Getting tired of winter?  Does it seem like it has overshadowed the Spring that Punxsutawney Phil promised us?  Lisa Swift shares two cards today that will make you yearn for summer....

Splash Card by Lisa Swift

I don't know about you, but I am so over this winter. That's why I turned to the fabulous Splash collection to make these cards. You can't beat these happy summer colors.

For this first card, I covered a piece of white cardstock with vellum strips. This became the mat for the rest of the card. A burlap circle (Naturals collection) was the perfect backdrop for the chipboard flower. It adds dimension and highlights the flower. I finished the flower off with a wood button (Naturals collection) and some red jute.

Splash Card by Lisa Swift

This second card shows how easy it is to layer embellishments...I put it together using bits and pieces left over from other projects. You don't need a whole journaling card or a full sticker to make these products work together.

Shop LYB Products:

NA-JT20 Jute Pack - Bright
NA-BSH10 Burlap Shapes - Circles
NA-WB10 Wood Buttons - Printed
SPL-102 Big Fishies/Kumquat Geo
SPL-105 Skinny Stripe Multi/Deep Blue Sea Solid
SPL-107 Little Fishies/Sea Swirl
SPL-160 Vellum Tape Strips
SPL-195 Dimensional Stickers
SPL-230 Clear Cuts

We'll be back tomorrow with another project from guest designer Liz Hicks.  AND we have a very exciting announcement to make on Monday!  Be sure to stop by...

Have you discovered our Naturals Canvas embellishments yet?  They are some of the most versatile elements on the market.  You can stamp, paint, mist or ink them or even just leave them be and they add a fantastic natural texture to any project.  Today our deisgn team has a few ideas to share...

Altered Frame by Lisa Swift

There is so much you can do with the canvas products in Little Yellow Bicycle's Naturals collection! I used a mix of canvas products to create an upcycled frame project.

I started with a trio of canvas daisies at the top of the frame. I cut small pieces from a strip of printed canvas tape to create banners beside the flowers.

To embellish the monogram itself, I used a canvas label sticker paired with the top from one of the Naturals wood stick pins (I just popped the wood portion off of the pin).

Lisa used elements of this package of Naturals Canvas Labels. 

The bottom of the frame showcases the word "family" and the brackets from one of the Canvas Word packages. To finish this off, I used the Everyday stamp set to stamp the word "cherish" on a vellum banner. Because I wanted an understated, classic look for this piece, I chose to stick with a neutral/white color palette. The Naturals canvas products can easily be stamped, inked or colored to match any project or decor.

Shop LYB Products:

NA-BF50 Layered Burlap Flowers -Daisy

NA-CV10 Canvas Stickers -Labels

NA-CVP20 Canvas Tape - Brown

NA-CW10 Canvas Words - Style 1

NA-SP50 Stick Pins - Wood Words

CSS-101 Cling Word Stamps - Everyday

Layout by Heather Leopard

I created this layout using the negative cuts from the paper hearts my daughter & I cut for her shirt to celebrate the 100th day of school. The canvas stickers were the perfect elements to anchor the rest of my page, from the canvas borders to the banner. The one thing I really like about the canvas elements is how easy it is to mist, paint and stamp on them to make them unique for whatever project I am working on.

Heather included this package of Naturals Canvas Flags on her project and used our Clear Stamps to add some of the wonderful words...

Shop LYB Products:

JB-107 Just Because 12x12 Paper
JB-134 Just Because Journaling Cards
JB-135 Just Because Cardstock Stickers
JB-201 Just Because Canvas Stickers
JB-230 Just Because Clear Cuts - Shapes
JB-279 Just Because Chipboard Shapes
NA-CVB10 Canvas Borders
NA-CV20 Canvas Words
NA-CV90 Canvas Stickers
NA-CV10 Canvas Stickers

It's National Craft Month and our friends at Favecrafts have been celebrating all month long.  Today they are featuring a giveaway from us (see photo above).  So be sure to head over HERE to enter to win this gorgeous prize pack...

Also - You can download this free ebook Favecrafts created for National Craft Month.  Our very own Corrie Jones has a layout featured on the cover...

Download The Ultimate Craft Guide 25 Projects for Every Crafter

Have a wonderful day!

Our Fern and Forest Boy collection is in our warehouse and shipping to your local scrapbook store as I type...  But if you cannot wait a moment longer, you can also order it from our Online Store today!

Mini Album by Liz Qualman

I decided to use the 5 Things Pocket numbered cards to make tabs for my mini ablum to make it easy to turn the pages.  I went with a very simple approach to this album and used the 6 x 6 paper pad for background papers and photo mats.

It's always fun to capture a favorite item of your child's.  My son loves these shoes, so it will be fun to remember when his feet were this little, because I am sure he won't be wearing these long and they are just the cutest.

I also wanted to add some very personalized journaling since most of the pages of the album are so simple.  This is actually the 12 x 12 Imagination Journal patterned paper, which I trimmed to fit the album.  Using the 12 x 12 paper made the lines a lot easier to write on.  I added some of the Favorite Pieces stickers to break up the writing and for more interest the page.

Please visit our online store to check out the new collection.  Our shipping department is really quick, bet you could have it by early next week...

Have a wonderful day!

What do you have in your pocket today?  Little Yellow Bicycle includes really fun pockets in most of our collections.  We challenged our Design Team to include some of our pockets in their projects and we are pretty excited about what they came up with...

The Escape Collection Layout by Jen Chesnick

Sometimes you have to think outside of the box with your supplies.  I am huge fan of pockets and tags, but the 5 things for the Escape line just didn't fit my page.  I chose to alter the pocket by cutting the back down and using it as my major embellishment to tuck little bits into.  I used the extra flag to weigh down my title.

Jen included our 5 Things Pocket from The Escape Collection.  This is what it looked like before you altered it to fit in with her project idea.

Shop LYB Products:

ESC-105 Big City/Click - Yellow
ESC-308 5 Things Pocket - with embossing (11 pieces)
ESC-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with thermography and debossing (67 pieces)
ESC-160 Vellum Tape Strips (8 pieces)
ESC-1100 Tear Out Ticket & Journaling Card Book - with embossing (24 pieces)
ESC-230 Clear Cuts Shapes (26 pieces)
ESC-133 6" x 6" Decorative Edge Double-sided Textured Cardstock - with thermography (5 pieces)
ESC-122 12" x 12" Decorative Edge Textured Cardstock - with embossing
ESC-220 Fabric Favorites - self adhesive (15 pieces)
NA-TC20 Tiny Clothespins - Words
NA-SP30 Stick Pins - Cork Flowers
NA-CW20 Canvas Words - Style 2

Pocket Gift Card Holder by Suzanne Sergi

I decided to use these pockets in a different way than they are intended. I thought they were perfect for tucking in gift  cards to a special person. I layered the Just Because journaling pocket onto two pieces of vellum that I stitched together. There is an opening at the top. Another way to enclose a card, or special treat. I also stitched along the journaling pocket to add a homemade touch.

I love the Burlap flowers, and use a large one that I used to embellish the pocket. I also pulled out the scallop canvas circles to layer chipboard hearts on top of them. First I stamped the canvas  circles to dress them up a bit. I also pulled out one of the new stamps, to include my sentiment along the bottom.

Shop LYB Products:
NA-TC20 Tiny Clothespins Words
NA-BF50 Layered Burlap Flowers-Daisy
NA-CVH10 Canvas Shapes Scallop Circles
JB-277 Stick Pins
JB-308 10 Things Pocket with embossing (17 pieces)
JB-304 6x6 Paper Pad
JB-279 Chipboard Shapes-with foil accents
CSS-104 Cling Word Stamps-Faith

Pocket Gift Card Holder by Suzanne Sergi

I pulled out my Making the Grade 6x6 paper pad, and journaling pocket for this next gift card idea. Here I dressed up this cute notebook paper bag, to layer the pocket onto. This time I embellished the inside of the pocket with the fun alphabet pattern found in the 6x6 paper pad. Tucked in some tickets from the Tear Out Ticket & Journaling Card Book. I used one of the pinwheels, and embellished with a circle that I embossed. Also found in the papercrafting kit with this collection. I dressed this bag a bit more using the chipboard banner, and the  adorable fabric owl.  I finished the edge of the bag with a red stitch, and using a punch, punched the edges to give that torn look of paper.  Now you have a gift  bag, with two different options of tucking in special items to one very lucky person!

Shop LYB Products:

MG-167 Cork Word & Shape Stickers
MG-305 Paper Crafting Kit
MG-308 5 Things Pocket with embossing
MG-304 6x6 Paper Pad
MG-230 Chipboard Shapes
MG-220 Fabric Favorites

Be sure to check out our online store for pockets to create your own wonderful project ideas!

It's our last day with Tim Holtz Ranger Ink!  It has been an AMAZING two weeks of ideas and projects and we hope you have found some great inspiration to include our Naturals in your everyday lives.  We also hope that you will enter our Naturals contest - see the end of this post for details.

 Greta Hammond has such a fun project to share today. We love how she included our Naturals collection, Tim Holtz Ranger Ink and Clear Stamps in her party decorations.  The colors are so bright and festive and the project is super easy to make!

Altered Drink Bottles by Greta Hammond

I am always looking for ways to add a little personalized touch to party decor. I thought these canvas, burlap, and cork shapes would be perfect to dress up my little milk bottles for drinks.

I loved the blue jean look along with the red and natural colors and easily took apart the shapes to use the Distress Stains to change their look. I then layered pieces together to fit onto the front of the bottles. I finished them off with canvas borders along the bottom. Add in some fun straws and you are ready to party!

Shop LYB:

NA TC20

NA-FB50
NA-CR10
NA-CR20
NA-CV60
NA-BS80
NA-CVP10

Ranger Ink  products:
Archival Ink - Vermillion
Distress Stain - Faded Jeans

 

Prizes: We already gave away one big box of Naturals and we have another one to give away this Friday, March 15th.  Just leave a comment here on the blog and/or on our facebook (maybe do both just to be safe) to enter to win. Leave a comment each day and increase your chances. 

 

AND we are giving away a set of stamps each day on each of our social sites: Blog, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Leave a comment at each of those sites each day and increase your chances to win some of our amazing stamps.  We gave away stamps to 20 people last week!

 

Also, be sure to visit our friends at Ranger Ink on their facebook page.  They have wonderful inspiration to share on their FB and blog each day.  And, quite frankly, we love how their ink works with our stamps.

 

Don't forget... to use all of the inspiration from our Design Team to enter our Naturals Contest.  See details HERE.

 

Happy Crafting!

 

 

It's time to use our Naturals collection and Clear Stamps to dress up your wardrobe. Did you know they are super easy to include on clothing items and accessories?  We even have a category in our Naturals contest for wearables - please see the end of the post for details... 

 

We asked our design team to give you a great idea each day, and today is no exception.  Not to mention that the Clear Stamps and Ranger Ink totally enhanced the look of this project, were easy to use, and included just the right amount of pizazz.

 

Plus there are prize opportunities at the end, so keep reading...

Altered Sun Hat by Heather Leopard

-

I just love to accessorize and when I saw the new Naturals collection, I just knew I had to make a hat for those fun Spring outings.

They soaked up the Tim Holtz paints and ink remarkably well and the stamped image looked great from the first test image I stamped. I was very impressed. I was still a little nervous however, to stamp on the hat, worried that the ink might bleed but what I got was a nice clear image. Kudos to Little Yellow Bicycle and Tim Holtz!

The Ranger Archival Ink is also waterproof and will not bleed due to rain or washing.

LYB Prodcuts:

Naturals Clear Stamps CSS-104 Faith

Naturals Clear Stamps CSS-101 Everyday
Layered Burlap Flowers NA-BF30 Dahlia
Layered Burlap Flowers NA-BF50 Daisy
Burlap Flowers NA-BF20
Wood Buttons - Etched NA-WB20

Ranger Ink Products:

Tim Holtz Distress Paint Bard Door
Tim Holtz Archival Ink Jet Black
Tim Holtz Archival Ink Aquamarine
Hat from Hobby Lobby

Prizes: We already gave away one big box of Naturals and we have another one to give away this Friday, March 15th.  Just leave a comment here on the blog and/or on our facebook (maybe do both just to be safe) to enter to win. Leave a comment each day and increase your chances. 

AND we are giving away a set of stamps each day on each of our social sites: Blog, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Leave a comment at each of those sites each day and increase your chances to win some of our amazing stamps.  We gave away stamps to 20 people last week!

Also, be sure to visit our friends at Ranger Ink on their facebook page.  They have wonderful inspiration to share on their FB and blog each day.  And, quite frankly, we love how their ink works with our stamps.

Don't forget... to use all of the inspiration from our Design Team to enter our Naturals Contest.  See details HERE.

Hope you have a sunny and wonderful day!

 

How are you including our Naturals embellishments and Clear Stamps into your day to day memory keeping?  We know that everyone gets busy with life and even though many people would like to record their memories in a beautiful and elaborate scrapbook, there isn't always the time. 

 

Today we want to show you some simple ideas for using photo sleeves or divided sheet protectors and Little Yellow Bicycle products to quickly document a day in the life...  Not to mention that the Clear Stamps and Ranger Ink totally enhanced the look of this project, were easy to use, and included the right kind of sentiments.

 

This is basically a mini 4x6 layout with the Vacation Clear Stamps as the focus.  I grabbed my Makin' the Grade 6 x 6 paper pad, a fun notebook punch and some of the cork and canvas Naturals embellishments.

Album Page by Liz Qualman

On most of the stamping, I used the Ranger Archival Ink, because it is so clear and true, but on this Naturals canvas tag, I used Tim's Distress Ink in Faded Jeans for a little rougher texture and color that would go well with the whole concept of the poject.  I also had to add one of the little Ranger Idea-ology fasteners shaped like a hanger.

That blue alphabet is part of our Naturals canvas alphabets and it comes in both upper and lowercase letters.  It's so striking with the red Archival Ink.  Again, cork is such a great surface for stamping like on the little star.

These Naturals burlap hearts are so stinkin' cute!  I used some of the Tim Holtz stains to die the largest one and then stamped the sentiments on the other two with black Archival Ink and added a couple of the Idea-ology Memo Pins.

This particular sheet protector is by Becky Higgins and consists of 3x4 and 4x6 inch sleeves.  There are many different manufacturers of these types of photo sleeves, but I chose Becky's because you can order them from Amazon.com Prime, which means I had them in 2 days, free shipping, not bad.

This is a long product list, but I have so much left in each package to keep going with the same themes...

Prizes: We are going to giveaway 2 big boxes of our Naturals on each Friday of the next two weeks (March 8th and 15th).  Just leave a comment here on the blog and/or on our facebook (maybe do both just to be safe) to enter to win. Leave a comment each day and increase your chances. 

AND we are giving away a set of stamps each day on each of our social sites: Blog, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Leave a comment at each of those sites each day and increase your chances to win some of our amazing stamps.

Also, be sure to visit our friends at Ranger Ink on their facebook page.  They have wonderful inspiration to share on their FB and blog each day.  Check it out.

Don't forget... to use all of the inspiration from our Design Team to enter our Naturals Contest.  See details HERE.

We'll be back next week with more projects.  Have a great weekend and happy crafting!

Day 4 and we are still going strong.  We have a super fun and easy idea of bringing our Naturals collection,  Clear Stamps, and Tim Holtz to dinner.  Now who doesn't want to have dinner with Tim, right??? 

We challenged our design team to show our fans ideas for how easy it is to incorporate our Naturals and Stamps into their everyday lives and today Corrie Jones shares something we should all try at home.  Plus there are prize opportunities at the end, so keep reading...

Custom Napkin Rings by Corrie Jones

I love the way that the Naturals collection and Tim Holtz products just melt together like they were made for each other (see dinner date option above).  I created these simple napkin rings to dress up a spring time table.  With the promise of better weather, I am sure we will be doing more entertaining and I love how the Naturals collection can help provide some fun decor and a breath of fresh air.

Tip: The Ranger Archival Ink stamps onto the cork like butter and you don't need to apply very much pressure to get a clean, crisp stamp. 

The combination of the Naturals Cork Tag and the Tim Holtz Fasteners are such a fun effect and easy to remove and use for another dinner party.

LYB Products:

NA-WB20 Wood Buttons - Etched
NA-CRT10 Cork Tags
NA-JT10 Jute Pack - Light (4 colors, 72" each)
NA-BS50 Layered Burlap Stickers - Hearts
NA-BSH30 Burlap Shapes - Hearts
NA-CV90 Canvas Stickers - Flags
NA-CV60 Canvas Stickers - Birds & Butterflies

Ranger Archival Ink in aquamarine and jet black
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Swivel Clasps

Prizes: We are going to giveaway 2 big boxes of our Naturals on each Friday of the next two weeks (March 8th and 15th).  Just leave a comment here on the blog and/or on our facebook (maybe do both just to be safe) to enter to win. Leave a comment each day and increase your chances. 

AND we are giving away a set of stamps each day on each of our social sites: Blog, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Leave a comment at each of those sites each day and increase your chances to win some of our amazing stamps.

Also, be sure to visit our friends at Ranger Ink on their facebook page.  They have wonderful inspiration to share on their FB and blog each day.  Check it out.

Don't forget... to use all of the inspiration from our Design Team to enter our Naturals Contest.  See details HERE.

Happy Crafting!

We continue to show you another side of Little Yellow Bicycle by showcasing our Naturals collection and Clear Stamps with Tim Holtz inks, stains and paint from Ranger Ink.  Our design team will share a simple and clever way to include our Naturals and Stamps into their everyday lives and we hope to inspire you to add some Naturals into your lives.  Plus there are prizes, see the fine print at the end...

Today Lisa Swift shares her brilliant idea, but let's have her tell you all about it...

Upcycled Bottles by Lisa Swift

I am far from an expert on stamping, so I have to admit I was a bit intimidated by the wonderful products I received from Tim Holtz/Ranger. Once I started experimenting and getting inky though, I had a blast, fell in love and created a decorative set of upcycled glass bottles.  I wrapped each bottle with a band of burlap and then wound some of the Jute Naturals over the burlap. The burlap and jute create such nice texture together.

For the canvas flowers, I used Little Yellow Bicycle's new clear stamps  (the Everyday set) to repeatedly stamp some of the smaller words onto the flower petals (using Ranger Ink's Archival Ink in Jet Black). I also used Tim Holtz Distress Stain on the edge of the burlap leaves to give them some depth.
I stamped some of the larger words (also from the Everyday set) onto white cardstock, cut them out and added one to each bottle.
In order to draw the eye up to the top of the bottles I used Tim Holtz Ideology memo pins in the cork of the yellow bottle to hold a canvas sentiment (from the Just Because collection) and tucked another pin behind the burlap on the blue bottle to hold a sticker (from the Just Because collection). I didn't want all three bottles to have exactly the same embellishments, so my husband coiled some copper wire for me to use around the neck of the smallest bottle. The sturdy wire perch is the perfect spot for a felt bird (from the Naturals collection).
I have to say how much I loved the opportunity to play with Ranger's products. The Archival Ink pad colors are true and vibrant, the drying time is quick, quick, quick and the final stamped image is complete and flawless. The Distress Stains were perfect for adding a bit of color to the burlap leaves on my project, and the memo pins were great for a little finishing touch.

LYB Products:

NA-JT20 Jute Pack - Bright
NA-BF50 Layered Burlap Flowers - Daisy
NA-BS20 Layered Burlap Stickers - Nature
NA-BS10 Layered Burlap Stickers - Tags
CSS-101 Cling Word Stamps - Everyday
JB-140 - Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse
JB-201 Canvas Stickers

Prizes: We are going to giveaway 2 big boxes of our Naturals on each Friday of the next two weeks (March 8th and 15th).  Just leave a comment here on the blog and/or on our facebook (maybe do both just to be safe) to enter to win. Leave a comment each day and increase your chances. 

AND we are giving away a set of stamps each day on each of our social sites: Blog, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Leave a comment at each of those sites each day and increase your chances to win some of our amazing stamps.

Also, be sure to visit our friends at Ranger Ink on their facebook page. They made their goal of 10,000 fans, because our fans are AMAZING and helped push them over the mark.  I bet they will be celebrating soon, so keep an eye on them...

Don't forget... to use all of the inspiration from our Design Team to enter our Naturals Contest.  See details HERE.

Happy Tuesday!

Our design team is thrilled to spend the next two weeks showcasing our Naturals collection and Clear Stamps with Tim Holtz inks, stains and paint from Ranger Ink. We'd love to show you another side to Little Yellow Bicycle and inspire you to add some Naturals to your lives.

And we have some PRIZE opportunities, so be sure to read the fine print at the end, but first...

We asked our design team to come up with some simple and clever ways to include our Naturals and Stamps into their everyday lives and we are PRETTY excited about what they came up with...

Stamped Onesie and Naturals Headband by Jen Chesnick

Could Jen's daughter be any more adorable modeling her custom made onesie and headband?  We think not...  Jen used our brand new clear stamps to add the sentiment to the plain old onesie and voilå, look at the delight on the little model.

Onesie Tip: When stamping on fabric be sure to stamp on a firm surface and place a piece of chipboard or old book (like me!) in between your layers just in case the ink bleeds through the cloth.  Archival ink did not bleed or smear when stamped on fabric.  That is impressive stuff!

Update: Jen said, "I washed the onesie ... no bleeding ... no fading - BOOM!!!"

Headband:  The naturals collection is made to be layered and easily un-layered.  To use paint, stain and the like they are easy to peel apart and then piece back together again when dry.

LYB Products:

NA-BF20 Layered Burlap Flowers - Mum

NA-BS90 Burlap Stickers - Flowers & Leaves
NA-WB10 Wood Buttons - Printed
CSS-103 Cling Word Stamps - Friends
CSS-106 Cling Word Stamps - My Happiness

Ranger Products:
Distress stain, Worn Lipstick & Antique Linen
Archival Ink in Jet Black
Glossy Accents

We hope you want to run out to your LSS, Michaels or Hobby Lobby to pick up some Naturals, Stamps and Ink so you can make a custom onesie for someone special.  We thought this idea from Jen was not only inspired, but a potential side business. Did you know the font on our Clear Stamps and Stickers is exclusive to LYB?

No stores nearby?  Buy all the goodies directly from us at our online store.

Prizes: We are going to giveaway 2 big boxes of our Naturals on each Friday of the next two weeks (March 8th and 15th).  Just leave a comment here on the blog and/or on our facebook (maybe do both just to be safe) to enter to win. Leave a comment each day and increase your chances. 

AND we are giving away a set of stamps each day on each of our social sites: Blog, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Leave a comment at each of those sites each day and increase your chances to win some of our amazing stamps.

Also, our friends at Ranger Ink just need a few more likes on their facebook page to meet their 10,000 fan milestone.  Stop by and like them today and they may be celebrating soon with goodies for fans.  Let's help them get there!

Don't forget... to use all of the inspiration from our Design Team to enter our Naturals Contest.  See details HERE.

It's only Monday and we are on a roll - so stick with us all week!

We have been so happy with how well our Just Because collection works as an everyday collection.  Today Biker Chick Suzanne Sergi shares a special page about her eldest daughter and we think this collection really hit the mark for the content of the layout, but let's have Suzanne tell you all about it...

Just Because Layout by Suzanne Sergi

I was inspired to use the quote from the Just Be You Bands & Linen paper as the title for my page. My daughter is no longer a little girl, and is growing up to be such a lovely young lady. She is full of personality, and I wanted to create a simple page that truly captured her.

I wanted to use the chipboard poloroid frames found in the Chipboard Shapes. They are perfect to highlight a photo, but on this page I used them to create a cluster of embellishments to accent my photo. One of the frames highlights part of the quote. I used the new vellum film strip across the bottom of the frame. I then layered two chipboard hearts on top.

In another frame I used the heart sticker that matched perfectly with the Valentine candy lollipop my daughter is holding. Love when things like that happen!  I created a pinwheel flower to layer on top of the heart sticker. A vellum phrase was layered underneath.

In the final frame I added a couple of doily accents found in the paper crafting kit. A pretty pin, and word sticker were the final details.

Just Because Products:

JB-102 Just Be You Bands/Linen & Lace - Gray

JB-105 Scallop Stripe/Lotsa Love

JB-109 Tiny Blossoms, Birds & Blooms

JB-277 Stick Pins (15 pieces)

JB 160 - Vellum Tape (15 pieces)

JB-305 Paper Crafting Kit (75 pieces)

JB-136 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces/Love - with thermography and embossing (42 pieces)

Mini Contest: Come follow us on Twitter and/or Instagram @lovemylyb and you will be entered into a giveaway for these Brand NEW Clear Stamps.  Aren't these AWESOME! You cannot believe how big some of the words are and they are all individual stamps so they can easily mix and match.  You can find these gorgeous stamps at your local scrapbook store and Hobby Lobby or order them from our online store.  We will draw for winners tomorrow!

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Been thinking about what to do with all that vellum tape in your stash?  Our Biker Chicks put together some clever ways to use our vellum and we hope their ideas will inspire you to tape it up...

Vellum Tape Flowers by Lisa Swift

1. Start off with a punched cardstock circle. This one has a 1 1/2" base.

2. Adhere a 12" strip of vellum tape to a 12" piece of white cardstock (cut the cardstock to match the width of the tape before adhering or trim it afterwards). This will make for a sturdy material to work with. If you'd like something a bit more flexible, you could use white copy paper.

3. Cut 2" strips from the vellum tape. Roll each strip over a pencil (or other slim, round object) to soften the cardstock and make it easier to manipulate. Fold the 2" piece of tape in half, end to end. Adhere on the inside using Glue Dots or other strong adhesive.

4. Adhere these "petals" to the punched circle, layering as you go. Again, you can use Glue Dots because they help keep the petals flexible so you can play with the spacing between them.

5. Embellish the center as desired. I used pieces from the Paper Crafting Kit and a Fresh Verse sticker.

Just Because Products:

JB-277 Stick Pins (15 pieces)
JB-140 - Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse
JB 160 - Vellum Tape
JB-305 Paper Crafting Kit

Vellum Sketch Book by Heather Leopard

I created this journaling book, which I actually plan to use as my new sketch book. I started with a plain chipboard bound book. I really wanted to make my sketchbook unique so I enlisted my hubby's workshop skills and had him drill different sized holes into the cover.  I then layered the vellum tape vertically over the cover, cutting around the holes. Once it was fully covered, I added accent strips in various sizes to give it a little more texture & dimension.

Then, I placed a white sheet of paper inside the front page of the book so that it would show through the front of the cover. I closed the cover and traced circles on the white sheet. This allowed me to see where to place the vellum tape so that it would show through the cover. I laid the vellum over the circles in horizontal and diagonal patterns and then adhered the white sheet to the inside front cover.

Lastly, I covered the pen in vellum tape and went about decorating the front page. I plan to do some art journaling/doodling to the rest of the front page as well.

LYB Products:
Just Because Collection Vellum Tape JB-160
Just Because Collection Vellum Tape JB-161
Escape Collection Vellum Tape ESC-160
Once Upon a Christmas Collection Vellum Tape OC-160
Splash Collection Vellum Tape SPL-160
Naturals Burlap Stickers Tags NA-BS10

Vellum Covered Acrylic Album by Jen Chesnick

Sometimes simple is best.  For this album I chose to just accent the front acrylic piece with vellum tape.  It might be the most simple album cover I have ever made.  The phrase stickers are still an all time favorite of mine.  The vellum is nice because sticks so well and will not curl up on the edges.  It also doesn't show any glue on the backside, so using on acrylic where you will see the other side is perfect!

LYB Products:

JB-134 Journaling Cards - with thermography (10 pieces)
JB-140 - Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with foil and thermography (43 pieces)
JB 160 - Vellum Tape (15 pieces)
JB-304 6X6 Paper Pad (24 sheets - 2 each of 12 designs)JB-279 Chipboard Shapes - with foil accents (28 pieces)
JB-230 Clear Cuts Shapes - with foil accents (27 pieces)
JB-201 Canvas Stickers (15 pieces)
NA-TC10 Tiny Clothespins - Flowers
NA-CVT10 Canvas Tags

Please visit Jen's blog Say Chez! for more of her album and details.

Have a great day!

Did you see the gorgeous everyday pages from yesterday with our Just Because collection?  Today Biker Chick Tania Willis shares another fun page that is a perfect mix of our Just Because collection and our Naturals.

Just Because Layout by Tania Willis

Layering up the base of your layout with simply cut pieces of patterned paper and pages pulled from the 6x6 paper tablet helps give the illusion of a very fussy/time consuming layout.  After quickly adding visual interest with the variety of papers, add an additional bold layer with the use of a contrasting canvas border.
To add a little more substance to the Zig Zag Round Cork Shape giving it a ruffled layered peeking out from behind, I peeled away a border sticker strip from the Favorite Pieces Cardstock Stickers, adhered one end to the back of the cork shape with a mini glue dot, and then pinched and pleated the sticker, adding additional glue dots where necessary, all the way around the cork. This can be done with a sticker or even with the vellum tape strips.

Just Because collection:

JB – 104 Pin Stripe – Gray
JB – 103 Tiny Stripe – Aqua
JB – 277 Stick Pins
JB – 136 Favorite Pieces Stickers – Love
JB – 135 Favorite Pieces Stickers
JB – 304 6x6 Paper Pad
NA-TC10 Tiny Clothespins – Words
NA-WB20 Wood Buttons – Etched
NA-BF10 Layered Burlap Flowers
NA-CRH20 Cork Shapes – Zig Zag Rounds
NA-CVB10 Canvas Borders – Style 1
NA-CW20 Canvas Words – Style 2

Check out our Naturals contest!  We have 4 exciting categories that will excite the crafter in all of us...  See the details HERE.

Have a wonderful day!

Now that Valentine's Day is a distant memory, its time to show the amazing versatility of our Just Because collection.  Biker Chicks Robbie Herring and Corrie Jones show us how to make a gorgeous everyday page with our current favorite collection... 

Just Because Layout by Robbie Herring

All the bright and beautiful elements in the Just Because Collection make me want to use them all the time!  Add in some of the new Naturals and it's a match made in heaven!

This photo of my daughter and her friend was a natural fit with this collection.  There are so many elements that reference friendship.  Because these girls have been friends since they were 4 years old, it seems to them that they have known each other always.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Naturals buttons and flowers!!!  With the buttons in the centers of the flowers, I couldn't resist adding some of the other wood buttons.

Tip:  Try mixing Naturals borders with other borders for different textures.   I layered the Naturals Canvas Border with one of the Just Because Canvas Borders and finished it off with a sticker border.

Just Becuase Products:
JB-103 Linen & Lace - Aqua/Tiny Stripes Aqua
JB-134 Journaling Cards - with thermography (10 pieces)
JB-140 - Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with foil and thermography (43 pieces)
JB-201 Canvas Stickers (15 pieces)
JB-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with thermography and embossing (32 pieces)
NA-BF60 Layered Burlap Flowers - Zinnia
NA-CVB10 Canvas Borders - Style 1
NA-WB10 Wood Buttons

Just Because Layout by Corrie Jones

I love the cool colors of Just Because.  The red pops of color are just the perfect accent color too.  It was easy for me to make a page about just an everyday moment with the colors and embellishments in this collection.  I do not have a story of anything in particular with this photo.  Honestly I would have to look it up in my photo archives to even know when it was taken.  But I love that it is my little girls sweet, silly face.  I love that I can feel in my heart how much I love her just by looking at it.  It probably is only something I will ever "get" when I see this page, but I don't care.  It is for me and I love that it is just how I feel everyday for her.
Just Because Products:

JB-101 Bicycle Bliss
JB-102 Just Be You Bands
JB-103 Linen & Lace
JB-104 Full Bloom
JB-106 Diamond Doily
JB-107 Let's Do Coffee
JB-108 Pretty Paisley
JB-277 Stick Pins
JB-308 10 Things Pocket
JB-279 Chipboard Pieces
JB-230 Clear Cuts

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

We are hope that you all have some fun, sentimental or romantic activities planned for this day of love and appreciation.  Over the last two weeks our Biker Chicks and Cycling Team members have given you some ideas that we hope were inspiring, but today we just want to wish you a Happy Valentine's Day!

I Love You Card by Heather Leopard

I just adore the journaling tags and I wanted showcase this one on the card so I wrapped it in a small doily with twine and stick pins and added a pretty paper rosette. The base of the card is quite simple to re-create - just adhere two pieces of pattern paper together and add vellum tape to the seam where they meet. Add your sentiment and embellishments and your card is complete.

Love Card by Heather Leopard

I wanted to keep this card simple. To create it, I simply cut out three hearts, faux stitched around them and then using foam dots, I added different pattern papers behind them. Lastly, I adhered vellum tapes to the square card, added a strip of pattern paper and then overlayed the "LOVE" stickers.

Card Storage Box by Heather Leopard

I decided that this card needed something more so I used my CAMEO to cut this box. I filled the negative portion of the box with different pieces of pattern paper and then embellished the lid. The card is a perfect fit. You can't see it in the photo but I actually shredded some pattern paper, for the card and some candy to rest on. I'm really excited to give this to my someone special.
Just Because Products:
JB-108 Pretty Paisley/String of Beads 12x12 paper
JB-103 Linen & Lace - Aqua/Tiny Stripes Aqua 12x12 Paper
JB-304 6x6 Paper Pad
JB-279 Chipboard Shapes

JB-304 6x6 Paper Pad
JB-161 Vellum Tape - Love (15 pieces)
JB-305 Paper Crafting Kit
JB-134 Journaling Cards
JB-277 Stick Pins

JB-136 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces/Love

 Valentine Cards and Stacking Gift Boxes by Liz Qualman

This is a little ensemble of cards and gift boxes perfect for candy, chocolate or other sweet and romantic gifts.  I found some nesting boxes in my gift wrap stash and recovered them with the Just Because Collection.

The bright, happy colors are a wonderful contrast to the Naturals layered burlap hearts.  I added just the one to the top box for some added flair.

I really love the paper crafting kits that come with each LYB collection.  I added one of the Naturals cork heart pins to go along with the Just Because heart pin.
It's really fun to layer chipboard elements with journal cards, fresh verse stickers and favortie pieces. 

Please visit my blog for more details.

Just Because Products:

JB-101 Bicycle Bliss/FlowerDot

JB-103 Linen & Lace - Aqua/Tiny Stripes Aqua

JB-105 Scallop Stripe/Lotsa Love

JB-109 Tiny Blossoms, Birds & Blooms

JB-277 Stick Pins (15 pieces)

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

JB-136 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces/Love - with thermography and embossing (42 pieces)

JB-279 Chipboard Shapes - with foil accents (28 pieces)

Cards by Corrie Jones

I love the Just Because line for Valentine's Day cards.  It has the traditional red and pink, but the colors really pop because of the dark blue and aqua.  It is an incredibly fun color combination and adds a little bit of playfulness to the "Love" theme.

Just Because Products:
 - JB-277 Stick Pins
 - JB-136 Cardstock Stickers Favorite Pieces/Love
 - JB-160 Vellum Tape
 - JB-161 Vellum Tape Love
 - JB-304 6x6 Paper Pad
 - Naturals!

Have a wonderful and romantic day!

Ready for tomorrow night?  Thinking about how you can turn dinner for two into a festive event.  Biker Chick Jen Chesnick shows us how to decorate the table to make a romantic feast for two into a really special event using our Just Because collection.

Valentine Table Setting by Jen Chesnick

Happy Valentines Day!!  Have a special dinner planned for your sweetie?  I have some ideas for you that will help your spice up your table!  The first item on the table and most noticeable is the centerpiece. 

I created a small scale banner using journaling tags, stickers and cut tags.  I've attached the banner on our new naturals collection jute along with the new naturals clothespins  
I had these ball jars handy so I filled them with candy to hold my dowels.  I wrapped them with some left over papers and shapes just to dress them up.

Flanking the banner are 3 simple square boxes.  I cut them out and lined the openings with vellum.  I dropped battery operated tea lights in them to pump up the romance factor! 

The menu stands could easily be swapped out for place cards.  My menu consists of cake and well maybe some more cake.

Small dressed up pockets complete my place setting.  Simple and sweet and easily adaptable for any occasion.

Just Because Products:

JB-106 Diamond Doily/Loops & Stitches
JB-104 Full Bloom/Pin Stripe - Gray
JB-108 Pretty Paisley/Strings of Beads
JB-105 Scallop Stripe/Lotsa Love
JB-134 Journaling Cards - with thermography (10 pieces)
JB-136 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces/Love - with thermography and embossing (42 pieces)
JB-161 Vellum Tape - Love (15 pieces)
JB-304 6X6 Paper Pad (24 sheets - 2 each of 12 designs)
JB-279 Chipboard Shapes - with foil accents (28 pieces)
JB-230 Clear Cuts Shapes - with foil accents (27 pieces)

JB Miniature Clothespins
NA-JT20 Jute Pack - Bright (4 colors, 72" each)

Is this not the coolest idea for a fun decorative table.  I can see how these techniques could be easily done for a birthday party.  Be sure to visit Jen's blog Say Chez! for more of her inspiring ideas!

Halfway through the week!

Today Biker Chick Robbie Herring shares a treat idea for those of us slackers who have waited until the last minute to get anything ready for the big day...

Valentine Treats by Robbie Herring

Last week, one of my Facebook friends commented about how she found out about something her child needed for school the next day.  When did she find out?  Why, the night before, of course!   This is my answer to that for Valentine's Day!
This one is made with a heart cookie cutter.  I doubt that I spent more than 5 minutes on it.  I just used the Little Yellow Bicycle Vellum tape on the outside, popped it in a bag and tied a bow at the top.  To add a bit more detail, I punched a hole in a Clear Cut, added a tiny jewel and tied it to the top.
 
Tip:  Cookie Cutters can be found in several places around each of the holidays.  Try checking your local craft store, grocery store or even discount stores.
This one is another super quick one.  I had these clear cups on hand.   I just punched a border from paper and adhered it to the bottom of the cup.  Next, I wrapped a sticker border along the very bottom border.  For the tie-on, I used a couple of pieces of chipboard and another tiny jewel.
 
Tip:  If you take a closer look, you can see that to make the border fit better along the bottom of the cut, I scored it on the bottom side and then clipped between the scallops.
This one is a bit more time consuming, but still very easy and quick.  For it, I used a clear transparency sheet.  It also takes very limited supplies.  I punched a couple of 12 inch strips and a thin piece of paper for the edges.  Working while it was flat, I added the borders to the edges.  Next up, I taped it together to make the cylinder.  Put your candy in another clear bag that is already inside the cylinder.  Tie a bow on the open end to close.  On the closed end of the bag, tie a bow and then clip the edges.  Finsh off with a punched heart, a little heart sticker and another tiny jewel.
 
Tip:  You can get 4 to six of these out of each single sheet of transparency paper.  One sheet goes a long way!  Also, make sure that the edge you are adding the borders too is no more than 6 inches.  This will save you time by making each punched strip work for two sides.

Just Because Products:
JB-108 Pretty Paisley/Strings of Beads
JB-103 Linen & Lace - Aqua/Tiny Stripes Aqua
JB-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with thermography and embossing (32 pieces)
JB-136 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces/Love - with thermography and embossing (42 pieces)
JB-161 Vellum Tape - Love (15 pieces)
JB-279 Chipboard Shapes - with foil accents (28 pieces)

Have a wonderful day!

Today we have some fun ideas to decoreate your home for a romantic evening.  Biker Chick Lisa Swift shares two ideas with our Just Because Collection, but we'll have her tell you all about it...

Altered Frames by Lisa Swift

I love to decorate for Valentine's Day. The colors and hearts make everything cheerful (and after the snow and bitter cold we've had over the past few weeks, I definitely need something cheerful).  The first project is a set of chipboard frames. I covered the back of one large and two medium Polaroid-style chipboard frames with patterned paper.



Tips for Creating the Frames:

1. Trace the outside of the frame and the inner window onto patterned paper (the 6x6 paper pad is the perfect size for this).
2. Cut the outside portion first and then the window section. If the paper frame ends up a bit too large, don't worry. Use a piece of sandpaper to get sand away the extra and create a smooth, seamless edge in the process.
3. Cut a coordinating piece of paper to fill the window (just make sure the paper is a bit larger than the window itself).
4. Embellish with various stickers, chipboard, journaling cards, and pieces from the Paper Crafting Kit.

Custom Candles by Lisa Swift

This next project was really fun to do. All you need is a couple of clear glass votive holders and lengths of vellum tape. Through trial and error, I found it easiest to start at the bottom. I wrapped the first length of tape and then placed each subsequent strip flush against the one before it.

Just Because Products:

JB-134 Journaling Cards
JB-277 Stick Pins
JB-136 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces/Love
JB-161 Vellum Tape
JB-304 6X6 Paper Pad
JB-305 Paper Crafting Kit
JB-279 Chipboard Shapes

There is still time to get your own Just Because supplies.  Please visit your local scrapbook store or our online store and order some today!

Happy Monday!

Our Paper Crafting Kits are so verstaile.  You could probably use one from any of our collections to make a Valentine card.  Today Biker Chick Suzanne Sergi gives us a couple of ideas of how to incorporate them into a card with our Just Because collection, but let's have her tell you all about it...

Inspiration Canvas by Suzanne Sergi

I was inspired by the quote found on the 12 x12 Just Be You paper. I thought it would make for a pretty inspiration canvas to have in your office, or scrapbook room.  I stitched together two patterns found on the 6x6 paper pack, and added this strip to the right of the canvas. I used the pleated flower in the papercrafting kit to create a bold embellishment on the left side of the canvas. Using a circle element, and paper bow from the papercrafting kit, I was able to create many layers to this embellishment.

I pulled in many of the elements found in the paper crafting kit for Just Because. The kit includes so many different shapes to create pretty details on your projects.

Just Because Products:

JB-102 Just Be You Bands/Linen & Lace Gray
JB-304 6x6 Paper Pad
JB-305 Paper Crafting Kit
JB-277 StickPins

Altered Glassine Bag by Suzanne Sergi

The following is a 5x7 glassine bag that I covered with more paper found in the Just Because 6x6 paper pad. Again, a pleated flower was used as the main embellishment on the bag. The flower is found on the Cardstock stickers ,and I simply covered it in glitter.

The small flower, and the small red polka dot circle are all elements found in the papercrafting kit. I did emboss the small blue flower to add texture.

Just Because Products:

JB-304 6x6 Paper Pad
JB-305 Paper Crafting Kit
JB-140 Cardstock Stickers
JB-201 Canvas Stickers

Be sure to visit Suzanne's blog Scrappin' the Details for more of her inspiring ideas.

Don't Forget about our February Sketch Challenge.  We have some great prizes to send out and you know how much we love to see projects from our fans!  See the details on this post HERE.

Have a wonderful and crafty weekend!

We have an adorable layout from Biker Chick Vicki Boutin today.  We love how our team is transforming our Just Becasue collection into Valentine projects even though it is really an everyday collection.  Don't you love the versatility?  Check out Vicki's tips...

Just Because Layout by Vicki Boutin

We love Valentine's Day in our house!  We always grab cute t-shirts, cards and candy to celebrate this day of love.  I also like to grab a few photos...big surprise!  When I received my Just Because goodies I knew they would be perfect for one of these sweet photos.
 I love the foil accents in the Just Because line.  Hard to photograph but the close up shots give you a better idea.
This line is definitely great for Valentine's Day events as well as any other "Just Because" moments.  Gotta love that!!!

Be sure to visit Vicki's blog Creative Foundations for more inspiration and information on her classes and upcoming events.

AND Remember - you can still find the entire Just Because collection available at our online store.

Almost to the weekend :)

Getting ready to send Valentines to school with your precious ones?  How about a fantastic idea that includes both a treat and a Valentine?  Biker Chick Tania Willis has a fantastic idea to share today featuring our Just Because collection, but we'll have her tell you all about it...

Classroom Valentine Treats by Tania Willis

Hello Little Yellow Bicycle fans!  I am so thrilled to be here today sharing an idea for you and your kiddos for their Valentine’s Day classroom exchange. You should know that I am totally one of those people that like to find ways to use products in ways other than their intended purpose.

I decided to make things easy on myself and put some of the gorgeous pieces from the Paper Crafting Kit to use to embellish a set of lightweight clear plastic tubes from SRM Press.  These tubes are BRILLIANT for packaging small candy treats and made the job of putting together sugary sweet Valentine’s for my daughter’s classmates super simple.

To decorate them, I started simple by adding either a vellum tape strip or a pre-scored printed cardstock strip (from the Paper Crafting Kit) along the bottom of each tube. These add a visually substantial embellishment around the base of the tube and acts to ground whatever other embellishing you’re doing. Each vellum strip &/or pre-scored printed cardstock will wrap around three tubes, so you can really stretch the mileage from the set making them perfect when creating multiples!

Just Because Products:

JB-140 - Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with foil and thermography (43 pieces)

JB-136 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces/Love - with thermography and embossing (42 pieces)

JB 160 - Vellum Tape (15 pieces)

JB-161 Vellum Tape - Love (15 pieces)

JB-305 Paper Crafting Kit (75 pieces)

JB-279 Chipboard Shapes - with foil accents (28 pieces)

Please visit Tania's blog for more details and a few tips about this project.

Happy Crafting!

There are so many things you can do with our Just Because collection.  It's great for layouts and for altering everday items.  Check out this beautiful stationary set...

Just Because Stationary Set by Greta Hammond

We love how Greta was able to pack everything you would need to send out a note or two in this cute little stationary caddy.  And the size is perfect for stowing this in many places in your home.

Tip: Use round or icon stickers to top off paper clips to add fun details to your project. Add pieces of chipboard to the backs of stickers to help make them more stable for the paper clips.

Tip: It's the details in projects like these to that help make them extra special. Make a "belly band" to wrap around a set of cards by cutting a strip of paper and adding stickers. It's an easy way to add that finishing touch.

Just Because Products:

JB-101 Bicycle Bliss/FlowerDot

JB-106 Diamond Doily/Loops & Stitches

JB-104 Full Bloom/Pin Stripe - Gray

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

JB-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with thermography and embossing (32 pieces)

JB-140 - Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with foil and thermography (43 pieces)

JB-305 Paper Crafting Kit (75 pieces)

We'll be back tomorrow to introduce our Guest Designer for Just Because and we think you will love seeing her projects over the next few weeks.  Until then...

One of our very favorite embellishments is our journal cards.  We've been including them with our collections for a long, long time.  We are always looking for new ways to use them all up, so we challenged Biker Chick Robbie Herring to think of a quick and simple project that highlights how to use our journal cards in a clever way...

Mini Brag Book by Robbie Herring

If you are like me, finding a way to carry pictures of your kids can be a challenge.  So many wallets these days don't have photo holders and if they do, they are flimsy. Making a brag book is a great way to carry your favorite pictures along with you all the time.  One thing that I have found frustrating about brag books over the years is that quite often, they are too bulky to carry around in your purse.  I came up with this idea to solve the problem.

Make yourself a brag book out of trading card sleeves.  These sleeves are the perfect size to fit wallet size pictures!   Add in Little Yellow Bicycle Journal Cards for decoration and to document the details and you are good to go!  This is a SUPER QUICK and Easy way to show off your pictures.

Keep it Simple!  And Flat!  Add a couple of layers of paper plus a few stickers.  A journal card with room to tell the story or the date, plus a few stickers and some embroidery floss are another detail that will work well in this project.  Anything flat goes!

I used the 6x6 Paper Pad and a journal card to  decorate the cover.  I also tied a little chipboard heart to the ring for added fun!

Tip:  As I've mentioned, these holders are tough and will protect your photos!  You might want to try a Crop-a-dile or a heavy duty hole punch to make your holes for the ring.

Just Because Products:

JB-134 Journaling Cards - with thermography (10 pieces)
JB-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with thermography and embossing (32 pieces)
JB-304 6X6 Paper Pad (24 sheets - 2 each of 12 designs)
JB-279 Chipboard Shapes - with foil accents (28 pieces)
JB-230 Clear Cuts Shapes - with foil accents (27 pieces)

Come visit our online store and find the perfect journal cards from many of our collections to make your very own brag book.  Or, just look through your stash and find some you already have on hand.  We'd love to see you post a project on our Facebook page if you make one.

Have a wonderful and crafty day!

It's been a while... we know.   But, we want to give our fans an opportunity to play along with us this month.  So how about a sketch challenge with a BIG prize for a few winners?  Just jump into our sketch challenge this month and we will send three fans a really nice LYB prize pack that includes our newest colleciton and SOME of our brand new Naturals.  Are you game???

I haven't sketched in a while, but I have to say that this one feels really good and has a lot of opportunity to customize or just follow along.  Totally up to the beholder and we love to see your creativity with our sketches and products.

Just Because Layout by Liz Qualman

This page came together pretty quickly.  I have to admit that I was tempted to use one large 5x7 photo of my kids and call it good, but I love all of the pages I've been seeing with wallet-sized photos.  So, I compromised and used the same photo (in a wallet-size) three times to make the same impact with a litte more flair.  This picture of my kids really warms my heart, so I probably could have used it six times or more, but I tried some self-restraint - LOL

Have you checked out our new Naturals collection???  It is a must have and I am not just saying that because I work for Little Yellow Bicycle.  I would buy these gorgeous embellishments regardless.  Look how this burlap heart totally fits in with the bright Just Because color scheme, but adds a little natural texture.  I just LOVE it!!!  And check out the other hearts you get in the package with this one... could have used any of them on this page.

Can you even stand another minute without these Naturals blue canvas letters that remind me of denim?  They were such a fun element to add to my page.  Not to mention that they come in other colors...

Little Yellow Bicycle Products:

JB-101 Bicycle Bliss/FlowerDot

JB-103 Linen & Lace - Aqua/Tiny Stripes Aqua

JB-108 Pretty Paisley/Strings of Beads

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

JB-277 Stick Pins (15 pieces)

JB-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with thermography and embossing (32 pieces)

JB 160 - Vellum Tape (15 pieces)

JB-279 Chipboard Shapes - with foil accents (28 pieces)

AS-212 Canvas Alphas - Blue, Esfera

NA-BS50 Layered Burlap Stickers - Hearts

Here are 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 Sketch Challenge 2013". 

2. If you're not a Facebook user, you still may enter, by emailing a photo of your entry to liz@mylyb.com and Liz will post your project to our Facebook Wall. Please include your mailing address - so we have it in case you win!

3.  All entries must be received by midnight EST on Sunday, February 24, 2013.

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 including some of our brand new Naturals. 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.

We cannot wait to see what our crafty friends come up with and we hope this gives you a little inspiration to kick off your weekend.   

Remember, you can buy all of the Just Because and any other recent LYB collections from our online store and our shipping department is super speedy...

Have you noticed all of the darling stick pins that are included with each of our collections?  We'd be lying if we didn't tell you how much we adore them.  We thought it would be a fun post for our Biker Chicks Heather and Corrie to just "Put a Pin in It."   Check out what they created with the new Just Because collection and stick pins.

Just Because Stick Pins

Family Reward Jar by Heather Leopard

I created this Family Activity jar as a way to reward our kids for good behavior, grades or whatever we feel that deserve to be rewarded for.

I used the stick pins as the foundation for creating the activity strips by simply adhering them between two strips of paper and then decorating them with chipboard, twine and bits from the paper crafting kit. Each strip has a different activity that I know all of the family members will enjoy.

Of course, we need a cute jar to hold the pin strips in so I decorated a mason jar using paper, chipboard, and more bits from the paper crafting kit. Of course, the smaller "happiness" jar on the front had to be filled with faux flowers, made from the stick pins.  Now I just need to make more activity pins that can be switched out each month so that we have different options of things to do, while creating new memories together.

Just Because Products:
JB-277 Stick Pins
JB-304 6x6 Paper Pad
JB-305 Paper Crafting Kit
JB-160 Vellum Tape
JB-201 Canvas Stickers
JB-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse
JB-279 Chipboard Shapes

Just Because Cards by Corrie Jones

Corrie whipped up these cards and adorned them with our Just Because stick pins as decoration.  They make excellent clusters and flags.

Just Because Products:

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

JB-277 Stick Pins (15 pieces)

JB-279 Chipboard Shapes - with foil accents (28 pieces)

Half way through the week and the creativity is flowing.  We'll be back with more Just Because tomorrow and maybe even a little challenge... so stay tuned.

We are so excited that our Biker Chicks have finally received the Just Because collection to decorate our blog and today we have two beautiful projects from Jen Chesnick.  Watch how Jen shows the versatility of this collection, but let's have her tell you all about it...

Just Because Layout by Jen Chesnick

Hi LYB fans! Jen here today with some brand spanking new projects using our new line Just Because.  It's this time of the year where I am tired of the Holidays and Winter and I am looking for a little punch of color to hold me over till Spring, Just Because just does that. 

The fabulous thing about this line is it does double duty.  You can see my use of the line with my layout "Sweet Child of Mine"  It showcases the everyday value of the colors and shapes.  Super sweet!  Bows are my current obsession as well as a hot trend! 

On the flip side Just Because is a Valentines line.  I created these heart shaped boxes in neutral grays and added the punch of red with my embellishments   Not only did I get a sweet layout of my little one I got a sweet treat for my loved one!  I hope you enjoy this line as much as I do!

Just Because Products:

JB-109 Tiny Blossoms, Birds & Blooms
JB-108 Pretty Paisley/Strings of Beads
JB-103 Linen & Lace - Aqua/Tiny Stripes Aqua
JB-308 10 Things Pocket - with embossing (17 pieces)
JB-134 Journaling Cards - with thermography (10 pieces)
JB-136 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces/Love - with thermography and embossing (42 pieces)
JB-305 Paper Crafting Kit (75 pieces)
JB-279 Chipboard Shapes - with foil accents (28 pieces)
JB-201 Canvas Stickers (15 pieces)

Remember, we are shipping Just Because directly from our online store and our warehouse will get it to you quickly, so feel free to stop by and order some Just Because!

Have a wonderful and crafty weekend!

Ever wonder how to use our collection signature papers without covering up all of the fun details?  Today we share two pages with the same Just Because collection signature paper, but present two totally different ideas for maneuvering around the page...

Just Because Layout by Greta Hammond

We love how Greta chose a horizontal 5 x 7 photo and then framed it with the patterned papers and elements so the little bicycle and clouds would still shine through.  It's a fairly simple design, but the impact of all of the little details really makes this page stand out.  Don't you love the pops of red?

Just Because Layout by Lisa Swift

We also love how Lisa took the same paper and moved her embellishments around the page so that the background paper still has a lot of focus, but it is mixed in with the other elements of her design.  Here's a couple of tips from Lisa...

1. Mix and match the chipboard heart frames/hearts and offset the hearts to give them dimension.

2. Use brads to keep a Clear Cut transparency in place.

3. Use Clear Cuts to add to the scene that's printed on the patterned paper.

Check this out - We know that your local scrapbook store (LSS) will have this collection soon, but if you don't have a local store or just CANNOT wait to have it.  You can purchase Just Because directly from us at our online store and we will ship it immediately.  Plus, you don't want to miss out on this collection before it is all gone...

Happy Wednesday!

Are you longing for those 100 Days of Summer?  Waiting for the heat of the sun on your face, a warm summer breeze or an afternoon barbeque?  We think we have the perfect collection for capturing your favorite summer moments, but we want you to be the judge...

Layout by Greta Hammond

We don't think we could have come up with a better palette of red, white and blue that is great for celebrating summer and the many occasions that come up.  Greta's design captures her family moment, while adding some of the softer papers from the collection.

We had to include our signature 5 Things Pocket all decked out in red, white and blue, but check out the gorgeous pattern on the pocket.

Layout by Greta Hammond

You didn't think for a moment that we would not celebrate our nation's birthday.  Vintage Summer can be used for everyday moments and fun 4th of July photos like the ones in Greta's layout.

Check this out - Remember to leave a comment on the blog about your favorite summer activities and we might just send you a CHA goodie bag!

Now that you have a taste of all of our AMAZING spring and summer collections, we are going to need a few cycling team members to showcase our products. We took the liberty of inviting back a few of our favorite Cycling Team Members from 2012 to get us started with our Just Because collection (shipping soon).   So please welcome back these tremendously talented designers.

Shellye McDaniel

Audrey Pettit

Tamara Tripodi

Renne Zwirek

But WAIT.. we need Cycling Team Members for our super cute Fern and Forest Girl and Boy collections,  So starting now, we will be accepting applications for those two teams...

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!

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 designteams@mylyb.com.  Also, if you have previously designed for a Cycling Team, please feel free to apply again!  Please send us your application by Wednesday, January 23rd and we'll announce the NEW Fern and Forest Cycling Teams on Monday, January 28th.  Please also 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!

Have a wonderful weekend and if you are at CHA, please stop by our booth #2609.

When have you ever had a chance to experience a field of beautiful poppy flowers?  Probably the last time you watched the Wizard of Oz - right?  Well we think our new Poppy collection will be just as enticing as the poppy field in the movie, without the sleepy side effects.  In fact we think it will invigorate you with a lot of creative energy!

Altered Garden Set by Greta Hammand

We love Greta's adorable Garden Set and how she incorporated our Poppy Paper Crafting Kit to adorn the little birdhouse. There are so many embellishment possibilities with this kit and it comes with everything you need to create bautiful spring flowers and banners.

Layout by Suzanne Sergi

We also love how Suzanne added a little extra texture to the leaves in the Paper Crafting Kit by running them through one of her embossing folders - clever idea!

Aren't these Chipboard Shapes gorgeous?  That little picket fence is so stinkin' precious and paired with the birdhouses and flower pot are a creative project to die for...

Tags by Corrie Jones

We love how Corrie used the chipboard pieces on her bautiful tags, especially the little fence, flower pot and birdhouse.

Mini Album by Robbie Herring

We adore Robbie's mini album.  She actually combined one of our shaped albums with the 6 x 6 canvas chipboard album and the effect is really fun.  Robbie incorporated both the Paper Crafting Kit and the Chipboard Shapes on her album.

Check this out - we've had super releases and CHA goodie bags available all week starting with Sharon's post on Monday and today is no exception.  Tell us which spring occasion you could use this collection for and we might just send you some brand new "stuff".

One more day until showtime! 

We've LOVED all of the comments about what our fans plan to do with our collections.  It's amazing to be part of such a creative community and your ideas are very important to us.  So, keep the ideas flowing today as you look at our next release...

When was the last time that you completely fell in love with a boy collection?  We've been listening to our fans and customers who want to see more gender specific collections and Fern and Forest Boy is the result of your feedback.  I personally think it is one of the CUTEST collections I have ever worked with, but you decide...

Layout by Liz Qualman

How about a few gnomes to go with all the fairies from yesterday?  The color palette and sentiments in the Fern and Forest Boy collection make it easy to capture all those moments from the little guys in your life. 

 FNB-579 Chipboard Shapes - with thermography (30 pieces)

Wall Decor Banner by Greta Hammond

We love how Greta created this adorable banner with the Fern and Forest collection and a template from one of our Chipboard Banner albums.  Would make a wonderful gift for a new baby boy.

Altered Blocks by Suzanne Sergi

This is such a great idea for a home decor item that can be added to a shelf, bookcase or table.  Suzanned did a great job of capturing this fun sentiment of PLAY.

FNB-501 Canvas Stickers (15 pieces)

Altered Frame by Vicki Boutin

Who doesn't need a few more customized frames around the house?  Vicki did a fantastic job of creating a fun,  carefree frame, perfect for little and big boys.

Check this out... We have more CHA goodies to giveaway and will announce winners later this week.  Leave a comment on the post today telling us which of our Fern and Forest collections you gravitate towards and why.  Or maybe you love both, which is just fine by us - we just want to hear what you like about them.

We'll have a another peek tomorrow, so check back with us.

Did you love Sharon's post on our new Naturals collection yesterday?  Don't forget to go back and leave a comment there - we'll choose a winner later this week. 

How about another look at our Fern and Forest collection?  Just for the Girls... 

Nothing makes a collection more fun than a little bit of fairy dust.  And no matter what age you are, there's an enchanted little girl in all of us...  Check out the fun ways our Biker Chicks included the adorable fairy from this beautiful Fern and Forest Girl collection in their projects.

Altered Lampshade by Biker Chick Liz Qualman

Take the gorgeous papers with this collection and your trusty scoring tool and make this fun accordion style lampshade worthy enough to adorn our little pixie and brighten up the room of someone special...

FNG-279 Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (28 pieces)

Album by Biker Chick Jen Chesnick

Record those echanted moments in one of our gorgeous burlap albums and add the little sprite to the cover to capture the whimiscal attitude in your own little fairy.

FNG-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with glitter and debossing (43 pieces)

Card by Biker Chick Liz Qualman

Send some fairy dust to a friend or loved one on their birthday or for another special occasion.  We think our little pixie would easily brighten up a friend's day.  Add a few jewel stickers to make it sparkle.

Now before you start thinking that this collection is limited to magical beings, take a closer look at the color palette and sentiments HERE and imagine using it for everyday pages too.  It is the perfect combination of pinks, greens and blues.  I'm going to go dig out my penny loafers, pull my collar up and capture a very preppy moment - just sayin'...'

Check this Out - So far you have a taken a closer look at Just Because, Naturals and Fern and Forest Girl and we would love to send our wonderful fans some of our CHA goodies.  Leave us a comment telling us how you might use this collection for the little girls in your lives, or how you might capture other moments and we'll put together a grab bag of CHA goodies just for you.

Have a wonderful day!

We are so tickled with our newest collection.  It's the perfect combination of everyday patterns and colors with a little twist on love and friendship.  Great for Valentines Day, but also perfect for those "Just Because" occasions. 

Just Because Layout by Greta Hammond

We have another fabulous Paper Crafting Kit with this collection and the colors are "to die for."  Greta did a fantastic job of brightening up this already adorable photo of her daughter with all of the flowers.

Just Because Layout by Liz Qualman

Did we mention that this collection is also perfect for Valentine's Day or capturing those special moments all about the "L" word?  We also included another amazing 10 Things Pocket for preserving wonderful memories in a fun and "private" journaling element.

Check This Out... Our Just Because collection is shipping to stores soon, and we would love to give some away to one of our amazing fans.  Please leave a comment on this post telling us how you would use this collection to capture a "Just Because" moment or something special for Valentine's Day.

And - this is only one of five new collections we are releasing at CHA next week!  Stay tuned for more sneaks...

How about a few ideas on how to use our Winterings Paper Crafting Kit?  Today Biker Chicks Lisa and Heather share a couple of projects that easily incorporate this beautiful element from our Winterings Collection..

Winterings Layout by Biker Chick Lisa Swift

Tip 1: The border showcases a trio of pleated snowflakes combined with a mix of the large, medium and small circular snowflake elements. Although the circular snowflakes are pretty on their own, try stacking them (using Pop Dots between the layers) for some dimension.


 

Tip 2: You can also use the snowflake circles to create a pull tab for a journaling tag and the pleated elements don’t have to be pleated at all. I used a section on my page to create a scalloped border at the top of the page (navy blue text). Just need a bit of a snowflake peeking out? Cut them in half and tuck them into a border or behind a photo.

Winterings Products:

WI-305 Paper Crafting Kit
WI-106 Barnwood & Doilies/Grey Dot 12x12 Paper
WI-134 Journaling Cards
WI-308 5 Things Envelopes
WI-222 Layered Burlap Stickers
WI-140 Fresh Verse Cardstock Stickers
WI-160 Vellum Tape Strips
WI-304 6x6 Paper Pad
WI-230 Clear Cuts

Winterings Altered Frame by Biker Chick Heather Leopard

Tip: I created this frame to mimic the look of subway art. The Winterings paper was perfect for the various Winter sentiments. I then adorned the frame with various elements from the paper crafting kit, as well as a few Fresh Verse and Favorite pieces stickers. I just love walking in the front door every day to this fun decor.

Winterings Products:

WI-103 12x12 Paper
WI-305 Paper Crafting Kit
WI-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse
WI-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces
WI-279 Chipboard Shapes

If you are shopping for sales today, don't forget to visit our online store HERE.

Have a wonderful day!

Today Biker Chick Heather Leopard shares her version of a deliciously icy mini album with our Winterings collection.  But let's have Heather tell you all about it...

Favorite Winter Memories Mini Album by Heather Leopard

Here in south east Texas we rarely get any snow but that doesn't stop us from pretending like we do. Our neighborhood has a Christmas party each year for the kids and they have been known to bring the snow in.  It's more like shaved ice but we don't care.  These are photos of my oldest daughter several years ago. I took way too many photos for a layout and when I saw the Winterings collection, I knew I had to pair the photos and this fabulous collection together.  I used the new burlap mini for the album. I just love how the icy colors pop on the burlap. I mixed in stickers, chipboard, stick pins and pieces from the paper crafting kit to create the cover.

I decided to use the winter text paper from the 6x6 pad and a portion of the WI-105 12x12 paper for the inside front cover. I did not add embellishments since the paper highlighted so many wonderful things about winter all on it's own.

I wanted to focus on one of my favorite photos of my daughter all bundles up. I matted it on distressed papers from the 6c6 paper pad, used banners from the paper crating kit as well as some I cut on my own and topped it off with clear cuts shapes/words, snowflakes and the "Bundle Up" sticker, which I matted to make sure it didn't blend in to the photo.

We were able to form some small "ice balls". My mother-in-law was playing catch with my daughter. To make this spread, I punched 2 different papers and adhered them behind the blue paper (cut from the 6x6 paper pad). I added a journaling card, then the photo and then I added a clear cut tree (it's hard to see to you might want to click the photo to enlarge). I also added a rosette with a small clear cut doily and snowflake circle. I completed this page with a pair of mittens. The 2nd page also features a journaling card with snowflakes from the paper crafting kit, stick pin stars and a sticker which reads "memories are made of this", which is soo true!

These photos are of my daughter exploring the ice cold snow. She had a blast filling her cup up and dumping it out, over and over. I covered the left side of the page with this gorgeous snowflake paper. When I was playing around with it, the photo was getting a bit lost so I made an extra large banner (hand-cut) and then I just added different layers of distressed paper, a chipboard sentiment and another snowflake and clear cut shape to achieve this look.  The coordinating page has the same distressed papers with a journaling prompt, sentiment sticker, chipboard house and 2 clear cut shapes, one layered over the other.

Oh, a snowball did ensue but the snowballs were really iceballs so we lightly tossed them.  This grey woograin paper with the small snowflake/doilies is so beautiful and I really wanted it to stand out so I added some small itty bitty bling to the center of some of the flakes. The sentiment on this page is a happy accident. The "wonderful" banner was just fading into the grey background paper so I laid it on the dark grey and cut around it like a mat. I didn't like that so I matted it again on the blue and whattayaknow? I didn't like that. I laid them down on each other to think about it and after moving it around a bit and adding the snowflake accent, I had my design. I kept the rest of the page simply, adding some adhesive vellum tape to the photos. For the coordinating page, I layered 2 sets of clear cuts over the distressed papers, added a photo strip of photos and completed it with rosette and chipboard.

Finally, we were able to make a small snowman. We used little bits of tree bark for the eyes and a leaf for the nose. I used paper from the 6x6 pad for the background of the left page and then I just added a journaling note, chipboard, more clear cuts and snowflakes form the paper crafting kit. For the right side, I used the striped vellum tape to drw in the pattern from the left, added the snowman, canvas goodies, banners and more vellum tape.


Aww, more of my favorite photos. I added more distressed paper and then I actually pulled apart one of the canvas embellishments and added the Favorite sticker over it. For the right page, I did a clustering of snowflakes along the bottom and top and finished it off with the "let it snow" banner.

We had a lot of fun this day. I am looking forward to taking our kids skiing soon so they can experience some real snow! The left page include vellum tape over the photo and a canvas embellishment layered over a cler cuts Christmas tree. The right side includes the "Welcome Winter" sentiment I pulled off the canvas from the previous page as well as the "Beautiful" banner layered over a rosette from the paper crafting kit.

I am so in love with the colors of this collection. It truly gives off the vibe of a cold winter day playing in the snow. I cannot wait to show my daughter this album. Even after making this album, I have a lot of supplies leftover so I can make some layouts or fun wintery altered items.

Winterings Products:
CBA-1008 Burlap Covered Chipboard Album
WI-304 Winterings 6x6 paper pad
WI-109 12x12 Paper
WI-105 12x12 Paper
WI-305 Paper Crafting Kit
WI-222 Burlap Stickers
WI-160 Vellum Tape Strips
WI-230 Clear Cuts - Shapes
WI-279 Chipboard Shapes
OC-277 Stick Pins (from Once Upon a Christmas collection)

Please be sure to visit Heather's blog The Spotted Leopard for more of her amazing projects.

Almost to the weekend!

Today our Biker Chicks Jen and Tania share some ideas on how to use both our Winterings collection and our 6x6 albums.  It's the perfect time of year to capture those winter memories in one place and the smaller, easy to use, albums are a great way to get started...

Winterings Canvas Album by Biker Chick Jen Chesnick

Acrylic and mixed medium albums are a favorite of mine.  Little Yellow Bicycles 6x6 paper pads make putting together their albums a snap.  For the clear pages I used the vellum tape on one side to create the duplicate look on the other.  Not only saving time, but supplies as well!

Winterings Products:

WI-305 Paper Crafting Kit (48 pieces)
WI- 222 Layered Burlap Stickers (3 pieces)
WI-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with glitter and embossing (24 pieces)
WI-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with foil and debossing (43 pieces)
WI-160 Vellum Tape Strips (15 pieces)
WI-304 6" x 6" Paper Pad (24 pages)
WI-279 Chipboard Shapes (29 pieces)
WI-230 Clear Cuts (30 pieces)

Winterings Burlap Album by Biker Chick Tania Willis

When creating a mini album, you can treat the pages as individuals or as a 6” x 12” spread.  I love how the Paper Pad provides you with two sheets of each of the patterns giving you the ability to have a cohesive spread across two of the pages. 

You see that here on the “you are wonderful” spread.  I applied the same patterned paper torn from the Paper Pad to both pages, then added a photo left aligned.  But, what really helps make this spread cohesive is the application of the Vellum Tape Strip applied to the edge of the photo and the far right edge of the right side of the spread. Layering embellishments across both pages to create a scene helps the eye to see both pages as a whole.

Winterings Products:
WI – 305 Paper Crafting Kit
WI – 308 5 Things Envelopes
WI – 135 Favorite Pieces
WI – 140 Fresh Verse
WI – 160 Vellum Tape Strips
WI – 304 Paper Pad
WI – 279 Chipboard Shapes
WI – 230 Clear Cuts
Burlap Album

Remember you buy all of the supplies our Biker Chicks used for the projects on our online store HERE.

Happy Wednesday!

Biker Chick Lisa Swift shares a Winterings page for everyday scrapbooking to show how the collection can be used beyond winter's snowy days, but let's have Lisa tell you all about it...

What's not to love about neutral colors with shades of blue, brown, gray and touches of silver? Pretty, pretty!  This page is about our Thanksgiving trip to PA so I used the homey and family-related embellishments, saving the pretty snow and winter-themed embellishments for another time. The circular doily pieces from the Paper Crafting Kit work well as a "pull" for journaling tags. I cut a small portion off the top of the circle to make it flush with the top edge of the tag.

Tip: Make the most of your Fresh Verse Stickers:

When it came time for my title work, I inked white canvas letters so the color would stand out against the background (the white alone looked too washed out) and complement the other dark blue elements on the page.  This is what the letters looked like before inking them:


I like to use wedge-shaped makeup sponges to apply ink to a project like this:


This is one of the finished letters after applying a couple of layers of ink. Instant matching title. :)


Finish the project with pearls, rain dots, and jewels to add extra dimension and detail to chipboard pieces. Don't just stop there, pull out your ribbon and twine and other embellishments and see what you can come up with.

Winterings Products:
WI-104 Flurry Dot Multi/Flannel Pinstripe 12x12 Paper
WI-105 Cable Knit/Cozy Quilt 12x12 Paper
WI-305 Paper Crafting Kit
WI-134 Journaling Cards
WI-304 5 Things Envelopes
WI-222 Layered Burlap Stickers
WI-140 Fresh Verse Cardstock Stickers
WI-160 Vellum Tape Strips
WI-304 6x6 Paper Pad
WI-279 Chipboard Shapes
AS-200 Canvas Alpha Stickers

Be sure to visit Lisa's blog Remember the Good Times more of her thoughtful tips.

Remember - you can still purchase all of these wonderful winter goodies directly from us at our online store HERE.

Almost to the weekend...  Are your holiday cards in the mail yet?

Need some more project ideas?  You have come to the right place... Today our Biker Chicks want to show you how well our Winterings collection coordinates with our Naturals collection.

Winterings Card by Biker Chick Suzanne Sergi

I created two cards perfect for the holiday season. It does not snow where I live. However, it does not mean cards cannot be created with winter on my mind. I used the burlap stickers as the main embellishments on the following cards.

On the friendship card, I used the scallop burlap sticker as is. I simply layered it onto the pleated medallion found in the papercrafting kit. To add a winter feel to the card, I added glitter, and a few star embellishments along the bottom of the card. A few stitches along the sides will keep everything nicely tucked inside.

Winterings Card by Biker Chick Suzanne Sergi

On the second card, I created my own medallion embellishment. I did take apart one of the burlap stickers, to use the burlap accent as a layering piece in between the doily punchout, and snowflake diecut.

I pulled the sticker embellishment  apart gently,and now have two embellishments to use on other crafts. I love snowflakes during this time of year, and adding a bit of glitter to the top of the large snowflake diecut to complete this wintery card.

Winterings Products:
WI-109 Winter Plaid/Deep Brown Knit
WI-305 Paper Crafting Kit
WI-222 Layered Burlap Stickers
WI-140 Cardstock Stickers-Fresh verse with foil and debossing
WI-304 6x6 Paper Pad
WI-279 Chipboard Shapes

Winterings Altered Blocks by Biker Chick Liz Qualman

I thought it would be fun to create some winter/birthday blocks to celebrate all of the babies that are born at this time of year.  These blocks in particular celebrate today's special date and honor all of the munchkins born today.

I picked these 3" blank board blocks up at Archivers.  They are so easy to cover.  I chose three patterns for each block from the Winterings 6 x 6 patterned paper pad.  Then I cut the coordinating patterns into 3 x 3 inch squares.  I used some chalk ink to color the seams of the blocks and the edges of the paper to make a transition between the different patterns.

LYB makes these great clear word stickers and I added this sentiment using two of them.  Then I trimmed one of the calendar stickers, backed it with patterned paper and circled the date.  The Layered Burlap Stickers are a great accent with the felt and burlap.  I just added a bit of a clear cut sticker.

LYB has released some new alphabets in cork, canvas, wood and burlap as part of our Nauruals collection.  Aren't they beautiful?  You can find them at Michaels and Joann Fabrics.  We will add them to our website soon for direct ordering from us...  I combined them with the Wnterings Journal Card and Fresh Verse Sticker.

Amother one of the Layered Burlap Sticker in the Winterings collection.  I tucked a little Clear Cut Sticker snowflake and Fresh Verse Sticker into the design.

These were fun to make and did not take long.  They also do not require a lot of different elements from the Winterings collection and there will be plenty of product left for second set of blocks or something else.

Winterings Products:

WI-304 6" x 6" Paper Pad (24 pages)

WI- 222 Layered Burlap Stickers (3 pieces)

WI-230 Clear Cuts (30 pieces)

WI-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with foil and debossing (43 pieces)

WI-134 Journaling Cards - with foil accents (10 pieces)

Also to celebrate today, we are hosting a give away on our FB Wall.  Click HERE and leave a comment and you might win 12 things from our Winterings Collection.

Have a wonderful day!

Today Biker Chick Tania Willis shares some great winter card ideas with our gorgeous Winterings collection.  Let's have Tania tell you all about it...

This month for me is always a flurry of crafting activity as I work on cards and small gifts for teachers and service workers.  I think I’ve settled on making homemade hot cocoa mix and gifting it in quart-sized mason jars along with a set of chocolate dipped spoons and a batch of homemade marshmallows to finish it off.

I’m not quite sure if all of the recipients celebrate the Christmas holiday. The neutral nature of the Winterings collection is the perfect fit since its focus is more on the season, than the specific holiday.  Because of this, I’ve decided to tweak one of my favorite origami folds – the Christmas tree – to make it work for the season by simply using a tone-on-tone white/cream paper instead of the traditional pine green color of a Christmas tree.  A simple google search for “origami Christmas tree” will bring up many links for the tutorial.

I used diamond jewel stickers in various sizes to mimic the sparkle of freshly fallen snow.  If you don’t have rhinestones in your supply, you could brush the tree with Diamond Glaze and sprinkle with glitter or add some Stickles glitter glue instead.

Of course, these jars need to be gifted with the perfect gift tags attached, so I’ve been taking a few minutes here and a few minutes there to fiddle with my Winterings products until I get the number of tags that I need for all of our gifting.

I’m impressed with how easy it is to combine the small embellishments in the collection to make these little tags of wintery goodness. Keep a simple formula of choosing a chipboard embellishment, a burlap sticker, and a clear shape to embellish some mini-card bases and you’ll be swimming in a sea of gift tags in no time!

To bring unity to the sets of cards without them being too matchy-matchy, I kept the focus on the soft blue, cream and white with small bursts of navy, and then added the same diamond jewel stickers.

Hope this has inspired you to use your Winterings collection to create some greeting cards &/or gift tags to adorn your gifts this season!  If you don’t have a flurry of gifts to give, you might consider recycling one of these ideas to use as a small embellishment or hidden journaling tag on your next layout or in your next mini-album project.

Winterings Products:
WI – 105 Cozy Quilt
WI – 106 Grey Dot
WI – 103 Worn Denim
WI – 222 Layered Burlap Stickers
WI – 140 Fresh Verse Cardstock Stickers
WI – 279 Chipboard Shapes
WI – 230 Clear Cuts Shapes

Please visit Tania's blog What'chu Talkin' 'Bout Willis for more of her amazing and inspiring work.

Remember - You can purchase our entire Winterings collection directly from us HERE.

Almost to the Weekend!

We thought it would be fun to show you some of our Biker Chicks' favorite elements from the Little Yellow Bicycle collections, so today Robbie and Corrie have a couple of great ideas for clustering Chipboard and Clear Cut Shapes together using our brand new Winterings collection.

Winterings Layout by Biker Chick Robbie Herring

I think the thing I like most about layering chipboard with clear-cuts is the difference in dimensions.  The clear-cuts add a subtle look, while the chipboard is thicker and fits perfectly over the clear-cuts. 

Additionally, adding the clear-cuts to the top of chipboard is terrific too.  Because it's made of transparency, it will stand the test of time in your scrapbooks without bending.

Ideas:  Why not add similar elements together as I did for the ice cycles on the top right?  I used a light gray twine on the clear-cuts to compliment the subtlety and a darker blue with the chipboard to make it the focus of the grouping.

I love mixed and layered titles.  I chose to layer the word winter in both the chipboard package and the clear-cut package. The different colors and sizes makes for a bit more interest to a simple title.

Winterings Products:
WI-101 /Flurry Dot Tonal
WI-105 Cozy Cable Knit/Cozy Quilt
WI-107 Winterings Stripe/Dark Denim Brocade
WI-279 Chipboard Shapes (29 pieces)
WI-230 Clear Cuts (30 pieces)
WI-134 Journaling Cards - with foil accents (10 pieces)
WI-134 Journaling Cards - with foil accents (10 pieces)

Winterings Layout by Biker Chick Corrie Jones

I coupled/featured the chipboard shapes and the clear cut shapes on this layout.  It was so easy to do since these are two of my absolute favorite LYB embellishments and because they just work so perfectly together.

Winterings Products:
WI-103 Wintry Words/Worn Denim
WI-104 Flurry Dot Multi/Flannel Pinstripe
WI-134 Journaling Cards
WI-135 Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces
WI-160 Vellum Tape
WI-279 Chipboard Shapes
WI-230 Clear Cuts

We will have more Biker Chick Inspiration tomorrow...

It's the final day for our blog swap week with May Arts and we planned a mini blog hop to a few of our Biker Chicks' blogs for the grand finale.

Hop to the following blogs to find more fantastic ideas for projects with May Arts ribbon and LYB's Once Upon a Christmas.

Tania Willis

Liz Qualman

Vicki Boutin

Heather Leopard

Jen Chesnick

May Arts Blog

Then, leave a comment at each Biker Chick blog and a comment here telling us what you saw on the hop, and you will be entered for a chance to win some of our Once Upon a Christmas collection.  Don't forget to leave a comment at the May Arts blog too for a chance to win goodies from them too.

Have a wonderful and crafty weekend!

Halfway through our May Arts blog swap week. Are you having fun? Today I have a project to share from Biker Chick Suzanne Sergi and I think you're going to love it! This beautiful holiday display will look great in your home, or make the perfect hostess gift!

Here's a list of supplies:

Once Upon A Christmas

 OC-107 Holly Bird/Brown Carols

OC-111 Holly Berry/Green Carols

OC-305 Paper Crafting Kit

OC-134 Journaling Cards with foil accents

OC-135 Cardstock stickers Favorite Pieces with foil & embossing

OC-140 Cardstock Stickers Fresh Verse with foil and debossing

OC-279 Chipboard Shapes with foil

OC-220 Fabric Favorites 

May Arts Ribbon:

Ivory/Red Stripe: 425-15-25

Silver Leaves: XL-31

Other:

Wood Frame

Acrylic Paint

Vellum

Embossing Folders

And a few more close ups:

And here's how to win:

Leave a comment here, and then hop over to May Arts' blog to see what they've crafted up for you today, and leave a comment there too! We'll announce winners next week.  (And pssst! Watch tomorrow for a hint about another upcoming contest with more chances to win!)  Oh, by the way ... if you haven't "liked" May Arts on Facebook, please go there too, and tell them we sent you!

Have a great day!

Hello friends! I'm back for Day 2 of our May Arts Ribbonanza! Today we have an a-May-zing (sorry, couldn't resist) holiday decor project from Biker Chick Lisa Swift that you will NEED to copy.

Here's Lisa to tell you all about it!

Hi everyone! Happy holidays! I'm here today to share a fun and easy altered project idea using Little Yellow Bicycle's Once Upon a Christmas collection and May Arts ribbon. I created a set of five clothespins to clip onto a length of May Arts wide twill ribbon that will serve as a display for the holiday cards we receive this year. These clips could also be turned into magnets or used to hold a tag on a holiday gift. Make a set for yourself and a set (or more) to gift. :)

The clothespins were first spray painted white (courtesy of my husband). After they were dry, I used Mod Podge to cover the tops with patterned paper, a vellum tape strip or a Fresh Verse sticker. The embellishments are made up of chipboard circles, Fabric Favorites and pieces from the Once Upon a Christmas Paper Crafting Kit. May Arts ribbon and twine bows add a nice finishing touch.

Take a look below for close-up individual pictures of the clothespins I created. Copy mine, or create your own designs!

Once Upon a Christmas Product List:

OC-305 Paper Crafting Kit
OC-140 Fresh Verse Cardstock Stickers
OC-160 Vellum Tape Strips
OC-304 6x6 Paper Pad
OC-279 Chipboard Shapes
OC-220 Fabric Favorites

Thank you Lisa! I just love these little guys! Now head on over to the May Arts Blog to see what they have in store for you! And don't forget to leave a comment for YOUR chance to win some goodies from the Once Upon a Christmas Collection and May Arts!

And don't forget to check back tomorrow for more inspiration from the Biker Chicks, and more chances to win!

We are thrilled to bring you another blog swap week with our friends at May Arts! We had so much fun playing with their lovely ribbons last year, we just had to do it again! So all week long, we'll be featuring projects from the Once Upon a Christmas collection, as well as gorgeous coordinating ribbons from May Arts. And as usual - we encourage you to leave a comment every day for your chance to win some fabulous goodies from the Once Upon a Christmas collection plus May Arts' fabulous ribbons! At the end of this blog post, click the link to see more great projects from May Arts' uber-talented designers, and, of course, more chances to win!

First up for LYB is Biker Chick Robbie Herring with an adorable layout. I just love this page! Here's Robbie!

I have to admit that I'm a ribbon fanatic.  Seldom do I make a page that doesn't include a bow or at least a strip of ribbon.  Teaming with May Arts is perfect for me!  Between the ribbon and all the beautiful trims that May Arts makes, I couldn't be happier!

This is a sweet picture of a friend's daughter that was taken at Christmas time.  Her little black and white outfit goes beautifully with both the houndstooth paper and the black accents.  I used some of the tiny pom-pom trim from May Arts to border the inside square shape to further accent and ground the layout with more black.  Using a strong adhesive tape to hold it in place worked well without causing the paper to potentially buckle by using wet glue.  If you take a closer look, you can see that I placed it so that you can see mostly the pom-poms.

A few medium sized bows can make a big impact on your  page.  If you take a closer look at the ribbon that I used for the bows, you will see that the green and red ribbons have a touch of black woven in to add a touch of sheen and the high quality and you can see that these ribbons couldn't go any more beautifully with the elegance of the Once Upon a Christmas papers and embellishments.  

For balance, I put more bows at the bottom of the page.  On this side, I chose to continue the look of hanging the ornaments.  Using such a large amount of ribbon led to the decision to keep the rest of the layout design relatively simple.  It also means that this layout can be completed quickly and easily! 

The sentiment was added using Little Yellow Bicycle's DejaViews clear stickers.  Don't forget these stickers when designing!  There are so many different ones and they are so easy to use.  I really like how so many of them use different sizes and fonts for sentiments and titles.  Not to mention, they stay stuck! 

Supply List:

OC-106 Snowflake Medallion/Red Houndstooth

OC-108 Vintage Santa/Brown Houndstooth

OC-111 Holly Berry/Green Carols

OC-107 Holly Bird/Brown Carols

OC-279 Chipboard Shapes - with foil (29 pieces)

Thanks Robbie! What a beautiful, elegant layout for the holidays! 

Now hop on over to the May Arts blog, to see what their designers have crafted up for you! Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win, and I'll be back tomorrow with more fun projects from Little Yellow Bicycle and May Arts!

We have some amazing homemade gift ideas from our Biker Chicks today, but let's have them tell you all about it...

Altered Frame by Biker Chick Suzanne Sergi

With upcoming holiday parties to attend, and teacher's gifts to purchase,  I turn to a home made gift! One of my favorite altered projects to make is a fancy frame. I love the Santa image found in the  Once Upon A Christmas collection. I made this the main focal point in this 8x8 frame. I used the deep red damask pattern as the background.

I turned to my 6x6 paper pad from this collection, and diecut a large snowflake that I anchored in the lower left hand corner. I pulled elements from the Fabric Favorites to add some festive details. I used a journaling card to adhere one fabric snowflake, and the word stickers to finish the Santa cheer. A bold ribbon, another journaling card I used as a tag, and jingle bells make this a special gift for a generous hostess, or favorite teacher.

Once Upon a Christmas Products:

Once Upon A Christmas Cardstock Stickers
Once Upon A Christmas 6x6 Paper Pad
Once Upon A Christmas Journaling Cards
Once Upon A Christmas Fabric Favorites
Once Upon A Christmas-OC-110
Once Upon A Christmas-OC-108

Altered Charger by Bicker Chick Robbie Herring

An easy thing to do for a gift that will work for anyone is to decorate a charger.  These are easy and inexpensive to find.  I picked the black one up at a local craft store for $2.00.  The frame was only $1.50.  Adding some of the scrapbook supplies that I love was quick, and it can be set almost anywhere by the recipient.

Once Upon a Christmas Products:
OC-102 Poinsettia Quilt/Multi Starlight
OC-108 Vintage Santa/Brown Houndstooth
OC-112
OC-132 Tags & String - with embossing (12 pieces)
OC-305 Paper Crafting Kit (75 pieces)
OC-279 Chipboard Shapes - with foil (29 pieces)
OC-230 Clear Cuts - with foil accents (30 pieces)
OC-220 Fabric Favorites - self adhesive (8 pieces)

Altered Gift Card Holders by Biker Chick Vicki Boutin

We give a lot of gift cards out during the holidays and a fun way to package them is in little paper stockings.  I made a few using Once Upon a Christmas and loved that the Paper Crafting kit, tags and stickers are perfect for this type of project.  Just create a simple template and these little stocking can be recreated again and again for the gift giving season!

Once Upon a Christmas Products:

OC-106 Snowflake Medallion/Red Houndstooth

OC-104 Let it Snow/Green Medallion

OC-305 Paper Crafting Kit (75 pieces)

OC-277 Stick Pins (15 pieces)

OC-140 Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with foil and debossing (43 pieces)

Altered Recipe Box by Biker Chick Heather Leopard

I've been wanting to formally document all the favorite family recipes we make during the holidays, whether they've been passed down or are new finds. I made this recipe box to hold all the recipes so that they can continue to be passed down through the generations. My husband saw it and mentioned how much he liked it so I guess I'll be gifting it to ourselves and I'll be making others for the rest of the family.

I cut the box and tabs using a file I purchased for my CAMEO. Once assembled, I added the journaling card, "Recipes" cut from my CAMEO and mistletoe. I embellished the lid with the pretty sticker trim from the Favorite Pieces Stickers and then hung the ornaments from the inside of the lid.
The inside has tabs to separate the various categories.

I topped it off with a pretty paper bow.

Once Upon A Christmas Products:

OC-111 Holly Berry/Green Carols

OC-105 Mistletoe/Green Starlight

OC-134 Journaling Cards,

OC-135 Stickers - Favorite Pieces

OC-305 Paper Crafting Kit

OC-220 Fabric Flowers

OC-279 Chipboard Shapes

Altered Treat Jar by Biker Chick Lisa Swift

Hi everyone! I'm here today to share a fun holiday gift idea using the Once Upon a Christmas collection. 'Tis the season to be jolly and all that, but what about 'Twiz the Season to give gifts? That's right, it's time to give Twizzlers red licorice twists as a gift and I have the perfect way to do that. This project started out as a plain glass jar with a silver metal lid. I found this one at TJ Maxx, but Target also has very similar ones.

I started out by covering the metal lid. I traced a plate (a few inches larger than the diameter of the lid) onto a 12x12 sheet of the Green Carols paper, then cut it out using deco scissors to add a pretty edge. I centered the resulting scalloped circle on the lid and used my hands to mold it around the lid, letting pleats fall into place naturally. A bit of twine and a chipboard piece adds a nice finishing touch.  A flower from the Paper Crafting Kit, a chipboard frame, and a simple tag finish off the top of the cover.

Here's a closer look at the twine and chipboard piece around the lid topper. The topper is easily removed, and keeps its shape, for when you need to get into the jar for a quick snack fix. :)

The front of the jar is decorated with a journaling card, a Clear Cut holly sprig and the Fabric Favorites "joy" banner.  So there you have it. Something sweet to eat and sweet to give. Sounds like the perfect gift idea to me. :)

Once Upon a Christmas Products:

OC-111 Holly Berry/Green Carols 12x12 Paper
OC-305 Paper Crafting Kit
OC-134 Journaling Cards
OC-279 Chipboard Shapes
OC-230 Clear Cuts
OC-220 Fabric Favorites

So after tomorrow, you probably have some time to make some homemade gifts for the next round of holidays.  Hope you got some great ideas from our Biker Chicks today...

Remember, you can purchase the whole Once Upon a Christmas Collection directly from LYB right HERE.  And...Now through Monday 11/26 at www.mylyb.com, Buy 3 items from our current collections, and we'll pick two grab bag items from our retired collections as our gift to you!

Biker Chick Jen Chesnick has a really cool holiday project to share with you using one of our chipboard albums, but let's have Jen tell you all about it...

Hey Biker fans! Jen here today and I am going to run through my thought process behind making banners.  To start most of my banners are 5 or 7 pennants.  I try to keep the design of the 1, 3, & 5th banner somewhat the same and the 2nd & 4th banner the same.  If you think of your banner in those increments it wont seem as daunting!

To start I create a good base.  I layered the same pieces for the 1st and 5th banner.  Frame, circle, snowflake.  Use pop dots to get some good depth. 

For the 3rd pennant I created a similar base just using different shapes.  Once the bases were created I added a few layers until I liked it basically :]  Then added "Joy"

For the 2nd & 4th pennant I did the exact same design just flipped for balance.  I cut out the trees and used the paper crafting kit for the bows.  They are SUPER simple and are amazing!  I added "Jingle & " to the pennants to finish off the sentiment.  I hooked everything together using d-rings and finished them off with coordinating ribbon by May Arts. I added a dash of glitter mist and we are all set. 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope the banner inspires you to create your own!

You can still purchase this Chipboard Banner album from us HERE.  Not to mention that you can also purchase the whole Once Upon a Christmas collection HERE.

Please visit Jen's blog Say Chez for more of her amazing inspiration!

Almost to the weekend.  Do you have all of your holiday baking supplies purchased?