Biker Chick Tania Willis has out done herself again.  She has an adorable Hello Spring! cardset trio to share with everyone today.  Please see her training reel video for tips and details on how to create these beautiful cards.  Tania has also included downloadable instructions and a template.

The cards are so pretty on display that I almost do not want to mail them anywhere - LOL.  Please see Tania's wonderful video below...

Tania has shared both the instructions for creating this project and the butterfly template below.  Please feel free to download them for your own use.

Download Hello Spring Card Trio by Tania Willis

Download Hello Spring Card Trio Butterfly Template

Please visit Tania's blog What'chu Talkin' Bout Willis for more details about this project and of course tons of inspiration from her.

Happy Crafting!

Liz

Today we have some cute card ideas with our Hello Spring! collection from Biker Chicks Tania Willis and Vicki Boutin.  Tania shares some of her ideas on the cards below...

 
These two little cards are the result of just using up the leftover bits and pieces that I had scattered about my desk after completing the other projects I’ve shared this month.

 
They are a little thinner and taller than your standard A2 card because I’ve used patterned paper from the 6x6 paper pad as the base of these cards. I simply chose two 6x6 papers that had a tone on tone (somewhat solid) pattern on the back so any writing done inside the card would be easier to read.

To assemble, just fold the 6x6 patterned papers in half to form the card bases, then add two or three stickers/fabric embellishments along with a sentiment sticker from the Fresh Verse sticker pack.

You can easily duplicate these two cards in 10 minutes or less!

Hello Spring Products:

HS – 304 6x6 Paper Pad

HS – 135 Favorite Pieces Stickers

HS – 140 Fresh Verse Stickers

HS – 220 Fabric Favorites

HS – 197 Jewel Stickers

Vicki Boutin made this adorable card with the clear cut shape sentiment in the middle and the large chipboard butterfly.  She did a wonderful job of combining many of the colors in our Hello Spring collection.
 

Tomorrow we have a training reel to share from Tania Willis, so stay tuned..

Have a wonderful day!

Liz

We are happy to share a project with our Hello Spring collection from Biker Chick Vicki Boutin.  She has some fun ideas for our fans...but let's have Vicki tell you all about it...

Hey Folks!  It’s my turn to bring a Hello Spring project to you and I decided to focus on the Clear Cuts for this line!  I love the mix of butterflies and birds in Hello Spring so I added them to a super quick layout of my little girl.

Let’s get started…

Layer three pattern to create the base of the page.  Cut the top strip of the Garden Rows paper at the bottom of the page.  (Ever notice how the LYB designs always have a few papers that have awesome layered elements that take all of the guess work out making a quick layout?!  Love the Garden Rows paper for this and the Blossom Breeze paper for this exact reason!!!)

Add two mats and a Tear Out Ticket to the page.

Select and position the Clear Cut shapes on the layout.  Here is my TIP: sew the Clear Cuts on the page to secure them!  I often find I am looking for a solution other than adhesive for clear embellishments…this is one of them!  Add the “spring” chipboard title, “sweet” ticket and bling!

Here is a closer look at the stitching.

And another one.  I really like how layering the “hello” Clear Cut over the “hello” on the paper turned out!

Hello Spring Products

Chipboard Shapes
Clear Cut Shapes
Cardstock Stickers Fresh Verse
Cardstock Stickers Favorite Pieces
Tear-out Ticket & Journaling Book - with glitter accents

Assorted Hello Spring patterned papers

Well that’s it folks!!  Hope you get a chance to play with Hello Spring soon!  It sure did brighten my day!

Please visit Vicki's blog Creative Foundations for more creative ideas.

Happy crafting!

Liz

Biker Chicks Corrie, Jenny and Robbie have some fantastic altered ideas to share with us today.  They have taken our Hello Spring! collection to new levels of fun.  Take a look at what they created.

Biker Chick Corrie Jones likes to decorate this window frame in her livingroom each time the seasons change.  She chose to use Hello Spring! to keep it up to date.  What a fun way to show case current photos of your kids with a fun message and on something you can change from time to time.

Hello Spring Products:

HS-101 Blossom Breeze paper
HS-102 Garden Rows paper
HS-103 Spring Story paper
HS-104 Flutterby paper
HS-106 Bloom & Grow paper
HS-107 Pom Pom Stripe paper
HS-10108 Teal Tweets paper
HS-109 Pretty in Plaid paper
HS-279 Chipboard Shapes
HS-220 Fabric Favorites
HS-223 Crochet Butterflies & Flowers
HS-305 Paper Flower Kit
HS-230 Clear Cut Shapes
HS-277 Stick Pins
HS-135 Cardstock Stickers
HS-140 Cardstock Stickers
HS-195 Dimensional Stickers
HS-197 Jewel Stickers

Please visit Corrie's blog You, Me & Crazy for more inspiring ideas.

Biker Chick Jenny Chesnick altered thes fun plant tins.  Here is what she had to say about her project...

Today I have a fun and fairly simple project idea for someone special.  This project is perfect to do with your kiddos as well!  I actually made these for my Mother in Law for Mothers day.  Her favorite flower is the marigold and my husband gets them for her every year.  I picked these little pails up at my local big box store and thought they would be perfect for this project. 

I started with vinyl and my butterfly punch.  I decorated the pail with the butterflies that way if she takes off the paper at some point they are not just plain ole pails.  Next up I cut out my base shapes using my Cameo and layered them together. 

I used a high tac metal glue to ensure the paper would stay put!  For the fabric flowers I used fabric tac and pop dots just to be safe. I finished them up by planting my flowers.  Easy peasy!  The project took less than a half hour and were a hit with my Mother in Law.  Thanks for stopping by!

Hello Spring Products:
HS-279 Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (35 pieces)
HS-222 Felt & Fabric Flower Stickers (4 pieces)
HS-230 Clear Cut Shapes - with glitter accents (34 pieces)
HS-304 6" x 6" Paper Pad (24 pieces)

Please visit Jenny's blog Say Chez! for more fun and inspiring ideas!

Biker Chick Robbie Herring created this 8x10 canvas.  She has some great tips to share.

I decorated this canvas with the adorable Hello Spring Collection.  I thought it would be fun to make a little cage to put the cute chipboard birdie in.  I also used a lot of flowers from the Paper Flower Kit to decorate this.  It will go into a standard frame easily by just removing the glass.

Tip: You can see in this picture that I used tranparency behind the pink strips that I used for the 'wires'.  Using transparency will not only help with getting them placed, it adds more weight to help them stand the test of time.

To make placement of the flowers easier, use lots of foam tape.  I actually layered the foam tape to make sure that these don't droop.

I also changed out the string on the banner pieces to better match my project. If you wanted to do this, just gently lift it off the back of the pieces and use a strong, quick drying glue to replace it.  Because my project was so bright, but I wanted to use the more pastel colored clouds, I simply glued them to a sheet of the cardstock and cut around them.  Lastly, I added some more foam tape to layer the blue one over the pink.

Hello Spring! Porducts:
HS-104 Flutterby/Sunshine Dots
HS-107 Pom Pom Stripe/Teal Linen
HS-109 Pretty in Plaid/Tulip Linen
HS-279 Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (35 pieces)
HS-220 Fabric Favorites - self adhesive (14 pieces)
HS-305 Paper Flower Kit (47 pieces)

Please visit Robbie's blog Just the Scrap for more projects to get your creative ideas flowing.

Hope you find some great ideas!

Liz

We are really excited to share another Hello Spring Training Reel from Biker Chick Tania Willis.  She is the best at showing our fans what they can with our collections on video. 

This adorable page uses many of our Hello Spring collection elements in a fun and creative way that Tania will share in her video.

The bright happy fun colors make our cardstock stickers really pop, like these sentiment banners from our Favorite Pieces stickers.

But let's have Tania tell you all about it in her video...

Please download Tania's detailed instructions in the PDF document below

Download Be Happy Oh So Happy Layout Instructions by Tania Willis

Please visit Tania's blog Whatcu Talkin' Bout Willis for more details and inspirational work!

Happy Monday!

Liz

We have a fun project from Biker Chick Heather Leopard using our Hello Spring collection in a very unique way.  Heather has also created a video to share on her blog, so please stop by.

The Hello Spring collection is perfect for all your Spring projects but it just so happens to match my oldest daughter’s room. Despite the 5 year age difference, my two daughters are very close and just adore each other. I realized the other day that they don’t have pictures of themselves together in their rooms so I decided to change that.
 
I started out with a $1 frame from my local craft store. It seemed to flat and boring so I decided to give it a fun, multi-dimensional look.

To begin, I pulled out all of the double sided 6x6 and 12x12 papers from the collection. I wanted a good variety for what I had in mind.   I then cut them in strips of varying widths. I kept some with straight edges and I used border punches on others. Once I had multiple strips from multiple papers cut and punched, I cut them into 2 1/1” strips, folded them in half (being careful not to crease them) and glued the edges together.  I repeated this step until I had enough loops to cover my frame, which happened to be 84.  You may need more or less depending on the size of your frame. Be sure to also cut strips to cover the edge of my frame if you get a plain frame like I did.

Once I had all the loops, I started gluing them down on the frame with regular liquid adhesive. I started at the bottom of the frame, placing them next to each other in a row. As I moved my way up the frame, I overlapped the2nd layer slighter over the 1st and so on until I reached the top of the frame. I had to make sure that no two loops were the same right next to each other but overall this step was fairly quick.

Next, I added the “You Make Me Smile” dimensional sticker to the top left corner and I added the Felt Sticker Flowers and Stick Pins to the bottom right to draw all the elements together



I hope you’ve enjoyed my project today. I actually filmed a short video of my creative process while making this frame, which is available to view on my blog.

Please visit Heather's blog The Spotted Leopard for a video tutorial on her project.

Have a wonderful day!

Liz

We are very happy to share the talent of our Biker Chick team with some seriousl fun ideas for a mini book with our Hello Spring! Collection.

Biker Chick Shanna Vineyard made this fun album.

I was so excited to create a mini album using Hello Spring!  I designed this with a friend in mind who just gave birth to her first baby…. A GIRL!  This line and all the fun embellies works perfectly for a baby girl or even a baby boy album.  There’s endless possibilities really.  I hope you enjoy it.

Please see Shanna's blog Art Made with Heart for more pages of her wonderful album.

Hello Spring Products:

Canvas Covered 6x6 Chipboard Album (painted yellow)
Hello Spring 6x6 paper pad
Hello Spring Chipboard Shapes
Hello Spring Clear Cut Shapes
Hello Spring Decorative Edge Cardstock
Hello Spring Fabric Favorites
Hello Spring Crochet Butterflies and Flowers
Hello Spring Cardstock Stickers Fresh Verse
Hello Spring Cardstock Stickers Favorite Pieces
Hello Spring Dimensional Stickers
Hello Spring Stick Pins
Hello Spring Chipboard Slider
Hello Spring Felt Stickers
Hello Spring Paper Flower Kit

We also have a mini book from Biker Chick Robbie Herring.  Here is what she had to say about her book...

I really love how bright and fun this collection is and how it fits so perfectly with Easter pictures.  I used the Canvas Covered Chipboard Album.  This album is great!  The inside pages that you can choose to cover yourself are 6x6 which is great because you can use the 6x6 paper pad.  It's so easy to use!

I used the Favorite Pieces to build the sticker tree.  I added some foam dots behind a few of the flower for extra dimension and added a few jewels, too.  I cut down the paper for the front because I wanted some of the canvas to show.

This page includes a couple of the Journal tags for the design.  Instead of listing the answers for the questions on the card, I cut it to make it appear longer behind the picture and used it as a design element.  More foam dots allow for layering and clustering the chipboard pieces.

You can see that this picture is from a different time.  If you don't have enough pictures of an event, consider using pictures from several different times to tell your story.  All of the pictures in my album are from Easter activities, but taken during different times and activities.

Be sure to leave room for journaling in your Mini Albums.  I like to do a page or two that is decorated, but with plenty of room left over to journal.  I made the center paper by using Word and adding lines and a matching border.  I like to have lines to journal when possible, so I decided to include them here.  To keep them from overwhelming the embellishments and other pretty details, try making the lines a very light grey.

Please visit Robbie's blog Just the Scrap for more detais and pages of her mini book.

Hello Spring Products:

Supplies:
HS-104 Flutterby/Sunshine Dots
HS-279 Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents
HS-133 6" x 6" Decorative Edge Double-sided Textured Cardstock - with glitter accents
HS-220 Fabric Favorites - self adhesive
HS-222 Felt & Fabric Flower Stickers
HS-305 Paper Flower Kit
HS-230 Clear Cut Shapes - with glitter accents
HS-277 Stick Pins
HS-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with glitter and embossing
HS-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse™ - with glitter and debossing
HS-195 Dimensional Stickers - with glitter accents
HS-197 Jewel Stickers
HS-1100 Tear-out Ticket & Journaling Book - with glitter accents
HS-304 6" x 6" Paper Pad
LYB-107 6" x 6" Canvas-Covered Chipboard Album

Biker Chick Jenny Chesnick shares this super creative and festive mini book.

Tip from Jen:  Mini albums do NOT have to be stressful.  I actually most of my mini albums without photos first! Instead of stressing over the perfect photo I focus on creating something I love.  You can always go back with that "perfect" set of photos later!

Please see Jenny's blog Say Chez for more pages and details from her mini book.

Hello Spring Products:

HS-109 Pretty in Plaid/Tulip Linen
HS-106 Bloom & Grow/Sweet Pea Vine
HS-107 Pom Pom Stripe/Teal Linen
HS-104 Flutterby/Sunshine Dots
HS-102 Garden Rows/Lilac Love
HS-279 Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (35 pieces)
HS-220 Fabric Favorites - self adhesive (14 pieces)
HS-222 Felt & Fabric Flower Stickers (4 pieces)
HS-223 Crochet Butterflies & Flowers (8 pieces)
HS-230 Clear Cut Shapes - with glitter accents (34 pieces)
HS-277 Stick Pins (15 pieces)
HS-308 10 Things Pocket - with glitter accents (11 pieces)
HS-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with glitter and embossing (50 pieces)
HS-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse™ - with glitter and debossing (72 pieces)
HS-195 Dimensional Stickers - with glitter accents (8 pieces)
HS-197 Jewel Stickers (96 pieces)
HS-1100 Tear-out Ticket & Journaling Book - with glitter accents (24 pieces
HS-304 6" x 6" Paper Pad (24 pieces)

One more mini book idea by Biker Chick Greta Hammond - she created this one for our last CHA trade show in Anaheim.

We cannot wait to see some of your mini book creations with our Hello Spring collection or any of our collections.  Please be sure to share them on the blog.

Have a wonderful day!

Liz

We have had a wonderful week on the blog showing off how well our products mix with Petaloo products and wanted to end with a bang.  So today we have a blog hop to wind up the week. 

Please hop to the following Biker Chick blogs to see the beautiful projects they have created, leave a comment on their blogs, and come back here to tell us what you saw.  Your comments automatically enter you into a drawing to win some of our Hello Spring collection.

Vicki Boutin

Jenny Chesnick

Corrie Jones

Liz Qualman

Shanna Vineyard

Petaloo Blog

Thank you so much for stopping by today and for your participation in our blog hop.  We would love for you to visit the Petaloo blog to see what their team has been up to with our Hello Spring Collection.

Liz

Welcome back to Day 4 of our Mother's Day Hello Spring Blog Swap with Petaloo International!

Today we have a beautiful gift box created by Biker Chick Greta Hammond that will be just perfect for that special gift for Mom! Here's Greta to tell you about it!

Hey everyone. I'm here to share a little project I made for LYB's swap with Petaloo Flowers. With it being so close to Mother's Day, I thought I would make a little gift box to hold that perfect little something for Mom.

I painted the edges of a heart shaped paper mache box white and then covered the sides and top with some Hello Spring papers. Next I pulled out some of these lovely Petaloo flowers arranged them on the top along side a Hello Spring journaling card, stickers and chipboard pieces.

I added a few paper spirals to give it a little whimsy and a few pearls to finish it off. Tuck some tissue paper inside the box and you are ready to add your favorite little gift for Mom inside!

Supplies:

HS-106 Bloom and Grow

HS-103 Spring Story

HS-109 Tuplip Linen

HS-140 Fresh Verse

HS-279 Chipboard Pieces

HS-1100 Tear Out Ticket and Journal Cards

Petaloo Mini Tye-dyed Daisies Fuschia #1309-017

Petaloo Flora Doodles

Petaloo Wild Roses Mulberry Street Yellow #1308-004

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Thanks Greta for this sweet little gift box! I think Mom just might love it more than what's inside!

Don't forget to leave a comment for your chance win a prize pack, and then hop on over to Petaloo's blog for some more inspiration!

Finally, don't forget to leave comments on LYB's Facebook Page and Petaloo's Facebook Page!

Have a crafty day!

~Peg

It's Day 3 in our blog swap with our friends over at Petaloo! Didn't you love yesterday's cards and gift card holders? Perfect for Mother's Day gift giving (or teacher gifts, birthday, or, really ... anything)!  Today, Biker Chick Robbie Herring is here to share a super cute 12X12 layout featuring (what else) Hello Spring and Petaloo flowers!

Here's Robbie to tell you about it!

___________________________

Isn't it great when you mix two companies together for a page?  Hearing that we were going to swap with Petaloo had me so excited and when I saw the Mulberry Daisies, I knew exacly which pictures and flowers that I was going to use!  The Hello Spring Collection is such a bright and fun collection and adding such happy flowers as daisies made for a perfect fit.

This page was primarily made with just embellishments.  Aside from the background and some punched cardstock for flower layers and leaves, there is no patterned paper here.  I chose to do this look because the pictures that I chose already had a strong floral element and I wanted to be sure to let them shine.  The white background of the Decorative Edge cardstock gives a great canvas to allow the embellishments to shine and still has the scalloped border to allow it to pull in all the colors easily.

Despite all of the things on this page, it's still surprisingly easy to pull together.  You can see that I just layered a few of the Tear-out Journal pieces to add different shapes and interest to this section. 

Tip:  Did you know that you can use an old fashioned glue stick to glue two punched flowers together to make them hold the shape?  Well you can!  It works like a charm!  Just shape your flower before the glue dries, let it dry and it will get stiff and hold its shape better. 

For this section, I just layered more of the adorable Petaloo flowers with some punched flowers.  I also tucked a section of the Little Yellow Bicycle Felt Flower partially behind the picture. 

I really love the look of mixed up and layered titles.  This one is alphabet stickers from the Fresh Verse package, mixed with the word happy from the Clear Cuts.  I added some tiny alphabets to complete the title.

This picture just shows more of the layering and that cute little fabric birdie.  I used a foam dot under the yellow flower to add more dimension in the cluster.  I also made a point to use the more pastel colors of the daisies here to keep from overwhelming the picture in this corner, but to still draw your eye to it.

As you can see, I loved working with the Hello Spring Collection and the Petaloo Flowers!  Thanks Petaloo for making so many terrific flowers and for sharing them with us!

Little Yellow Bicycle Supplies:

HS-122 12" x 12" Decorative Edge Textured Cardstock

HS-108 Teal Tweets/Green Grass Linen

HS-222 Felt & Fabric Flower Stickers (4 pieces)

HS-230 Clear Cut Shapes - with glitter accents (34 pieces)

HS-220 Fabric Favorites - self adhesive (14 pieces)

HS-277 Stick Pins (15 pieces)

HS-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse™ - with glitter and debossing (72 pieces)

HS-1100 Tear-out Ticket & Journaling Book - with glitter accents (24 pieces)

Petaloo Supplies:

Embossed MulberryPaper Daisies-Lavender

Embossed MulberryPaper Daisies-Yellow

Jeweled Florettes
Teal/Fusch/Chart/White
SKU: 1350-225    

Other:

Baker's Twine, Ribbon, Punches, Green and Orange Cardstock. 

_________________

Thanks for sharing this beautiful layout, Robbie! You can see more of Robbies great ideas by following this link to her blog!

Now hop on over to Petaloo's blog to continue the fun! And don't forget to leave a comment here, there, and everywhere (our Facebook page, their Facebook page) for a chance to win a great prize pack from LYB and Petaloo!

See you tomorrow!

~ Peg

Hello friends! I'm back for Day 2 of our Blog Swap Week with Hello Spring and Petaloo! Today I'll share some super cute gift card holders created by Biker Chick Heather Leopard. Don't forget to leave a comment here on the blog for a chance to win some fun goodies from Petaloo and LYB, and also head over to Petaloo's Blog for more inspiration from Petaloo's Design Team!

Here's Heather to tell you about her projects!

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Hi there. Heather here to show you a couple of Mother’s Day gift card boxes I made using the Hello Spring collection and Petaloo.  These two products work phenomenally together. 

I know some people prefer to buy gifts instead of gift cards but in my family, anything goes. I don’t mind receiving gift cards and I usually invite the person who gave it to me to join me when I go shopping so we can spend the time together. 

The actual gift cards these days are usually decorated with a great themed design but the card sleeves they come with are often too generic for my liking.  These are super easy to make and I think they add the perfect extra touch.

I created these small boxes by cutting them out the old fashioned way. No cartridge, just a template (you can get the template by clicking the link!), scissors and liquid glue.

After I cut them and glued them together, which took me less than 30 minutes, I embellished them with a bit of ribbon and Petaloo flowers & butterflies.  Can you see those butterflies??? They have a velvety finish to them and I adore them!

Next, I choose coordinating papers to hold the gift cards, making sure that the back side of the papers were light colored so that I can include a personal note.

Last, I added flowers to the inside cards and voila! Oh and I couldn’t stop making them.  These gift boxes don’t have to be limited to Mother’s Day. They can be for birthdays, Father’s day, Christmas, anything.  Actually, I made the 3^rd to give for a friend’s birthday. They also don’t have to be limited to gift cards – the possibilities are endless, so long as it can all fit in the box!

Thanks Little Yellow Bicycle and Petaloo!

Supplies:

HS-102 Garden Rows/Lilac Love

HS-103 Spring Story/Poppy Linen

HS-104 Flutterby/Sunshine Dots

HS-109 Pretty in Plaid/Tulip Linen

Petaloo Floral Embellishments – butterflies

Petaloo Mini Tie-dyed Daisies – Yellow, Item # 1309-004

Petaloo Mini Tie-dyed Daisies- Plum, Item # 1309-021

Petaloo Mini Tie-dyed Daisies – Fuschia, Item # 1309-017

Petaloo Mini Tie-dyed Daisies – Blue, Item # 1309-005

Petaloo Tie-Dyed Jewel Gypsies – Teal/Fusch/Chart/White

Petaloo Tie-Dyed Gypsies – Raspberry Sorbet

Petaloo Mini Florettes - Lt. Blue/Dk. Blue/Green

Petaloo Mini Florettes – Hula Mnky

_______________________

Thanks so much Heather ... what a fantastic idea! Who wouldn't feel special receiving a gift wrapped in one of these adorable boxes? I think they'd also be perfect for holding small jewelry items as well!

You can find more fun ideas from Heather over on her blog.

Now head on over to Petaloo's blog and leave a comment for another chance to win, and if you haven't already, go "like" their Facebook page, and tell them LYB sent you!

See you tomorrow with more bloomin' fun!

 ~ Peg

After a busy National Scrapbook Day weekend I'm pleased to keep the excitement and ideas flowing by kicking off a fun-filled Blog Swap week with our friends over at Petaloo International! All week long, we'll be featuring ideas for Mother's Day, with their fun-and-fabulous Petaloo Floradoodles and our bright-and-happy Hello Spring collection!

First up from the Biker Chicks is Tania Willis with some Petal-icious cards! After you finish over here, be sure to hop on over to the Petaloo Blog for some more fun ideas. Leave a comment every day in both places for your chance to win a prize pack filled with goodies from Petaloo and Hello Spring!

Finally, if you're not already a fan of Petaloo, head on over to their Facebook Page and tell them LYB sent you, for more chances to win!

And now....here's Tania!

Are you ready to kick off what will soon be an amazing week of us Biker Chicks marrying Hello Spring with a fantastic assortment of Petaloo’s flowers?  I know I am. Today I want to share a few cards that you can easily duplicate in just a matter of minutes. One of them looks like it took a bit more time than the other, but I assure you that you can make BOTH of these cards in just 30 minutes and that includes drying time on the misted one!

Are you ready?

For this card, you’ll need to cut one piece of raspberry pink cardstock to 7 x 10”. Fold in half and crease to form a 5 x 7” card base. Then cut a piece of white cardstock to 4” x 5 ½”. Lay the white cardstock on a 12 x 12 piece of chipboard or in a shallow box. Punch several small flowers using Fiskars Poppy Medium Lever Punch (or any other small flower punch you have) from a scrap piece of cardstock. Lay punched flowers, randomly spaced, onto the white cardstock.  Mist with Art-C Red Glitter Mist until you have your desired shade. I misted heavier toward the top to give my piece sort of an ombre appearance (that doesn’t really translate well in this photograph).  Allow your misted piece to dry, then lift from chipboard and discard punched flowers. Adhere, right-aligned, to card base.

Then punch a 1” x 7” strip of orange cardstock with your favorite border punch. Adhere to a 1” x7” strip of HS – 109 Pretty In Plaid.  Adhere to card base approximately ¼” from the left edge, slightly overlapping misted cardstock. Embellish with a butterfly from HS – 230 Clear Cut Shapes and several Petaloo flowers of various sizes. Add HS – 197 Jewel Stickers to the bodice of the butterfly. Then, finish off the card with the dimensional sentiment sticker from HS – 195 Dimensional Stickers and the “mom” sticker from HS – 140 Fresh Verse Stickers.

Supplies:

Rasberry Cardstock

Orange Cardstock

White Cardstock

HS – 109 Pretty In Plaid Patterned Paper

HS – 230 Clear Cut Shapes

HS – 197 Jewel Stickers

HS – 195 Dimensional Stickers

HS – 140 Fresh Verse Stickers

1313-019 Mulberry St – Embossed Daisies Chartreuse (Petaloo)

1350-210 Mini Florettes  Hula Mnky (Petaloo)

This second card is lightning quick to put together.  You’ll need to cut one piece of light blue cardstock to 8 ½ x 5 ½”. Fold in half and crease to form a 4 ¼ x 5 ½” card base. Cut a 4 ¼ x 5 ½” piece from the top of HS – 108 Teal Tweets paper and adhere to card base. Remove lavender journaling spot from HS – 1100 Tear Out Ticket Booklet. Adhere bird from HS -135 Favorite Pieces Stickers to lower left corner of ticket. Remove thin plastic backing from large white swirl from HS – 230 Clear Cut Shapes and adhere with a mini glue dot under the bird’s beak. Adhere journaling spot to card aligning closer to the left side of the card base. Use few mini glue dots to secure the swirl in obscure places. Add “dream” sticker form HS – 140 Fresh Verse Stickers. Finish embellishing with three Petaloo flowers from the Flora Doodles – Tie-Dyed Gypsies pack.

Supplies:

Light Blue Cardstock

HS – 108 Teal Tweets Patterned Paper

HS – 230 Clear Cut Shapes

HS – 140 Fresh Verse Stickers

HS – 135 Favorite Pieces Stickers

Flora Doodles Tie-Dyed Gypsies (Petaloo)

Thank you Petaloo!

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Thank YOU Biker Chick Tania Willis! For more from Tania, you can visit her blog by clicking this link!

Now head on over to Petaloo's blog for more fun and inspiration (and don't forget to leave a comment!)

Happy Crafting!

~Peg

Biker Chick Shanna Vineyard has a wonderful idea to share today with our Hello Spring collection.  This adorable frame would make a wonderful Mother's Day present, but we will let Shanna tell you all about it.

This was the perfect line to showcase this sweet spring photo of my baby girl.  I found a white frame with the mat included at my local craft store and went to work!  The first thing I did was use Sweet Pea Vine to cover the mat then used my cutting knife to trim the excess paper off leaving the center open for the photo of course.  I love to sand the edges of my papers.  It’s one of my favorite techniques to add a bit of a worn look or to take the brightness of something down a notch.  I sanded the edges of the Sweet Pea Vine paper as well as the blue, orange, and pink paper flowers.  It’s a subtle effect but I love how it turns out.  You can see the sanding best in the close-up photos.   

Next, I cut the edges of the Decorative Edge Cardstock off and glued them around the outer edges of the mat.  This adds a fun and colorful frame around the inside of the white wood frame.  Then, I gently lifted each one of the circles up so they would pop off the mat a bit for a little more texture.

Last,  I added the tag, butterfly, and layered the flowers from the Paper Flowers Kit. These add all the fun and happy details to the frame.   Another technique I use on MOST of my projects is using pop-dots to create dimension.  I’m a little obsessive about my creations looking dimensional.  Using pop-dots to make the flowers stand up off the matt adds more texture, dimension,  and in my opinion makes it a little more whimsical and FUN!!! 

Please visit Shanna's blog Art Made with Heart for more wonderful ideas from this talented Biker Chick.

Two day until National Scrapbook Day!  Hang in there.

Liz

We are more than excited about our newest collection Hello Spring and we will be bringing you inspirational ideas all month long.  Today our Biker Chicks would like to share some Two-Page Layout Ideas, because we are sure you probably have a lot of Spring or Easter photos in your stash that need to be scrapped.

Biker Chick Liz Qualman (me) created this more traditional two page layout to preserve the memory of this year's Easter Egg Hunt.  I did not want to cover up the beautiful pattern of flowers and birds on the bottom of the Teal Tweets patterned paper, so I planned most of the design from the middle of the paper and made the long strip of plaid paper as the anchor.  The wallet-sized photos were intentionally placed around the birds and flowers.  The felt flowers in this collection are really fun and I love how bright the clear cut shapes are in this collection.

Hello Spring Collection Products:

HS-108 Teal Tweets/Green Grass Linen

HS-109 Pretty in Plaid/Tulip Linen

HS-103 Spring Story/Poppy Linen

HS-133 6" x 6" Decorative Edge Double-sided Textured Cardstock - with glitter accents (5 pieces)

HS-279 Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (35 pieces)

HS-220 Fabric Favorites - self adhesive (14 pieces)

HS-222 Felt & Fabric Flower Stickers (4 pieces)

HS-230 Clear Cut Shapes - with glitter accents (34 pieces)

HS-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with glitter and embossing (50 pieces)

HS-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse™ - with glitter and debossing (72 pieces)

HS-1100 Tear-out Ticket & Journaling Book - with glitter accents (24 pieces)

Biker Chick Corrie Jones created this fresh take on a 2 Page Layout about a day picking strawberries.  The colors in this collection are beautifully coordinated to allow almost any combination and still end up with a great design.

Hello Spring Collection Products:

HS-104 Flutterby/Sunshine Dots

HS-106 Bloom & Grow/Sweet Pea Vine

HS-279 Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (35 pieces)

HS-122 12" x 12" Decorative Edge Textured Cardstock

HS-230 Clear Cut Shapes - with glitter accents (34 pieces)

HS-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with glitter and embossing (50 pieces)

HS-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse™ - with glitter and debossing (72 pieces)

HS-1100 Tear-out Ticket & Journaling Book - with glitter accents (24 pieces)
Clear Cut Shapes

HS-304 6" x 6" Paper Pad (24 pieces)

Biker Chick Heather Leopard created this adorable two page project with the collection signature paper.  So many fun elements to embellish the project.  We also love how Heather, like Corrie paired two different background papers together for the project.

Tip from Heather: "When I am creating a layout I like to add at least one element that enhances the original product design.  In this case, I stitched over the tree trunk in a slightly lighter shade of brown. I started by machine sewing a heart on the trunk and then stitched around it and through the branches.  I think it offers a slightly more realistic edge to it."

Hello Spring Collection Products:

HS-101 Blossom Breeze - single-sided with glitter accents

HS-109 Pretty in Plaid/Tulip Linen

HS-106 Bloom & Grow/Sweet Pea Vine

HS-133 6" x 6" Decorative Edge Double-sided Textured Cardstock - with glitter accents (5 pieces)

HS-230 Clear Cut Shapes - with glitter accents (34 pieces)

HS-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with glitter and embossing (50 pieces)

HS-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse™ - with glitter and debossing (72 pieces)

HS-1100 Tear-out Ticket & Journaling Book - with glitter accents (24 pieces)

We would love to see some fun 2 page projects from our fans.  Please share them on our Facebook Page.

Happy Crafting!

Liz

We have another fun Training Reel with Biker Chick Tania Willis.  She is working with our NEW Canvas Album and Hello Spring Collection and some wonderful mixed media elements to share in her video.

This album has such a fun feel to it with the bright colors from our Hello Spring Collection and the paint that Tania added to the canvas.  It makes such a wonderful gift idea, especially for Mother's Day.

Tania made a point to use our Hello Spring Clear Cut Shapes on her project and there is a tip in the video on how to make them stand out on a project.

This is how Tania prepared all of her pages for the album with paint before she added photos and embellishments.

Close up of Tania's first page.  You can watch the video or visit her blog Whachu Talkin' bout Willis for more details about this project.

Please download detailed instructions for Tania's project below.

Download Hello Spring Canvas Mini Album Instructions by Tania Willis

Happy Tuesday!

Liz

We are so pleased to feature a fun wedding project from another of our new Biker Chicks, Jenny Chesnick.  She is going to give you some great ideas with our Swoon collection, but let's have her tell you all about it...

Hi everyone Jen here with you today featuring the new Swoon collection!  It seems our wedding photos are always the last to be scrapped.  I've been married for five years and have still not put them on paper! So in an effort to further avoid that I decided to make a gift for my friend Rachael and her husband JR who were married last year.  I had three very inexpensive canvases sitting in my altered bin and decided to go with a nice wall piece for them. 

Each canvas is 8x8 so that made things easy for me!  I chose to look at each canvas as its own layout keeping in mind they all needed to go together.  I used the 6x6 decorative edge paper to be the base of each canvas. On the left and right canvas I decided to keep the basic layout of each the same and kept the embellishing to the sides of each canvas to anchor them.  For the middle canvas I kept the embellishing to the center to create the basic focal point.

A couple tips when working with altered items.  To attach my paper to canvas I used a high tac liquid craft glue.  Hot glue will warp your paper so keep that in mind!  Once you have your base paper attached you should be good to go with normal adhesive. 

For the embellishments I typically will either use the same craft glue or hot glue.  I am forever worried about an embellishment falling off after someone receives it!

To keep items such as the pin flags from sticking forever to the photos I will first line them with paper, cut them out and attach using pop dots.

Supplies Products:

SW-105 Paisley Smitten/Unveiled
SW-108 Black Tie Stripe/Special Day
SW-103 Truly Smitten - single-sided with foil accents
SW-279 Chipboard Shapes (30 pieces)
SW-133 6" x 6" Decorative Edge Double-sided Textured Cardstock - with foil accents (5 pieces)
SW-305 Paper Flower Kit (57 pieces)
SW-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse™ - with thermography and embossing (72 pieces)
SW-195 Dimensional Stickers (9 pieces)
SW-197 Pearl & Jewel Stickers (60 pieces)
SW-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with foil accents (22 pieces)

Please visit Jenny's blog Say Chez for more ideas and inspiration.

Please have a wonderful and crafty weekend!

Liz

Our Biker Chicks have been very, very busy creating some special project ideas for handmade wedding gifts for the bride and groom.  We wanted to show you that there are many ways you can use our gorgeous Swoon collection to alter items.  Let's have Biker Chicks Corrie, Robbie and Tania tell you all about it.

Biker Chick Corrie Jones created this stationary gift set for the wedding couple.  It includes two custom pencils, 4 small note cards, 1 matchbook style notepad and a wedding journal.

Swoon Products:

Paisley Smitten Paper
Paisley Entwined Paper
Black Tie Stripe Paper
Kiss the Bride Paper
Chipboard Shapes
Journaling Cards
Clear Cut Shapes
Cardstock Stickers
Dimensional Stickers
Pearl & Jewel Stickers
Stick Pins

Please visit Corrie's blog You, Me & Crazy for more inspiring ideas.

Biker Chick Robbie Herring created this is a paper mache book box.  She altered it for a place to keep momentos from a wedding.  It is the perfect size to put an invitation, garter, flowers, or any of those other special things from a wedding all in one place.

Tip:  Cover both the inside and outside of the book box.  Measure carefully and do each section individually.  For the sides, cut paper 1/2 inch longer than the measure length and overlap the flat areas.  Attach the rectangles in large areas last to cover overlap.  Try to get as close as possible to actual measurements.  Using a scoring tool makes the folding easier.  Finally, if you have a bit of a gap, use trim to cover it.

Tip 2:  Use Mod Podge to attach and cover all paper surfaces.  After you attach the clear stickers, put a layer of Mod Podge over them, too.  Using Mod Podge on your flowers will stiffen them up and make them easy to dust.  :)

Tip 3:  On the inside cover, you can attach a journaling card to cover the end of the ribbon.  This will make an easy place to fill with the names and the date of the wedding.

Swoon Products:

SW-104 Kiss the Bride/Kiss the Groom
SW-107 Paisley Entwined/Eternal Circles
SW-108 Black Tie Stripe/Special Day
SW-109 Wedding Words/Modern Elegance
SW-133 6" x 6" Decorative Edge Double-sided Textured Cardstock - with foil accents (5 pieces)
SW-134 Journaling Cards - with thermography (10 pieces)
SW-230 Clear Cut Shapes - with glitter accents (21 pieces)
SW-195 Dimensional Stickers (9 pieces)
SW-220 Fabric Favorites - self adhesive (28 pieces)
SW-305 Paper Flower Kit (57 pieces)
Deja Veiws HL-185 Baby Boy Clear Word Stickers
Other:  Silver bead trim and silver heart charm

Please visit Robbie's blog Just the Scrap for more tips and ideas.

Biker Chick Tania Willis created this romantic idea for a bride and her groom.  But let's have Tania tell you all about it...

I decided I wanted to put together a little album of sorts for the bride to be able to write love notes to her love.  While the bride is welcome to use it how she sees fit, the album can be gifted with a note to the bride instructing her to take a few moments of quiet time each week, during her first year of marriage, to reflect on all the qualities she adores in her groom and then gift him with these notes of love on their first wedding anniversary. It becomes somewhat of an open love letter to her groom. Since the album, constructed from a few core pieces from chipboard album kit, is bound together with extra large book rings, this album can be something that can be added to for years and years to come.

The inside cardstock pages are simply cut to a measurement of 3 ¼” x 8” using a contrasting, yet coordinating, color of cardstock.  I can’t even imagine what a treasure something like this would be for children and grandchildren to stumble upon in years to come. The thought of it excites me!

Swoon Products:

SW – 104 Kiss the Groom Patterned Paper

SW – 107 Eternal Circles

SW – 279 Chipboard Shapes

SW – 305 Paper Flower Kit

SW – 134 Journaling Cards

SW – 140 Fresh Verse Cardstock Stickers

SW – 197 Pearl & Jewel Stickers

LYB – 104 9x5 Chipboard Album

Please visit Tania's blog Whachu Talkin' Bout Willis for more amazing ideas from her.

Thank you so much for joining us today on the blog!

Liz

We have some fun pages to share from our Biker Chicks with our Swoon collection.  We want to show you how you can use the collection for a traditional wedding page to something much more practical and everyday.  We have eached used papers and embellishments in common, but the themes of our pages are drastically different...

Biker Chick Liz Qualman (me) worked on a traditional page of getting ceremony and wedding party photos scrapped on the same page.  I also added a photo of my husband and I signing the marriage certificate to "seal the deal."  I love the foiling on this background paper with the "Happily Ever After" banner and wanted to make sure that I did not cover it up, so I blocked my photos in a square pattern below the sentiment.  The pop of color from the photos really stands out nicely from this creamy monotone collection.

I wanted to tie the green colors from my wedding party into the page, so I added some green velvet floss from RG to my page.  I used my Martha Stewart Cherish punch to create the border and since it already has tiny holes punched into the border, it was easy to add the stitching.

Swoon Products:

SW-102 Happily Ever After - single-sided with foil accents

SW-109 Wedding Words/Modern Elegance

SW-104 Kiss the Bride/Kiss the Groom

SW-279 Chipboard Shapes (30 pieces)

SW-134 Journaling Cards - with thermography (10 pieces)

SW-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse™ - with thermography and embossing (72 pieces)

SW-195 Dimensional Stickers (9 pieces)

SW-197 Pearl & Jewel Stickers (60 pieces)

Biker Chick Vicki Boutin took the same "Happily Ever After" sentiment and created a fun, child-focused page where the subject is playing dress up.  The chipboard pieces work very well with the idea for this page and the addition of the black and white photo provides an "old timey" twist to this contemporary photo.

Swoon Products:

SW-102 Happily Ever After - single-sided with foil accents

SW-106 Wedding March/Elopement

SW-109 Wedding Words/Modern Elegance

SW-104 Kiss the Bride/Kiss the Groom

SW-279 Chipboard Shapes (30 pieces)

SW-195 Dimensional Stickers (9 pieces)

SW-197 Pearl & Jewel Stickers (60 pieces)

SW - 277 Stick Pins (15 Pieces)

Biker Chick Greta Hammond also worked with the child-focused theme, but with the very elegant and regal event of her daughter's piano recital.  She said the music sheet paper made her think of the photos and the striped patterned paper made her think of piano keys.  It is such a great background for the pop of red in her photos. Greta also used the same music paper as Vicki.


Greta added a fun layered cluster of journal cards, chipboard and dimensional stickers.

Swoon Products:

SW-106 Wedding March/Elopement

SW-109 Wedding Words/Modern Elegance

SW-108 Black Tie Stripe/Special Day

SW-279 Chipboard Shapes (30 pieces)

SW-134 Journaling Cards - with thermography (10 pieces)

SW-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse™ - with thermography and embossing (72 pieces)

SW-195 Dimensional Stickers (9 pieces)

SW-197 Pearl & Jewel Stickers (60 pieces)

SW-220 Fabric Favorites - self adhesive (28 pieces)

Hope you have some ideas on how to stretch your gorgeous wedding collection into themes beyond the obvious.

Have a very crafty day!

Liz

We have a new Training Reel to share from Biker Chick Tania Willis with our Swoon collection and she wants to challenge you with an idea in her video.   We will provide 3 lucky winners a $25 prize pack.

Tania has created this gorgeous wedding page with our Swoon collection.  Please see her video for details and a challenge for you to try that might land you a Little Yellow Bicycle Prize Pack.

Swoon Training Reel

Download instructions for this page below.

Download Mr. & Mrs. Layout by Tania Willis

Tania's CHALLENGE: 6 x 6 Decorative Edge Cardstock
Use any of our 6x6 Decorative Edge Cardstock from ANY of our collections with one of the two ideas presented in the video.  You can spin the ideas any way you want.  Load your project to our Facebook Wall or email it to lizq@cthruruler.com with 6 x 6 Decorative Edge Cardstock Challenge in the subject line.

Submit your challenge idea by May 15th.  We will choose 3 winners to receive a $25 prize pack and feature your project on our blog.  Load your project to our Facebook Wall or email it to lizq@cthruruler.com with 6 x 6 Decorative Edge Cardstock Challenge in the subject line.

Please visit Tania's blog What' Chu Talkin' Bout Willis for more of her wonderful ideas.  We look forward to seeing your project ideas.

Liz

Our Biker Chicks have been busy with our Swoon collection and for the rest of the month on Wednesdays and Thursdays we will have project ideas from our talented team.  Today Biker Chicks Shanna Vineyard, Jenny Chesnick and Heather Leopard have some amazing card ideas to share...

I Do Gift Card Pocket Card by Biker Chick Shanna Vineyard
 
Swoon Supplies:
 
6x6 paper pad
Chipboard Shapes
Fabric Favorites
Stick Pins
 
This is a fun way to give a gift card or money to a newly married couple on their special day!
Create a pocket on the front of your card then machine stitch around the edges to keep it secure.
Add your favorite Swoon embellies, a personalized message inside and you're ready to make some newlyweds smile!

Mr. & Mrs. card by Biker Chick Shanna Vineyard
 
Swoon Supplies:
 
6x6 paper pad
Chipboard Shapes
Decorative Edge Cardstock
Dimensional Stickers
Pearl & Jewel Stickers
 
When using the Decorative Edge Cardstock products the possibilities are endless.  I trimmed this one down to fit the spacing I needed for this card. Then layered up some other awesome Swoon goodies to complete this simple but effective greeting. 

Wedding Card by Biker Chick Jenny Chesnick

For wedding cards I prefer to use a larger size card.  So for this card I cut my paper at 5x10 and scored the ends at 2.5" to create the tri-fold.  I used 3D foam squares to attach my sentiment to one side leaving room for the twine to hold the card together

Swoon Supplies:

SW-106 Wedding March/Elopement
SW-133 6" x 6" Decorative Edge Double-sided Textured Cardstock - with foil accents (5 pieces)
SW-134 Journaling Cards - with thermography (10 pieces)
SW-195 Dimensional Stickers (9 pieces)

2 Families Unite Card by Biker Chick Heather Leopard

To make this card I punched strips of paper about ¾” wide by 4 ¼” long. Starting at the bottom of the car, I layered each strip over the other to make an elegant lacey effect. I layered ribbon and a sentiment to keep the rest of the card simple.

Swoon Supplies:

6x6 Paper Pad
Dimensional Stickers
Misc Ribbon
Martha Stewart Scallop Punch

My Heart Belongs to You Card by Biker Chick Heather Leopard

I just love the gold and pearl-like pins and I wanted to make them a dominant part of my card. I kept looking at them thinking about how love can really blossom and grow, like flowers. The paper I used reminded me of a garden trellis so I actually kept the pins in the foam packaging so they would give a popped up effect and positioned them to look like flowers growing in the garden. I chose the sentiment, which includes the same trellis-like details and I think this card would be fitting for a wedding or an anniversary.
 
Swoon Supplies:

6x6 Paper Pad
Cardstock Stickers
Stick Pins and the foam packaging
May Arts Ribbon
Pop Dots

Check back tomorrow for a Swoon project from Biker Chick Robbie Herring.

Have a wonderful day!

Liz

We are very pleased to present another Training Reel from Biker Chick Tania Willis.  She did an amazing job with our Saturdays collection on her funky album.  Please be sure to watch Tania's video below and download her detailed step by step instructions on how to create this project that would make a perfect home décor item or gift idea.

That Clear Cut Bicycle Shape is perfection.

The little pops of red in this collection really compliment the denim and light blue colors.

 
Like most of our collections, Saturdays comes with some fun stick pins.

Dimensional butterfly stickers and felt flowers add some wonderful texture.



Even the Favorite Pieces cardstock stickers are lovely additions to a project.

Please see Tania's extensive and detailed Instructions below.

Download Saturdays Funky Accordion Album Instructions by Tania Willis

We hope you find some great inspiration from this project!  Have a fantastic and creative week!

Liz

We have a fun and inspirational project to share from Biker Chick Vicki Boutin.  She used our NEW Swoon collection, but we want Vicki to tell you all about it...

I absolutely love SWOON!!  It is a traditional wedding line with beautiful satin finishes and the patterns on the papers are so gorgeous!  The other thing I love about swoon is the monochromatic colour palette!  What a perfect line to go with ANY wedding or anniversary photos but then you can simply throw any colour in to personalize it to fit your wedding colours.  With that being said, I went in a totally different direction!!!  I chose to play up the neutral palette and then "POP" up a play on colour!!!  Here is the page…

I layered all of those gorgeous greys, whites and blacks to create a base.  The decorative edge paper, glitter clear cuts, paper flowers and stickers.  Then I did something I LOVE to do with vibrant coloured photos…I matched them with a neutral palette.  The result was photos that pop off the page instead of competing with the colours on the page.  They work well together.

I layered the glitter clear cuts and flowers on the page and then added the colour.  I created a circle mask slightly smaller than the flower, layered it right on the page and misted through it with the orange spray ink.

I like that the colour accents the neutral base rather than over powering it.  Fun!  And you have to look at this font up close…

I LOVE these letters!!!!

Thank you for the ideas and tips Vicki.  Please visit Vicki's blog for more ideas and a peek at her new book called Creative Foundations.  As you can see, she is full of fresh ideas.

Have a wonderful day!

Liz

Biker Chick Tania Willis shares some gorgeous projects with our Paradise Collection.  Please look closely at the detail Tania has added to her pages with some of our many embellishments.  She is a master at the little things that really pull a project together, but we'll let Tania tell you all about it.

Be You Layout by Tania Willis



The Paradise Collection pretty much scraps itself, don't you agree? I love how the bright pops of
magenta contrast against the light wash of aqua. In this layout I wanted to include a wide variety of
embellishments yet keep it looking like there aren't many extras added. The subtle tones and patterns
with the soft greens and aqua colors really help add texture and dimension without visual bulk. Of
course, I couldn't resist making a huge statement with flowers made from the Paper Flower Kit. But
the embellishment that has stolen my heart from this collection? That would be the confetti garland.
Happy Sigh.

Paradise Layout by Tania Willis

For this layout, I wanted to keep a strong vertical presence to the layout and feel I accomplished that by
right-aligning the photo and the majority of the embellishments. I first adhered my photo and then built
layers above and below. Sprinkling & layering small clusters of embellishments on the left side of the
layout helped to balance out the weight on the right.

Even though there are lots of layers of stickers & embellishments, I've used the magenta patterned
paper to create a visual triangle by adding small bits of border punched paper.

I love how seamlessly the journaling blends in with the embellishments since it was typed directly onto
the patterned paper & a ticket stub from the tear out ticket book.

In the cluster of clouds, I hand cut a cloud from a glittered foam to a different texture and dimension to
the mix of chipboard and clear cut shapes.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Liz

We are so excited to bring our Training Reels with Biker Chick Tania Willis back.  Needless to say with all the Winter CHA Show hubub, we are a bit behind in some of our regular features.  Tania has a wonderful and creative page project, using our Paradise Collection to share with you, plus some exclusive tips in her Training Reel, be sure to take a look.

We Are Family page by Tania Willis featuring our beautiful Paradise collection.

Little Yellow Bicycle Paper Flower Kits are so versatile and so easy to use.  Tania really added some fun elements to her page with both the chipboard and paper flowers, not to mention the confetti!

So many beautiful details on this page.  I think I might get out my small circle punch! The effect that Tania added is brilliant!

Download the instructions below.

Download Twillis_PD_We Are Family Layout Instructions PDF

Please visit Tania's blog Whatchu Talkin' bout Willis? for more daily inspiration from her.

Have a wonderfully creative day!

Liz

Take Your Imagination for a Ride!

You are not imagining this... Little Yellow Bicycle is excited to announce its first ever Biker Chick Design Team Call.

What we are looking for:

As one of the paper crafting industry's premier manufacturers, Little Yellow Bicycle is known for the quality of our products and the breadth of our product lines. Each of our collections features a wide array of high-quality patterned cardstock papers and 12-20 assorted coordinated embellishments.  Knowing this about us, we are looking for professional designers who are enthralled with our brand and who are capable of:

* Commiting to a 12-month term from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013

* Completing 2 projects a month

* Completing projects for trade shows and catalogs

* Creating striking, realistic projects with prototype materials

* Taking professional photos suitable for marketing needs (e.g. catalogs, email blasts, publications, etc.)

* Participating in blog hops, swaps and or special events

* Participating in our Design Team Group

* Using social networking forums to promote Little Yellow Bicycle (e.g. personal blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.)

What you can expect from us:

We think we have one of the best design team programs in the industry and not only do we compensate our designers, but have a lot of product to share (please see our extensive collections).

* Generous amounts of Little Yellow Bicycle product

* Product from our cross-promotion partners

* Compensation for projects

* Name and bio on our blog

* Link to personal blog

If you are interested in riding with us, please send your application with the following information to designteam@cthruruler.com by midnight on Sunday, March 18th. 

* Name
* Address
* Blog link
* Multiple photos of 3-5 of your best projects that represent your style including an example of each of the following: layout, card, and altered project

Answers to the following questions:

1. Why do you want to ride with us?
2. Have you ever worked with prototype materials? If so please include a photo.
3. Are you currently on any other design teams?
4. Are you able to commit approximately 8 hours per month to our design team, with a heavier time commitment in January and June (pre trade show months)?

We plan to announce the new team on April 1st.

NOTE: We are also looking for Guest Designers for the remainder of 2012 and of course we will continue to call for Cycling Team Members for each collection.  There are a lot of opportunities at Little Yellow Bicycle this year!

We look forward to the possibility of riding with you!

Sincerely,

Liz Qualman

Design Team Coordinator

Ready for another sketch challenge?  We can't rightly wrap up that last challenge without starting a new one.  We mentioned that Little Yellow Bicycle had some exciting things in store for 2012 and one of the things we are committed to is some kind of challenge to keep our fans busy each month.  We know a lot of people like to use sketches, but it would be awesome if you could tell us if there are other challenges you would like to participate in?  Just leave us a quick comment with some ideas and we will start thinking about how to make it happen. 

With many of our collections, we include Tear Out Ticket journaling cards, which is one of the focal elements on this sketch, but we also love to see how our fans use our paper flower kits.  Each of our examples include some of those elements with a few special twists on Little Yellow Bicycle products.

I love how the Saturdays collection can easily be used for either gender, but I keep channeling masculine pages. I just love the pops of red in this collection and how it is grounded in blues and browns, which I think are perfect for stuff that guys like to do.  This is my husband and our son hiking, and then a smaller picture of our campsite. I also happen to be enthralled with velvet embroidery floss, because the texture is so rich and soft.  Please come check out my blog for more detailed photos of this page - My Little Sketch Blook.

But wait...look at how Cycling Team Member Robbie Herring interpreted the sketch with a very feminine page using our Saturdays collection.  She combined both our paper flower kit with our felt flowers for a really beautiful and eye catching page!  Love how Robbie dressed up her banners with a bit of baker's twine.  Please visit her blog Just the Scrap for more details.

Cycling Team Member Kristine Berc really pushed the boundaries of the sketch using our Paradise collection.  Instead of the stitched border, she incorporated a "homemade" die cut paper and then concentrated the paper flowers in one area on her layout.  She also added one of the smaller Tear Out Tickets on her page. Please visit Kristine's blog A Stash of Pretty Paper for more details.

Cycling Team Member Heather Leopard also used our Paradise collection to make her version of the sketch. She incorporated a number of the Tear Out Tickets on her page and then used our paper flowers to make her own prize ribbon.  What a clever idea!  Please visit Heather's blog The Spotted Leopard for more details.

We cannot wait to see what you do with the sketch this month.

Here's the rules:

1.  You may use the sketch any way you please (turn it upside down, on its side, or use it as is).

2.  You must use at least 75% Little Yellow Bicycle product, from ANY of our collections (We like to see the new stuff, but we have so many great collections, that we basically just like to see our stuff).

3.  Your work must be your own! ;)

Here's how to enter:

1. You may enter by posting your layout to LYB's Facebook Page - please post it in the Album titled "February/March Sketch Challenge". 

2. If you're not a Facebook user, you still may enter, by emailing a photo of your entry to lizq@cthruruler.com. Please include your mailing address - so we have it in case you win!

3.  All entries must be received by midnight EST on Saturday, March 24, 2012.

Here's the fun part ... the prizes!

1.  We will select THREE finalists. All of the finalists will win a prize.

2.  We will post the finalists to our Facebook Page and Blog for you to VOTE on your favorites.

3.  You'll have a week to vote (one vote per person).

4.  The grand prize winner will win $50 in LYB product. The runners up will each receive $25 in LYB product!

**Due to shipping costs, prizes may vary depending on where you are in the world.

Cannot wait to see what you all create.  We will be back tomorrow with another project from our Saturdays Guest Designer Corrie Jones - stay tuned!

Liz

The title is a combination of Wonder & Wishes corrugated letters, My Little Shoebox Mini Alphabet Stickers and Saturdays Chipboard Pieces.  I also added a bit of bakers twine from The Twinery for some added dimension and color.  It's fun to add in the pops of red against the denim, brown and cream.

Like most of the Little Yellow Bicycle Collections, there is a Paper Flower Kit with this one too.  The detailing on the flowers is really pretty and they even look good on a masculine page.  I added a bit of sparkle with the jewel stickers and tucked a piece of chipboard behind the flower for an extra sentiment.

We are very much "in love" with our Swoon Collection.  We hope that you love it as much as we do and can picture all of your wedding, prom, and anniversay photos embellished with our collection.  Please come Swoon over this collection with us and if you would like to ride along with our newest Cycling Team, please send us an application.

Swoon Cycling Team Call

 Come Ride with Us!

Here's what we're looking for:

With each new collection we like to invite a few new designers (about 3-5 per collection) to come design for us.  We ask Cycling Team members to commit to a month of designing after the collection is released. In return, we'll send you some free product and shamelessly promote you along with ourselves on our blog and facebook page.  Read the details below:

1) Make at least one project with what we send you - a layout, some cards, a mini album, an altered item...whatever makes you happy!

2) Send us some pictures of it, and a little write-up or how-to of how you created it.

3) Post it on your blog, facebook page and any online galleries you belong to. We'll put it here on our blog too, of course!

That's it!

Tryouts for this team are starting RIGHT NOW!

If you are interested, please send us three (3) samples of your best work (preferably with LYB products because that is what we like to look at most, however it's not a deal breaker if you send something else) to LYBCyclingTeam@yahoo.com.  Also, if you have previously designed for a Cycling Team, please feel free to apply again!  We'll announce the NEW Swoon Cycling Team on February 28th.  Please include your contact information (address, phone and blog) in your email.

And then we'll ask you to hop on that Little Yellow Bicycle and pedal your heart out!

Hope to hear from you!

Liz

We have a wonderful project from Biker Chick Vicki Boutin.  She has such a creative idea for our Satrudays Decorative Edge Cardstock. This collection is shipping to stores now, so be sure to look for it at your nearest scrapbook store.

One of my favorite Little Yellow Bicycle products is the 6 x 6 Decorative Edge Double Sided Cardstock shapes.

I love these pieces!!!  They are great on cards, layouts and especially for quick minibooks.  When I opened my box full of the Saturdays collection, I knew I had to make a minibook for sure!!!  The elements in this line are absolutely beautiful and the color palette is so versatile.  Here is the book I made and filled with family photos…

The chipboard bits and stickers make great additions to the 6 x 6 pages.  Here are the interior pages.

I hope you enjoy this pretty little book and are inspired to make one, too.  I love the Saturdays Collection and can’t wait to hear what you think of it, too!!!

Thank you for joining us today!  Please visit Vicki's blog for more ideas from her.

Have a wonderful day -

Liz

How about some ideas for using Little Bicycle Products in your everyday albums?  Biker Chick Tania Willis has been working on her Project Life pages with LYB's gorgeous Saturdays collection.

Hello, Little Yellow Bicycle fans!

I, like a whole multitude of scrapbookers, have decided that this is the year I will tackle Project Life.  Not long ago, I made the decision to start out my project by purchasing a Core Kit---choosing the Cobalt design.

When first starting to populate the divided page protectors with photos and journaling cards I was disappointed at how visually flat everything looked. It didn’t take long for me to realize I wasn’t going to be satisfied with just photos and words on lined journaling cards.  I decided I still want all the layers and the look of dimension, just without all the bulk of my typical layouts.

So what does all that have to do with Little Yellow Bicycle?

Well, in order to add layers and visual dimension without the bulk I will be combining my Cobalt Core Kit along with some of my favorite Little Yellow Bicycle products---the Favorite Pieces & Fresh Verse sticker sheets, Patterned Papers, Tear-Out Ticket Booklets, and Clear Cut Shapes.

For Week 1, I noticed lots of beige tones along with pops of red and blue in my photos, so I decided to spice up my Core Kit pieces by pulling from the brand-new Saturdays collection.  The colors went together beautifully!

Here’s a look at the whole week together.

Now that you’ve seen the whole spread, let’s take a closer look at each side and how I was able to blend the Saturdays embellishments in without being so blatantly obvious. We’ll look at the left side of the page first.

In the overall view you can see that I tried to balance color in both the product usage and the photos so it is visually appealing.  When in doubt, scan your Little Yellow Bicycle products for neutrals like beige, cream or white tones.  These neutral colors help add visual interest, but not visual weight allowing the eyes to rest.

You can see in the image above how I added both a Fresh Verse sticker and a Clear Cut Shape, both in neutral tones to add interest to the photo without adding visual bulk.

As you’ve seen throughout all the collections Little Yellow Bicycle has released, there are always some lovely tone on tone patterns that work well outside of their intended collections.  Those are the types of papers I plan on using in the upper left corner from one week to the next.

Bits and pieces from the sticker sheets, ticket books and clear cut shapes packs are the perfect products to pull from to spice up your lined journaling cards.  You can see a little closer detail on how I’ve done that in this photo.  At the top of the photo you see the “take it easy” chipboard piece.  For some of these thicker/bulkier pieces, I am inserting the photo into the protector, and then attaching the chipboard on the outside of the protector.  That way I’m assured that the bulk isn’t going to cause a weak seam within that pocket.

Okay, let’s move to the right side details.  Here’s a closer look at the right side all together.

And let’s take a closer look at the Saturdays product in action.

Just because an embellishment is layered and dimensional in the original packaging doesn’t mean you have to totally discount it for use in your Project Life album….or any other project you want to make less dimensional for that matter.  With just a few minor alterations, you can make a layered piece flat; such as I did with this “today” banner ribbon.  It was originally sandwiched with two layers of foam, so I simply pulled apart the layers, removed the dimensional foam and reassembled it together with a thin glue dot.  Then, I even cut the banner short, removing the phrase as you see here.  The phrase is still intact and ready to use on another project.

On the photo above I could have just as easily left it plain with nothing on it, but a few little Fresh Verse stickers add just the right amount of detail.  I love that the Fresh Verse stickers always have a handful of generic phrases and words, regardless of which collection they are for, making them perfect for Project Life

When deciding on how to layer products for this spread I made to sure look specifically for empty space within the photos.  If you go back and scan through all the detail shots in this post you’ll see what I mean by that, but I think in the photo above it’s most obvious.  By embellishing the empty space you are simply covering space that has no meaning to the overall photo or memory you wish to retain.

So whether you’re on the Project Life bandwagon or just doing your own thing, I hope you’ve found the details of my Project Life:Week 1 useful for how to stretch the use of your Little Yellow Bicycle products!

Confused about Project Life?  Start here. (insert hyperlink: http://beckyhiggins.com/products/

Looking for more projects & tutorials by me?  Be sure to visit me on my blog!

(insert blog link: http://www.throughtrialsiambeingpurified.blogspot.com)

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Liz

Have you ever put together one of our mini albums?  One of the things I LOVE about Little Yellow Bicycle is the thoughtful and easy to create mini albums that we have to offer. They have everything you need to create the album.  BUT they leave plenty of room for a few more of our embellishments like Chipboard Shapes, Favorites Pieces, Fresh Verse Stickers, Stick Pins, Jewel Stickers and Paper Flower Kits - basically anthing you would like to add.

We have Chipboard Albums with the patterned papers sized to fit the shaped ablums like this one from our Wonder & Wishes Collection.

We have Envleope Albums that can be put together in a jiff like this one from our Tiny Princess Collection.

AND we have what we call Medley Albums like the one Biker Chick Renée Foss is sharing today from our Winter Twig Collection.

So let's take a look at how Renée put together this adorable Medley Album Kit.  She also has some details instructions attached at the end of this post.

It's really fun how the pages of this album are layered so you can get a sneak peek of some of the pages beyond the cover.  The layers also made it possible for Renée to add more of the paper snowflakes from our kit to multiple pages without making the album too bulky.

This is a close up of one of our Chipboard Shapes with Glitter paired with one of the Jewel Stickers.  Doesn't it just shimmer?

This is a close up of what the Chipboard Shapes look like layered with the Clear Cut Shapes and Jewel Stickers.

This is such a wonderfully chilly collection that mixes so perfectly with the woody brown color.  Please check out Renée's detailed instructions to create this adorable Medley Album.

Download Winter twig medley album instructions

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  We have a NEW guest designer to share tomorrow.  Who is it you say...  Sorry, you will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day!

Liz

Today we wanted to share a couple of projects from the mastermind bedhind the Saturdays collection.  Sharon Ann Kropp is Little Yellow Bicycle's Creative Director and a very BIG reason all of the collections have so many beautiful papers and creative embellishment ideas.  Sharon is also quite a crafter and took some time to work on a page and a card with her gorgeous collection.

Sharon emphasized the 5 Things Envelopes on this page.  She also added some beautiful fibers to the project with lace and twine, which really ground the very pretty reds, blues and creams in the collection.

On her card, Sharon added a beautiful dimensional butterfly sticker which pops against the denim patterned paper. Again she used some natural fiber to compliment her project.  Love how soft the feel is to this card.

I don't know about you, but I may have just added another favorite collection to my list.  Who doesn' like denim - right?

We also want to remind you that we are still accepting applications for our Saturdays Cycling Team.  So if you want to play with this gorgeous collection, be sure to send an email to LYBCyclingTeam@yahoo.com.  You can also see more details in this post HERE.

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful upcoming SATURDAY!

Liz

CHA is only a few weeks away and our design team of Biker Chicks has been really busy.  Wait until you see this gorgeous collection from Sharon in person.  It is the perfect mix of casual flair with denim and lace tied up together in a beautiful mix called Saturdays.  Check out the projects from the Biker Chicks and then decide for yourself if you would like to take a spin with the Saturdays Cycling Team.

Saturdays Paper Flower Kit

Page by Biker Chick Greta Hammond

Saturdays Medley Album by Biker Chick Greta Hammond

Saturdays Page by Biker Chick Vicki Boutin

Sarturdays Date Night Pocket Card by Biker Chick Liz Qualman

Saturdays Cycling Team Call

 Come Ride with Us!

Here's what we're looking for:

With each new collection we like to invite a few new designers (about 3-5 per collection) to come design for us.  We ask Cycling Team members to commit to a month of designing after the collection is released. In return, we'll send you some free product and shamelessly promote you along with ourselves on our blog and facebook page.  Read the details below:

1) Make at least one project with what we send you - a layout, some cards, a mini album, an altered item...whatever makes you happy!

2) Send us some pictures of it, and a little write-up or how-to of how you created it.

3) Post it on your blog, facebook page and any online galleries you belong to. We'll put it here on our blog too, of course!

That's it!

Tryouts for this team are starting RIGHT NOW!

If you are interested, please send us three (3) samples of your best work (preferably with LYB products because that is what we like to look at most, however it's not a deal breaker if you send something else) to LYBCyclingTeam@yahoo.com.  Also, if you have previously designed for a Cycling Team, please feel free to apply again!  We'll announce the NEW Saturdays Cycling Team on January 18th.  Please include your contact information (address, phone and blog) in your email.

And then we'll ask you to hop on that Little Yellow Bicycle and pedal your heart out!

Hope to hear from you!

Liz

The holidays are fast approaching and if you are like me and still have a laundry list of things to do to get ready for the festivities, you might want to take a break and check out this cardmaking idea in case you need one more special craft item for family or friends.  I am using both the Wonder & Wishes and Winter Twig collections today.

This is not a new card idea, but I think the beautiful collections from Little Yellow Bicycle give it an updated look and I can really appreciate how different the cards look with the two collections even though the steps are the same.  I challenge you all to grab your LYB collections and try it out too!

This is called a Tri-Fold Shutter Card and it is a really fun idea for adding a bit more embellishment, style and sentiment to a card, mostly because the way it is folded provides a lot more real estate to decorate.  It is also really EASY to make - I promise. But not to worry, there is both a Training Reel and written instructions to talk you through it.  I used the gorgeous Little Yellow Bicycle Wonder & Wishes Collection for this Christmas Card.

See how it opens up and has a "Pop Up" effect.  I love that it has a number of panels to design and decorate.  Not to mention how I was able to really showcase some of the specialized collection embellishments like the 10 Things Present pocket.

I love this perspective and that ribbon is really a cardstock sticker from the Favorite Pieces embellishments.   You cannot believe how easy it was to make this card!  It was so easy that I had to make two of them just to make sure I had all of the holidays covered this year.

This "chilly" card was created with the frosty Winter Twig collection and is a more generic holiday card and can be used for the different holidays at this time of year.  I love how all of the blue brown and white go together, but leave room for many shades of good winter fun.

I am smitten with the little chipboard "skater" and had to add him/her to my card.  This card was just as fun with the multiple panels to design and decorate and I also appreciate the Clear Cuts with glitter accents, because Little Yellow Bicycle uses "responsible glitter" and it does not come off on you!

Little Yellow Bicycle is so good about the little things.  The attention to detail is so much so that the tiny journal cards come pre punched with this fun notebook pattern.  I only needed to add it to the card.

Please see the video below for product ideas and tips on how to make these cards.

I have also included a PDF of instructions for how to make this card.

Download TriFoldShutterCard_LizQualman

For more close ups and details, please visit my blog My Little Sketch Blook.

Thank you so much for stopping by today and hope you leave with a little inspiration!

Liz

We are very excited about our NEW Winter Twig collection! It's perfectly chilly in every way and the winter wonderland cousin to our Twig collection from last sping.   We think the frost factor of this collection is about as cute as it gets and we can't wait to show you what our Biker Chicks have created for this amazing collection!

Biker Chick Renée Foss kicks off our reveal with this brrrr-tiful page!  We love how happy and chilly this page feels and Renée did a fabulous job with the Paper Snowflake Kit - this is a must have item!

Biker Chick Greta Hammond created this gorgeous winter wreath showcasing the patterned papers in this collection. Greta also created a cool cluster of Decorative Edge Cardstock, Favorite Pieces Stickers and Pom, Poms.

Greta - also created this adorable mini with our Winter Twig Medley Album to record winter month activities and festivities.  Bet there is a picture of someone drinking cocoa in there somewhere.

Biker Chick Tania Willis created these beautiful winter cards.  I think the mitten theme and the winter people are adorable.  These are such cute ideas!

Biker Chick Vicki Boutin created a happy page with Winter Twig.  I love how cold the colors and elements feel, but how happy they look combined with winter memories.  Vicki spotlighted the Chipboard Shapes with Glitter Accents.

Vicki also made this happy card with the fun wintertime sentiment.  The Canvas Borders are alwasys a great emebellishment for pages and cards.

Biker Chick Liz Qualman (me) took a stab at creating the little mittens with my Cricut as part of a banner, mostly because I am in love with the miniature clothespins.

This makes a fun little project to hang up for a special winter event.

I also created this page of my daughter playing in the snow.  I love the patterned paper with all of the winter words as the background. Plus I had to add the I'd Melt With You sentiment mostly because I am a product of the 80s and loved Modern English...remember that song - LOL.

Renée made these adorable little block to add as a home décor item for this time of year.

We will have more Winter Twig projects from our Cycling Team and a NEW Guest Designer.  Stay tuned!

Thank you for stopping by -

Liz

We are so excited to announce our newest collection called Paradise!  It is the perfect blend of bright pinks and blues with serene greens, and like its name makes you want to visit warm, far off places or just make your own home a Paradise.  The Biker Chicks have a few sneak peeks from our CHA projects and I am pretty sure that there is a catolog with some of our newest collections circulating out there....

We also want to ask a few more designers to join our Cycling Team and take a spin with the new Paradise collection.  Details for the call are at the end of this post.

It just wouldn't be Little Yellow Bicycle if we didn't have a flower kit in our collections and as you can see the Paradise Flower Kit is full of bright, beautiful colors that are grounded in a warm and natural greens.

Biker Chick Greta Hammond made this darling page using many of the lovely patterned papers and cardstock stickers from the Paradise collection.  Love the little bits of lace she incorporated with the Little Yellow Bicycle Paper Doiles and her punch.

Look at the pretty details and the faded denim patterned paper.  It's such a perfect blend of brights and naturals.

Greta also created this adorable printer's tray project highlighting the 5 Things Pocket in the Paradise collection.

Biker Chick Vicki Boutin created this beautiful card.  Vicki incorporated some of the patterned paper from our Paradise Album Kit into her card which is a great shape and pattern for the beautiful flowers.

Love how Vicki also used the theme of the Paradise collection to show how her family is her Paradise.  She really captured the sentiment of happy with the black and white photos paired with some of the brighter elements in the collection.

Biker Chick Liz Qualman (me) created this page of a recent visit with some of my girlfriends to San Diego.  I thought the sentiments of the cardstock stickers perfectly captured the occasion.  I also highlighted the Flower Kit and dressed it up with LYB Jewel Stickers.

I just love how adding a few pop dots to the cardstock stickers makes them jump off the page.  The "free" sentiment paired with the bird sticker shows how my friends and I "left" our families at home so we could enjoy a girls weekend out.

I also created these bookmarks to take along on a trip to mark places to visit.  I saw a similar idea with felt on Pinterest and thought patterned paper and cardstock stickers would make great bookmarks too.

Biker Chick Renée Foss created this soft and beautiful page.  She also used the Happy Girls are the Prettiest cardstock sentiment which is perfect for this page!

Paradise Cycling Team Call

 Come Ride with Us!

Here's what we're looking for:

With each new collection we like to invite a few new designers (about 3-5 per collection) to come design for us.  We ask Cycling Team members to commit to a month of designing after the collection is released. In return, we'll send you some free product and shamelessly promote you along with ourselves on our blog and facebook page.  Read the details below:

1) Make one project with what we send you - a layout, some cards, a mini album, an altered item...whatever makes you happy!

2) Send us some pictures of it, and a little write-up or how-to of how you created it.

3) Post it on your blog, facebook page and any online galleries you belong to. We'll put it here on our blog too, of course!

That's it!

Tryouts for this team are starting RIGHT NOW!

If you are interested, please send us three (3) samples of your best work (preferably with LYB products because that is what we like to look at most, however it's not a deal breaker if you send something else) to LYBCyclingTeam@yahoo.com.  Also, if you have previously designed for a Cycling Team, please feel free to apply again!  We'll announce the NEW Paradise Cycling Team on December 23rd.  Please include your contact information (address, phone and blog) in your email.

And then we'll ask you to hop on that Little Yellow Bicycle and pedal your heart out!

Hope to hear from you!

Liz

We're back with another Training Reel featuring Biker Chick Tania Willis and the Christmasy-whimsical Wonder &Wishes collection from Little Yellow Bicycle! This adorable little Holiday Frame will make any space a little merrier - and makes a wonderful handmade gift as well!

In Tania's Training Reel, she'll go over some of the techniques she uses to make this piece extra special. So check it out, and then download the instructions (below), and then hang this little cutie somewhere in your home!

Here are a few more close-ups!

And here are all of the instructions!

Download Twillis_WO_Very Merry Christmas Framed Art Instructions

For more fun and inspiration from Tania Willis, be sure to follow her blog by clicking this link!

Have a crafty day!

-Peg

Here at Little Yellow Bicycle our Biker Chicks are busy, busy, busy.  Right now you can find many of us working on "top secret" projects that we will share at a later date (a.k.a. Winter CHA).  But, today we would love to share some of the beautiful projects our merry little band of Biker Chicks created for our gorgeous Wonder & Wishes collection, mostly because "these are a few of our favorite things."  Feel free to break into song... you know you want to...or maybe just hum as you read.

Biker Chick Vicki Boutin created this beautiful family page highlighting our Wonder & Wishes 10 Things Present.  There is so much detail in both the papers and the embellishments that you can easily personalize a page about loved ones.

WO-308 - 10 Things Present - with glitter accents (11 pieces)

Biker Chick Greta Hammond created this divine wreath highlighting some of the beautiful Wonder & Wishes patterned papers.  Greta also added just the right amount of sparkle to the gorgeous red bow and her pom pom holly berries are the perfect accent.

WO-103 - Merry Little Berries/Green Poinsettia

Biker Chick Renée Foss created this gorgeous altered star banner highlighting the stunning Wonder & Wishes Felt Flowers.  Love how Renée added some beautiful accents with the white bows.  This will be so pretty hanging up for the holidays.

WO-304 - Felt Flowers - self adhesive with glass beads (4 pieces)

Biker Chick Liz Qualman (me) created this page of my daughter and her American Girl highlighting our Wonder & Wishes Favorite Pieces Cardstock Stickers and used some of the Mini Pom Poms and Twine Spools to tie the ornament stickers to the page.  I love how you can easily layer the stickers to add dimension to a page.

WO-135 - Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with glitter accents and matte foil (28 pieces)

Biker Chick Tania Willis will be back soon with an exciting new Training Reel featuring the Wonder & Wishes or Winter Twig collection, so be sure to stay tuned!

Don't forget there is still time to enter our sketch challenge this month.  Please link your project to the sketch album on our facebook page HERE or send your entry to Peg at peg@cthruruler.com.  The DEADLINE is 12/31/11 so there is still plenty of time and we cannot wait to see all of your gorgeous work with our collections.  See this blog post for official rules and more details.

 Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Liz

Hi everyone! Are you ready for another Sketch Challenge from Liz Qualman? I hope so! This challenge starts NOW, and will run through the end of December - to give you plenty of time to work on it during the busy holidays!

Liz used the perfectly sporty Get Your Game On collection for her sketch - but you can use ANY of our Fall and Winter collections:  Head of the Class, Get Your Game On, Hello Fall!, Wonder & Wishes, or Winter Twig!

Here's Liz to tell you all about it ... and be sure to read to the bottom for details on how to enter!

______________________________

I love how the Get Your Game On collection provides four different sports to capture your memories.  Even though my son is not old enough to play sports competitively, he still likes to get outside and kick the ball around.  It was great to use the soccer papers and embellishments to capture this moment of my son and husband playing together.

I especially like the idea of how you can use the Get Your Game On collection for any sports related memories.  Wouldn't it be fun to use the papers and embellishments for a memory about tailgating with the "MVP" being the last person standing (if you know what I mean)?  The stars are the limit with this super fun collection.  Can't wait to see what some of you create with my sketch!

_____________________________________

Here's the sketch:

Here's the rules:

1.  You may use the sketch any way you please (turn it upside down or on its side, or use it as is).

2.  You must use at least 75% Little Yellow Bicycle product, from any of our current Fall or Winter collections [Head of the Class, Get Your Game On, Hello Fall!, Wonder & Wishes, and Winter Twig].

3.  Your work must be your own! ;)

Here's how to enter:

1. You may enter by posting your layout to LYB's Facebook Page - please post it in the Album titled "Fall/Winter Collection Sketch Challenge". 

2. If you're not a Facebook user, you still may enter, by emailing a photo of your entry to peg@cthruruler.com. Please include your mailing address - so we have it in case you win!

3.  All entries must be received by midnight EST on Saturday, December 31, 2011.

Here's the fun part ... the prizes!

1.  Liz will select THREE finalists. All of the finalists will win a prize.

2.  We will post the finalists to our Facebook Page and Blog for you to VOTE on your favorites.

3.  You'll have a week to vote (one vote per person). Voting will end at midnight on Saturday, January 7, 2012.

4.  The grand prize winner will win $50 in LYB product. The runners up will each receive $25 in LYB product!

Sound good? OK everyone! Get creating!  

-Peg

[P.S. if you love sketches, be sure to follow the link to Liz's blog - she has tons of 'em!]

Hello everyone and welcome to the fifth and final day of our fabulous blog swap with our friends over at The Twinery! I guess it's true what they say, all good things must come to an end. We are sad to see this week end. But hey ... before it does, I have a couple more projects to share with you from the Biker Chicks, prizes to give away (later today) ... and next week I'll be back with more inspiration from our wonderful Head of the Class, Get Your Game On, and Hello Fall! Cycling Teams!

So I promise ... the fun never ends here on the LYB blog!

Let's get to the projects!

First up is Biker Chick Tania Willis with a layout featuring the Hello Fall! collection and, of course, some baker's twine from The Twinery!

_________________________________

The colorful bundle of twine in the assortment pack had me at hello!  The colors are so fun and playful and just the right shades of color.  For my “I Love Fall” layout, I wanted to play off the Fresh Verse Cardstock die cut that says “piles of smiles” and literally piled a bunch of snapshots in the middle of the page. 

From there, I started adding pops of color in clusters by layering several types of embellishments from the collection, then kicked it up a notch with the addition of the twine. I love that the twine is a playful twist of light and dark, as the white is twisted with a color.  It keeps the embellishment light and not too dense for the eye. Love that. 

For the next cluster, I layered Fresh Verse die cuts, a journaling tag, flowers from the layered flowers pack and a chipboard button from the Fabric Pieces.  Before adhering the button, I pulled off the foam dimensional tape and strung two layers of twine through the eyelets.

Lastly, I wanted a bold punch of color in the center of the layout to draw the eye to the photos first.  I just added several loops of twine to the felt flower, near the felt leaves to resemble another leaf on the flower. Such an easy addition that helps add more visual weight to the flower embellishment.

I want to give a HUGE thanks to The Twinery for the generous supply of twine that was sent for our team to complete these projects this week!

Tania

Supplies:

Lemondrop Baker’s Twine by The Twinery

Mandarin Baker’s Twine by Twinery Twine

Honeydew Baker’s Twine by Twinery Twine

HF – 104 Walnut Knit Paper

HF – 220 Fabric Favorites

HF – 140 Fresh Verse Cardstock Die-cuts

HF – 135 Favorite Pieces Cardstock Die-cuts

HF – 223 Felt Flowers

HF – 134 Journaling Cards

HF – 305 Paper Flower Kit

HF – 277 Stick Pins

HF – 308 Favorite Things Pocket

____________________________________

Thanks Tania! Love this layout! And YOU can catch more ideas from Tania by following her blog ... just click this link right here to get there!

Next up - another layout from Liz!

_____________________________________

Naughty or Nice Page

Just a funny page of my daughter hamming it up for the camera.  It reminded me of how she is always thinking about what is going to be on her list for Santa and how hard she tries to "make it happen."  Adding pop dots to the cardstock stickers is a great way to give them dimension and accent the page.  I cannot help but tuck a decorative edged cardstock piece on all of my pages and the patterns on the Wonder & Wishes pices are lovely.

Wonder and Wishes Collection Materials:

WO-104 - Christmas Plaid/Dots on Green

WO-133 - 6" x 6" Decorative Edge double-sided textured cardstock with glitter accents (5 pieces)

WO-279 - Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (20 pieces)

WO-165 - Chipboard Stickers - Words - with debossing (16 pieces)

WO-276 - Corrugated Shapes (22 pieces)

WO-135 - Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with glitter accents and matte foil (28 pieces) WO-140 - Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with debossing (28 pieces)

WO-197 - Jewel Stickers (96 pieces)

WO-219 - Flower Button Dots - layered with buttons

Twinery - Maraschino Twine 15 Yards

_____________________________

Thanks Liz! Here's the link to Liz's blog too!

Now go on over to The Twinery's blog, to see what they've made for you today! As usual, don't forget to leave comments here, there and everywhere (LYB's Facebook Page, The Twinery's Facebook Page), for more chances to win! I will be choosing two winners of a LOVELY prize pack from our Hello Fall collection, plus a sampler pack from The Twinery!

Thanks for visiting and GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!

-Peg

Hi everyone! Hard to believe it's already Day 4 of our Blog Swap week with the talented team over at The Twinery.  I don't know about you but I'm hoping for rain this weekend so I can get a little extra crafting in!

It will be sad to see this creativity-packed week come to an end ... but the end of the week also means we'll be announcing our prize winners - so keep those comments coming!

Today I have three projects from Biker Chick Vicki Boutin, featuring the brand new Wonder & Wishes collection - perfect for holiday gift giving - and available NOW at your Local Scrapbook Store!

Here's Vicki!

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I love Baker’s Twine!  It is such a simple, whimsical embellishment and there are so many uses for it.  The Twinery offers an amazing selection of colors and I was excited to mix their twine with the Wonder & Wishes line.  I decided to whip up a few cards.

Delight Card

One of my favorite uses for twine is to “string” up embellishments.  I added a few eyelets to a chipboard tag and attached it to the card with twine.

A great way to keep the twine in place is to punch “notches” using a small hole punch along the edge of the mat.

Material List

WO-101 - Home for Christmas/Red Check

WO-102 - Red Poinsettia/Christmas Text

WO-279 - Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (20 pieces)

WO-140 - Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with debossing (28 pieces)

The Twinery Baker’s Twine (Peapod)

Eyelets

Kraft cardstock

Joy Tag

I often like to work grids into my designs.  I like the linear structure of a grid.  The lines on the Christmas Plaid paper worked as a great guide when placing the twine.

I punched holes and threaded the twine to give the tag a clean, finished look.  The twine also worked really well as a tag topper!

Material List

WO-104 - Christmas Plaid/Dots on Green

WO-140 - Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with debossing (28 pieces)

The Twinery Baker’s Twine (Peapod)

Kraft cardstock

I Believe Card

A glue pen and a little twine are the perfect combination!!!  You can doodle a pattern or write a word and top it off with some twine for the perfect embellishment or title.  I drew the heart with a glue pen and then outlined it with some red and white twine.

This is a quick way to add pizzazz to a card or layout!

Material List

WO-106 - Joy & Peace/Little Red Hot Dot

WO-165 - Chipboard Stickers - Words - with debossing (16 pieces)

WO-222 - Canvas Tape Rolls - 3/4" x 36" per design (3 pieces)

The Twinery Baker’s Twine (Maraschino)

Glue Pen

Kraft Cardstock

Rhinestones

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Thank you Vicki! These are so cute! If you want to see more inspiration from Biker Chick Vicki Boutin ... just follow this link to her blog!

And then hop on over to The Twinery's Blog to see what they have in store for you today!

Leave your comments on the blog and also The Twinery's Facebook Page and Little Yellow Bicycle's Facebook Page to increase your chances of winning the Blog Swag!

Have a crafty day!

-Peg

Hello friends! It's Day 3 of our wonderful Blog Swap Week with The Twinery! We hope you're having fun and enjoying all of our designers' amazing work!

Today our very talented Biker Chick Greta Hammond has made amazing Christmas projects using LYB's new Wonder & Wishes collection!

Here's Greta to tell you about them!

I loved working with The Twinery product! Such a fun little embellishment to add to any project. I chose to use the LYB line Wonder &Wishes for my projects and the twine colors matched perfectly!

First off, I made a little gift giving notebook booklet by folding 3 sheets of 4.5” x 9” paper in half and then punching holes in the spine. I threaded some grey/white twine through the holes and tied a bow on the outside. To embellish, I made a small pom pom with the twine to adorn the top of my chipboard present.

Next, I made a card and used the twine to outline the edge of the chipboard frame. A fun way to add a bit of texture.

I then wrapped a corrugated tree with red/white twine to serve as garland and then finished off my title with a small bow.

Finally, I made a quick gift bag by turning over the top of the bag and punching holes near the center. I threaded 5 strands of twine through, added a small tag and tied a bow.

I decorated the front with paper, a fabric scalloped circle, stickers, chipboard and those lovely felt poinsettias! Easy, peasy!

Supply List:

WO-108 Festive Red

WO-105 Tiny Tonal Poinsettia

WO-140 Fresh Verse

WO-135 Favorite Pieces

WO-1279 Chipboard Shapes

WO-197 Jewel Stickers

WO-220 Fabric Favorites

WO-165 Chipboard Sticker Words

WO-304 Felt Flowers

Other: sack

thanks,

Greta

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Thanks Greta! 

Now head on over to The Twinery's Blog to see their lovely projects for today! And of course, don't forget to leave a comment here on our blog, and also on The Twinery's Blog, plus LYB's Facebook Page and The Twinery's Facebook Page to increase your chances of winning a fabulous Hello Fall! and The Twinery Prize Pack!

See you tomorrow!

-Peg

Hello everyone! So happy you stopped by for Day 2 of our fabulous blog swap week with the talented team over at The Twinery!  I loved yesterday's projects ... they were all so beautiful I don't think I could beging to pick a favorite! 

Today I have three more fun projects from Liz Qualman! Liz is so helpful, she's here with some great ideas for cards to take you through the next few holidays!

But before we get to Liz's projects - just a quick reminder to stop by The Twinery's Blog also, to see what they've created for you today - and also to leave a comment here, there, and also on LYB's Facebook Page and The Twinery's Facebook Page, to increase your chances of winning some great prizes from both companies at the end of the week!

Great. Let's get started! Here's Liz!

Happy Halloween Card:

Twine adds a new and fun spin to spider webs.  I used an epoxy button from the Booville collection and 5 pieces of charcoal twine to create my web.  I anchored the button to the center of the card, punched tiny little holes around the edges of my card to feed the twine through, and then wrapped more twine around the interior of the web.  Next, I added spiders from the Booville Clear Stickers with pop dots and the Happy Halloween sentiment from the Booville Canvas Pieces. Finally I added a few pieces of candy with the Cardstock Stickers.  You can order the entire Booville Collection on our Little Yellow Bargains site - at 70% off its original price!

Materials:

Little Yellow Bicycle Booville Collection

BV-112 - Motley Pumpkins/Orange Dots with Trim

BV-278 - Epoxy Chipboard Buttons (30 pieces)

BV-135 - Favorite Pieces with thermography and debossing BV-190 - Clear Stickers with glitter (31 pieces)

BV-202 - Canvas Stickers (13 pieces)

Twinery - Charcoal Twine 15 Yards

Fall Card:

It's fun to anchor twine with a button and fan it out on your project.  I wanted to highlight the beautiful Hello Fall! Collection chipboard tree, so I added the button to the trunk with three strands of twine and fanned them out on one side by anchoring them to the card with little punched holes.  The I added the sentiment from the Fabric Favorites as well as some leaves from the Cardstock Die Cuts

Hello Fall Collection Materials:

HF-107 - Sweater Weather/Delicious Autumn Text

HF-279 - Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (20 pieces) HF-220 - Fabric Favorites (14 pieces)

HF-135 - Cardstock Die Cuts - Favorite Pieces - with embossing and button accents (34 pieces) Twinery - Mandarin Twine 15 Yards

Holiday Wishes Card:

Rolled paper makes a unique looking project.  I used two different patterned papers from the Wonder & Wishes Collection and offset the measurements for each roll by a half an inch starting with 4.5 inches on the bottom and ending with 1 inch on the top.  Then I wrapped twine around each end of the rolls of paper and stuck them in order to the corrugated cardstock paper.  The trunk is a rolled scrap wrapped with Cappucino twine. I added a Flower Button Dot as my tree topper and finally a holiday sentiment from the Fresh Verse Stickers.

Wonder and Wishes Collection Materials:

WO-104 - Christmas Plaid/Dots on Green

WO-107 - Ornaments All Over/Green Geometric WO-140 - Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with debossing (28 pieces)

WO-219 - Flower Button Dots - layered with buttons Corrugated Kraft Cardstock Paper Twinery - Maraschino Twine 15 Yards Twinery - Cappuccino

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Thanks Liz! Love that chubby little rolled paper tree! So cute! Be sure to check out Liz's blog for more inspiration, then hop on over to The Twinery's Blog for more fun projects. And don't forget to leave those comments!

I'll be back tomorrow with projects from Biker Chick Greta Hammond! Have a great day!

-Peg

Don't you just love a little bit of baker's twine on your layout or paper project? To me it just says "happy" - maybe it's the long ago association with goodies from the bakery - who knows? But when the opportunity to do a blog swap with The Twinery ... creators of baker's twine in the loveliest colors ... we jumped on it!

In case you're not familiar with a blog swap - here's what we did: we sent their Design Team papers and embellishments from the Hello Fall! collection, and they sent our Design Team a box of baker's twine in every color of the rainbow and then some! Then our teams got to work, and you get to enjoy what they've created!

Each day this week, both The Twinery and LYB will share a project or two from our Design Teams which we hope will inspire you.

PLUS ... as usual ... there's blog swag involved! YOU have a chance to win some gorgeous goodies! Be sure to head over to The Twinery's Blog and Facebook Page every day to see what their fabulous Designers have created. Don't forget to leave a comment - and tell them we sent you. Comment every day on both blogs and Facebook pages for more chances to win. At the end of the week, we'll each pick winners from our Facebook and Blog comments - and the winners will win a sampler pack of Twinery Twine plus some goodies from Little Yellow Bicycle's Hello Fall! collection!

What's not to love? Let's get started!

Our first projects are created by the very very talented Biker Chick Renee Foss!

Piles of Smiles Layout - Using The Twinery Twine and Little Yellow Bicycle's Hello Fall! Collection

To begin I dyed the red/white baker’s twine to make it more harmonious with the fall colors of this layout. I mixed water and the two colors of alcohol ink and soaked my twine in it for about a half an hour. Make sure the mixture is a lot darker than the color you want the twine to end up. After soaking, rinse the twine with clear water and squeeze out excess. Allow to dry before using.

For layout, I color-blocked two different patterned papers on red cardstock. The photo and ‘piles of smiles’ are matted on orange cardstock. All edges were inked with brown stamping ink. I grouped the large brown branch and two leaf chipboard pieces as shown and tied my prepared twine several times around the entire red cardstock piece before adhering this to the background [kraft] paper. I removed the foam backing from one of the Fabric Favorites button pieces and punched two small holes. I added this piece over the chipboard pieces and tied the twine in a bow through the button. HINT: add a small dot of clear drying glue to the knot to keep it secure. I also tie small knots in the ends of the twine to keep them from unraveling. As a finishing touch I added two green leaf pins behind the button. I hand stitched the zigzag down the side of the journaling card before adhering to the layout and finished off with a small bow, and then sprinkled some green jewel stickers around the layout for a little sparkle.

Supplies used:

HF-103  Autumn Medley/Green Splendor paper

HF-105  Little Leaf Pile/Burnt Orange Knit paper

HF-279  Chipboard Shapes w/ Glitter Accents

HF-220  Fabric Favorites

HF-134  Journaling Cards

HF-135  Cardstock Die Cuts—Favorite Pieces

HF-140  Cardstock Die Cuts—Fresh Verse

HF-277  Stick Pins

HF-197 Jewel Stickers

The Twinery Maraschino baker’s twine

Cardstock: kraft, red and orange

Brown ink

Alcohol ink: red and brown

Holiday Cards - Using The Twinery Twine and Little Yellow Bicycle's Wonder & Wishes Collection

Card 1—Stitched Tree

Cut a label die cut using die cut system from white cardstock. If you don’t have one, just cut a rectangle of white cardstock to 4” x 5.25”. Dye Honeydew twine with celery/green alcohol ink as described for layout above. Pre-punch holes for tree in prepared label/cardstock and stitch tree.

Add a small piece of brown cardstock for trunk and a chipboard star at the top of the tree [I colored the star using Versamark ink and red embossing power, heat embossed]. Make card from white cardstock [4.25” x 5.5”] and cut a piece of ‘Joy & Peace’ paper for the front panel. Ink edges with green ink and adhere to card front. Add tree panel to card using foam adhesive. If desired, heat emboss edges of tree panel with red embossing powder [or color with red pen or ink w/ red stamping ink].

Card 2—Peace & Joy Present

Make card base from white cardstock [half of a 8.5” x 11” sheet folded in half]. Add Red Check Paper to card front, ink edges with brown ink. Cut patterned strips from remaining ‘Home for Christmas’ paper [note: the red pattern and green geometric border are next to one another on the paper but to get the other green border along the red patterned strip you need to cut that separately]. Ink edges with brown ink and add to card as shown. Ink edges of corrugated frame [leave inside of frame intact!] and add to card as shown. Cut off bow and small ribbon ‘bumps’ from chipboard present die cut. Wrap dyed Maraschino baker’s twine around twice both ways and secure in back. Tuck a mistletoe clear die cut under twine and secure. Make a bow from a double length of the same twine  and adhere to present as shown. Add present to card with foam adhesive. Add ‘peace & joy’ clear sticker as shown.

Supplies used [cards]

WO-101 Home for Christmas/Red Check paper

WO-106 Joy & Peace/Little Red Hot Dot paper

WO-279 Chipboard Shapes

WO-190 Clear Stickers for Cardmaking

WO-276 Corrugated Shapes

WO-230 Clear Cut Shapes

The Twinery baker’s twine in Maraschino and Honeydew

Chipboard star

Versamark ink

Red embossing powder

White cardstock

Brown stamping ink

Green stamping ink

Small scrap of brown cardstock

Foam adhesive

Alcohol inks: red and celery

Die cutting system and label die

I want to send a HUGE shout out to The Twinery for their generosity – they sent soooo product in a rainbow of colors! Thank you so much, I can’t wait to entwine all my projects!

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Thanks to you Renee! 

Now hop on over to The Twinery's Blog to see what their Designers have cooked up for today! And don't forget to check back tomorrow - I'll have another post featuring Biker Chick Liz Qualman!

Oh and ... in case you forgot ... leave a comment!!

- Peg

Hello everyone and, may I say...Hello Fall! Fall is definitely here in the northeast, and I'm happy to report that the beautiful Hello Fall! collection from LYB is making its way to a LSS near you.

This warm and colorful collection features a "Family Tree" kit that you can make into either a two-page layout or two single-page layouts. It's quick and easy and perfect for family reunions, Thanksgiving pages, or just documenting your family history.

So here's Biker Chick Liz Qualman with the latest LYB Training Reel! She has taken this kit and given it her own special twist! 

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Sometimes it is fun to follow instructions that have already been created for you and add your own embellishments, style and photos.  That is how I feel about the Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Fall Family Tree Page Kit.  It is such a great design and idea, that I only needed to add a few more embellishment ideas from the Hello Fall! collection and my own photos.  This is a must have item!

Thanks so much Liz for another inspiring project!

Here are a few close ups from Liz's project:

Those felt flowers are so cool!

And the instructions:

Download FamilyTreeKitInstruction_LizQualman

Hope you have fun making this layout! For more great ideas from Liz, be sure to check out her blog by clicking here!

Watch the blog this week for more inspiration from our Guest Designers, plus I'm picking a winner from my Sweet Summertime giveaway! 

Peg

Hi folks!

It's Monday again and that means it's time for another LYB Training Reel featuring the always amazing Biker Chick Tania Willis and the perfectly sporty Game On collection (which happens to be available at your LSS now)!

You are going to have so much fun making this layout and learning new painting techniques (wait 'til you see what Tania can do with bubble wrap. SAVE THAT BUBBLE WRAP people! Don't be tempted to pop it!!) There are a lot of kids in my area playing "Fall Ball" ... and this layout is perfect for those of you with baseball-playing kids.

But here's what I love about the Game On collection. You can take any layout (like this awesome one right here), and just "swap out" the materials to make the layout you want in the sport you need! My son is not a baseball kid ... but I do coach his U13 Travel Soccer Team (Go Canton Warriors!) So if I need a soccer layout...no problemo! I'm going to scraplift this layout and use the soccer papers and embellishments, and make a soccer one with it. Maybe I'll even show it to you when I'm done!

So here we go people. Pick a sport ... any sport ... we have four of them for you...and GET YOUR GAME ON with Tania!

Here are a few more close-ups of Tania's layout:

(bubble wrap!!!)

(more bubble wrap!)

What will this Biker Chick come up with next? Who knows, but I'm sure of one thing ... it will be CREATIVE!

Here are the instructions for this home run of a layout:

Download PDF Baseball Layout Instructions by Tania Willis

We have so much more to share with you this week ... we'll have a BRAND NEW Sketch Challenge from our very own Liz Qualman, plus more from Game On Guest Designer Suzanne Sergi!

And in case you missed my Summer's Last Hurrah post last week, head over there and leave a comment for your chance to win some Sweet Summertime! I'll be picking a winner later this week!

Have Fun!

Peg

Sigh... I guess it's time to admit it's finally over.

Summer that is.

Autumnal equinox and all.

In spite of the morning chill in the air I have been digging in my heels and holding on to summer for all I'm worth. Who cares that the kids are back in school! Who cares that I've had to pull out the jeans and sweaters once or twice! It's still summer until ... well...today.

The leaves have been turning here in CT for weeks, but now that the calendar is turning, I have to get with the program and move on to Fall already. Now don't get me wrong. I really do love Fall. Here in the Northeast I love the colors, crisp sunny days, savory cooking [not to mention our new Hello Fall! collection ;) ... who wouldn't love fall with that around, huh? ]

And then I just say to myself ... just wait a minute here ... not so fast! Let's have a little last hurrah for summer! If you're like me, you'll be scrappin' those summer pictures well into 2012 [in fact, I think there's something special about scrapping the beach pics when the snow is falling outside!].

So today I'm going to share some Sweet Summertime goodness from the Biker Chicks! For one last hurrah!

[And read on dear blog followers! There's a chance for you to win some Sweet Summertime goodness for yourself at the end of this post!] 

So let's get started, why don't we? First up, this adorable little layout from Biker Chick Liz Qualman. There's something about boys and boats...isn't there?

And a few close up shots:

Next up, Biker Chick Renee Foss shared this amazing shadowbox just full of great summer memories!

... and a detail shot:

....swoon.. Love this!

And last but certainly not least, Tania Willis posted these two awesome Sweet Summertime layouts on her blog earlier this summer and I've been meaning to share them with you. But I kept forgetting! Shame on me! 

Here's the first. You can't beat the photo of that cutie Emma, and I love how Tania kept it simple ... but simply perfect! Check out that sun!

And the details:

And next up, how cute are these two muggin' it up for the camera? And how cool is it that Tania used this versatile summery collection on a page that really isn't summery at all? Love this!

And a couple close ups to show all the detail and dimesion!

If you want to scraplift this layout (and who wouldn't? ... though for finding the big wax lips I must tell you ... you are on your own!) just follow the link I posted above for detailed instructions!

Three cheers for the Biker Chicks! You guys are great!

And now for the LOOT!

I personally went over to our warehouse and raided - RAIDED I tell you! - that Sweet Summertime collection. I have two AMAZING prize packs to share with two people who leave a comment. We're talking papers, stickers, and embellies galore people! Who wants 'em???

Just tell me about YOUR last hurrah of summer.

 Here is mine...I decided to run the Hartford Half Marathon in a couple weeks. This is big for me and I'm not quite sure I'm ready but there's only one way to find out. And let me tell you, running in the CT humidity today ... it sure felt like summer to me! So now that I think about it - bring on that cool weather already! I'm wilting like steamed spinach out there!

Can't wait to hear YOUR story!

-Peg

Hi all,

We are so pleased to share with you our Guest Designer, Lowri McNabb.  Lowri lives on a vineyard in beautiful Marlbrough, New Zealand with her husband and young family.

She loves to do all types of papercraft and is currently Design Team / Blog Administrator and Marketing Manager for Artfull Crafts, a scrapbooking store in Timaru, New Zealand.

Tomorrow, we will help you get to know Lowri better with some fun Q&A's. You'll smile more as you get to know her...

Until then, I'd like to show off some of Lowri's creations that she has been working on with our latest back to school collection, Head of the Class.  Get ready to be inspired.

Here's Lowri:

Hi Everyone,

It’s a real honour to be here today creating with one of Little Yellow Bicycle’s latest collections –Head of the Class.  The LYB  products are a little hard to come by here in New Zealand so I was thrilled to open my pack and find superb quality heavy weight patterned paper and an amazing collection of matching embellishments.

This collection is packed with fun, bright prints, but also offers some more subtle patterns too.  My first projects have made use of these more subtle patterns and I have decorated a pencil box and desk tidy along with a few extra stationary items, all of which would be suitable for an older student or maybe even a teacher’s gift.

Pencil Box

This box started out as a ribbon dispenser. It comes flat packed as 6 raw wood pieces. I sanded and painted the edges red and then used an old graph paper stamp I had to decorate with white ink and mirror the grid pattern on some of the papers.

I then measured, cut and glued pieces of paper to cover all the panels before assembly.  I have mainly used the Ruler paper (HC-109) as it is such a fun print and reminded me of the old fashioned slide top ruler pencil boxes.

I have used the Back to School paper (HC-101) to decorate the top which again has some lovely ruler detail and also picks up some of the other primary colours used throughout the collection.

The stars on the sides are from the Fabric Favourites (HC-220) pack and just add a little texture and detail to the sides. I gently removed the dimensional adhesive from the ends, cut the strips to size and then used a mini glue dot on the back of each star to glue them down.

Pencil Holder

This again was a plain wooden piece that I painted and stamped like the Pencil Box. I have again used the Back to School paper (HC-101) as the base for the sides and on the front I have used these super-cute mini pencils from the Chipboard Shapes (HC-279) as well as the stars and numbers piece from the Fabric Favorites (HC-220)

You can see the box is stuffed with a few goodies!

Paperclips

These giant paperclips are so much fun. You can use them as bookmarks or just as clips for giant paper! I sandwiched the paperclip between one of the Dimensional Stickers (HC-195) and a piece of plain cardboard backed with paper that I cut to the same size. I used hot glue to bond them all together which makes them durable and easy to use.

Ruler & Pencils

This dollar store ruler suddenly becomes a lot more fun with a great sticker! I removed the sticker it came with and replaced it with this super-fun ruler sticker from the Favorite Pieces Cardstock Stickers (HC-135) I love looking for little fun ideas like this to give as extras with a gift – it makes it just that little bit more special. My son has to have all of his pencils marked at school so instead of trying to write his name in teeny tiny writing, I labelled them by wrapping coloured tape around the top. I have done the same here to create matching pencils for the pencil box. Such a simple idea but would add a lovely touch for a teacher.

Fold-Back Clips

Products Used
Patterned Papers:
Back To School (HC-101), Ruler (HC-109), various scraps from other papers

Embellishments: 
Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces (HC-135), Cardstock Stickers  - Fresh Verse (HC-140), Dimensional Pop-Up Stickers (HC-195), Fabric Favorites (HC-220), Chipboard Stickers (HC-279)

I hope you have enjoyed these and I look forward to showing you some more projects next week. Please post a comment with any questions.Head of the Class

Hi friends! Hope you had a fantastic Labor Day weekend! For many of us here in the U.S., Labor Day means back-to-school (though some kids have been back for a while!)...

Have you seen the Head of the Class collection at your LSS yet? If not, watch for it because it's on its way!

Today, Biker Chick Tania Willis joins us with another awesome Training Reel video tutorial featuring this fun new collection from Little Yellow Bicycle.

These cards make a perfect "back to school" gift set for that special teacher, or can be enclosed with a teacher gift, sent to school to offer encouragement on testing days, or used as journaling cards on your layouts! So many things you can do with your cards! But first, ya gotta make em! So let's get to it!

Here's a peek at the whole set:

Now check out the Training Reel video tutorial - Tania will walk you through the steps to make the pencil-shaped card in the front!

I love how she used the paper crimper to make the eraser holder!

And now a few close ups of each of the cards:

10 Things I Love About School (have your student - or the entire class! - fill out the pencils for a super special card their teacher will cherish!)

Check out the downloadable pdf for a templated for this fantastic apple-shaped card!

Cutey-cute-cute Elmer's Glue bottle!

I especially love how Tania made the lead for the pencil tip (watch the video to find out)!

Get all of the instructions in this pdf:

Download Teacher Appreciation Cards Training Reel Instru.

Got extras? Here's a tip from Peg!

When you finish the cardset...save those extra stickers and embellishments to make "Lunch Box Notes" for your kids! For many years, I would use my scraps to make tiny cards to stick in the kids' lunches to let them know I was thinking about them throughout their day. You just need a tiny square of paper - or really any shape or size - and an unused embellishment or two - add a quick note - and you have a special card that will make their day.

One year, my daughter saved ALL of hers (she didn't tell me until she brought them home on the last day). Another year the owner of my LSS told me she had non-scrapbooking moms coming in to buy stickers and papers because their kids told them about my son's Lunch Box Notes and wanted some too! What a simple way to make a kids' day! Sadly, by about 6th grade, my kids had outgrown the Lunch Box Notes - guess they were too cool for them! Still, I sneak one in every now and then, and they still like the surprise! You're really never too old for a Lunch Box Note!

Make Your World a Little More Moxie Fab!

Finally one more quick shout out to our friend Cath Edvalson over at Moxie Fab World, who posted this wonderful blog about Head of the Class yesterday. If you missed it, just follow the link! Be sure to follow Cath's blog to keep up on all the Moxie Fab-ulosness!

That's it for now! We'll be back with another Training Reel next Monday - featuring the all new Get Your Game On collection!

Have a great day!

-Peg