My Little Sketch Blook

Sunday Sketch January 29th

2012-01-29T20:01:00.001-07:00

It's time for another sketch! If you have a lot of little journal cards or ticket cards lying around, this is the sketch for you. However, you can use any kind of patterned paper to create the same effect.

This is a page I created with Little Yellow Bicycle's Saturdays Collection. The mix of Denim, Red and Cream is soooooooo cool. It makes a great collection for both male a female pages. This is my husband driving a boat on a lake near our home. We had a great time and yes, it was a Saturday.

The title is a combination of Wonder & Wishes corrugated letters, My Little Shoebox Mini Alphabet Stickers and Saturdays Chipboard Pieces.

Like most of the Little Yellow Bicycle Collections, there is a Paper Flower Kit with this one. The detailing on the flowers is really pretty and they even look good on a masculine page.

The Tear Out Tickets make a great layer of "patterned paper." I layered an embossed Fresh Verse Sticker over them for extra journaling.

Hope you find some creativity from this sketch and please drop me a link so I can come by and admire.

Thank you for stopping by!

Little Yellow Bicycle NEW Swoon Collection

2012-01-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Little Yellow Bicycle has released a GORGEOUS wedding collection? It is called Swoon and I am smitten with it. I know black and white collections can seem like a challenge, but this one has so many shade of gray, that it will easily capture all of you memories with beauty and ease.

I love all of the little stickers and chipboard pieces that come with this collection. Makes it easy to add a sentiment to your page design.

I used some of my Martha Stewart butterfly punches to add to the theme of butterflies in the collection. Love how this collection hits all the shades of black, white, cream and gray. Makes my little butterfly stand out in this cluster.

It rained just a bit on our wedding day, but it made for beautiful photos and some good luck at the beginning of our marriage that still continues to thrive.

I also created a Swoon mini album to go with this page, but I will share the rest of this little album a bit later, just wanted you to see some more of the gorgeous papers and the paper flower kit. Both of these projects will be in the Little Yellow Bicycle booth at CHA. Hope you will stop by and say hello to our team.

I'll be back tomorrow with a new sketch and some more Little Yellow Bicycle.

Thank you for stopping by!

BRAND New Awesome Collection from Simple Stories

2012-01-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was all about Fabulous and today is all about AWESOME, the new all boy collection from Simple Stories. What more could you want than awesome green, browns and oranges, awesome stars and awesome motorcycles and guitars??? It's just so... well - awesome. I think it is perfect for my "awesome" son and will probably make a cool page of my "awesome" guitar-playing husband. It's going to be an awesome year at Simple Stories if you KWIM - LOL,

The sentiments in this collection on the cardstock sticker sheets totally crack me up. This one was so perfect for my little guy.

Thought it would be fun to make a little flag out of the cardstock sticker sentiments to ride on the back of the motorcycle. A little twine finishes off the look - even though I know the twine does not look "tough."

I am becoming addicted to flag trios. I plan to share a few more CHA projects this week with lots of flags, I think I have run out of my toothpick stash, but I really love these "sandwich" toothpicks because they have flat sides and the tops are rounded and perfect for scrapbooking.

Please visit the Simple Stories blog for a chance to win this colleciton.

Thank you for stopping by today!

BRAND New Fabulous Collection from Simple Stories

2012-01-24T15:56:00.000-07:00

Simple Stories has a brand new collection called Fabulous and it is for all the girls in your lives. Can you say fabulous gingham, fabulous pink and fabulous flowers, because that is what this collection is all about! I couldn't be happier with a collection so fun to create pages about my "fabulous" daughter. Might even make a "fabulous" page about myself...you get the point - LOL.

You can't really have fabulous without a bit of twine and miniature clothespins. These are such fun colors to create with. Please visit the Simple Stories blog for a look at the entire collection and a chance to win this collection in a drawing.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Sunday Sketch January 22nd

2012-01-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

Is it hectic around your house? I just finished off the last of my CHA projects today and will be popping them in the mail tomorrow, headed for Anaheim. And...because the trade show is just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to make a sketch with one of my projects for Little Yellow Bicycle's Paradise Collection. I like the idea of color blocking and using as many patterned papers as you can while still keeping the design relatively simple. So take a look in your stash to find at least three or four different patterned papers that compliment each other perfectly.

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

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

Thank you for stopping by and let me know what you think or do with this one!

Simple Stories Facebook Fan Blog Hop and Design Team Call

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to participate in our first official Simple Stories Facebook Fan Blog Hop! How did we come up with this idea you might ask??? We love our fans and we wanted to find a way to include them in more of what we do. So...we asked them to be available for a special announcement and gave them a time and the first 7 fans to respond were invited to join us. How fun is that?

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and I thought it would be fun to use the Simple Stories Generations collection to make a card for the holiday. The bingo cards are so fun to add to a project and usually they come in 4 x 6 sizes, but I cut this one out of the 6x6 patterned papers to get the 2 x 3 card instead, which was a perfect center for my large paper banner.

Sometimes all you need is a bit of velvet twine and a good looking button to make an interesting element on a card. Pop dots elevate the heart cardstock sticker that matches the tiny one in the center of the bingo card.

There is also a VERY exciting announcement over on the Simple Stories Blog. I know many of you have been wondering when we would do a Design Team Call and now is the time! We are looking to expand our little design team with more people who love Simple Stories as much as we do. Be sure to hop back to the Simple Stories blog for all the information!

If you are just arriving and would like to hop along our Facebook Fan Blog Hop Trail, here is the order of the hop. We know the hop is a little long, but please leave a comment for all of our fans, they have a little challenge going on with the comments and there will be prize possibilities for those who leave a little love.

1. Simple Stories

2. Martha Saenz

3. Simple Stories design team member, KimHolmes

4. Amanda Albright

5. Cindy Pittman

6. Simple Stories design team member, Emily Pitts

7. Sara O’Shea

8. Simple Stories design team member, Allison Landy

9. Kate Blue

10. Simple Stories design team member, Wendy Morris

11. Naomi Armenta

12. Michelle Brekke

13. Simple Stories design teammember, Liz Qualman - You are Here!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!!!

Monthly Sketch Challenge at Little Yellow Bicycle

2012-01-19T11:49:00.003-07:00

Hope you will jump into the monthly sketch challenge over at Little Yellow Bicycle this month. I'll post the sketch here, but you can click on this LINK to see the sketch challenge details, rules and few other examples of the sketch. I had to use the BRAND NEW Paradise Collection from LYB. I love the mix of earthy greens and browns combined with a pop of pink. It's almost as if they had my little "paradise" in mind with her style and sense of color - LOL

I had to add some flowers, been missing those lately. The Paper Flower Kits in the LYB collections are a perfect match.

This little "happy" banner is actually part of the Favorite Pieces cardstock stickers. I just pop dotted and added some twine for effect. Then I layered on the smaller letter stickers to finish the sentiment.

I love to use the Tear Out Tickets for my journal spots. On this one, I actually cut the 4x6 ticket in half to make it fit the sketch. You probably didn't even notice - LOL.

Please come join us - you can use any LYB collection you like - and you all know how much I love to see what you do with my sketches.

Have a wonderful day!

Sunday Sketch January 15th

2012-01-15T19:06:00.003-07:00

It's another Sunday and time for another sketch. I know this one is a little simple, but I am sure a few of you will take it over the top with ideas for embellishment and I know some of you will have fun with the simple design - so all is good. I have to tell you that it makes me happy to regularly share sketches again - 2011 was such a busy year for me and I kinda want to get back to my roots. I also cannot believe how many of you have shared links to your projects with me. Please keep them coming! I really get a lot of joy seeing what people do with my sketches and I have always been a proponent of sharing my sketches with no strings attached. Thanks for leaving me a link to your pages so I can drop by and admire your wonderful work....seriously!

If you do not regularly visit the Adornit blog - you are missing out on some serious inspiration. Not only does Adornit still create quality scrapbook supplies, but they have moved into the quilting industry too and the women in the family are so talented. I just love everything they do. Please stop by and tell them I sent you! When I saw Adornit's Circle of Friends collection, I knew I had to use the gorgeous pink paper on my project with my sassy little daughter. It looks so bright and fun and a nice compliment to these photos. Since there was no friend in the picture I decided to mix and match collections. I cut off the bottom of the Circle of Friends patterned paper and added it to the blue striped patterned paper from the Photo Girls collection. Then I added the “whatever” sentiment from the Girly Glam cardstock stickers

When was the last time you used clear stickers? ADORNit makes some of the best and they have so many different themes that there is a lot to choose from.. The flowers and the words “sweet” and “adorable” are from the Princess Clear Stickers. They added just the right amount of pizazz to the project. Then I tied on some of ADORNit’s Squiggle Ribbon. It is so cute and there is just a tad of glitter on the stitching on the ribbon, BUT, since it is what I call “responsible glitter” because it does not come off and get all over you!

I also had to include some of the tiny alphabets and used the Multi Reds Tiny Alpha to weave my title. I also added some pink and purple flowers from the Princess Foam Stickers. This is such a happy page and it was fun to mix and match all of the wonderful collections and embellishments.

ADORNit Products:
Circle of Friends collection – Circle of Friends patterned paper
Photo Girls collection – Photo Smiles patterned paper
Multi Reds Tiny Alpha
Foam Stickers – Princess
Clear Stickers – Princess
Cardstock Stickers – Girly Glam
Cardstock Stickers – Princess Dreams
Ribbon – Squiggle in Turquoise

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Sunday Sketch January 8th

2012-01-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Back again with a Sunday Sketch. This sketch is kind of a fun mess, but I think it gives many opportunities to journal and try different elements. I sure you could turn or flip it for a fun effect too. You could even break the 5 x 7 photo up into a couple of photos. The sky is the limit, so have fun!

I created this page with the Simple Stories Year.o.graphy collection, which is really, really fun to work with. You could scrapbook almost every even in a year with this collection. I also love how Simple Stories created some very cool basic papers like this ledger paper for my background. I simply sprayed and dripped it with mist to introduce more of the red in the background to emphasize my son's rosy cheeks. Then I use a combination of journal cards and journal spots, along with cardstock stickers to embellish.

Pop dots have a remarkable effect on cardstock stickers. You can give them so much dimension with just a little foam that it transforms these inexpensive embellishments into something very special. Although, I did not add it here, just a bit of twine tied onto a sticker is another way to dress them up.

This is a combination of the Simple Stories 12 x 12 Expresssions Cardstock stickers. I used the to make this fun title and subtitle. I love the different letter cases in the red mini alphabets. I think Simple Stories has really created a product that can make a complete page without needing a lot of extras. Except for the mist, black gems and floss, this page is all Simple Stories Year.o.graphy.

We had a blog swap with the Glue Arts team this week, please be sure to visit both the Simple Stories blog and the Glue Arts blog for some wonderful projects by both design teams.

Thank you so much for stopping by and please let me know if you use the sketch so I can stop by and admire your work! I ALWAYS love to see how people interpret my sketches and many times their pages turn out so much better than mine - LOL.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Sunday Sketch - 2012!

2012-01-01T01:27:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year! 2012 is going to awesome and to kick it off right, Sunday Sketches are back! I made a resolution to be more consistent in posting my sketches where everyone can expect to see them on a regular basis, so be sure to check in each Sunday for a new sketch and some inspiration or become a follower so you get a reminder when the sketches post. Check the gallery HERE for more sketches.

My son is such a ham. He thought it would be fun to throw snowballs at me while I was taking the photos, so I had to do some handy photo work to avoid a mishap with my camera. I love his little Carthart jacket and how warm it looks. When I was thinking of this design, I thought it reminded me of Kraft paper, so for this page, I mixed Little Yellow Bicycle's Winter Twig collection with My Mind's Eye's Fun Day - Everyday Fun collection.

I love the way the blue looks against the grungy kraft color. And that plaid paper from Winter Twig is one of my very favorites! I added a Fresh Verse sentiment from LYB to the MME Layered Sticker. Then I included one of the Winter Twig Clear Cut Shapes for more interest.

How cute are these wooden banners from MME? They add just the right texture and sentiment to a page. I love how the warm wood grain looks against the icy blue color in the patterned paper.

Did you know that Little Yellow Bicycle made a chipboard alphabet for the Winter Twig collection? I am always happy when manufacturers include an alphabet with a collection - keeps the industry fresh and unique instead of relying so much on one brand of letters (if you know what I mean). I finished the title with some of My Little Shoebox's Mini Alphabet Stickers.

I hope your 2012 is filled with all kinds of new and exciting adventures. Thank you so much for stopping by!

2011 - Year in Review

2011-12-31T07:43:00.000-07:00

2011 has been a wonderful year! I am so amazed at how fast it has flown by - where did the time go? Below are some of my favorite projects from the year. I am looking forward to 2012!

Little Yellow Bicycle - Cupcake Love Collection

Little Yellow Bicycle - Twig Collection

Little Yellow Bicycle - Savor Collection

Little Yellow Bicycle - Elizabeth Park Collection

Imaginisce - I-Top & I-Rock

Imaginisce - Enchanted Collection

Simple Stories - Destination Collection

Imaginisce - Happy Camper Collection

Nikki Sivils - School is Cool Collection

Little Yellow Bicycle - Sweet Summertime Collection

Imaginisce - Geek is Chic Collection

Jillibean Soup - Dutch Mustard Soup Collection

Little Yellow Bicycle - Pack Your Bags Collection

Adornit - Brothers Collection

Little Yellow Bicycle - Head of the Class Collection

Simple Stories - Baby Steps Collection

Simple Stories - Year.O.Graphy Collection

Little Yellow Bicycle - Get Your Game On Collection

Thank you so much to all of you who stop by and motivate me to keep crafting. Happy New Year!

Christmas Village from Little Yellow Bicycle

2011-12-21T23:12:00.000-07:00

This is a fun little project I made for the Little Yellow Bicycle Wonder & Wishes catalog. I used the Cricut Winter Woodland Cartridge to make these little houses and church. They were fairly easy to assemble and have a lot of options for patterned paper. I think they would look adorable with little tea lights inside to light up the windows.

You can see the different choices for houses on the bottom row. Plus the trees are really easy to make too. This is such an adorable cartridge. I think the skates would make a fun project too.

Same project at a different angle. I tried to make it look a little more like winter by sprinkling the houses and white foam board with salt.

The houses and trees stand up on their own pretty easily. The shutters take a little more attention and since I was using prototype paper, were a tad too stiff. I think this would be a lot easier to make with the real patterned paper.

Thank you for stopping by!

New Training Reel for Little Yellow Bicycle

2011-12-19T05:00:00.000-07:00

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.

I tied on some twine and then added tiny pop poms to the end of it for more winter fun.

These felt poinsettias from Little Yellow Bicycle are gorgeous and really pop in a project.

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.

This is a closeup of the Paper Snowflake Kit which is every bit as beautiful as any of the LYB Paper Flower Kits.

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

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

Liz

Counting Down to Christmas with Simple Stories Continued

2011-12-13T19:49:00.001-07:00

I am back for Week 2 with more pages from my Counting Down to Christmas Album from Simple Stories and Maya Road. I am having so much fun using the 25 Days of Christmas collection and I will say it again that it is one of the most beautiful collections on the market this year.

It's getting a lot THICKER, but it is so fun to look at it from this angle to see all of the gorgeous embellishments from Simple Stories and Maya Road.

I'm not really "pouting," but this is one CRAZY month for me. I know my album is not as disciplined as some December Daily Albums, because mine is more full of rambling thoughts, ideas and things I fancy.

Does everyone have their trees up? If not, it is probably time to do that. And then you may need to write a letter to Santa. The Maya Road Kraft Envelopes are perfect for holding the Simple Stories 3x4 Journal Cards. Dress it up with stickers, fiber and bling.

I found Velvet needlepoint fiber at a local vendor by my house and now I cannot get enough of it, plus it comes in so many colors!

This is the time of December when people are making trips to a Santa Claus venue and taking those adorable pictures. For Day 13, I loved the idea of the Santa page and thought I could go back and add a wallet-sized photo of my kids sitting on his lap. Day 14 is just to remind me that we are almost on a holiday break and that my family will be together for the holidays.

These little packages are really cardstock stickers from the 12 x 12 Fundamental Cardstock Sheet. I added pop dots to give them more of an effect.

These gingham flowers from Maya Road are nothing less than delightful and paired with the leave and the Simple Stories cardstock sticker calendar, they make a great cluster.

I mentioned last week that I have a few favorite recipes, so included on Day 15 is my Artichoke Dip recipe. I refuse to eat mayonaise, so mine is made with cream cheese. You can imagine that smell and taste... We have a Christmas Party at my office on that day and you can bet that I will be making this dish. Day 16 - It's Friday and the last day of school for the year. Pictures are to remind the kids to take advantage of all the snow and playing outside.

You can easily pop dot the cardstock sticker numbers. I added a swirl, snowflake and some bling to give the page some extra pizazz.

These velvet flowers are just as gorgeous as the gingham ones!

I'll be back next week with the next round of rambling thoughts about this holiday season.

Please see the details below about how to win some fun prizes from both Simple Stories and Maya Road

Leave us a comment here on this post at Simple Stories.
Become Simple Stories friend on Facebook and share this post on your Wall.
Also remember to drop by Maya Roads Blog for more inspiration - they're giving away prizes too! and leave them some love on the Maya RoadFacebook Page (tell them Simple Stories sent ya).

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brand NEW Little Yellow Bicycle Collection

2011-12-10T21:10:00.001-07:00

Little Yellow Bicycle is very excited to announce our newest collection called Paradise! It is the perfect blend of bright pinks and blues with serene greens, and like its name makes you want to visit warm, far off places or just make your own home a Paradise. It just wouldn't be Little Yellow Bicycle if we didn't have a flower kit in our collections and as you can see the Paradise Flower Kit is full of bright, beautiful colors that are grounded in a warm and natural greens.

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

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

Little Yellow Bicycle is looking for NEW Cycling Team Members to design with this collection. See the blog post HERE for more details.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Counting Down to Christmas with Simple Stories

2011-12-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Before I begin, I must share the question that has been racing through my mind for the last few days, "How the heck did December get here so fast?" I feel like the year is careening out of control and if I don't get my shopping, baking, mailing and cleaning done in record time, the world around me may just fall apart. Anyone else having mild panic attacks? Just sayin'... So knowing this about me, I thought it an interesting challenge to try to create a December Daily album with the rest of my life in warp speed. My album is more like the rambling thoughts that go through my head at this time of year. Here goes...

Along with Simple Stories gorgeous 25 Days of Christmas collection (seriously, this is one of the prettiest collections on the market right now), we received some wonderful goodies from Maya Road. This tabbed chipboard mini album was the perfect beginning to all of the madness that is my life in December. I used the 25 Days of Christmas 6 x 6 patterned paper along with the Maya Road Sheer Calendars and really like the effect.

Look how perfectly these velvet flowers from Maya Road match the 25 Days of Christmas collection. I think they are a match made in heaven. I also love the vintage pins and striped ribbon and how well they blend with the 25 Days of Christmas cardstock stickers.

We have been getting a lot of snow in the past couple of days and when we have a really good storm, that is what the door to our garage looks like. We had such a mild November and then "wham" December opens the month like a lion in winter. However, where I live, snow is a great thing that drives our economy - so life is good.

Love the combination of cardstock stickers, pop dots and ribbon. It makes a fun little cluster in the corner of the page and makes Day 2 jump off of the page.

I'm not what you would call a strong baker, but I do have a few favorite recipes that usually turn out pretty good, the first of which is my Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips and Macadamia Nuts. It's practially sinful - LOL. Then of course there are the lists of gifts to purchase and organizing that is weighing on my mind and even though I can get 2 Day shipping from amazon.com, there is still a lot of pressure to get this done.

So I have to admit that I will go back and add a small photo or some kind of journaling to day 6. I was really more fascinated by the beautiful flower cardstock sticker than by what I might like to journal - kind of like the "Squirrel!" syndrome. Anyway, it blended beautifully with the sentiment on day 7 which I know I will have to stop and think about, mostly because I have literally made it through the 1st week of December - phew!

I have to say that these chipboard flowers from Maya Road were the perfect compliment to the poinsettia design in the 25 Days of Christmas papers. I just added cardstocker stickers with pop dots and Maya Road leaves to dress them up. Isn't the houndstooth paper decadent? I LOVE how sharp and beautiful this collection is.

Got a little bit creative for days 8 & 9, because I know that my two children will start hunting for the gifts my husband and I have hidden around the house, so I thought it would be a good idea to show them these pages so they know that someone is keeping track. I wrote on the behavior descriptors with eraseable pen, just so I can change it around (not really, but you get the point).

The 25 Days of Christmas 12 x 12 Expressions Cardstock stickers have every kind of letter and number you could wish for. Here I added the 8 from the stickers and put it on top of a scalloped chipboard shape from Maya Road which I used a red marker to color. My daughter's name is with the Expressions tiny alphabet, which comes in three colors.

Below is a visual product list to see what I used to put together my mini ablum.

25 Days of Christmas Products

Maya Road Products

5 Ring Chipboard Album

Mixed Blossom Mini Chipboard Set

Velvet Point Blossoms - Red and Green

Leaves

Trinket Pins - Vintage Pearl

Sheers - A Year to Remember - Black and White

Tags Mini Chipboard Set

Trinkets Ribbon in Poppy, Sand and Forest

I'll be back next week with the next round of rambling thoughts about this holiday season.

Please see the details below about how to win some fun prizes from both Simple Stories and Maya Road

Leave us a comment on this post at the Simple Stories Blog.
Become Simple Stories friend on Facebook and share this post on your Wall.
Also remember to drop by Maya Roads Blog for more inspiration - they're giving away prizes too! and leave them some love on the Maya RoadFacebook Page (tell them Simple Stories sent ya).

Thank you for stopping by today!

Painted Wooden Santa Home Decor Item

2011-12-03T23:36:00.001-07:00

Looking for some novel home décor items for this season? My parents created these adorable little wooden Santas for a craft show they recently attended. They come in a variety of sizes and are meant to be clustered together on a mantle, hearthstone or table. My mom told me she still has a few sets left to sell, so I thought I might put it out there in case anyone is looking for something interesting for a gift or for your own home. The Santas are 5, 7, and 9 inches tall and look adorable in sets of three, four or six. Please email me at lizqualman@gmail.com if you are interested and I can give you pricing and shipping information.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Getting Ready for the Holidays

2011-12-03T12:27:00.001-07:00

Is anyone else starting to worry about getting your shopping, mailing and baking done for the holidays? I should being doing all of that right at this very moment, but as I procrastinate, I thought I would post a holiday page with Little Yellow Bicycle's Wonder & Wishes collection. My daughter is very attached to her American Girl, so I thought it would be fun to make a page about them.

One of my favorite elements in all of Little Yellow Bicycle's collections are the cardstock stickers. I added some twine and pop dots to these three ornament stickers and then "dangled" them from the page.

The long Fresh Verse stickers are easy to cut up and make journal spots out of. I inked the edges and added pop dots to make these stand out from the page just a bit more.

Little Yellow Bicycle has added some wonderful felt flowers to many of their collections and the texture is perfect to add that extra special finish to a project. I love how bright the color of this poinsettia is on the page.

Hope you are having better luck than me at getting all of our holiday errands and chores finished in record time!

Thank you for stopping by -

Titles Made from Cardstock Stickers

2011-11-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

The Simple Stories Generations Collection is not only great for Thanksgiving projects, but I used it for a Valentine's Day Layout. I had a hard time finding a die cut to showcase the Designer Cardstock paper for this collection because I did not want to cut off the beautiful flowers in the corner of the paper, but I also wanted the gingham design to be a strong background paper. So, I went a little wild and took some scissors (yes, I said scissors) and hand cut my own die cut. I rather like the effect, but you be the judge.
It's fun to use some of the Generations 12 x 12 Expressions Cardstock Stickers along with the 12 x 12 Fundamental Cardstock stickers to create a clever title. I was so smitten with the keys, that I had to use one in the title. Plus it was fun to mix the different sized letters from the collection to draw interest to the title. The different sized hearts overlap beautifully to finish off the sentiment.
Add pop dots to your stickers for dimension and interest. I added them to the polka dot scallop so it would show up more on my page. Then I pop dotted the little tree and overlapped it with the heart and ticket stickers.
Personalize your page with some of your own handwriting. I rarely write in cursive anymore, because my printing is easier to read, but I went a little old school and added the date in cursive. I also used the 12 x 12 Expressions journal strips to add a sentiment and pop dotted them to stand out on the page.

This page is also in the Winter Issue of Scrapbooking and Beyond Magazine with full instructions and a product list.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Getting Ready for Turkey Day!

2011-11-23T10:30:00.001-07:00

The count down is on and tomorrow most Americans will be in the kitchen making a plethora of mouth watering pleasures. Family will arrive and the tradition of celebrating what you are grateful for commences. I thought it appropriate to make a card to celebrate the holiday. Of course I had to use the Simple Stories Generations collection, which is perfect for this time of year. The card was also inspired by the talented Allison Landy's sketch from her Big Picture Class called Cooking Up Cards.

I primarily used the Simple Stories Generations 6 x 6 patterned paper pad and the 12 x 12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers. I recently found a cute craft store near my home which sells all kinds of knitting and embroidery supplies and picked up this gorgeous velvet fiber to finish off my card.

Generations Collection Materials:

12 x 12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers
6 x 6 Patterned Paper Pad
Corrugated Cardstock
Velvet Embroidery Fiber

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Little Yellow Bicycle Wonder & Wishes Project and Training Reel

2011-11-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Looking for a Holiday Project to "spruce up" the old homestead? Try this adorable little Christmas Tree Centerpiece made with the Wonder & Wishes collection and inspired by Little Yellow Bicycle's Paper Flower Kits. It gives just the right amount of flair with the least amount of work. You will be surprised at how easy it is to make.

The design is really quite simple and uses just a few of the embellishments from the Wonder & Wishes collection like the Confetti Garland and Button Dots.

See the Training Reel Below!

Ready for dinner!

Directions for creating your own Chrsitmas Tree Centerpiece:
Download Wonder&Wishes_Centerpiece_LizQualman

Thank you so much for stopping by today -

Liz

Two Pager with Sweet Summertime

2011-11-19T10:06:00.000-07:00

Is summer really over? I say this as a I sit next to a window watching snowflakes falling and thinking of the shopping list for Thanksgiving dinner. However, I am still trying to eek out a few more projects before I have to fully commit to fall and winter and I am still smitten with Little Yellow Bicycle's Sweet Summertime Collection. I created this two-page project of my family on the 4th of July using this bright, summery collection.

I love to use the Fresh Verse Stickers to make journal spots. This sentiment was one long 12" strip that I cut up and made into three. I love how the red pops off of the page. Just added a some foam tape to accentuate it even more.

Who doesn't love fireflies? This collection is full of them both in the Chipboard Shapes and the Favorite Pieces Cardstock stickers. I backed this wallet-sized photo with one of the journal cards in the tear out ticket book and then add the firefly for some movement on the page.

A Little Yellow Bicycle project is not complete with out adding one of their dimensional shapes like a button dot. I love the layers and the "already stitched" buttons because it makes life so easy - just sticker that sucker down on the page and be done with it!

Thank you so much for stopping by -

LYB December Sketch Challenge

2011-11-14T22:12:00.001-07:00

Little Yellow Bicycle is trying to get the jump on the holidays, so we have posted our December Sketch Challenge a few weeks early. I can think of some other things to do than watch football over the holidays if you know what I mean - LOL. Please see the details below or visit the Little Yellow Bicycle blog HERE.

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!

See the fine print below for details of visit the Little Yellow Bicycle blog for more information.

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!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Simple Stories Generations Collection and Cards

2011-11-12T10:33:00.001-07:00

Are you looking forward to the holidays? Have you made up your menu, invited your friends and familiy or created any special cards? Today I wanted to share some Simple Stories for creating fast and very sincere cards to give to family during the holidays. Of course I had to use the Simple Stories Generations collection, which is perfect for this time of year. It is is full or rich browns, creams and reds - which together make a deeply felt sentiment around family and heritage. The chocolatey colors are fantastic and add an "old world" feel to every project. I plan to give these cards to the families who will visit us for Thanksgiving with some kind of gift like wine or dessert.

This card was fun and easy. I simply used the Generations 6 x 6 Patterned Paper Pad and cut the two patterned papers into 4.5 x 2.25 inch rectangles to center on my 5 x 5 card. I loved how the journal tag was already embedded in the design of the paper, so I simply added some of the journal sentiments from the 12 x 12 Expressions Cardstock Stickers. Then I tied some packaging twine around the middle and added a simple burlap button.

I love this little house from the Generations 12 x 12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers. It was such a great focal point for this card. Just add foam tap or pop dots to add dimension to the cardstock stickers. I used one of the 4 x 6 journal cards for the main sentiment and then added a sheet of the 6 x 6 Patterned Paper Pad for the background. Isn't that little tree adorable? Bakers twine and a burlap button finish it off.

The Bingo Cards are some of my favorite designs in all of the Simple Stories collections. I cut this one in half to reflect the numbers to go a long with the clock and time sentiment. I used the 12 x 12 Expressions Cardstock Stickers to create the sentiment. Bakers twine is easy to wrap around shapes and adds some texture to the clock. Finished it off with the twine bow and burlap button..

Generations Collection Materials:
* 12 x 12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers
* 12 x 12 Expresssions Cardstock Stickers
* 4 x 6 Vertical Journaling Card Elements
* 6 x 6 Patterned Paper Pad
* Brown Cardstock
* Nikki Sivils - Burlap Buttons - Brown
*The Twinery - Coffee Colored Bakers Twine

Thank you so much for stopping by!

More From ADORNit

2011-11-07T09:23:00.002-07:00

Have you seen the new Adornit collections? Hop on over to their blog for a peek at their newest products. They always have beautiful colors and themes for every occasion. This page is a combination of the Circle of Friends and Photo Girl collections, which you can find at Scrapbook.com or on the Adornit store site. I thought they were perfect for these sassy photos of my daughter.

When was the last time you used clear stickers? ADORNit makes some of the best and they have so many different themes. The flowers and the words “sweet” and “adorable” are from the Princess Clear Stickers. They added just the right amount of pizazz to the project. Then I tied on some of ADORNit’s Squiggle Ribbon. It is so cute and there is just a tad of glitter on the stitching on the ribbon, BUT, it is what I call “responsible glitter” because it does not come off and get all over you!

I had to include some of the tiny alphabets and used the Multi Reds Tiny Alpha to weave my title. I also added some pink and purple flowers from the Princess Foam Stickers. This is such a happy page and it was fun to mix and match all of the wonderful collections and embellishments.

Last week some of my projects were featured on the Adornit blog and this week and the next few weeks will showcase the work of some of my favorite designers... Stay tuned.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Simple Stories November Sketch

2011-11-02T21:35:00.000-06:00

It's time for another simple sketch over at Simple Stories. Please visit the blog for close ups and more details about this page created with their Brand NEW Year.O.graphy Collection. I am totally smitten with these non-traditional winter papers and embellishments. They really made a fun boy page!

The patterned paper is already embellished, but I added some fun journal and bingo cards as well as some of the cardstock stickers.

Like I said, it is a simple sketch, but fun to play with the possibilities. If you are getting some snow like we are in Colorado, it might just be a good day to stay home and create a page. Hope the sketch inspires.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Guest Blogging with Adornit & Sketch

2011-11-01T17:36:00.000-06:00

I have the pleasure of working with Adornit this week and will share a few creative projects. However, I really want to announce that they have a Brand NEW Blog to inspire everyone. Please hop over there to see what is going on with Scrapbooking, Quilting and Fashion because this talented family endeavors in so many different aspects of the crafting industry. I am inspired every time I visit.

It wouldn't be like me to leave without a sketch to inspire you to create your own project. Please be sure to visit the Adornit blog for details about both the page and the materials I used to create it. Leave a comment and tell them I sent you.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Naughty or Nice w/ LYB

2011-10-28T15:11:00.001-06:00

My daughter loves to play it up for the camera, so while we were taking photos in her pretty Christmas dress for something else, she decided to show the spectrum of emotions for little kids waiting for Santa. Had to use the Little Yellow Bicycle Wonder and Wishes to scrap these photos, the colors are so bright and fun and add a modern color palette to traditional patterns. Plus you cannot beat the embellishments. I added some twine to top it off.

Be sure to stop by the Little Yellow Bicycle and The Twinery blogs for more inspiration with twine and LYB collections. We had a wonderful blog swap and I believe there are some prizes to be won for leaving a comment.

Thank you for stopping by!

Time for Some Twine!

2011-10-25T04:00:00.001-06:00

Little Yellow Bicycle and The Twinery have teamed up this week for some fun project ideas.

Please visit both the LYB blog and The Twinery blog for some great ideas and inspiration. Below are some holiday cards I created using some of my favorite LYB collections and a variety of twine.

Happy Halloween Card

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

Fall Card

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

Holiday Wishes Card

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

Please check out the Little Yellow Bicycle site each day for more ideas from the design team!

Thank you for stopping by -

Still Thinking About Back to School

2011-10-07T20:04:00.000-06:00

It has been just over a month that the kiddos have been back to school and I cannot imagine a busier time of year for not only my family, but everyone elses too. Is anyone else waiting for Thanksgiving Break - LOL? I have had such a busy time with work this fall that I have not posted all of my Back to School Projects, so I want to share a few I created for Imaginisce at Summer CHA 2011.

I made this mini album using an apple shaped chipboard album from Maya Road and the Geek is Chic collection from Imaginisce. I added the paper clips, ribbon and buttons to accent the cute collection.

Quick little card to thank a teacher! Teachers are in the hot seat these days, so I would encourage everyone to make sure the educator in the lives of their children feel appreciated for the work they do. It is not easy to educate the future and our childrens' teachers deserve a lot of recognition.

Composition books are great for altering. I added kraft paper and stitching to dress up the casual Geek is Chic collection.

Page of my daughter fooling around. She really knows how to play up her I.Q. and we are such suckers and fall for it everytime.

Thank you for stopping by!

One Lucky Person Gets Some Head of the Class

2011-09-20T21:39:00.002-06:00

I could not help but fall in love with this comment! For a mother and son to have the same teacher is a once in a lifetime chance, especially when they both adore that teacher. This warmed my heart and I am happy to send you some Little Yellow Bicycle Head of the Class to scrap a photo of you and Mrs. Wilkins and your son and Mrs. Wilkins!

Please send me your info and I will get the goodies in the mail! lizqualman@gmail.com

Thanks for stopping by!

Head of the Class Just for You!

2011-09-14T23:23:00.002-06:00

As many of you know I am a teacher and would have to say that back to school collections have a special place in my heart. I made the altered apple frame as a salute to all of the teachers who help our children reach their potential. I bought the raw frame from my friends at Adornit! They have the most interesting things to alter and this apple is actually about 8" in size.

So...how would you like to win some of Little Yellow Bicycle's Head of the Class collection??? Please leave a comment telling me a little bit about your favoriteteacher and you will be entered into a drawing to win a fairly big pileof Little Yellow Bicycle's Head of the Class! I will draw for a winner on Monday, September 19th.

ALSO Little Yellow Bicycle is looking for guest designers and you could be one! Please stop by the blog LYB HERE for more information.

Thank you for stopping by and for chatting about your favorite teacher!

September Sketch from Simple Stories

2011-09-06T22:34:00.001-06:00

Time for another sketch from Simple Stories! Still procrastinating about scrapping those delicate and adorable baby photos you have lying around? I know...the time goes by so fast and who wants to spend their time scrapping when the time could be spent holding the baby before he/she gets too big. Well, now that the wee ones are grown it is time to get those photos out and make a page with the most PERFECT collection from Simple Stories - Baby Steps. Above is a sketch I created to go along with a page about my beautiful new niece, who still happens to be small enough to hold.

This is my little sister's first baby and she is so precious. Rarely cries and when she does has one of those cute little cries that makes you say, "Bless her heart." Not at all like my 3 year old son who has this piercing scream that will make you give him anything including the remote, a carbonated beverage, a bag of chips or whatever it takes to keep that child from screaming. Guess they come in all shapes and sizes. For now we will just concentrate on this little angel.

The Simple Stories cardstock stickers make the perfect embellishment. I love to use foam tape to lift them off the page and a bit of chalk ink to give them some dimension. This tree is just precious.

Love to create titles using the Cardstock Stickers and some of the Journal Spots from the Expressions 12 x 12 sheet. This one is really cute. Just added some cardstock to matte the sticker and a little ink for definition and then lifted it off the page with some foam tape.

Who isn't crazy about these sweet little blocks. Had to use them to top off my page.

Baby Step Collection Materials:
12 x 12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers #1602
12 x 12 Expressions Cardstock Stickers #1603
Designer Cardstock Special Delivery #1604
Designer Cardstock 100% Perfect # 1607
Designer Cardstock So Precious #1608
4 x 6 Vertical Jornaling Card Elements #1612
2 x 12 Border Strip Elements #1614
6 x 6 Paper Pads

Please visit the Simple Stories blog for more details about the Baby Steps collection and more ideas from the design team.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

More Head of the Class from LYB

2011-09-04T21:52:00.001-06:00

It's time for another Head of the Class page from Little Yellow Bicycle. I can't say enough great things about this collection. It is so versatile and could be used with little tykes and big, big kids. I really love the bright colors with the added grunge. It gives primary colors a great new outlook. I also adore the 10 Things Pocket, so my daughter and I had to load it up with the 10 Things She Loves About School. Of course Art and P.E. are at the top of the list, but Writing is in the top 3.

This collection comes with a really fun cardstock sticker alphabet which can easily be mixed and matched with the Favorite Pieces cardstock stickers and chipboard. I used them to create my title. I also love the huge chipboard paper clips, so fun to add to the page and decorate with the Dimensional Dot stickers and Jewels.

Added a Clear Cut Shape clock, a journal card and a chipboard apple and jewel sticker to finish off this cluster. The colors really jump off the page and make this hilarious photo of my daughter really pop. I would recommend snatching up this collection before it is ALL GONE. You are not going to want to miss out on this one!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Back to the Grind

2011-08-31T21:53:00.000-06:00

Guess who had to start school today and haul all of her stuff in a brand new backpack and then some! Nothing a little carabiner couldn't sort out for her.

Can't believe my little girl is already starting 3rd Grade today. Where does the time go??? Hope all your kids had a successful start to the year too...

Thanks for stopping by -

LYB's Head of the Class and Training Reel

2011-08-29T21:30:00.000-06:00

Little Yellow Bicycle has a brand new school collection called Head of the Class and you are all going to love it! It is the perfect blend of primary colors and shades of gray and just a touch of grunge to grow up everyone's concept of back to school collections.

There are so many fun embellishments with this collection. I used the Head of the Class Mini Banners and the Fresh Verse Cardstock Stickers to create the title for this page.

I LOVE this Head of the Class "chalkboard" journal card and dressed it up with a bit of chipboard, dimensional pop-ups and bling. Please see the full tutorial for this page below in the Training Reel I created.

Bonus Sketch!

Click below to download the full instructions!

Download Best Recess Layout Instructions _2_

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Much to Celebrate

2011-08-28T13:43:00.001-06:00

Today is my birthday and my husband surprised me with some beautiful earrings (silver loops - my favorite) and the Chaco Sandals below. The earrings will dress up my casual Colorado life style, because honestly I would wear the Chacos to a business meeting if I could - LOL.

I am also celebrating that tomorrow the Fall issue of Scrapbooking and Beyond Magazine will hit newsstands and my little Maddie is featured on the cover! What a wonderful birthday to have so much to celebrate.

I was lucky enough to have three pages featured in this issue. The cover page is from the Gadeget Girls series featuring cool new tools from the industry. You can actually sign up to win the GCD Chipart Tools that I used to create my page. Just follow the link HERE. My page features Jillibean Soup, Little Yellow Bicycle, Nikki Sivils and GCD Studios.

My friend, Robbie Herring, and I wrote a really cute column called Krafty Friends which tells how we met and began our wonderful friendship. We each have a few pages featured using the ever popular kraft paper.

This page features some awesome corrugated kraft paper from Creative Imaginations and Little Yellow Bicycle's Pack Your Bags collection. My son had such a great time choosing a pumpkin last fall and I love how this collection captures the colors of the season and the sentiment of the excursion.

This page of my daughter features some Jillibean Soup staples kraft paper and the Elementary Collection from Simple Stories. I love reds and kraft paper always seems to make it pop without going overboard.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Doodles from Doodlebug

2011-08-17T22:10:00.001-06:00

I am excited to share a sketch specifically designed for the brand new Doodles series at Doodlebug Design. I had a great time adding elements from Doodlebug Essentials like buttons, journal cards and die cuts. There are so many products to choose from in an Essentials Kit that I made the cute page below to go with the sketch.

I had a lot of giggles putting this sketch together, because I especially love the buttons on the journal card. They are so fresh and fun!

For this page of my daughter at the beach, I used the Doodlebug Summertime Essentials Kit. The colors are so fun and bright and I lovethe journal die cuts.

Pop dots and maybe a little chalk ink are all you need to make the die cuts in this kit jump off the page. These popsicles are way too much fun!

Supplies Used: Summertime Essentials Kit (all contents coordinate perfectly - contains coordinating embellishments, paper, stickers and cardstock).

Doodlebug is even offering a Giveaway of the very kit I used to create my page. See the details below....

We loved how darling Liz's Doodle sketch turned out that we wanted to giveaway the same Summertime Essentials Kitto one of our wonderful fans. All you need to do is tell your friendsabout today's post (post a link on Facebook, Twitter or email yourfriends this blog post) and leave us a comment. For a bonus entry, be sure to visit Liz's blog and follower her blog and leave us a comment.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Nikki Sivils Cardset

2011-08-15T21:30:00.002-06:00

I think I totally forgot to share these cards created with Nikki Sivils Blueberry Hill collection and featured in Summer issue of Paper Creations 2011. I used the same materials with each card, but a different main element to create these three fun birthday cards. I created the sentiments for each card in a textbox on my computer and printed them white cardstock. Then I cut them out and added them to the backgrounds. The cards are each 6x6.

I made this one in honor of my son turning 3 this summer. I used my Cricut Country Life Cartridge to cut the banners. I like how the primary colors pop with the blue gingham papers.

These balloons were fun to make and the handstitched strings add a lot of personalization to the card. Just added some bling to the hand drawn border.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Santa's Little Helper from Imaginisce

2011-08-03T21:40:00.000-06:00

Is it it time to think about the Holidays already??? In the craft world it sure it. Both of these projects were created with Imaginise's brand new Santa's Little Helper Collection. I love how the colors in this collection mix beautifully with Kraft paper! This little sleigh card makes me giggle, because it looks so inviting and fun.

I had to scrap these photos of my daughter when she was tiny, because I had to snap a bunch of them until I got one with just the right expression. As you can see there were a few outtakes in the making. Love the gorgeous ornament paper in this collection.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Brand NEW Simple Stories

2011-07-26T10:19:00.002-06:00

Simple Stories has some amazing new collections to share! I made this page with the brand NEW Happy Day Collection. It's all about birthdays and since myson turned 3 this summer I thought the Happy Day collectioncaptured his personality and how he celebrated his big day perfectly.

Theseare the Happy Day materials I chose to highlight the versatility of theelements that come with this collection. I chose three 4 x 6 journalcards and one Birthday Memories 12 x 12 patterned paper.

First,I chose this 4 x 6 jorunal card, because it mirrored the design in the12 x 12 paper and I liked the sentiment on the journal card that is notin the 12 x 12 paper. I decided to cut it out and pop it up over thedesign in the patterned paper. See below...

It was a perfect fit over the design in the patterned paper and added a fun birthday sentiment.

Next,I took the cupcake 4 x 6 journal card and cut out the cupcake to make acute embellishment. It was easy to fussy cut and I just added a littlechalk ink to soften the lines.

I also used a craft knife to cut the banner flags out of the patternedpaper and then pop dotted them over the picture that would have coveredthis beautiful stream of banners. The effect is very fun!

Finally, I took the bingo card and cut it in half and added some ofit behind the 5 x 7 photo and some of it to matte the wallet-sizedphoto.

Happy Day collection Materials:
Birthday Memories #1504
Happy Day 12 x 12 Expression Cardstock Stickers #1503
4 x 6 Journaling Card Elements # 2 #1511
4 x 6 Vertical Journaling Card Elements #1512

Thank you so much for stopping by today -

CHA Sneaks - Little Yellow Bicycle

2011-07-21T08:19:00.000-06:00

Wait until you see the gorgeous Hello Fall collection from Little Yellow Bicycle in person! It is one of the prettiest collections that the talented Sharon Kropp has come up with and certainly one of my new favorites. Below are a few projects I created. I cannot wait for this to hit stores, because it is going to fly off the shelves!

I used the Hello Fall 10 Things Pocket in this collection to create a mini, mini album about a trip my family did to the pumpkin patch, also shown above on the two page layout.

The album is 6 pages front and back and easily slides into the pocket. I used the 10 journaling strips as tabs for the pages and then including journaling cards from the collection on the actual pages of the album.

This tree is such a beautiful motif in the Hello Fall collection. It made a lovely focal point for this card and the added falling leaves from the Hello Fall Cardstock Stickers were a perfect addition.

I had this Printer's Tray lying around my scrapbook room and have been dying to use it. I thought it was perfect for the Hello Fall 5 Things Envelopes, Canvas Border Strips and Cardstock Stickers. It was an easy and fun project to put together.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

CHA Sneaks - Nikki Sivils

2011-07-20T11:12:00.004-06:00

Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker has done it again with some brilliant releases for CHA Summer. This page was created with her BRAND NEW School is Cool collection which has fun, vibrant colors and motifs. Nikki has also added more stickers and punch outs to her already fabulous formula. Please check out her collections at her newly updated website!

I love how Nikki kept her die cut idea but added it to a 12x12 paper. The colors for this collection are so fun! I had to do some pages about my daughter playing on the playground, because recess is her favorite part of school - LOL.

Nikki decided to do something a little different and created a Sympathy collection called Get Well Soon. The colors are really fun, with just enough grunge to keep it interesting. I used the collection to create this layout of my son napping, since he needed it to get over the dreaded grumps that a two-year-old struggles with - LOL.

Below are all of the collections that Nikki is releasing. They are so fun. Hope you will visit her website to see what they include.

Tomorrow I will share some Little Yellow Bicycle. Thank you so much for stopping by!

Did You Know????

2011-07-19T12:34:00.001-06:00

Did you know that Doodlebug Design has started a blog??? So excited to see more of their beautiful products come to life on their blog. Seems like there are some excitng things in the works for this wonderful company. I also heard their newest releases are stellar. I have always been a fan of their stickers, brads and buttons, but they make soooooo much more.

Be sure to stop by, check it out and become a follower...

Winner - Happy Harvest

2011-07-13T16:59:00.002-06:00

The winner for all of my Happy Harvest collection from Imaginisce is Emily! Please email me your information and I will get that out in the mail to you!

I'll be back soon with some sneak peeks from CHA - you are going to love what each of the MFGs I work with have in store for you....

Simple Stories, Sketch and Tutorial

2011-07-07T19:07:00.012-06:00

It's summer and people should be playing outside having fun andsnapping a lot of photos. It's not a good time to be stuck inside,trying to think of a design to scrap those fun photos. How abouta simple sketch to make the time fly by so you can get back outside??? I thought it would be fun to focus on a one-page sketch and layout all about a favorite summer activity like swimming.

100 Days of Summer is such a fun collection full on wonderful color. I love the combination of the red picnic tablecloth pattern with the green polka dots.

This little sunshine from the 100 Days of Summer Sticker Sheet is such a fun element to add to a project. I used some of the tiny alphabets to add a sentiment.

It's fun to layer the 4x6 element cards to create unique patterns and journal sentiments. I also added some of the cardstock sticker elements to continue the message.

Use Up Those 4x6 Journal Cards Tutorial

I wanted to try something fun and unique with this beautiful 4x6 journal card element. I liked the idea of using it for a photo matte, but then did not want the numbered journal spots to lose their punch, so I think I found a good compormise. Just needed my x-acto, felt pen and some chalk ink.

First I added my journal sentiments to the card. I tried to make them all serious and nature focused except for the last one, which sums up the photo on the page.

Next, I used my x-acto to around part of the journal spots so that they will overlap with the photo, so I can still use this card as a photo matte and have the sentiments stand out.

Then, I used the chalk ink to ink around all of the cut sides to smooth them out and add some dimension.

Finally, I slid the photo underneath all of the journal spots and attached the 4x6 card as the photo matte. Super easy project with a unique twist to the cards.

100 Days of Summer Materials:

12 x 12 Fundamental Cardstock Stickers #1402
12 x 12 Expression Cardstock Stickers #1403
Simple Pleasures #1407
Flashcards #1409
4 x 6 Vertical Journaling Card Elements #1412

Thank you so much for stopping by -

NEW Happy Harvest Giveaway

2011-06-27T14:07:00.000-06:00

How would you like to get your hands on the BRAND NEW Happy Harvest collection from Imaginisce??? The release party just started today and I have some goodies I would be happy to send a lucky commenter. Please visit the Imaginisce blog, leave a comment and then come back here to tell me about some of the gorgeous projects you saw and then I will pick a lucky person on Friday to win the whole collection.

Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

More Sweet Summertime!

2011-06-26T17:23:00.000-06:00

Are you ready for summer??? I sure am and to kick it off right it seems appropriate to celebrate with more of Little Yellow Bicycle's Sweet Summertime collection. I also created this page for the Gadget Girls series for Scrapbooking and Beyond Magazine featuring the Button Studio from Epiphany Crafts. You can enter to win one some of the button studios we used in the feature HERE. I love the combination of these bright gorgeous paper and the custom buttons I created with the button studio.

I used some of the white daisies in the patterned paper from Little Yellow Bicycle to cut these buttons and now they look like little peppermint candies. The string of five of them also creates a fun border element for my wallet-sized photos.

Used my cricut Feeling Groovy cartridge to cut the first part of my title and pop dotted the letters to pull them off the page a bit.

Finished off the title with a large ampersand from my old stash of Pebbles Inc. Chips and added some of the smaller thickers for contrast. I used to go crazy for butterflies, but dragonflies are just as fun.

There is a sketch challenge at Little Yellow Bicycle this month with my sketch and any of their collections. Hope you will jump in for a prize opportunity. Click HERE for details,

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Sweet Summertime Sketch Challenge

2011-06-21T08:11:00.000-06:00

We've been so busy at Little Yellow Bicycle getting ready for CHA Summer 2011, that we got a little behind on our sketch challenges. But, we are back this month with a sketch and an opportunity to win some of our gorgeous products and... we are featuring our brand new Sweet Summertime collection. Just hop over to the Little Yellow Bicycle blog or Facebook Page for the details. Can't wait to see what you do with this sketch!!!

Summer in the Rocky Mountains can be a little unpredictable, especially with the weather, but that does not stop my family from getting out and having a good time. Last summer we went boating on Lake Dillon, which has an altitude of about 9,000 feet. You can imagine it can be a little chilly, however, these gorgeous Sweet Summertime papers still capture the feeling of this exciting summer day and may even cast a bit of a warmer glow upon it.

The chipboard shapes with glitter accents in this collection add just the right amount of summer fun and include a tiny bit of glitter to make them pop off the page. I added a fresh verse sticker to this cute chipboard cloud to add another sentiment about our wonderful day.

I love the combination of the Sweet Summertime chipboard kite with the journaling card. The tail of the kite winds around the journaling card and photo to tie them together beautifully.

The journaling cards in this collection are not just for writing. I used the beautiful shape and color on this one to matte the wallet sized photo so it would stand out just a bit more from the other two photos and an additional sentiment to my title, "Happy Summer."

Thank you so much for stopping by! Hope you jump into the challenge at LYB.

Nikki Sivils and her friend Elmer's

2011-06-11T05:00:00.005-06:00

The Design Team at Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker had an opportunity to pair up with Elmer's to make some fun projects! They sent us all kinds of fun adhesive to create with for our blog hop today. If you hop to all the Design Team Diva's blogs, leave a comment and then hop back to Nikki's blog, there is a prize opportunity. Hope you will join in the fun!

First up is a page with Nikki's We are Family collection. I just love the kites on the background paper and of course the ribbons. I was going for an eclectic look for this photo of my daughter, so I added one of Nikki's crown album sheets that I covered with some red fabric using Elmer's Fabric and Paper Glue.

The tree is from Nikki's We Are Family Cut Up Sheets. I used some of Elmer's Foam Tape to pop it up and then added some of Nikki's stickers and ribbon for good measure.

I think Nikki's Burlap Buttons are my all time favorite. They are so unique looking and easy to apply.

I had to make a two-page project with Nikki's Beatrice collection. I love the whimsical feel and the little rolling hills made a perfect background for my project. I cut up her square die cut page to create the scallops at the top of my project.

Follow the hop to the next Design Team Diva's Blog.

Leah Farquharson

Mimi Leinbach

Rae Barthel

Liz Qualman - You are Here

Julie Tucker-Wolek

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Happy Camper Winner

2011-06-05T17:43:00.000-06:00

So excited to send some of Imaginisce's Happy Camper to my blog reader Chelle! Below is what she likes to do in the summer, which sounds awesome to me. Please email me your address and I will pop some Happy Camper in the mail to you.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and left a comment. Wish I could send all of you some goodies. Imaginisce's Happy Camper collection is available at both Two Peas and Scrapbook.com.

Thank you for stopping by -

Happy Camper Giveaway

2011-05-30T17:06:00.000-06:00

I know it has been a while since I posted anything on my blog. This time of year is pretty hectic for me. I need to get the school year closed out before I can really get ready for summer. One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to go camping, my whole family loves it because we like to rough it. What a great coincidence that Imaginisce has just released a super cute camping collection, just in time for my summer. To celebrate and to make up my absence to my wonderful readers, I would love to send you some of the Happy Camper I have in my stash. All you have to do is leave me a comment about what you like to do in the summer and I will randomly draw a lucky winner from the comments a little bit later this week.

There are some great chipboard pieces in the collection like this sentiment and the cute little tree. Here you can see that I added some unique stitching with my We R Memory Keepers Sew Easy Stitch Piercer. It is a little roller that punches the holes in the paper, so all you have to do is follow the pattern with your needle and floss.

I love this photo of my husband, his father and our son. Three generations is pretty darn special. My father-in-law selected the matching shirts especially for this occasion.

I also love the bright fun colors in this collection. They are perfect for these photos of my son camping last summer. I cut the large tree with my Cricut Expression and added some of the Imaginisce Silver Glam Rocks to look like all the rain we experienced on our trip.

I couldn't resist making this card with the little fire that comes with the collection. Sometimes all you need is a little sense of humor to get through the day.

As I said above, please leave me a comment about your favorite summer activity and I will randomly select someone to receive some of the Brand New Imaginisce Happy Camper.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Tiny Princess Cardset & Tutorial

2011-05-15T22:40:00.000-06:00

Are there are a lot of babies being born in your life like there are in mine? In the last few months I have gotten both a niece and a nephew and it seems like my family is exponentially growing. If you are like me and on the hook for a few gifts...how about a quick and easy project to create a set of baby gift cards that are on hand and ready to go. The Little Yellow Bicycle Tiny Princess or Baby Saurus collections are the perfect materials for creating this custom set of cards that will wow all of the new mommies in your life.

This card was made with a unique template for creating the cute little onesie, which is available for download at the end of this post. It also includes the gorgeous Tiny Princess Favorite Pieces cardstock stickers and Jewel Pieces. The warm, bright colors really draw a lot of attention to the card and will bring a smile to your friends and family.

It was so easy to create one card, that a set of four cards was a simple addition. Now I have a few cards ready to send with a gift and no need to stop by the store. The video tutorial below explains each of the steps in the process for creating these cards and there is also a PDF with the complete written instructions. Please feel free to download the template that I used to create the onesie and sentiment on my cards, or download the blank template to create your very own sentiment.

And if you're expecting your own bundle of joy, it's easy to adapt these cards into adorable and original baby announcements! Just use the blank onesie template provided (below), and make it your own!

Here are the instructions, and the templates
Download InstructionsTICardSet_Qualman
Download OnesieTemplate
Download OnesieTemplateBlank

Thank you so much for stopping by -

NEW Roly Rosies at Imaginisce

2011-05-11T00:00:00.003-06:00

It's Roly Rosie week at Imaginisce and the design team is showcasing ideas for how to use these unique and fun little flowers. I opted for an off the page project and picked up a very inexpensive veil at Walmart and then used the Roly Rosie neutrals and Pop-Up Posies neutrals to create this beautiful veil topper modeled by my sweet little girl. She is a professional to be sure - LOL.

Below are the neutral colored Roly Rosies that come in a variety of colors. I used the music note paper to make the flower centers for my project. I love how soft and beautiful the flowers look and the texture the print adds to the project.

These are the neutral colored Pop-Up Posies. They are very easy to put together and come in a variety of colors and sizes. The large size is perfect to use with the Roly Rosies as centers.

If I know Imaginisce, and I think I do...I bet there is some kind of giveaway on the blog today with these gorgeous embellishments. Go have a looksie for yourself at other project ideas from the design team.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Simply Happy about joining Simple Stories

2011-05-01T22:49:00.002-06:00

I'm very excited to share that I am joining the new design team at Simple Stories! I happened to walk into their booth at CHA in January and my jaw simply hit the floor. They have gorgeous product and a unique system for making scrapbooking easy. I love the concept and feel very fortunate to be included in this new adventure.

I created this page about a trip my family took in February with the brand new Destinations Collection and oh my is this a collection full of rich colors that will knock your socks off. All of the elements in the collection just flow together perfectly.

There are some very fun and high quality cardstock stickers that coordinate with all of the collections. I simply pop-dotted for added effect.

Now for the fun part...

I created this page using the Simple Stories element pieces that are designed to fit perfectly with coordinating divided page protector pockets that are available in a wide variety of formats and sizes. I added a title element with some of the cardstock alphabet stickers along with an extra 4x6 photo and then simply inserted the trimmed element piece, along with my photos, into the divided page protector pockets. It doesn’t get any easier than that! Read HERE to see how this system works.

Check out what they look like together! The traditional page took me about an hour and a half to create and the coordinating divided page protector sheet took me about 20 minutes. I am so happy to have a complete memory without the time it would take me to create two traditional pages. Now see what it looks like in my album... all done.

Simple Stories is announcing the brand new team today and they have a giveaway on their blog! Be sure to stop by and tell them I sent you...

Take care - Liz

For the Tiny Princesses in all of our Lives...

2011-04-30T19:37:00.001-06:00

Little Yellow Bicycle has just released their baby collections! Yeah, I am so excited to scrap more of the photos I took before I learned how to scrapbook - LOL. Tiny Princess is such a wonderful collection for babies and little girls and includes the most adorable color palette and embellishments that are perfect for the little princesses in all of our lives. My daughter used to love to play with her toys in the laundry basket because it prevented her from falling over and her toys could never get that far away from her. However, her favorite toy/book was The Rainbow Fish, which you can tell by how much she enjoys trying to eat it.

The Mini Banners combined with Fresh Verse stickers make great titles. I just added some chipboard letters to finish it off, but it is easy to make a title without having to add other elements.

The Favorite Pieces stickers are some of my very favorite and this little branch of birds was the perfect finishing touch to sit under the photo showing my daughter's cute little feet!

Who wouldn't love to wear this adorable chipboard crown? It looks as if my daughter has always worn it and metaphorically speaking, she probably has - LOL.

Both Little Yellow Bicycle's Tiny Princess and Baby Saurus are now in stores! Have fun with it...

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Extra Class Kits For Sale

2011-04-25T19:20:00.002-06:00

I have a few class kits left and would be happy to send them out to anyone who would love to play with some of this absolutely yummy product! Each of the kits come with two project ideas (page and card) with complete instructions and all of the materials needed to create them. Each kit also has an exclusive sketch, which I will not post on the internet so only kit holders have the ideas. I have a paypal account and will get them shipped quickly. Please contact me at lizqualman@gmail.com if you are interested. I will be happy to ship international with the best rate I can find, if some of you international girls are interested and especially if it is hard to get these two manufacturers.

This kit is loaded with Little Yellow Bicycle's Elizabeth Park collection. I would be happy to part with it for $27 plus shipping. Below are the two project ideas, but can easily be modified with the many embellishment choices in the kit. There is enough product to create these two project and a few more.

This Spring Page has two sketch ideas for how to modify the page to include multiple photos and can be made with these same products or with other papers and color choices in the kit since it includes all of the Canvas Border strips in the kit.

This Mother's Day Card can easily be changed to another sentiment since the entire package of Fresh Verse stickers is included in the kit.

This kit is loaded with Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker Summer collection and has enough product to make the two projects below plus a few more. I would be happy to part with this kit for $18 plus shipping.

This two page layout design fits 7 photos and was a lot of fun to make. The bright cheery colors are perfect for summer.

Totally adore these mini clothespins with the banners in the Summer collection. Such a fun card to send someone. There are other sentiments included in the kit and can be easily changed to suit your mood.

If you would like to have both of the kits, I can send them to you at a bit of a discount for $40 plus shipping. Just let me know...

Thank you so much for stopping by -

April in the Rockies - Continued

2011-04-20T10:42:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to share that things are looking up today. It's still chilly outside, but at least the sun is out and the snow from yesterday is mostly melted. Hoping the temps climb this weekend. I know some of you are experiencing temps in the 90s. We only get that in the middle of July and it is rare. I would be happy for 75 degrees :)

Thank you for all of your kind sympathy yesterday. We spent all day inside and need to get out today and play.

Enjoy your day -

April in the Rockies

2011-04-19T11:45:00.000-06:00

As my dear Australian friend Melinda would say, "Just going to have a bit of a whinge..." I am on Spring Break and this is what it looks like at my house today. Please note the size of the snow flakes in the photo. Ughhhhhhh. So ready for warm weather and it is supposed to snow or rain all week. Yuck! Such is life in the Rocky Mountains.

Hoping the weather is better when I travel to Denver for my classes this weekend and hoping many of you are experiencing better weather!

Thank you for your sympathy - LOL.

Operation Re-Scrap Classes - Continued

2011-04-16T15:04:00.000-06:00

It's a busy day of getting ready for my classes next weekend at Operation Re-Scrap and it's all about Nikki Sivils at my house today. Cannot wait to share the two-page project I have planned with Nikki's gorgeous Summer collection.

This is such a fun collection with lots of yummy elements that are perfect as we move into warmer weather. I love the notebook die cut paper and have special plans for it in the two-page project.

Buttons, Ribbon, Chalk Ink and more fun little doodads are included in the kit which we will use to create a two-page project and a special card with envelope ready to mail.

Putting together a kit is a lot of work, but I am lucky to have "child labor" living in my house and little hands that are perfect for putting small supplies in tiny zip-loc bags.

See what I mean??? If you look close, you can see that someone was trying to paint her own fingernails today and decided to give up after one hand - LOL. Oh well, one glamorous hand is all you need for packing scrapbook kits.

What parent could ask for more dedication than this? I am so lucky! Below are some sneak peeks for the project that my "mini me" is packing the kit for....

Love to use Nikki's cardstock sticker letters in a playful manner and the quality of the stickers is really good. Look at the little design elements that she included on the stickers, isn't it cool?

A little peek at some of the fussy cutting we will be doing with Nikki's cut out page. I love this rainbow!

For more details on this class or the Little Yellow Bicycle class I will be teaching, please click HERE.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

It's all Baby this Week at Imaginisce - well sort of...

2011-04-11T19:46:00.000-06:00

Today is the release of the brand new baby collection at Imaginisce called Little Cutie. However, this combined boy/girl collection isn't just for babies as you will see if you visit the Imaginisce blog. Our design team has a lot of ideas for how to use this collection in a traditional way or to stretch your thinking just a bit. I decided to go with a toddler page and create this very girly layout of my daughter when she was three. I really love the pinks and yellows together. They are such the perfect combination of girls and spring.

These adorable little blocks are part of the die cuts that come with the girl side of the Little Cutie collection. I inked the edges and pop dotted to add some dimension.

This sticker stacker journal spot comes with the flower attached, but I added the little girl canvas sticker and used some SRM stickers to create the sentiment.

Who is ever going to get sick of banners??? I think they have become a "must have" item in every collection released and these super cute and easy to use banners are part of the Little Cutie die cuts.

We are releasing ideas for our baby collection all week, so be sure to stop by the Imaginisce blog. I hear that the Imaginisce office is moving and that Lori Allred, our DT coordinator, finally had to clean out all the swag she's been stock piling under her desk...in other words I think there will be some cool giveaways this week :)

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Operation Re-Scrap Classes

2011-04-09T20:14:00.000-06:00

I am in the midst of getting ready to teach my very first scrapbook classes in Loveland, Colorado on April 23rd! My class is part of a three day craft extravaganza with Operation Re-Scrap, which features a really cool craft consignment shop as well as lots of vendors and classes. I am so excited because I am going to teach two classes on that day - one with Nikki Sivils, brand new Summer collection and one with Little Yellow Bicycle's brand new Elizabeth Park collection. I'll share some sneaks for the LYB class today and then be back very soon with the details about Nikki Sivils class, but in the meantime check HERE for details.

My house is full of Elizabeth Park as I get ready to pack all of the kits for my class. Please find all of the details HERE. I can't wait to show how much fun and easy it is to work with Little Yellow Bicycle. We are going to ink, distress and hand stitch on our projects.

There are so many goodies in the class kits, I can't wait to share them with all of the attendees. There is going to be enough product to make the two projects I have planned for the class as well as plenty of left overs to make a few more projects at home. I'll share the whole kit when it gets closer to the date of the class. Below are a few sneak peeks of what we we will be creating....

I love the dimensional butterflies in the Elizabeth Park collection. They are so fun! I just added some bling and a little florist wire as antennae, which we will be testing out at the class along with the hand stitched butterfly trail.

Another detail we will hand stitch, and then to which we will add a gorgeous felt flower and matching decorative pin. I have a pretty "bomb proof" template that will help make perfect stitches, can't wait to share it.

If any of you have attended scrapbook classes and can give me some advice about what makes class great, I would love to hear it. Also, if any of you are in the Denver area and would like to attend please email and I will give you the details.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Spring is Here!

2011-04-05T21:35:00.000-06:00

Spring is really here! Despite the fact the we are still experiencing freakish snowstorms in the Rocky Mountains, you can definitely tell that it is time to get outside and experience the wonders of spring. I love to watch a 6 inch snowstorm melt the very next day, cause that is what April is all about where I live. I'm really excited about the Elizabeth Park collection from Little Yellow Bicycle, because it is such a beautiful combination of all things spring.

One of the things I love most about all Little Yellow Bicycle collections is the amount of stickers they include. Stickers are a relatively inexpensive embellishment with a lot of potential. Even though many people might think that stickers are a flat, outdated embellishment item, there are many things you can do to manipulate them and create more dimensional shapes. In order to breathe some life into the butterfly sticker, I added some florist wire antennae, a bling body and pop dotted it for some added dimension.

For the flower embellisments around the frame, I layered stickers with pop dots between them to make them look like they arrived in the packaging that way. I also added some ink around the edges for a little extra definition.

Please keep in mind that I am hosting a sketch challenge at Little Yellow Bicycle this month and April 15th is the deadline. We would love to see what you can do with the sketch and Elizabeth Park or Twig.

Hope spring has reached you too -

Special Birthday Wish

2011-04-02T23:04:00.000-06:00

It's Nikki Sivils Birthday today and the design team is sending her a fantastic birthday wish on her blog. Please stop by the blog today if you have a chance and leave her a birthday message. Nikki is one of the most wonderful people I have met in the scrapbook industry and her talent is amazing. I made this birthday card for her with her very own It's Your Day collection and added an SRM cupcake sticker to top it off.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Check this Out - Simple Stories

2011-04-02T09:08:00.000-06:00

There is a new manufacturer in town... Simple Stories. They are going to take the industry by storm and I think you need to head over to their blog to check out this absolutely yummy mid-season release that will have you scrapping summer in style. Leave a comment on their blog about what you like to do in the summer and receive a chance to win the entire 100 Days of Summer Collection.

Below are just a few of my favorite pieces, but you have to visit the blog to see the whole thing....

100 Days of Summer Expressions Cardstock Stickers

I'm such a sucker for gingham and these papers are really beautiful! Thank you for stopping by and hope you get a chance to win :)

Oh My Crafts Discovery Possibilities Theme Release

2011-04-01T19:06:00.000-06:00

Oh my Crafts has just released a little video to share the theme for their 2011 Event in October. Please see the video below for all of the details of this wonderful upcoming get together. You can also visit their blog and their facebook page for more information. I am so excited to attend and hope to see many of my crafty friends there.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Click it with Cricut at Imaginisce

2011-03-30T00:01:00.000-06:00

It's time again for another installment of Click it with Cricut at Imaginisce this week and this time we are playing with the Once Upon a Princess cartridge from Provocraft and the Enchanted collection from Imaginisce. I can't think of a better match than these two products, but I will let you be the judge of that.

Melinda Spinks, Robyn Schaub and I were charged with showcasing a theme of our choice from both of these products and we thought it would be fun to play with the adorable dolls and dress them up with Enchanted...

I had way too much fun creating this thinking of you card. I just could not get enough of the adorable little umbrella and raincoat set to which I added some i-rock glam rocks as the buttons and accents. My daughter asked if she could have this card, because it looks more like something to play with than to send in the mail - LOL.

I also had to make something with these cute little pajamas and tiny bunny slippers. It was the perfect outfit to create this invitation for a sleepover. Can you imagine the glee from a little girl who receives an invitation like this? Not sure that the actual sleepover would be as exciting as receiving the card.

Please pop over to the Imaginisce blog for the other projects from Melinda and Robyn and the directions for the cuts on these cards. Also, I think there might even be some prize opportunities if you leave a comment here and at the other blogs.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

New Nikki Sivils Collection!

2011-03-25T06:38:00.001-06:00

Is this not the most perfect collection for "little stinkers" like mine? I created this page with the adorable Max and Mollie collection from Nikki Sivils. The little skunks are about as cute, mischievous and amazing as my two little munchkins - see for yourself in the photo - LOL. I really appreciate the fun spring colors in this collection and the animal motifs are great for this time of year. You can now find Nikki Sivils papers at scrapbook.com, so be sure to head over to check out what is available.

Love how Nikki includes an upper and lower case alphabet with both her letter stickers and the mini letter stickers. She knows how to pack a sticker page! I had some fun with combining both of them together in my title.

I can't seem to make a page without Nikki's adorable burlap buttons. They already have the adhesive on the back and are the easiest to add and most striking part of the project.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Imaginisce Fun with Fabric

2011-03-20T23:01:00.000-06:00

This week at Imaginisce we are all a hop about the i-rock tool and to kick it off with style and flair, today we are sharing our ideas for how to use the i-rock on Fabric. Customized jeans seem like a luxury fit for a little princess.

My daughter was really excited about her custom jeans with plenty of bling and unique style. They were so easy to make that she helped me put them together.

I used the i-rock Swirls Stencil to create the design on the jeans and flipped the pattern to make them match on both sides.

This was a great opportunity to use my i-top and the medium sized button daddies to create these fun fabric flowers.

One more thing....Please see the full tutorial for this project below and then you are off to SophiaAllison's Blog for another great idea about adding bling to fabric. And don't forget to head back to the Imaginisce blog for an opportunity to win your very own i-rock.
i-rocktutorial_LizQualman2

Thank you so much for stopping by today -

Oh My Crafts Discovering Possibilities & Sketch

2011-03-19T08:11:00.003-06:00

Has anyone been to a scrapbook workshop or retreat lately? I have never been to a multi-day retreat, but I am really excited to share that I am going to attend Oh My Crafts' Discovering Possibilities 2011 event. It is going to be three days of crafting packed with amazing classes from many of your favorite manufacturers and an opportunity to tour the Oh My Crafts warehouse during their SUPER sale. I am so excited to visit Downtown Salt Lake City (the craft mecca) and spend some time crafting with some of my very favorite folks. I hope that I will see some of my friends there. For more information about the event, please visit the site HERE.

One of the vendors will be the one and only Imaginisce and you all know how much I love them! Imaginisce creates so many wonderful product options. Below is a recent project I created with the Berrylicious collection. I think it embodies Spring and how exciting it is that it is finally here.

This collection will have you buzzing with creativity and will definitely bring some sunshine and rainbows to your crafty day. I love how this collection brightens up this outdoorsy photo of my daughter and husband.

The Berrylicious collection comes with this wonderful die cut rainbow and I think it frames my page perfectly. I used my Cricut Once Upon a Princess cartridge to cut the single cloud and then traced the blue outline with a gel pen. Aren’t the little bees in the honeycomb paper adorable? They add such a fun flair to the project.

I created this cluster with some of Imaginisce's paper flowers and chipboard from the Berrylicious collection. To dress it up and polish it off, I added some button and string.

These seed packet journal cards are so clever. They are heavy weight cardstock and perfect for writing something special. I love how you can add a name or a date in the scroll at the bottom. I also used my i-rock to add some glam rocks for some sparkle.

Imaginisce Berrylicious collection:

002916 Juicy Fruits Die Cuts
002917 Fresh Phrases Die Cuts
002900 Cherry Lemonade 12x12 Paper (25 pk)
002902 Sunshine Seeds 12x12 Paper (25 pk)
002904 Just Peachy 12x12 Paper (25 pk)
002914 Summer Fun Sticker Stacker
002913 Home Grown Chipboard Sticker
002260 i-rock
002274 Glam Rocks – Mirror

Other Materials:

Chalk Ink
Adhesive
Pop dots
String
5x7 Photo

It wouldn’t be right if I did not leave you with a sketch to make your own page with the Berrylicious collection or another collection of your choice. Have fun with it and enjoy getting outside again in the sunshine.

Thank you for stopping by -

March Sketch Challenge at LYB

2011-03-14T16:31:00.000-06:00

It's time again for another sketch challenge at Little Yellow Bicycle and boy do we have a treat for you! As we wait for Spring with baited breath, tomorrow is the release of the lovely Elizabeth Park Collection. This month we would love to see pages with our BRAND new Elizabeth Park collection, however we know many of you are just now getting your hands on the Twig collection and still want to see plenty of pages as well.

I wanted to emphasize Little Yellow Bicycle embellishments and especially the awesome canvas sticker borders. They are available with many of our collections and add great color and texture to a project. The Elizabeth Park collection includes this super cute birds on a wire canvas border sticker which was a fun compliment to the photos of my daughter playing on the ropes at the park.

It's fun to combine the different LYB embellishments to create a unique title. "Welcome, Spring! Enjoy" is a combination of Elizabeth Park Fresh Verse and Chipboard Stickers. No need for alphabets when you have wonderful sentiments built right into the embellishments.

One of the newest and most exciting Little Yellow Bicycle embellishments are these gorgeous flowers included in the Elizabeth Park Paper Flower Kit. If you love the look of homemade flowers, but have no idea how to make them or the energy to figure it out, these beautiful little gems come pre-cut and scored to make it easy to fold in all the right places. They also layer perfectly for added dimension.

Who can get enough of these gorgeous dimensional stickers with butterflies??? The added layers of patterned paper make these an extra special embellishment. Adding a bit of florist wire for antennae, bling for the body and floss for the trail easily make these fluttery friends come to life.

Please see the Little Yellow Bicycle blog or facebook page for more details on the contest rules. Hope to your wonderful work soon.

Thank you for stopping by -

Twig Spring Town

2011-03-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love it when you figure out something fun to alter? I bought these blocks from Adornit's wood decor selection and thought it would be a great idea to cover them with Little Yellow Bicycle's Twig collection. Mostly because the colors are fantastic and the little chipboard pieces below made each block look like part of a little town. I especially love the tree and the little Spring people...they really dressed up my blocks.

LYB - TW-279 - Chipboard Shapes with glitter accents (24 pieces)

This is the tallest of the blocks and I painted all of them brown with acrylic paint. Then, I cut the letter 'S' out of the Twig Pleased Plaid paper with my Cricut Storybook Cartridge at 4.75 inches and used the shadow feature for the white cardstock. Then I added some of the Twig Epoxy stickers to decorate the chipboard tree.

This is where you can see the darling little chipboard Twig person. I added some bling to his eyes then tucked him behind the letter 'P' which I cut out of the Petaled paper at 4.25 inches with my Cricut, then used the shadow feature on the white cardstock. I think that twine is the perfect fiber to add to this collection, so I tied up each of my block clusters with it. It also made it easy to tuck in little items like this Twig leaf.

Isn't this Chipboard house fantastic??? I love how it looks behind the letter 'R' which I cut out of the Leaf a Note paper with my Cricut at 3.75 inches, then used the shadow feature on the brown cardstock. The wood ringed chipboard button was the perfect element to tie everything together with the twine.

Love how this set of blocks from Adornit comes with the large wooden flower to break up the design. I thought this one would be a great fit for the middle of the word and for the letter 'I' which I cut out of the Petaled paper with my Cricut at 4.75 inches then used the shadow feature on the white cardstock.

I cut the letter 'N' with my Cricut at 3.75 inches and used the shadow feature on the brown cardstock. I also used the fabulous Fabric Favorites for the large flower. Simple and elegant tied together with twine.

For the letter 'G' I used the largest sized block again and cut it at 4.75 inches and then used the shadow feature on the white cardstock. Here you can see another of the little Twig people and again I used some bling for the eyes. I also used one of the chipboard buttons as a clasp for the twine.

Please grab yourself some Little Yellow Bicycle Twig before it is all gone. I know this collection is selling like hot cakes. Also be sure to stop by the Adornit Store for more wood decor ideas to alter. they have an extensive selection.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Officially a Biker Chick!

2011-03-04T15:24:00.001-07:00

I am ecstatic to share that I am joining the talented design team at Little Yellow Bicycle and can now call myself a Biker Chick! Who can help but smile at such a fun title. My husband thought it sounded really sexy until I told him it was a scrapbook company called Little Yellow Bicycle instead of Big Harley Motorcycles. He just sighed and said congratulations... It is such a treat to design for such an amazing company. I cannot wait to share all of the wonderful product and ideas you will see from LYB this year. Below is a project I created with the Brand New Elizabeth Park collection that ships to stores next week. Please put this collection on your radar, because it is truly wonderful!

This is a photo of my daughter playing around at the park and I thought the Elizabeth Park collection with lovely shades of pink and fluttering friends perfectly captured the whimsical nature of my little girl. I especially love the canvas sticker borders with the pink polka dots and decorative edge. Attaching them to the top and bottom of my page really creates a fun focus on the photo.

LYB makes the cutest dimensional stickers and these layered butterflies are so much fun. I used some floss to stitch the butterfly trail and added some bling for the body of the winged embellishments. LYB also adds the most beautiful details to their patterned papers and if you look closely at the plaid, you can see the beautiful white design on the edge of the paper.

LYB added a brand new embellishment to this collection called a paper flower kit. Do you have a hard time folding your own accordion flowers? Well...these beautiful little gems come pre-scored and ready to assemble. So easy...my daughter could make them herself.

I am always a huge fan of stickers and as usual, LYB has their wonderful favorite pieces sticker sheet with beautiful senteiments like this one. They even added the bling on the sticker for you and some of the other stickers come with tiny buttons already attached. Absolutely love this collection!

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend -

To My Sketchy Friends

2011-02-26T13:42:00.000-07:00

I'm looking for pages for the May Issue of Scrapstreet Magazine based on this sketch. If you are interested in submitting, could you please send me your work to lizqualman@gmail.com. Here is a complete listing of the current calls at Scrapstreet. I will need your pages no later than March 10th to be eligible for May Issue. Look forward to seeing your gorgeous work.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

It's all Berrylicious at Imaginisce this Week!

2011-02-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

Please visit the Imaginisce blog this week to see all of the amazing projects the design team has created with the brand new Berrylicious collection. There will be lots of inspiration and prizes of course.

Thank you so much for stopping by -

Click it with Cricut

2011-02-16T00:06:00.002-07:00

Made for Each Other

Don't you just love it when you are working with a collection of papers and embellishments and there is a PERFECT Cricut cartridge to complement the theme? It's like the stars align, the gods smile upon us or that serendipitous moment we all wait for suddenly appears.

This is exactly how I felt about the assignment to kick off Imaginisce's official Click it with Cricut Feature. Our team of designers can't wait to show our fans how Imaginisce and Cricut are totally meant to be together by pushing the creative boundaries with Imaginisce's expertise in paper and embellishments and Cricut's expertise in technology and die cutting. I knew I had the perfect cartridge to go along with the brand new Imaginisce Berrylicious collection.

Created by Liz Qualman

Berrylicious was the perfect collection to show off these fun, fruity cards to tell someone you are thinking about them. The white background with a simple stitched border was intended to keep the fruity die cuts front and center and in the spotlight.

Created by Liz Qualman

Cricut Cherry Limeade Cartridge and Instruction

Cut 3" for the base
Cut 3" for the top
Cut white cardstock base 5.5" x 11"
Stitch simple square border .5" from the edge
Add cardstock die cut straberry with pop dots
Add the chipboard Squeeze Me sentiment
Adhere i-rock Mirror Glam Rocks for extra fun

Supplies:
Imaginisce Berrylicious collection
Imaginisce i-rock
White Cardstock
Rust colored floss
pop dots
tape runner

Created by Liz Qualman

Cricut Cherry Limeade Cartridge and Instruction

Cut 4" for the base
Cut 4" for the top
Cut white cardstock base 5.5" x 11"
Stitch simple square border .5" from the edge
Adhere cherries with pop dots
Add the sticker stacker journal spot and rub-on
Adhere i-rock Mirror Glam Rocks for extra fun

Supplies:
Imaginisce Berrylicious collection
Imaginisce i-rock
white Cardstock
rust colored floss
pop dots
tape runner
rub-on sentiment

If you hop over to the Imaginisce blog, find the Click it with Cricut post and leave a comment, you might win your very own Cricut Birthday Bash cartridge.

Please be sure to check back next week when Imaginisce officially kicks off our Berrylicious Release Party. You cannot believe what the design team has been cooking up with this fresh, juicy and sunny collection.

Thank you for stopping by -

Imaginisce Monthly Challenge

2011-02-13T23:01:00.007-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!! To celebrate the day right, it's time for another installment of the Imaginisce Sweet Treats February Challenge and there are more projects from the design team to inspire. If you are just arriving from Sophia's blog, you probably had some eye candy to ogle. Remember to hop to each blog and leave a comment and then hop back to the Imaginisce blog to chat about what you saw on the hop and you will be eligible to win your very own i-rock, which several of our designers used on their projects.

I tried to stay with the theme of Sweet Treats and went into the archives to pull out the Spring collection from last year called Lucy Bird. You can still find this collection at A Cherry On Top if you think you need some more. I am particularly fond of the ribbon in this collection because it is just "adorable". I also love the soft pink, yellow and aqua colors together - perfect for the challenge - and a great contrast to the basic kraft paper I used for the base of my card and the cone for my ice cream.

I picked up this Carousel Cricut cartridge at my local Walmart because Imaginisce had just released the Animal Crackers collection, and I was pleasantly surprised that there were both shapes for ice cream cones and cotton candy to go along with our Sweet Treats Color Challenge.

I also added a dash of sparkle to my card with some of the Mirror Glam Rock Gems and my trusty Imaginisce i-rock. (A little extra sparkle never hurt anybody :)

Challenge Information:

All you need to do is create a project (using at least 75% of Imaginisce product) that is inspired by the above photo and color combo and then link it up at the bottom of this post by February 25th. We will pick a winner, who will receive a $75 I-Top Package OR a selection of Popular Collections valued at $75. Woo hooo!!!

Thank you so much for "Hopping By". Looks like you are now off to Samantha Hauzer's blog.

Cheers -

My Little Sketch Blook

Sunday Sketch January 29th

Little Yellow Bicycle NEW Swoon Collection

BRAND New Awesome Collection from Simple Stories

BRAND New Fabulous Collection from Simple Stories

Sunday Sketch January 22nd

Simple Stories Facebook Fan Blog Hop and Design Team Call

Monthly Sketch Challenge at Little Yellow Bicycle

Sunday Sketch January 15th

Sunday Sketch January 8th

Sunday Sketch - 2012!

2011 - Year in Review

Christmas Village from Little Yellow Bicycle

New Training Reel for Little Yellow Bicycle

Counting Down to Christmas with Simple Stories Continued

Brand NEW Little Yellow Bicycle Collection

Counting Down to Christmas with Simple Stories

Painted Wooden Santa Home Decor Item

Getting Ready for the Holidays

Titles Made from Cardstock Stickers

Getting Ready for Turkey Day!

Little Yellow Bicycle Wonder & Wishes Project and Training Reel

Two Pager with Sweet Summertime

LYB December Sketch Challenge

Simple Stories Generations Collection and Cards

More From ADORNit

Simple Stories November Sketch

Guest Blogging with Adornit & Sketch

Naughty or Nice w/ LYB

Time for Some Twine!

Still Thinking About Back to School

One Lucky Person Gets Some Head of the Class

Head of the Class Just for You!

September Sketch from Simple Stories

More Head of the Class from LYB

Back to the Grind

LYB's Head of the Class and Training Reel

Much to Celebrate

Doodles from Doodlebug

Doodlebug is even offering a Giveaway of the very kit I used to create my page. See the details below....

Nikki Sivils Cardset

Santa's Little Helper from Imaginisce

Brand NEW Simple Stories

CHA Sneaks - Little Yellow Bicycle

CHA Sneaks - Nikki Sivils

Did You Know????

Winner - Happy Harvest

Simple Stories, Sketch and Tutorial

NEW Happy Harvest Giveaway

More Sweet Summertime!

Sweet Summertime Sketch Challenge

Nikki Sivils and her friend Elmer's

Happy Camper Winner

Happy Camper Giveaway

Tiny Princess Cardset & Tutorial

NEW Roly Rosies at Imaginisce

More from Simple Stories

Simply Happy about joining Simple Stories

For the Tiny Princesses in all of our Lives...

Extra Class Kits For Sale

April in the Rockies - Continued

April in the Rockies

Operation Re-Scrap Classes - Continued

It's all Baby this Week at Imaginisce - well sort of...

Operation Re-Scrap Classes

Spring is Here!

Special Birthday Wish

Check this Out - Simple Stories

Oh My Crafts Discovery Possibilities Theme Release

Click it with Cricut at Imaginisce

New Nikki Sivils Collection!

Imaginisce Fun with Fabric

Oh My Crafts Discovering Possibilities & Sketch

March Sketch Challenge at LYB

Twig Spring Town

Officially a Biker Chick!

To My Sketchy Friends

It's all Berrylicious at Imaginisce this Week!

Click it with Cricut

Imaginisce Monthly Challenge