Lily Bee Finds

Holiday Inspiration Week 3 | Banner & Christmas Cards

Good Morning!  I hope you have all been enjoying the projects that the Design Team has worked up over the past few weeks! It was a nice change to create these altered projects that can be used as home decor over the holidays!  

Today, Leslie and I are going to share with you a couple more projects. I have created a JOY banner and Leslie is sharing three adorable cards!

I created this JOY banner by using some canvas triangles. I sprayed them with red mist and let them dry. Just a tip, they take QUITE a while to dry - so, be prepared to let them sit for a while!  I then cut out some paper triangles using the "Christmas Cheer" collection. I stitched these together and distressed the edges. I then took some chipboard pieces and coated them with Versamark ink and then sprinkled some gold embossing powder on them. I shook off the excess powder and set them with a heat gun. I layered a snowflake and a punched pinked circle and then glued by letter on top. I used gold paint and placed some dots on the snowflakes and brushed some on the outside edges of the pattern paper. After putting all these together, I adhered the paper triangles to the canvas triangles by stitching along the outer edge of the paper triangle. I used my glue gun to adhere the chipboard frames to the triangles. Lastly, I ran a thick piece of ribbon through the grommets on the corners of each triangle while leaving enough on the ends to either tie somewhere or pin up.

Lily Bee Supplies:  Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Frosty, Figgy Pudding, Santas Sleigh, Christmas Wreath). 

Here is Leslie with her project!

I decided to make 3 tiny cards (they’re 4” x 4” squares) with the same “winter” theme.

One is a 3D tree, one is a snowflake and the other is a snowman that I cut on my Silhouette Cameo.
You can use these as gift cards for packages or place cards for a Christmas party, dinner or get together.

                    

Lily Bee Supplies: Christmas Cheer (Christmas Wreath Paper, Hot Cocoa Paper, Figgy Pudding Paper, Mixed Stickers, ABC Stickers)

Thanks for joining us today!! Stop by again tomorrow for our Guest Designer!

Holiday Inspiration Week 3 | Holiday Tin, Gift Tags & More...

Happy Tuesday everyone! There's seven more days left until Christmas. I can't believe how close it is and there is still a lot of baking and shopping to be done. Today, Andrea, Stacey & I (Cindy) have some inspirational projects to add to your gift giving, scrapbooks and new traditions for the holiday season.

Stacey created holiday traditions tin, a fabulous twist to a December daily and great family keepsake.

Supplies: Christmas Cheer (Santa's Sleigh, Reindeer Games, 6X6 Tiny Tablet, Clear Stamps, Index Journal Card, Mixed Cardstock Sticker, ABC Sticker)

I decided to create a keepsake tin that could double as holiday decor.  I have it placed in the middle of a vingette on my coffee table. Truth be told, I've had a hard time committing to a December Daily, but want to document a big tradition in our house.

Each December, our elf comes to visit.  I simply used festive papers from the 6X6 Tiny Tablet to decorate the top of the tin and then filled the inside with photos and journaling cards. For the outside of the tin,  I layered some of my favorite patterns and placed the "A Christmas Story"  journaling card in the center.  I used the Tradition stamp along the side to really capture the purpose of the box.

The winking Santa was cut from the Santa's Sleigh paper. I think the theme of the box could easily be adapted to make a thoughtful gift for a family member.

I made a dozen holiday tags that would not only be great for gift wrap but also a good addition to any craft project, layout or December daily.

Supplies:  Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet & Clear Stamps), Persnickety (Clear Stamps & 6x6 Tiny Tablet) & Christmas Town (Chipboard Sticker)

I focused on using the Christmas Cheer clear stamps for this project and kept the colors consistent and used several different sizes and styles of white tags.

Each tag is stamped with a phrase or image and heat embossed using embossing powder. I love the look of using the embossing powder. It's less messy than using glitter and will last a lot longer over time.

Lastly, Andrea adds a new twist in gift card wrapping.

Supplies: Christmas Cheer (Frosty - paper, Mrs. Claus - paper, Mixed Cardstock Stickers, Index Journal Card)

Finding a new way to "wrap" your gift cards today.  Picked up a few glass jars while walking the aisles of a local craft store.  With our gift card gifts for all of the teachers again this year, it was time to have a little fun wrapping them all up in Lily Bee's Christmas Cheer collection in a fun way. 

Fill the jar with glitter, paper pieces, a handmade card.  Slip in your gift card and it is time to embellish the outside.  Created yarn tassels for a little warmth against the cold glass.  Fabric ribbon and a vintage button complete the top of the jar. 

Then, use those mixed cardstock stickers and index journal card to create a folded gift tag.

Thanks for hanging out with us today. Be sure to stop back by tomorrow for more holiday inspirations.

xo!

Guest Designer | December | Leigh Penner

It's December and that means a new Guest Designer for us here on the Lily Bee blog!  We were so impressed with all of the Design Team applications that came in a couple months ago, that we've selected a few of our favorites here to our blog over the next few months as our Guest Designers! One of those fabulously talnted ladies, is December's Guest, Leigh Penner!  Please welcome, Leigh and let's get to know her a bit more before jumping into her gorgeous projects for this week!

My name is Leigh Penner and I live in Morden, Manitoba, Canada, with my husband of 16 years, Cameron, and our three children: Austin (13), Jonah (10) & Sage (8). Although I would love to craft full time (wouldn't that be fabulous?), most days, I work as a substitute teacher at our local high school.

I started scrapbooking almost 10 years ago, when Jonah was 9 months old. I hosted a class at my home and was instantly hooked!  I love everything about this hobby: taking photos, playing with paper, making embellishments, stamping and journaling. It's just all so wonderful! My style tends to be more clean and simple, but with some fun details & stitching thrown in here and there. Over the past two years, I've gotten more into card making as well and I consider myself equally a scrapbooker and a card maker.

I've been on a few design teams over the years and have had several layouts, cards and mini-albums published in publications such as Creating Keepsakes, Scrapbooks Etc., Simple Scrapbooks, Scrapbook Answers, Memory Makers, Scrapbook Trends, Papercrafts & Cards Magazine. I was thrilled to be asked by Lily Bee to guest design for them this month!

When I'm not making cards or layouts, I enjoy going for bike rides (but only when it's warm out!), reading and cuddling on the couch with my kids and watching movies. I have my first degree black belt in taekwondo (& hope to test for my 2nd degree next spring). I have also recently taken up knitting and crocheting.

You can visit me on my blog at www.leighpenner.blogspot.com.

We asked Leigh to help us out during our Holiday Inspiration Series and she's done a super job this week sharing how you can use Persnickety even for your holiday packaging and decorating! Here's what Leigh had to say about her projects:

The colours and designs in the Persnickety line are just so pretty, I couldn't resist using them to make some Christmas gift tags and treat bags.

To wrap up a gift for our taekwondo instructor, I cut a piece of patterned paper to 7" wide and wrapped it over the white wrapping paper. I added another tag with some ribbon. Using several dies and using the negative  part of a tree, I was able to build my tag. I also diecut part of a sticker to ground my tree and I added two little brads as embellishments. 

 

Supplies: Persnickety (Ritzy Paper, Fussy Paper, Mixed Cardstock Stickers) 

I made the tag by diecutting some patterned paper with a die. I matted one of the Lily Bee stickers on some cardstock before adhering it to my card. I also matted one of the little triangle stickers-- by adding a strip of patterned paper for the stump, it becomes an adorable little Christmas tree! A stamped sentiment on a banner diecut, some ribbon, a button and some twine finish it off.

Supplies: Persnickety (Ritzy Paper,  Mixed Cardstock Stickers)

For my treat bag, I cut a banner from the green chevron patterned paper and adhered it to the front of my bag.  I then diecut a doily and banner. I stamped on the banner, scored it, folded it and adhered it to the patterned paper, using foam adhesive. On the doily, I adhered some more triangle stickers and created a little grouping of trees, all with patterned paper stumps before adhering it to the treat bag. -Leigh Penner

Supplies: Persnickety (Ritzy Paper, Prim Paper, Mixed Cardstock Stickers) 

Thank you so much, Leigh, for your beautiful holiday projects using Persnickety! Check back next Thursday for more from Leigh here on the blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful day!

Holiday Inspiration Week 1 Cards

Welcome to day 3 of our holiday inspiration from Lily Bee. Summer here with the talented Becky Williams showing off some cards get your creative juices flowing. 

First Becky made this super cute tag card from her scraps stash. By adding a few stickers, die cuts, twine and some bling she made this adorable layered card that anyone would be thrilled to receive. 

Supplies Used: Persnickety (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet & Mixed Stickers)

For Becky's second card she put her Silhouette Cameo to work by cutting her sentiment and snowflakes. She paired these custom die cuts with the smaller prints from the 6x6 Tiny Tablet on her card featured below.

Supplies Used: Persnickety (6x6 Tiny Tablet), Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet)

I took a clean and simple approach to my cards. I created the ball ornament from 5 punched circles. Just like Becky I pulled scraps from my stash to create my cards. To make the ornaments simply fold your circles in half, glue together, fan out and adhere to your card front. I then topped the dimensional ornament off with a coordinating bow.

Supplies Used: Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet, ABC Stickers & Clear Stamps)

Supplies Used: Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet and Clear Stamps)

Thanks for joining us today. We hope we've inspired you to reach into your scraps stash and make some cards.

Take Shape Card Challenge | 11.27.12

Hi there! Heather here to share a new challenge with you today. This week the design team gals are showcasing Christmas and Holiday cards so my challenge twist to you today is to pull out you favorite Lily Bee goodies and CREATE A SHAPED CARD. This means no standard size rectangle cards, unless...you create a festive holiday shape as the main embellishment on the card.

I created these two cards to hopefully spur a few ideas. First, is my shaped card...a snow globe.

Supplies: Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Figgy Pudding 12x12 paper); Autumn Spice (Nutmeg 12x12 paper)

I cut the globe portion out of thick transparency on my CAMEO but creating a circle card cutting file. I then cut another circle the same size out of white cardstock and another circle with a snowflake design and affixed them over the back of the card. I then embellished with snow covered meadows, deer and a tree.

Next is a standard card but I created a Christmas tree out of triangles and used it as the main focus for the card.

Supplies: Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Figgy Pudding 12x12 paper,Peppermint 12x12 paper, Mixed Cardstock Stickers, Clear Stamps); Autumn Spice (Nutmeg 12x12 paper)

I used the banners to create additional smaller trees and stamped the sentiment using the stamp set from this collection.

Here's a close-up of the tree. I simply cut triangles in cascading sizes and layered them over each other, using pop dots to make them stand out.

 

Now we want to see your take on this Take Shape card challenge! We'll pick one winner from 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 70% Lily Bee products.
• Post your layout to our Flickr Gallery here to be eligible for monthly challenge prize.
• Title your post "November Card Challenge" so we can find it easily.
• Deadline is November 30, 2012, Midnight MST
• Winners will be announced Friday, December 7, 2012

Thanks for stopping by today! Check back tomorrow for more card inspiration.

xoxo Heather

Focus on Holiday Cards

This week, the design team will be focusing on Christmas and Holiday cards to get your card giving season jump started.

Join Leslie Ashe and Ursula Schneider today for two totally different approaches to card making. 

Leslie is up first with two beautifully detailed projects.  Leslie says, 'I love tags. For this card I made 3 small tags (2x4) with the middle one slightly longer (2x4.5) and using 3D adhesive, slightly above the outer tags. Adding some jute as ribbon & mixed stickers to decorate each tag, I think this card turned out so cute for that someone special!'

(Lily Bee Supplies:Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Mixed Stickers, ABC Cardstock Stickers, Figgy Pudding Paper, Santa’s Sleigh Paper, Christmas Wreath Paper)

I wanted to play on the snowflakes for this wintery card – so I used the round snowflake stickers as my main embellishment with a journaling card as my sentiment.

(Lily Bee Supplies: Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Mixed Stickers, ABC Cardstock Stickers, Index Journaling Cards, Christmas Wreath Paper, Frosty Paper)

On the other hand, when you don't have the time to be super detailed,  you still want design that has impact.  Ursula created the first card using only stamps and a few wood veneer shapes.

To pump up the impact, place one of the 'Merry Christmas' phrases in the center and emboss using silver embossing powder.

(Lily Bee supplies: Christmas Cheer Acrylic Stamps)

The next two cards demonstrate starting with a similar design.  However, you can go different directions even with the same basic elements.  I die cut the starts which fold and pop up to create dimension.  

This first one utilizes the Lily Bee ABC Cardstock stickers to create a sentiment.  A bit of stitching both anchors the sentiment and provides classic detail.

(Lily Bee Supplies used: Christmas Cheer (Patterned Paper, ABCCardstock Stickers)

The second card continues with the theme of the single star, but anchors it on a base of patterned paper.  Zig zag stitch over some twine as a border to add a bit of color and texture.  Cut the sentiment from one of the Mixed Cardstock stickers and center at the top of the design.

(Lily Bee Supplies used: Christmas Cheer (Patterned Paper, 6x6 tablet, Mixed Cardstock Stickers)

We hope you feel inspired to begin your holiday card making with these ideas.  Look for more inspiration over the course of the week!

Focus on 6x6 Tiny Tablets | Tutorial

Happy Friday Lily Bee Friends. Summer here with a fun Advent Calendar tutorial to start off the holiday creative season.

Supplies Used: Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet)

To create this advent calendar you will need 1 Lily Bee 6x6 Christmas Cheer tiny Tablet, small kraft bags, your favorite border punch, 7/8 inch circle punch, 1 inch decorative punch , red cardstock, bakers twine, 18x22 inch frame, and mini clothes pins.

To start off using my 7/8 inch circle punch I punched out all the numbers from the Christmas Cheer 6x6 Tiny Tablet number paper. Then using red cardstock I punched out 25 1 inch decorative starbursts. I used a Martha Stewart punch but you could use a 1 inch scallop punch or even a 1 inch circle punch.

Using foam squares for added depth I adhered the punched circles to the red startbursts.

Cut 25 2.5 inch x 2 inch rectangles of your favorite patterns from the Christmas Cheer 6x6 Tiny Tablet. Then using your favorite border punch add a decorative border to the long edge of your cut out rectangles. Then fold in half as seen in the photo below. Put the candy in the kraft bag, fold the edge to seal in the candy and top off with your folded piece of patterned paper. My kraft bags came from Micheal's.

I sewed my bags shut as seen in the photo below but you could easily staple them instead.

Since I have 2 kids I made 2 sets of candy bags.

I purchased an inexpensive unfinished frame from Micheal's, spray painted it black, distressed it, then I tacked bakers twine in 5 rows and used mini clothes pins to attach the treat bags. 

Thanks for joining me today and happy holidays.

Using the Index Cards on Greeting Cards

Today we have some samples of how to use those fun Lily Bee Index Journaling Cards on greeting cards! There are so many ways to use them. First up, we have Patricia Roebuck's gorgeous cards.

Patricia says, "The journaling cards are one of my favorites.  The sentiments and images help create the design for cards, layouts, and projects.  They add color and interest, and even a little pocket you can create to tuck tags and even a tea bag into.  For the “feel better soon” card, I kept it simple, letting the mason jars and the sentiment I created be the focal points.  For the “Happy Day Today” card, I used the journaling card as a base to add lots of layers under and on top.  Two very different cards using a very versatile product."

Supplies:  Autumn Spice (Journaling Index Card), Persnickety (Finicky Paper, 6x6 Tiny Tablet)

Supplies:  Autumn Spice (6x6 Tiny Tablet), Persnickety (Journaling Index Card, Huffy Paper, Finicky Paper, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, Stamps)

For my cards, I chose the Christmas Cheer line, as I just can't get enough of this line! Red is my favorite color, so I keep coming back to this line. I love to layer the journaling cards. Here I've layered a chevron card under the "25" card. (The chevron card is actually upside down, but I love the design of the chevrons and wanted to use that in my card design.)

I used a snowflake punch, along with the Christmas Cheer stickers to create a dimensional snowflake, and popped up the sticker in the center.

Supplies: Christmas Cheer (12x12 paper, index journaling cards, stickers, 6x6 Tiny Tablet). Other: red cardstock.

On the next card, I made the beautiful  Lily Bee journaling card my focal point. 

To highlight the journaling card, I placed a punched 2" circle from patterned paper behind it and added some die cut holly. I saw a greeting card in a store that had 2 shades of holly for each leaf, and I loved how it looked, so I trimmed the holly in half and pieced them back together with light and darker green patterned paper from the Christmas Cheer line. The card front is then wrapped up like a little gift with twine before adding it to the cardstock base.

Supplies:Christmas Cheer (12x12 papers, Index Journaling Cards, 6x6 Tiny Tablet). Other: twine, holly die by Papertrey Ink, tinsel, 2" circle punch, corner rounder, hole punch, white cardstock.

 I hope you enjoyed our ideas today! Happy creating!

Happy World Card Making Day + Giveaways!

Happy World Card Making Day everyone! We have a special post for you today here on the Lily Bee Design blog. Our Design Team has been busy creating cards in celebration of this momentous annual event in the card-making world.From Christmas Cheer, and Autumn Spice, to Persnickety, these ladies have brought your fantastic ideas for using all of Lily Bee's latest collections for cards throughout the year. Let's take a look at their fantastic creations!

Merry Christmas CARD by Summer Fullerton
Supplies Used: Buttercup (patterned paper Mushroom) and Christmas Cheer (patterned paper Hot Cocoa, Christmas Wreath, North Pole, Peppermint, Mrs. Claus and Clear Stamps)
 

 

Celebrate Card, by Patricia Roebuck
Supplies: Autumn Spice (Clove Paper), Persnickety (6x6 Paper Pad, Stamps, Prim Paper, Prissy Paper, Finicky Paper, Huffy Paper)
 

40: Celebrate You Card by Stacey Michaud
Supplies: Persnickety Collection (stickers, Journaling Index Card, stamps, 6X6 paper pad)
 

 
After All These Years, You're Still the One Card, by Patricia Roebuck
Supplies: Autumn Spice (6x6 Paper Pad, Mixed Stickers, Nutmeg Paper)
 

Very Merry Christmas Card by Danielle Flanders
Supplies:  Christmas Cheer (6x6" Paper Pad, Christmas Cheer stamps)
 

 

Here and Now Card by Amy Heller
Supplies:  Christmas Cheer (6x6" Paper Pad), Autumn Spice (6x6" paper pad, stamps) Persnickety (6x6" paper pad)

Hello There Card by Melissa Mann
Supplies: Persnickety (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Card Stock Stickers, Index Cards)  
 

Joy Card by Danielle Flanders
Supplies:  Christmas Cheer (6x6" Paper Pad, Christmas Cheer stamps)
 

 
Grateful 4 U Card by Cindy Liebel
Supplies: Autumn Spice (Journaling Index Cards, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, ABC Cardstock Stickers)
 

We Love You Card by Becky Williams
Supplies: Persnickety (Prissy, Finicky, Picky, Fussy, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, Index Journaling Cards, Mixed Stickers, ABC Stickers)

What do you say? Fun cards, aren't they? There is a little something in this mix of beauties for just about every style from clean, to cute, to sophisticated to shabby chic, and they are all just what cards are supposed to be, beautiful and meaningful.

We're so happy you stopped by today to have a look at what our designers have put together for inspiration on World Card Making Day! As a special treat, we've arranged a couple giveaways for two lucky winners!

One random commenter will receive one 6x6" paper pad of their choice from our 3 new collections, perfectly sized for making cards.

And the other winner will receive one stamp set of their choice from our 3 new collections! Stamps of course are ideal for creating perfectly customized sentiments for your cards and even scrapbooking projects, so we love this prize!

Please leave a comment here on this post telling us what types of cards are your favorite to create by Wednesday, October 10, 2012.  We'll pick two random winners and announce them here on Friday, October 12. Good luck!

Happy World Card Making Day! 

Christmas Cheer Week | Inspiration Day 3

Welcome to day three of Christmas Cheer Inspiration Week! Today we've got a variety of holiday-themed projects sure to get you inspired to deck those halls!  First up is a lovely layout from Melissa Mann, who layered lots of the Christmas Cheer papers in a vibrant and festive arrangement. 

Melissa also created a clever stamped border using the "Tradition" word stamp from the Christmas Cheer set.

Lily Bee Supplies: Christmas Cheer (Frosty Pattern Paper, Clear Stamps, Christmas Wreath Pattern Paper, Mrs. Claus Pattern Paper, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, ABC Cardstock Stickers, Index Journal Cards, Mixed Cardstock Stickers)

Next up is Patricia, sharing three gorgeous holiday cards using Christmas Cheer. On the first one, she created a winter wonderland using several torn papers and then tucked "trees" (red pennant stickers!) in between the layers.  So cute!

On her second card, Patricia used the banner stamp with watered down gelato, cut them out, then used a stamped the word "joy" on top to create an adorable sentiment on this card:

Patricia's final card features a Christmas tree made from silver stamped and embossed pennant stickers. A bit of stitching and small pnches adorn this perfect little tree.

Lily Bee Supplies: Christmas Cheer (Hot Cocoa Pattern Paper, Peppermint Pattern Paper, Christmas Wreath Pattern Paper, Mrs. Claus Pattern Paper, clear stamps, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, ABC Cardstock Stickers, Mixed Cardstock Stickers.)

Lisa has a quick and easy way to finish off your Christmas gifts - with simple gift tags! She punched six small circles from papers in the Christmas Cheer Tiny Tablet to make a tree. With some added stitching, a punched star topper and some ABC Stickers, these tags come together in no time.

Lily Bee Supplies: Christmas Cheer (6x6 Tiny Tablet, ABC Cardstock Stickers)

Don't forget there's still more Christmas Cheer inspiration to come all this week! So check back often and happy scrapping!

 

Christmas Cheer Week | Inspiration Day 2

Good Morning! Stacey Michaud and I are on the blog today with a greeting card and a layout using the gorgeous new "Christmas Cheer" collection! I absolutely love this new collection and love the pop of blue tones through out! 

First up is Stacey with her gorgeous layout entitled "2 Crazy Kids Catching Snowflakes" and here is what she has to say:

Christmas Cheer is perfect for scrapping the holiday, but it also works great for winter layouts.  I combined a variety of papers, stamps and stickers that showcase the snowflake. I can't live without my scissors as there are so many great shapes and patterns to cut from Lily Bee papers.  The large blue snowflake in the bottom corner and the falling numbers were hand cut from two different Journaling Index Cards.  I then used the leftover cream dotted portion to make journaling strips.

I put together a Christmas card using the lovely snowflake acrylic stamps. I used a couple of different inks and layered a piece of vellum over the top. I punched a bunch of circles from the 6x6 Tiny Tablet and layered them together and used foam dots to adhere the cardstock sticker!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! Make sure to come back again tomorrow for even more "Christmas Cheer" projects! 

 

Christmas Cheer Week | Inspiration Day 1

Happy Monday! Hope you had a lovely weekend and enjoying the first day of October. Today, Cindy Liebel, Patricia Roebuck & Stacey Michaud are here to kick off this weeks inspiration showcasing Lily Bee's newest holiday collection, Christmas Cheer.

Patricia is first up to share, in her own words, the details of her beautiful layout. The added blue to this collection gives such a beautiful wintery touch to the traditional red and green.  When I see this collection, I also think vintage and classic.

The polka dots, chevrons, all lovely patterns.  I cut out a background with my die cutting machine but cut it down and layered it with more strips of pattern paper leading from the edge to the photos. 

The photo of my daughter looking up is the focus, and how I named the layout “Christmas Innocence.”  It is what I saw in her face.

I layered more papers, a journaling card, some fussy cutting of the numbers and Santa around the main photo and created a vignette for the other two photos.  From the stamp set collection, I stamped the rows of dots and the banners, then embossed them in silver to add to the wintery look.

Let's see what Stacey has to tell us about her lovely layout. I love the new fashion trend of monochromatic colors paired with bold accessories in vibrant colors.

I took the same approach on this page by first sticking with different patterns of blues.  I added the bold red pattern that I hand cut from the Mrs. Claus sheet of paper. A little goes a long way and I like how the red leads the eye across the layout.

I cut the number 25 from the Reindeer Games paper and gave it dimension with pop dots!

Lastly, Cindy created a super cute paper wreath with various layers of poinsettia's, using reds, greens and blues pattern papers. This is a fun way to mix the different patterns to add a little depth.

The white poinsettias are used as accents to break up the layers of colors. Each poinsettia has three layers of the same pattern, keeping with the tone-on-tone affect. She also used same color brads in center of each flower.

Then she added green accent leaves and layered them with a small poinsettia embellished with sticker, stamped banner and jewels for a little pop.

The Christmas Cheer collection is absolutely beautiful and fun to create your favorite holiday projects with. Hope you were inspired by the awesome creations. Be sure to stop by tomorrow for more Christmas Cheer inspirations.

Day 24 - A Holiday Wreath (plus a Sketch Winner!)

Hey there! Can you believe it is Christmas Eve? Insane, right? I'm suffering from a mix of elation, giddiness, and apprehension. The last because I haven't wrapped anything yet. I'm dreading the hours I'll be spending tonight. But it's all worth it in the end, right? I love this time spent with family, enjoying each other's company.

So here we are on the last day of Holiday Countdown. And today, I made a super easy wreath that can easily be adapted to other seasons and occasions.

It's basically a yarn-wrapped wreath with a patterned paper detail. Easy peasy. Wrapping the yarn around the foam wreath took me the longest. But I was watching a movie while doing it, so it was all good!

So here is what you will need:

• Foam wreath (you can get it at any craft store in varying sizes, this one is 10")
• Yarn in the colors of your choice (get the cheapest acrylic variety, not only is it super affordable, but you won't have to worry about moths eating it)
• Little pompoms
• Lily Bee Tiny Tablets
• Glue (I used quick dry wet glue)
• Scissors
• and coffee if you are working on it early in the morning (like I did) or late at night (maybe a cup of decaf then?)

The yarn wrapping part is super duper easy. I start with a little wet glue (quick dry is best), and stick a portion of the yarn to the foam wreath. Once it's dry, I just start wrapping it round and round and round, changing colors as needed. Once I reach the end, I apply more glue, hold the end bit of the yarn a bit, and it's done. This would be a super project to do with kids!

Then it starts the even more fun part! Choosing what you'll create with paper to decorate the wreath. I choose a little paper bird. I found this pattern online. It took only one sheet of our Tiny Tablet. One. I'm thinking I'll make a bunch of them and make an Easter wreath too!

Once the bird was done, I cut (freehand) two little holy leaves (out of another sheet of our Tiny Tablet), glued them to the bird's neck, and added three teeny pompoms.

To attach the bird to the wreath, I used white thread and put a stitch on top of the bird, and sewed the other end to the yarn.

Wrap a piece of ribbon around the whole wreath to hang, and wham, you are done!

Other ideas for decorating the wreath (in case you are not into birds), flowers, leaves, hearts, stars. The possibilities are endless!

_________________________________________________________

In our excitement to post our Holiday Countdown, we totally forgot to pick a winner for our last Sketch Challenge. Oops! Sorry! But we have one now.

ERICA HETTWER

Congratulations, Erica! Please email me your mailing info milesofpaper [at] gmail [dot] com.

_________________________________________________________

We'll be taking a little break to hang out with our families. But do come back on December 28 when we'll get a peek inside designer Georgia Keays' studio. We have exciting things coming up in January. New challenges, guest designers, and we'll debut our new paper lines!


THANK YOU for a great year! We here at Lily Bee want to wish you a fantastic holiday season, and a healthy new year filled with love and scrapbooking!

Day 23 - Thank You Cards...

WOW! Has December flown by or what?! I can't believe Christmas is almost here! I bought my last Christmas present today!!

Something I try to do every year is send Thank You's out right after the holidays, but that doesn't always happen! This year I'm making my cards ahead of time so I have no excuse!

I created a design that would be easy to replicate so I can create a handful at a time!

The Lily Bee 6x6 Tiny Tablets are perfect for creating cards!

 

Lily Bee supplies:Patterned Papers: Jingle - Tiny Tablet
ABC Stickers: Jingle

Day 22 - Joy Holiday Gift Bag

Are you counting down to the big day yet? Just three more sleeps till Christmas!

If you're not done your holiday wrapping yet, that's OK. There's still time and there's still time to create a quick holiday gift bag to wrap things up in as well.


I love wrapping with custom gift bags. First of all, gift bags are so easy to wrap with and they are very quick and easy to make. You can keep them super simple by just adhering some pretty patterned paper on the front of a kraft gift bag or you can add a little more pizazz by creating a fun holiday scene.


To create a scene, I always love to start with easy shapes. A house can be built with a square and a triangle but for this design, I've cut out some wavy snow banks and some triangle shapes evergreens. A star punch makes for a super quick tree topper. And I seriously love how all the tiny dots on the Jingle line papers looks like a pretty snowfall.


When you're working with numerous papers to create a scene, I like to adhere them to some coordinating scrap paper. By building the scene on the paper, you can get everything just right and then adhere the final piece to the front of the gift bag. This also lets you add some stitching details if you wish to.


The Lily Bee ABC Stickers are perfect for adding in a little holiday cheer sentiment.


Finally, top off your bag with some ribbon and embellishments you have on hand.

Lily Bee supplies:
Patterned Papers: Jingle - Merry and Bright, Tinsel, Frost
ABC Stickers: Jingle

Thanks for joining me for this holiday project and may the gifts you receive this year be joy, love and peace.