Thinking about Reading! and MojoMonday #270

I've started reading a new series, Maise Dobbs, recommended by my friend Kim. The author is Jaqueline Winspear. I'm currently reading the first book in the series and I'm so hooked! Maisie is a detective in London after the Great War. Her first case is a husband who thinks his wife is being unfaithful. That's all I can share for now, I'll catch you up in a few days, I can't put the book down!

Here's a picture of our wonderful Thanksgiving. There were lots more, but this is a good one.

My oldest son, Chris, was here on leave from the Navy for 10 days so he was able to join us for the holiday (talk about being "thankful").  Miki, a foreign exchange student from Japan, attending University of Oregon, also joined us.  She quickly won us over we fell in love with her and her  excitement for life.  Her willingness to try anything is truly contagious! My youngest son, Nathan, my dear momma, our two nephews, Ashley (Chris's girlfriend) and my husband's sister and her husband joined us also. Combined with wonderful weather, we really enjoyed our time together.

 

I have been spreading my time among many other interests, but since I am happiest when I'm creating, I thought I'd share a card that I made for the Mojo Monday Challenge #270.  It's been a while since I joined in a challenge because I was working on ornaments for my class.  This was such a fun sketch, I couldn't resist.

 

 

And here's the card I made for my friend Peggy's birthday using this sketch and My Minds Eye paper.

 

 

 

 Today I'll be making Christmas cards. I love Christmas and all the creative opportunities!

 

Have a blessed day,

Lorelei



Time Flies!

I've given a card class on Nov. 3rd and today is the ornament class!! I've got lots to share so I'll stretch it out a bit. On the card above I used Navy glitter paper I bought at Jo-ann's and embossed it with snowflakes from a Cuttlebug embossing folder. The stickers are from Creative Memories loaded with Stickles!! I love the snow topped with Stickles, as is the Snowman's scarf.

Here's one of the ornaments I'm teaching today. Thanks to the Cricut and the Cuttlebug. The cartridge I used for the doily is Reminisce, available exclusively from Creative Memories. The red base piece and the printed accordian flower and snowflake are cuttlebug dies. What would I do without these tools??

Have a wonderful day.

Hugs,
Lorelei

Fall Card Class!! Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012

Hello all!

I have a card class coming up on Saturday and I wanted to share the cards with you. These cards are made using Creative Memories stickers as the influence for the design.
 These are fall cards. There are thank yous and birthdays and all ocassion. There are different techniques used on each and then there will be 2 cards that will teach
new techniques that I think will be new for you, but that I'm saving for a surprise! lol ?What did someone say I don't have them done yet? Hmmmm.

 

I hope you'll join us if you can. If you can't be there, I hope you enjoyed looking at what I've been working on recently.

 

We had rain today, pretty soon a fire in the wood stove, leaves covering the ground, someone making soup (oh yeah, that would be me) ahhhh, sounds great doesn't it?

 

Stay warm, my friends.

 

Hugs,

Lorelei

 

 

You're the Best... No Really!!

Today I'm entering a challenge on the Hero Arts blog.  If you go to the web-site and click on the Blog you can see the sketches that I had to choose from. Part of the challenge is to use Hero Arts stamps (I definitely need more hehe).  Here's my submission!

The paper is from Basic Grey It's an older paper from my stash, which makes me very happy! I embossed one side with a Tim Holtz embossing folder and used Stickles on the pumpkin and the leaves.

I'm having a super great day on this 10-11-12!! The GIANTS just won the game and they're going on!!!

It's been hard to get anything done *-* I hope you're having a happy day too!

Hugs,
Lorelei

Can I Hear a "Hoot?" How About a "HOOT HOOT"

I am entering a new sort of challenge today with Dynamic Duos. There are lots of ideas on their site and anything is acceptable, with the challenge being to stick to the two colors for the week.

I was excited to join in and I thought I'd combine it with the Mojo Monday (MOJO262), which is a sketch challenge.  Mojo Monday has beautiful sketches which are wonderfully inspiring.  Go onto the website and see the archives of great sketches.

I made my card from a stamp I got at Joanne's to give it the seasonal touch.

 

It was actually fun to be limited to the Tangerine and Old Olive. (The neutral colors are free to use). I made the leaves with a Creative Memories punch that was seasonal a few years back. I added stickles to the leaves to match the glittery tangerine paper. I'm sorry it's hard to see in the picture. I went from not knowing what to do with the glitter paper to having a lot of fun with them (at least orange).

I hope you'll give challenges a try, they are so much fun and did I mention that you can win prizes for the creations you make? Lots of the challenges have sponsors that donate great stamps and papers, etc.

It's a beautiful day to be creative.
Lorelei

Sweet Little Autumn Card

This is a fun little birthday card that was so easy to make with My Minds Eye.  I love the colors in this paper and the happy butterflies. The sentiment is from Penny Black.

Don't you just LOVE fall. My only complaint is that it's not long enough. I think it should go 'til February and then a month of winter and then spring! Perfect huh?

I'll be entering a card or two into some challenges this week.  One card is done. I'll share it in a later post, maybe even today!

I have lots to be thankful for everyday, but the Lord has heeped blessings on me and my family lately.

I hope you're having a blessed day too.

Hugs,
Lorelei

It's Not the Destination, It's the Journey CPS284

Good Morning,

I've got a sketch and a card to share for Card Positioning Systems. 

Here's the sketch.

And here's my card.

 

 

I used some paper from my inifinite stash; it's by 7 Gypsies. The stamp is from Inkadinkado! The card and the sketch are very simple and I'll be using the sketch over and over again for clean and simple cards!

 

I hope you have a great weekend. I'm off to a Women's Conference with my church friends this weekend.  But I will be watching the Ducks play the Washington Cougars on Saturday night and working on a project. I better get at my embroidery!!

 

GO DUCKS!!

 

So little time, so many cards to make!!

 

Hugs,

Lorelei

Let's Sing, Let's Eat, Let's Giggle Our Feet! rs#30

I entered the Retro Sketches challenge #30 today, this one is using a sketch as inspiration for your card.  Here's the sketch.

And here's my card.

 I'm going to post the card to the gallery at Kick Start also. The idea for today's class is to challenge yourself to use new products or to step out of your style box. The product that I used, like the vellum from a previous card, is something I've had for a long time but I could never figure out what to do with it.  So when I stepped out of my box and made a clean and simple card, combined with the whimsy of the Scarecrow from Inkadinkado and the sentiment from Stampers Anonymous, I was able to use glitter paper! The style I 'm most comfortable with is pretty classic.  This is my attempt at being a little less serious (heehee, just trying it out!)

Don't you just love this weather?

Warmly,
Lorelei

A Pretty Little Fall Birthday Card #177

Oh I just love the card I made for the Unscripted Sketches challenge.  Here's the sketch.

Here's the card.

The background paper is from Prima. It's a 6x6 pack called "Songbird Collection." The papers are so soft and beautiful.

I wanted the birds to show so I stamped the image from Memory Box onto vellum. I chalked the wreath in oranges with Pebbles Chalks and then stamped the little leaves with Versacolor Dew Drop Chalk inks in 3 colors. The birthday sentiment is from Verses Rubber Stamps.

I've also uploaded this card into the gallery for the class I'm taking called Kick Start. I have never used vellum to stamp an image, I've always stamped a sentiment printed off the computer. I'm going to start doing images more, I love the effect.

I've got lots of cards to make so I'll see you back here shortly!

Hope you're feeling creative today and have some time to act on it!

Hugs,
Lorelei

So Thankful for You! SC404 and Casual Friday

I entered a challenge at Splitcoast Stampers and a Casual Friday challenge today. This is the sketch for Splitcoast Stampers  I needed to use to make my card. Casual Friday's challenge required a Fall inspired card! 2 for 1!! I'm learning the game...and having a great time. It's challenging heehee!

And here's what I did with the sketch!

 

I apologize for the quality of the picture, but I could not get blogger to upload the card right side up! It kept wanting the pearls to be at the top for some reason. This is a pretty easy card. The technique I added was to stamp the sentiment by Inkadinkado in Versamark and then I brushed some Perfect Pearls (Heirloom Gold) over the top. So if you saw the original card, you would see the shimmer of the Perfect Pearls which is a fun touch. I punched the leaves out with some old punches I've had for YEARS and lifted them with foam tape to make them look like a leaf banner hanging from the brown twine.

 

I'm going back to my creation mode, thanks for stopping by.

 

Hugs,

 

Lorelei





Hexagons are Everywhere!

Hexagons are a hot trend right now. I made a VERY easy card with My Minds Eye paper to give to my friend for her birthday.  I think it's pretty cute. I used the embellisments that came with the collection which made the card even easier!

If you know me at all you know that I love Turquoise and Teal (and almost every other color) and there's a lot of it out in the world right now.

If you ever want to know what the coming colors are for the season look here. Pantone sets the color for cars, clothing, home decorating and even scrapbook companies. I want to know how long we get to enjoy birds. Look around, you'll see lots of things, like mustaches, that pop into our lives over and over.

Hope you have a great week,
Warmly,

Lorelei

Freshly Made Sketch #53

Help me, I can't stop entering challenges!!!  I am having some serious fun, even though I've been under the weather for a week :(.  This is a great sketch for me because I have lots of Washi Tape! I love it and there's lots of different looks you can get with it. When I saw this sketch, I knew Washi Tape would be perfect.

So here's the cute little card I made to send to my Navy son, Chris. He loves my cards and I love sending them because I know he's feelin' the love!! I'm sure he'd like them more if there was money involved but that's not what love is about, right?!?

Thanks for looking at my card.

Hugs,
Lorelei

MOJO259 Get Well Card

This is the sketch I used for inspiration today! This is from Mojo Monday. This is another sketch challenge blog. When you go to this blog site you'll see lots of great cards and cardmakers. I think you'll just love it ;-).  I entered a card in this challenge also. I will be notifying you if I make the grade on any of the challenges I've been entering. It's going to takes LOTS of practice. These girls are so talented.

But I did make a card for a friend who is not well, I think it might just perk her up.

This is the front of the card. It has a 2 3/4 inch wide front so the die-cut oval on the inside of the card, with the sentiment stamped on it, will show through.

 

This is the inside of the card. I'll put my note to my friend on the left side. The papers I used for this card are YEARS old and I'm so happy to use them. I really like Jennifer McGuire's idea in the Kick Start class of keeping your scraps in bundles so that they can be used in your current cards. As I was going through the process of putting my scraps in bundles, I came across the two prints from Creative Memories and with the sketch to help, I have a finished card in pretty short order.

 

My husband and I sure had a great time at the Ducks game last night! I hope you're enjoying your Sunday!

 

Blessings,

Lorelei

With Sympathy for Mrs. Guevara Passing IC355

This is the inspiration piece I chose for a card I made for a Splitcoast Stampers challenge I'm entering today. They have lots of challenges on their site and my card today is for the  Inspiration Challenge #355 or IC355 for posting purposes. You should check their site out, they have LOTS & LOTS of great ideas.

So the idea of today's challenge was to use this piece of art as the inspiration for making a card. Sounds fun, don't you think? So I created this card.

 

I wish the picture showed the colors that this card truly has. The background is glossy cardstock with alcohol ink in Baja Blue from Jaquard mixed with Ranger Alcohol inks Citrus, Watermelon and Pearl. I stamped a Hero Arts Image over that with Judikins Mica Gloss in New Penny. It's a metallic effects ink and looks coppery when is dries. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up and the flowers are from a Prima stamp inked with Turquoise Gem and Pink Grapefruit both from VersaColor.

 

I'm pretty happy with the results, it was fun to use an item as inspiration.

 

Have a great day, GO DUCKS!!

 

Love,

Lorelei 

Card Positioning Systems Sketch #283

I'm entering another sketch challenge!! This time the sketch is from Card Positioning Systems.  I'm also combining what I learned in the Kick Start class and using my scraps. Look familiar?  Yep, I used this paper from BoBunny (2007) yesterday.

Both of the cards are similar, with the paper being the same, but the look, with a stamped image, makes the card look quite different.

I think if you went through your scraps you would be amazed at how many cards you could add to your stash (the completed one, that is heehee).

Have a fabulous day, the weather here is delightful. I love fall!!

So thankful,
Lorelei

Organizing is the Key!!

I would love for you to think that my scrapping desk always looks this; nice and neat, complete with a rose!  In actuality this is the only part of my room that is clean enough to show you. My room is small at 9 x 11. It is however, perfect for having all of my supplies within reach! I am learning lots of ways, in the Kick Start class, to organize my clear stamps and I've been  busy making samples of my inks so I'll know what colors they really are.

Another idea I loved was creating bags of scraps that I've separated into seasons for making cards on the fly. The fall bag of scraps is what I used to make the card I'm sharing today. A bonus will be making another card or two that are similar to this using the same scraps.

I'm having great fun (even though I have a BAD cold waaa!) using up my scraps to make cards. It's like seeing these papers for the first time!! I forgot to tell you that the paper with circles was made by BoBunny in 2007!!

XOXO,
Lorelei

Retro Sketches Challenge #29

This is a card sketch from Retro Sketches.  A blog that issues sketches every week for cardmakers to use to make a card from your choice of papers and embellishments. Once made the card needs to be added to the blog via Inklinx for people (who follow the blog) to see and which enters your card into the challenge for that week! So with that said, I made a card to enter. This is only the second time I've entered a card into an on-line challenge. The prior time was years ago.

You can see that the card follows the basic idea in the sketch. I chose My Mind's Eye "The Sweetest Thing" for the paper and butterfly. Hexagons are very trendy right now and I still have my Creative Memories Hexagon punches which makes this trend pretty easy to follow.

I hope you like the card and that you might be encouraged to take it up a notch and enter your creations into a challenge like this. I'll have more entries in the coming days and weeks.  I've gotta go now so I can get back to the Kick Start class I'm taking.

XOXO,
Lorelei

Thinking of You

I'm taking another on-line class from the folks at On-Line Card Classes. The class is called Kick Start.

When you feel your creativity needs a "kick" this is the class that will help with finding ideas, how to organize the ideas you gather and how to use the inspiration you find!  Each day we are inspired by the wonderful teachers (did I mention Jennifer McGuire and Kristina Werner??).

There was tons of inspiration yesterday, lots of videos and a pdf! I just love these girls!  Kristina Werner showed a card or two that went right into my Smash Book of card inspiration!

This is card I made for Day 1. I made the background paper from some leaf stamps I had, stamping them randomly onto water color paper with Versamark.  Rangers Distress Embossing Powder in Vintage Photo was sprinkled onto the leaves and heat embossed. I added Distress Ink in Peeled Paint, Rusty Hinge, and Fired Brick with a foam applicator over the stamped image and then sprayed lightly with water. The sentiment (from Hero Arts) was stamped with Versafine's Vintage Sepia . I added a leaf charm to the bow.

I've got to get back to class, I don't want miss a thing!!

Thanks for looking and have a blessed day,

Lorelei

Here's some of the cards I've been working on!

I made this card for my mom for her birthday. I used Tattered Angels and masked the flowers and butterflies then popped the butterflies up. I used a Gold Leaf pen for the the outside of the inset and stickles to add accents.

The stamp used for this card is from Hero Arts and is more of a winter stamp. I chose to make it more spring/summer-like by coloring on the stamp with Tim Holtz's Distress Markers and spraying a little water and stamping onto watercolor paper. It's a great masculine card which can be used for any occasion.

Finally here is a pretty anniversary card I made for a couple in our church celebrating 61 years of wedded bliss. There is no real secret to this card. The paper can be any coordinating paper; the die-cut image is from Spellbinders; the sentiment is from Penny Black. There is a little bit of Stickles on the flowers for accent!

 

Thanks for looking today, I hope you have a moment to be creative and enjoy the little things!

 

Blessings,

Lorelei 

Novel Challenge - Room by Emma Donoghue

Room is a fabulous book! I give it a 5/5 and it becomes one of my favorite all time books. The story line is disturbing but the author chooses not to dwell on the negative. Jack, a five-year old boy, is born in Room where his mother has lived for 7 years as the sex slave to her kidnapper, Old Nick. The author goes into great detail about the psychological effects this lifestyle has on both the mother and Jack. It is very well written from Jack's perspective. Room is all he knows but it's not so bad to him as his mother has created a wonderful life for Jack; giving him exercise, reading books to him and keeping him safe from their captor. The story is very thought provoking and as the book jacket suggests you will never forget Room. Either the author has done extensive research on this subject or it has actually happened to her! A MUST read!

Novel Challenge - Sizzling Sixteen

Stephanie Plum is a favorite character of mine. These books have a similar story line for all the books but I still turn the pages. They are funny, easy reading books with a dose of suspense. Yes I have read all 16 and will be reading the 17th as soon as I can! The characters are lovable and quirky and become like good friends. I hope that Joe and Stephanie hook up soon though! I love Ranger but he's not the guy to spend all time with. In this book Vinnie, of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, has run up a gambling debt of $786,000 with mobster Bobby Sunflower and is being held until the cash can be produced. Nobody else will pay to get Vinnie back, leaving it up to Stephanie, office manager Connie, and file clerk Lula to raise the money if they want to save their jobs. (This paragraph was copied from the book description in Goodreads.)

Long Time No See!!

I'm glad you didn't give up on me! I've been to Texas for 3 weeks and then 3 weeks on the boards for Penny Black and finally I am nearly caught up on my life!!

I got some mustache tattoos for the family in Iowa Park, Texas. We were makin' memories!
Here's a little gift I made for a friend as a Thank you for much kindness.

My friend can use the pins on the card on her projects. I stamped the background with stamps from My Minds Eye and the background color was sprayed with Tattered Angels. The butterflies were masks that I sprayed over.

That's all for today. I hope you are enjoying a creative life.

Love,
Lorelei

A Busy Season for Card Giving

This is a very busy season for cards. I shared a wedding card with you last week but that's just one card you might need in the next few weeks. Today I have a masculine graduation card to share. The feminine grad card will be coming soon.

I made this card for our nephew who is graduating from College!! Good job Peter, woot, woot!! 

The sentiment is from Our Daily Bread. The paper on the top half of the card is from Creative Memories. I think the bottom paper is from teh Paper Loft (I'd have to make Daisy, my protector, move to verify and she is sleeping so soundly :).

This is an anniversary card I made for friends. It stands to reason that if there's lots of weddings in June, there are going to be lots of anniversaries too. T'he paper is from My Mind's Eye, I think (again the dog's in the way!). The sentiment is from Inkadinkado and the flower is made from the same ribbon used underneath the sentiment. It's from Michaels.

 

I made this card for a masculine birthday. The paper used here IS from the Paper Loft. The brads are from Tim Holtz.

Finally, here is the dear one. She doesn't do much cardmaking but she does keep me company especially when we should be outside taking our walk. If you'd like to stay in touch, follow me!!

Off we go!

Blessings,
Lorelei