Lily Bee Finds

Focus On Monday/Living Large

Happy Monday everyone!  We are living large this week on the Lily Bee blog!  Creative team members will be sharing projects that emphasis large embellishments, big ideas or oversized photos.  To kick off the week, Wendy Sue and I are showcasing layouts that incorporate bigger than usual photos that hold lots of meaning!

Wendy Sue gives us some valuable insight into how to build a stunning layout like the one below.

 

Wendy Sue says, "Sometimes a picture tells a story.  Sometimes a story needs a lot of words.  Sometimes I choose both.  This photo holds a lot of meaning for me and I wanted to be sure to emphasize it's importance by printing it out BIG."

"I also wanted to make sure my feelings were recorded - so I typed out my journaling (instead of hand writing it like I usually do) because I had a lot to say.  Big photo, big story, and a little sprinkling of fun right on top of the photo!"

Supplies:  Destination (Bon Voyage Patterned Paper, letter stickers, 6x6 tiny tablet, chipboard stickers, chit chat stickers, circle and tag stickers, Button and twine from Bundle); Pinwheel (Button from Bundle)

I used a 5X7 photo of my children, nieces and nephews from a few years ago.  When using large photos, I think balancing the rest of the page is important.  

I used a strong patterned paper along the side of the photo, incorporating an entire sheet of the 6X6 Tiny Tablet.  I also added big pops by scattering the speech bubbles.  Don't be afraid to layer embellishemnts right on top of your photos, especially when you are working with bigger sizes.

I added some unique, dark elements along the bottom of the clusters and to the right of the page to achieve balance.  I always like to add in a hand cut element like the Destination paper featuring the chicken wire pattern.

Supplies:  Destination (Paper:  Passport, Postcard; 6X6 Tiny Tablet; Chipboard Stickers; Chit Chat Stickers; Tag & Label Stickers; Letter Stickers); Pinwheel (Flip Flop Paper; Embellisment Bundle Button and Twine)

Who is ready to go big all this week?  Come back each day to see inspiring projects from the team!

Tutorial Friday | Image Transfer

Happy Friday Lily Bee Fans!

Cindy with you today capping off this weeks theme, unique paper techniques. My technique uses clear tape packing tape to create an image transfer from pattern paper and stickers. To make these elements, you will need is a bowl of tap water, clear packing tape and/or scotch tape, a dry cloth, a paper towel, gentle fingers, possibly an apron and vacuum, as this technique can get a little messy.

Below I've shown a variation of ways on how to do this technique and it's all super simple and easy!

First, trim pattern paper to size of packing or clear scotch tape and add a few strips of adhesive to back of strip and press down on table mat. This insures the paper will not move while adhering the tape to the image you want to transfer. Start from one end to the next when adhering the tape to prevent air bubbles. Submerge in a bowl of tap water. Tape paper will curl when ready. This only takes about a minute.

Gently use fingers or a dry cloth to remove the backing from the damp tape. Do not wet the dry cloth to remove backing or the entire image will be removed from the tape. The second photo shows an example of the difference between the orginial pattern paper strip and the transparent strip.

Another way to is to cut out digital die-cuts, adhere them to a strip of the packing tape and submerge into bowl of water until the strip curls. Then use scissors to trim off excess tape around the design. This allows ease of trimming while tape is not tacky. Then gently remove backing from tape to reveal the transfered image look.

A quicker and easier way to create clear embellishments is by punching out design from taped pattern paper. Working with smaller designs can cause tape to rip if removing the backing too hard.

Creating a word strip while maintaining the sticky back is another easy and fun way to spruce up a project. For this technique, I randomly added lots of Chit Chat stickers to a strip of white cardstock that was trimmed to the with of regular scotch tape. Cover word strip with clear scotch tape and submerge in bowl water for about two minutes. This takes longer because it's layered. Remove from water and gently remove all of the white cardstock and sticker backing. When the strip is dry, the exposed tape will regain it's stickiness. Viola, you've just created a word strip, similar to washi tape.

Lay all transparent embellishments to air dry on a paper towel. While drying, embellishments will curl a bit and that's ok. When ready to use on a project, secure using vellum adhesive.

If you prefer not to use an element that is not photo safe or archival safe, this image transfer project is perfect for all those altered projects or journal keeping, such as, but not limited to, covering glass jars with a decorative strip and embellish with twine or ribbon or make window decals, etc.

As you can see, the the embellishments give off a lovely shine to the stark white page and add a burst of color to the design. Using transparent scotch tape is a good idea for achieving a more matte, opaque look.

So glad you could join me today and I hope you have a chance to experiment with your favorite stickers and pattern papers to create your own transparent embellishments.

 

 

Cards on Wednesday | Unique Techniques

This week at Lily Bee we are focusing on unique techniques. Wednesdays are card days, so today we are looking at something unique you can do with your cards. Leslie and I decided to think of the cards from a 3-D perspective and from there we got to crafting. Here are the cards from Leslie.

I know shaker cards have been around for a while now, but this is my first time to ever attempt one (well, two in this case), and I LOVE how they turned out! On my first card, I used vellum as my "window" box cover and inside you'll find an airplane chipboard, some punched "earths" and a couple of tiny chipboard "banners."

Have A Great Trip! supplies: Destination (Letter Stickers, Circle & Tag Stickers, Chit Chat Stickers, 6x6 Paper Pad, Embellishment Bundle, Chipboard Stickers, Boarding Pass Paper, 80 Days Paper) Pinwheel Collection (6x6 Paper Pad) Sweet Shoppe Collection (Chipboard Stickers)

I used an unusual cover for my second card. I wanted half of my card to be the "shaker" so I coverd it with tulle — then added two chipboard butterflies, some cut out "hello's" and a couple of "hello, hi" stickers. This one is my favorite because it looks like butterfly netting. I had so much fun with these cards. Thanks so much for letting me share with you!

Oh, Hello There! supplies: Pinwheel Collection (Chit Chat Stickers, 6x6 Paper Pad, Letter Stickers, Flip Flops Paper, Lime Rickey Paper, Chipboard Stickers) Sweet Shoppe Collection (Chit Chat Stickers, Licorice Whip Paper) Destination Collection (Souvenier Paper) Persnickity (Mixed Stickers)

Below are the cards that I made for today's unique card technique.

I made a shaker card and I know it's really easy to just fill it with sequins and move on, but I also added paper confetti using the same papers that are on the card itself. It helps to pull in the final look when you shake it around.

 

For my second card, I made a little springy card. I didn't have those springs that are made just for paper projects, so I worked with one from a clicky pen and cut it down to fit. 

I took the pen spring and adhered it using really strong craft glue (Helmar or Beacon work well). One side of the spring is fastened to the back of the "celebrate today" circle and the other side was threaded through the "&" circle and also glued down to the label. 

If you flick the "celebrate you" circle with your finger, it bounces.

Supplies: Sweet Shoppe Collection (6x6 Tiny Tablet: Strawberries and Cream, Licrorice Whip, Marshmellow Label Stickers, Circles & Tags, Chit Chat Stickers, Letter Stickers) Pinwheel Collection (Letter Stickers)

Unique Paper Techniqes| Revisiting the August Sketch

Hello again!

Christine Newman and I are here today to share some fun things to share with you. 

Summer is quickly drawing to a close and some have already headed back to school. Before we completely switch gears from Summer to Fall and all of those Fall-inspired activities we thought it would be fun to share some ideas of how to scrap some more of your summer photos. We've combined the challenges of using the August sketch, unique paper techniques and scrapping Summer photos. 

For our challenge this week we are once again revisiting Cindy's awesome August sketch:

Here is Christine's take on the sketch:

Supplies:  Destination Collection (Luggage paper, Atlas paper, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, Label Stickers, Chit Chat Stickers, Letter Stickers, Embellishment Bundle), Sweet Shoppe Collection (Candy Stick paper, Jelly Bean paper, Licorice Whip paper), Pinwheel Collection (6x6 Tiny Tablet).

Amazing, right? She has quite a way with patterns and using just the right embellishments to accent her projects.

Christine says, " The circles toward the bottom of the sketch reminded me of portholes.  And since my layout is nautical/ocean in nature, I thought it would be perfect to make them look like underwater portholes!  My paper technique here is that I used a 1.75" circle punch to punch five circles directly out of my background paper.  Then I used a 2" circle punch to punch vellum and patterned paper circles to fill the holes.  I filled the holes with sequins, wood veneers, and papers to create little underwater scenes."

Here you can see how Christine used her Silhouette digital cutter to cut out some wave shapes with patterned paper to adhere behind and in front of her photo to create movement. Isn't her attention to detail amazing? I really like how fun her page is and how the elements help your eye to move around the page. I like how she placed the title letter stickers on the curve of the wave and think the little fish are adorable!

Christine hand-cut a fish and attached some twine from the embellishment bundle to it.  She dropped some color mist onto her layout to make it look like water splashes and air bubbles in the ocean.

Here is a closer look at the potholes at the bottom of Christine's layout. This is so fun! I like how she made each one different and brought in the circle elements at the bottom of Cindy's sketch.

Here is my take on Cindy's sketch: 

Supplies: Sweet Shoppe (Candy Stick, Embellishment Bundle), Pinwheel ( Sprinklers Paper, Picnic Basket Paper, Chipboard Stickers, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, Embellishment Bundle, Circle & Tag Stickers, Chipboard Stickers, Label Stickers, Letter Stickers). 

One of my favorite additions to the Lily Bee collections is the larger font size of stickers. I enjoy mixing both the small and large alphas as I did here in my page title which was inspired by a favorite childhood song of mine that goes something like this: "Three little fishies in an itty, bitty pool. Three little fishies and a mama fishy, too..." I added some blue sequins to mimic water bubbles. I thought it was an interesting coincidence that both Christine and I ended up with "fish" on our pages! My fish, however, are my silly daughters who had quite a bit of fun swimming in our tiny pool one day. 

I incorporated the circle elements of the August sketch through the sun and additional embellishments at the top left of my page. I also added a little bit of watercoloring which I did with spray mist, a Copic marker, a paintbrush and just a little bit of water. It is fun to experiment with this fun technique until you get the desired shade of paint. 

I followed Cindy's basic sketch design with the movement across the top of the layout, the accent in the top left and a focal area on the bottom of the page. Instead of circles, though, I incorporated waves that I cut on my Silhouette machine which I then backed with patterned paper. I used the extra waves as additional accents on my page. 

We'd love to have you join us in the August sketch challenge! 

Here are just a few reminders about the sketch challenge rules: 

We will pick one winner from all our challenge entries this month to win a Lily Bee prize package. 

- Your layout must use mainly Lily Bee products (approx. 50% - 60% older or newer lines to showcase Lily  Bee Design).
- Post your layout to our Facebook Page or Flickr Gallery to be eligible for monthly challenge prize. 
- Title your post "8/6 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 August 31, 2013, Midnight CST
- One winner from all the challenges will be announced in next month's Kristen's News feature.

Don't forget, you can enter multiple times! The more you play, the better your chances of winning!  :)

We hope you'll play along with us!

 

Focus on Monday | Unique Paper Techniques

Welcome Lily Bee friends to the first day of a fun filled week of unique paper techniques. Today's layouts feature fun techniques from myself, Summer and my fellow Lily Bee design Team member Stacey. Let's skip the small talk and get right down to business.

I really wanted to come up with something fresh and eye catching so I decided to go with a paper basket weave effect on my layout. I chose one of my favorite Lily Bee lines: Destination an cut 1x12 inch strips and wove them together to create a background. I originally tried this with 1/2 inch strips but I found the pattern got way too busy for my liking.

Lily Bee Supplies: Destination (Patterned Paper: Luggage, Atlas, Boarding Pass, Tickets, Landmark, Port, Souvenir, Interstate, Postcard, & Bon Voyage, Embellishment Bundles, Circles & Tag Stickers, and Label Stickers)

Stacey used an Iris Folding technique to create a fun peek-a-boo window on her layout. It is so simple, yet really adds a wow factor. She cut out a square using a craft knife on her 12 X 12 background paper. Then she cut 1 inch rectangles using three different patterned papers and folded each one in half. Then she layered the folded rectangles behind the square cutout, working diagonally across the corners first and then along each side of the rectangle.  Continue the pattern, leaving room in the middle for an embellishment.  This technique really adds texture and color without overwhelming your layout.

Supplies:  Pinwheel (Papers:  Jump Rope, Sprinklers; Chit Chat Stickers; Label Stickers; Chipboard; Embellishment Bundle Twine; 6X6 Tiny Tablet); Persnickety (Paper:  Finicky); Sweet Shoppe (Paper:  Strawberries & Cream)

We hope you have enjoyed our fun unique paper techniques. Have a happy Monday.

Focus on Back to School | Altered Project

Hello Lily Bee Friends.  Here, where I live, school has started.  Although the tempatures are still hot, it's time to think about going back to school.  My daughter is entering Kindergarten, and I know, just like pre-school, she will have lots of work that she brings home to show us and give to us.  I want her to also be excited to see her work displayed, so I altered this magnetic board.

I purchased this dry-erase magnetic board at Michael's.  It is made by the Board Dudes.  And picked up a small pack of six square magnets for uneven surfaces.

I used the 6x6 Destination Tiny Tablet and Mod Podge to cover the front.  The board doesn't measure exactly 12x12.  I trimmed them down to about 5.5x5.5, then added chalkboard tape around the edges and sides.  I also picked up this little frame in the Dollar section at Michael's.  Framed a piece of patterned paper, and sketched and cut out the owl with my Silhouette.  "Kindergarten" was also sketched and cut out with the Silhouette.
Then I started adding the magnets to the backs of the embellishments.  
Because these magnets are meant for uneven surfaces, they give whatever you make a magnet, height, so they are easy to pick up, and don't lie flush against the board.  And the magnets would also be great used on your refrigerator to hold even more important school paperwork.

Lily Bee Supplies:  Destination (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Chipboard Stickers, ), Pinwheel (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Apricot Tree Paper, Embellishment Bundle, Chipboard Stickers), Sweet Shoppe (Embellishment Bundle)

Thank you for stopping by today.  Hope you are inspired to make some back to school projects.

 

Guest Designer | August | Katrina Hunt

Our August guest designer, Katrina Hunt, is celebrating back to school with us this week. She's created these super fun cards to ring in the new school year. Here's what she had to say about it:

This is a super quick card that I made with a cut file, but I loved the idea of a pencil card and wanted to make it!

 

With a title “school rules” this card could be given to your little one heading off for the first day of school or to your child’s teacher as a “welcome to the new school year” card.  The colors of the papers worked perfectly to give the pencil detail and I added the twine, instead of cardstock, since I love to have bows on my cards!

Supplies: Sweet Shoppe (Lemon Drop 12 x 12 Paper-SSP284, Cotton Candy 12 x 12 Paper-SSP285, Sweet Shoppe Label Stickers-SSS297, Sweet Shoppe Letter Stickers-SSS298); Pinwheel (Flip-Flops 12 x 12 Paper-PWP311)

One of my favorite paper techniques is layers and more layers.  I love cards that have layers.  Also, I love distressing the edges of my layers.  My cards today show my love of both.

The “thanks berry much” card was simply put together with layers that graduated into smaller sizes.  Not only did I distress the edges of each layer, but I also used foam adhesive to pop those layers up and give more dimension to those layers.  Layers with distressing are simple, but so effective to make a project stand out.

Supplies: Sweet Shoppe (Pink Mint 12 x 12 Paper-SSP290, Lemon Drop 12 x 12 Paper-SSP284, Sweet Shoppe Circles & Tags-SSS341), Destination (Atlas 12 x 12 Paper-DSP323), Pinwheel (Pinwheel Label Stickers-PWS316)

The “Hi Hey Hello” card uses layers, but in a totally different way.  This isn’t necessarily a card that you would think you could mail, but if you lay the layers down on the balloon you would be able to.  I used a cut file for the balloon, but you can make this type of embellishment with punched shapes, creating a fold in the middle and just attaching all the punched pieces together, back to back.  Make sure to alternate your folds on your paper, so that you get both sides showing.

Supplies: Sweet Shoppe (Lemon Drop 12 x 12 Paper-SSP284), Pinwheel (Kite Strings 12 x 12 Paper-PWP306, Lime Rickey 12 x 12 Paper-PWP309, Ice Cream Truck 12 x 12-PWP310), Destination (Destination Letter Stickers-DSS336)

Hope I gave you some ideas to try out on your cards, or even you layouts!  These work for both!

Thanks for the inspiration, Katrina! I can't wait to see what you create for next week.

Cards on Wednesday | Back to School

Hi Lily Bee friends!  In keeping with this week's theme, Summer, Lisa, and I have created some "back to school" cards to share with you!  When I saw Summer and Lisa's cards, I thought it was so fun that we had each chosen a recognizable "school" icon to feature in our design - but each card is very different than the others!

First of all, here's Summer's fun card:

Summer chose to use the iconic apple on her card - I just love the little button detail and those dimensional leaves are the perfect finishing touch!

 

Supplies Used: Pinwheel (6x6 Tiny Tablet & Letter Stickers) and  Destination (Embellishment Bundle)

 

Lisa took her use of "iconic images" a step further and didn't just use an icon - she used actual crayons on her card!  Here's what she had to say:  "Why not try incorporating a school supply into your next card? Notebook paper, graph paper, paperclips, or even pencils and crayons can make cute embellishments for cards. And the bright and happy colors of the Pinwheel line is perfect for Back To School themes!"

Lily Bee supplies: Pinwheel line (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Chipboard Stickers, Letter Stickers)

My card is geared toward an older recipient...the globe is the icon I chose to use on a "first day of school" card for a college student.
Supplies Used: Destination Collection (6x6 pad, letter stickers, chipboard stickers, circle & tag stickers, label stickers)
Thanks for stopping by the blog today!  We hope we've inspired you to create some fun "back to school" themed cards for the students (or teachers) in your life!

Back To School | Cards & Sketch Revisit

It's Back To School Week here on the Lily Bee blog! Stacey and I are sharing cards that use the August sketch from Cindy and the Back To School theme.

Here is a card from Stacey where she used the sketch and a back to school theme.

It is always fun to scrap using a sketch. Most of the time, I gather inspiration from elements of the sketch as opposed to following one to a tee.

I loved the diagonal line on the sketch and placed mine along the left side of the card. I clustered my circles instead of presenting them horizontally. 

Lily Bee goodies such as the Chit Chat stickers and Circle stickers help me build long and meaningful sentiments on my cards.

Supplies:Sweet Shoppe (Paper: Marshmallow; 6X6 Tiny Tablet; Chipboard Stickers, Label Stickers; Embellishment Bundle Button and Twine; Chit Chat Stickers; Circle & Tag Stickers)

Now, here are two cards that I made for today's theme and challenge.

To me, back to school means primary colors, numbers and a time to celebrate getting back into a routine. My son is in elementary school, so I love that I can still keep it pretty basic for him for back to school. I'll have to get more creative once he's older. I think these cards would make a great lunchbox note or even a "hello" note for his bus driver or teacher.

I used the positives and the negatives from one cut for my numbers. Cut once = two cards! You can download my numbers studio file HERE if you would like to use it for yourself.

I used the 6x6 Tiny Tablets for all of the pattern papers. They work out great for cutting on the Cameo because you can fit them into each corner of the cutting mat. Move the 1, 2 and 3 into the corners and one cut gets you all 3 patterns done.

Supplies: Pinwheel (6x6 Tiny Tablet) and Sweet Shoppe(6x6 Tiny Tablet).

If you get a chance to use this month's sketch, share your work using Lily Bee products on the Lily Bee Flickr account. We'd love to see what you make!

Focus On Monday | Back to School

Summer is winding down and you know what that means....it's almost Back to School time!  Whether you're ready for it or not, the new school year is approaching (fast!) and this week's Focus On theme is all about Back to School.

Diane and I are here today to share a couple of Back to School themed layouts with you.

Diane said, "I have wanted to scrap this photo of my Mom on her first day of Kindergarten for a couple of years now.  The Back to School theme this week was the perfect opportunity to do just that! The bright, cheerful colors of the Pinwheel Collection were perfect to highlight the childhood photo of my mom."

"I typed the school themed captions and journaling on the Label Stickers and placed them above and below the photo.  I used the brads and the flair from the Embellishment Bundle to add the finishing touches to my layout."

Supplies:  Pinwheel Collection (Jump Rope, Apricot Tree, Picnic Basket, Lime Rickey, Cart Wheels, Lemonade Stand, Circle & Tag Stickers, Label Stickers, Letter Stickers, Cardboard Stickers, Embellishment Bundle)

Buying back to school supplies is something that my kids and I look forward to doing at the end of the summer.  I just love all of the shiny new notebooks, unsharpened pencils, and perfectly pointed crayons that have the promise of a great new school year ahead of them!  

I was very inspired by the subject of geometry for my layout design so I used lots of cutout triangles and punched circles using paper from the PInwheel and Sweet Shoppe Collections.  
 

I layered several Label Stickers on top of each other and added part of my title to them before I stitched through my page.  I love how machine sewing adds a homespun feel to my pages. 

Supplies:  Pinwheel Collection (Picnic Basket, Lime Rickey, Ice Cream Truck, Cart Wheels, Label Stickers, 6x6 Tiny Tablet), Sweet Shoppe Collection (Licorice Whip, Strawberries & Cream, Embellishment Bundle, Label Stickers, Letter Stickers)

Are you ready for Back to School?  Be sure and stop back by throughout the week for lots of Back to School themed creations and inspiration!  Have a great day! 

 

     

Project Life on Friday | Fun In The Sun

Happy Friday, Lily Bee fans!  Christine here with you today to show you some recent Project Life pages I made using all the awesome Lily Bee collections.

I don't do week numbers in my Project Life album, mainly because I'm not doing weekly Project Life.  Also because I don't want to stick to a 2-page spread per week every single time. 

For this spread, I decided to give it a "Fun In The Sun" title, because it was all about hanging out outside with friends!

 I used a lot of Lily Bee label stickers, chit chat stickers, and circle & tag stickers on my page.  I love adding a circle sticker to a photo, and the label stickers are perfect for Project Life!

 

On the left, I used a background stamp on the 3x4 white card, then adhered some Lily Bee Chit Chat Stickers in the middle.  On the right, I used a label sticker and some letter stickers to make my title on my journal card.

 

The right side of my 2-page spread was about our dinner out, plus watching bicycle races at the velodrome with friends.

Supplies:  Pinwheel Collection (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Letter Stickers, Label Stickers, Chit Chat Stickers, Circle & Tag Stickers), Sweet Shoppe Collection (Marshmellow paper, Pink Mint paper, Salt Water Taffy paper, Candy Stick paper, Strawberries & Cream paper, Letter Stickers, Chit Chat Stickers, Circle & Tag Stickers), Destination Collection (Atlas paper), Victoria Park Collection (ABC Stickers)

I wrote my journaling about our dinner right on top of a card that I got from the restaurant.  I adhered it to the Lily Bee paper underneath in the 4x6 slot.

 

I hope you enjoyed a look into my Project Life pages using wonderful and colorful Lily Bee products!  Have a great weekend!

Guest Designer | August | Katrina Hunt

We're back today with a gorgeous altered project by guest designer, Katrina Hunt. Here's what she had to say about it:

I have so much fun doing altered projects.  I give myself no rules and just let myself create.  I had an old embroidery hoop in my stash that the papers from the Pinwheel collection were just calling for me to use.  I misted the paper that I “stretched” in the hoop.  This made it easier to get it to lay flat.  I hit it with a heat gun to dry it and then just trimmed the paper off the back.  After doing that I glued the ribbon roses all along the hoop edge.

Supplies: Pinwheel Collection (Flip-Flops 12 x 12 paper-PWP311, Cart Wheels 12 x 12 paper-PWP312, Lemonade Stand 12 x 12 paper-PWP302, Sprinklers 12 x 12 paper-PWP307, Kite Strings 12 x 12 paper-PWP306, Pinwheel Label Stickers-PWS316, Pinwheel Letter Stickers-PWS317, Pinwheel Circle & Tag Stickers-PWS341)

I cut a few flowers out with my Cameo and popped them up with foam adhesive to create a cluster.  I played with the placement quite a bit, but since the hoop was so small, they worked better in a cluster over to the side.  

One of my favorite quotes is “enjoy the small things, because one day they will be the big things”.  I played off the quote to make a quote that would fit into the space I had.  I raised up the words “the small” with a label sticker to make them show up more.

I love this project and now to find the perfect place to hang it!

This would certainly brighten up any day and I just love how inspirational the quote it. Come back next week to see some fun cards Katrina has whipped up.

Challenge on Tuesday | Layout Sketch

Hello Lily Bee Fans, Cindy and Patricia here with another fun sketch challenge to inspire your creativity.

Patricia's "Mom is Gonna Snap" layout was inspired by the circles elements within the sketch with lots of details displayed throughout her overall page design. I love how she interpreted the sketch and uses layers of subtle patterns and colors in her background, which allow for her embellishments to pop.

Supplies: Sweet Shoppe (6x6 Tiny Tablet, Chit Chat Stickers, Gumball Paper, Candy Stick Paper, Embellishment Bundle, Label Stickers, Circle and Tag Stickers), Pinwheel (Kite Strings Paper, Embellishment Bundle, Chipboard Stickers, Letter Stickers, Circle and Tag Stickers), Destination (Label Stickers, Chipboard Stickers)

"I love circles in designs, so when I saw Cindy’s sketch, I started thinking of how I wanted to use the circles. I came across this camera shutter in the Silhouette shop, tweaked it by adding “snap” all the way around it."

"With the theme of the layout now set, I picked out my favorite photo I took of myself in the visor of our car. I filled in the spots of the shutter with papers from the 6x6 tiny tablet, layered the title onto stickers, and used several larger sheets of pattern paper to layer under the smaller cardstock sheet."

 "My layout did not come out like the sketch at all, but it was very much inspired by it, but I still incorporated lots of circle elements with the stickers, chipboard, buttons, and brad."

 

I stuck close to the sketch design when creating my "Lollipop" layout and used photos that went along with the circle theme.

Supplies: Sweet Shoppe(Licorice Whip, 6x6 Tiny Table, Embellishment Bundle, Letter Stickers, Label Stickers, Circles & Tags and Chipboard Stickers) Pinwheel(Embellishment Bundle and Cirlces & Tags) Destination(Port)

When I came across these images of my son when he was around five years old, I knew it would fit not only with the sketch but also with the Sweet Shoppe collection perfectly. I love how the deep pink color of the lollipop added extra color to the stark white background.

I wanted my page to have a lots of texture, so I shaved the edges of the white background for a rough, torn look and added machine stitched lines for extra detail. Round flair buttons, circle stickers and circle shaped pattern papers were used to continue with the circle elements for a cohesive look.

For my title, I used the from the "Lollipop" song by The Chordettes, to fill in the space on the page and layered them with smaller circle photos.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. We would love to have you join us in this months layout sketch challenge! We will pick one winner from all our challenge entries this month to win a Lily Bee prize package. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

- Your layout must use mainly Lily Bee products (approx. 50% - 60% older or newer lines to showcase Lily  Bee Design).
- Post your layout to our Facebook Page or Flickr Gallery to be eligible for monthly challenge prize.
- Title your post "8/6 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 August 31, 2013, Midnight CST
- One winner from all the challenges will be announced in next month's Kristen's News feature.

Don't forget, you can enter multiple times! The more you play, the better your chances of winning!  :)

Happy creating and good luck!

Focus On Monday | Anything Goes

It's hard to believe that it's August already. Where has the time gone?  With everyone so busy this summer, we decided this week's focus would be a design team free-for-all, so this week's theme is Anything Goes!

Leslie Ashe has spent a lot of time road tripping this summer and today, she's sharing a bit of her where life has taken her lately. The Destination collection is perfect for documenting her "solo vaca" with her hubby.

Supplies: Pinwheel (Flip Flops Paper, Ice Cream Truck Paper, Circle & Tag  Stickers), Sweet Shoppe (Licorice Whip Paper, Chit Chat Stickers), Destination:  (Luggage Paper, 80 Days Paper, Passport Paper, Souvenier  Paper, Embellishment Bundle, Letter Stickers, Label Stickers, Chit Chat  Stickers, Circle & Tag Stickers, Chipboard Stickers)

"My husband and I just took our first “solo” vacation since before we had  our children (who are now 21 & 22 years old). What was intended as a 5 day trip, quickly turned into a 13 day FUN adventure! We drove from Tennessee to North  Carolina, to Florida (with family) and finally headed BACK to Tennessee, then  home to Texas. It was a whirlwind, full of fun & lots of new things!

I  wanted my layout to portray just a few things we saw on the “open road”. In  these photo’s – there are a few scenes from the Blue Ridge (“Great Smoky”) Mountains in N.C.

My title says it all...we definitely hit the open road. We loved it!

Thanks for stopping in today. Make sure to visit tomorrow as we reveal last month's sketch winner and this month's new sketch layout challenge.

Guest Designer | August | Katrina Hunt

Hi Lily Bee Design fans! I thrilled to introduce this month's guest designer, Katrina Hunt. Katrina has a great eye mixing and layering patterns and she does not shy away from color. Let's learn a little more about Katrina...

I live in Springfield, Mo. and am currently owned by four Cardigan Welsh Corgis that appear in my layouts a lot!   I work for a non-profit agency that advocates for the senior citizens of our area. My actual job is an Asst. Administrator at one of our centers that is in charge of meal delivery to homebound seniors.  In my spare time I am crafting, blogging, playing on my iPad or trying to perfect my photography skills.  I also volunteer doing pet therapy visits with two of the dogs at an Alzheimer’s unit and the pediatrics floor at a local hospital. 

What is your favorite Lily Bee Design product and why?  Paper, of course!  I am a pattern paper addict and Lily Bee Design has so many fun papers to choose from.  And the alpha sheets.  I am an alpha addict also!

What is your favorite subject to scrapbook about? If you look at my blog or my pages, it would have to be my dogs.  Their faces and personalities make me want to scrap them all the time.  I also love to just scrap everyday things.  I have no kids, but that should not stop anyone from scrapping!  I love it when people are inspired by what I am scrapping about. 

What is your favorite technique that you like to use on cards or layouts?  Layering.  Foam adhesive is my best, best scrappy buddy.  I also love to use twine, ribbon, etc.  Bows are fun!

What do you find most challenging when working on a layout?  Coming up with different picture placements and arrangements.  I will catch myself getting stuck in a rut of 3 square pictures or 2 pictures that overlap.  When I realize this, I try to change it up.

When do you find time to scrap?  Any time I can!  Clean house, who does that?!  I would love to scrap every day.  Some months that works, and other times I am playing catch up.  I am a night owl scrapper and if I could stay up all night to scrap I would.  I try to go to crops when I can, just because I love the vibe and the inspiration I get from being around other scrappers.  

Now that you know what makes Katrina tick, let's see how she embraced this week's Pattern Play theme.

Since I love pattern papers, I wanted to showcase all the fun patterns that Lily Bee Design has. I also wanted to create a motion effect since the layout was about Higgins teaching Sheldon how to walk on a leash. I angled different papers at the bottom, rearranging them until I got them exactly the way I wanted.  I do not ever adhere anything down until I am 110% sure of where I want everything on the entire layout.  

Destination Collection (Port 12 x 12 paper-DSP328, Souvenier 12 x 12 paper-DSP329, Luggage 12 x 12 paper-DSP322, Atlas 12 x 12 paper-DSP323, Destination Label Stickers-DSS335, Destination Circle & Tag Stickers - DSS341); Pinwheel Collection (Lemonade Stand 12 x 12 paper-PWP302, Picnic Basket 12 x 12 paper-PWP305, Kite Strings 12 x 12 paper-PWP306, Jump Rope 12 x 12 paper-PWP308, Flip-Flops 12 x 12 paper-PWP311, Cart Wheels 12 x 12 paper-PWP312); Sweet Shoppe Collection (Pink Mint 12 x 12 paper-SSP290)

One of my favorite things to play with is title work on a page.  This page has actually two titles, the main “Away We Go” and then the smaller subtitle “you want me to do what?  walk?!” title.  The mini alphas are perfect for this. 

I love to add little bits in the top corners.  Here I just added a few banners, some twine and then a sticker that I popped up with foam adhesive.  

Soo fun, right? I love how Katrina mixed so many different patterns and collections. The colors just pop off of the woodgrain Port paper from the Destination collection. 

I can't wait to see the project she has created for next week. Check back next Thursday for more from Katrina.