It's Been a Bit of a Break!

Between Christmas and the boards I make for Penny Black during January, I've been a little scarce here.  Please accept my sincerere regrets. I thought of the time I spend here updating you on my passion for making cards often and I never seemed to able to take that break. But I'm back...

 

This is my favorite Christmas card. I just had to show you because it was so easy. The paper is from Basic Grey, Aspen Frost collection. The ornament is a Sizzix die and the swirl is from a Cricut cartridge called "December 25." There's a bow and a stamped sentiment. Done! Save this idea for next year. A Cricut machine and a Cuttlebug can save you when have several cards to do.

 

This is the Valentine's Card I gave to Stan, my hubby. The paper is from My Mind's Eye. They are fave at the moment for having prints that are a good scale for cards and they coordinate so beautifully.  I'd where a top in these prints, I love them that much. lol  I love the corogated heart too. It's from Bare Elements. The birds are cut with a die but I can't remember where I got it!! I don't usually separate the product from the packaging but I'm sure you'll be able to find something similar. Birds are so trendy right now.

This is the board I've been busy with for all of January and will be for the rest of February! There are four cards to a board and I will have completed 184 cards when I'm done with the last 16 boards. It's a blessing to me that Angela Kennedy, who designed each of these cards is so talented. It's my pleasure to duplicate these beautiful cards.  The stamps used on these cards are from Penny Black. I think these stamps are my favorites.

 

I'll be back tomorrow with the sample of the cards I've made for my card class at Joann's Fabric in Grants Pass, OR and the cards for my class with Anna Bearden.

 

Have fun creating, the rest of the time you'll probably be cleaning!

 

xo,

Lorelei





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



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

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

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

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 

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

Wow Has it Really Been This Long?

Clearly I have been up to something, but what, you ask?  I am really enjoying the added bonus of challenging myself  to read books I've had on my shelf or have wanted to read. I am averaging 3 a month which isn't fantastic but it's more than I thought I could read. Since I've been away from blogging, I enjoyed Easter with one of my boys (the other is in the Navy) and my mom and husband. I've been excerising more and reading about the Paleo Diet, thanks to my friend, Brenda. I spent some prescious time with Peggy and Mel, making cards and a Button Farm album kit and shopping with Laura. Oh yeah, and making cards :).

I made this sympathy card a bit more cheerful and hopeful than most. I used My Minds Eye "Be Amazed" paper, which is a huge favorite of mine! The oval die is from Spellbinders. The pearl swirl is by Zva and the sentiment is by Stampin' Up.

This is a pretty card and easy to make. I used book text for the background. The poppy stamp is from Hero Arts. I colored the poppies with Distress Markers from Ranger and distressed the image with Antique Linen Distress Ink also from Ranger. The scripture sentiment is from Stamp Camp.

This is a pretty, very feminine card that could also be used for Mother's Day by changing the sentiment. The paper is by Crate Paper, the die is from Spellbinders.  Improvise on the rest and you'll have a beautiful card also.

Thanks for looking at my creations today. I'm sorry it has taken so long to share my passion for all things paper with you!

Blessings,

Lorelei

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I have a new job!!  I'm working with Penny Black making cards for display boards that the company gives to customers who buy the stamps used in the cards on that board.  (Read that sentence again slower and maybe it'll make sense.  haha)

Angela is the designer of the cards and I make duplicates for as many orders as are received at CHA (Craft and Hobby Association convention) held in January. My friend, Peggy got the position for me and I love her for it! I'm getting paid for doing what I love and I get LOTS of free stuff!! The stamps I use to make the samples, the ink pads, coloring chalk and more are all free to me. It doesn't get any better than this!

The card above is my favorite of the cards I made this time around. Everything used on this card is new from Penny Black and will be available in stores soon. The background is a paisley stamp that I love! The coloring on the flower image is done with Pebbles chalk.

This is a Valentine I made for my love (of course it's my hubby!!) The paper is from My Mind's Eye. There is a Tim Holtz ticket and the felt flower and red brads are from American Crafts. The clock is from Vintaj I believe, the sticker on the bottom is Creative Memories and the twine is Jenni Bowlin's. I put some Glossy Acents over the true red hearts on top.

This card is made using a technique I learned from a class with Jennifer Maguire. The long strip is a background stamp stamped with Versamark ink and then stamped with a reverse image stamp with Distress Ink in Peeled Paint. This was then stamped onto glossy cardstock and left to dry. Once dry I inked the entire image with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and wiped it off. Such a pretty effect.

Well that's all for today!! I have added a new page to this blog for the book challenges so check that out if you have a reading addiction also ;-).

Blessings on you and your Valentine!

Lorelei 

What's Up??

Isn't this just the cutest little elephant ever?  She is a Penny Black stamp I bought recently and I'm having a great time making a fun card every now and then. The little bird on the top of her ear is chirping "What's Up?"  He could also say "Happy Birthday" or "Great Job" or almost anything really as this card can be used as a kids card or a fun card for an adult friend.

 This card was made with one of my favorite paper collections ever: Stella Rose by My Minds Eye. The collection has the colors that I love and it's a little girly but not too much so.

We went to the dunes this weekend and this was a sunset we caught on Saturday night. The weather was so lovely. I went to Memories of Time in Coos Bay while I was there. I really love the store, but sadly it too is closing. I've been known to shop on-line now and then, but nothing beats being able to see the paper in real life. 

I thank you for taking a look at the blog today and welcome you to come back and check in often.

Love,

Lorelei