Sundays With Lorraine

Hello, my crafty friends, and welcome back to the Stamp & Scrapbook Expo blog.  I can’t believe how fast our show season is flying by!  There are only nine shows left for 2018, so I hope you’re planning to be at one of them.  It truly makes my heart sing being able to craft with you in person at the Creativity Center, so gather up your creative peeps and start planning that much needed weekend away, you deserve it.  Let’s get today’s creative therapy started, shall we?

Seahorse Wrap Journal by Karen Bearse

Eileen Hull has done it again by designing another must-have die that makes creating a personal wrap around journal a breeze. This die is amazing because the entire journal fits on one steel die.  It can be used in so many ways, as a mini album, personal journal, small traveler’s notebook, or planner to keep you organized – the possibilities are endless.  I highly recommend stopping by Eileen’s blog to check out what the inspiration team has designed.  You’re going to be blown away when you see all the creative ways they used the die.  Below is one of my favorites; Karen really went all out.  To see the queen in action, click here and I will be happy to escort you over to her blog.  Be prepared to take notes as she has lots of great tips to share.

This die seems to be flying off the shelves, so if you see it at the show, grab it.  The first place I would check at the show is the It’s Cheaper Than Therapy.com booth.  Maria always has a huge selection of Sizzix products.  You can also go directly to the Sizzix site, although last I checked they were on back order.  Not to worry, they will make more. 🙂

Creating Shadow Backgrounds by Laurie Schmidlin

I had a “slap myself in the forehead” moment when I discovered Laurie’s sweet card.  I have never thought of using a natural color like grey to create a unique background for my cards.  Big hugs to Laurie for showing us how it’s done.  I was so inspired by Laurie’s beautiful card that I wanted to give it a try and much to my disappointment, I was shocked that I didn’t even own a nice soft grey ink.  Guess what the first thing is on my shopping list when I hit the show floor this weekend?

I hope that you have been inspired by Laurie’s sweet card.  If you a visual person like me, you’ll definitely want to check out Laurie’s video; she has lots of creative techniques to share.  Kudos to you for sharing those smiles one handmade card at a time.

Printable Fitness and Wellness Planner Sheets

With planners and/or traveler’s notebooks being all the rage, I thought you might be inspired by this wellness planner.  I recently had a little health scare which motivated me to keep better track of what’s going on with my health.  If you’re like me, we tend to take care of everyone else but neglect ourselves.  If this sounds familiar, I’m here to tell you that you are important to lots of people and I hope that you find some inspiration in creating your own wellness planner.

With a little help from our friend Kim over on Today’s Creative Life blog we can all take our creative therapy one step further.  Click here and I will take you over so you, too, can print out the free Fitness and Wellness Planner. Stay healthy, my friends.

Steak Bites With Garlic Butter

I will admit I am not a huge red meat eater but every now and then I crave a good steak.  I love the fact that these steak bites are not only extremely tasty but also come together in about 15 minutes. The steak only needs to cook for a few minutes, and the garlic gets added at the end so it doesn’t burn.  Add a little parsley for flavor and color, and you’ve got an amazingly delicious appetizer or main course.  Click here and I will be happy to take you over to one of my favorite food blogs, Dinner At The Zoo .

Goodbye for now; take care of yourselves and stay creative.  I’ll see you Tuesday with a peek at what’s happening on the Stamp & Scrapbook Expo show floor.

Hugs to all,

Lorraine