It's MY Party!!

Happy TGIFriday everyone!  Yay its the weekend...we have no real plans which is nice cuz next week will be tough.  Trying to prepare for our 2 week vacation and I have a ton of things to get done.  We also have 2 birthday parties for hubby's Grampa who will be 90 next week...one of the parties is at Nats park in DC for a baseball game so gotta love that :)  So other than yardwork I plan on doing NOT much of anything LOL.  We are going to the mall tonight to pick up some stuff and get a new carry-on as Alexa pretty much wore hers out over the years and the zipper totally ripped off one side.  So gotta replace that and hopefully I can snag a pizza dinner OUTSIDE the house LOL so I get a break...I love to cook but every cook needs a night off eh?

And let's talk about the weather...UGHHhhhhh!  We've had so much rain the past 2 weeks in Virginia that we have flooding and trees down everywhere, its no longer a helpful rain here.  We literally don't need rain for a month...my backyard is a soggy mess that I joke is trying to suck me down into the underworld...although I may mean it LOL.  And yesterday we got awful winds and rain again with a bad storm...we need a break.  Chicago area likes to send us some nasty storms...they need to cut that crap out;)  And those out west need the rain to beat the heat and put out the fires YET they get none.  Strange summer weather I tell ya, no fun!  If you've never experienced an East Coast summer storm...well you are lucky LOL...terrible winds, loud thunder claps, hail, lightening...its crazy.  And I grew up with it but I never underestimate the danger of them, they are still scary and can cause a lot of damage.  And the summer weather is supposed to be real bad this summer with all the hurricanes & tropical storms predicted...EYUCK!  So stay safe & cool wherever you may be!

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Floatin' Away

(I hope to be doin that in another week yay)

This cutie from Kraftin Kimmie Stamps is called "Margarita" and she's at SCACD...I call her "Summer Suzanne" ahhahahaha!  As soon as I saw her I knew I HAD to have her.  I hope to be doing a bit of floating and sipping some yummy Pina Coladas on my vacation real soon...I envision my bum in the sand reading A LOT ;) The new summer KK stamps are just too cute!!

The paper is new from Fancy Pants "Down By the Shore"(10% off)...I love the fun colors and more graphic patterns...a bit modern and fresh!  The flowers were layered on top leaves from the Memory Box "Cottage Leaf" die (20% off)...I always ink the edges of the leaves for shadowing.  The navy die cuts peeking out from the corners are by Memory Box "Prized Chrysanthemum Outline" die.  The sentiment is from a PTI set ALTHOUGH the stamp comes with its own sentiment, it just didn't fit where I needed it LOL.  Then some buttons tied off with twine finish it off.

She got colored with Copics....I colored the floatie-inner tube to match my stripes in my paper.  It is not actually stamped like that...just something fun to add.  Then I stickled her bathing suit and water for pretty sparkle.  Her eyes and glass got some Diamond Glaze for shine.

Hope you liked this cutie & see you back here next week!

I have new posts on my "Bitz of Me Blog" if you wanna check those out ;)

Return of Me!

Hi everyone!  Long time, no see huh?  Sorry about that but between the last 2 weeks of school with the teens (ughhhhh shoot me) AND my lower back totally going out...its not been so good.  They say that freshman & junior years of high school are the hardest and I fully agree with that statement.  WELL I had teens in BOTH those grades at the same time so this past school year has beaten us down.  Not to mention that every single one of their teachers assigned huge end of year projects and papers AND the last week of school is all exams...OMGeeee...KILLER!  Not just for them but for me as I'm "project helper" and "paper editor" in this house and they are moody & stressed which then rubs off on me LOL...so it was a tense couple of weeks ugh.  But thankfully school is done with for the year until September...phewwww!  Although both the kids have summer AP projects...Alexa has ones for AP Government, AP Statistics and AP Literature and 7 books to read...Riley has 2 projects for AP History and AP English.  And I'm big on NOT waiting until the week before so they know after our vacation that they will be starting on them and not scrambling at last minute.  Not to mention Alexa has college essays to start and scholarships to research over summer too.

My back is...well its not so good!  Some days I can barely move, most days I'm walking hunched over and sitting hunched over at my craft table is KILLER.  So I had to take some time off from that.  But I am getting treatments for it...I will probably have surgery at the end of summer.  NO its not a fusion type of surgery, but removal of a mass that's on nerves.  Just pushing it off a bit as much as I can.  So that's why there's not been much posted here.  I've got a very high pain level so I'm still able to get stuff done, still cleaning the house, organizing, cooking, working LOL but some things like coloring just couldn't be done on some days...I've missed it :(

I do have a ton of new posts at my other blog "Bitz of Me" including some of my own personal recipes I've shared if you want to check those out.  I have 6 more projects to do before I leave on the 23rd of June for vacation so there will be more posts here....stay tuned :)

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Life is Better

So today is Wee Wednesday at the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog and I got some NEW Wee stamps in the mail...I promptly colored one of them up.  These are in a set called "Flower Fairies" and they are darling!  You can see the other DT girls Wee Stamp Inspiration projects at the Challenge blog (linked above) and also check out our current Tues Challenge which is all about "Luscious Lace"...hope you can join us.

I'm entering her into the following challenges:

Make It Monday (anything goes)

Bearly-Mine Challenges (anything goes)

Deep Ocean Challenge (for a girl)

ABC Challenge (anything goes)

A and T Emerald Faeries Challenge (dies/punches)

Crafting Musketeers (stamped image)

I kept my color scheme to creams and soft yellows...perfect soft colors for summer.  The sentiment is from a PTI set and I thought this card would be perfect for SOOOO many things....weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and friends.  The sentiment was stamped on a die cut made with a LaLa Land die ".  The other dies used were from Memory Box to include "Corner Bow" and "Blooming Vine".  I lightly sponged the cream die cuts with some soft cream ink to give a shadow.  Liquid Pearls in cream were used on the small pearls on her headband and on some of the die cuts.  The flowers are a mix of Wild Orchid Craft and Prima stuck all together with Scor-Tape (I luv the 1/2 inch best)!  The cream cs in the background was also embossed with a Couture Creations "Exotic" embossing folder...I love the larger size of these folders and how deeply they emboss.

She was colored up with Copics:  E35,E31,YR20 / E11,E00,R20 / E43,E42,E40 / Y00,Y11,YR24 / B00 & B0000 used around background

I added Stickles to her wings and a few of the flowers for sparkle.

Hope you have a wonderful day!  I have a project ready for Friday...so stay tuned :)

Tag You're It!

Happy Tuesday friends!!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend & your week is off to a good start!  I had a glorious weekend that involved my Tim McGraw...touching him, seeing him, up close & personal...yeah it was realllllll good LOL!  I have a TON of pics...I took 330 pictures with my camera LOL cuz he's THAT good.  Best concert of my life...literally...and you know how many concerts I go to right?  And I'm not lying it was the BEST!  It was hotter than Hades and Alexa & I waited for hours at the gate to be down in the pit at the stage FIRST.  We made alliances with some other friendly folks and decided we'd all run (about a 1/4 mile to stage) and whoever got there first would save everyone spots.  You gotta make friends when it comes to the pit...there is a "pit" code LOL...and the faster you make buddies the better your experience will be trust me on this!  They were great...funny and not drinking and we had the best time...no one was pushing and everyone was polite amazingly.  We were so hot that running that far I thought I was gonna vomit and the concession stand workers were dying laughing at us all...but we DON'T CARE cuz we got front of the pit baby ;)  Hang around me long enough and I will teach you the wayyyyys of concerts ahahahaha...I've learned a lot of tricks along the way.  Including where to wait, what to do and who to know...if you are a serious concert goer like me you will learn the secrets bwahahaha!  Next concerts for us this summer are Florida Georgia Line/Gary Allen, One Republic, Jason Aldean/Jake Owen and yesssss Luke Bryan AGAIN whoohooo!  I save my pennies to go to concerts...its my crack/cigarette addicition along with iTunes and books on my Kindles...could be worse right? We all have our passions and music rates #1 with this gal!  And I'm bringing up Alexa to love it as much as me hee hee...and my mom too..3 generations of crazy women hee! Nuttin' better right?  I will have a full slideshow up this week of concert pics if you wanna see...for now I leave you with these 2...yes that WAS MY VIEW!!

Mr. Tim McGraw you are still FINE! :) 

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Tag You're It!!

The current Magnolia-licious Tuesday Challenge is "Butterflies"...so today Team B posts which includes yours truly, so hop over to the challenge blog to see all the DT inspiration.  I haven't created a tag in forever so I decided to whip up one for this challenge in a vintage kind-of way.  I used a Mini Magnolia "Japanese Tilda" for this one...I love Asian/Oriental type stamps and knew she'd be lovely with these Prima papers.  You can see all the challenge details at the blog and I hope you stop in to join in!

**Check out the NEW Special Moments Collection at Magnolia-licious...they will be shipping late this week and they are adorable!  Regular sized, Mini sized and dies in this collection! **

All the papers are by Prima and I distressed them and inked the edges.  The lil' postcards/papers on the left of the tag are from the paperpad, I just cut them out & used them as small accents.  The scrolls are a Memory Box die "Val Flourish" and my BUTTERFLIES are punches by MS and I punched them out of the matching papers.  Also in a totally unplanned coincidence the cream paper with writing says "Butterfly Challenge" LOL which I thought was totally cool. :)  The leaves are from a Memory Box die as well "Cottage Leaf"(10% off) .  And some pearls and layered flowers finished it off.

"Japanese Tilda" from Magnolia-licious got colored with TouchTwin Markers in:  GY173,GY174/ GY48/ G43 / CG9,CG5,CG3/ Y169/ YR132,YR133,R131.  Some Stickles on her kimono and the butterflies for pretty sparkle.  The tags were cut with dies I got from the UK...not sure of the their name sorry, its been awhile.

Enjoy your week & see you back here on Thursday!

Fun & More Fun in the Country!

Hi folks....hope you are having a great week!!  I have soooo much to get done this week...work stuff...cleaning...phone calls (ugh)...paperwork.  So I will try and have something crafty here on the blog by end of week.  With the end of school next week I have a lot going on with the kids and things to get ready for the summer.  I was thinking of my to-do list last night in bed and started having an anxiety attack....so I decided this week I'd conquer most of those things so I could relax a little and not worry.  I don't know about you but when I have things that have to get done hovering in my mind it causes me A LOT of stress and almost freezes me from doing ANYTHING.  So I have to face all the to-do's and make the phone calls and get the stuff DONE.   So I managed to clean most of the house yesterday, and have some organizing projects to do today and a fun project to complete, most of my phone calls will get done by tomorrow.  Then I just have some blog posts to type up and some paperwork to finish.  I can't write with a pen for very long anymore...my hand cramps up terribly and my writing is illegible so I have to do it in bits & spurts...HATE THAT.  So anywho that is what I will be doing this week so don't worry when you don't see much on this blog for at least a week LOL.  I am still alive!  Plus summer is starting soon so I will not have as many crafty posts on my blog as I soak in the summer with the kids and family events.

We had a blast Memorial Day Weekend....we kicked off the weekend with the Kenny Chesney concert along with Eric Church, Eli Young Band & Kacey Musgraves.  I won the tix thru the Washington Women's Redskins club and when we arrived they asked if we wanted to upgrade to the sand bar (pit)...ummmm heck yeah!  Hubby was nice enough to drop us off at FedEx Field while he went to a Nats baseball game in DC.  Riley was at his best friend's all weekend for his birthday so he wasn't with us.  Alexa and I ended up one person from the stage...OMGEEEE whoot...it was amazing!  At the end of the concert we walked about 1.5 to the metro so we could meet hubby downtown for a late dinner.  If you've ever been to a concert, esp a country concert you know that people DRINK..crazy drink till they're drunk...one thing I hate about the concerts.  Well quite a crowd was walking to the metro and there were 4 lanes of traffic leaving the stadium at quite a clip.  A drunk girl ran into the traffic and got hit...by a car...flew thru the air and landed in front of us.  It was AWFUL...I will never get that sound or image out of my head...totally traumatizing.  Luckily a police office was nearby and ran over to radio for help and get her triaged a bit.  It was not a great ending to the night that's for sure...I sure hope she ended up ok.  I also got into a verbal fight with a drunk woman behind us at the concert...she decided to pick on Alexa and try to get in front of her by pushing and shoving and calling her nasty names.  Little did she know that her momma was standing right there along with about 15 others we friended who had her back.  A few words with her stupid self and she shut right up....don't MESS with my kids and you know what, try NOT drinking and see how that works for ya.  UGH I swear...never a dull moment and I don't take any crap from stupid people that is for sure and if you mess with my kids you better watch out.  Especially when they aren't doing a darn thing to you.  The guy in next to me was a Marine and he said "I don't want to mess with you cuz I think you'll beat my ass too" LOL...yup yup buddy! ;)  I may have some broken bones in my foot but I can still take you out if need be....hee!

Then Sunday was a NOTHING day...no chores, no nothing other than hanging out in the sun and relaxing...although I did fix dinner ;)  On Monday we headed to DC to see the Nats play the Orioles and that was fun...although our Nats won it was hard to feel bad because we love the Orioles almost as much...they are our hometown teams.

And this weekend...more country fun....yeehaw...me and Alexa will be in the PIT for Tim McGraw...oh yeah baby.  Him & Luke are my #1 faves....I love them...so if I get up front by stage (which I totally plan on) I may have a heart attack LOL.  Gonna be a good Saturday!

Concert Pics:

 Pretty cute & we got to be up close & personal with Mr. Kenny LOL!

I also got some of my pics that I took below posted by WMZQ on their Facebook site...your welcome WMZQ LOL!!

Shabby Chic Butterflies!

Hi everyone!  I hope you had a great week!  For those in the US have a great 3 day weekend for Memorial Day and to those who serve (or served) our country....THANK YOU each & every day for your work and sacrifices!  I think a lot of times we forget what this holiday is actually about in the rush to have some summer fun.  So just my two cents on it but wishing all those who have served the US a very restful holiday weekend as well.

I won tix to see Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Eli Young Band and Kacey Musgraves in concert tomorrow night through the Washington Redskins Women Group...whooohoooo!  I almost peed my pants when I found out since I enter contests ALL the darn time but never win.  Well I won and I will be there at FedEx Field with Alexa whooping and hollering LOL.  Its gonna be in the 70s so I will be wearing a coat LOL...not sure where the HOT weather went but I want it back...NOW!  Then on Monday we will go see the Washington Nationals play the Baltimore Orioles...our 2 fave teams facing off...gonna be a good one!  And blissfully on Sunday we have nothing...nothing but hanging around and doing nothing LOL.

Only 2 more weeks of school left...my kids get out on June 6th and not only are they excited but SO AM I...omegosh!  Between field trips, choral events, exams, projects and papers due...I'm TIRED.  Why these high school teachers assign so much in the last 3 weeks of school is beyond me.  But they've both had hours of homework each night and I'm DONE with editing papers.  They both had 4 papers EACH...two of which had to be 10-14 pages long...and I'm the family editer...I'm over it LOL!  Alexa doesn't know but she's getting a BIG award on Tues for her academics (she has a 4.1 GPA) so she will be surprised.  So proud of her because she's had a TOUGH year with all her AP classes, Calculus and Chemistry...lots of homework, tests and projects for those this year and she's pulled straight A's all the way through...that's a tough accomplishment.  She will be applying for early acceptance to her #1 choice Univ of SC in August.  They base early acceptance on Academics only, nothing else so I'm hoping she gets in with that round...if not she can apply again in Oct.  She's also applying to Auburn Univ, Florida State, Towson Univ and U of NC.  So we shall see...hard to believe she will be a senior in the fall.

If you need more reading, I have some new posts and projects on my other blog "Bitz of Me" HERE that you may enjoy!! :) 

PS...if you hover over my blog pics now you will see an AQUA P...that means you can pin it to Pinterest if you'd like! :)

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Altered Cigar Box....Shabby Chic Style!

Soooo this is my Mother's Day present for my mom....yup its late...yup she doesn't have it yet LOL.  I will HAND deliver it in a few weeks when I see her and she will see it here on my blog as well ahahaha.  But I had good intentions to get it done in time but some of my "supplies" didn't get here when they were supposed to...ugh.  But I got it done and I'm purty pleased with how it came out.  Its a bit shabby-chic-french-country and yes its another altered cigar box.

This is what it started out as...a plain old cigar box minus the cigars (eyucky)!  I removed most of the stickers and sanded it down a bit in places.  You can see my other altered cigar box I did HERE!

The papers are all Graphic 45 "French Country"...that I ADORE and just ordered more of LOL!  Everything was distressed with my Zutter Distress machine (ohhh how I love that thing) and inked with Distress Inks "Vintage Photo".  I glue on my papers to the wood with Modge Podge...the things you can do with that stuff...me luv!  I added feet to my box as well...they are unfinished wood feet from Michaels (2 in a pack for 99 cents) that I painted cream and distressed.  I used just cream acrylic paint and also painted any edges of the box in places but after painting wiped with a rag so it looks a bit more worn.  The front lock is from a Tim Holtz Idea-ology pack that I wiped with cream paint and then sealed.  I added the legs with Gorilla Glue and then all the metal embellishments with Best Glue Ever (stuff is SUPER strong and is truly the best evah).

The flower postcard image is actually a stamp from Crafty Individuals Stamps (yup I used the chicken stamp on my last box) and this one is called "Postcard Blooms" and its in stock at SCACD.  I stamped it on dark cream cs, added a bit of color with Copics (B99,B97,B95,B91/E43,E42,E40) to it and a few Stickles for sparkle...then distressed it well. The other postcard is from the Graphic 45 pack that I distressed more.  The swirls/scrolls were done with a Memory Box die "Val Flourish" (one of my faves) and then inked.  All the butterflies are metal and they came in a pack of 5 at JoAnns in the clearance section for $2...forget what company they are from but I love that I can bend them and ink them.

The blue butterfly underneath the large metal butterfly is a Jenni Bowlin accent...as are the hat pins.  Flowers are a mishmash that I inked to distress and the ribbon I buy off of Etsy already tea-stained.  Tiny paperclips are from Idea-ology as well.  **Funny story about Jenni Bowlin...we grew up together and went to school together in Maryland.  Lost touch during college but one day when kids were much younger I was watching a Scrapbook show on TV that used to be on and this guest was on doing a stamp bleaching technique.  I was like "I swear that looks like Jennifer Russell, she talks like her & has same mannerisms"...hubby was like "oh yeahhhh right"...so I tracked her down online and sent an email asking if it was her by her maiden name.  AND IT WAS HER LOL...I took art classes and ran an art club in high school and Jenni was NEVER interested so how funny we ended up in the same industry.  But her mom was into antiquing and junking so I see that influence in her designs and store!  We see each other at CHA every year and catch up...its nice to do that and so funny how it all came to be.**

I didn't do much to the inside other than line the bottom...I like to leave the wood burned branding on the lid intact as I think its part of the cigar box charm.  I have to say I'm QUITE enjoying these boxes...I have a few more on hand and already thinking up some ideas for them ;)

I'm sure my mom won't mind that I put the box in my living room to display until I give to her....bwahahahaha...NAW I'm joking!  I just put it there to get some pics of it "staged"...its safe & sound in my studio where the cats can't get at it ;)  Anyway I hope she loves it...if not I know of another good home for it !

Have a great weekend everyone!

Got Your Sunnies On?

Happy Tuesday to everyone!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend and the week has started well for ya!  We had a great but very busy weekend...prom weekend ya know so it was a bit crazy.  And it decided to be dreary and rainy on Saturday...go figure...all the other proms in the County got sun and our high school prom was the last and it rained.  BUT it stopped long enough for some pictures outside which was nice.  She got her hair done at 1 and the girl did an amazing job...looked just like the picture Alexa had taken in.   Her and a few of her girlfriends came over and got dressed together so there was lots of squeals & giggles & shoe clomping upstairs.  Sad to think just one more year of this...sigh...makes me sad!  But Alexa and her friends had a BLAST...she went with her good friend Zack, they are just friends and a group of others to dinner & then to the dance.  The great thing about her class is a good majority of them all know each other and get along well...my class was like that as well and its nice.  We went down to the Potomac River to take pics with 42 of them...yep 42 kids all trying to fit in one picture...well I did my best LOL.  One thing that makes me a proud parent is the kids all looked classy, elegant, beautiful and handsome...no inappropriate dresses...they just all looked beautiful...love that!  The dance ended at 11...all the proms are held at the Conference Center back in the woods on the river in my neighborhood...literally 2 streets away from us so that's nice to know they are close by.  Then after the dance the same 12 that went to dinner together went over one of the boy's house for chitter-chatter, pizza and movies till 1 am...he lives just a few streets away too so I knew EXACTLY where they were LOL.  Thankfully I don't worry about these kids drinking or drugging or being too stupid...they are all straight A students with their eyes on the future thank goodness.  So all in all she had a wonderful time and made lots of memories.  It rained on Sunday so we had a jammie and tv day...that was REALLY nice since it rarely happens.

Riley had spent Saturday morning at 10 am till 3:30 in the afternoon at a paintball farm nearby with some of his friends...its over 300 acres and it was raining...MUDDY...which means they were dirty, sweaty and GROSS when they got to my house.  Six teen boys showering, eating and spending the night making lots of noise LOL.  My mom was up so she got to experience a NORMAL weekend in the Dean house hee hee....loud, chaotic, crazy and did I say LOUD.  This is why I always look forward to the quiet of Monday...kids at school, hubby at work (well in NC this week) and the house is peaceful.  LOVE IT!

And prayers to all those in Oklahoma affected by the horrific tornadoes yesterday...my heart is breaking for you and especially the parents of those beautiful children.  I cannot imagine but I am sending up some prayers for peace and safety for you all (and anyone in tornado valley).  So terrifying and sad!

So here are some Prom Pics for ya if you'd like to see:

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Got Your Sunnies?

Today is the Team B Inspiration for the Magnolia-licious Tues Challenge...its called WEATHER IT and you have to create projects that show some kind of weather (you have until May 27th to enter).  At first I though about doing a wintry card...but then I thought about it...a lot...and since SUMMER is my fave time of the year I decided that I didn't want to feel wintry LOL!  The weather is warmer and it was blue skies & sunny today and it just makes me HAPPY and I wanted to showcase that in my project as well! 

I used this cute Mini Magnolia stamp from Magnolia-licious called "Mini Beach Tilda"...one of my fave lil' summer Tilda stamps.  The papers are from Echo Park "Paradise Beach" and I distressed all the edges and then inked with white Palette Ink to soften.  The sunglasses are a Cameo cut file...I used the Swiss Dots embossing folder on the lens part of the glasses for fun texture...I inked the edges of the sunglasses as well.  The "FUN IN THE SUN" is a Cameo cut file as well...I cut it twice (once from white cs & then from yellow cs) and layered...then added a coat of Stardust Stickles to the sun and then sprinkled Glamour Dust on top of the wet Stickles for extra sha-bam sparkle ;)  I layered some flowers and the flower die is from Marianne Designs, the white "Prized Chrysanthemum Outline" die is from Memory Box that I cut in half and used at each end of the card.  A few PTI buttons tied off with yellow Scrappers Floss to finish it off.

She was colored with Copics:  BG72,BG11,BG10 / Y15,Y11,Y00 / E11,E00,R11 / E47,E31,E50

Some stickles on her ruffles for sparkle!

That's it for me today!  Today is clean house day and weed veggie garden and work on other projects day.  Hubby is in NC thru Wednesday night so its just me and the teens...wheee LOL!

Have a good one!

Mother Love!

Hellooooo & Happy Friday to you...its the weekend!  I'm pretty sure I will be excited to see Monday after this weekend and I NEVER say that :)  Prom festivities have started...Alexa (and me) got pedicures yesterday.  Her best friend that moved to Georgia is flying in tomorrow evening for the weekend and to go to prom and she's staying with us...so the girls are excited.  My mom comes up today too and we will be doing some stuffs as well.  Riley is paintballing on Saturday morning, I'm going to the nursery to get some flowers for my pots, Alexa has a hair appt at 1, I gotta pick up her date's boutinniere, take Mom to lunch and then prom pics at 5ish.  Phewwwwww!  Then the adults are going to dinner and Riley is having friends over for the night and we will have some of Alexa's friends here after prom too.    AND YES if you follow me on FB and Instagram I will have tons of photos of prom up this weekend if you wanna check em out!  HINT:  Alexa's dress is my FAVE color :)

This end of year school stuff is always killer but as they get older there is ssoooo much going on all the time, its like a whirlwind.  Most of you may have noticed I'm not traveling and teaching as much this year...not that I'm fully stopping but I'm definitely not doing it as much.  After 3 years of non-stop traveling I felt the need to take a bit of a break.  Plus I want to be home more as this is Alexa's last year of High School and I don't want to miss a thing.  Being a good mom and wife has always been important to me...you only get one chance at this stuff so I feel you gotta be really present & good the first time around.   I also have A LOT of "other" things I want to do, try, accomplish and I just haven't had the time to do while I was traveling.  And yes I miss it but I know what's MOST important in my life and I felt for both me and my family I needed to be home a bit more.  Doesn't mean I'm stopping what I'm doing...it just means I'll be doing A LOT more of stuff LOL!  I have lots of ideas and time still flies by but I'm trying to cram as much livin' in as I can!

AND as soon as I get my PC laptop fixed and/or get some software for my Mac so it will accept my camcorder I will have LOTS new videos coming, not just coloring but other things too....so stay tuned!

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A Mother's Love

So I consider myself a thoughtful, loving and caring person, I really do...I always have the best intentions and tend to lead my life with my heart first.  However I suck at getting people their cards and presents on time, its a character flaw but I readily admit to everyone trust me...the thought is there I however SUCK at mailing stuff or getting it there on time.  So this is my Mother's Day card for my mom LOL...she's coming tomorrow so I figured I'd just hand deliver it.  She knows me well enough to never be surprised by this...plus I consider the card a "thing" not the only representation of my love, admiration and respect of my mother who I count as my #1 best friend and fan.  So one of her favorite colors is lavender (and blue) so this card was custom-made for her.  I'm still working on the other part of her gift...not my fault though lol...the supplies came later than I had expected!  Will share that when its done!

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Just Hanna Stamps (mothers)

Belli Challenges (Mother's Day)

Fresh Brewed Challenges (flowers)

So Ms. Sherri Baldy has some awesome new Besties digis...heck if you follow her on FB she has new ones up every day that make me drool.  So when I saw this cutie, I had to have her...reminds me a bit of myself (she's admittedly much cuter than me though lol) with my gray kitty Poncho.  Funny story about Poncho & my mom in a minute...she will get a chuckle out of this card for sure.  But this Bestie is called "Besties with Kitty", she's a doll huh?  

When we first had Poncho (and his sis Millie) he was a REAL DIVA...he still is but he's more mellow these days.  For whatever reason Poncho did not like my mom that much LMBO...she'd walk by him and he'd hiss or swat at her...even when she'd try to pet him.  It was hilarious...he really only let me and Riley be his "keeper".  Then a few years after we had him he had a bladder infection and blockage...he was really really sick and had to have surgery.  After surgery he came home more mellow but about 6 mos later he was still sick...so I took him to our new vet and they discovered the catheter had been left inside after surgery OMG...he was close to a deadly infection so he had to have surgery again.  Well after that he came home a changed kitty-man LOL...he's very mellow and never hisses or swats anymore.  Although Mom tends to still avoid him a bit when she comes up...so that's why I made this kitty gray...like my Poncho ;) hee!

Supplies: Papers are by Prima and all were distressed with my Zutter Distress machine.  I love a monochromatic theme and this one is a bit shabby chic.  The decorative corners were done with a La La Land die "Filigree Corner", ribbon is from Michaels, charm I've had for ages and the leafy elements were done with a Memory Box die.  Flowers are a mix of Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts.

She got colored with Copics:  V99,V95,V93,V000 / E11,E00,R11/ E47,E35,E31,E50 / C5,C3,C1.  Then I added Diamond Glaze to her eyes and Stickles o her shirt for sprakle.

So that's all from me....busy weekend ahead!  See you next week & have a great one!

Monster-riffic!!

Hello everyone & a Happy Wednesday to you all!  I have been busy tearing through the house doing projects and more lined up for next week.  Today I have the vet coming to give dogs their shots & yearly check-ups....we are lucky to have a vet that has mobile service so they come to the house and the dogs aren't spooked or upset too much.  Then I have my new family furniture being delivered...finally after 3 mos of waiting...I'm so excited to get it.  Our family room furniture is over 10 years old...its held up really well but its time for it to be retired.  Still hunting for a new chair to replace the older one, but have yet to find one that fits "my idea" LOL.  I'm going to put the couch and an almost-like-new Lazy Boy chair on Craigs List and see if I can sell it and get rid of it. 

Next on my list is to paint my mudroom/laundry...its the ONLY room in my house that has never been painted is SCREAMING for color and and some fun decorations and organization.  I'm doing some batten-board on the longest wall with old hooks to hang stuff on.  I'm excited to start on that next week...and yes Suzanne is doing it ALL by herself ;)   Then we will get Riley's new bedroom downstairs done and painted and all set up.  So lots to do!

And this weekend is da-da-da-dum.....PROM...so lots going on this weekend too...no downtime for this gal!

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Monster-riffic!

I made this card for my hubby....he's been so great lately with stuff and I just love him to bitz..he really is my best friend and I'm so happy I got to marry him.  We have a fun quirky, banter, joking and loving relationship...and the sentiment "Do You Believe in Love at First Sight? Or Should I Walk By Again?"...is SOOOOO something I would say LMBO!  Cracks me up!  So this is my love card for him and I snuck it in his briefcase yesterday to find at work...just a small way to say I Love Ya and was thinking of you!  And these monsters from SCACD "Oddly Sweet Curiosities" and this cutie is "Loves Me?"  It just makes you smile doesn't it?  :)

Check out the NEW Art Anthology Colorations Mists at SCACD and all the NEW yummy paper pads too (that b/w Authentique is MINE)...mmmmm!

I used some fun papers from Echo Park "Paradise Beach" and kept the colors fun and bright...perfect for anyone including a guy!  I like the circle theme...I pulled in circles with buttons, polka-dot paper, and Swirls CB embossing folder.  The large orange circles are a cut file from Silhouette Cameo "Background Lace-Circle" and I cut them apart to add a few around the image.  Diamond Glaze on the monster cutie for shine and some Stickles on the scales and background for a sparkle factor :)

So hope this one made you smile or chuckle...hubby liked it, so I'm happy!  Enjoy your day!

Calendar Girls!

Happy Monday to you all!  Its Mother's Day as I write this up and I'm getting frowns from the family for doing any work today...hahaha!  So I won't clog up your brains with my jibber-jabber so I don't get in trouble and can enjoy the rest of the quiet evening with my family.  For those that celebrated I sure hope you were spoiled rotten, loved by many and got rested up and relaxed for the week to come!

My weekend consisted of:

Working all day Saturday mowing the lawn, trimming, planting and mulching...which resulted in me being very DIRTY LOL.  I'm a tomboy at heart...I've always loved digging in dirt...and gardening appeals to me in that way.  So the dirtier I get outside, the happier I am :)...yeah another Suzanne oddity!  But my yard looks gooooood! (I won't tell you how much scrubbing it took to get all that black muck off of me heehee)

Then I followed that up with some Mexican food...mmm guacomole and a big ole' Strawberry Margarita...just what I needed ;)

Spent Mother's Day at Nats Park in DC...sadly Nats lost, again ugh...but we had a good time and the weather was nice.  Riley is STILL going thru a "I'm not gonna smile in pics because I'm too cool" phase but I refuse to let him off the hook LOL!

And of course a day is not a day without some goofing off...me and Alexa pretending to be avoiding the PAPARAZZI...ahahahaha!

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Calendar Girls!

Today is Mini Monday over at the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog as it is every Monday...just this time its my turn to participate :)  I've been wanting to create some pretty calendar pages to use in my studio and have had time run away on me this year...we all know how THAT goes eh? LOL!  So I thought I'd get a jump start on it and try to create 2 pages each month...that way I'm always a month ahead...smart girl I am..ha!  And what better to use than these cute Mini Magnolia stamps...the are just the right size for these mini calendar pages.  Make sure to hop over to the Challenge Blog to see what my DT-mates have created too!

Make sure to check out the DEAL OF THE DAY on the home page of Magnolia-licious HERE everyday.  Different stamps, dies and products are heavily discounted for 24 hours each day...so check it out for items that may be on your wish list!!

First up is May...my favorite month...my birthday month and Mother's Day month of course. My favorite flower is the tulip...so this cute Mini "Tilda with Three Flowers" was the perfect one to use for May.  She is colored with Copics and accented with Stickles.  Who doesn't love tulips...so many varieties and colors and elegant in their beauty!  I decided to keep my calendar pages mostly monochromatic...I love the look and a great way to keep each month separate and different.  These papers are from PaperMania and I distressed them before placing.  I used the same layout for both calendars and I will probably continue that throughout the rest of the months of the year.  The scroll is by Memory Box "Val Flourish" and die cut out of white cs.  My mini calendars are a free printable from HERE...I printed them on white cs and then cut them down to the size I wanted.  I added a strip of paper and cs to each month for my Tildas to sit on and to customize them.  The scroll stamp is from PTI and I lightly stamped over the calendar in a few places with pale pink ink.

For June I went with a yellow and black theme to match cute Mini "Honey Tilda" and she's colored in Copics as well and some fun Stickles on her wings (there is a Mini Honey Jar you can buy for her to sit on too...so cute).  The layout is the same and the papers are by both PaperMania and PTI.  I used the same scroll die and stamp and added some yellow pearls to accent.  PS----my calendar pages have magnet strips on the back to stick to my magnet board in my studio...I forgot to take a picture of that, sorry LOL!  Cute as a bee isn't she? heehee

So I'm working on July & August and I will share those soon with you as well.  Its fun and easy to create these mini calendars...because they are small they don't take too long to make.  And keeping a similar layout while varying the images and papers makes it a bit easier as well.  Twelve months of these bound together would make a super cute gift!