone 90% of the time and sharing photos through social media networks. One being my current favorite right now is Instagram. Since I rarely use my main DSLR camera to capture our everyday, I used a few Instagram photos for this weeks theme.

Supplies: Sweet Shoppe-Gumball & Cotton Candy, Destination-Port; Pinwheel-Cherry Blossom, Picnic Basket, Lime Rickey, Apricot Tree & Flip-Flops; Persnickety-Clear Stamps, Tiny ABC Stickers & Mixed Cardstock Stickers; Christmas Cheer-Mixed Cardstock Stickers; Double Dutch-Blueberry; Memorandum-Lemon

One of my favorite things to do when creating with pattern paper is mix up collections. Each photo is highlighted with pattern paper outlined with Persnickety's polaroid stamp and titled using the tiny abc stickers.

The digitally cut title and printed journaling were measured so the images would fit, snuggled in between the designs. I added a bold solid color background and decorative border to the page so the attention is centered on the photos and title.

If you don't have time document your lives through project life this is definitely a fun and simple way to sum up your life by day, week or month on a layout.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Be sure to stop by each day this week to see how the rest of the design team documents their daily routine.

Shadow Box Frame

Hello there.  It's Ursula here today to show you a little shadow box frame project I created to highlight a photo I just love of my husband and I. We danced together at our daughter's wedding 2 years ago. Somehow, I missed this photo before. I love the look on my husband's face as I whispered in his ear. I can't recall now what I may have told him, but I do know that I had to do something special with it. 

I really feel like the image expresses how we feel about each other, even after 21 years together.

The look I wanted to create was reminiscent of a graduated hall.  I saw this photo that inspired me to try to accomplish the layered look I ended up with.  In order to acheive it, I had to cut larger and larger windows in full sheets of paper.  I then backed each sheet with long strips of dimensional foam tape to lift each layer from the next.

While relatively simple, it did take a bit of time to get all of the sizes correct but I love the finished result.

I added some wood veneer pieces to incorporate different textures.  I also did one round of the layers using a shiny 'subway' patterned tape I have to create added texture. Silhouette helped me create a beautiful and classic title.

Lily Bee Supplies used ( This & That : Patterned Paper, Buttercup: Patterned Paper, Victoria Park: Patterned Paper, Christmas Cheer: Patterned Paper, Autumn Spice: ABC Cardstock Stickers)

The end result produces a page that could never be used in an album as it's quite thick (at least 1/2 inch, but it is perfect for a shadow box.

So what have you altered lately.  Make sure you show us your most recent Lily Bee projects on our Facebook page or in our Flickr gallery.  We love all the inspiration you provide!

Thursday Free for All - Love

Good morning! Nicole here today to share with you a page all about Love on this Valentine's Day!

I really wanted to use a lot of my old Lily Bee favorite papers, along with some of my new favorites to create this page of my daughter:

 Supplies used:Sw eet Shoppe (6x6 tiny tablet, Chipboard stickers); Destination (6x6 tiny tablet); Persnickety (6x6 tiny tablet, Fussy, journal cards); Autumn Spice (6x6 tiny tablet, Nutmeg, clear stamps); Christmas Cheer (6x6 tiny tablet, ABC mini stickers); Pinwheel (Chipboard stickers); Handmade (Patchwork)

I used the deep woodgrain paper from the Autumn Spice collection as my background, along with a scrap of my Handmade collection. I then cut a few fun circle shapes with my Cameo and backed them with some cute patterns from the Sweet Shoppe, Destination 6x6 tiny tablets:

The bokeh papers in the Sweet Shoppe collection are some of my new faves!!!

I added in a paper from the Christmas Cheer collection by punching out the numbers and leaving the negative space behind and layered some scraps of my favorite papers in behind them:

I  hope you like some of my new favorites along some old ones too!

If you LOVE the Cameo cuts I made for this page - you can download there HERE for free!

Happy Valentine's Day! 

xoxo

 

 

Handmade Love

Hi all!  Andrea and I will be sharing some cards with you that are sure to brighten the day of someone you love!  

First, these adorable creations by Andrea.  I am consistently blown away with her one of a kind ideas and designs.  Get ready to swoon!

Let's look at each one!  I love the unique shape and the stunning banner on this uber cute card!

Supplies:  Persnickety (clear stamps, Huffy - paper, ABC cardstock stickers), Double Dutch (bags of bits), Autumn Spice (Brown Sugar - paper, clear stamps)

Andrea says: Valentine's Day, in our house, is all about the handmade. These cards are handmade from the hand cut shaped card to the embellishments that top them. To create a shaped card, begin with a folded piece of cardstock.  Draw or begin cutting the shape you want to create, making sure that you leave part of the folded edge intact.  Cut paper/cardstock for the front of the card and stamp, embellish and build your card in your creative way. 

Here is a second card that is sure to bring cheer to anyone! 

Supplies: Persnickety (Huffy - paper, Picky - paper, Snooty - paper, ABC cardstock stickers), Victoria Park (Raspberry - paper, bag of bits), Christmas Cheer (Figgy Pudding - paper), Double Dutch (Marmalade - paper)

Super cute!

I decided to make two very different cards that incorporate the same major design elements, the word "today", index journal cards and hearts.  It is cool to see how dramatically the same ideas look when you dress them differently.

First, I made this monochromatic card using mostly pinks.

Supplies:  Persnickety:  (Paper:  Fussy, 6X6 Tiny Tablet, Index Journal Card, Mixed Cardstock sticker)

I simply clustered the Today sticker, circle sticker and punched hearts over an index journal card.  Easy, yet sweet and feminine.

For my second take, I went with the primary colors featured in Pinwheel along with the fabulous heart bokeh paper from Destinations.

Supplies:  Pinwheel (Paper:  Cherry Blossom, Apricot Tree, Flip Flops; Chit Chat Stickers; Circle and Tags sticker), Destinations  (Paper:  Bon Voyage); Persnickety (Index Journal Card)

This card is the polar opposite of soft with its bright oranges and reds.  I again incorporated a piece of an index journal card, this time placing it along the top.  I like the unique scallop it give at the bottom of it.  I then layered several stickers and chipboard pieces to convey my sentiments.

Grab your Lily Bee goodies and start creating.  Handmade cards are sure to bring joy to others!

Designer's Choice | Sketch Challenge

Good Morning!

Leslie and I (Melissa M.) are here today to share a new Designer's Sketch Challenge with you! Since the theme of the week is L-O-V-E, the sketch has lots o' hearts on it! However, feel free to interpret those with whatever shape you like! Stars, circles, asterisks...the sky is the limit!

Here is the sketch for this week:

Here is Leslie's gorgeous take on this sketch and here is what she has to say about i!

I decided to take the heart elements from the sketch and make them a “waterfall” per se, to bounce off bold feel of the title (cut from my Silhouette Cameo). I then added a few extra hearts (all of them are also cut from with my Silhouette Cameo) to the top right of my project for balance.

Lily Bee Supplies: Persnickity (Prim Paper, 6x6 Paper Pad, Index Journaling Cards)

Christmas Cheer (Frosty Paper)

 

And here is my take on it. 

Lily Bee Supplies: Persnickety (Fussy, Prim), Christmas Cheer (Frosty, Peppermint), Autumn Spice (Clear Stamps). 

And here are the rules for following along with the sketch challenge!

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 "Designer's Choice | 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 February 28, 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!

Thanks for joining us today!

Love Is In the Air

Can you feel it?  Love is in the air!  As we welcome you to a new week, we want to keep bringing the focus back to love.  Valentine's Day is in just a couple of days so take some time this week and think about all those things you really care about.  Your topics can be about anything or anyone you feel affectionate towards.

Today, I am sharing a layout about puppy love.  Well, our doggie is actually 11 years old this week, but he will always be our baby!  I decided to document the bond between Cooper and my husband.  It is strong and unbreakable.

Speaking of love, don't you have a crush on those speech bubbles?  I really wanted to cluster a couple together as the words really convey my feelings.  

Supplies:  Pinwheel (Paper:  Flip Flops, Flower Box, Ice Cream Truck, Lime Rickey, Picnic Basket, Kite Strings; Circle Tags)

I balanced the boldness of the typography out with the Monday-Sunday journal index cards and the bright strips of paper alonge the bottom.  I kept it simple, using each strip almost as an arrow going across the page.

I mainly used the new Pinwheel collection.  I adore the touches of primary colors all throughout this line. The patterns and themes really suit a variety of project topics.

Be sure to come back all this week as the team continues to share projects you are sure to adore!

Project Life on Friday

Good Morning! I (Melissa M.) am  here today to share my project life album using some Lily Bee Design supplies!

Lily Bee Supplies: Persnickety (6x6 Tiny Tablet, ABC Stickers, Mixed Stickers), Christmas Cheer (Mixed Stickers), Autumn Spice (Mixed Stickers). 

So far, I have stayed caught up this year with my Project Life album. I have taken a slightly different approach this year in keeping my weeks caught up. I have worked on it every two weeks. I upload my photos every week to the computer and edit and save them. At the end of the two weeks, I also load all my iPhone photos onto the computer so I can set them up in a new photoshop file to get them printed. Then, I upload all photos to get developed and complete the two weeks in one sitting. It generally takes me to one and a half to two hours and I will be done! So far, this process has worked great and I hope I will be able to keep it up through out the year!

I put my 6x6 Tiny Tablet from the Persnickety collection to good use on this week's spread. It is super easy to use those 6x6 sheets of paper to make quick 3x4 cards or even 4x6 cards. I cut down one to 4x6 and stitched the phrase "the good life" onto it and popped it in the protector. Quick & easy!

On this half of the week, I cut down the 6x6 sheets to 3x4 (I was able to get two cards from each sheet) and used them to staple my iPhone pictures too. I further embellished them with stickers and wood veneer pieces. I take a very easy approach to Project Life - I do not type out my journaling or use a lot of stitching. My tiny attacher has become my best friend for this project :-)

Thanks for stopping by this fine Friday! We will see you back here bright and early Monday morning!