Through the Window!!

Oh thank goodness it's Friday--hallejuah!! I'm SOOOO over this week I tell ya--onto the weekend please, lol! Vowed to myself that yesterday would be a GREAT day which it started off & then quickly went downhill. Seems my daughter has gotten herself into some "texting" trouble--egads. Nothing law-breaking (thank god) but she's learned that some things that are meant to be private should NEVER be written down and don't say things you'll later regret! Hopefully she learns a great lesson from this & she HAS to fix this one herself, not mom or dad this time (being a grown-up sucks sometimes, hee hee). I swear I'm gonna be a gray-haired momma soon and she's only 13--how will I make it to 18? So much easier when they were small me thinks--but I keep repeating to myself "tomorrow is another day & you will get thru this" over & over. Think the lady in the grocery store thought I was a nut job while I was repeating this over & over to myself, lmbo---bwahhahahhh--maybe I am goin' crazy!! Anywho, moving on.....and here's to a great weekend. I'm off to see Elton John & Billy Joel tomorrow with hubby & am goin' to fully enjoy myself!

And thanks to everyone who has sent me encouraging notes & words of comfort--that means alot to me!! Hugz to you all!

**Also stop by my friend Eve's new blog and say hello! She's new to blog-land (addicting as it is) and I know she'd love a little love on her beautiful projects! Her blog is Creative Card Designs!! ***

My card today uses a brand-spankin' new stamp from the Lockhart Stamp Co.--isn't it fabulous? This new release has 2 beautiful "window" stamps and lots of other cuties too--they're all available at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design. This one is called "Pie in the Window" & I lovee it, makes me wanna have some yummy apple pie!! The sketch layout is from this week's SCS sketch #236 and the fabby dp is by Melissa Frances. That sentiment is also a Lockhart stamp--love the swirlies!

Close up for ya, hee hee! I actually stamped & colored the shutters twice & they are popped up on dimensionals for added dimension to the image. I used lots of my favorite products on this image including some lemon yellow Flower Soft, Diamond Glaze on the window, stickles on the shutters & yellow Liquid Pearls on the flower centers. This image was really fun to play with!

I'll see ya back here on Monday with some BIG NEWS!! Have a fabulous weekend!

hugz,
Suzanne

Some Contemplation & Happy Pinks!!

Hello friends! Ever have one of those days where you just wanna closet yourself away from the world and take a break? Yeah, I'm having one of them--yesterday was a little emotionally draining for me & I was contemplating on what makes a really great friend. I can count on one hand my really, really close girlfriends that I trust ya know--isn't funny how as you get older you get more "choosy" about who you spend your precious time & life with?

I think that as women in general one of our downfalls is that we're too judgemental of other women and too quick to cash in with nastiness & snipes. I think if we were more supportive of each other the world would change ya know---now don't get me wrong cuz' I'm not speaking about every woman (so don't be offended), but you know men never critique another man's weight, shoes or hair or successes. They're more judgemental on the character & personality of a person & I think that's great to see a person as they are & not as they "seem" because we're caught up in jealousy, envy or perverse unhappiness with ourselves that we have to react badly to others--its never good & always hurtful. Anyhow, the "Freud" in me is done contemplating with it & I've decided to clear the "garbage" that surrounds me---life's too short to deal with negativity. I choose happiness & positivity always, I'm an optimist at heart & sometimes am too naive to people's outward gestures w/o seeing what's trully behind it and then hurt when it turns out opposite of what I think. Taking a step up in life & changing that! So enuff on that & back to happy stuff, hee hee.....


NewsBitz:
-Have you heard that Flower Soft is coming out with a sparkly Polar White--I'm super excited!
-Magnolia-licious also has a fabulous deal on the ENTIRE set of new Copic colors (all extra light colors), all 12 colors for $69 (savings of almost $10)--I ordered mine already & can't wait!
-Paper Trey Inks (PTI) new releases come out on the 15th---have you seen the sneakie peekies HERE! Awesome!

So I've got too happy projects to share with you today! The first uses this lovely new Magnolia stamp available at Magnolia-licious called "Tilda Picking Lilacs" from the Chasing Butterflies Collection. The lovely old-fashioned dp is by Melissa Frances. I cut her out with my Nestabilities Labels 4 & matted her on top of 2 more Labels 4 cut-outs. The border of the white cs & corners were done with my favorite MS Doily Lace border punch (buy here)--I will warn you though that her border punches do not punch thru thick cs like PTI's (bummer). The charm can be bought in a package right HERE and the flowers are white Petaloo Mulberry's that I sprayed with Shimmerz Spritz (in Bed of Roses)-then I added a small Prima rose to the center. Love to spray things with my spritz, hee hee--too much fun!
I had to add some flower soft (baby pink) to her flowers, stickles to her shoes/hairbands and then Shimmerz Spritz (baby's breath) to the entire card! Pink pearls(blush) finish the corners off! (Copics used were dress/G00, G02,G07; pinks R20/R21; hair Y21, YR20, YR23)

Second card is a fun kinda rock-n-roll, teeny-bopper card I made for my daughter's friend! I had won this stamp from my super talented friend Katie Cotton who is the owner of Paper Makeup Stamps--fabulously cute fairy stamps that you should check out! This one is my fave and it's named after "Katie" (she's a make-up artist to boot, the real live Katie that is, giggle). I colored her with Copics to match this fun dp from Dovecraft "Glamour Prints" and of course added baby's breath Shimmerz Spritz to the entire card--love me that shimmer! I added lots of black to make it more teen-cool & some fun black rhinestones too. Alexa's friend loved it, so I guess I did good! Make sure and check out the whole line of fairies & others at Paper Makeup Stamps, you're sure to find one or two (or four, hee hee) that touch your heart! (Thanks Katie!!)


That's all for me today--I'll see ya back here tomorrow!


hugz,

Suzanne

Under the Sea!!

Hello & here's to another Wednesday--halfway thru the week already!! Before you know it summer will be over--yuck--I love summertime! This weekend hubby and I going to the Elton John/Billy Joel concert in DC and I cannot wait! Hubby bought me the tickets for my birthday & its sure to be an awesome show--hopefully it doesn't rain since it's outside (fingers crossed). Speaking of awesome musicians--did you watch Michael Jackson's Memorial yesterday. I watched & TRIED to get work done (not much) and didn't think I would cry but Brooke Shields talk teared me up & then how could you not be moved when his daughter got up to the mike. Oh boy, I was boo-hooing & I'm not even a crier--so tragic & so sad!


I had my own MJ tribute yesterday by playing all his music on my Ipod while I worked which I never do cuz' I like the quiet, hee hee--my favorite songs are "Billie Jean" & "Will You Be There" which Jennifer Hudson did a beautiful job singing yesterday (You Are Not Alone runs a close third--see video below, just haunting). No matter what people may think of him I love his music & think he was a wonderful humanitarian & entertainer & am sad to see him pass on!!

My projects today use the fabulous new "Underwater Adventures" stamps by CC Designs available at All That Scraps! I'm delighted to be a guest designer for them this month & was so thrilled with the new stamps I recieved. These stamps are available in a set or by themselves--aren't they gorgeous? I knew as soon as I got these that I finally had an idea for an unfinished jewelry box that's been sitting in my drawer for eons! So I decided to make a mermaid jewelry box & matching birthday card!

For both projects the dp I used is by Paper Adventures "Island Lagoon" and SU cs in groovy guava & soft sky. I embossed the soft sky cs with a CB folder and wrapped it with brown Scrapper's Floss--the sentiment tag was strung to it also. The entire card was spritzed with Shimmerz Spritz in baby's breath and the fish & her tail has diamond stickles. You can't tell from the picture but her jewels have a thick/bubble coating of diamond glaze for more texture.

This jewelry box was unfinished (got mine at Michaels a bit ago) and I painted it with acrylic paints in a pale aqua with a white-washed finish on top. I added dew drops & shells to the top & sides--lovee that if I do say so myself, lol! I added dp to the top & modgepodged the whole box and then spritzed Baby's Breath Shimmerz Spritz to the box for lots of pretty shimmer! I added some fishermen's net on top & some more fun shells.

I really love how this turned out & if you love it too, it's up for sale on my Etsy shop!! (on sidebar) Make sure and stop by All That Scraps to check out all of their fabulous stamps & products (gonna order me some new paper & goodies too)!!

Talk with ya tomorrow!

hugz,

Suzanne

Scrappin' Tuesday!

Hiya & Happy 7/7, hee hee (July 7th that is)!! Why is that summer seems to fly by so fast yet winter can draaaggggg on & on, LOL--I just need to move where its summer all the time I think! Lazy days outside in the sun, swimming in the pool w/ the kids, walks by the creek with the dogs & picking fresh veggies from my garden--life is good! I made fresh garden salad with veggies from my garden last night and fried up the rest of the sweet corn we got from the Amish for dinner---if you haven't had fried corn you don't know whatcha' missin, one of my faves (just cut corn off the cob, add butter in the skillet & fry it up until it starts poppin'--yumo!) And yes I use fake butter now, but it tastes just as good :o) What's your favorite summertime activity?

Oh, and thanks to everyone for the sweet comments about my drawing, I really appreciate it! And you never know, they might be stamps one day.....hmmmm....you'll have to wait & see, LOL!

Today is Try It Out Tuesday#26 for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design and I've challenged the DT to create a scrapbook page using either an Anki's Sweethearts or a Victoria Case for SCACD stamp! I decided to create 2 6x6 pages to add to my very neglected album that I had started working on a year ago (2 pages for each month of the year). All the papers & ribbons are from Bo Bunny!
I decided to use Victoria Case for SCACD's "Forever Friends" to go with my buggy themed paper--isn't that just the cutest image? Cute bugs for sure! On this page the image lifts up so you can add a picture or some journaling underneath! Image was colored with Copics and I added some diamond stickles for shimmer!
Second page uses a cute lil' ladybug by Victoria Case (a freebie when you order VCase stamps from Susana's store)! Made a nice addition to this page so I can add some summertime pictures!
So make sure and stop by Susana's store blog "Follow Your Heart" to see the rest of the DT's fabulous scrapbook projects and join in on the fun too!

Second project today uses another one of the beautiful Whiff of Joy stamps from the "Women's Delight Collection"! This one is "Willow Holding Baby" and I think this image is just so lovely! Image is colored with copics & I paper-pieced the baby's blanket to match all of the Basic Grey "Wisteria" dp. I used Pixie Dust Shimmerz (next to Angel Wingz my fave Shimmerz) on her dress and spritzed the whole card with Shimmerz Spritz in baby's breath. Some pretty pearls and ribbon finish this baby card!
I decided to cut her out & pop her up on the cream Cuttlebugged background while still keeping the whole card soft & pretty! These images are just a joy to work with!

I'll see ya back here tomorrow!

hugz,
Suzanne

Hello & I'm Home!!!

Hello everyone & Happy Monday to you all! Did anyone miss me, hee hee? It's good to be back home but boy was our vacation a great time--relaxing & fun! We really had a great time and had no schedule whatsoever which never happens ya know! We did lots of kayaking, bike riding, fishing, Putt-Putt golf & lots of seafood eating. We also went to the Tall Ships Race at Charleston's Harbour Fest to see the tall ships as they sailed to Ireland on a race--very cool. Charleston is such a pretty southern city, lovely houses & good seafood! We also made it to Tybee Island, Georgia and climbed all 187 steps to the top of the lighthouse (wow, it was hot too) and ate at the famous "The Crab Shack" and the kids got to feed some alligators. What a fun place under the huge trees dripping with spanish moss & right on the water! I got to read & FINISH 8 books & a stack of magazines while away too which was fabulous! I continued to work out with Jillian while I was away & jogged too so I didn't mess up my program or weightloss any--didn't gain any weight while I was gone thankfully! So I'm crafting away today cuz' I've got lots to catch up and get done. The slideshow below is all of our vacation pictures if you're interested in looking.

I have a few funny stories to share with you that I think you'll get a kick out of, but I'll just share one with you today. One night at dinner, Riley & I had ordered chocolate hush puppies (if you've never had them you don't know whatcha' missin') hot from the stove with vanilla ice cream on top--YUMMO! We started eating & Riley was like "this is sooooo good Mom, the ice cream tastes just like fan air!"! I was like "what the heck is fan air?" & he say's very calmly & innocently "you know, when you hold your mouth open in front of a fan like we do at Grandma's!" (like I knew what he was talkin' about, hee hee) OMG, I laughed so hard that I spit my dessert on the table (another lovely moment in Suzanne-history, giggle)! He couldn't understand why we were laughing cuz' he was TOTALLY serious, LOL--poor guy--I told him next time I get in front of a fan I'll make sure & "taste" the air & let him know what I think, hee hee!!! So funny the things that come out of kid's mouths....

NewsBitz: Also today is my first Monday Guest Spot on the All That Scraps blog if you want to take a peek over there!

I don't have a card to share with you today but I thought I'd share a drawing I did of my daughter at the beach--got to do a bunch of drawings at the beach which was fun for me. I used to draw anime images eons ago so I'm a little rusty but I thought it turned out pretty well. Whatcha' think? It was too big to make a card, so I just matted it and will put it in a frame for my daughter's room. Didn't know I could draw, did ya? LOL--that is my number #1 passion but I never seem to have the time to dedicate to it--hopefully will try to do more soon.



Have a fabulous day & I'll see ya back here tomorrow!

hugz,
Suzanne

Guest Designer News!!

Happy Friday everyone! Sadly tomorrow I will be on my way home after a fabulously wonderful vacation in Hilton Head Island! Although coming home is always nice & I've been feeling the itch to get back to my craft room--2 weeks of no creating oh my! But my mojo juices have definitely been recharged so first thing Monday I'll be back creating for you all!! I'll also have a vacation picture slideshow for ya too!

So today I wanted to share some exciting news with you all! I am this month's guest designer for All That Scraps--WOOOHOOOO!!! If you're a regular reader here you know how much I adore their stamps (CC Designs)so this was a fabulous opportunity for me & I'm super grateful they asked me (thanks Amy & Christine)!! You can check out the announcement right HERE and every Monday on the All That Scraps Blog you will find some more fun info & projects from me this month of July!


First up is this fabulous animal set called "Chasing Butterflies" by designer Diem Pascarella for CC Designs(all new stamps available on Monday)! Isn't this kitty the cutest (ya know how I lovee me my kitties)! These new animal stamps by Diem will be available in a set or individually--how cool is that! Kitty is colored with copics and I used this fun dp (Imaginisce?-can't recall, have vacation memory fog, lol) along with PTI's poppy red cs & twill ribbon. I added some stacked butterfly punchouts on top of the fun yellow button and the border was done with my new Fiskars border punch! Such a fun & happy card me thinks! Make sure and stop by the All That Scraps blog to see the rest of the DT's fun samples!

Have a fabulous weekend & lots of fun & safe Fourth of July activities to my fellow Americans! See ya back here on Monday!

hugz,
Suzanne

Coming in July!!

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Coming very soon to Susana's Custom Art & Card Design!!

Hot Pink Dancer!!

Hi everyone & Happy July 1st to ya! Can you believe it's July already, gee whiz how the summer flies!! We'll be home in 4 days, sniff sniff to resume life back in the "real world" hee hee! Hopefully my creative mojo juices have been refilled!!

Today is another challenge over at the Copic Creations blog and the challenge today is Brunette Hair! Scor-Pal is sponsoring the challenge & prize so make sure & join in if you can!! This card was actually made for a friend of mine, whose daughter is having a dance recital and asked me to make a card for her! I love, love this "Ballerina Tilda" available at Magnolia-licious-she's just soo sweet sitting their in her lil' tutu!

I used all Paper Trey Ink products--Raspberry Fizz dp, cs and ribbon to create this monochromatic card. I colored her with Copics & her hair was done with E29, E25 & E33. I cut some blossom nestabilities shapes out and perched her inside with dimensionals. The white background border was cross-hatched using my handy dandy Scor-Pal, love that effect! (If you don't have a Scor-Pal you are missing out, I use mine EVERYDAY!!) I added some diamond stickles to her tutu & bow and then sprayed the entire card with Baby's Breath Shimmerz Spritz(yes, I really love that stuff)! To bling it up just a bit more, I added some pearls & pink rhinestones to the corners & a lil' rhinestone to her hair bow!

Now make sure and stop by the Copic Creations Blog to see the rest of the DT's fabulous projects & to join in yourself to Win!!

hugz,

Suzanne

Red, White & Blue Rah-Rahs!!

Hi & Happy Tuesday to Ya! Today is Try It Out Tuesday for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design so check out all the details below!


This week is "Try It Out Tuesday" #25 and I challenged the DT to make a creation using Red, White & Blue since July 4th is just around the corner! Do you have some awesome plans to celebrate the 4th? We'll still be in Hilton Head Island whooping it up until the 5th, hee hee! I used one of the cutie-patooties "Julia" from Anki's Sweethearts for SCACD-Series 2! I decided to have her cheer on the "4th" very patrioctically! The dp is from Melissa Frances "Lil' Man" and I used my Stampin Up star punches for the accents & topped some off with glitterdots! The sentiment is from PTI's "Mega Mixed Messages". The entire card got a nice big spritz of Baby's Breath Shimmerz Spritz!

To make her lil' pom-poms pop more I added some fun Sparkle Fluff in blue & red--so fuzzy soft & very sparkly IRL! Such a fun & easy product to use--check it out HERE! Now make sure & hop over to Susana's store blog "Follow Your Heart" to see the rest of the DT's red,white & blue creations!!

hugz,

Suzanne

Fresh & Fun!!

Hi and Happy TGIF!! Hope you had a great week & have a wonderful weekend ahead of ya!! I have to just a bit of reflecting today on lives that have been lost this week--with both Michael Jackson & Farrah Fawcett passing on it's made me both reflective & melancholy! Both icons of my youth (for those in our 30's & 40's) especially Michael Jackson. I can relate so many of my life moments to his albums, songs & videos. And yes he did look strange & act weird but I loved his music & always felt a little sad for him--a lonely & sad man it seems in private but so very talented in public! I remember getting his Thriller album in 5th grade & playing it over & over again--I still love to listen to his music on my Ipod, especially "Billie Jean" which has always been my favorite. Very sad indeed & I feel for his children & his family today. And Farrah fought the brave fight against a terrible disease that affects more and more people these days--you can't live your life in this world w/o knowing someone with cancer. She's in a peaceful place now and painfree---so many lives lost everyday I know, but these 2 really affected me for some reason--guess I'm feeling old! Anywho, you don't want to listen to my melancholy rambling....so I've got a fresh & fun project for ya!!

I made 4 of these fun notecards in under 30 minutes--it's a record for me I tell ya! I just love these notecard and how fresh looking they are. I used PTI's cs in Poppy Red & New Leaf and cut the card base out with my Nestabilities Labels 1--such a fun shape for notecards! The lovely image is a Lockhart Stamp Co. stamp "Geraniums" & perfect to add flower soft too--they were made for each other I tell ya! I colored with Copics & then added red flower soft on top! The white polka dots are from PTI's "Polka Dot Basics" set stamped in Palette Ink in Fresh Snow! Hope you like 'em & give them a try for yourself--if not this set is for sale in my Etsy shop on sidebar (they will not be shipped until July 6th due to my vacation)!

hugz,

Suzanne

My First Publication!!

Hi everyone! We're having a wonderful time down here in Hilton Head Island, SC! The weather has been perfect and we've hung out at the beach alot, done lots of bike riding & kayaking in the lagoons. Seems we have a couple pet alligators that float up to our dock/deck whenever we're out and we've named them Charlie & Big Bob, LOL! Riley's been doing alot of fishing but no luck yet--although him & James are going deep sea fishing on Monday! I've been watching what I eat (everything in moderation including some yummo desserts, hee hee) and working out with Jillian everyday too & running on the beach! I thought I'd share a couple of pictures with you today & some news!!

My first publication project is now out in the PaperCrafts Magazine "Card Creations--Volume 7"--Wahoooooo! One of the editors talks about some of the projects (including mine) on her Moxie Fab blog right HERE and gives tips on how to get submitted too! I'm soooo excited & ran out yesterday to 2 different stores to find the magazine (since mine are sitting at home waiting for me I guess)!! The inside of my card is a fun pop-up but you'll have to buy the magazine to see or wait until I can publish it here on my blog :o) I can't tell you what a thrill it was to buy a magazine & know I was in it, hee hee--it's truly a dream come true for me & will be framed in a memory box in my craft room. See, dreams can come true.....

Click to make slideshow larger!!

See ya later!

hugz,
Suzanne

Perfect Love!!

Happy, happy Wednesday to you all!! Do you miss me at all? LOL! I'm sure to be resting, relaxing & reading ALOT! Gettin' my mojo juices restocked! So here's another quick post for ya! Don't forget to stop by next week cuz I have more posts & challenges going up for ya even though I'm not here, hee hee!

This card uses 3 new Whiff of Joy stamps from the wonderful "Women's Delight" collection available here & at 7kids College Fund! I stamped the bride & groom together & colored them with Copics to match the Amy Butler dp I used. You know the saying "something borrowed, something blue" so I had to add some blue to the flowers & grooms vest/bowtie! Her dress has a nice coat of Pixie Dust Shimmerz on it & the veil was coated with diamond Stickles! I added the lovely sentiment also by WOJ and some elegant pearls! A perfet wedding card me thinks! Hope you likee!

hugz,
Suzanne

HI & Happy Monday! While you're reading this I should be relaxing at the beach getting my vacation "on", lol! I'll keep these posts pretty short for you while I'm gone & if I get a chance I'll post some pictures for ya!! Have a goodie!

First up is a fun doggie card I made using a stamp set from H&M Stamps--remember they're still having a HUGE SALE on all of the stamps ($8 or under) so stop on by & grab some up! I used last week's SCS sketch #233 for the layout & some fun dp from . I added some fun dog bone buttons to the corners & laced some red scrapper's floss thru the brown buttons! I absolutely love this sentiment---don't we all wanna be dreaming about that kinda day, LOL!

Second card uses the fun Lockhart Stamp Co. stamp "Itty Bitty Umbrella"! I used the stamp & a PTI sentiment to create a fun background for my card base & then just layered some nestability card shapes to the image & popped it up on dimensionals. Then I added some Baby's Breath Shimmerz Spritz to the whole card for a nice shimmer!

See ya back here on Wednesday!

hugz,

Suzanne

Antique Willow!

Hi friends & welcome to another Thursday!! This is my last post for this week--I gotta save some stuff to post while I'm gone for ya, hee hee! Today my son graduates from 5th grade--wow--where does the time go to. I still remember his lil' chubby baby cheeks & sitting on the floor happily playing with his dinos for hours--he was such a happy & easy baby & he's turned into a wonderful young man! Wish I could keep 'em little for just a little longer ya know--next year he's off to middle school & the hugs/kisses will start becoming few & far between & "other girls" will start taking precedence over Mom, LOL! But he's a good boy & I love him to bitz!

Wanna hear another wild story about my wildlife in my backyard? Yesterday I was standing outside in the rain with the dogs (cuz' my one dog thinks that she is too "good" for the rain, lol) when something darted out of the woods towards our fence. My lil' Baylee was standing near there & started barking her fool head off cuz' there was a HUGE FOX trying to jump over the fence & growling--yikes! Course Baylee thinks she's a BIG DOG, hee hee so I had to run & get her while having my freakin' second heart attack of the month!! I mean the wildlife has gone nuts it seems--that fox has been around sniffin' in yards for a few months but has never gone after the dogs! And he wasn't scared of me at all, wondering if he was rabid--called animal control so we'll see....and this is why I need a vacation, too much excitement for me!! LOL! Anywho....

First up is my Whiff of Joy card using an image from the Summer Kit & this is "Willow with Strawberry Basket". I used some more that yummy Graphic 45 dp on my card--I wanted her to look like a cameo on an antique brooch so I cut her out with my oval nestabilities, outlined it with my black multi-liner pen & then applied a GENEROUS amount of diamond glaze to the entire image for a nice thick enamel look! I also laced my ribbon so it would look more like a ribbon choker on the card & accented with red Primas. Totally elegant--love the way it turned out!

Second card is a fun one using the Lockhart stamp "Gumball Machine" and sentiment to match! I found some fun polka-dot dp by My Minds Eye & colored the image to match. I added diamond glaze to the glass on the machine & then dotted one gumball with siren red Smooch to match the sentiment "the only one"!! The whole card got a generous spritzing of Baby's Breath Shimmerz Spritz--just a fun, cute card to give to someone you love!!

See ya back here on Monday & have a fabulous weekend--I know I sure will be!

hugz,
Suzanne

Red Rain Boots!!

Happy Wednesday everyone--or otherwise known as HumpDay, hee hee! I'm in a better mood today me thinks--(you're sighing w/ relief I know, giggle)! I got about 5 projects done yesterday, 3 loads of laundry & a workout in too--hope to get about 5 more projects done today. I have a Guest Designer spot coming up in July so I've had to work on those projects too--shhhh....can't tell you who with yet!! So my tally so far is I've lost 13 lbs (11 lbs more to go) and am back in my size 4 pants & shirts--YAY ME!! It's so wonderful to fit in your regular clothes ya know--and they're a little loose too--WOO HOO!! Gonna pack my weights & Jillian Michaels DVD's with me to take to the beach--no way am I gonna backslide. We're also taking our bikes with us since on the island you can bike everywhere & its such a great workout too! I'm so excited to just get gone, LOL! Anywhooo, moving on to my project today!

NewsBitz: If you read my blog regularly you know how much I LOVE Paper Trey Ink's products (just ordered all the new goodies too, hee hee)! I use the stamps, papers & ribbons (and buttons, & inkpads) almost everyday on my projects! So after many entries (9 to be exact) & 4 honorable mentions I finally won the Guest Star Stamper Contest for them---WOOHOOOOO! I won for best Summer Themed project for my "Beachy Totebag" that you can see HERE! So excited, hee hee--it says I used the "Lollipop Along" template but its actually my own template design that is quite different from the other one, mine is alot bigger & open, but who cares right!! My template will be up soon for you all!
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So if you came to my Copics class this past Sunday, then this image will look familiar to you since it was one we colored & added some fun products too! I colored this fabulously cute lil' "Tilda in Spring Rain" which you can buy at Magnolia-licious! I just wanna squish her she's so cute & wearing my favorite color in the whole wide world! I just had to do a monochromatic card with her! I added some fun white polka dots to her boots to match my dp & then put a nice coat of diamond glaze on top so her boots are nice & slick lookin'! The raindrops & puddle have diamond stickles on them for more shimmer!

When you add more texture & products to your stamped images you really make your card POP & much more dynamic & it's not hard to do at all! All the dp is by Stampin' Up & little "smile" sentiment is from PTI's "Mega Mixed Messages" set (I swear this is a MUST HAVE set)!! The white border was done with a new Martha Stewart border punch I picked up at Michaels (just new to me). For those who have asked how I get the soft backgrounds around my images--here's the secret--I use Ranger's Inkssentials Foam Blending Tool dipped in SU inkpads. If you watch my "Card Making Process Video" (on sidebar) you will see how I use this! I absolutely ADORE this tool, use it everyday and if you get it, make sure & buy extra sponges HERE so you can have one for each color!

Alright off to do more work & see ya back here tomorrow!

hugz,

Suzanne

Fairytales & A Sketch!!

Hiya Friends & Happy Tuesday! I'm not gonna lie to you today, but I am overworked & overstressed right now :o( I have so many projects to complete for deadlines & challenges that occur while I'm gone & so much of "life stuff" to do this week too. I have a dentist appt. tomorrow, getting haircuts for everyone, and all of my son's 5th grade graduation events (awards ceremony, "Amazing Race" themed party & nighttime graduation) and getting packed & finishing laundry all has to fit in my schedule too! And my laptop being down is really sucking the life outta me, and everything is taking twice as long to get done---sigh--I'm gonna need this vacation more than you could ever know. But I want to apologize to everyone for not stopping by blogs & leaving comments this week & being slow to answer emails---I will hopefully be back up & running real soon so don't think I forgot about any of you, cuz' I didn't!! And thanks to all the Mac users who emailed me--once we get back from our vacay I think a Macbook Pro is in my future! Hubby just might have a nervous breakdown with all the money we've spent since the beginning of the year on software, new camera, new video camera & now a new laptop--ugh!! NOT GOOD! Anywhoo, moving on--I'm not usually this dreary, LOL!

So today is Try It Out Tuesday #23 for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design and I challenged the DT to make a card using the above sketch I designed! If you 'd like to join in on the sketch, email me with your creation or link it here on this post or the store blog so we can see!!

I used this beautiful Victoria Case for SCACD stamp called "Dear Diary"--isn't she a doll? I prefer to think she's reading a wonderful tale of princesses & knights though, hee hee! I used some of my favorite Basic Grey "Sultry" dp (have to order more, used it all--gasp) because I love the colors & its so "fairy woodland" looking to me! I used diamond glaze on her eyes for shine & glittered up that book of hers! The sentiment is from Verve Stamps--perfect for this card me thinks!

This was also done for the Copic Creations Challenge Blog (yes, I'm late, but couldn't help it) which this week is how to color wood--make sure to join in on the challenge for some wonderful prizes from Unity Stamps! So for my tree stump I used E29, E25,E33,& E53.

Hope you like this little beauty & make sure and stop by the store blog "Follow Your Heart" to see the rest of the DT's interpretations of my sketch!

hugz & see ya tomorrow,

Suzanne

Back for More!!

Hi & Happy Monday to ya!! I'm backkkkk---sorry about missing some posts, but as you probably know from my sidebar chatter, my laptop has crashed again (second time in 4 mos.)--I'm so fed up with it! So I'm using our desktop downstairs which is hard because not everything I need is down here & just makes it all that more difficult for me. For those of you that use Mac books, leave me a comment & let me know why you love them--cuz' I'm seriously thinking of switching over! ugh.... Anywho, I've got a super busy week but I've still got alot to share with you before I leave for (a much needed) 2 week vacation in Hilton Head Island. And don't forget to check my blog while I'm gone because I will still have posts going up at least 3-4 times a week (so you don't miss me, hee hee)! I've got lots to share with you today, so let's get a move on!!

NewsBitz:

**I had a great time at my Copic class yesterday (thanks ladies & hope you all had fun too)! My next class is July 26th (1-4:30) so if you're interested in coming, please let me know (email me). Two ladies yesterday came from Pennsylvania & Delaware to see lil' ole me, LOL! I am also thinking of traveling, so if you have a few friends that would like to have a class at your house & it's reasonable driving distance for me, I will consider it :o) Just let me know!

**Secondly, Whiff of Joy's new "Women's Collection" stamps are NOW available at the Whiff of Joy store (and soon to be in stock at 7Kidscollegefund.com too)!! They're beauties!

**Thirdly, yes I didn't forget.....the winner of my 200,000 hits blog candy is #71 (counting out my WOJ blog team members that left comments, hee hee)

Katie of "Both Sides of the Paper" & hails from Texas!!

So Katie email me your addy so I can get your goodies in the mail to you before I leave you lucky gal!!

And thanks to everyone who takes the time to visit me, leave me such kind-hearted, lovely & wonderful comments & is so supportive of me--I really do appreciate you all so much! And thank you for the "HILARIOUS" & totally uplifting stories you all left me--I seriously got some great laughs! So much fun!! Thanks for that!!
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First up is vintage-y kind of card using the Lockhart Stamp Co.'s "Sunflower" which I paired up with (I can't get enuff of right now, giggle) PTI's kraft cs. I stamped PTI's "Text Style-Background Basics" stamp onto the kraft cs with brown ink, and I actually wiped off some of the ink before stamping so it would appear to be more aged & faded once it was stamped. The stamped image was colored with Copics and then I just layered some Coredinations cs (love the texture) under the image and on the card. The yummy brown silk ribbon is from PTI as well. Love these Lockhart flower stamps--so much fun to use!
Just a close-up to show you the Smooch paint (gold) I used on the sunflowers for a little extra pop--I didn't want to add too much to this card, because I'm making a set of them so they had to be easy to reproduce, but the Metallic Smooch adds just enough me thinks! (fun product to use, if you need more info I have a video on my sidebar--Susana has a deal where you get all 8 for the price of 7 too)! And more new colors are coming soon--can't wait!

Second card today uses an H&M Stamp Co. stamp "Fairy Tale Wedding", but I chose to make a more versatile card with this fun picnic basket image. All stamps are still on sale for $8 or less for the month of June so don't miss out on this sale!! I thought this would be a fun card for an engagement, birthday or other special event in someone's lives! The dp is from Memory Box (Rhubarb Tart) paired w/ PTI kraft cs (yes again)! I tied off with SU ribbon & attached a fun little wine glass charm from my stash and added some Robin's Nest dew drops to finish it off. And of course there is some of my favorite Diamond Glaze on the bottle & gold Smooch on the label for more shimmer/bling!

And don't forget to stop by the Copic Creations blog to learn some fun techniques on coloring wood! I didn't participate because of my computer issues & had no way to edit my photos (above photos were done previously)--but hubby loaded Photoshop on his computer for me,so I will be able to edit tonight!

Alrighty, I'm outta here for the day--off to go get my hair cut, work on more projects & as always do more laundry (the never-ending chore)!! Have a good one!

hugz,

Suzanne

RELEASE DAY!!

Happy, happy Friday to you all!! This has been like the longest week of my life, LOL--or so it seems! Only 7 more days until we leave for Hilton Head Island for 2 weeks---woohoo--I cannot wait! But I've got sooo much to get done before we leave--work projects, lotsa errands, and 5th grade graduation events for my son! Tomorrow my son sings at the Frederick Key's game (minor league baseball) with his chorus so that should be lots of fun & on Sunday I have my next Copics class. If you're around the area & would like to take a Copics Class with me, my next class will be July 26th (1-4:30)--email me if you're interested--you'll learn alot & have a good time I promise!!

**If you haven't entered for my 200,000 Blog Hits BLOG CANDY, you still have until tonight at midnight to do so right HERE! Winner will be announced on tomorrow's blog post!!
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Want this badge?"

So today is RELEASE DAY for Anki's Sweethearts for SCACD-series 2--YAY! All stamps are now available at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design! Anki did a wonderful job on these images--they're all fabulous! Today I've used "Emilia" so sweet with flowers in her hair & her lil' basket ready for a picnic. I created a fun stair-step card for her using Basic Grey's "Wisteria" dp--I wanted it to look like she was in a field of wildflowers! The sentiment is from a Heidi Grace set (from AC Moore)--love it! The whole card was spritzed with Shimmerz Spritz (baby's breath). The DT (on sidebar) has more projects using these sweet stamps on their blogs today, so hop around to see them all! So don't delay...hurry & get your own Anki's Sweethearts to play with!


My second cards for ya today are some fun beachy notecards I made using Lockhart Stamp Co.'s "IB Sand Bucket"-available at Susana's store! I just love these colors together, so peaceful & beachy (my rec room is painted in these soothing colors)! I embossed the baby blue panel--so pretty; image is colored w/ Copics & popped w/ dimensionals. Then I spritzed the entire card with my fave Baby's Breath Shimmerz Spritz (a must-have)--nice and shimmery! I made 4 of these notecards using sentiments from PTI's "Mega Mixed Messages"--2 thankyou's, 1 hello, & 1 birthday! If you love these they are available for sale (I have 2 sets for sale) in my Etsy shop, link on sidebar! I just love 'em, might have to make me some too--LOL!

Alrighty, I'm outta here--I have lots to do! I'll see you all back here tomorrow! Oh and thanks for all the uplifting & funny stories you've left me--I've had some great laughs, LOL!

hugz,

Suzanne