Pickled Tink

Altered Clothespins

2012-01-31T20:03:00.000-05:00

Aren't they cute? These started out as just plain ol' clothespins. Spray paint to the rescue!!! I painted them aqua blue, stamped the sentiments with Stazon and glued the little crocheted flowers from Stampin' Up! And voila! cute, cute, cuteness. So simple but I love them. I've been making lots of different versions of these. These are my favorite so far.

I am off to pin this on Pinterest! Are you on Pinterest? I am so addicted!! Follow me and I will follow you back!! Here's my link http://pinterest.com/lorrietori/. Now, go start pinning!!!

Until next time....
Hugs and Happy Stampin'!
~Lorrie

Repurposing and Making Things Cute

2012-01-30T19:21:00.001-05:00

I have always loved little jars and bottles. I think that love started when I was a little girl. My Grandmother stored buttons in a little pimento jar tucked inside of her sewing box. Nothing fancy,
just a little jar with buttons in it. I had a couple of pimento jars from making homemade pimento cheese and so I washed them up and put buttons in them. I wanted to do something to the lids like maybe paint them some happy colors, but then I started seeing little pin cushions on Pinterest and other awesome blogs. So of course I wanted to do that! Isn't it cute?

The rosey fabric is from Stampin' Up! I don't remember where I got the ribbon or lace. I cut the fabric out with a scalloped die cut a little bigger than the lid and hot glued 3/4 around and stuffed it with polyfill and finished hot gluing it closed. Then I glued the lace and then the ribbon. TaDa! Total cuteness!! Here's a better view of the top.

I keep it next to my sewing machine and when I look at it, I can't help but think about Grandmomma and it makes me smile.

That's all I have for today. Until next time....

Hugs and Happy Craftin'!
~Lorrie

Linking up to these fabulous parties....

Big Pink Flower

2012-01-29T22:24:00.000-05:00

This card started out in a whole different direction than what it turned out to be. Again, I had some scrap pieces on my desk left over from other projects and just built it from there. The flower started out as scraps left over from my canvas project a couple posts back. I just stamped the french script background stamp and ink distressed the edges. I originally had not planned on using it, but it just seemed to be the right thing for the card. Funny how things work out that way.

close up of the flower

I also decorated the inside of the card, which is something I don't normally do. But I really like it, so I am going to start doing that more often. I don't have a lot of sentiment stamps like this one on the inside of the card, so maybe that's why I don't do the insides much. Then I had a light bulb go off in my head. I can type my own and print them out, duh. Yeah, sometimes the brain is slow, lol.

That's all from me for now. Still have other projects to share and will very soon.

Until next time.....
Hugs and Happy Craftin'!
~Lorrie

Gearing Up for Love Day!

2012-01-29T10:21:00.001-05:00

Been working on some things in the craft building. Still trying to get organized and getting rid of the clutter so I can share some pics of the space, it's just not going as fast as I had hoped. I get in there and start organizing the little things and look around and it's still a mess. Looks like I haven't organized a thing! At least it's getting to where I can find things, lol.

This card is one of the projects I've been working on. I got my inspiration from one of Melissa Phillips' cards on her blog, LilyBean's Paperie. If you haven't been to her blog, you MUST check it out. She is so talented. I've said this before, but I want to be like her when I grow up! lol. I used a lot of stuff on this card. You probably already know that I love layers and this has lots of them! I used mostly scraps that were just sitting on my desk from other projects. I sewed on it, too! Lovin' my sewing machine my Mom gave me for Christmas. Thanks, Mom! You're the best!!! I also used the Lock and Key die cut from Papertrey Ink. Love it for so many different reasons! The heart is sewn down the middle and the lock is attached with a piece of tied baker's twine.

I have also been working on some cute things this week. I've been repurposing items to be more functional and of course, cute! More to come very soon, I promise!

Until next time...

Hugs and Happy Craftin'!
~Lorrie

Linking up to these awesome parties!!

The only creative thing I've made all year!

2012-01-02T20:05:00.003-05:00

Well, considering it's only January 2nd, I think I am ahead of the game, lol. Last year I did nothing creative until well into January. One of my New Year's resolutions is be more creative and spend more time in my studio. I have definitely done that in the last two days. I've been seeing these scrapbook pages being created on canvas and I really wanted to try it out. I am beyond loving this project and am really proud of myself!! Now I am addicted and can't wait to make more!!

The baby is my sweet granddaughter, Elizabeth. She was only 3 days old in this picture and now she is almost 4 months old. My how time flies! The canvas is 20 x 17. There is a lot of stuff on it, lots of layers. In case you don't know already, I LOVE layers!! I started by painting the canvas with Gesso and then added pink, green and blue paint, sort of in a mottled way. In some places, the paint took on a yellow tint from the paints mixing together. It was a little too bright for the look I was going after and my initial thought was to glue tissue paper all over, but I didn't have white tissue paper, so what's a desperate girl to do at 1:00 in the morning? Ahhh, I have these coffee filters laying here for another project that's bouncing around in my head. Although the coffee filters are thicker than tissue paper, I love the texture and depth that it added. I crumpled them up and then pressed them out and glued to the canvas with Mod-Podge, with creases included to give it added texture. Then I just added layers and layer of different papers. I also stitched on the layered mats for the picture and also the strip of paper at the top. I got a sewing machine for Christmas and this is the first project I used it on. I also used my Cricut machine for the first time! Dan AKA The Boyfriend AKA Hey Dan, gave me the Cricut for Christmas LAST year and I have been too chicken to use it. What was I thinking? That thing is AWESOME!!! I will definitely be using it a lot from now on. Here's a couple of close ups of the canvas.

Lots of distressing and lace and ribbon and beads

layered flowers with tulle tucked in between the layers. one with a
button center and one with a zipper flower in the center.

One last picture of the whole thing shall we?

Such a sweet baby! (sorry for the glare on the pic. it was a little
hard getting a really good shot without the glare)

Hope ya'll have a fantastic New Year! Until next time....

Hugs and Happy Craftin'!
~Lorrie

Linking to......

Christmas is only 7 days away!!!

2011-12-18T18:24:00.003-05:00

Did the Christmas season sneak up on ya'll like it has me? I can't believe that we only have a week to go!! At least I did get my tree up and finished all the decorating, but the buying and wrapping of gifts is not yet done. Today I spent touching up some of the decorations and just tidying up a bit. Snapped some pics of the decorations, too, so I thought I would share them with ya'll. So sit back and enjoy!!!'

I found the glittered JOY, along with some other words a couple of years ago for $1 each

Star on top of the tree with a fancy bow and swirly sticks

Some of the ornaments on my tree :)

This is my mantle. I have collected Santas forever it seams.
Some of these are old, some are new. My friend Katie made the wreath last year.

the little white elf/fairie is new, the Santa is old.

close-up of the wreath that Katie made. she is so talented!!

I hang the stockings on this old door because

we have a big ol' tv hanging below the mantel

(the fireplace hasn't worked for 20 years) I would love

to build a cabinet for the tv so I could at least

put candles in the fireplace. Maybe one of these days

Our Christmas tree.

I have had this desk and hutch since I was a little girl.

Just a hodge podge of things I have collected over the years

I just purchased the little ceramic ice skates this week.
I've been collecting Coca-Cola stuff for years and
love the crates that I found many years ago.

My Grandmother Harmon made this
musical snowman for me in 1973.
I treasure it so!!!

The True Meaning of CHRISTMAS!!
My Mom gave this manger scene to me several years ago.
The poor angel lost part of it's wing when I was putting
it away one year. Now I keep this in the bottom of my
curio cabinet all year instead of
packing it up and storing it.

I don't think that I will have much to post between now and Christmas, so I will wish ya'll a very Merry and Blessed Christmas now!! I hope you all are able to spend time with family and friends and just enjoy this special time of year. I know that I have been so blessed this year and pray for many more blessings in 2012!!

Until next time...
Hugs and Happy Everything!!
~Lorrie

Linking up to...

Christmas Table Decorations

2011-12-12T21:29:00.001-05:00

I finally got my Christmas decorations done! I told ya'll a couple of weeks ago that I was working on some ribbon trees and I finally got a picture of them. Well, actually Mariah took them because I could not get any decent pics of them with my camera. I set the three trees on some white tinsel and added some cupcake ornaments and other ball ornaments around them. I placed gumdrop garland around the whole thing.

Above the table, I hung an elf holding a large "lollipop" and some more ball ornaments using fishing line. Here are a couple of close up pics of the elf and the trees.

Well, that's all I have today. Until next time....
Hugs and Happy Craftin'!
~Lorrie

Linking up to.....

Amour House card

2011-12-05T22:00:00.000-05:00

One of the blogs that I absolutely adore is Lilybean's Paperie by Melissa Phillips. That girl is some kinda talented! She sells some of her cards and other things on Etsy. A few months ago she posted some cute little houses made from material scraps and bits of lace. I had to have one! As soon as I received it I was inspired. That little house was stuck in my head and I had to create this card. Just like the original little house, I used scraps of paper that I had on my desk from other projects. The butterfly on the door has a little key as the body. I made that key out of shrinky dinks a while ago and was saving it for the perfect project. I added faux stitching with a marker on all the little pieces to make it look sewn.

It rained here today and has been overcast and almost dark anyway when I got home, so I still haven't gotten any pics of the ribbon trees yet, but hopefully tomorrow.

That's all for me tonight! Until next time....
Hugs and Happy Creatin'!
~Lorrie

Christmas is the Season

2011-12-04T20:19:00.001-05:00

I love cards with lots of layers and this Christmas card has many layers! It is so cute in person, not sure the pictures do it justice. I bought the sheet of heartwarming vintage cuts that the image is from last year and then never used it. Well, I am using it now! I have many other ideas floating around in my head about how to use the other images on the sheet. They are all so sweet and nostalgic.

I have added a list of supplies at the bottom of this post :)

I finally finished the ribbon trees I have been working on! I had run out of floral pins so I was at a stand still for a few days, but Mariah braved the Walmart crouds and bought some for me last night. I have to set them up to photograph and then I will post them. They turned out so darned cute! I think I am putting them on my mantle this year. I won't know for sure until I get everything out of storage and weed out some stuff. Oh, I dread it!! It will get done on Tuesday when I have help to get it all down.

Well, that's all for me tonight. Until next time...
Hugs and Happy Craftin'!
~Lorrie

Supplies used to make this card:
Ruby Red, Old Olive and Kraft cardstock, Vintage Music by The Paper Studio, patterned paper from The French Country Stack, image from Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Cuts "Christmas Time", Sizzix medium Pine Tree die cut, Sizzix Scribbles Swirls die cut, green crinkled seam binding, fire brad, earth elements button and linen thread

Linking to......

Slight Addiction

2011-12-03T16:30:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I think I am addicted to making Christmas ornaments! Funny, concidering I haven't even taken the Christmas decoration boxes out of storage yet. Everyone is way ahead of me on their decorating. I am such a procrastinator when it comes to changing out things for the seasons. Who am I kidding, I am just a procrastinator. Like with these ornaments that I have been posting here lately. I got so much inspiration last year from so many other blogs and put off creating my own until it seemed pointless to make them at all. I mean, who makes Christmas ornaments after Christmas? Oh, probably a lot of people, but not me. By January, I am ready for Spring to be here already! But, I digress. This is another angel ornament similar to the one a few posts back. The angel is from Crafty Secrets Heavenly Christmas heartwarming vintage sticker sheet. I mounted her on a Tattered Angels framed font frame that I painted pink, added irredescent embossing powder and rubbed a brown ink pad on the edges. I don't think that they make these frames anymore because I couldn't find it on their website. I wish I had ordered more of them because I have used the heck out of them. I mounted the frame on a coaster that has two layers of patterned paper from The French Country paper stack by DCWV. I added the lace behind it and mounted that on a square coaster that has another layer of paper from the same paper stack. For the hanger I just glued a strand of pearl beads and I also added some decorative beads to the bottom. This ornament is about 10 inches long from the top of the hanger to the bottom of the beads. It is also very pink and shimmery! Who doesn't like pink and shimmery? Here is a close up.

I have also been working on some Christmas decor that I will share in the next day or so. I am not quite finished with them yet. There are also some other ideas swirling around in my head. I have so many projects that I have started and not finished yet, too. Maybe one day I will get my rear in gear and get it all done!

Well, that's it for me today. Until next time.....
Hugs and Happy Craftin'!
~Lorrie

Linking up to.....

Christmas Ornaments......

2011-11-28T21:35:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I sure did. Nothing better than spending time with family and eating lots of great food! I spent a couple of days in the craft building and made some more Christmas ornaments. Friday morning I braved the traffic and crowds to take advantage of a 30% off my entire purchase at Michael's and AC Moore. I bought a bunch of the clear glass ornaments so that I could make them pretty. Here is a couple of different things that I did to them......

these pink ones were made with mod podge and pink
glitter poured into the ornamennt, then added a shimmery
pink ribbon for the hanger

these have vintage sheet music inside and a piece of silver
ribbon wrapped around the tops with a piece of
silver cording for the hanger

Sorry for the poor picture quality. I couldn't get very good pics of them because 1. I had to use my phone and 2. I took them at night. I should use a light box. A couple years ago, I made one out of a posterboard folded in a box shape with the front open and then I used my Ott light to light it up, but I have no earthly idea where I put the darn thing and my Ott light needs a new bulb. Maybe I should make a new one and buy a bulb. Like how hard could that be instead of continuing to take crappy, dark pictures, lol.
In my last post I said that I was going to print the card and add some embellishments to it. Well, I haven't yet, but I will soon.
That's it for me tonight. Until next time.....
Hugs and Happy Craftin'!
~Lorrie

Linking up to.....

Inspiration Challenge

2011-11-26T21:52:00.002-05:00

I ran across this photo on Nicole Heady's blog for the Papertrey Ink Inspiration Challenge this week. I don't have a lot of Papertrey Ink products yet, but I really liked that photo! I was already working on something in My Digital Studio so I decided to use the photo as my inspiration for a Christmas card. Well, besides the colors of green and red, I love the ice skates (although I have never ice skated before) and the patterns in the chair and the gifts.

front of card

I created the card front and continued the patterns to the inside and even the back of the card. I am thinking about adding some glitter to the card after I print it to just give it some added dimension. I usually add something to my digitally made cards. I can't help it. I like layers, it's an illness I think, lol.

left side of inside of card

right side on inside of card

back of card

It's getting a little too late tonight to print the card and add some embellishments, so I think I will start fresh in the morning and hopefully it will be ready to post the end results tomorrow night.

Does this picture inspire you to create something? I would love to see what you come up with!!

Until next time.....
Hugs and Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

Linking up to......

First Christmas Ornament this Season!

2011-11-20T19:31:00.005-05:00

I have been so inspired by all the Christmas ornaments I have seen on other blogs, so I cleaned off my desk to have room to create this little beauty. I really love how it turned out! It's vintage, sparkly and so sweet. Makes me want to put my tree up already! But that ain't happenin' this week for sure. Too many other things to get done and with Thanksgiving and Mariah's birthday being Thursday, I dare to say I will be somewhat busy the next few days. I have a few other ornament ideas in my head and can't wait to be able to carve out a little time to work on them, too. But in the mean time, feel free to drool over this one. You're welcome, lol :)

That's it for me today. Until next time....
Hugs and Happy Craftin'!
~Lorrie

Linking up to these fabulous parties!!

Sing

2011-11-13T17:51:00.001-05:00

I love to blog hop and I absolutely L.O.V.E. the linky parties. I lose all track of time looking at all the creative ideas on the web. I have several blogs that I ~~stalk~~, read everyday. Can't help it. I get so excited to see what awesome things these wonderful women have created. One blog that I read daily is Flamingo Toes and every Sunday she hosts a linky party that I would absolutely die if I missed it! So, today I was looking at all the links and went to one blog where I was totally in awe. The blog is Sandy's Space and to say that this woman has talent is an understatement. I mean, OH EM GEE, her creations are adorable!! I could not help but look at her past posts. One that blew me away was from August and I knew immediately that I had to create something based on the items that she created in that post. They are that good! Go HERE to see the project that I could not take my eyes off of. It is fabulous! I was so inspired by all three of the little boxes that she made, but the "sing" one was what I really wanted to re-create. She made hers using papers and stamps I am sure, but I wanted to do something in the Stampin' Up! My Digital Studio program. Looking at her project I knew that I had images and papers in the program that would give the same feel. This took me a couple of hours to create because I wanted to get it just right. I think that I did! Of course I changed some elements and added others, but the basic idea and layout is the same. What do you think? I can see this as a coaster or even print it out and frame it. Thanks so much to Sandy for the inspiration and I will definitely be looking at her blog often.

Well, that's all for me today. I am off to read some more awesome blogs!!
Until next time......
Hugs and Happy Creatin'! ~Lorrie

Owl Frame

2011-11-05T20:12:00.001-04:00

There I go again going weeks without posting anything! I have been such a bad blogger and I apologize again for being such a slacker. I've been busy working in the craft building trying to get things organized, which is so hard to do when you have more stuff than you know what to do with. I have no clue how all of the stuff I have in there ever fit into my house! I guess because I didn't have everything in one place or room, it did not seem like it was as much as it is having it all in one space. Trying to come up with some creative storage ideas has also been some of the things that have been keeping me busy. This frame is one of the things that has been on my list to complete. Today, I finally just jumped right in and got it done!! I think it turned out cute! You like?

This is the beginning stage of putting the frame together. I cut a piece of foam board down to the size of the frame opening and then covered it with a piece of an old baby blanket for added cushion. Then I wrapped my fabric around that and taped it in place. The ribbon is from Stampin' Up! It took me forever it seems to get it the way I wanted. After I got the ribbon in place, I stapled the cross sections and then hot glued buttons to make it pretty. I like that little touch.

Close up of the owl fabric. I purchased it at Hobby Lobby for $3.95 a yard. Love it!!

Finished Frame!! Isn't it cute?!

Next on my list of things to make is storage for all of my punches made from rain gutters. Yes, you read that right, rain gutters. I've seen these shelves made from gutters for a while now. I've almost got them completed and will show you that as soon as I get the right size end caps for them. The craft building is slowly but surely coming along. I know I've been talking about it forever, but it's a work in progress. I'll get something completed and then not like how I have things arranged and have to move stuff around again. One of these days, it will be all organized and cleaned up and I will do a photo spread of the entire space for you to see! That's all for me tonight! Until next time.....

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

William Sonoma $100.00 Wreath Knockoff

2011-10-05T22:31:00.000-04:00

My boss' wife brought in a Williams-Sonoma catalog and asked for me to try and find the items and create this pumpkin wreath, well actually she wanted three wreaths, but she did not want to pay $100.00 each for them. Can't say I blame her!

(Williams-Sonoma Wreath - $100.00)

We searched the internet, but found nothing that was cost effective. My supervisor was in Walmart and happened upon these little boxes of pumkins. They were $4.99 each and contained 7 pumpkins in each box and we needed 9 boxes. The grape vine wreaths are 18 inches and were $5.99 each. The spaghnum moss was $1.99 a bag and we needed 4 bags. The double bows took 3 rolls of plaid ribbon and one roll of the green ribbon and we paid $11.00 at Walmart for all of it.

(Pumpkins from Walmart, Spaghnum Moss from Carolina Pottery)

So, for about $82.00 I made 3 wreaths! Not bad and they look pretty darn close if I do say so myself, lol. I did burn myself with the hot glue more times on this project than any other, though!

This is one of the three wreaths that I made. I really love how they all turned out.

My daughter, Amber, saw that I was making these and wanted a fall wreath for her front door. I bought a heart shaped grape vine wreath and some really pretty ribbon and will be working on that for her next.

That's all for me today! Until next time.......

Hugs and Happy Crafting!!

~Lorrie

2011-09-27T20:58:00.000-04:00

Just playing around with My Digital Studio. I created this using my favorite new subject, my sweet grandbaby Elizabeth. She is just the most precious thing ever!!! I love to steal all her sugar, but it's good because she keeps making more, lol. Love those sweet cheeks!!

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!~Lorrie

Trouble in Blogland

2011-09-04T21:18:00.000-04:00

I know that I haven't posted in a few days, so imagine my surprise when I came to my blog tonight and I kept being redirected to blogrolling.com! I thought my blog had been hijacked! I googled "what is blogrolling.com" and found out that many people were having this problem. Turns out that I had an HTML code on my blog that was no longer a valid domain and that's why my blog was being redirected. I could not figure out which HTML code was the problem, so I deleted them all. Finally figured out that it was the ShabbyBlog.com was the problem all along. So, I have to go back in and add my play list and a couple other things, but at least I have my cute little background back and we should be good to go now! Gotta get the music back on asap, because I love to hear Some Where Over the Rainbow when I first start it up!

So, I haven't really worked on anything crafty this week. School started and we have been trying to get into a routine. I have got to get in the craft building and organize and clean my desk off in order to start on anything new. I am off work tomorrow for Labor Day and Tuesday we should be getting a new addition to the family! Elizabeth is due tomorrow and if she hasn't decided to come on her own, they will induce Amber on Tuesday. We are all so excited!! I still can't believe that my little girl is having a baby girl of her own. I will post a pic or two as soon as I can!

I am going to go now and add those codes back to the blog so we can listen to some awesome music again! Until next time.....
Hugs and Happy Everything!
~Lorrie

Sweet little things from my past.......

2011-08-27T15:36:00.000-04:00

This little stool was my Grandmother Culbreth's and I remember sitting on it at her house in St. Augustine, Florida when I was a little girl. I loved it so much because it was the perfect size for a little person to sit on. Well, of course I grew up and it isn't the right size for me to sit on anymore, but it will be for my Grandbaby Elizabeth to sit on when she comes for visits when she is older (only a little over a week and she will be born, can't wait to start spoiling her rotten!!!) The only problem is that the fabric that I covered it with a looong time ago was icky and sticky from spills over the last few years. I have had some oil cloth that I ordered online for several months and decided to use it to recover the seat. I love how it turned out!! Now if something gets spilled on it, it is easily washable. Not only that, it is so much cuter than that blah green fabric. I was going to spray paint the base, but I haven't gotten up the nerve yet. I kinda like the original black color. What would you do? If you were to paint it, what color would you choose? I might get up the nerve to paint it eventually, but for now it will stay like this.

Well, that's all for today. Next time, I will share another card that I made last week.

Until then.....
Hugs and Happy Craftin'!!
~Lorrie

Collaged Initial

2011-08-09T21:16:00.005-04:00

I bought this "L" at Hobby Lobby about a year ago and it sat in my pile of alterables until I got the craft building set up and semi-organized. It is made out of layers of chipboard but is very sturdy and it is about ten inches tall, so it's a good size. I painted the whole thing white and then Mod Podged a blue check designer paper and stamped it with French Script background stamp in Chocolate Chip. I then cut out and Mod Podged a swirl from a scrap of designer paper along with the flowers. The butterfly was die cut from a piece of cardboard that I peeled the top layer off of to reveal the corrugated part and swiped distress ink and dry brushed on some white paint. I then added a a button with 2 bling brads to the butterfly. I tied a blue organza bow and heated with the heat gun to wrinkle it.
I really like how it turned out! I bought an "M" for Mariah and an "A" for Amber so I need to work on those, too. Hopefully before another year goes by, lol.

That's all for me today! Hope you have a great Wednesday. Tomorrow is actually Friday for me because we are headed to Florida for a long weekend to visit family! So need the time away!! Until next time.......

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!
~Lorrie

ETA: linking up to Think Pink Sunday and Savvy Homemade Monday blog parties!!!! You have to check out both of these girl's blogs! They are AWESOME!!!!

LOVE Banner No 2

2011-08-07T17:47:00.001-04:00

Here's another LOVE Banner made for a photographer friend of mine. She saw the one I made for Mariah and wanted one for herself! I used basically the same color scheme, but added and changed things up a bit. This one has hearts added to each end and I also added a parenthesis bracket to the "L" and "E" for just an added detail. Both the hearts and the parenthesis were die cut from the Sizzix Hearts & Brackets which is a Stampin' Up! original. I used the same chipboard letters as the first Love Banner. I have used almost all the letters from that set and am really gonna miss them when they are gone. The base for each letter is a 4x4 inch chipboard coaster. The papers I used came from a "Me & My Big Ideas" paper pad. I Mod Podged them on and rubbed a Creamy Caramel ink pad over all the edges to make them look distressed. More Mod Podge to seal everything and make it more durable.

So that's all for me today. Hope ya'll are having a good Sunday! Enjoy every last minute of it, for tomorrow is Monday and back to work!! Until next time......

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!
~Lorrie

Creating Sweet Stuff!!!!

2011-08-04T22:02:00.000-04:00

This is the plaque that I made for my Granddaughter Elizabeth's nursery. It matches the banner from a couple of posts ago. I started by painting and covering a round wooden plaque with the same DSP for the base. The E is also wood that I painted pink and added a bow from pink tulle and a little flower with a sparkle brad for the center. There is a beaded trim glued around the edge of the plaque to finish it off and a piece of pink tulle to the back for the hanger.

You may notice that my picture has "Mariah Simons Photography" on it. That would be my wonderfully talented photographer daughter, Mariah!! She is so talented and I am so proud of her!!! Check out her new website HERE or "like" her Facebook Page HERE. If you are near us here in Lexington, South Carolina and need pics taken of events, children, weddings, oh heck, you name it (almost, lol) , she is your girl!!!

Well, I'm headed to bed. Tomorrow is Friday!!!!

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

LOVE Banner

2011-07-31T20:41:00.000-04:00

I made this LOVE Banner for my daughter, Mariah to use in her photo shoots. I saw some pics on Pinterest of a couple holding a similar banner and had to make one. Mariah has some photography jobs coming up and I can't wait to see how they turn out using this banner.
I used the 4x4 inch coasters as the base for each panel and covered them in designer paper, alternating between a blue pin-stripe and a green polka dot. There are also layers of floral designer paper cut in a circle and then a chipboard letter that I painted and rubbed glitter glue on them. The letters are actually the voided space of the chipboard letters when you pop them out of the decorative piece. These are from the same letters/frame pack that I used on the Elizabeth Banner from the last post. Everything is Mod Podged to protect it from getting dirty and to help make it durable. I added a large eyelet to each one on the top corners and threaded some shimmery blue organza ribbon through them for the hanger.

If you don't know what Pinterest is, it is a fantabulous website where you can "pin" pictures, like a bulletin board. And you can "repin" others and save them on your boards from others boards. You gotta go check it out! Go here and check out my boards and be my pinning buddy!! If you are alreay a pinner, let me know, I would love to follow you!!

Well that's it for me today! Until next time,
Hugs and Happy Creating!!
~Lorrie

"Elizabeth" Banner

2011-07-24T09:31:00.000-04:00

This is the banner that I made for my grandbaby Elizabeth's nursery. She is due in September and my daughter, Amber, is getting the nursery all ready with pretty pinks and yellows. I wanted this to be all pink and girlie and I think that it turned out exactly how I pictured it in my head. I used pink tulle as the ribbon part of the banner and love how soft and pretty is looks. Each letter is a chipboard cut shape using the Top Note die cut in the Big Shot machine. I covered each piece in decorative scrapbook paper, alternating between pink checkered and flowered papers. The letters are puffy stickers mounted on chipboard frames painted pink and then I backed with another chipboard piece painted yellow. I Mod Podged everything. I added a cute flower grommet in each corner and strung each one onto the pink tulle. I placed a pretty little pink flower with bling brad on every other letter. This banner measures about 3 feet long. I am only showing you the "E" and the "L" to show you what papers I used (so as to not overload you with pictures!!). I also made an "E" plaque that matches and I'll share that in a later post.

We had her baby shower yesterday and she received so many nice things, including a whole lotta clothes that are just absolutely adorable. I don't think that Elizabeth will be wearing the same outfit twice until she is at least 6 months old! '

Well, that's all from me today. Until next time......

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

Time flies so quickly!

2011-07-20T22:10:00.000-04:00

Where has this entire first half of 2011 gone? My goodness, it flew by!! I didn't mean to stay away so long, I just haven't really been able to craft much, because my stuff was everywhere and so hard to get to in order to create even the simplest of cards. But, my building is done. Well, done enough to have everything in one place to create stuff. There is still some work to be done on it (actually the list is a little long), but I've been making pretty things and that feels so great! I will share one of the cards that I made this week. This card is for my daughter's baby shower coming up. I haven't even shared that bit of news with ya'll. I'm gonna be a first time Grandmommy in September!!! We are all beyond excited!! Now I will definitely have an excuse to create sweet little, girlie things for our sweet little Elizabeth. So, about the card. It's girlie, frilly, pink and yellow. I got my inspiration from LilyBean's Paperie. If you haven't yet visited Melissa's blog, you have got to go check it out! She is fantastic. Not sure if you have noticed lately how popular banners are nowadays, but I've been seeing them everywhere. So of course, I had to incorporate a banner on this card. Not, too bad for someone who's been out of commission for a while, huh? I'll be back very soon with more goodies that I've been making.

Supplies: Pixie Pink and Barely Banana SU! papers, BoBunny Decorative paper, butterfly punch, Warm Words SU! stamp set, misc clear stamps, buttons, ribbon

Until next time,
Hugs and Happy Stampin'!
~Lorrie

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T13:10:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! This past month has been crazy busy for us at work and at home with getting ready for the company Christmas party and decorating the house. There was also a big family gathering with all my uncles, aunts and cousins. I love getting together with all of them at Christmas time. We only get to see some of them this one time of the year, so it is always special. We each bring a dish and the uncles bring their guitars, we pig out on all the great food and then sing Christmas songs. Uncle Charlie always sings "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" and takes his false teeth out at the end of the song. All the kids, even us big ones, laugh so hard and Aunt Betty gets mad! Fun times! All of my Dad's brothers are very talented musicians. This year Uncle Paul sang a song that he wrote about our family and how important just spending time with them, especially at Christmas, is. The gifts and decorations are not what is important, it's time spend with your loved ones and how that time slips by so quickly. I don't think there was a dry eye in the place after he sang that song. My company's Christmas party was very nice, too. We had it catered and boy did they out do themselves with the food! My favorite was the shrimp and grits, oh my so delicious! Then we played Bingo, which was so much fun, especially because I won a 28" flat screen tv and my daughter, Amber, won an Ipod Touch. Yep, we had some really cool prizes. I will be using the tv in my craft building WHEN it is completely finished. That has been a long road, but I will save all that for another post. After all the partying with family, friends and co-workers, we had to start wrapping gifts. At work, we wrap gifts for our boss and let me tell you, there was a lot of wrapping going on! I was almost too tired to wrap my own, but it all got done. Why is it that you spend weeks wrapping gifts and it is all destroyed in 30 minutes? All in all, it was a great Christmas! We had kind of a simple Christmas, not a lot of gifts, but we received things that we can use. Amber got things for her house, Jon Ryan got a fishing rod case, Mariah got a new camera bag and camera strap cover, Dakota got some movies, a video game and a peddle car, Dan got a tool chest AND I GOT THIS...........

Yep, that's right! A Cricut Expression! I have been on the fence about getting a Cricut. Asking myself do I really need it, do I want to spend that kind of money? Telling myself that I really don't have room for it until my building is finished. But, Dan called my bestest crafty friend Melissa and asked her about it and she said YES, get her that! She has a Cricut and loves it, but I just was not convinced that I had to have one. Well, I am really glad that she talked him into it! Not only did I get the Expression, he got it for a steel! Dan is a big Ebay seller and buyer and he really knows the tricks, so he got his bid in at the last minute and snagged it for a song (insert BIG GRIN here). I am really going to sit down and play around with this thing today. I am a little intimidated by it, but it is really cool, so I know once I get the hang of it, I will be using it a lot!

So, I think I will stop yacking now and leave you with a few pics from our Christmas. Here's to wishing you all a very happy start to what I am hoping will be a very good year!

Until next time......

Hugs and Happy Stampin'! ~Lorrie

Hello! Is this thing on??!!!

2010-11-28T21:30:00.000-05:00

Ooooohhhh, it is! Hello again! I hope ya'll had a terrific Thanksgiving, I sure did! Except my daughter, Mariah, went to Florida with some of her cousins for my Mom's family reunion. We really missed her the last few days. I had 4 days in a row off work, but, tomorrow is back to the old grind. The worst thing about that much time off, Monday afterwards. lol.

I am posting some of the tags that I made for our school district's silent auction gift baskets that I have been putting together the past couple of weeks. I did them all on My Digital Studio. Oh, how I love that program! It sure has saved me some time creating these tags. I spent most of Friday afternoon and then again last night working on these and finally got them all completed. What took the most time was searching for and cropping clip art. Some of these are pretty ingenious if I do say so myself!

I think I have done a total of 23 of these tags. Our silent auction is Tuesday night and I am excited to see how much money we raise. I am also kinda glad that this project is almost over! It has been worth it though, because I know in the long run, it will benefit my son, Dakota.

Today, I spent most of the day blog hopping and stumbling across some absolutely awesome bloggers! I am really into reading, or should I say looking at blogs about home decor on a shoe string budget. It is amazing what some of these ladies have created from junk. Well, maybe not really junk, but stuff that other people have discarded. On one of the blogs, I discovered a store that I have got to make a road trip for! I am so excited to have found this little gem. I will probably be even more enamored when I actually step foot in it, lol. I will have to do a post this week linking to some of the wonderful blogs that I found today. I just have to get it all sorted out. I went to so many, I've got a little backtracking to do.

Well, that's it for me tonight. I hope you all have a blessed Monday! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2010-11-25T11:54:00.000-05:00

Here's wishing you all a very Happy Turkey Day!!! I am so thankful for all the wonderful blessings in my life, including all of you! I hope you all have a great day and don't eat too much! God Bless You All!!

Hugs and Happy Stampin'! ~Lorrie

My Digital Studio is so great....

2010-11-25T11:47:00.000-05:00

I love using My Digital Studio right now, because, as I've said before, my supplies for doing "real" stamping and creating are packed in containers and are in so many different places in the house. It's kinda hard to find everything I need to create much. With My Digital Studio, I just need a computer and a printer. This is a birthday card I created using the new banner download. Well, I'm not sure how "new" it is, but it's new to me! I wanted to create something simple, but this was really anything but simple. There are lots of layers, they're just little layers. The top image is the front of the card and the bottom image is the inside. I really like how it turned out.

I spent all last weekend creating things like this just for me, because I knew that most of the work week would involve creating tags for a silent auction that my boss is involved in. I have had fun on that project, but a little overwhelmed at the same time. The silent auction is to raise funds for our school district's new program for middle schools. We are trying to implement "Smart Labs" here and I am excited because my son will benefit from the program. We have collected so many items and are putting together groups of like things to auction off as gift packages or baskets. There are about 25-30 tags to complete! I will post some of the cute tags that I've created this past week. I have about 15 more to make over the long holiday weekend. Some of the baskets that we have put together are awesome! If only I had the money to bid on them.... oh well. I am sure they will all be well bid on and we will makes lots of money!

So that's it for this post. Hope you all have a great week!

Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'! ~Lorrie

Playing around with My Digital Studio

2010-11-20T22:10:00.001-05:00

I have been playing around with My Digital Studio lately and this is a Christmas card that I created this week. I saw a card on Betsy's blog and had to try to recreate it using MDS. I really loved the card she made and since I can't get to all my supplies right now, I thought why not give it a try this way! The first image will be the card front and the second is the inside of the card. I think it came out pretty darn good if I do say so myself. I tried uploading what will be the left hand side of the inside of the card, but blogger is being touchy tonight. I loved the layers and the stitching on Betsy's card. Oh, how I wish I could set up my sewing machine and use it on cards right now. I am missing playing around with all my crafting tools and paper and inks and just creating things. The craft building is coming along very slowly and my craft supplies are in boxes strewn all over the house and I have no real place to craft. It is so frustrating pulling stuff out, work on a little and pack up again, so I just don't even feel like working on anything at all. I can at least create things on MDS, thank goodness! It's not the same as layering real papers and adding ribbons and buttons, etc, but it will have to do for now. I know that I have not posted anything in a long time and I noticed that I even lost a couple of followers, so I apologize for not posting as often as I should, it just can't be helped right now. I will post things when I can and that's all I can do at this point. As soon as my building is done and I can dedicate more time, you will probably get sick of how much I post! lol. I appreciate all you gals that have hung in there with me, it really means a lot. I do have a few other things to share that I made using MDS and will try to post the next project in the next day or so. In the mean time, check out a couple of wonderful ladies blogs that I read almost daily. They are awesome and I get such inspiration from them. The first one is Betsy that I mentioned above. The second one is Melissa who has the sweetest blog. Both of these girls are so creative and talented!
So until next time.....
Hugs and Happy Stampin'! ~Lorrie

2 posts in 1 day! SHOCKER!!!

2010-10-31T12:04:00.001-04:00

Check THIS out for a fantastic give away!!
This is another kind of blog I love to stalk!
Hugs and Happy Stampin'! ~Lorrie

Hey there! Sorry to be a stranger.....

2010-10-31T11:51:00.000-04:00

Well, I've done it again. Not posted anything in a month! Sorry, it's just been weird and hectic around here. And with all these holidays and birthdays stacked up in the next couple of months, it's likely to get more than weird and hectic! Let me start by telling you a little about the first little "widget thingy" over there to the left. Taylor, at Taylored Expressions, has the neatest little online store, you gotta go visit. And she also has some great gift ideas for Christmas and has video taped them in a 12 Days of Christmas crafting series, so go check it out!! Taylor is the reason I started this blog. I happened upon her blog a few years ago and was in awe! I didn't even know what a blog was, but there she was, and I have been hooked on reading blogs ever since! Not just crafty blogs either. There are tons of different subjects out there, it seems like everyone has jumped on the blog wagon! I like to blog hop and see how other people have designed their blogs. Yes, I am a blog hopping junkie! If only I were as enthused about blogging on my own blog! I just haven't really worked on much in the crafting department lately. I'm still waiting on my craft building to be finished. We sorta ran out of mulah to get it completed. Dan is actually working on it a little bit today! Yippee Skippee! It might actually be done by March, 2011, which would be a year after we started working on it, lol. I am so ready for it to be finished, so I can decorate and get all my crafting supplies in ONE place. I would know where everything is and actually be able to get something done! Today, I am packing a few things up to go to my craftiest, best friend, Melissa's to create a little while. If my camera is working when I get home, I might actually post what we worked on. ;-)

So that's it for me right now. Hopefully I won't be such a slacker and post something again very soon! Until then......

Hugs and Happy Stampin'! ~Lorrie

What's been keeping me busy......

2010-09-26T09:52:00.002-04:00

I have been really busy at work creating invitations, gift cards and other miscellanious items for the boss's wife. The top invitation was my first submission to her, but she wanted a little more "mexican" flair since it is for a fiesta. I created the entire background using My Digital Studio accessories, like ribbons, designer papers, scallops and some stamps (all from the program). One thing I have learned since I started my job is that when they do invitations and cards, they like poems on them. Quippy little poems. I am so not a poet. The girl that used to come up with all these things was very poetic but so anal about it all. The poem had to have the perfect rhythm and all that poetry techno stuff, and she would spend hours on the poem alone. Me, on the other hand, I just find a card or two with the sentiment already done and kinda put them together and voila! I did have help with the wording on this one though. The second card is what she used as the final product. I got the image from Google, don't have a clue who to give credit to. My superviser emailed it to me and said "here, use this". I like both versions, but I like the first one better, because I fully created it myself from scratch and built it up to the final product. The second one is not my artwork, so I feel like I cheated. Oh, well. I did "X" out the address and phone numbers, but you still get the idea. Oh, and Alex is a girl. Not to offend anyone, but when I first read her email for the specifics, I thought mmmmmm. Alex and Trip? Then realized that it's Alexandra, Alex for short.

I have a few more things to share that I've been working on in My Digital Studio. I really like the program, but there are some things I would add or change. I will share the other projects asap!

Until then, Hugs and Happy Creating!

~Lorrie

Very "Vintagy"

2010-09-06T16:59:00.007-04:00

Is that a word? Vintagy? Well, it is now! I have a habit of making up words, but that's ok. That's what makes me, ME! So, this card is big and has a lot of stuff on it. At last count, it was 6 layers not including the ribbon. Do you count ribbon as a layer? hhmmmm... things to ponder. The card base is a 4x7 inch piece of Creamy Caramel. The next layers are as follows.....
1) a tea stained tag that I got at a scrapbook fair a while back
2) Tempting Turquoise card stock
3) a Polka Dot DP that was run through the Big Shot with Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and then swiped it all over with Creamy Caramel ink pad
4) a Sheet Music DP that was swiped with Creamy Caramel ink pad and sprayed with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch
5) Very Vanilla CS stamped with the frame from Notably Ornate and the "amour" from Artistic Etchings and embossed the bird from Always in Black EP
6) last but not least the sweet little frame from Tattered Angels framed font that I colored with Tempting Turquise marker, swiped with Chocolate Chip ink pad and sprayed with Vanilla Shimmer Smooch.
Boy, that was a mouth full! I also embossed a couple images from Artistic Etchings on the Tag layer. The ribbon was white organza that I sprayed with Log Cabin and Vanilla Shimmer Smooch and then heat it to make it crinkly and vintagy looking. The little blue and cream accent berries were left over from some floral picks from my daughter Amber's wedding bouquet. I have a lot of them left over and am trying to use them here and there. They match the colors for this card perfectly.

I don't why, but I have been making larger than "normal" sized cards lately. Sad thing is, I don't have any envelopes for them to fit in. Besides, with as fat as this card is, it would have to be mailed in a padded envelope anyway. What is your favorite sized card to make? Regular A2 size or mega big like this one?

One thing I want to try to work on next is scrapping on canvas. Have you seen this? It is awesome! You can see what I am talking about here or on Splitcoast. I really can't do that until I have everything set up in the not yet finished craft building. I just don't have the room in the house. But soon, very soon I hope, the building will be complete and ready for me to fill to the brim with all my craft goodies! The roof was finally completed today, next up is the siding and hooking up all the electrical stuff. I am getting too excited! I hope to have some updated pics on that very soon.

Well, I think that's it for me today! Until next time.....

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

2010-09-04T10:59:00.002-04:00

This is the other card I made for my cousin's baby shower. It matches the name banner. I love that designer paper! But all I can tell you is that it's from My Mind's Eye. The card base is Pretty in Pink. I distressed the edges and tore the DP to "expose" the cardstock and wrote "sweet" with a SU! marker. The E and the frame are from a Tattered Angels framed font that I colored with Copic Markers and then swiped with a Regal Rose ink pad and sprayed with SU! Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz. The ribbon is light pink organza that I crinkled using the heat gun. The pink buttons are just some that I had in my button stash.

Well, I think that's it for me today. Until next time.....

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

Emmaline's Name Banner - Full View

2010-08-29T13:24:00.001-04:00

This is a picture of how the banner looks hanging up.

Emmaline's Name Banner

2010-08-29T12:02:00.006-04:00

I'm back!!! Wow, two days in a row! So, as promised, this is the name banner that I made for my cousin's new granddaughter, Emmaline who is due in September. Each letter is stamped on Very Vanilla cardstock using the Letterpress Alphabet with Pixie Pink and rock-n-rolled with Regal Rose. The frames are from one of Tattered Angels framed alphabets. I colored each one with Copic Marker RV02 and then swiped Regal Rose ink pad and sprayed them with SU! Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz. Love that stuff!! It adds a very nice shimmer, very girly! Each framed letter is adhered to a Big Top die cut from different scraps of paper, but each one has pink, green or both to make them cohesive. I decorated the bottom of each with ribbons, lace, buttons, beads or brads. I used a pink flower eyelet at the top corners so I could string each letter on a long piece of baby pink tulle and tied the ends with hot pink ribbon to make loops to hang it by.

I think I might start offering these on Etsy as soon as the craft building is done. It's slow going on that big project though. We are sort of at a stand still with the roof and siding not completed. We haven't been able to get anyone over here to finish it. Then we have to find an electrician, and then complete the inside, so there's a lot to do. But, I am confident that it will get done and I will have the most awesome space to create in! I have so many ideas in my head on how to decorate. I really should write these things down before I forget! I want to really concentrate on storage ideas especially, because I have accumulated a lot of stuff over the years.

Well, I think that I have rambled enough for today! Hopefully I will have something more to share this week. Well, actually I do, it's just finding the time to sit down and blog it!

Until then....

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!~Lorrie

Baby Shower Card

2010-08-28T20:57:00.004-04:00

I made this for my Mom to give to my cousin's daughter who is having a little girl in September. Emmaline is going to be one spoiled little girl!! We went to her baby shower last Sunday and she got so many adorable little outfits. Makes me really miss when my girls were babies. Now they are all grown up into beautiful young women. My oldest, Amber, will be 22 next month. My goodness where has the time gone? She's the same age I was when I had her. I guess I should be looking forward to being a grandmommy before too long. Ooohhh, then I can buy all those sweet little baby clothes!

So anyway, this is one of the cards that I made for Emmaline's shower. It's really pink and girly! I love creating pink and girly things! I also made a name banner that I will post tomorrow. Yeah, don't be shocked that I might actually post twice in a week! I have been really bad about not posting in a long while, but life just seems to throw a bunch at me at once and I have to put some things on the back burner sometimes. Hope you can understand! I can't give too many specifics about this card because I used up a lot of scraps and can't remember where I got the papers. I can tell you that the card base is SU! Pretty in Pink and I also used Summer Sun for the sentiment and the layer behind the DP. The flower was made from scraps that sorta all coordinated punched with the Scallop Punch. I crumbled each one up after they were punched and then swiped them with a Pixie Pink ink pad. I also swiped the layers and the sentiment to distress them. The ribbon is scrunched seam binding that I got from MemrieMare on Etsy. I LOVE that stuff!!! I have used it a lot and just might have to run go buy some more!

So I think that will be it for tonight. I hope the rest of the weekend is fantabulous for you all!

Until next time.....

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!~Lorrie

Layers and layers of Happy Goodness!!

2010-08-01T19:33:00.003-04:00

I finally created something!! I had to create this at my dining room table, because the craft building is not complete yet and I really have no place else to work. But that will all change soon, I hope!! The building is coming along little by little, but it will be so worth the wait. I have been really thinking about wall color and decorating choices and where I want to put everything. I even made a little space planner.

So anyway, back to the card. This card is 5-1/2 inch square. I seem to be liking the bigger sized card lately. I made the flower weeks ago and had put it aside because it never seemed to quite fit anything else I was working on, but I think it works on this card. The tree image and the sentiment are from the February, 2010 monthly kit from Unity Stamp Company called "nothin' but blue skies". The little bird image is from SU! Happy Together stamp set. The images are all stamped with Tim Holtz Tea Dyed Distress Ink and colored in with Copics.

Supply List:

Papers: SU! Certain Celery and Pixie Pink; My Mind's Eye "Mary, Mary Happy Birthday" and "Little Miss Muffet's Delight" designer papers

Stamps: SU! Happy Together and French Script background stamp (on flower); Unity Stamp Co. "nothin' but blue skies"

Inks: Tim Holtz Tea Dyed Distress Ink; SU! Chocolate Chip and Pixie Pink (on flower)

Accessories: distress tool, Sizzix Square Lattice embossing folder, SU! flower punch, button, twine, stampin' dimensionals

Well, that's all for me today. Until next time....

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!~Lorrie

2010-07-10T21:46:00.003-04:00

I didn't realize that it's been this long since I posted. Things have been crazy busy around here and I haven't had a lot of time to craft much of anything. I did make a bunch of fabric flowers for a craft fair that my craftiest friend Melissa did last weekend. Unfortunately none of them sold. I am probably going to put them in my Etsy store. Mariah is working on taking pictures of them with her fancy schmancy professional camera, so I will post pics of them asap. A lot has happened in the last two months. Mariah was at The Art Institute in Charleston, but had to take a medical leave of absence. When she was in Charleston, I was going down there every weekend and bringing her home and then taking her back. We got to know I-26 very well. Being on the road so much did not give me a chance to do much crafting. When she moved back home, I had to pretty much pack up all my craft stuff and it's not easily accessible right now. But all of that is about to change!! Dan and my sweet brother Joel are building a big ol' craft "cottage" for me!!! I am beyond excited to have this space being built just for me! It is going to be 16x20 with a 4 foot front porch. I can not wait until it's complete so that I can start decorating it. I still can't decide what color walls I want. I love color, mostly bright and loud colors, so I am really struggling with that decision. I am almost tempted to paint each wall a different color. Then, I think maybe I should paint a neutral color on the walls and let all the accessories be the color. Oh, decisions!!! What colors do you prefer in your craft space?

Here are a few pics of the progress on the building so far. The rest of the roof is going on this week. It's been really hot here so far this summer and Dan and Joel are working so hard for me. I really appreciate them. I can't even imagine working on a roof in 100 degree weather! They are my heroes!!

Hopefully I won't wait another 2 months to post something! I'm sorry I've been such a slacker. Just haven't been in much of a crafty mood lately, but I really hope that all changes when the building is done :)

Hugs and Happy Everything'!~Lorrie

2010-05-11T21:38:00.003-04:00

This is the card that I made for my Mom for Mother's Day. It is so big, 5 1/2 X 5 1/2 inches square, that I had to make an envelope to put it in. The top photo is the envelope that I made out of a brown paper bag. I cut it down to the size I needed it for the card and stamped one of the images from Vintage in a random pattern all over the bag in Cameo Coral. I then rubbed Cameo Coral and Creamy Caramel ink pads all over it. I sewed around three of the edges with Linen Thread (I pierced the holes first). The card base is Cameo Coral with layers of Creamy Caramel and Blush Blossom, each one stamped with random images from Vintage. One of the layers of Cameo Coral was cut out using the Large Square Scallop die cut. On top of that layer is Certain Celery and then Blush Blossom stamped with Fresh Cuts, colored in with Copics and run through the Big Shot with an embossing folder. I rubbed a Cameo Coral ink pad across all the raised parts. The ribbon is scrunched seam binding. The flower was made by stamping random images all over a piece of Blush Blossom paper, punching 6 Scallop Circles out and then embossing them. They were then scrunched up, then stacked and attached all together with a green jewel brad. The sentiment was stamped on Certain Celery, punched out with Oval Scallop punch and adhered with dimensionals. The frame is from a Maya Road framed alphabet chip board set that I just rubbed a Creamy Caramel and Cameo Coral ink pad over it and adhered it with dimensionals. All of the layers are distressed with the distressing tool and then sponged with either Creamy Caramel or Cameo Coral or both.

Well that's it for me tonight. Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day. I know I did!

Until next time....

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

Grunge Board.... how I love thee......

2010-05-01T16:57:00.004-04:00

but am still a little intimidated by you! I bought some Tim Holtz Grunge Board at a Stamp/Craft Show back in February and could not wait to make something with it, that is until I opened the package and my mind totally went blank. All of a sudden, I had no clue what to do with it. I mean, what if I cut into it and then totally screw it up?! I thought long and hard before I decided on this little what ever it is, lol. I think it would look cute hanging amongst some pictures on a wall or on a desk. I have a cute little "coat hanger" that I could hang it up with. Sorry the pic is so dark. I had a real hard time photographing it, but it is very shabby chic and textured in real life. I cut the Grungeboard out using Top Note die cut and then sponged Old Olive color on it. I stamped the leaf image and the Friends images from Vintage Vogue in Chocolate Chip. The cute little frame is from Tattered Angels. I sponged it with Creamy Caramel and then rubbed a little Chocolate Chip over it. I adhered it using dimensionals. The flower is made by stamping the same leaf image from Vintage Vogue in Creamy Caramel and the flower images in Cameo Coral on a piece of Pretty in Pink paper and then punched out eight flowers with the Flower Punch. I then scrunched each piece and then sponged with Creamy Caramel. The flowers are adhered together with dimensionals and finished off with a metal heart shaped button. I added some tulle that I sponged with Creamy Caramel to the back of the flower as well.

So that's it for me today! Until next time,

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

No stamping, but it's still cute!

2010-04-25T16:05:00.003-04:00

One of the girls at work bought some of these from a boutique here in Lexington for our boss' wife and you know me, I absolutely had to try and make one! It is a "bib" necklace or "statement" necklace and they are so hot right now. I hadn't heard of them before she brought them in the office, but a quick Google search and a look on Etsy brought up hundreds of them. I am thrilled at how mine turned out. I have so many ideas for more, too. I made each flower with cotton material which I ripped in 1 inch wide by 12 inch long strips. I then twisted and wrapped each one until I got the rose shape. I used hot glue to hold it together as I wrapped it. All of my material was white or had a white background and after the roses were made, I sprayed them each with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist "Tattered Rose" color. The base for the necklace is black Easy Felt from Hobby Lobby. It is more rigid than regular felt. I cut out the piece using this template. I forgot to cut out a little scoop at the top so it would lay against the neck better. I will definitely do that for the next one I make. Next I added some black lace trim and also some light pink scrunched seam binding that I bought on Etsy here. I glued the roses into place and them sewed some big white pearl like beads around the flowers. I then tucked some black tulle in between the roses and glued in place. When it was all put together, I cut another piece of softer felt the same size as the base and glued a piece of black ribbon between the two pieces of felt.

I also made a pin version using the same roses, but I haven't taken any pics of that yet. Mariah has confiscated the necklace. She loves it! It was almost like I made it just for her. I think she must have been on my mind the whole time I was making it.

I know I have been really quiet on here lately, but I have a legitimate excuse, ahem, reason. Mariah started at the Art Institute in Charleston and I have spent the last few weeks a.) Moving her down there and b.) Driving back and forth bringing her home for one reason or another. She's home this weekend for a doctor's appointment tomorrow and then it's back down I-26 we go! Also, I have been super busy at work doing one crafty project after another and really didn't have any craft energy left when I got home. They sucked all my craftiness right out of me! I am slowly getting back into the crafty mood, though. This weekend I have been working on a decorated hat for my boss' wife to wear to a Kentucky Derby themed birthday party. I will definitely post pics of it this week! It really is turning out cute!

Also, Dan is in the process of building my new craft building!!! It is going to be 12 X 20 including a small front porch. I can not wait until it is done, so I can decorate it and move all my stuff into one place. I will also have plenty of room to have some friends over to scrapbook/craft with me. Now that's what I am most excited about! I will be taking pics during construction, so look forward to a post from beginning to end. I just can't decide what colors to paint the walls. I guess I have some time to decide, though. It won't be completely built for a few weeks. In the mean time, I will just have to keep crafting and creating in Mariah's bedroom and on the dining room table.

Well, that's it for me today! Until next time......

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

2010-03-17T18:30:00.002-04:00

I saw this on Splitcoast and had to try it. I don't remember who posted it though. It is a card cut out of two pieces of Barely Banana with the largest Spellbinders scallop die cut. The wings are the SU! Scallop Punch and then just cut in half and in half again at sort of an angle to make it look pie shaped. The eyes are Whisper White cs from 3/4" circle punch, Basic Black cs from the 1/4" circle punch, Barely Banana cs from 3/4 " punch and then cut in half and little googlie eyes. The beak is a square piece of Pumpkin Pie cs folded in half. I colored "cheeks" in with a pink marker The feet are from the flower punch with two of the petals cut off. The two pieces of the card are held together by punching two holes side by side at the top and then weaving ribbon through. I sponged all the edges with Barely Banana ink. I love how she turned out, even if there is no stamping.

Well that's it for me today. Until next time,

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

2010-02-27T16:56:00.002-05:00

This is a card that I created for my last card class. The card base is Creamy Caramel with layers of Chocolate Chip and Cameo Coral. I created my own background paper by stamping the French Script background stamp in Creamy Caramel and then I stamped the flowers from Vintage Vogue in Cameo Coral and rock-n-rolled in Basic Brown. The vine, also from Vintage Vogue was stamped in Basic Brown and the leaves were stamped in Old Olive. The butterfly is a Sizzix die cut from Chocolate Chip and then run through an embossing folder (I can't remember the name of it, though). The sentiment is from Well Scripted. I purchased Vintage Vogue and Well Scripted in the new clear mount version and I LOVE them!!! Not only will they save room, they are cheaper, which means I can buy MORE stamps! I was a little skeptical at first, but Stampin' Up! always puts out a quality product, so why was I worried??!

Well, that's it for me today. Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

2010-02-14T11:52:00.003-05:00

**EDITED TO CORRECT TEMPLATE LINK**

This is a tear off calendar that we made in my class last weekend. The base is a 4x4 chipboard coaster covered in SU Sending Love specialty designer series paper. The flower and leaf are from the SU stitched felt Sweet Pea pack. I used heart shaped eyelets and white organza for the hanger. You could add a magnet to the back instead. The calendar part is attached with silver brads. I got the calendar template from Splitcoast Stampers and here is the link.

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302295

I was having trouble opening it before, so I hope that it works for you. This was such an easy project. I think the hardest thing was cutting out the calendar pieces to be all the same size.

Well, that's it for me today. Until next time....

Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

gee....

2010-01-08T18:37:00.005-05:00

I realized how long it's been since I posted anything when people started unsubscribing right and left! Sorry, it was not intentional, time has just gotten away from me. The holidays were busy with family and we were really busy at work the whole month of December. We are finally a little slow at work and I got all my Christmas decorations put away and the house almost back in order. I have also stumbled upon a new love. Cottage style decorating blogs. Yep, I'm addicted. I have always loved to see how other people decorate their homes and especially love watching HGTV shows about decorating, so this should have come as no surprise to me that I would love reading blogs as well. I just never realized they existed. Until, I started looking at the blog roll of Melissa Phillips (whom I secretly stalk on a regular basis). I love Melissa's stamp/craft style. If you've seen her work, how can blame me? If you haven't seen it, you MUST go now!! Come back to see me though ;) I'll try to do better with updating. So anyway, I have really been into reading those type of blogs for the last few weeks and am totally in awe at some of the homes I have seen. I thought, "Wow, I totally love this style and really want to decorate that way!". And then started looking around my house and realized that I already do in most ways. I always thought of my style as eclectic, a mix of old and new. Turns out, I guess I have been decorating in the Cottage/Shabby/Country style almost my whole adult life! So, if you are interested in this kinda thing, here is a list of some of the blogs I have been reading: Dear Daisy Cottage, Fresh Vintage, The Old Painted Cottage, and Cherry Hill Cottage.

So in addition to trying to post more, I am also going to be adding a blog roll again and updating it often so I can share more wonderful stamper's and decorator's blogs with you.

Above are some pics of my displays from the craft fairs that I did at the end of 2009 that I promised to show you a month ago. Yeah, I know, I'm slack! I also hope to have some projects completed this weekend to share with you. So until then.....

Hugs and Happy Stampin'/Craftin'/Decoratin'!

~Lorrie

2009-12-24T10:41:00.002-05:00

Mariah took these Christmas photos and I wanted to share her wonderful talent with all of you! Our house is warm and toasty on this chilly Christmas Eve morning. The smell of delicious honey ham baking is drifting through the house, all of our presents are wrapped and under the tree waiting to be opened, a funny Christmas movie is on tv and we are getting ready to deliver some gifts to some special friends. I am so blessed with a wonderful family and sweet friends, including my bloggy friends and I don't think that I could ask for more! Thank you so much for hanging in there with me this year, it's been a tough one, but 2o10 is looking so good! Here's to wishing you all Christmas Merries and New Year Happies! Love to you all!

Hugs and Happy Everything!

~Lorrie

Hey ya'll!

2009-12-18T18:18:00.004-05:00

I have been really busy getting Christmas stuff ready and boy have we been busy little Santa's helpers at work! For the last three weeks, I have made 30+ gift baskets for clients and have been wrapping gifts like crazy. This is a picture of some of the gift baskets we put together and our clients loved them! They are stuffed to the brim with goodies!

I also participated in a craft fair last weekend and had a really good turnout. I will post some pics of my table as soon as I can get them uploaded.

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas....

2009-12-06T08:58:00.003-05:00

This is a floral arrangement that I made for my craftiest friend Melissa's birthday. She had the choice of a paper craft or a floral one and she chose floral. I'm glad she did because I am really thrilled with how this turned out and she loved it! It is full of greenery and carnations and little pinecones and even has a sweet little red bird sitting on the top. I got the sleigh from Carolina Pottery for a steal, only $7! They had some larger ones that I really should have bought for myself, but they were probably snatched up quickly. I have really enjoyed making floral arrangements for a while, but paper crafting will always be my "thing". Some paper crafting has been done this past week and as soon as I can find some decent batteries for my camera, I'll get them posted. Well, I am off to stamp 30 Christmas cards for my job. Hope to see ya'll again real soon.

Until then, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

Peaceful Tidings

2009-11-29T22:16:00.002-05:00

This is another Christmas ornament made from a coaster. I just love this size which is 4" square. I swiped the sides of the coaster with a Pretty in Pink ink pad and then covered the front and back with retired SU! Designer Paper. I really wish that I had bought more of it, it's so pretty! I have had the little bird for a while and am just now using it. It was actually a chipboard and I really wanted to use it again and again, so I traced it onto Whisper White cs, cut out, stamped the swirly image from Wings of Friendship in Going Gray ink and then covered the whole bird with Iridescent Ice ep. The little leaves were punched out of a piece of Old Olive that I covered in Iridescent Ice ep. The buttons are from SU!'s Fresh Favorites I button pack. I also added a little piece of silver cord to each button. The ribbon is from a retired ribbon originals pack. The sentiment is from a rub-on pack. Before the bird and leaves were added, I covered the whole thing in Iridescent Ice ep to make it extra sparkly! I like sparkly!

So that's it for today! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

My sweet girl in pink

2009-11-28T12:26:00.002-05:00

This was created using SU!'s My Digital Studio. Mariah's birthday was this past Tuesday and I got her a chocolate chip cookie birthday cake and of course it had to be pink! She is a pink girl. She has more pink clothes than anyone I know. When you look in her closet, it's like pink exploded in there! So you know I had to create a pink page for her. I found this sweet pink frame HERE. I love all of it!! I downloaded all the color frames, so I'm pretty sure that you will see some of them again. I am starting to really like the digital stuff, although I am not nearly as professional as my bestest crafty friend Melissa. I've got nothin' on her in the digital craftin' area at all! She calls me the Queen of Everything (yes, it's a stolen title from Mary Engelbreit), but she is definitely the Queen of all things Digital cuteness! I can't compete with her there!
Mariah wasn't feeling too well on her birthday, so that's why she isn't giving me her best smile. She started a new medication for seizures the night before her birthday and it made her feel really loopy. I really hope that this new medication works better and she can become seizure free. This has been such a hard few months on her. Not knowing why she is having them and not knowing when she might have one. It's really hard for me to watch my child go through this. I just feel almost helpless. But, we go back to the neurologist on Monday and I am going to request an MRI. Please keep her in your prayers for some good news!

So that's all for today folks! Until next time we meet, Hugs & Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

Happy Christmas!

2009-11-09T20:55:00.003-05:00

I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet! But I am getting ready for another craft fair and am trying to get some Christmas ornaments made. I really like making them out of coasters. I purchased a bunch from a lady that was in my sideline group. She bought them in bulk online. I have also shamelessly taken the ones at Chili's and Olive Garden. Don't worry, I asked the waitress, lol. The ones that were purchased online are larger and sturdier than those at the restaurants. Anyway, here is one that I made last night. It is about 4" square. I covered it with retired SU! Designer Paper. The image is from Good Cheer and is colored in with SU! markers. I then covered the whole thing in Iridescent Ice EP. The lace, trim and button are from my stash of goodies that I have collected over the years. The red beads are extra pieces from some Christmas tree garland and the clear beads are left overs from another project. Sorry the picture is so dark. My new stamp area is a little darker than where I had it before, so the pictures don't come out as well. I will figure out a way to fix up a little photography "studio" to take better pictures.

Well, until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!!!

~Lorrie

Hello...

2009-10-29T18:48:00.002-04:00

How have ya'll been? I have been pretty busy with work, kids, ect. My new job is going very well and I am getting in the swing of things again after not working for so long.

I made this card for a class a few weeks ago. Sorry the picture isn't great. The card base is Perfect Plum layered with Summer Sun and SU! dp (I don't remember the name). The image is from Dreams du Jour stamped on Very Vanilla with Timber Brown Stazon and colored in with SU! markers. The image is mounted on Pale Plum. The ribbon is retired from SU!

Well that's all for today! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

If there is anyone out there....

2009-10-20T22:07:00.002-04:00

still hanging in there...... waiting on me to post something...... well, better late than never? Oh my goodness, what craziness came with October! I started a new job after being unemployed since April and I think that I am finally getting into a routine, when wham! Got hit by some aweful sick bug! Dakota and I both were sick this whole past weekend and still have that lingering hacky cough, but atleast we don't have fevers and chills and yuck. Just a cough that sounds like a foghorn. I think we are in a contest to see which one of us can cough up an internal organ. But enough about the illness, on to the cuteness!

I made this a couple weeks ago, but didn't have a camera to take pictures of it. Yeah, I know, story of my life. Anywho, isn't it cute? This is a little basket/bucket made with the Pillow Box die cut. You can find the tutorial HERE. It is super easy and so versatile, use it for almost any occassion. Since it is Fall, I decided to use Fall colors, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel and retired SU Designer Paper. I also ran each of the Pillow Boxes through a embossing folder before assembly. The sentiment is from the Yummy stamp set. I put crinkle paper in the basket and plan to fill it with yummy chocolates.

So, I hope to be able to take some more pics of some other cute things and share them with you soon. Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

I made my own blog banner!!!

2009-10-12T21:51:00.002-04:00

Yep, that's right! I made it using My Digital Studio. Ain't it purdy?! I am so addicted to this program, well, when I get the free time to play. I started a new job 2 weeks ago after being unemployed since April and boy is it hard to get back into the swing of things. I know that I told ya'll before that I would post more often and I'm sorry I haven't. I am trying to get back into the swing of juggling work, kids and stamp time. And I finally got my camera back from my child who has had it for some time now. So now I can actually take pics of stuff I've made. As soon as I clean off my desk so I'll have a place to take those pictures, I'll get all the new stuff posted, including pics from the craft fair table from a couple weeks ago. I really appreciate all of you that visit my blog, even though I have been a big slacker lately. Thanks for hanging in there and not giving up on me yet. I'll see ya'll soon!!

~Lorrie

I am so lovin' the new My Digital Studio!!!

2009-09-22T22:42:00.002-04:00

Oh my goodness! This program is so easy to use! This is the first project that I created and I am so excited! It took no time at all, except that I had a really hard time choosing from all the elements there are. This was made from scratch, I chose all the elements and placed them where I wanted. I have done two more layouts using a template that is available. So far I am in love!!! I had heard that it was easy and boy they weren't lying! I have never tried digital scrapbooking before and I am computer stupid for the most part, so I was a little skeptical, especially when I couldn't get it to install at first. Turns out that my computer was totally screwed up and it had nothing to do with the software. So, now my computer is back to normal (well as normal as it gets with a kid using it all the time, lol) and I can play, play, play with this new product! I gotta take some more pics to work with now. And then fight with the kid to use the computer, lol!

I still have to take pics of the cards from Saturday's card class and post them, so be on the look out for those as well as the other projects that I made with the My Digital Studio. And if you are interested in the software, I will be absolutely delighted to help you order it!

Thanks for stopping by today! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin', or Scrappin' or Craftin', which ever the case may be!

~Lorrie

Merry Christmas ornament

2009-09-20T17:58:00.004-04:00

This is a Christmas ornament that I made using the Top Note die cut, just like in the last post with the Boo Banner. The base is a piece of chipboard covered with a piece of SU! designer paper that has been retired. I am trying to use up all my scraps and retired stuff to make room for NEW stuff!! The sentiment is from Good Cheer. I love this set, it's so cute and sweet, even though there are only 3 stamps in the set. My first attempt at coloring the Santa and reindeer stamp in the set wasn't too great, but I will make it into something this week anyway. I stamped the sentiment on Old Olive with Timber Brown Stazon and distressed the edges. I adhered a scallop punched piece of Real Red to the bottom and added a frayed piece of ribbon above it. The ribbon is called Sleigh Bells. I just frayed the ends by pulling a few threads. The holly leaves are stamped on Old Olive, colored with markers, cut out and mounted on top of the ribbon with pop dots. I added a Jumbo Eyelet to each top corner and then thread the same ribbon through and then added brads to hold the ends of the ribbon together. And voila! A sweet little Christmas ornament! I want to make several more like this for the upcoming craft fair.

I had my second card class of the month at out local leisure center. Only one lady showed up, but it was well worth it. She loved everything we made. That is what I love about being a SU! demonstrator. Inspiring even one person is so gratifying. I love sharing this little bitty craft with other people!

So that's it for today. I have to take pictures of the other cards and projects I've been working on so that I can share them with all of you!

Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

BOO!

2009-09-17T08:17:00.003-04:00

I made this for an upcoming craft fair. I used the Top Note die cut and various other die cuts. I also used some of the retired SU! designer paper that I've been hoarding. The other papers I used are Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Whisper White, Basic Black and a little Barely Banana (behind the pumpkin to make his eyes, nose and mouth show up better). The base of each piece is chip board cut out with the Top Note die cut and then the dp over that. The ribbon that holds it all together came in a little pack from the "T" store. The scallops are cut out using die cut from another company. I hope SU! comes out with something like that soon!

As many of you have probably heard, Stampin' Up has changed the demonstrator agreement to add a few new rules that basically restrict us from mentioning competing company names or having links to competing companies on our blogs, email, ect. Which is fine with me because I am somewhat of a Stampin' Up snob. I have yet to find stamps or paper or many other products we sell that are better. I mean, SU!'s quality is great! Plus I do get a discount :) There are a lot of demonstrators that are upset about it, but it is their perogative to quit if they want. I can tell you that I won't be quitting any time soon. It just seems like good business to promote "my" business instead of sending people to the competitor. This will also explain why my blog looks a little different. I deleated my blog roll because, again we are not supposed to have links to other companies and I don't know what content might be put on someone else's blog. Maybe that's taking it to the extreme, but I wanted to be "safe". I may add another blog roll at a later date. There are several blogs that I read or look at just for inspiration. I hope that my blog is that for some of you. I promise to try to post a little more often than I have lately. Life has just been getting in the way of stamping and blogging. But I will try to do better.

I have started a new card making/paper crafting class at my local Leisure Center, so if any of you live in my area (Lexington, SC) and would like to attend, they will be held at the Lexington Leisure Center every 1st and 3rd Saturday from 10:00 to 12:00 and the cost is $15.00. That means my next class is THIS Saturday!!! I will post the cards that I created for this class over the next few days.

So, if you are still with me, sorry it was such a ramblin' post today! I get a little carried away sometimes :)

Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

WHEW!!!

2009-09-01T08:43:00.003-04:00

I haven't been blogging lately because......
I am working on getting my daughter's room cleaned, painted, new flooring and decorated.........
to set up as my new stamp space!
Well, she's going to share her bedroom with me. She has moved into the dorms at Columbia College which is about 20 minutes away from home and took almost everything with her. She wanted to make it as homey as possible. Her room is pretty barren right now, only a bed and night side table, while I paint and install the laminate flooring. It will still be her room when she comes home on the weekends and over the holidays. She is such a sweet girl to allow me to take part of it over. For the past two years my craft area has been in the tiny little foyer in my house. I am excited to actually have a little more room to create in. I will post pics of before, during and after as soon as it's all done. I may need a little break for my knees to recover from laying that flooring, but I will post some new creations soon, too! Until then, wish me luck for a speedy room transformation!

~Lorrie

Tri-Shutter Card

2009-08-17T20:16:00.004-04:00

I am really getting brave trying these new fold techniques! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE techniques, but different card folds intimidate me for some reason. But, my bestest crafty friend Melissa made one of these and it was so pretty I had to try it! The hardest thing about this card was figuring out which papers to use. The only 12x12 thicker card stock I had was this green, an orange and a white. I wasn't in the mood to use orange and the white just wasn't doin' it for me either, so I went with the green. It made me think Christmas, so that's what I went with. The DP is from the SU! Holiday Treasures. I also used the retired Riding Hood Red. I made an accordian flower for the main focal point, but the center is something something a little different. I had a bunch of Christmas ornaments that had broken and being the pack rat that I am, I could not bring myself to throw away the little metal top on them. So, I flattened it and then I rubbed alcohol ink on it, blending different colors until I got the desired shade of red. I also added a button in the center that I used alcohol inks on. I then embossed the whole thing with Iridescent Ice ep and adhered it to the accordian flower to make the center. The directions on how to make the accordian flower can be found HERE. (When you get a few minutes, you have to check out Kelly's blog, it's awesome!) The swirls on the top and bottom center panels are from Season of Joy that I stamped and embossed with Iridescent Ice ep. The sentiment is from Cute and Curly stamped in Riding Hood Red and cut out. You can find the technique instructions HERE.
Hope you enjoyed today's post! I am working on some other projects and hope to get them posted soon. Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!
~Lorrie

2009-08-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

Stair Step Fold Card

2009-08-16T16:02:00.003-04:00

My first attempt at a stair step fold card. Not too bad, but I learned my lesson on a few points for how to put a card like this together. First I learned to not use patterned paper over the folds because (if you can see it) on the first fold, my dp ripped a little. Second, there is really no reason to decorate the last (back) folded piece because it doesn't really show unless the card is completely opened. But all in, all I think it turned out ok. My card base is Pretty in Pink with a piece of DP from SU! Raspberry Tart paper on top. The butterfly is from SU! butterfly Big Shot die cut and is cut from a piece of Pretty in Pink and a piece of the DP, layered together and adhered with a dimensional. The next fold is the main image which is a sentiment from Great Friend stamped on Pretty in Pink, punched with the Scallop Punch and layered on DP and Pretty in Pink cut using the Nestabilities Scallop Circle. The third fold panel is DP layered on Pretty in Pink punched with Scallop Border Punch and added dots with a SU! marker. The flowers on the second and third layers were given to me by my bestest crafty friend Melissa (thanks Mel!), but I'm not sure what company made them. The picture below shows the card all opened up! You can find the tutorial on how to make this type of card HERE.

Hope you enjoy! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

2009-08-16T15:52:00.002-04:00

How's about a Tax FREE weekend? eh?

2009-08-05T16:28:00.002-04:00

That's right! The state of South Carolina is having a sales tax holiday from August 7 - 9. Because school supply items are included in this sales tax holiday, the below list of items will be tax free during the holiday period. Please note that you must place your order with Stampin’ Up! during the tax holiday period in order to receive these items tax free.

Uni-ball Signo gel pen, 105021, $3.95
Basic Black Stampin’ Write journaler, 105394, $3.25
Stampin’ Write markers, various, $3.25
Many Marvelous Markers, 105541, $125.95
Watercolor Pencils, 101879, $19.95
Watercolor Wonder Crayons Bold Brights, 106695, $19.95
Watercolor Wonder Crayons Earth Elements, 106696, $19.95
Watercolor Wonder Crayons Rich Regals, 106698, $19.95
Watercolor Wonder Crayons Soft Subtles, 106697, $19.95
Watercolor Wonder Crayons Neutrals, 106746, $9.95
Stampin’ Pastels, 105542, $24.95
Craft & Rubber scissors, 103179, $19.95
Paper snips, 103579, $9.95
Craft & Paper scissors, 108360, $29.95
Pencil sharpener, 100745, $4.95
Blender pens, 102845, $9.95
2-Way Glue Pen, 100425, $3.50
SNAIL adhesive, 104332, $6.95
SNAIL refill, 104331, $4.50
Mini Glue Dots, 103683, $4.95
Pop-Up Glue Dots, 104183, $3.95
Stampin’ Dimensionals, 104430, $3.95
Anywhere Glue Stick, 104045, $3.95
Dotto, 103305, $12.95
Dotto refill, 100902, $6.50
Sticky Strip, 104294, $6.95
Tombow Adhesive, 110755, $3.95

You can place your order online here or contact me!

Become a part of something BIG!!!!

2009-07-16T09:47:00.007-04:00

You read that right!

From July 15 - August 31, you can become a Stampin' Up! demonstrator for only $85!
This special, limited-time Mini Starter Kit contains many of the items you need to get started in your new business, including:

For All You Do stamp set
In Color Classic Stampin' Pads (6)
Whisper White card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
In Color assorted card stock (8-1/2" x 11")
Business forms and tools

What a GREAT way to join the Stampin' Up! family and own your own business!!

Email me with any questions at lorrietori@msn.com. I'd be happy to talk to you!

Or you can go directly to my Stampin' Up! website and sign up! So easy to do!

http://www.lorriesimons.stampinup.net/

Just go to my website and look for the Start Your Own Business button at the top right hand side!

Embossed Butterflies

2009-07-11T00:09:00.002-04:00

This is a little creation that I came up with last week and I absolutely love how it turned out! My bestest crafty friend Melissa (yes I know I always call her that, but she is!!!!) and I bought a very pretty paper pack and split it, but I can't remember what company it's from. Mel if you're reading this, leave a comment so we'll all know what company made this gorgeous paper! Anyway, I had these leftover butterflies sitting on my desk and they were begging me to add them to this paper! Seriously! Does that ever happen to you? Ok, enough babbling, lol! I didn't want to cover up too much of the pretty paper, so the butterflies seemed like a good way to go. Then I thought that rub-ons would be a nice little touch but not take away too much from the paper. And since I had already broken in my sewing machine a couple days before, why not add a little stitching? It's odd how our creative brains work, isn't it? Or atleast mine anyway :)

The card base and other layer are the new In Colors, Melon Mambo and Crushed Curry. So pretty together and matched the dp perfectly. The butterflies looked a little "naked", so I just wrapped some silver cording around them for the body and antenaes.

Here are all the ingredients for this card:

Paper: Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry, unknown DP

Ink: none

Accessories: Butterflies Sizzix die cut, D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug embossing folder, Versa Mark, Iridescent Ice ep, Stampin' Up rub-ons, silver cording, sewing machine

I think that's it! Hope you enjoyed tuning in today!! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

P.S: I keep messin' up the name of the In Color Melon Mambo. For some reason I want to type Mambo Melon or Melon Mango! So if I screw up the name and don't catch it, just laugh! Remember how I got my blog name? It's because I heard someone accidently say Pickled Tink instead of Tickled Pink and it reminded me of myself, but I liked it! I'm always saying things bassackwards!

Cardboard Box Card

2009-07-09T09:17:00.005-04:00

Last week's Ways to Use it Challenge on Splitcoast was to use a piece of corrugated cardboard on your cards or projects and this is what I came up with! The image is from my bestest crafty friend Melissa's stash, so I'm not sure who made it. I've had this image stamped and colored for a while and thought it would be perfect to go with the cardboard, the only thing I did was sponged Creamy Caramel over the whole image to age it. I cut it out and mounted it on Chocolate Chip to make it stand out better. The card base is Old Olive with a layer of Cameo Coral with the sentiment from Elegant Cheer stamped in Brown Stazon in the right hand corner. I peeled the piece of corrugated cardboard apart by wetting the top layer and just pulling it off to expose the corrugated part. This still felt a little too bulky to put on the card, so I also pulled off the back layer to leave only the inside corrugated part. I then kinda smooshed it to soften the ridges a little. The ribbon is a piece of pink organza that I've had for a while, can't remember where I got it, sorry. I just tied it in a bow. Someone left a comment on Splitcoast that the cardboard looked soft and I didn't think so before until I read that. It does look soft, which is kinda strange. I personally never thought to use cardboard in this manner, but it looks good!

Well that's it for today! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'! Hope ya'll have a happy Friday!

~Lorrie

CC225 ~ Safron Krafty Nights

2009-07-04T09:08:00.002-04:00

This week's Color Challenge on Splitcoast was to use Night of Navy, So Safron and Kraft. These colors are so pretty together, kinda sophistocated, don't ya think?! My card base is Kraft, with a layer of Night of Navy that was punched at the bottom with the Eyelet Border punch and then a piece of K&Company dp (which I LOOOOOVEE!!!). The image is from Friends 24-7 colored in with SU! markers on Whisper White and double mounted on So Safron that was distressed and Night of Navy. The ribbon is a So Safron grosgrain ribbon and the button is SU! clear with a piece of leftover organza from the wedding. The button is double mounted on circles punched from the dp and Night of Navy. So that's it!

I have made two more cards this week to share with you! I think I'm on a roll! I also am trying to tackle the Ways to Use it challenge which involves using a piece of corrugated cardboard. It seems like it would be simple, but I'm not having an easy time with it. Check back again in a day or two to see what I come up with. Not promising that it will be great, but hey, it's something! lol

Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!!

~Lorrie

NEW In Colors!

2009-07-01T10:27:00.002-04:00

Lovin' the New In Colors that are now available starting today! The new catalog is chocked full of wonderful goodness!!!!! The image on this card is a new hostess set, isn't it precious?! I colored directly onto the rubber with markers, huffed (to add moisture ;), and then stamped. The card base is the new Melon Mambo layered with Crushed Curry and a piece of the new Razzleberry Lemonade DP. Love it!!! The sentiment is stamped on Melon Mambo and punched out with the Scallop Circle, then added dots to each scallop with a marker.

I have another card to share, it's from yesterday's Color Challenge on Splitcoast. Hooray, I did one almost on time!!!! The colors are Night of Navy (I read it wrong the first time and almost used Not Quite Navy. Those names are too close!), So Safron and Kraft. So, I'll post the card as soon as I get a good pic!

Until then, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

CC224 ~ Pacific Tango Summer

2009-06-30T22:23:00.002-04:00

This is for last Tuesday's Color Challenge on Splitcoast. Yeah, I know, I'm late again. I finally got my camera back, but it took me awhile to get used to it again, therefore, I didn't get a good pic of this until this morning. It's still a little dark, but it's better than the other 30 pics I took of just this one card, lol! So, the colors for last week's challenge were Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango and Summer Sun. I'm really sad that Pacific Point and Tangerine Tango are retiring as last year's In Colors, but the NEW In Colors are awesome! Wait until you see them, if you haven't already! Well, I'm gonna make this post a little short and just give the list of stuff used. It's getting late and I'm very tired. Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

Stamps: Changito monkies (LOVE IT!!!)

Paper: Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun, Whisper White

Ink: Black Stazon, SU! Markers

Accessories: Traffic Jam and Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folders, Crystal Effects (on the monkey's tongue and "spit?!")

~Lorrie

Inspiration Challenge - IC185

2009-06-22T15:12:00.003-04:00

This card is for Saturday's Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoast. The inspiration was from the website called Bugaboo's. They sell the most adorable baby shoes. I went by two different shoes for my card. This one and this one. See, I told you they were cute! The card is pretty simple so I'll just list the products I used.

Stamps: none :(

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink, Whisper Whisper White

Accessories: Eyelet Punch, SU! rubons, corner punch, pape piercer

That's it for today! Hope you all have a great Monday!

~Lorrie

I'm tinkerin' again

2009-06-21T00:41:00.002-04:00

with the blog looks. I just can't seem to get it the way I like it. I really want to LOVE it and it hasn't happened yet. So that's why you will every so often see it change. I guess it depends on my mood. I kind of like this one, for a while anyway. I am tempted to hire someone to design exactly what I want because I can't really find "it" on any of the free download websites. So, if you know of someone who is not all that expensive, but talented, leave me a message with their website. It would be greatly appreciated!

Ta ta for now!
~Lorrie

CC223

2009-06-20T12:16:00.003-04:00

This is for Tuesday's Color Challenge over on Splitcoast. Breezy Ruby Whispers. Catchy name, huh? Hey, I don't come up with them! The colors are Baja Breeze, Ruby Red and Whisper White. The colors seemed very "country" to me, so that's the direction I took. The card base is Ruby Red with the retired French Script background stamped in Ruby Red. The imagea are Rustic Rooster and Bella Toile Background, stamped on Whisper White, colored in with Prismacolor pencils and the blended with odorless mineral spirits and a paper stump. My friend Melissa just found out about this technique and shared it with me. She also shared some of the mineral spirits and gave me one of her paper stumps. She is the bestest crafy friend a girl could ever have!!! She's also better at this technique than I am, lol! Love ya Mel! So, back to the card. (I know, I ramble). I also stamped the Linen background in Baja Breeze over the Bella Toile image to give it some extra texture. It is then layered on Baja Breeze and also added a Ruby Red corner layer. The Baja Breeze layer is Bella Toile stamped with Baja Breeze and layered on Whisper White. If you haven't noticed, there are a lot of layers on this card! lol. I think I might have said layered about eight times!

I found out earlier today that I'm getting my camera back next week!!!! I am so excited! The camera I've been using isn't the greatest and does not take the best pics, so I can't wait to get my "good" camera back!

Well, that's all for today folks! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

More embossed butterflies

2009-06-15T09:35:00.004-04:00

This card took forever to make! I started on it at my friend Melissa's house about 2 weeks ago and finally finished it up. I used up some of the Raspberry Tart Designer Paper that I'm really gonna miss! This card measures 5 1/4 " square. I'm really into making bigger square cards lately, if you haven't noticed, lol! The card base is Pretty in Pink with a layer of the polka dot dp in that paper pack, then a layer of Kiwi Kiss. I added two corner pieces of Pretty in Pink before I added the pretty flowery dp panel. The butterflies are from the Sizzix Butterflies die cut in Pretty in Pink cs. I ran them through the Birds and Swirls Cuttlebug embossing folder and then added Iridescent Ice ep. The sentiment is from Great Friend, stamped on Kiwi Kiss and mounted on Pretty in Pink. The ribbon is SU! white satin with a pastel pink button.

I gotta go work with my Mom for a little while today and while I'm gone, Lowe's is delivering my new washer and dryer!!!! They are the Frigedaire front load models and I am so excited! Who would have thought that someone could be so happy about doing laundry lol! If you had the washer and dryer I have had for the last 4-5 years, you'd be super excited, too!

So that's it for today folks! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

2009-06-12T12:04:00.003-04:00

I have had this idea in my head for awhile and finally got around to puting it into action! I made the blue flower from left over wedding stuff and it goes perfectly with the designer paper from K & Company. The card size is 5 1/4" square. The cardstock colors I used are Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White. I just took all the colors from the dp for my color palette. The image and sentiment are from Friends 24-7 stamp set and are colored in with Brocade Blue, Bordering Blue and Old Olive markers. Both of them are stamped on Whisper White and then sponged with Kiwi Kiss on a cotton ball to soften the harsh white. The image is mounted on Not Quite Navy and the sentiment is mounted on Kiwi Kiss. The flower was mounted on Kiwi Kiss that I punched out with the Scallop Punch and then added dots with the Brocade Blue marker. This is a pretty simple card, for me atleast. You know I have to use layers!

FYI if you don't already know, the new SU! catalog is coming out soon and I can't wait to get my copy! I placed my sneak peak order Tuesday and should get it with my complimentary catty next week! I will post the retired sets that I will be selling as soon as I am allowed. I haven't been parting with too many retired sets lately, but I think that I will let a lot of them go to new homes this go around.

I have one more card that I made this past week to share with you and will probably post it tomorrow. I have been having camera issues and playing around with different settings to get the best shots. I am not the computer guru that my daughter is, so I've been tinkering around trying to crop and make my pics a little better, so hopefully, I will be able to post a little more often than I have lately!

Well, that's it for me today! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

Featured Stamper

2009-05-31T21:30:00.005-04:00

It's been a while since I participated in an SCS challenge, so it felt really good to join in for this week's Featured Stamper, Rox71 and her card can be found here . What an awesome gallery she has! It was hard to choose just one card to do, but it took me forever to get this one done. Maybe I'll lurk some more through her gallery this week and CASE something else. I love her layout and the butterflies, so I pretty much kept with the layout, except I flipped the card. I don't have a lot of butterfly images that are different sizes, so I used the Sizzix Butterflies die cut and used two butterflies, instead of a lot like she used. The card base is Kiwi Kiss with a layer of DP from Raspberry Tart, then a panel of Kiwi Kiss mounted with another piece of DP from the same paper pack. The horizontal panels are Cameo Coral, then Kiwi Kiss and Whisper White that were both punched using the Scallop Border punch. The sentiment is a clear stamp from Studio G that I got in the $1 bin at Michael's. It says "Spread your wings and fly". I also doodled both small panels with a Cameo Coral marker. The butterflies were cut from Pink Pirouette and then run through the D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug embossing folder, then I added Iridescent Ice embossing powder to both. The little swirlies on the sides are rub-ons from a SU! sheet that I've had for a while, can't remember which pack they are from though.

I made this card for my Mom to give to Mariah for graduation. My babies are growing up! It's almost depressing! Amber got married last Friday and Mariah graduates on June 8th. I'll only have one baby left at home come fall. I have learned that I need to cherish every second, because they grow up and become their own "bosses". Sometimes I just wish that I could go back in time and enjoy them as babies again. But, alas, I can't so I will just enjoy them now as young adults. I guess now I can be their friend instead of mean ole mom! Except to Dakota, I'm still mean ole mom to him, lol!

Well that's it for me tonight! Hope everyone had a productive, fun weekend! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!
~Lorrie

Playing around on Smilebox.com

2009-05-30T09:03:00.001-04:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I'm lovin' the art of Collage!

2009-05-29T22:24:00.005-04:00

I remember watching my Grandmother making collages when I was a kid and now I have been seeing a lot of collages in magazines lately, so I had to try one and I love it! It is so much fun and so freeing. There is no wrong or right way and everything is just so random. I think that's really what I love about it the most. I can just glue down things that I like in whatever pattern or place I feel like it, and it looks great! I started out with the lid from a cigar box. I really liked the edging around the lid, so I left that exposed. I used two different scrapbook papers and distressed them both. The first is a yellow rose patterned paper and the second is a piece with old timey advertisements all over it. You can't really see much of these two pieces, they are just meant to be a base background for the whole piece. I used several different things for the images, the clock is from Sense of Time SU! stamp set, the little bird in the top right hand corner is from Spring Song SU! stamp set. The flower is a silk dogwood flower that I took the stamen out of, stamped a script print on and then glued the stamen back into place. The post card looking image at the bottom right is a stamp that my friend Melissa had, so I'm not sure what brand stamp it is. I colored the image in with watercolor pencils and distressed it with an ink pad and then did the cracked glass technique. Other things I used are a metal button from an old pair of jeans, a pink flamingo button, twigs, decoupage tissue paper, a transparency frame, ribbon, lace, cut out pieces from textured scrapbook pages and lots and lots of Mod Podge.

I have a lot of other items that I want to put in several different collages and I'm working on a collage like shadow box frame for my daughter, Amber's wedding gift using memorabilia from the wedding. Wouldn't these be great for graduates, baby, wedding gifts, etc?

I have a few cards that I have made in the last several weeks to share also, as soon as I can get some decent pics of them. My really good camera is being fixed and I'm having to use a not so great camera right now. I also finally got my computer back! I so missed my computer! Now I can try to be better about posting!!

Until next time, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

Rustic Rooster

2009-04-26T21:46:00.004-04:00

Hey ya'll! Sorry I've been gone for awhile. Life is crazy right now. I was laid off of my job on Friday and kinda bummed out, but I'm going to use the time for a couple of weeks to get ready for Amber's wedding which is May 22. I have already applied at a couple of places, but I'm not going to stress over it. I have a lot to do around the house and really want to get some items done so that I can maybe hit some gift shops to put stuff on consignment. Now is a pretty good time to work on my Stampin' Up! business, too. I know that I probably can't make much of a living on just selling my handmade items, but it sure would be nice.

I made this card a couple weeks ago, but with computer and camera issues, had not been able to post it until now. The card base is 5 1/12 inch square and is Ruby Red cs. All of the images are from the Rustic Rooster hostess set. The main image is stamped on a large tag that was dyed with coffee. I got a pack of them at the Stamp Fair that was here in Columbia back in February. Love that paper, it smells so good! lol. I might have to figure out how to make some of it! I embossed the rooster with black ep and then colored him in with different inks using a blender pen. I then stamped the french script, swirl and post mark stamps, from the same stamp set, all over with Old Olive, Ruby Red and Creamy Caramel. The main image piece is mounted on three different layers, two that were cut out with the Top Note die cut from Belle Rose patterned paper. All layers are also sponged. The ribbons are the wide organdy and the stitched ribbon, both of which have been retired. I stamped the script stamp on the organdy ribbon and heated it with the heat tool to age it.

Well, thanks for stoppin' by today. And thanks for hangin' in there while I haven't been posting much. I don't have much of an excuse now, since I do have some extra time on my hands. I have some other things to share with you very soon. Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-11T19:29:00.004-04:00

Kind of non-traditional Easter colors, but I love this Parisian Breeze SU! DP! The card base is Baja Breeze. The stamps are from the dollar bin at Michael's. Love a bargain! I stamped the egg images on Baja Breeze in Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. Each egg is cut out and mounted on a punched out piece of DP with the Curly Label punch. The sentiment is stamped and embossed on the same brown DP. I punched both ends with the Curly Label punch as well. The ribbons are from Taylored Expressions online store. That's it! Super simple but so sweet! Reminds me of Easter chocolates!

Hope you all have a very special Easter Sunday! Don't eat too much candy, though!

Until next time, Hugs & Happy Craftin'!!

~Lorrie

Bella Rose

2009-04-02T19:18:00.004-04:00

This DP is one of my favorite that SU!

has come out with. I love roses even though I can't grow them! My Dad and Brother got the green thumbs in the family. I do good with a few bulbs and shrubs in my yard. I'm a better paper flower grower, lol! So anyway, I really wanted the stamp set, Fifth Avenue Floral when it first came out, because of the big rose stamp. I thought that it would look so great layered. This took me awhile to do, but there are actually 6 layers to this rose. I stamped each one with Black Stazon on Riding Hood Red cs and cut each one out. Some of the petals are cut and just layered individually. Before I put it together, I distressed each one by rubbing a bone folder type tool over each piece to make it kind of wrinkled. Then I stamped the French Script Background stamp in Riding Hood Red on each one. I like the dimension that gave it. The card base is Kiwi Kiss, then a layer of Riding Hood Red that was punched at the bottom with the new Lace Punch. Next is a layer of the Bella Rose DP with a piece of White Organdy tied around it. The flower is adhered with dimensionals as is the tag that was stamped on Kiwi Kiss in Riding Hood Red and the sentiment is from the Friend to Friend stamp set. I could not get the ribbon tied in a very good bow, so I opted for a button from a vintage button pack from Hobby Lobby and I added a Red Fire & Ice Brad to the center. This card is very bulky and will probably cost twice as much to mail it, but isn't it worth it?!!!

I have a lot more to show you. Yes I have been busy stamping. Haven't been able to post until today, because the mother board went out on my computer. Computers are wonderful things, if they wouldn't break down! It's almost as bad as having car trouble!! What in the world did we do before computers? Oh yeah, we played outside or played board games or found something to watch on the 3 tv chanels we had! We had it so rough! lol

I will try to go ahead and set up the next few posts and see if I can figure out how to schedule them to post on different days.

So until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

The Wedding Bouquet!

2009-03-24T19:21:00.002-04:00

Here it is! I stressed over this thing for the longest time! And yes, you see sea shells in there! I used white silk roses, baby's breath and little blue and cream colored berries. Amber wants real flowers added to it, not sure why, but that's what the bride wants. So the day before the wedding, I'm going to add some miniature calla lilies. Hope it looks good! The white ribbon hanging in the front is Stampin' Up! and the blue sheer ribbon is from AC Moore. So whatcha think?

Thanks for stopping by today! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

Cute little bird....

2009-03-23T21:22:00.002-04:00

I love the cute little fat birds from the Cheep Talk set. This card is 5 1/2 inch square, which I don't normally do, but I really wanted to use the DP from Pink Flamingo (my favorite paper in the new catalog!!!!) and I didn't want to cover too much of it up, so I made the card bigger, lol. The limb was stamped first in Basic Brown ink on Whisper White cs and again on a scrap piece in Green Galore, then I cut out only the leaves in the green and glued them to the branch. The bird was inked with markers and stamped onto the limb. The image piece was double mounted on Summer Sun and Tempting Turquoise. The card base is also Tempting Turquoise. I tied a piece of turquoise shimmery ribbon (can't remember where I got it) around the piece of dp before adhering it to the card base. The sentiment says "hello there!" from the Cheep Talk set, stamped in Basic Black on Summer Sun and then punched out with the Round Tab punch and layered on one that was also punched from Tempting Turquoise. This is one of the most cheery, happy cards I've made lately and I love it! It's really beginning to look and feel like Spring here, which won't last too long here in South Carolina before it starts getting hot and muggy, so I'm enjoying the mild weather for now! When it does get too hot, I'll just look at this card and think about how the weather is now!

Thanks for stoppin' by today! Hugs and Happy Stampin'!!!!

~Lorrie

Wedding Stuff!

2009-03-23T20:41:00.004-04:00

My oldest daughter, Amber, is getting married in May and I am making most of the flower arrangements and I also made the bouquet! This is the arrangement that I made for the groom. The groom? you say? Yes, the groom. There is an area in the house they are getting married in that we can display pictures of them and so I made this arrangement to go in that area. They both love to fish and that has always been a big part of their time spent together. To them, going fishing is a big date! lol. So, hence the fishing basket full of flowers you might find near a pond or lake and it even has some cane poles with fishing lures hanging from them! I actually got the idea from an arrangement we saw at the house where they are getting married. Amber and Jon loved it and I said, "I can do that!" They really like how it turned out and I'm quite happy with it myself! Tomorrow, I'll share with you pictures of the wedding bouquet! I am really, really pleased with it, too! The next thing I have to work on is the wedding favors and I'll share those when they are ready.

Until next time, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

Pretty Pink Lilacs

2009-03-14T18:02:00.003-04:00

This is the card that I made for my Sister-in-Law's birthday. I got the idea for this card from Angie and you can see her beautiful creations here. She is just so darn talented!

I started with the circle and stamped the lilacs from the retired set Blossoms Abound in Pink Passion, Pixie Pink and Pretty in Pink on Whisper White cs. I also stamped the retired French Script background with Pixie Pink and Basic Brown and sponged the whole thing with Creamy Caramel. The lilac in the middle is stamped, embossed with Iridescent Ice EP and adhered with dimensionals. I also embossed the other lilacs. The dragonfly is from Organic Grace and stamped in Black Staz-on on Whisper White cs and colored in with SU! markers and also embossed. The card base is Kiwi Kiss. The organdy ribbon was distressed by zappin' it with the heat gun until it started to curl up. You have to be careful with that technique or you'll burn the ribbon. This I know from experience! I cut a small slit in the top crease fold of the card stock and slipped the ribbon through and then tied it around the card. The only thing I don't like about that is that the ribbon is visible from inside the card, but oh well! I hope she likes the card and the gift from the last post. I'm almost sure she will!

Today, I spent making a flower arrangement for my daughter's wedding. As soon as the final touches are done, I'll take some pics and share! I'm also making the bouquet which I'm terrified to make! Amber is slightly picky, but is having a hard time really making a decision on what she wants. She wants sea shells in it, because we are going with a casual elegant beach theme, but she also wants real flowers in it, so I'm trying to come up with something that she'll love. I'll also share that as soon as it's finalized. Last night I stamped the tags for the wedding favors. I bought a bunch of little glass bottles with corks and we will make a little note to slip inside each one to create a "message in a bottle". I've come up with a lot of little things for the wedding and reception, just have to get it all done! I'm getting nervous, but I know everything will come together.

Until next time, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

Footprints

2009-03-12T19:02:00.005-04:00

This is a cigar box turned into art! I took the lid off and made it a shadow box. First I painted the box with light brown paint and covered inside and out with a piece of designer paper that I've had in my stash for a long time. I also Modge Podged the whole thing before I added the image piece. The image is Footprints in the Sand from Our Daily Bread Stamps. I stamped the image in Timber Brown Stazon and then colored it in with pencils. I added Summer Flower Soft to the plants and also glued small sea shells at the bottom of the image and filled in with little crystal chips (can't remember the real name) to resemble sand. Then I mounted the image on a piece of blue cardstock and then mounted it inside the box. I added ribbon around the inside and glued a larger sea shell in front. This is going to my sister in law for her birthday and I really hope she likes it. She usually does, but I always worry, lol!

So tomorrow, I'll share the card I made for her, too!

Until then, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

Reach for the Stars!

2009-03-04T17:46:00.002-05:00

Ok, so the pics didn't turn out great, but I'm posting this one anyway.

I love the new Animal Crackers set! All the little critters are adorable, but the giraffe is my favorite!

The card base is Certainly Celery with a piece of the FREE Sale-a-Bration dp called Delicate Dots layered on top. The image is stamped on Very Vanilla with Black Stazon and colored in with markers and then layered on a piece of Bashful Blue cs that was punched on one side with the scallop punch and then pierced each scallop. The ribbon is also from the FREE Sale-a-Bration ribbon bundle. Don't you just love FREE! The embellishment is the same dp cut out using the Buttons Sixxix with two of them layered and then I added a piece of the Martha Stewart colored baking twine that I bought months ago and then never used. Why do I do that? I guess that it's safe to say that I am a hoarder! lol.

So there is the first card that I made with all my new SU! goodies! Can't wait to show you the next one, as long as the new camera cooperates this time! Until then, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie

Technical Difficulties

2009-03-01T17:59:00.002-05:00

The good news, I did make atleast one card with all my new stuff that Mr. Brown delivered last week! The bad news, I got a new camera for my birthday and for the life of me can't get the crazy thing to upload my pics to the computer. I promise, the card I was going to show you is so stinkin' cute!!!! I will keep trying to get my pics uploaded so you can judge for yourself. I also started on another cute card using the cracked glass technique. All that and more coming soon! Well, as soon as I get that crazy camera cord to work! Thanks for hanging in there!
See ya'll very soon!
~Lorrie

2009-02-22T09:06:00.001-05:00

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile. I haven't really stamped anything new lately. I have made stuff, just nothing new to show here. In the last 2 weeks, I have made 10 more coaster sets and 2 purse tags, and I have stamped some images and colored them, but haven't finished the cards yet. Since that last time I posted, I started working out with my friend who is a personal trainer and it's been tough, but I'm going to get in shape if it kills me! No seriously, I just want to feel healthier, not so tired and rundown. Maybe when it's all done, I'll have more energy to stamp more! I also had a birthday! It was my 43rd and no I don't mind telling people how "old" I am. Most people say I don't look that "old" which makes me feel good! Wait until I lose all this fat!!! hahah! Hey, I have to poke fun at myself. It's the way I deal with what I have done to myself over the years. And no, I don't really think it's funny that I'm 70 pounds overweight. I am taking this very seriously, but laughter is what gets me through any difficult time. What would life be if we never laughed, even at ourselves! So, anyway, today I am heading over to a big stamp/scrapbook convention in Columbia, SC which is only about 15 miles from where I live. I am so excited! I also placed a HUGE Stampin' Up! order last week and should be getting it in this week. I bit the bullet and bought a Big Shot! I have a Cuttlebug, but I really want to start my business going again and thought that would be the perfect thing to jump start with. So stay tuned for some funness coming very soon!!!Thanks to everyone hanging in there with me! You are all so appreciated!Until next time, Hugs and Happy Craftin!~Lorrie

The BUZZZZZZ......

2009-02-07T08:32:00.003-05:00

When I saw this stamp set Just Buzzin' By, I HAD to have it!! Then, in true Lorrie fashion, had trouble with what to do with it. So off to Splitcoast I went. I love Splitcoast. I get such inspiration and am in such awe at the wonderful people and creations that are there. If you haven't checked it out yet, don't walk, RUN over there now. Well, after you read this of course! So, anywho, I started out with the DP from the SU! Haiku paper pack, because it kinda looks like a fancy honeycomb. From there, I got my other colors from that piece of paper. After I got started, the card just fell into place.

Here's what's on it: (all SU! product unless otherwise stated)

Stamps: Just Buzzin' By

Papers: More Mustard, Barely Banana, Haiku DP, Very Vanilla

Ink: Black Stazon, various SU! markers

Embellies: Stickles (on the bees), sparkly fiber (not sure where I got that), little acrylic flower from Target Dollar Spot

The bee hive was stamped, colored with markers, cut out and mounted to the piece of Very Vanilla. I decorated the inside a little, too, but didn't get a good pic. The rest of the sentiment, "have a honey of a day!" is stamped and the little flower from the set is stamped, colored, cut out and glued beneath the sentiment. It looks really cute, you'll just have to take my word for it!

That's it!! Now you can go check out Splitcoast!

Thanks for stoppin' by today! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

Purse Tag!

2009-01-31T17:56:00.003-05:00

I saw this on Patty's blog and just had to make one! She is a SU! Demonstrator who has the most awesome ideas! Go check her out! Anyway, my daughter Mariah is a real girlie girl and I knew she would love this. And I was right! I started with a 4x4 inch coaster and ran it through the Cuttlebug with a big circle die cut, then covered it on both sides with some NEW SU! DP called Raspberry Tart. The initial is Letterpress Alphabet stamped in Pixie Pink. That and the flowery paper layer are cut out with a Spell Binders Scalloped die cuts. The whole thing front and back is then covered with Iredescent Ice EP and then Clear EP. The Jumbo Eyelet was added, along with a metal office binder ring. I tied two pieces of ribbon around the ring. One is a piece of bright pink velvet ribbon that I got from Taylored Expressions online store. Love it!!! The other is a piece of pink with green stitching ribbon that I have had for a long time. I love my ribbon and almost can't get enough of it!!! Doesn't matter what company either, I love'm all! So this is the Purse Tag in action so to speak. Isn't it cute?!!

Thanks for stopping by today! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

You can't go wrong with pink and brown!

2009-01-30T22:12:00.002-05:00

It's one of my favorite color combos! When I first saw this stamp set I couldn't wait to order it and then I got it and was almost stumped with the big flower. I have made some cards with it that I just did not like. Sometimes I even scrapped the flower before it even made it to a card. But, I finally figured out that it looks really nice clear embossed. Atleast, I think it does. The card base is Chocolate Chip with Very Vanilla and then a piece of Close to Cocoa that was run through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots embossing folder. The bottom half is Pretty in Pink stamped with the Bella Toile BG stamp in Regal Rose ink. The bottom is punched with the Scallop Punch and I added dots to each scallop with a Chocolate Chip marker. The flower from Fabulous Flowers (retired) is stamped with Versamark on Pretty in Pink and then embossed with clear ep. The ribbon is brown with pink stitching, but sorry, I don't remember where I got it. The sentiment is from Elegant Cheer.

Ok, I am taking a poll. Do ya'll like for me to explain how each part of the card is put together with the ingredients listed as I explain or would it be easier to put the ingredients in a list form at the end of the post? I have seen it both ways and like both. Maybe I can mix it up a bit. Do it the other way for one or two posts and let you see the difference. I just want it to be easy for ya'll to read so you'll want to keep reading my blog!

Until next time, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

Valentine Ornaments

2009-01-20T20:49:00.002-05:00

I wanted to make ornaments to decorate a small "Christmas" tree that I have had for a few years. Finally, I made some of the Christmas ornaments from coasters (that post from Decemeber if you missed them) to decorate the tree for Christmas, but wanted ornaments for other seasons as well. I really loved the vintage feel that the other ornaments had and thought that the vintage Valentine images would be great for these ornaments. So these are what I came up with. I printed the images from a free clipart website. They are printed on Whisper White card stock.

For this one, I covered the 4 inch square coaster with DP from K&Company called Smitten Paisley Glitter. The sentiment and label from Cute and Curley is stamped on Whisper White and punched out with the Curley Punch. The image, label and flower are all covered in Iridescent Ice ep. The flower has a Fire Brad in the center and is adhered with a large glue dot. The large brads are covered with ep and the ribbon is distressed by heating with a heat gun.

2009-01-20T20:37:00.002-05:00

This ornament is a coaster covered with a piece of DP from Ancestry.com that I got from my LSS. And, yes, you have seen it before. I am using up my scraps! I adhered the dp and the image using Mod Podge and then covered the whole thing with Iridescent Ice ep. The flowers are small paper flowers that are also covered in Iridescent Ice ep with a Ice Brad for the center and adhered with a large glue dot. The "love you" is a rub-on from the Greatest Moments set. The large eyelets were also embossed with the same ep and the ribbon was distressed by heating with the heat gun. I have a few more vintage Valentine images that I want to make more ornaments with and then I will show you my Season Tree all dolled up for Valentine's Day!

Until next time, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!
~Lorrie

Changed again!

2009-01-11T22:09:00.003-05:00

Playing around with "The Cutest Blog on the Block" website again. I guess this background is for Valentines since it has hearts on it. Getting in the mood to make Valentine cards and ornaments for my season tree, so that's why I chose this one. I got two of the ornaments made today and as soon as I get a chance to take pics, I'll post those. They turned out really cute!

See ya'll soon!
~Lorrie

Another Faux

2009-01-09T19:53:00.001-05:00

Here is another frame I altered using the faux
mosaics technique. I used the same Rose Cottage patterned paper that I used for the 12x12 scrapbook frame that I made for Melissa.
For this one, I added buttons from the SU! Earth Elements button pack, red for the outer corners and green for the inner corners. I added Crystal Effects to the buttons to make them shiny like the paper. I got this frame from Michael's for $2.50. This frame is 8x8.

I am trying to make several different sizes and styles of these frames to list in my Etsy store.
So far, I only have two cards listed and they have not sold, but maybe these will. I guess people are hanging on to their money for dear life right now, which I don't blame them for. The economy stinks right now. I am hoping and praying that thing get better soon! The town where I live has a Recreational Center and they offer different kinds of craft classes, so I am going to find out if they would let me offer a stamp class once or twice a month. I love stamping and altering things and love to share how to with others, so this would be a good way to do what I LOVE!!!!!

So, that's all for today ya'll! Hope to see you soon. Until then, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!
~Lorrie

Fabulous Flower Thanks

2009-01-07T18:18:00.004-05:00

I have had this designer paper sitting on my desk for a few days wanting to do something with it and finally made this card. I haven't been able to do anything that I've been happy with using this flower, until now! I stamped the flower from Fabulous Flowers on Very Vanilla with Baja Breeze, outlined each petal with a Not Quite Navy marker, then sponged with Creamy Caramel. I also sanded it down in some places to replecate the designer paper. The flower was cut out and mounted with dimensionals on a piece of Creamy Caramel that I ran through the Swiss Dots embossing folder, then mounted on Blush Blossom. The card base is Baja Breeze with the designer paper from Ancester.com called Teal & Floral. The tag is Creamy Caramel stamped in Baja Breeze with the Thanks from Make it Count and sponged with Creamy Caramel. It is adhered with dimensionals.

I finally finished the other 8x8 frame that I've been working on, so I will post it tomorrow.

Until then, Hugs and Happy Craftin'!

~Lorrie

Just playing around...

2009-01-03T16:00:00.002-05:00

with new looks for the blog. New Year's always feels like a good time for a little change. I have seen these cute elements on other blogs and thought I would "give it a whirl" as my bestest crafty friend Melissa says. I really loved my other blog header with the pink flamingo, but wanted to try something different. You'll see me change it up again soon. One of my New Year's resolutions is to not be so complacent. I want to try new crafts and techniques this year. I want to try out different decorations for the house, too. I have had the same old tired looking flower arrangement on my mantle for a few years now (except for the Christmas one) and it's high time for a change. I also want to try and declutter my house. There is something, kids toys, junk of some sort, on every surface in my house! I am tired of the clutter! I need some organization! I am off to chunk some junk now!

Until next time, Hugs and Happy Crafting! and have a Happy New Year!!
~Lorrie

Whew!

2008-12-28T11:55:00.003-05:00

We made it through Christmas Day!!! I don't know why we make it so stressful on ourselves. The hustle and bustle, shopping, cooking, on and on. And then it's over, just so quick! I think my biggest problem is that I procrastinate and then I feel hurried to get it all done. I think for next year, I'm going to order stuff online instead of going to the mall or Walmart. After over a month of asking tons of questions Dakota now knows the truth about Santa (and the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy), so although it's kind of sad, it will be much easier next year. We have always emphasized the birth of Jesus is what Christmas is all about, but to a small kid it's hard to get away from all the Santa stuff with gifts as the big thing. I hope next year will be easier and more relaxed.

I have been wanting to share this with ya'll since I made it. Don't laugh, yes I am crazy! If you haven't figured out from my blog banner, I like pink flamingoes. This is kind of a new obsession of mine, but I have been collecting pink flamingo ornaments for the past couple of years. Well, I felt like they deserved a special display all to themselves, so I found this white pre-lit wreath and ta-da!! I did add some colorful fish and the cute little blue beach chair, along with pink netting instead of ribbon, some bright green sparkly fern like plants and some green balls. I love it!! This is going to go in my stamp room (when Mariah goes to college, part of her room is going to be my stamp room!!), but for now, it's just hanging in the dining room window. I am going to pack it up with the rest of my Christmas decorations until I get the room all set up. It really does not go with the rest of my Christmas decor.

I am kind of a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas decorations. I have a 7 foot, pre-lit tree with the multi-color lights (didn't use to like that, but the tree was on sale for $30.00, so I have learned to live with them, lol), decorated with every Christmas ornament that I have been collecting since I was in 5th grade. My mantle is decorated with garland and ribbin and stocking holders. I have two Christmas villages on display, one on top of the tv cabinett and the other on my sofa table. Something new I added this year is a louvre door decorated with garland and lights. It was originally going to be used to display only cards, but after Dakota pulled down two of the stocking holders on the mantle and broke one of them, I decided to hang the stockings on the door.

I got that I idea from my bestest crafty friend Melissa. Thanks Mel!!

So I hope you all had a very good Christmas and that you have a very Happy New Year! Until next time, Hugs and Happy Stampin'!

~Lorrie