Sundays With Lorraine

Hello my crafty friends, and welcome back to another week on the Stamp & Scrapbook Expo blog.  I hope you are enjoying a beautiful Sunday and that you are ready for today’s creative therapy.  After the busy week that you’ve just survived, you deserve a little creative time to unwind.

Five Steps to Set Up Any 3-ring Planner by Laura Daniels

Have you been bitten by the planner bug?  I know I have!  Planners can be used in so many ways, there is the traditional day-to-day planner, health planner, or goal planning.  I use one for happy thoughts and inspiration (which includes photos), and I’m sure you can think of a dozen more themes for your planner.  The thing that I enjoy the most is that I get to use all the paper crafting treasures that I have been collecting for the last 15 years as well as some new supplies from Simple Stories.  If you are new to the planner world and you don’t know where to start, then you are going to love Laura’s five steps in setting up any 3 ring planner.  Click here and I will escort you over to the Simple Stories blog so you can check it out.  Being organized and creative is a beautiful thing.

Hugs by Jennifer Dove

A handmade card with this much detail truly is like receiving a hug through the mail.  Who wouldn’t feel the love that was put into this adorable card?  Time to break out your heat gun!  Jennifer heat embossed the background using clear embossing powder to add visual interest to the solid green background and also used black embossing powder on polka dot patterned paper to bring the butterflies to life.  If you’d like further instructions click here and I will be happy to escort you over to Jennifer’s blog Just 4 Fun Crafts so you can take down some notes.  Kudos to you for sharing those smiles one handmade card at a time.

Pink by Amanda Pink

I was immediately drawn to the somewhat ‘graphic style’ design by combining black and white along with the subtle pop of color; so artsy, isn’t it?  Amanda used a frame die almost like a stencil to create a solid white background then stamped the flowers over several coats of gesso and a coat of PaperArtsy Snowflake fresco finish paint and added a hint of color using Distress Inks.  Add a few doodles and you have a beautiful card!  I hope you’ve been inspired to give this fun technique a try.  Click here and I’ll take you over to the That’s Crafty Blog so you see how easily this artsy card comes together.

Shrimp Tacos With Pineapple Salsa

Tell me these yummy shrimp tacos don’t scream summer!  They are perfect for those need-it-in-a hurry weeknight dinners or even a lazy backyard BBQ.  You’ll be happy to hear that with a little help from our friend Christy Denney you, too, can have dinner on the table in about 1/2 an hour or less.  Click here and I’ll take you over to one of my favorite food blogs – The Girl Who Ate Everything so you can print out the recipe.  Just a heads up, you might want to double up on the salsa, it’s also great on chicken or grilled fish.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s creative therapy.  Our shows are in full swing now and you know what that means – it’s time to start planning that much needed weekend away with your creative peeps.  Click here and I will be happy to escort you over to our website so you can check out our show schedule.  With this many shows around the nation, the question is not what show you should attend, but rather how many shows you can attend.  Looking forward to seeing you soon, I’ll meet you in the Creativity Center!

Hugs to all,

Lorraine