HELLOOOOOOOOO crafty friends! This is Leah l'Orange, bringing you my GRAND FINALE for my week of guest blogging at SEI Lifestyle! Thank you to the SEI team for inviting me to do this, and for taking such good care of me this week. It has TRULY been my pleasure to be here!
I mentioned earlier this week that I was asked if I'd like to play with the Kris Kringle collection for my guest blogging projects, and I was VERY excited about that, but I was when asked if there was another line I really liked, Jocelyn was the first that came to mind. I'd only ever seen the paper stack in our big box store, but I was disappointed I hadn't seen any embellishments. At any rate, I couldn't be more pleased with it now that I've had the opportunity to play with it! I decided to do something a little extra special with my Jocelyn stuff, and my tree was looking a little bare.....
So here is it NOW, half-decorated with my usual ribbons and a new batch of ornaments!
I altered some chipboard to cover it with my Jocelyn papers, then I busted out the UTEE and went to town. Honestly, that's ALL I had to do to create these cute little ornaments (I combined the UTEE with Versamark, and just did two layers on each side), poked the holes and threaded 'em all with silver string.
Here's what the TOP of the tree looks like right now:
And a couple of fuller shots to show you how they hang amidst the branches:
They're SO easy to make - the only thing that seems to take a while is the sanding for my clean edges. Besides that, as long as everything is handy, it's a snap!
This one's my favorite:
But my son likes this one best:
And a few close-ups...
What do you think? I love how the bold colors contrast so nicely against the white tree and everything just POPS! And I used up a bunch of chipboard - something with which I often struggle. This was a fun project for me, and my tree is going to look FABULOUS in another week, after I've made a couple DOZEN of these little ornaments! Here's the whole family together:
Before I sign off, I want to remind you that this is your final chance to comment and get in the running to win a 12x12 paper pad and the Glittering Romance die-cut pack from the gorgeous new With All My Heart line! Feel free to go back and comment on any of the posts since last Friday, and visit my blog, The Chronicles of Orange, on MONDAY, December 20th to find out who won!
Happy crafting, dear friends, and happiest holidays and warmest wishes to you and yours.
Thanks, Leah! It has been a treat to have you. We love your excitement and great projects. Don't those ornaments look so fun to make?
Guess what?! Not only is Leah having a giveaway for those who commented on the blog this week, we are having a giveaway too. To enter to win some Jocelyn and Kris Kringle product, leave a comment on this post by Sunday, December 19th at midnight MST. Tell us which of Leah's posts was your favorite this week. We will announce the winner on Monday. Be sure to check back to see if you are the winner. If we don't hear from the winner within a week we will have to pick a new one.
Hello, crafty people! Leah l'Orange visiting again! It's Thursday, and that means there's only ONE more day left of my guest blogging here at SEI Lifestyle, so I hope you enjoy today's little tidbits. Tomorrow will be a fun one, so be sure to visit as I get things wrapped up and ready to give away some free treats!
I want to take a moment to tell you of the fabulosity that is Kris Kringle. There are a LOT of holiday lines available right now, but in my humble opinion, NONE of them can hold a candle to what SEI has given us with Kris Kringle. There are some classic styles, of course:
because while many of us like to add a little flair, it's important to have a good, solid foundation. These types of papers give us exactly that!
Then there are the CUTE classic elements, like candy canes and presents and little birdies:
because most of us are big kids with fond memories of art class in kindergarten, when we had fun playing with scissors and glue (and macaroni!)...
But when you want something totally DIFFERENT, there is just nothing out there to compete with good ol' Kris himself!
He's the reason I fell head over heels in love with this collection. He's fun, he's got charm, he's playful but dashing... Check him out!
and he's so versatile! These are the reasons why Kris and I got to be great friends over the last week, and also the reason why I need to grab myself another collection so I'll have it all for next year's holiday cards and favors!
Kris and I hope you are enjoying this holiday season, and although it's usually pretty frantic for everyone who celebrates (or has to drive in the traffic, or work in retail!), we encourage you to take some time to spread a little bit of
JOLLY!
Be sure to leave a comment here, and on any or all posts this week, for your chance to win a 12x12 pad of With All My Heart paper and matching Glittering Romance die-cuts! If you're just joining us, be sure to go back to Friday's post where it all started, so you don't miss anything (or any chances to win!).
Leah l'Orange here with you for day three of my stint here at the SEI Lifestyle blog, and I can't believe it's half over already! I'm having lots of fun, and today I thought I'd mix things up a bit and give you something a little WARMER... I live in New Jersey and we're currently experiencing some extremely COLD, strong winds, and there's talk of a big snowstorm heading our way. Not sure I'm quite ready for that, so how about a day of something a little less wintry? (Don't worry, Kris will be returning tomorrow, with bells on!)
Meet my old buddy, Magnum, the Tunes Kitty! He was the first feline to welcome me to the state which I would eventually call home. Whenever I'd visit, my then-boyfriend/now husband brought me to a record store where he'd shopped since he was a teen, and I believe this fella OWNED the store. I'd walk in and he'd be hanging out under a rack, or lying atop a bin of vinyl records, and he didn't care WHO wanted to look through that bin! :) I made it a point to pop into Tunes every time I was in town just so I could see my little friend...
I thought Jocelyn and Magnum might get along well - they certainly are good at putting a smile on my face!
With the exception of the Dill Blossom twine trim and the black C and exclamation point from Black Orchid, everything you see is from the gorgeous (and stinkin' addictive!) Jocelyn line.
I used Aqua Shock as my base, with the cute, dotty LOL on top, punched and cut some elements from Ilu and BRB (the patterns are very conducive to cutting your own funky trims or shapes), then added a rubon...
And it's hard to show you all the wonderful things that make the Jocelyn line so much fun to play with, but just check out the FOIL!
This may seem like a rather GIRLIE line, but I'm not a traditional scrapper, so as long as Magnum doesn't find out that I've stuck him in a scrapbook with some FLOWERS on the page, I think I'll be okay (but I'll be sleeping with one eye open, just in case!).
And there you have it! One of my absolute FAVORITE collections right now that ISN'T a Christmas/Holiday line - you will end up using every last scrap of the Jocelyn papers (or you might just horde them, as many of us paper crafters tend to do!), and you won't believe how far it goes!
Well crafty friends, thanks for coming back again and reading my little schpiel - I hope you'll be back for two more fun days, and two more chances to win! Just leave a comment on my posts this week, and one lucky winner will receive the beautiful new With All My Heart 12x12 paper pad, and the Glittering Romance die-cut pack, because I'm all about sharing the SEI love!
Off to go get my craft on, and Kris Kringle and I will see you tomorrow!
xo Leah
Hello there, Blogland! It's so nice to see you again, and I hope you've enjoyed your visits with me so far - I love being here!
Yesterday I showed you my first projects using the Kris Kringle collection - I'm quite sure you've already fallen in love with it by now, but if not, I've got some more goodies to share that may just push you over the edge... ;)
I love the trend of crafty PACKAGING when gift-giving... Not only can you MAKE something wonderful for someone dear to you, but you can go the extra step and create the whole presentation in your own crafty way! While I haven't made many actual GIFTS for people this year, I am determined to give my gifts in style! Kris had some ideas of his own, so we got together for a little box-makin' fun...
The first box is a little gift card holder - I know we'll definitely be giving some of THESE away this year, so I think I'm going to make a dozen more - I love the little matchbox style, and you can stuff them with tissue or shredded paper 'a la Easter grass.
All from Kris Kringle except baker's twine from stash
This one is a little different, and perfect for some candies or jewelry or even some crafty supplies for a friend!
Kris Kringle cardstock and patterned paper, ribbon is an old mystery SEI product (my goodies came wrapped in it!)
My third box focuses on the fabby embellies in this line - of course they all match the papers, but this one's fun because the elements jut out over the sides for interest.
Do you see what I mean about this sweet Santa? I love the artsy, sketchy look, and this guy's definitely got class!
There are tutorials ALL OVER the internet for gift boxes, and plenty of templates available to purchase. I went to this blog on a quest for some boxes that I really liked, tweaked them for my own needs, and VOILA! A fun way to give gifts without deferring to the standard (and not very exciting) gift bags and boxes. Trust me when I say that when you start making these little cuties, you WON'T be able to stop!
And there you have it! A quick and simple little hello from me today with a second visit from my lovely friend, Kris Kringle! I still have a lot to share with you, and don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win some TASTY, brand new SEI goodies!
Back again tomorrow with a visit from Kris, himself! ;)
Good Monday to you, crafty friends! Leah l'Orange here, and this is my first official day as a Guest Blogger at SEI Lifestyle! I'm SO excited about what's in store for the next five days and I hope you enjoy my ramblings. :)
When I was asked if I would like to receive some of the beautiful Kris Kringle product in preparation for this week, I was OVERJOYED! I had only seen bits and pieces of this line around the blogosphere, and I knew I'd never get it in my big-box craft stores nearby, so I jumped at the chance. I could hardly contain my excitement when my box arrived - SO much delicious crafty goodness! Gorgeous textures, lots of sparkle, quirky characters, and such a fantastic color palette - I couldn't wait to get started!
I decided to kick it off clean and simple. The CLOUD Velvet Paper was so easy to work with! It cut like a DREAM and maintained its shape beautifully...
I inked my edges with Evergreen, added a bit of green ribbon from my stash, and the cream ribbon is from SEI's Dill Blossom pack. The alphas are epoxies from Black Orchid - I thought the green worked PERFECTLY for this card! Such versatility!
Next card - still clean and simple - this time I fell in love with the gorgeous FOIL in Evergreen, and cut it to mimic one of the fun die-cuts in the Gleaming Snow pack:
See what I mean about the foil? And don't you just LOVE the texture?
Then I decided to whip up some minis to decorate my orange tree at a craft fair last weekend. Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to photograph the majority of them before the fair, and they sold so quickly, I was only able to shoot these two before THEY were gone!
The green cardstock is Key Lime, the brown is Truffle, a couple of die-cuts from Gleaming Snow, and the alphas are Vanilla Bean, from the Girly Girl sticker pack. Bit of baker's twine from my stash, and PRESTO! Quick, easy, and utterly adorable mini-cards!
The last two I'll share for today were created in the wee hours of the morning when I realized I simply couldn't stop playing with the embellies in the Kris Kringle line! The Dimensional Page Titles are too cute - I just love the layers and the glitter! And the Felt Elements are TO DIE FOR. They're wonderfully sticky, give lots of dimension and yummy texture, and the colors just POP!
It's our pleasure to introduce the talented Leah! We are sure you are going to enjoy her fun personality, excitement for life, and creative projects. If you just can't wait, hop over to her blog, The Chronicles of Orange. Remember, she will be here all next week so stop by each day for something new!
Helloooooo, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I've been so excited for this day, and it's FINALLY here! I'm Leah, and I'm SEI's Guest Blogger for the week!
Thank you so very much for having me, SEI; it's an absolute honor to be hanging out here with all of you on the SEI Lifestyle blog - I have had a wonderful time preparing for my visit, and I'll be sharing some fun goodies over the next few days, with a happy little something for one lucky crafter at the end of the week.
I'm relatively new to the blogging (and papercrafting) world, but once I started playing with paper, I realized that there's simply no turning back! You can find me yammering away merrily at my Blogger home, The Chronicles of Orange, but I'm kind of all over the place! I'm a founding Design Dollie, and I design for Some Odd Girl Digital Stamps, Charisma Cardz Challenges, Make it Crafty, and NVS Girls, as well as being a staffer at Scrapbook News and Review. There is just so much beautiful product and inspiration out there, I find it hard to concentrate on just one aspect of papercrafting, so I like to dabble and get my feet wet wherever I can... And that's exactly what brought me here!
I'll be hanging out on the SEI Lifestyle Blog all of next week, so hopefully you'll drop by and enjoy a little visit with me and my newest pal, Kris Kringle! Oh, and the very sweet Jocelyn might be making an appearance, too, but Kris has been ESPECIALLY anxious to get to know you all, so be prepared!
Before Kris and I kick things off on Monday, here's an example of what kind of fun I've been having with the gorgeous SEI products. For this project, I started off with a plain bi-fold frame and covered it with papers from the stunning Lovebirds collection, with a side of beautiful CLOUD Velvet Paper (plus brown cardstock and blue bling from my stash):
Here's a look at the simply embellished inside:
And look how beautifully these papers PUNCH!
If you're a thrifty kind of crafter, you don't need to buy a lot of embellishments to make the perfect accents for your projects! In fact, if you don't own any punches, you could easily cut these flowers by hand for a funkier, artsy effect, and it would still look beautiful! What could coordinate better than using scraps from the actual paper you've used to cover your project?!
These frames are so much fun to alter, and wouldn't they make perfect gifts for friends, family, bridesmaids, coworkers? I may have to pick up a few more for some special occasions coming up!
Well that's my prelude to a week of Guest Blogging for SEI Lifestyle, so enjoy your weekend, fellow crafty friends, and come back Monday to say hi!
