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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Download Winter twig medley album instructions

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

Have a wonderful day!

Liz

We know you have been waiting AND we know we have been delayed, but here are the three finalists in our Fall/Winter Sketch Challenge...

Winter Twig Page by Victoria Freze

Winter Twig Page by Michelle Gallant

Hello Fall! Page by Ashley Horton

Now we just need to decide who gets the $50 prize pack and who goes home with the two $25 prize packs.  BUT, that is up to the fans to decide, so go to our FB page and vote by liking the page you think should win the big prize or leave a comment here on our blog naming the person whose page you think is the best version of the sketch.  All of the finalists go home with some goodies, but the person with the most votes gets the BIG prize.

Below is the sketch just to remind you what the finalists used for their inspiration.

We will let the voting go through the weekend and then announce the big winner on Monday, January 23rd.

Thank you so much for your support!

Liz

We have a new sketch for you to work with this month.  I think when I made this sketch, I had paper flower kits on my brain and I was thinking it would be fun to add more photos along with some fun elements like clear cut or chipboard shapes.  Hope you will play along this month! Please see the details and contest rules at the bottom of this post.

Below is my version of the sketch, which I followed pretty closely.

This is the BRAND NEW Paradise collection that is being shipped to stores as I type.  In fact I think a few Local Scrapbook stores already have it on their shelves!  This is such a fun collection with a great color palette and embellishment choices.  For this page I tried to keep it simple with three patterned papers, Tear Out Ticket Book, Favorite Pieces, Fresh Verse Stickers, Paper Flower Kit and Jewel Stickers.

Take a look at what some of our Cycling Team Members did with the sketch!  Be sure to visit their blogs for more details and close ups about their projects.

Wonder & Wishes Page by Audrey Yeager

Wonder & Wishes Page by Renee Zwirek

Winter Twig Page by Marcia Dehn-Nix

Winter Twig Page by Katrina Hunt

Winter Twig Page by Andrea Friebus

Winter Twig Page by Laura Evangeline O'Donnell

Winter Twig Page by Mary Ann Jenkins

Here's the rules:

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

2.  You must use at least 75% Little Yellow Bicycle product, from ANY of our 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 "January/February Sketch Challenge". 

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

3.  All entries must be received by midnight EST on Saturday, February 18, 2012.

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

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

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

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

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

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

We will post the finalists from our last sketch challenge later today - thank you for your patience.  Thank you for stopping by today and hope you find some inspiration.

Liz

Ready for some more projects by you???  I spent some time searching the Internet today for Little Yellow Bicycle and was really excited to find so many wonderful creations from our fans.  I thought it would be fun to revisit some of our Fall and Winter collections today.  Below are just a few...

Hello Fall! Page by Delaina Burns found at My Creative Scrapbook Kit Club

Hello Fall! Page by Ginajo15 found at Two Peas in a Bucket

Wonder & Wishes Page by Celeste found at Scrapbook Expressions

Wonder & Wishes Card with Clear Cut Shape and Stickers by EFI found at Scrapbook.com

 
Winter Twig Page by Christine Meyer found on our Facebook Wall

We will be back tomorrow with a NEW sketch and some amazing examples.  We will also announce the finalists from our last sketch challenge, so stay tuned!

If you would like us to feature one of your projects on our blog please email me at lizq@cthruruler.com.  Thank you for stopping by today!

Liz

Well here I am with the final post for Winter Twig Guest Designer Jenny Chesnick :( ...  Here in CT winter has finally set in. Not too much snow yet since the big fall snowstorm (not that I'm complaining), but we did get a little bit of the white stuff yesterday - the perfect setting for some scrapping with Winter Twig!

Jenny has another layout to share with us today, but I will start you out with a few more Q&A for Jenny!

LYB:  Do you have a favorite quote?

JC:  Nope, again that would be along the same lines as journaling.

LYB:  Are you a neat scrapbooker or is your space a mess? 

JC:  It starts clean, but when I am on a roll it looks like a bomb has gone off!

LYB:  What is your best time or money saving tip? 

JC:  USE PAPER! There are so many things you can do and make out of paper.  Embellishments can eat up your budget, so be picky and be creative and incorporate some of your own.

LYB:  Do you have a favorite adhesive? 

JC:  American Crafts This to That Dots.

LYB:  Describe your style. 

JC:  Clean and Simple with a little cluster of goodies.

Now here's Jenny to tell you about her layout!

Layout, All Bundled Up:

Last year we visited Ice at the Gaylord National here in Washington D.C.  They have you wear these massive puffy coats to stay warm in the below zero rooms.  The title I used from the chipboard words set was perfect for this photo.  I layered the photo with craft foam to give it some depth then tied off my ice skate to give the illusion of a hanging ornament.

Products Used:

TG-107- Winter Words/Brown Skate Scratch

TG-104- Winter Woods/Winter Wishful

TG-279- Chipboard Shapes

TG-165- Chipboard Words

TG-133- 6x6 Decorative Edge double-sided cardstock

TG-134- Journaling Cards

TG-230- Clear Cuts Shapes

TG-309- Confetti Garland

TG-135- Cardstock Stickers

TG-201- Canvas Borders

________________________________

Thanks so much to the amazing and talented Jenny Chesnick for sharing her ideas and inspiration for the Winter Twig collection with us! If you haven't already, be sure to stop by Jenny's blog to thank her!

Hope you have a great weekend! We'll be back next week with more inspiration and more CHA sneak peeks ... plus we begin shipping the beautiful Paradise collection!

-Peg

We are super excited to share more projects from our fabulous fans who "ride with us." In case you are not a cycling enthusiast, the Peloton is the large pack of riders in a road bicycle race, like the Tour de France. We know we have a lot of riders in our Peloton, so we would love to share what a few of them have been up to with our Winter Twig collection.

Card by Linda Beeson emailed to lizq@cthruruler.com

Card by Julie Ranae emailed to lizq@cthruruler.com

Card by Julie Ranae emailed to lizq@cthruruler.com

Page by Suzanna Lee found on our Facebook Wall

Page by Donna Spina Lebeduik found at scrapbook.com

Card by Kimber McGray found at Two Peas in a Bucket

Two Page Project by Beatriz Farquhar Guzman found on her blog Amazing Grace

We will be back with more Projects from our Peloton.  If you would like to be featured on our blog, please link your projects to our Facebook page or email them to lizq@cthruruler.com.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Liz

Hello blog readers! Are you done salivating over those fantastic cards Liz posted yesterday featuring the upcoming Paradise collection? I don't know about you, but I for one can't *wait* to get my hands on it. Don't worry it will be in stores soon enough (psst ... we start shipping it in a couple weeks!), and for NOW I am here with another frosty fun project from our wonderful Winter Twig Guest Designer Jenny Chesnick - and of course you can find Winter Twig at your LSS right now!

Before I get to Jenny's project, let me share a little more LYB Q&A with you!

LYB:  What is your favorite color (or colors) to use in your pages? 

JC:   Yellow!

LYB:  How long does it typically take you to complete a layout? 

JC:   About 45 minutes.  Sometimes as fast as 30.  I am a super fast scrapper!

LYB:   Do you use any tools that are not specifically designed for scrapbooking? 

JC:   A dremel drill.  I stole it from my husband! Along with his wire cutters.

LYB:  What’s the oddest embellishment you’ve ever used on a page?

JC:   A flyswatter, no kidding.  I was in a contest and it was one of the items we had to use!

LYB:  Do you scrap chronologically or out of order? 

JC:   I scrap whatever I want.  I never even knew people scrapped “in order” until a few years ago.

LYB:  Events or moments scrapbooker? 

JC:  Moments.

LYB:  Sit down or stand up scrapbooker?

JC:  I sit down.  I want to stand up, but because I am so tall it hurts my back.

Flyswatter? Really? I would LOVE to see that layout, wouldn't you? And now onto Jenny's project. This CA-UTE little skate mini album-m-m-m!

Here's Jenny to tell you all about it!

I have wanted to make an Ice Skate mini album for a long time.  I have been waiting and waiting for one to be made!!  Well I got tired of waiting and decided to make my own.  Little Yellow Bicycle paper is the perfect weight to create stand alone albums and pieces. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the Ice Skate.  I layered two skates together to make the skate thicker. 

I cut the blade part separately so I could use a coordinating color to create the blades.  Once all the pieces were put together I used eyelet to set my punched holes of the album (just to be safe!) and I finished it off with some distress stickles to mimic ice on the skates.  The skate is fairly large so I plan on using 2x3 or 3x3 photos in the blank backsides of each skate.

Products Used:

TG-108- Winter Plaid/Mocha Java Sweater

TG-107- Winter Words/Brown Skate Scratch

TG-101- Snowy Window/Ski Sweater

TG-165- Chipboard Words

TG-279- Chipboard shapes

TG-220- Fabric Favorites

TG-134- Journaling Cards

TG-230- Clear Cuts Shapes

TG-140- Cardstock Stickers- Fresh Verse

TG-145- Cardstock stickers- labels

TG-219- Snowflake Button Dots

__________________________

So cute! Love this Jenny! Listen ... I can hear our blog readers firing up their Silhouette Cameos right now to make their own skates! What a fun project for a winter weekend. Who's in?

Don't forget to stop by Jenny's blog and say hello (also check out the pics of her kitchen which she rehabbed last weekend ... so pretty!)

Have a great weekend!

-Peg

Hello All! Hope you're enjoying the winter holidays, and maybe squeezing a little crafty R&R in the process?

I'm back today with another fun and frosty project from our Winter Twig Guest Designer Jenny Chesnick!

Before I share that layout with you, though I want to continue on with some LYB Q&A to help you learn a little more about Mrs. Chez!

LYB:  Describe your biggest scrapbooking ‘mishap’? 

JC:  I once spilled a very dark mist all over my carpet, not once but twice.  Needless to say I had to rip the carpet out.

LYB:  What are your favorite scrapbook magazines? 

JC:   Scrapbook Trends and Simply Handmade.

LYB:  Do you have a favorite die cutting system? 

JC:   Silhouette Cameo.  I want to marry it!

LYB:  Are you a morning bird or night owl? 

JC:  Both! I like to get up early and get things done before the hubs gets up.  Sometimes I stay up late on a Friday too.

LYB:  What is the funniest topic you’ve ever had for a scrapbook page?

JC:  One CHA my friends and I had this pig that was like our roaming gnome.  It took photos with everyone (Even Tim and Heidi) I ended up making a mini out of its photos.  Believe it or not it was published they loved it so much.  We still take him to shows today.

LYB:   Computer or handwritten journaling?

JC:   Neither, I hardly ever journal.  I know, so bad.

And now, on to Jenny's layout!

Nothing says fun like a ton of snow! This photo of my friend’s daughter is just too much.  She reminds me of a snowman in her little snow suit.  I kept the paper layout simple so the stand out was the snowman layered with chipboard words for a title.  I punched holes in the cardstock sticker to create my own banner. 

I topped off the banner with a sweet little bow.

Products Used:

TG-108- Winter Plaid/Mocha Java

TG-107- Winter Words/Brown Skate Scratch

TG-165- Chipboard Words

TG-279- Chipboard Shapes

TG-201- Canvas Borders

TG-305- Paper Snowflakes

TG-145- Cardstock Stickers

TG-219- Snowflake Button Dots

_________________________________

Thanks so much Jenny for another awesome project! Be sur to stop by Jenny's blog for more projects and inspiration!

Plus a couple of reminders for our blog readers!

1) Don't forget that our SKETCH CHALLENGE ends on Saturday (that's New Year's Eve), at midnight! Post your entries to our Facebook page or email them to "peg@cthruruler.com" to be entered. Click the link for more details!

2) Have you heard about the 12 Days of Giveaways over at Little Yellow Bargains? Every day through January 6th, we're giving away a freebie with your $25 purchase. To find out about the freebies, either check out the Little Yellow Bargains Facebook page, or go to our website to sign up for email alerts!

Be well!

-Peg

We are super excited to share projects from some of our fans who "ride with us."  In case you are not a cycling enthusiast, the Peloton is the large pack of riders in a road bicycle race, like the Tour de France.  We know we have a lot of riders in our Peloton, so we would love to share what a few of them have been up to with some of our collections.

Winter Twig Page by Victoria Freze - from our Facebook Page

Winter Twig Page by Marielle LeBlanc - from our Facebook Page

Wonder & Wishes Page from Christine Freet Meyer - from our Facebook Page

TWIG Page from Jing Jing Nickel - from her blog

This brings back memories!  Lisa sent me this amazing page made with Sharon's gorgeous Savor collection.  Savor Collection Page by Lisa Swift - emailed to lizq@cthruruler.com.

We will be back with more Projects from our Peloton.  If you would like to be featured on our blog, please link your projects to our Facebook page or email them to lizq@cthruruler.com.

Sketch Challenge Reminder!

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

Have a wonderful day!

Liz

Winter Storm Warning...it's a crisp and cold day on the blog with our Winter Twig collection.  We are very pleased to share some amazing projects from Cycling Team member Andrea Friebus.  Love the happy feel of her pages and the details in her work.  But - let's have Andrea tell you all about it...

I’m Andrea Friebus and I’m so excited to be sharing some projects with you today that I made using the fabulous Winter Twig collection! The gorgeous cool blues and browns in this line were the perfect way to welcome winter this year.

It doesn’t snow here where I live in Southern California, so I was overjoyed to be able to scrap these photos of my son’s first visit to the snow. I had a blast making the snowflakes. I couldn’t decide which snowflake embellishments to use so I ended up using a bit of everything! (Chipboard Shapes, Clear Cut Shapes, Paper Snowflake Kit, Fabric Favorites, Snowflake Button Dots, and Cardstock Stickers.)

It’s also not very often that I get to use glitter on my little boy’s pages so I did not hesitate to cover the chipboard alphas with sparkly glitter! I definitely think I captured his fun first experience with snow!

LYB Winter Twig Supplies:

Patterned papers: Winter Fresh Pom Pom, Winter Wishful, Ski Sweater

Clear Cuts Shapes

6x6 Decorative Edge Cardstock

Cardstock stickers: Favorite pieces, Fresh Verse

Paper Snowflake Kit

Fabric Favorites

Snowflake Button Dots

Chipboard: Alphas, Shapes

In my next layout, “Let It Snow” I really wanted to showcase my favorite photo from our trip to the snow. I used lots of papers and embellishments to frame the photo and even added some hand stitching.

For the title, I cut apart some Clear Cuts Shapes for the “Let It” and added it above the Chipboard Alphas. I substituted the “O” in Snow for a Snowflake Button Dot.

This snowman was the perfect chipboard embellishment to complement my photo but I wanted to add a little more to it. I removed some buttons from the Cardstock Stickers Labels and adhered them to the front of the snowman.

LYB Winter Twig Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Brown Snowy Scratch, Winter Blue, Snowy Window, Winter Stripe

Snowflake Button Dots

Cardstock Stickers: Fresh Verse, Borders, Labels

Clear Cuts Shapes

Chipboard: Shapes, Alphas

Paper Snowflake Kit

6x6 Decorative Edge Cardstock

This layout came about as a happy accident! I was cutting apart the Cardstock Border Stickers banner, thinking I would use the triangles to create a tree for a card and decided it would look better bigger. I added more triangles made from scraps and a few photos and created this tree that was definitely too big for a card and instead became the focal point of this layout about my son dressed up as the angel Gabriel for his school Nativity performance. (On a side note, while my son was on stage and all was quiet before the beginning of a song, he said, “This is fun!” really loudly and the whole audience laughed—yeah…tell me it’s not ironic that he’s dressed as an angel.)

Some random circles from the Confetti Garland topped with jewels and popped up completed my tree.

LYB Winter Twig Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Frosty Diamond Dust, Winter Wishful, Winter Stripe, Wood You Be Winter, Winter Plaid, Mocha Java Sweater, Winter Blue

Confetti Garland

6x6 Decorative Edge Cardstock

Fabric Favorites

Paper Snowflake Kit

Snowflake Button Dots

Medley Album Kit

Cardstock Stickers: Labels, Borders

My final project is some fancy wrapping for a special gift. Instead of ribbon, I used Cardstock Border Stickers and patterned paper cut into strips, layered with the Confetti Garland. Rather than using a bow for a present topper, I used a chipboard snowflake, layered with a Journaling Card, photo, Clear Cuts Shapes, more Chipboard Shapes, and part of a Snowflake Button Dot.

The photo makes this gift unique and personal and the best part is by simply punching a hole near the top of the cardstock snowflake and adding some string, your recipient now has a special handcrafted ornament to hang on their Christmas tree!

LYB Winter Twig Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Ski Sweater

Chipboard Shapes

Confetti Garland

6x6 Decorative Cardstock

Clear Cuts Shapes

Journaling Cards

Snowflake Button Dots

Cardstock Stickers: Borders

I hope you enjoyed my projects! I had so much fun making them—thanks Little Yellow Bicycle!

Thank you Andrea for the happy accidents and wonderful projects to share on our blog.  Please visit Andrea's blog Lights C.A.M.ERA Action for more fun and inspiration from Andrea!

We still have one more Cycling Team Member to share on Christmas Eve and a whole lot more to cram in this month...so stay tuned!

Liz

We have another stellar day on the blog with the latest creations from Cycling Team member Katrina Hunt.  She has some super nifty crafting ideas with Winter Twig to put in your back pocket... but let's have Katrina tell you all about them!

Katrina Hunt here and I am SO excited to be part of the Winter Twig Cycling Team.  This is such a dream come true for me!  I have LOTS to share with you today, including some instructions for making a couple of the projects that I did!

Looking for a fun banner that you can hang all year?  Well, look no further, because the Winter Twig collection is perfect for making that winter banner to hang all season long!  I also have a PDF that you can download with instructions and supplies to create the banner if you like.

Download K_HuntWinter Twig BannerInstructions

Here are some close up images of each piece of the banner, to make it easier to recreate. 

The tree on this piece comes from an add-on sketch over at Sketch Support.

Here is a close up of that Medley Album envelope that I sized down.

And here is a close up of the medallions that I put between each banner piece on the ribbon.

My complete supply list is located on the PDF for the banner, including additional items I used to complete the project.

Next up, I found an adorable snowman project on Archiver’s  website.  I thought he would be cute with the papers from Winter Twig, so I got started on him!  He is a little blue, but he is fun for something other than white!  Here is the link for his instructions:  SNOWMAN

As soon as I decided on doing him and saw he had a pipe, I knew the Clear Cut swirl shape would be the perfect thing for smoke out of the pipe!

And just a shot from above, so you can see his hat! 

Winter Twig Supply List:

TG-101 - Snowy Window/Ski Sweater

TG-102 - Frosty Diamond Dust/Blue Tea

TG-103 - Winter Twig/Snowy Aspen

TG-104 - Winter Woods/Winter Wishful

TG-105 - Skate Scratch/Winter Blue

TG-106 - Winter Stripe/Wood You Be Winter

TG-107 - Winter Words/Brown Skate Scratch

TG-108 - Winter Plaid/Mocha Java Sweater

TG-109 - Blue Forest/Winter Pom Pom

TG-279 - Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (24 pieces)

TG-230 - Clear Cuts Shapes (18 pieces)

TG-302 - Mini Pom Poms (40 pieces)

TG-305 - Paper Snowflakes Kit (48 pieces)

Additional Supplies: Brown, Orange, White cardstock, Scor-Tape, Buttons, Hot glue, Fabri-tac, Ribbon, Cardboard circle, Angel Cloud fibers.

Then, I have had this picture since last Christmas (last Christmas, I gave you my heart…sorry, Christmas songs on the radio!) and had not found the perfect paper to do a layout with it.  Along comes Winter Twig!

I hid the journaling tag, but attached it with twine, so that it could be pulled out from the back of the picture.  I also used some of the Cardstock Stickers for that snowflake and just bent the edges of the top layer.

I didn’t want all my letters to be the same color.  I had thought about painting some of them white.  Then as I was sanding them down to paint, I liked the way they looked, so I decided to leave them just as they were.

Winter Twig Supply List:

TG-101 - Snowy Window/Ski Sweater

TG-103 - Winter Twig/Snowy Aspen

TG-107 - Winter Words/Brown Skate Scratch

TG-108 - Winter Plaid/Mocha Java Sweater

TG-279 - Chipboard Shapes - with glitter accents (24 pieces)

TG-280 - Chipboard Alphabet - with thermography (62 pieces)

TG-201 - Canvas Borders – self adhesive (6 pieces)

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

TG-309 - Confetti Garland - 30" long

TG-135 - Cardstock Stickers - Favorite Pieces - with glitter accents and embossing

TG-140 - Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse - with thermography and embossing

Additional Supplies: Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page set, Tim Holtz Sander, Fabri-tac, Scotch, and Scrapbook Adhesives.

Last but not least, I had to make a card with this fun collection!  I am not a sparkly, glitter type of girl, but the Winter Twig collection has a little sparkle that is just the right amount for me!

Winter Twig Supply List:

TG-108 - Winter Plaid/Mocha Java Sweater

TG-133 - 6" x 6" Decorative Edge double-sided textured cardstock w/glitter accents

TG-230 - Clear Cuts Shapes

TG-145 - Cardstock Stickers - Labels - with buttons

TG-219 - Snowflake Button Dots - layered with buttons

TG-180 - Paper Pad - to fit LYB Chipboard Album

Additional Supplies: Cardstock, Ribbon, Fabri-tac, Scotch, and Scrapbook Adhesives.

Please visit Katrina's blog Paper Scissors & Glue for more inspiration.  I for one am seriously considering making the snowman!  I need more opportunities to use my new scoring tool and Katrina just gave me one.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Liz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Download TriFoldShutterCard_LizQualman

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

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

Liz

Wow, what a busy couple of weeks it has been on the blog lately! How can we top all of the fantastic work of the talented women on our Cycling Team? How about another Guest Designer?

I'm so pleased to introduce Jenny Chesnick, our Guest Designer for the Winter Twig Collection! I first met Jenny at CHA-Winter last year, and I was wowed by her friendly and vivacious personality and - of course - her talent! So I was thrilled when she agreed to Guest Design for our Winter Twig collection.

In addition to maintaining a blog that is just jam-packed with fun and inspiration, Jenny is a Garden Girl on Two Peas in a Bucket, and on the Maya Road and American Crafts Design Teams. 

To help you get to know Jenny a little better, here's a little LYB Q&A!

LYB:  Do you prefer cardstock or patterned paper? 

JC:  Pattern Paper for sure.  I rarely if ever use cardstock!

LYB:  What kind of music gets you in the scrappin’ mood? 

JC:  It depends on my mood.  I have several channels on Pandora.  Sometimes silence is best too.

LYB:  Do you like to go to crops or prefer to scrap alone? 

JC:  I can scrap at either.  I am one of those crazy people who gets a ton done at crops believe it or not!

LYB:  What are your favorite types of projects—pages, mini albums, cards, altered projects, etc? 

JC:  Altered hands down. 

LYB:  Do you have a favorite scrapbooking snack? 

JC:   Nope! I don’t snack while scrapping unless I am at a crop and then anything within reach really doesn’t stand a chance.

LYB:  Any unique tips or techniques you use? 

JC:  I like quality over quantity.  I feel like projects don’t need to have a lot of stuff on them for them to be amazing.

Jenny has created 4 awesomely wintery projects with this lovely collection and I just can't wait to share them with you.  I'm going to start out with this mini envelope album. You'll find versions of this album in both the Winter Twig and Wonder & Wishes collections - they're wonderful little keepers for your favorite memories - and they make great gifts too!

Here's Jenny to tell you about it:

Little Yellow Bicycle made this cool Medley album for the Winter Twig line.  I am a sucker for minis!  They made it really simple by having the base pieces already cut and ready to go, so all you need to do is embellish! 

I focused on using layers on each page as well as having nice repetition through out.  I used twine on each page to keep the look cohesive. 

I made my own banners from border stickers and the envelopes sticker set. 

I used stick pins to create a cute dimensional embellishment with the banners.

Products Used:

TG-306-Medley Album Kit

TG-165- Chipboard Words

TG-279- Chipboard Shapes

TG-133- 6x6 Decorative Edged double sided cardstock

TG-201- Canvas Borders

TG-220- Fabric Favorites

TG-230- Clear Cuts Shapes

TG-302- Mini Pom Poms

TG-305- Paper Snowflakes Kit

TG-308- 5 Things Envelopes

TG-135- Cardstock Stickers

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Love this little mini! Thanks so much Jenny for sharing this beautiful little album with us. I'll be back next week with another project from Jenny. Meanwhile why don't you go head over to Jenny's blog and say hello!

So much fun for a Friday! Hve a great weekend!

-Peg

On Monday, the Biker Chicks "unleashed" our brand new Winter Twig collection with some frosty ideas!  Today on the blog the snowflakes are falling with Cycling Team Member Mary Ann Jenkins.  She has some wonderful projects to share with her take on Winter Twig, but let's have Mary Ann tell you all about it.

Hello!!  I’m Mary Ann Jenkins from sunny Southern California. I am so excited to be part of the Winter Twig Cycling Team, and I know you are going to fall in love with all the beautiful papers and embellishments just like I did!

I love the blues, browns and greens in the Winter Twig collection, but for my “First Snow” layout I added in a little bit of pink. After having three boys first, then a little girl, I find myself using lots of pink on layouts for her. 

I added a few splatters of white paint, and some machine stitching to the cardstock, and also added paint and stickles to the chipboard letters. My favorite part about this layout is the cute 3-D snowflake made with the paper snowflake kit. The paper is already scored for you, so with a little folding, instant 3-D snowflake!

The “Winter Memories” layout with an old black and white photo looks like it took a lot of time to make, but it was actually really quick to put together. 

I started with the confetti garland, which is already sewn for you! I cut it into various lengths, and then added a snowflake to the end of each strand along with a rhinestone. Add a date sticker and a chipboard word and it’s finished!

Winter Twig is definitely for Winter with the cute little snowmen, mittens and snowflakes, but my “Remember” layout is actually a Summer photo, taken on a 90 plus degree day.

I made sure to not have any snowflakes peaking out, and sanded the chipboard pinecone just a bit to take a little of the glitter off so it looks more like a Summer pinecone . 

I used various papers from the collection along with a few cardstock stickers that I cut one end to look like a flag.  I hand stitched around the outside edge of the layout with green embroidery floss.  After I finished stitching, I tossed a left over piece of floss onto my scrapbook table.  See where it landed? I loved the extra bit of color it added, so I glued it down and put the chipboard pinecone on top.  My own little embellishment ;)

My last project is something I’ve been thinking about making for awhile, and Winter Twig was just perfect for a “Winter Fun Ideas Frame!  As our family thinks of things they would like to do this Winter, we write them with a sharpie pen or dry erase marker right on the glass. As ideas are completed, just erase and add a new one!  I started with an old frame, and gave it a quick coat of paint. Any size frame would work; you would just need to adjust the size papers you use.  Using my computer I printed lines on a piece of cardstock. (You could also draw the lines by hand)

Since my frame is 6”X18”, I added pieces of patterned paper to the bottom, and the top to fill the frame. I added the cute little chipboard guy and word, and a few snowflakes, all under the glass so the marker is easy to clean off.  I’ve already thought of a few things I want to do this Winter!

I’ve had so much fun playing with Winter Twig, and want to thank everyone at Little Yellow Bicycle for having me as part of the cycling team.   

Winter Twig Products

First Snow:

Snowy Window/Ski Sweater double-sided textured cardstock

Chipboard Alphabet

Journaling Cards

Cardstock Stickers – Labels  with buttons

Paper Snowflakes Kit

Winter Memories

Confetti Garland

Chipboard Words – with glitter accents

Cardstock Stickers - Fresh Verse

Remember

Winter Woods/Winter Wishful paper

Winter Stripe/Wood You Be Winter paper

Winter Words/Brown Skate Scratch paper

Winter Twig/Snowy Aspen Paper

Cardstock Stickers – Fresh Verse

Journaling Cards

Cardstock Stickers – Labels with buttons

Chipboard Shapes with glitter accents

Winter Fun Ideas Frame

6x6 Decorative Edge double-sided textured cardstock with glitter accents

Winter Words/Brown Skate Scratch paper

Winters Woods/Winter Wishful paper

Winter Stripe/Would You Be Winter paper

Winter Twig/Snow Aspen paper

Chipboard Shapes with glitter accents

Paper Snowflake Kit

Thank you Mary Ann for sharing your wonderful ideas with us and for making this December day just a tiny bit chillier.  Please visit Mary Ann Jenkins blog I Rock Paper & Scissors for more inspiration.

What else is coming up this week?  We still have more Cycling Team Projects and another NEW Guest Designer to unveil - nope can't make me tell you today. 

Also a little bird told me there might be a giveaway on the facebook page, and we will look at comments on both this post and the FB page for a winner.  So if I were you I would leave a comment here and then hop on over and leave a comment on the facebook page.

Thank you for stopping by -

Liz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for stopping by -

Liz

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

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

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

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

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

_____________________________________

Here's the sketch:

Here's the rules:

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

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

3.  Your work must be your own! ;)

Here's how to enter:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sound good? OK everyone! Get creating!  

-Peg

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

Phew! What a week it has been here in Connecticut. Don't know if you have heard, but much of the state was without power for a week or more, and many (including our headquarters in Bloomfield, CT) are into their 11th day without power. As you can imagine, it hasn't been easy! We appreciate your patience as we get things moving as quickly as we can!

Just to give you a quick glimpse, I'm going to share a couple of photos from my town. We received between 1-2 feet of snow on Saturday 10/29. The entire town (and many others) lost power. Any street that had overhead power lines lost at least a few. Branches came down. Trees came down. Telephone poles came down. Here are some pics:

About 2' of snow in my back yard:

Branches and trees down everywhere (taken from my car) - most streets looked like this for several days after the storm - you just drive under the tree, gun it and pray:

Lots of destruction:

These poor people just replaced their roof last spring! Notice also the branch went right through the front window:

Even trick-or-treating was cancelled due to dangerous conditions.

Snow-covered pumpkin:

Snow pumpkin:

Once the power is restored, there will still be a huge clean-up job but we are hardy New Englanders and I believe we are up to the task.

A few things I have learned:

1) Neighbors are a blessing. Neighbors who have generators are a greater blessing.

2) I can never thank my husband enough for purchasing the generator!

3) No matter how often you tell yourself "The power is still out," you will still always flip the light switch when you go into the bathroom.

4) After a week without power, even vacuuming and doing laundry is "fun," and almost nothing beats the sound of a toilet flushing.

5) Each of us, some day, may be dependent on the kindness of strangers. This is important to remember when we have an opportunity to be kind. Be kind. You never know.

On the positive side, because we had a generator, I had the opportunity to spend wonderful quality time with my kids and get to know many of my neighbors better.

Sometimes it's the little things. I ran into a friend who hadn't had a warm shower in 3 days - so I invited her over to shower. I know I made her day. But interestingly, being able to invite her made my day too.

On the negative side ... I am SO BEHIND with blog posts! So today I am going to post Suzanne Sergi's final Guest Designer post featuring the Get Your Game On collection ... and I'll be back with more projects from the Cycling Teams for the rest of the week!

Here's Suzanne!

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Hi, everyone!

Suzanne here with another scrapbook page using the Get Your Game On Collection. I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed working with these papers. They make creating your pages so simple. The canvas has already been decided, and with a few added details you can complete your sports pages in no time! I have so many sport photos that need to be scrapbooked, so this collection helps me to document them quickly.

I used the Baseball Collage paper as the background to document this photo of my son holding the coveted Game Ball! I cannot tell you how his eyes would light up as the coach would begin his speech as to who the lucky recepient would be! He was secretly wishing each time, it would be him! On this day, he was the lucky one, and I wish I had been quicker to document his expression. It was priceless! However, he did agree to pose for a photo afterward.

Plus here's a bonus football card from Suzanne!

So cool.

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Thanks Suzanne! So nice to think about WARM things like baseball and paper crafting...maybe by the fire...

You can follow Suzanne's blog by clicking here.

See you tomorrow with more inspiration ...and don't forget our call for NEW Winter Twig and Wonder & Wishes Cycling Team Members! If you haven't sent your stuff in, THERE'S STILL TIME! We'll announce the new team members on Thursday, Nov. 10!! Send your submissions to sharon@cthruruler.com!

Have a happy day!

Peg