Sundays With Lorraine

Good day to you, my crafty friends, and welcome back to Weekly Scrapper. I just returned home from the Stamp & Scrapbook Expo in Duluth, GA, where I had the privilege of crafting with some seriously fun and creative people. I miss you guys already!  Next week I’m off to Kansas City where I hope to see many of you in person at the Creativity Center – it’s people like you that get me through these mini marathons (back-to-back shows). It’s always a pleasure to create something beautiful with you in person. It’s like having my cake and eating it, too. Hugs to all!

Moments Captured by Sonia Thomason

This sweet layout was designed by the very talented Sonia Thomason and it truly inspired me to get some of those photos off my phone and on to a scrapbook layout. I hope this post does the same for you. The inspiration for this adorable layout began with Kaiser Crafts’ new Keepsake Collection – a perfect choice to complement those beautiful black and white photos. I love how Sonia used different size photos, it really draws your eye to the most important part of the layout which, of course, are the photos.

Memories are special moments that tell your story. Kudos to you for keeping those memories alive through you priceless scrapbooks! Big hugs to Sonia and Kaisercrafts for showing us how it’s done. I highly recommend stopping by the Kaisercraft blog so you can check out the other projects that their design team has created. You’re going to love them!

You Make Life Beautiful Card by Melissa Phillips

The first thing that caught my eye on this card was the gorgeous flowers, they seem to bloom right before your eyes.  Melissa used the Mondo Peony stamp and die By Julie Ebersole. Love to super size? Then this set is for you! The peony in all its grandeur is sized to impress; the larger of the flowers is a generous 3 1/2 x 3 5/8″ making it perfect for all kinds of paper crafts. Melissa took things a step further by heat embossing the top flower on vellum then coloring the back with Copic markers to create that elegant stained glass look. The bottom flower was stamped and colored with Prima Marketing Water Color Confections.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to play with Prima’s Color Confections, I must say they are amazing. Watercolor Confections are artist-grade, highly pigmented watercolor pens. These professional-grade paints provide bright, intense, smooth, and long-lasting colors that will work beautifully for any art or mixed-media project. For additional info along with the tools and supplies that Melissa used to create this handmade treasure, click here and I will escort you over to her blog Lilybean Paperie so you can take notes. Hugs to Melissa for being a constant inspiration to her fellow paper crafters.

You are Cherished by Kathy Racoosin

Have you had the opportunity to play with the new Chameleon Pencils? They look pretty amazing and I can’t wait to get to our Kansas City show to see who carries them on the show floor. If you are not able to make it to a Stamp & Scrapbook Expo I also saw them on the Simon Says site so click here and I’ll take you over. I am a big fan of coloring and I can’t wait to get my hands on them. Kathy has used them on this sweet card and the end result is stunning.

Shading is so easy; just flip the pencil to blend! One end has either a shade or a complementary color on the other end. They come in a nice case which makes them perfect for traveling – guess what’s coming on the plane with me on my next trip? If you fell in love with the sweet stamp, it’s from the Tiny Townies Collection titled “Sweet Pea.”  They are so stinking adorable and so much fun to color. Click HERE and I’ll take you on over to Kathy’s post about creating this lovely card, along with a video and some great coloring tips.

Jerk Chicken with Mango Avocado Salsa and Coconut Rice

I can’t think of a better way to ring in summer than with a good old fashioned BBQ! Is your grill out yet?  I hope so because you’re going to love this tropical recipe that I discovered on the Cooking Classy Blog. The fusion of island flavors here is most definitely set to impress.