So long, crafty friends! + GIVEAWAY

Sniff! Sniff! It's my last day here! I am so appreciative for the chance to blog here at SEI. As promised, I have some more cards I created with the Corinne collection. I have to say, this collection is pretty versatile. Bright cheery pastels, but also some dark black bold lines, along with a surprise - silver! And glitter - oh, is there anything more fun than glittery clouds?!

So without further ado, here are my cards. I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you'll continue to visit with me at my blog. It's been a treat to be here!!! Big thanks to SEI, for inviting me to hang out here with you all! It's been a BLAST! XOXO Laura

Thank you, thank you, Laura! It has been our treat to have you this week. We enjoyed every day and adore your clean and classy style. We will definitely keep up on your cute Laura Loo Loo blog.

Ok guys. Ready for the GIVEAWAY?! You could win some of the beautiful new paper-crafting products Laura used this week. Just leave a comment on this post by Sunday, February 13th at midnight MST. Tell us which of Laura's posts was your favorite. We will announce the winner on Monday so be sure to check back!

It's a sparkly rainbow day!

Playing with BRAND NEW product is so much fun! Corinne is one of the new Winter 2011 collections from SEI. Today I'd like to share a project, and a card with you. While wandering at Ikea, I came across these fabulous wood framed mirrors. I scooped up a bunch of them because as soon as I saw them, I knew the possibilities were endless. Paint, decoupage, paper - just about anything would be perfect to embellish this mirror. I decided to create a cheery rainbow mirror, using the Corinne collection. I covered it in paper first, and then played around until I had it just right!!!

And for this first card, well, I just couldn't get enough of the sparkly rainbows. I added a stamped sentiment and made a quick clean and simple card. (I told you I love clean and simple!)

And because I just couldn't stop myself, here's one more bright and cheery card!

I am sorry to say that tomorrow is my last day here on the SEI blog. I have some more projects featuring Corinne, and this collection's versatility. It's been such a fun week, and I am so glad you've been here hanging out with me! See you tomorrow! XOXO Laura

Delicious Cuteness

Hello, hello! I’m so happy to be here at the SEI blog again today! I thought I’d share another random fact about myself with you. I LOVE cake. I love to bake cakes, and I love to decorate cakes (and of course, I most certainly love to EAT cake too!) When I was a little girl, my mom baked and decorated cakes. I was mesmerized by the amazing cakes in the Wilton Yearbooks she collected. Now that I have kids of my own, I have tried to create fun and memorable cakes for their birthdays. Getting creative with frosting is FUN!

I created this cake a few months ago for a bridal shower. It was a 12 inch, 2 layer cake. I covered it in a very pale blue buttercream frosting, and then went a little crazy, covering the whole thing in swirly white lines. I didn’t intend to cover the WHOLE cake in swirls. . . .but the more I swirled, the more I liked it, so I kept on goin’!

The next cake I created for my son Bryce’s sixth birthday. He had a superhero party, so I made him a Super B cake. I found a Superman logo online, printed it out, traced it onto tracing paper, and changed the “S” into a “B”. The cake was frosted in buttercream, and then I created the logo in red and yellow fondant. (You can buy premade fondant at the craft store. I don’t think I will ever be brave enough to make it from scratch!) The big surprise was inside the Super B cake . . . the cake was red, yellow, and blue! This is SO fun and simple to do. After making your cake batter (yellow or white cake mix works just fine), divide it into separate bowls, one for each color you want to have. Just add drops of food coloring until you have the color you want, and then drop it by spoonfuls into the cake pan! Last year we made rainbow cupcakes for St. Patrick’s Day, but what about using your favorite sports team’s colors? (I know I’m late, but how fun would that be for a Superbowl Party!?) The possibilities are endless!

And now, for my favorite frosting recipe, from the October 2007 issue of Southern Living Magazine:
Ingredients
• 2 cups shortening
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 (16-oz.) packages powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 cup evaporated milk

Preparation
1. Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric mixer until blended. Add powdered sugar alternately with evaporated milk, beating at low speed until blended after each addition. Beat at medium speed 8 minutes or until light and fluffy.
Note: Frosting may be stored in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. If using a handheld mixer, prepare frosting in 2 batches.

The only thing that I do differently is to add a few tablespoons of meringue powder to the recipe. You can find meringue powder on the cake decorating aisle at the craft store. It helps the frosting set and “dry” as it sits. I love frosting with a little sugary crunch to it!
I hope I’ve tempted you to bake, and decorate, (or at least run to the bakery and buy) a delicious and colorful cake for dessert! Thanks so much for stopping by today! Meet me here tomorrow to see a project I created with the brand new Corinne paper! XOXO Laura

1 Embellishment, 3 Ways!

Happy Tuesday! I'm back today to share a few more Valentine projects with you! To create all three of these projects, I started with the same little embellishment. I used circle punches, (scalloped and smooth,) to create some quick little cuties using With All My Heart paper. I stuck the layers together using foam tape, and then I got to work on my projects.

First I created cupcake toppers. I was going to glue the toothpicks to the circles, but I realized I could stick the toothpick right into the foam tape. It held together well enough, and it was quick and simple. (I LOVE quick and simple!)

Using another of the same little embellishments, I created a clean and simple card. I added some die-cuts, a sentiment stamp, and other little goodies to bring this card together. If you haven't noticed, clean and simple is definitely a style I gravitate towards! Finding a balance between white space with color and pattern is definitely a challenge I love!

Next I created a tiny gift box. I LOVE to print out templates online, and use them for paper-crafts. If you Google "printable box template" (or some more particular description) you'll find tons of free or low cost patterns that you can use over and over again. I trimmed a piece of 12x12 paper, down to 8.5x11 and I stuck it in the printer. I printed the template on the underneath side of the paper, so my lines would be neatly tucked inside. I added a piece of ribbon, one of my handmade embellishments, and TA-DA!

Making your own embellishments is a great way to use up scraps, and it can be a great timesaver. If you only have a few minutes to create, make a few little goodies, and then the next time you sit down to play, you'll have embellishments all ready to go!

Will you join me again tomorrow? It's going to be a paper-free day on the SEI blog, but I promise it will be worth it. Instead of paper, we're going to talk about another of my favorite things. . . .CAKE! (I'm even going to share one of my all-time favorite recipes!) See you then!!! XOXO Laura

Sketchy Valentine Cards

Is it really Monday?! And is it really 2011? It seems that just when we've barely caught up from Christmas and New Years, suddenly Valentine's Day is upon us! I thought I'd share some pretty simple and cute Valentines with you today. I used With All My Heart, plus a few little bits of the new Corinne collection on these cards. Many of the colors in these two collections work quite nicely together! To jumpstart my creations, I used a card sketch - the same sketch, for all three of these cards. Notice the similarities? This sketch was created by Tami Mayberry, at the Card Positioning Systems blog. (Stop by the CPS blog to see the sketch I used, being featured this week!) There are lots of weekly sketch blogs out there, and if you've never tried using a sketch, I recommend it! The possibilities are endless really. Sometimes the cards I create start out looking like the sketch - but end up looking nothing like it! And sometimes I stick pretty closely to the sketch. There's no right or wrong way to do it. I think that's what I love about it!

Tomorrow I'll be right back here, so I hope you'll stop in to visit with me. I have a few more Valentine projects to share (and one of them involves chocolate!) Then, later in the week I cannot WAIT to share some projects featuring the brand new Corinne collection! See you tomorrow! XOXO Laura

Guest Blogger, Laura Williams

We would like to introduce next week's guest blogger, Laura Williams. She is a talented paper-crafter with a special knack for card-making. Please stop by her blog, Laura Loo Loo to learn more about her fun personality and see some of those awesome cards we told you about. Then come back Monday for more!

Hi! My name is Laura Williams, and I am so excited to spend next week on the SEI blog with you! Instead of sharing a paragraph about myself (which I hate writing, because I never know what to say) I’m going to share some random facts about myself, and you can decide for yourself just how loony toons I am!

1. I am TERRIFIED of lizards. The kicker is that I live in FLORIDA. Have you ever been to Florida? Hello, it’s filled with lizards. And I’ve lived here almost my whole life. One would think I’d be used to them by now. But no. (I’ll spare you the story about me standing on my bed crying, while my husband tried to find a lizard that ran behind our dresser.)

2. I live in a house full of boys. One grownup boy (the hubs) and two little ones (a six –year-old, and a one-year-old) I love living in a house full of boys, but my goal in life is to one day have a girls-only bathroom. (Yes, that means I get it all to MYSELF.)

3. I went to college to become an art teacher. Then right before graduation, I did my internship in an elementary art classroom, and said, “Hmmm, funny how this is NOT what I want to do after all.” I love teaching, and I love kids. I spent a few years teaching second and third grade, before my kiddos were born. And I loved it.

4. I have complete conversations with my husband, in my sleep, and don’t remember them in the morning. He has learned to discredit anything I say after 11pm. One of his favorite stories involves me diving under the covers to escape a giant purple spider coming down from the ceiling.

5. A few of my most favorite things: sunflowers, bright cheery colors, polka dots, black and white patterns, the color RED, fall weather, fun socks, and icy cold water with lemon.

There are a million more random facts I could share, but I better save some! Come back and hang out with me every day next week as I share some crafty goodness, (including brand new SEI products!) photos . . . and cake. (Yes, cake!) In the meantime, (or anytime) I'd love for you to come by my blog, at www.lauralooloo.blogspot.com. You can also find me on papercrafting websites as Lauralooloo. See you next week!