Monday, November 29, 2010

Farewell Paper Poppy

As many of you know, our dear Aphra has decided to retire her days as a kit club owner and has sold Paper Poppy Kit Co.  That Aphra....  although it seems a little sad that we are disbanding our merry band of three, please don't worry about Aphra, Frances and I...  We are already onto our next adventure together, so please stay tuned.  I want to give a very heartfelt thank you to Aphra for including me in such a special club - it has been a real pleasure designing with both she and Frances.  I also want to thank many of you who purchased her kits every month and shared your work with us.  It has been such a wonderful experience.  As a farewell, I thought I might share some of my very favorite work with the kits...









Thank you so much for stopping by -


Sunday, November 28, 2010

Sunday Sketch and Guest Designers

Check out what the awesome guest designers did with this crazy sketch... Every single one of their interpretations are totally different and totally awesome. This sketch is also eligible for my November Sketch Challenge - the last one in fact.
Marisol Valencia is our featured designer this week. She has shared some wonderful work before and this week is no exception. Here is a little bit about her, "I’m Marisol and I live in Santander –Spain- with my three kids and my DH, though I’m from the most beautiful city in Spain: Salamanca. I started scrapbooking about 4 years ago when I bought the book The Complete Book of Scrapbooking. A new world opened in front of me and since then I can't stop scrapbooking. I’m completely hooked, I love it!!. I usually make pages but I love to create minialbums too. Some of my favorite things to do are mixing a lot of papers in my pages, using different inks and scattering my pages with flowers. I like to scrap at midday, with natural light, I choose my papers and supplies better this way."
This is what Marisol had to say about working with the sketch this week, "First, I want to say how much I love Liz’s sketches: I create my pages with them easily. I was excited when I saw this sketch and I knew that I would follow it closely. I just fell in love with all the different elements. I just turned the stars into a pair of flowers, of course!; I adore flowers even in masculine pages. I have been using big photos on my pages lately, but when I saw 3 little photos on Liz’sketch, I immediately knew which photos I had to use: My son Ángel avoids the camera but I don’t mind, I always take photos of him, though he doesn't want me to. I have dedicated this page to him. I hope that his hatred for photos will disappear soon."
Close Ups of Marisol's Work
Please visit Marisol's blog Un Universo con fotos, Scrap y Mas for more information about her and details about her work.

Heather Robertson is back again this week with another stunning design. Her style is so fresh and fun. Here is what she had to say about working with the sketch, "I love how Liz's sketches always inspire me to be a little whimsical. I love all the shapes and space because it really gives a lot of room for interpretation." Thanks Heather for another wonderful project.
Please visit Heather's blog Unleashed!! for more information about her and details about her work.

Diana Gonzalez is also back for another week and had this to say about her fun layout, "I can't tell you how much fun it was to do all the sketches. Thank you for giving me this great opportunity, your LO's are gorgeous and your sketches are too." Thank you Diana. Your work really showcases how versatile the sketch is.
Please visit Diana's blog All the Days of Our Lifes for more information about her and details about her work.

Thank you so much for stopping by -


Wednesday, November 24, 2010

A Little Turkey Hop w/ Imaginisce

I thought it would be fun to add these two silhouettes of Mr. and Mrs. Pilgrim to my cards. Aren't they a darling couple? And don't they look swell dressed up in Imaginisce's Apple Cider collection? These were very easy to make with some kraft paper, Apple Cider and my Cricut.
I can't do anything without my i-rock. The little gem accents add just the right amount of interest to frame the silhouette. I also fussy cut some leaves from one of the Apple Cider papers to add a little accent and then inked everything to soften the lines.
Hopefully you have figured out which one of us is not like the others, but I will give you a hint. When you head back to the Imaginisce blog - look at the title of the post and it will give you a big clue as to which one of us did not use the Thanksgiving Cricut cartridge. Good luck with winning that AWESOME Gypsy.


Order of Blogs to Hop:

Thank you so much for hopping today!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Sunday Sketch and Guest Designers

It's time for another sketch and some wonderful work from the guest designers. I have posted the November Sketch Challenge below, so let the linking begin. As always, cannot wait to see all the beautiful work you all do :)
Celine Michels is the featured designer this week and she did a fabulous job with the sketch. Here is a little bit about her, "I live with my husband and my two little girls in Alsace, France. I started scrapbooking in 2006. I like most like to make pages and I also like to use inks and stamps to personalize them and my mini-books. I've taught some scrapbooking classes in my hometown for 3 years and it makes me very happy to share my passion!"
This is what Celine said about working with the sketch this week, "I followed the sketch quite closely as I had an opportunity to use this beautiful die-cut from Bo Bunny. I usually have some difficulty in using such big die-cuts. I also used some stamps on the bottom and introduced some velvet (ribbon, brad) to create a warm and cozy atmosphere."
Some Close Ups of Celine's Work
Please visit Celine's blog Celine, Passion Scrap en Alsace for more information about her and details about her work.

Marisol Valencia joins us again this week with her stunning version of the sketch and she happened to use one of my very favorite collections from Little Yellow Bicycle. This is what she had to say about working with the sketch, "When Liz sent me this sketch, my mind began to run; I had to choose only one photo and it was very difficult for me, but when I stumbled across this photo of my son David, I knew it would be perfect for the sketch and immediately remembered these "Little Yellow Bicycle" papers that combined perfectly with that photo. I tried not to change the sketch too much. I just switched the butterfly with a pair of arrows and die-cuts instead, and I changed title and journaling of the site. I like the result, I hope you do too."
Please visit Marisol's blog Un Universo con fotos, Scrap y mas for more information about her and details about her work.

Thank you so much for stopping by -


November Sketch Challenge

Please link up your sketch work for November below with Mr. Linky. I'll randomly choose a winner sometime in early December. Cannot wait to see your work!

Eligible sketches include: 11/7/10, 11/14/10, 11/21/10, 11/28/10, Bonus Sketch



Thank you for playing along this month!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Altered Gift Card Box & Tutorial

With the holidays right around the corner, it's fun to think of thoughtful gifts that are both creative and practical.  My family loves to eat out and gift cards are a wonderful way to share one's love of food. Knowing this, I thought it would be fun to create an altered gift card box using Little Yellow Bicycle's yummy Savor Collection.

I wouldn't quite categorize myself as a "hoarder", but I do have a hard time throwing away beautiful packaging. Consequently, I am often adding something special or interesting to my heap of gift wrapping possibilities.  This little Ann Taylor box is so pretty and even though I was not sure at the time how I might use it again, I just could not bear to throw it away.  When I saw the Little Yellow Bicycle Savor papers and embellishments an idea was immediately born.
These are some of the materials I used to create the altered gift box, but please click on the attached PDF for a full tutorial on how to recreate this idea for someone you love.
Aren't the Savor Paper Lace stickers beautiful?  They are so delicate and add just the right amount of texture and softness to any project.  I only added a tad of ink to "age" the lace a bit.
I am equally smitten with the Savor Mini Banners and was so pleased that the gift card box was just the right size for the EAT banner.  It's truly adorable and easily added to any project.
Finally, add one of your favorite spots for dining.  Larkburger happens to be a "fast food" joint that serves organic cheeseburgers and truffle oil french fries (yes you heard me right). It's basically a small slice of heaven and very popular with my family and friends.  Thank you so much for stopping by and hope you find this idea helpful in your endeavors to send the perfect gift.

Download Tutorial Here!

Download LYBGiftBoxTutorial_LizQualman

Friday, November 19, 2010

A Whole Lotta Corn

This is my last layout for the November Kit at Paper Poppy Kit Co. and I have to say it is one of my favorites. I'm sure you all know what a fan I am of Jillibean Soup and these Fagioli papers are wonderful. The colors just pop right off the page! This November kit has been such a pleasure to work with - you might think about heading over to the Paper Poppy Store to see if there are any left, once they are gone, they are really gone...
Absolutely love these Thickers from American Crafts and how fun they look with the Jillibean Soup. I thought the title was fitting since my daughter is standing in a corn field and acting a little corny herself. I added a little Woolie flower from AC to finish off the title.
How cute is this little chipboard pumpkin from Maya Road?? I colored it with an orange sharpie and then used some metallic cream chalk to add a little texture and shimmer. Love how light it feels on the page and even though it is really a large element. Tied some Jillibean Soup ribbon aroudn the stem and stuck a Little Bit of Whimsy custom straight pin through the bow.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Card Set and Tutorial


The Little Yellow Bicycle Savor collection has the perfect theme for making cards during this month of Thanksgiving and yummy culinary creations.  The color palette is so soft and beautiful and the sentiment is so wonderful.  I had a lot of fun creating these "yummy" cards.
For this card I thought it would be fun to cut one of the Savor 6x6 decorative die cuts in half and reverse the sides to make it look like it needed a special closure like the button and tag.  I love the shape of the die cut and added some of the other patterned paper for more color to the design.  The cardstock stickers made a wonderful sentiment along with the cardstock sticker tag.  I also added a bit of twine to the epoxy button and one of the fabric flowers for cute little accent.
I just love the fabric stickers that come with the Savor collection and used this adorable little apron sticker, with some slight alteration, as the focal point of the design.  I also cut up one of the longer sentence strips from the cardstock stickers and deleted and switched the words around to create the sentiment for this card.
This card is a 7 x 7 inch square of kraft paper folded in half.  I used a corner rounder on one side to add some interest along with some ink.  Then I used one of the template papers from the Savor Envelope Album kit to create the sentiment. Again, the cardstock stickers add a wonderful message and the twine and flower embellishment finish the simple look.

I had so much fun using the awesome Savor chipboard shapes to create this tiny and simple little card.  I also love how it takes all three pages to complete the sentiment. Please see the attached Power Point for a brief tutorial on how to create this fun little card.
Download the Mini Accordion Card Tutorial Below

Download LYBCardTutorial_LizQualmanFinal


 Thank you so much for stopping by and be sure to let me know if you found the tutorial helpful -

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Bonus Sketch and LYB Challenge

I'm sitting here wondering where all of my sketchy friends have gone??? Did I not tell you that this sketch was for a contest at Little Yellow Bicycle for a HUGE prize pack worth $100 of the new Cupcake Love collection designed by the very talented Lori Marek??? I feel like I was not clear in saying that you all should give it a go. You can use whatever LYB collection you choose and you can even order some of their older collections at a fraction of the price from Little Yellow Bargains.

Give me a little shout out if you are planning to play along and please visit the Facebook page to see some of the entries that have already been submitted.

You know I love you guys and would love to see a few of my "followers" get all the glory at Little Yellow Bicycle :)

BTW - you can also use your layout in my November Challenge - of course!

xxoo -