Lily Bee Finds

Tutorial Friday | Homemade Garland

Hello Lily Bee fans! Diane here today to share with an easy paper garland you can make to dress up your pages.

I love banners and garlands and am always looking for ways to incorporate them in unique and interesting ways. Garland made with my own papers and embellishments is the perfect way to coordinate the embellishment with the rest of my page, like I did with this layout.

Fun, right?! Not only did I incorporate patterned paper, but I also used chipboard buttons and regular buttons from the embellishment bundles and chipboard sets.

Here's a closer look.

Supplies: Pinwheel Collection (Lime Rickey, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, Chipboard Stickers), Sweet Shoppe Collection (Licorice Whip, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, Chipboard Stickers, Embellishment Bundle), Destination Collection (Embellishment Bundle)

Let's get started with our own paper garland.

Here are the supplies you will need:

• Scrap paper
• Chipboard buttons
• Embellishment Bundle (includes twine and buttons)
• 2 punches in varying sizes of the shape of your choice
• Glue of your choice

Begin by punching some circles in a variety of patterned papers in both sizes of your selected punches.

Next, apply the glue to the back of one circle and lay the twine down the middle leaving a tail for the end. Place a circle in the same size on circle with glue and twine and press firmly.

For variety string chipboard buttons on in between the paper circles. One you've reached the desired length for your garland, cut the twine, leaving some for the tail on the other side.

Not only are these paper garlands great for layouts and cards, they would look great hanging from doorways, or draped on a frame or your mantle.

Thank you for visiting today, I hope you will give these easy garlands a try and share your work with us in the Lily Bee Flickr gallery.

 

Tutorial Friday | DIY String Envelope

Happy Friday, Lily Bee fans!  Christine here to show you a cute and easy DIY string-tie envelope you can make with your awesome Lily Bee papers!  I swoon whenever I see cute handmade envelopes or pockets of any kind. I just think they are so cute!

Today I will show you how to make a string-tie envelope sized at A2.  The size of this envelope is very convenient because all handmade A2 cards (4.25" x 5.5") will fit inside. 

These are the supplies you will need:

• 12 x 12 piece of patterned paper
• twine or string
• buttons or brads
• circle punch
• paper trimmer
• scoring board or bone folder
• scissors
• ruler
• hole punch
• adhesive

 

To start out, I cut my piece of pattern paper to 9.5" x 7.75".

Next, I scored two lines on the long side of the paper, one at 1/2", and another one at 5".

On the short side, I scored lines at 1 3/4" and 7 3/8".

Your paper will look like this after scoring.

Next, I cut out the corners of the paper like this.

I folded the paper into the envelope shape.  I rounded the corners of the flaps.

Next I measured where I wanted my holes for the brads to be.  I wanted them halfway across the 4.5" side, so I drew circles at 2.25" across.

The two pencil-marked circles are where my brads will go.

Next, I used my 1" circle punch to punch out two circles in a contrasting color than my envelope color.

Then I hole-punched the center of each circle.

I lined up the hole on the circle to where I had drawn a circle, and pushed the brad into the paper.

This is what your paper looks like after both circles and brads are attached.

I folded the two strips of flaps and put adhesive on them.  Then I folded the large flap over to make the envelope.

Then I tied some twine from the Pinwheel Embellishment Bundle around both brads under the paper circles to close the flaps together.

 

Supplies:  Pinwheel Collection (Flower Box paper, 6x6 Tiny Tablet, Embellishment Bundle, Label Stickers)

To complete the look, I adhered a Label Sticker to the front of the envelope.  I think it adds a nice finishing touch! :)

 

I can't wait to put a handmade card into this cute envelope and give it to the recipient!  Thanks for following along this tutorial.  I hope you like it and are inspired to make some of your own.  Have a great weekend!

Focus on The Story/Creative Journaling | Tutorial

Hey Lily Bee fans! Nicole here today to share a fun way and interactive way to add journaling to your pages.

I often hide my journaling and am always looking for different ways to hide it! So, I created an interactive way on this layout below:

Supplies: Pinwheel (Tiny Tablet, Sprinklers  paper, Cart Wheels paper, Jump Rope paper, Circle & Tag Stickers, Chit Chat stickers, Letter stickers), Destination (Label Stickers)

We have our first Lily Bee video for this tutorial! Take a look right here:

 

I hope you have enjoyed the tutorial and we cannot wait to see your take on it !

Have a great weekend!

 

 

Summer Fun Letterblock Tray

Good Friday morning, Lily Bee fans!  Christine here to show you a fun summer project using awesome Lily Bee products and a letterblock tray.  I had purchased a 12x10 7 Gypsies letterblock tray a couple of years ago, with the intention of making a Christmas gift for a friend.  That did not happen, but I thought it would make a wonderful wall decoration for the summer.  Today is Summer Solstice and the official beginning of summer!

I measured each block within the tray and cut some patterned paper to fit inside the blocks.  Then I planned out what went inside each block.  

I used some of the chipboard stickers from the Sweet Shoppe Collection, as well as some twine from the embellishment bundle, and some Chit Chat stickers.

I used my Silhouette digital cutter to cut out many different summer-related quotes and objects.  Summer is all about bicycling, fun in the sun, ice cream, waves, and flip flops.  This makes me want to go on vacation right now!

I used foam adhesive to adhere some of these cutouts to make them pop up and stand out more inside the tray.

Supplies:  Sweet Shoppe Collection (Lemon Drop paper, Cotton Candy paper, Jujubee paper, Gumball paper, Jelly Bean paper, Licorice Whip paper, Marshmallow paper, Lollipop paper, Salt Water Taffy paper, Pink Mint paper, Strawberries & Cream paper, Chipboard embellishments, Embellishment Bundle, Chit Chat stickers)

Making this summer-themed letterblock tray was so much fun!  I want to swap it out each season with different themed cutouts and keep it hanging on the wall in our entryway. 

Hope you've enjoyed all the Summer Solstice inspiration this week on the Lily Bee blog!  Have a great Friday! 

Focus on Chipboard Stickers | Tutorial Friday

Happy Friday everyone!  Today I have a quick and easy way for you to dress up a title for a layout using chipboard stickers.  

First, you'll want to choose as many chipboard banners as needed for your title.  I used four because I wanted to put the four-letter word "TRIP" on mine.  

 

Next, use a small hole punch or paper-piercer to punch out two holes at the top of your chipboard banners.  

 

Then you'll want to thread some twine from the Destination Embellishment Bundle through the holes in the banners. I used a paper-piercer to help thread my twine through the holes, but a sewing needle would also work.  Once you string all your banners together, just make a small knot for the holes on the ends to finish it off.  

Now you can add some letter stickers on top of the banners for your title.

I also used the middle "leftover" piece of the camera chipboard sticker (also from the Destination Collection) and layered a Circle & Tag Sticker on top of it for some extra dimension. 

I replaced the back of the camera hole with some patterned paper to coordinate with the color scheme of my layout and added a label sticker on top of it to house the first part of my title.  

Supplies Used:  Destination (80 Days, Landmark, Embellishment Bundle, Letter Stickers, Chipboard Stickers, Circle & Tag Stickers), Pinwheel (Lemonade Stand, Kite Strings, Picnic Basket, Jump Rope, Chipboard Stickers, Label Stickers, Letter Stickers), Sweet Shoppe (Chipboard Stickers)

Now you have a couple extra quick and easy ways to dress up your title for a layout or a card using chipboard stickers!   Thanks for stopping by! 

 

 

Trendspotting Tutorial: Arrows

Happy Friday everyone!  This week has been all about incorporating trends on your latest project!  I decided to focus on the very popular trend of using shapes on your layout.  Triangles, circles, and arrows to be exact!  

I love arrows.  They draw your eye to a specific spot and they convey so much movement.  I decided to create my own on the layout below.

Want to make some of these big arrows of your own?  They are easy to replicate because they are built of simple shapes!

Start your arrow off from the back by gathering one of the chipboard sticker banners from any new collection.  Place it on it's side and you have the end of the arrow.  I created the middle by cutting a rectangle the same width as the chipboard.  I make it less blocky, I cut on a diagonal along the top sides, making a small tag of sorts.

To create the arrowhead, I just punched out a square using any coordinating patterned paper.  Cut the square in half along the diagonal to make two triangles.  

Put all the pieces together to make arrows like the ones on my page!

You can vary the size of your arrows by shortening or lengthening the middle rectangle.  To add interest, cut one of the premade arrows from the Flip Flops paper. Have that arrow serve as the arrowhead!  I chose the word "This" and made it a part of my title.  To make the title arrow pop, outline it with black pen and a ruler.  You have instant impact.

I incorporated circles and triangles around the page as well, purposefully placing them where I wanted to draw the eye!  Using repeating elements can really ground a page and make it all cohesive.

Supplies:  Pinwheel (Papers:  Picnic Basket, Apricot Tree, Jump Rope, Flip Flops; Chipboard Stickers; Circle & Tag Stickers, Chit Chat Stickers), Sweet Shoppe (Paper:  Pink Mint, Cotton Candy, Marshmellow, Candy Stick; Label Stickers), Destination (Paper: Passport, Embellishment Bundle Twine)

So...embrace a trend...use simple shapes to make your page unique!

Tutorial Friday | Framed Dry Erase Board

Well, hello there! Cindy here with a simple tutorial showing you how to convert a large size picture frame into a functional dry erase board.

And by all means, this idea isn't anything new, but kinda new to me. During a four day crop I attended last week, one of my friends showed us how to convert a 5x7 frame into a dry erase board, which was inspired by many ideas on Pinterest. During one of our shopping trips, we hit up Hobby Lobby and I couldn't resist their 50% off deal on all their frames. I love the design and color of the frame, which can easily be spray painted.

Supplies: Pinwheel (Jump Rope & Lemonade Stand, Embellishment Bundle), Christmas Cheer (ABC Stickers)

To begin, remove the glass from the frame and wipe it clean with vinegar & water or plain a spritz of windex, set aside to dry.

Use the insert backing as your foundation and add your pattern paper using a little adhesive to keep it secure. I added a strip of quote bubbles to the bottom of my pattern background embellished a few of them with abc cardstock stickers.

You can easily leave the entire frame bare, but I added an 11x5 inch piece of cork board.

Place the covered insert into the frame and push in tabs to secure into place.

Instead of using the foam squares that came with the package of cork board, I used my hot glue gun. Generously cover the back of cork board and adhere to the outside of the frame.

Add velcro to bottom of frame and dry erase pen and attach.

Make sure the cork is at least the same depth as the frame, so it's flush with the frames edge. Gives it a clean and smooth look without looking too bulky.

Voila! I now have a nice dry erase board hanging in my kitchen I can use to jot down items I need to pick up at the market on a weekly basis. I also use the cork board section to hold coupons, which helps having them out in the open rather inside a container or my purse. Because I am always letting them expire or forget I have them, like I did my $10 Kohl's cash that expired on the 14th.

I added layers of paper flowers and adorned with a large embellishment button and used glue dots to adhere it to the frame. I kept this simple so I can change it up whenever the mood strikes. Plus, it would be fun to change it for every season or holiday.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek at my project. Hope it inspires you to create something functional to display in your home.

Pinwheels | How-to on Friday

Happy Friday, Everyone!  Hope you have enjoyed seeing all the projects this week featuring the Pinwheel collection.  Inspired by Spring and the name of the collection, I'm finishing the week with this project using Pinwheels.

I wanted to layer pinwheels, so I after choosing my papers, I cut two squares (3" and 4").

To add a little more fun, I used a border punch and punched around all four sides.  Using a bone folder, I folded point to point, opened it, then folded to the other point to point to form creases.  This helps with the next step.

Cut to about a 1/4 to an 1/8 of an inch from the center along the creases.
Fold the left sides into the center.  This to me is the trickiest part in getting all the points in the middle enough to attach them.
So to help secure them, I stapled in the center.  If you are going to use a brad to finish them off, punch a hole in the center.  Next, create the second pinwheel following these steps, then secure the two pinwheels together with a brad or staple again in the center.

Use can use a wooden stick, dowel, or, what I used, a lollipop stick and wrap some coordinating washi tape around it.

With your finished layered pinwheels, adhere it to the stick.  I used a very strong glue to do this and held it for several seconds for it to bond.

Create your own "straw" to fill the jar by cutting strips of pattern paper.

Fill the jar with the strips and some goodies.

You may not have the Crop-A-Dile II that can punch anywhere.  The pinwheel could probably stand up in the jar without because of the candy and straw it if you didn't have that tool.  
I wrapped more washi tape around the outside of the lid, added a scalloped circle to the top and put the Pinwheel through it.  It needed a tag, so I made a quick one by cutting about an inch and half by three and half piece of pattern paper, rounded the corners with a corner rounder, and then punched a hole at the top.
Very quick, fun, and easy way to put together something cute for my daughter and her best friend for Easter.
My daugther loves for me to make her something.  So she will be excited, and I'm sure, will pick which one she likes best.  Thank you for joining me today.  Join us next week for a Spring and Easter projects.
Pinwheel (Flower Box Paper, Kite Strings Paper, Sprinklers Paper, Embellishment Bundle)

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!

Quilting Paper Technique | Tutorial

Good Morning! I love the Lily Bee patterned paper and wanted to show how easy it is to create a faux quilted background using pattern paper for a layout. 

I started with a piece of 12x12 Kraft card stock and then layered a block of slightly smaller white card stock on top. I cut out twenty-five 2x2 squares from the gray chevron striped paper. I placed these on top of the white card stock.

Then, I cut out thirteen 2x2 squares of the blue polka dot paper and cut them in half diagonally to create triangles. I used a repositionable glue stick to adhere them to the chevron blocks; I put the first triangle in the lower right hand corner of the first block and the next triangle went in the upper left hand corner of the next block.

This created a fun pattern across my background!

Finally, I stiched everything down with my sewing machine.

All that was then left to do was to place my photos and embellishments on top! I layered a couple of piece of paper from the Tiny Tablet and a piece of vellum underneath my photos. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out some arrows and part of my title. A few brads and veneer stars were sprinkled across and some journaling was typed up and voila! 

Thanks for joining me on the blog today! See you again on Monday!

ABC Cardstock Stickers | Tutorial

One of my very favorite Lily Bee products are the ABC Cardstock Stickers. I love that there are so many little letters on these sheets and they are perfect for adding journaling, subtitles, and labels to my layouts.

But sometimes the large 12 x 12 sheet makes it difficult to get these tiny alphas off their backing and onto my page! So I've cut my large sheets down into a more manageable size. Using a kraft knife and my clear ruler, I simply slice up the alpha sets by color.

Once they are cut down, these little alpha sheets are much easier to use. And they fit perfectly into a litle bucket on my scrap desk, so I can easily grab whatever color I need:

The smaller sized sheets can be easily bent slightly, allowing the letter to come off the backing without ripping or tearing:

Once the letter starts to peel away from the backing, I use my kraft knife to pull it off the sheet.  This seems to work better than my clumsy fingers, which often rip the tiny alphas.

Then I use my knife to line up the letter before sticking it down to my page.  When I have several lines of lettering on a layout, I use pencil guide lines to get everything straight (and erase them afterwards!)

The result is perfectly aligned lettering every time!

Lily Bee Supplies: Christmas Cheer ( Mrs. Claus, Figgy Pudding papers); Persnickety (6x6 Tiny Tablet, ABC Cardstock Stickers)

Hope those tips help you get more use out of your ABC Cardstock Stickers!  Happy Scrapping!

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.

Tutorial | Tiny 'Autumn' Mini Album

Good morning creative souls and happy Friday to you! Today, I (Cindy) am super excited to share a simple tutorial on how-to make this tiny mini album out of index journaling cards.

Gather a mix of index journaling cards. I used 17 of them from Autumn Spice, Persnickety, Victoria Park, Double-Dutch, Buttercup and Handmade collections.

Score each index journaling card in half, which should measure 2-inches, facing up.

If you want, you can also gather a few mini tags and mini envelope and score each of them in half, too. Once each index journaling cards has been scored, fold with print side facing in. Set cards up and arrange them with the tabs equally spaced and add in other index journaling cards with two notches at the bottom in between the cards with tabs.

Lay in order and begin adhering the first two index journaling cards backs together using a glue stick. Make sure the front of each one are flush and even through.

Use the scored mini tags and mini envelopes within the mini album adhere them to different index journaling cards. This can be done with them added in between gluing and to also hide any unevenness.

once cards have been glued together, use binder clips at top and bottom and drizzle Helmar's acid free glue to the back seams of the cards and evenly spread to get a good seal on the spine of the mini album. (Note: this glue dries super fast...less than 5 minutes)

Once dry, use mini album to determine size of cover and score according to thickness.

Evenly adhere the first and last index journaling cards inside album cover, one at a time.

To decorate the front of my mini album, I used a small tag stamped with title and embellished with tiny leaves and button. Add twine or ribbon through button holes and through the tags hole and adhere it to the small flap with a few glue dots for extra security.

Here is a view inside the tiny mini album.

Throughout the album, I used lots of cardstock stickers, clear stamps and tiny die-cut leaves. I specially made this album to keep all my favorite photos from this Fall season. This album fits 2"x1.75" photos perfectly (Instagram photos would work, too).

Happy FALL and enjoy your weekend!

 

A Weekend Tutorial with Anna-Maria

 
Hi everybody, Anna-Maria here today, and it's Saturday!!! So we start the scrappy weekend today. For the begining of this awesome free time I propose you a simple tutorial made with Lily Bee 6x6 Tiny Tablets.

I made a layout using some Lily Bee collections and washi tapes. I would like to show you how can you create an easy and very attractive background for your layouts. You can also use this technic in your albums and cards! It's so easy to make and - what is very important - you can ajust colour palette to your photos every time.

Ok, let's start.

You will need a piece of white cardstock, some papers (I use Lily Bee Tiny Tablets 6x6) and masking tapes.The first step you should start in the corner. You have to cut a piece of paper and past it in the corner of the cardstock. Then you should cut a stripe from the other paper - and stick it.

You can use different papers and also masking tape. Using tape is much easier, because you don't have to cut the stripes :)When you finishe to embellishement the whole cardstock (remember you can leave some white stripes also), you have to cut it into a few pieces. They don't have to be simmilar in their width.Supplies Used:  Double Dutch, Handemade, Buttercup collections

Now when you have the cardstock in pieces you have to compose those stripes into interesting composition and stick everything on other cardstock.

Then just past this composition into your layout, add the picture and other embellishements on your base.

The layout with a stripe area is ready.

I showed you the whole process made with pastel tones (the layout I published when we were proposed you the colour challenge on Lily Bee blog), but I also prepared the second example of using this techinic - with different palette coming from Victoria Park collection.

Supplies Used: Buttercup Collection (Flower Pot paper), Victoria Park (Tiny Tablet 6x6,  Mixed Cardstock Stickers, ABC Cardstock Sticker, Index Journal Cards) 

Hope you like this easy tutorial and you will use it in your creations.

And don't forget about our other current contest- the Blog and Facebook Giveaway week. TONIGHT is your last night to enter, so make sure you are all signed up! You can find more information about that here. Winners will be announced here on the blog, tomorrow! :)

Good luck!

Guest Designer | August | Lilith Eeckels

Hello Lily Bee fans! It's nearly the end of August and that means saying goodbye to this month's Guest Designer, Lilith Eeckels. We've enjoyed each and every project she's shared with us! Make sure and go back and take a peek at all of her beautiful work this past month, here. 

Today, Lilith brings us her grand finale for August with a spectacular altered project. She's not only created a beautiful art journal page, she's also created a video tutorial of her process for us all to enjoy. So sit back, and enjoy watching Lilith work her magic on this beautiful piece of art using Lily Bee products!

 

 

Supplies: Autumn Spice Patterned papers: nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar, Autumn Spice Mixed Cardstock Sticker, Autumn Spice ABC Cardstock Sticker, Distress ink: Frayed burlap, antique linen, Stazon black, brown, Archival ink: sepia, Artemio stamps, Gelatos, India ink, Page torn out of an old book

 Thank you ever so much, Lilith, for sharing your talents with us for the past month! Next week we'll have a brand new guest designer with us for the month of September, so come back to check that out next Thursday. Until then, have a wonderful day!