Tag Archives: project ideas

Have you been missing May? We have! May was one of our original LBD DT members and we adored her. We loved her. We were astonished at the creativity she continually poured into her projects…so we’re just as excited to have her guest designing this month with the Little Black Dress April’s Life…Be Still Kit. Check out some of her projects:

This is the True Love card that May put together using the Life…Be Still kit. And…I’m in love! True Love, of course! It’s absolutely gorgeous. I love the little vintage pieces that May used throughout the piece. I’m a big believer in making the miscellaneous pieces bag work for you each month when you get the LBD kit.

Here you see a closeup of the floral embellishment, the fabulous blast of plaid May added with the heart cutout, and the teeny alphas.

This is May’s Happy Birthday card. And it’s adorable. I like the look of the black distressing along the scalloped edge and the combo of orange trim on the otherwise red/white/black card.

This adorable tag may be one of my favorites. Seem strange to you? I know, but it’s because I have an obsession with stationary of all sorts, sizes, and functions. (You should see the extensive nature of my envelope collection). And I have to admit that I am a freak about creating fun gift tags to keep on hand. So that explains a little about my obsession with this fun and fabulous tag. I feel that I must add it to my stack. But I’ll have to settle for attempting to re-create a version of my own.

And while I am a tag, envelope, stationary obsessor…many of you out there are 12×12 layout obsessors. And don’t worry…we know this about you and you have not been forgotten!

This 12×12 layout was put together by May. It’s called simply Sweet Tea. And it reminds me so much of my favorite Aunt that I can’t look at it without trying to think of a fabulous book to mail to her for no reason at all. But then…she’s picky in her good taste so it might take me a few months to decide upon one and then it will be perfect timing for her birthday. Lovely. She LOVES tea. She seems to drink little else, in fact. And while I fear her lack of actual water intake…I leave that to her actual children to handle. I feel the harassment is well handled from their end.

Check out the closeups! May really knows how to put a page together. Here you can see the detail that can be added by cutting out portions of your paper designs, the fun effect of combining HUGE and teeny alphas for your title. And you can see that you don’t have to be scared to layer WITH your  photos.

LOVE the paper clips included in the kit this month. They had great one liners on them…May’s obviously said, “Live a Good Life!” And we agree! What other kind of life is there to aim for, right?

And having said that…take avantage of every opportunity you get to indulge in the things you love. That’s the most effective way to “live a good life.” And here’s a great chance to indulge!

It’s the May with May Online Scrapbooking Class Giveaway! Just leave a comment here or on Facebook and tell us why you want to spend May with May and you could be the lucky winner! To get more details on what you’ll be winning…check out the May with May scrapbooking classes here!

Little Black Dress Design Team member, Ginger, submitted the Good Things 12×12 Layout. She used the Sweet Bravery Kit for January to compile this delectable layout. Check it out!

Ginger created some amaazing flowers out of pink houndstooth tissue paper strips and the vintage book page strips. The teeny extras included in the vintage embellishment packets each month will usually provide the perfect “center” for any flower. You’ll also notice that Ginger incorporated journaling in white on black cardstock. You have to appreciate the block of dark that accents the black and white photo.

And of course…you can’t miss just how gorgeous the Inspiration Card is (GCD studios Melody Ross Homespun Chic collection).

What’s your favorite part of this Sweet Bravery layout?

Close up of January’s Sweet Bravery Kit: 

 Close up of January’s Sweet Bravery Kit embellishments…the unique items you won’t find anywhere else!  

Included in the JANUARY Sweet Bravery Kit you will find the below items:

TWELVE 12×12 Papers:

• Pink Paislee Sweetness Picture Perfect
• My Mind’s Eye Lost & Found Madison Avenue “Pretty” Dress Shop
• Webster’s Pages Lullaby Lane Puppydogs & Pigtails
• Basic Grey Curio Rose Water
• Dear Lizzy American Crafts Enchanted Wise Tortoise
• October Afternoon Modern Homemaker Needle & Thread
• Teresa Collins Freestyle Zebra
• Glitz Design Archival Quality
• Basic Grey Curio Muslin
• Glitz Design Love Nest Damask
• Pink Paislee Love Letters
• Dear Lizzy American Crafts Enchanted Mysterious Charlotte

 Embellishments:

Glitz Design Stamp Distressed Couture Dress Form

Trims/Ribbons:

Vintage and Misc. Pieces:

 Watch for a post coming up with more info on just what makes this kit so brave!

Looking for more ideas…lucky for you…our design team just keeps coming up with them. Here are some for you to use as inspiration, motivation…or even to generate some of that famous competitive spirit that can sometimes result in the best projects of all!

This is the Hello My Name Is 12×12 layout by Amy Heller:

Notice how much some zig zag stitching can add to a page in this closeup.

And you’ll see in this closeup the extra emphasis you can add to a page with: layering, photo cropping, and journaling with colored alpha tiles (they’re not strictly for titles, you know!)

This is the My Scholar 12×12 layout by Amy Heller:

In this closeup you can see just how varied the papers are that Amy used for her layering…

And in this closeup you’ll notice that Amy created a banner across the top of the page…I thought it was a good example of a fabulous banner for strictly decorative purposes. The title is elsewhere on the page.

This is the Snow Patrol 12×12 layout by Amy Heller:

In this closeup you’ll see one of Amy’s carefully constructed embellishment clusters. It’s a great way to accent a page as well as show off some of your fabulous vintage extras from your kit. Amy’s becoming known for them here at Little Black Dress kit club!

This is the Gifts 12×12 layout by Francine Clouden. I’m a big fan of the “series” of photos layouts. And Francine does a fabulous job presenting a story.

In this closeup you can see how Francine created a space for her series of photos as well as her title using the scalloped cardboard border included in the kit.

This closeup shows Francine’s take on the pinwheel flower…I’m a fan (particularly of her paper combinations).

This is the My Snow Angel 12×12 Layout by Francine Clouden:

In this closeup you can see the layered portion beside the title that includes vintage items, a heart punch out of a vintage bookpage and some journaling (by hand…a fantastic feature of most of Francine’s layouts).

The Special Moments 12×12 Layout by Francine Clouden:

Francine used some of the unique vintage items included in her kit to generate title and journaling space on her layout.

The All I Want For Christmas 12×12 Layout by Jan Hobbins…when your kids have grown up and flown the coop…you’re left with your pets for all that celebratory overflow. Thus…Christmas outfits and photo sessions never have to be a thing of the past! I love the way Jan’s pages have a LOT of fabulously detailed work, but always seem to stay away from “overdone” AND leave the focus on the picture being presented!

Looking for a greeting card this holiday season that is most definitely NOT Christmas related? Here’s a fabulous take on the tried and true Happy Birthday card by Jan Hobbins. Square cards are my favorite and this one incorportes two of my favorite trims from the December Kit!

The Here Comes Santa Claus 12×12 layout by Jan Hobbins:

This layout makes me want to get ready for Santa Claus to come…and he was JUST HERE! Look closely at Jan’s layering…it’s a work of art.

Watch for January sneak peeks and kit details…coming soon! And if you haven’t joined us on Facebook and/or Twitter yet…don’t miss out! Become a fan today.

Need to wrap up a gift card this holiday season? Want to make that gift card seem more personal and unique? Well…here’s one way to go about it that is utterly fabulous!

The Fabulous gift Box Tutorial from Jan Hobbins using the Little Black Dress Sincerely Fond Kit (December):

It’s a birthday hat gift box! Jan admits that she gets carried away when she starts creating..but we absolutely don’t mind! In fact, we LOVE IT!

Here’s the instructions straight from Jan:

Gift Box -

1. I took a papermache round box(about 5″ in diameter), and attached a cone made of heavy brown paper or cardstock on the lid.  I used strips of gummed brown paper, but you could put white glue on brown wrapping paper or pieces cut from a paper bag , to attach the cone.

2. Next, I painted the inside of the box, bottom, and the lid rim and inside with white paint.  I then cut out another cone from the star printed paper and adhered to the cone shaped lid. I did the two layers of cone, to make it more solid.

3. Cover the outside of the box with the green paper.

4. For the paper ruffle, I cut three strips of the polka dot paper, machined stitched a large basting stitch down the middle on all three.  Then wet your paper (You need to do this so you can gather it), blot it on some paper towel, and carefully gather into a ruffle.  It does tear easy, but I find with the thicker paper, it’s not as bad.  Let the ruffle dry and then ink the edges.  I did use some crepe paper – just from one of those rolls you buy in the party supplies- and gathered that too, then dipped the edges in white glue and then dipped in glitter.  Glue the paper ruffle to the crepe paper ruffle, adhere around the cone on the rim of the lid. 

5.  I then took 1/4 strips of green paper, pleated them and glued these to the middle of the ruffle. 

6. I cut out a shape with my slice, matted, and adhered three of the jewels on it, then glued it to the cone. 

7. Gather up the tulle, stick in the top of the cone, adhere some of the orange ribbon around the top to cover and secure. 

8. For the happy birthday banner, I covered both sides of the chipboard banners, punched two little holes on the top of each, strung them together using embroidery floss, and then stuck on the small letter stickers. 

Jan says, “If I’m giving a gift card or money as a gift, I try and find or make a neat box to give it in.  It makes it feel more like a gift then!”

Hope all of you have fun making your version of Jan’s Birthday Hat Gift Box!