Kick-Off: Little Yellow Bicycle Week

Here we go with a week-long holiday ode to one of the new winter collections called Winter Twig from Little Yellow Bicycle.

This collection has some of the most fun and cute embellishments I've ever seen. I absolutely love the blue, white, and brown color combination with a hint of green thrown in. This makes for a collection that can be used for many other occasions. You can see from my sneak peeks that I added a ton of new colors creating all new schemes. I love that about this type of line. It's so versatile. The patterned papers are all great pattern basics to hold on to in your supply. Here are just a few of my ultra favorite things...

LYB's patterned paper has a great weight and texture. My favorites are Winter Plaid/Mocha Java Sweater (even fun to say)...

...And Blue Forrest/Winter Pom Pom.

I've gotta have my journaling cards and spots to make cards, so of course I love these...

Oh, and Clear Cuts Shapes are way way fun. They're printed on clear acetate and they're glittered!

These Cardstock Stickers are cut into fun shapes and they even have real little buttons on some of them. Adorable! (I even love that the backing of the stickers is a clear piece of acetate. Recycle & reuse for later crafting, hmmm?)

I hope you enjoyed the kick-off and sneak peek pictures. I'd love to know what your favorite piece in the collection is and what color combo you can't wait to see. You never know when you might get a little goody... Stay tuned in for tomorrow's card.

See you there!

Ah, my birthday is tomorrow! It's so weird. Why is that?! Ugh! Any-way... Today I'm doing a special birthday themed edition of Friday Favorites...

If I had a birthday cake, I'd totally want to do a button theme. They look so yummy. I could just eat them!

...wait, you CAN! :-)

This cupcake stand is way too cute!

Oh, wouldn't it be fun to have a tea party?

Since I don't drink tea though, maybe we'll have lots of cupcakes instead!

Petit fours

 Macaroons

Little sandwiches

and cake pops of course!

I'd want everyone to wear a fascinator too.

I pick this one.

...but if I can't have all that, then I'll gladly settle for a burrito & some watermelon!

Yum!

It looks like many of the scrapbooking companies are having a mini-release here lately between winter and summer CHA, so I thought I'd share with you what's on my wish list right now.

How about these from Webster's Pages?

I'm crazy for the Sweet Threads collection from Basic Grey, but especially this particular pattern...

FYI:
I super-love any line that comes in a 6x6 pad.

So, of course, that means I have to include this 6x6 pad from My Mind's Eye too...

(Quick! Someone bombard them with emails saying they NEED me on their design team. I'm drooling!!!)

And while you're at it, go ahead and message American Crafts too, because I can't get enough of their rub-ons. Why can't they make more? I need them! I mean, I don't think it's possible for me to make a card without a rub-on or alphabet stickers.

Oh! And what about these mists from Studio Calico? I have a couple mists that I've never used, but the bright colors that they come in sure do make me wanna jump right in.

And last, but not least...

I really think I'm ready to get one of these...

I know some of you have one. What do you think of it? It's such a big investment. Should I do it???

Okay, here's a new list of my favorite things. I don't know where to start, so I'm just going to jump right in. I'm absolutely in love with Echo Park's Dots & Stripes collection. It even comes in a 6x6 pad for us card makers. LOVE LOVE LOVE! Now, if I can just find a place that sells it!

Baker's twine is another love of mine. I think I have it in every color you can imagine. I tend to hoard it rather than use it all too often though. I do that a lot. Several companies are making this stuff now, so you can get it just about anywhere. Don't they look yummier than candy?

Label stickers are another thing I hoard. I just love them. They're good for making sentiments 'pop' on cards and even for fun gift tags. I love finding new ways to layer them too. October Afternoon always has the cutest colors and shapes. Take a look at these...

I can't go without mentioning something from My Mind's Eye. I adore absolutely everything they make. I bought every single one of their 6x6 pads from the last release. They always have great sentiment stickers and die cuts that are so versatile for both scrapbookers and cardmakers. Here's one I can't wait to get my hands on...

How about buttons? You know I love buttons. GCD Studios and Melody Ross have some SUPER cute ones. Just look at them. I need them!

Another thing my cards rarely go without are either Thickers or rubons from American Crafts. I have two huge buckets full of alphabet stickers and another one full of rubons. I can't get enough. I just wish more companies would get on board with the cute rubons. I gotta have them. Maybe I should just design my own line!? :-)

And though certainly not the last thing I love, but probably one of the most loved would be ribbon. I looked through all of my cards, and I didn't see one that didn't have ribbon on it some way. It's essential to my cardmaking, so this ribbon from May Arts is on my wish list too...

I hope you enjoyed my Friday Favorites. As always, I'd love to hear what your favorite things are too. Happy Friday!

Friday Favorites

I have so many things saved in my favorite links, but once they go there they never seem to resurface, so I thought I'd start sharing them here. Maybe this can be my virtual rolodex of favorite things.

I've been eyeing teired wire baskets for a while now, but I haven't commited to one yet. This one from Pottery Barn is nice and big. I'd spray paint it white if it were mine, but the price tag defiintely keeps me from buying this version.



On with the Pottery Barn theme... I would love to have this as my tool table in the closet. I'd even love to have that mini fridge in there too. I can always go for an ice cold Coke and chilled chocolate bar when crafting!

This would be cute in Ethan's room filled with stuffed animals.

These are very familiar. I have candy jars in my scrap room storing all of my ribbon rolled onto clothespins. I bought my jars from Walmart.

Super storage like this would be awesome. Can you imagine the shelves filled with brightly colored bins and knick-knacks? Yummy!

And since I happen to have some pictures of my crafty space already on my computer...

Here's a picture of one of the rows of ribbon candy jars I mentioned.

I definitely swear by organizing everything by color. Here's how I keep my paper. The tabs are secured to clear page protectors that I sliced the 3-ring holes off of, so they're just pockets. I keep the scrap pieces in there, so I reach for them first. It really pays off.

I even organize my closet this way.

Okay, my mom is here visiting from Texas, so I'm off for now...

A New Favorite Thing

Ever since Beverly started carrying these tags by We R Memory Keepers I have been able to whip out cards so easily. The last time I went I picked up one of every tag, and I keep them in a little bucket next to my workspace. They come with little eyelet holes for ribbon or giant brads, but it's way too easy to just snip them off if they don't work for you. They're my new favorite thing!

Check out this card in the July 2011 issue of CARDS Magazine

P.S. What do you think about the new way I used ribbon here? Too funky or just right?