From my studio: Lily Bee Design Joy Frame

I haven't tried out for a design team in forever.  I have gotten really spoiled with doing freelance work and enjoyed not having the monthly obligations of a regular design team.  Part of me really missed the challenge of being part of a team so I figured I would give it a try again if just the right company's call came along. If you remember, after CHA I posted some of my favorites from the show, one of which was Lily Bee Design.  Not long after that they announced that they were going to have a design team call.  I was immediately excited about it but had a few moments wavering self confidence about whether or not I would make it.  I really hate rejection.  I went back and forth about it and decided that I loved the product so I should give it a try.  What the heck, nothing ventured nothing gained, right?  In the past when I have applied for teams, I usually didn't say much about it because if I got rejected (which stinks and hurts a lot) no one besides me and the people picking the team would have to ever know. I am breaking with my normal tradition and being brave and telling everyone that I applied!  So anyway, I wanted to share what I made and submitted.  I made three projects, here is the first and my favorite: This frame is yet another clearance aisle find from my local Hobby Lobby.  I recovered it with papers from the French Couture collection.  I added rub-ons from the Three Little Birds collection. I crinkled and inked paper and then punched flowers from it.  I layered the punched flowers with paper covered brads from Bazzill.  I covered a pieced of chipboard with paper and added the phrase which I think was perfect for the sweet photo of my wee girlie Emma.  (Quick photo credit to my awesome photographer friend Holly McCaig.  If you are in St. Louis, you really should check her out!) I freehand cut some leaves and added a fold to them so that they would be domed.   The frame has distress crackle paint around the edges creeping out onto the pattern a bit.  I love the shabby effect it creates. As always, lots and lots of adhesive foam squares here to create lots of dimension.  (How about a shameless plug for my favorite ones, Therm O Web's Foam Squares.) To give the photo some lift, I matted the photo on pattern paper and then adhered it to a scrap of chipboard and then adhered that with adhesive foam squares.  The quote block was adhered with a double stack of foam squares to give it height above the photo. I cut one of the phrase rub-ons into strips and applied them around the edge of the frame.  I love how that little touch added so much to the project. I will be back tomorrow with another Lily Bee project, a fun little mini book.