6 Rainier Drive made me smile!!

I gave this book 4/5!

This book was even better than her last one! (50 Harbor Street). 6 Rainier is Book #6 in Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series. There was a great twist at the end of this book and then the tease for her next book. I like this series because the books are easy reads, the plot keeps me turning the pages and I don't get tired of cheesiness and over dramatization.The books are about folks that live in Cedar Cove, Washington. It coves their lives as they face tragedy, family difficulties and family triumph. I look forward to reading the next one!

I recommended this series to my mom and I'm afraid she's going to pass me up! They are addicting!

I hope you have a good book that you can't put down and many more on the shelf!

Blessings.
Lorelei

Creative Chemistry!! Day 5 (Still Hangin in There!)

These are the tags for Day 5. I made a card using the first technique which is a resist technique.

All of the stamps used on this card are from Hero Arts. I changed up the technique and instead of using Kraft Resist paper which are beautiful, I just didn't have any, I used water color and stamped my own resist. The Ranger Distress Stains are used to make the background.

The third tag was a technique that created the marbled background. I love the look and want to make a card using this because it's so much fun seeing what your going to get when you turn your paper over! Did I mention I love Tim Holtz!! He is a rockstar in my book.

Back to the class!

Blessings,

Lorelei

Creative Chemistry!! Day 4 and Lovin' It

This is another technique that I'll do again and again. The technique is water coloring with Distress products. The stamp I used is from Magenta. The background white stamp is from Rubber Stamp Avenue, a local stamp maker her in Southern Oregon. Coloring is so calming and even though I have MUCH to learn about shading and the rest, I enjoy it so much.

 The tags I did for the day are on the right. The card I made used the second technique we learned today.  The stencil I used came from Tatterd Angels. You can find out how to do these techniques by taking Tim's class.  Adding the words in the different areas was based on the feeling that came to me when I saw the design.  The words are from Technique Tuesday. Thinking of You is from Hero Arts. There is only good when you send someone an uplifting card (especially when you have a teenager in College!).

Please consider following this blog if you like what you see. There is always something new to share.

Blessings on your day,

Lorelei

Creative Chemistry Day 3 (I'm just a little behind)

This was such a fun card to make because we used Alcohol Inks, one of my all time favorite Ranger products. Don't forget to always use glossy cardstock when you are using these inks otherwise the ink does not move on the surface creating this wonderful marbled look. The stamps I used are a special edition of stamps by Unity Stamps and it is called Brave Girl. I love the uplifting message of the card. The background music stamp is from Hero Arts. The embellishments are from Ranger.

These are all of the tags I made for Day 3. The first one is alcohol inks like the card above. The second tag is Adirondak paint dauber resist (it was supposed to be archival inks in different which I don't have yet). The technique is to stamp the background with a resist technique. I made a card for this also which I'll show in a minute. I love this look and would definitely do this again and again! The last tag for the day was doing a reverse stamp in an embossing folder. I don't have have an embossing folder that showed the technique tool well, but I love the Happy Birthday embossing folder from Cuttlebug.

I added some dimension to this card by popping up the banner which is from the My Mind's Eye "Be Amazing" stamp set. The stamps that make up the background, which are a bit hard to see, are both from Hero Arts. The rest of the stamps are from Ranger. "Live" is a Technique Tuesday stamp and "today" is from the My Mind's Eye stamp set.

I hope you are inspired to do some creating today!

Blessings for the day,

Lorelei

Creative Chemistry!! Day Two (Day 1 was informational)

Greetings!  I'm taking an on-line class from the fabulous, awesome, super talented, none other than,
t!m Holtz!!  Some of you know that he is my all time FAVORITE celebrity in this wonderful craft. I rarely ever make a card that doesn't have some form of his product on it. So I might just have been the FIRST one to sign up for the class. And oh baby is it FABULOUS.

The class is called Creative Chemistry and I am loving the way he teaches this class so thoroughly. I am learning lots in just the first 2 days and I've been working with his products since 2007!! How does that happen, you ask?  His class is just that wonderful and complete. And there's still time to sign up just check out his blog timholtz.com.

So with that tremendous introduction ,and without further ado, here are my cards from Day One:

This card was made with the Spritz and Flick tecnique. We used Distress Ink and water! Yep, that's it.

This card was made using the Wrinkle Free Distress technique.

 This is another card using the Wrinkle Free Distress technique.

There is one more technique that I am not going to show today, due to time constraints, Survivor's on tonight, and I've got to make dinner (almost like having to do homework, oh wait! It is homework!)

The following was added on March 29, 2012.

These are my tags for the 2nd day of class. The card for tag #2 will be shown in a later post. I love the technique used for this tag. The stamp I used is from Hero Arts.

Blessings on your day,

Lorelei

Stamp it 3 Ways!!

I have been intrigued by the idea of getting different looks and styles from the same stamp. I've seen this concept on Two Peas and some other sites I browse through.

So when my friend, Debbie said she wanted to learn more about cardmaking, I pulled out one of my favorite stamps by Hero Arts and made two quick cards showing my friend some of the reasons I think you should have a healthy supply of Ranger Distress Ink pads in lots of colors (wink, wink).

This is the first card I showed her. The stamp is Exotic Bloom. We stamped it onto watercolor paper with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Verdigris Antiquities by none other than Ranger! This is my favorite embossing powder but as you can see you can't use it on everything, but when the oppotunity presents itself....Seize it!! The little tag on the right is a Stampin' Up stamp that says HB. I stamped over my embossed images with Antique Linen Distress ink and distressed the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

The next technique I showed Debbie was "resist." For this look, stamp your image with Versamark ink and then put on some Clear embossing powder (Stampendous can't be beat!) and heat it with your heat gun. Using a foam applicator, I went over the image with Peeled Paint, Wild Honey and Stormy Sky Distress inks and a little Vintage Photo on the edges.  I sprayed the image lightly with Tattered Angels Glimmer mist in Gold and heated the card again to dry the mist. This intensifies the color alot, so you want to dry it pretty quickly. I matted the image and stamped the green cardstock with a honey comb background stamp in Versamark and the sentiment from Heartfelt Creations in Versafine, Vintage Sepia. This is a very different looking card than the first and we used the same stamp (Big smile).

After Debbie left with her brain full of possibilities (smile and wink), I made this card. I stamped the bloom in Pink Grapefruit Versamagic ink and then stamped it in Antique Linen Distress Ink to create the look of a shadow. I used a Spellbinders die to get the shape around the image. I stamped the tan paper from Penny Black with the bloom stamp and Versamark ink to give some texture and the rest is history!

One stamp, three very different cards. It was alot of fun showing Debbie what I like to do best. I hope I didn't scare her off!! Hmmmm.

Maybe you should fall in love with Ranger Distress Inks and make a few quick easy (really!!) cards.

Blessings,
Lorelei

The Waiting Time

The Waiting Time by Eugenia Price is the book I just read. I give it a 3/5. It held my interest but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone as a "you must read this." It is about a woman named Abby who's husband dies at sea while on his way to purchase 2 illegal slaves. Abby, who is from the north, is faced with managing a large rice plantation and 100 slaves. She does not believe that owning people is within God's will and so the book is focused on her struggle to come to grips with should she free the slaves she owns? There were some thought provoking parts to the book, but again there are better books to spend your time on.      
There are so many books to read. Every once in a while you get one that's only so so.


On to my next read, The Hunger Games! Just in time for the movie release! Want to read it with me?


Blessings on your day,
Lorelei

Reading Challenges Catch UP

I want to share with you the books I have read for January and February for the various challenges I have signed up for:

Off the Shelf &Finishing the Series - Sea Swept (Chesapeake Bay) Book 1.  This was a good book setting the stage for the stories of Ian, Ethan, Phillip and Seth after the death of the father who adopted them all to keep them out of trouble. This is the first book in the series and it centers on the life of Ian and how his life changes when his father dies in a car crash just after he takes in a troubled kid named Seth.  Ian lives a pretty selfish, single, rich guy, kind of life and has to learn to make changes for Seth's sake. He has a romantic interest in Seth's social worker and struggles with his brothers to get her approval of their life style as caregivers to Seth.

Glad Tidings by Macomber also 50 Harbor Street. The Cedar Cove series always makes me want to go to Seattle and especially to see Port Orchard and meet the folks that these stories are about. The stories always hold my interest with plenty of feel good and twists and turns.

Fearless Fourteen and Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Evanovich. These books are good for nothing but laughs. They are funny because the main character,
Stephanie Plum is always getting dirty or getting her car blown up, but she always brings in the bad guys.

Off the Shelf:  Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts (see review below)

European Reading - Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts by Dillon was a wonderful book which I gave a 5/5.  Rachel (the main character) inherits her Aunt's home in England.  The estate includes a rescue kennel that has several dogs needing to be re=homed. Rachel is not a dog person so when her aunt also willed her Gem a boder collie she a bit irritated. Of course Gem wins her heart and helps her adjust to her new life. There are folks helping in the kennels and friends she meets who adopt the dogs.  There's a little romance too which gets very complicated and adds the serious part to this delightful book. This is the perfect book for dog lovers.      

Goodreads 2012 - A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick. It is without a doubt the weirdest book I have ever read. There is SO much talk about sex, not necessarily the act but what is on the minds of the characters. That could wear one out. But what kept me turning the pages was to see whether the characters gained a concience and what dirty deeds they plotted against each other and whether they would be successful. It is written in the dark style of Wuthering Heights and Leave Her to Heaven but was not as good as these classics. This was a good book in an odd way but I probably won't read this author again. Probably won't read this author again.

I love doing these challenges and I'm on to my next book: The Waiting Time by Eugenia Price for the Southern Literature challenge!

Show and Tell

I have been busy making cards and planning card classes (oh my). It has been so fun to share what I love with others and so I thought I would share some of the cards with you.

I  made this card for a class for the ladies in my church. We made cards to share with our military men and women. I am so honored to be a part of this project.  The men and women who are serving our country need to know that we are proud of them and pleased to give them our support. There was much love that went into making these cards. The scripture used here is from Stamp Camp and the sentiment is from Heartfelt Creations. This is a perfect card to make with all our scraps!

This card is also made with stamps from Heartfelt Creations. The paper on this card is My Mind's Eye. I used water color pencils to color in the cross. I think I'm addicted to coloring again :). My friend Melissa came over yesterday and taught me some things about the color wheel (wow, I really need to pay attention to that?? Yes, she said). She also shared coloring techniques and lows and highs and lots more. Thank you so much, Mel.

Finally, I have been working on cards using Creative Memories "Shine" stickers for my class at Anna's on Saturday, March 3rd at 10:00 am. These colors have been lots of fun to work with (didn't check my color wheel before I started, hmmm). They are super cute though!

Blessings for the day,

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