Let's Do Lunch!!

Good Thursday evening everyone! I am super excited today--not only did I get my new Gina K stamps in the mail today but I got lots of exciting "news". I can't share my "news" with you until tomorrow, but I was spinning around the floor excited this morning. My other "#2 news" I won't be able to share with you until next month (I know I'm a tease...lol)! I will do a delayed post for you tonight so you can find out first thing in the morning. I'm going to lunch with my "lunch bunch" gal pals tomorrow, so I won't be back in my craft room until evening time. I had a blast the other nite for our "girls" nite out --we had a great time & lots of laughs (I'm still laughing a little right now--they know what I mean)...we'll definitely be having another nite out soon--Too Fun!

Ok, my card today uses my new Gina K stamps called "Little Tees" and it was designed by Melanie Muenchinger--too cute! I love her stamp sets--always fun to use. This card turned out a little differently than what I had planned, but I really like it. I started by stamping the t-shirt onto my patterned paper first and then cutting off the sleeves w/ the intention of making a sleeveless shirt. Then I thought it needed a vest so I stamped the t-shirt again onto SU's cs--after staring at it for a few minutes, the vest idea turned into a cardigan w/ pearls. I just cut a v out of the t-shirt and cut off the sleeves--then I drew button holes and added pearls on the other side. So my t-shirt turned into a sundress with a sleeveless cardigan--ya never know what I might turn out! I added a hat from MFT's "Can Ya Dig It" set and a purse from Gina K's "Retro Boutique". I added turqoise trim to the hat and some stickles to the flower centers--the purse got stamped onto the lighter cs and then I added a flower that I had cut out from the dp w/ a pearl in the center. A girl's gotta have some bling so I added diamond stickles to the purse and the collar of the cardigan. The sentiment I made on MS Word and printed out onto my cs, it was then cut out with one of my tag nestabilities and mounted w/ dimensionals. I love the look of crisp white cs embossed with the CB swiss dots folder--just one of my favorites I think. All of the cs is from SU and the dp is from SEI's "Poppy" paper stack. That does it--hope you like my altered t-shirts!!

I'll be back in the morning with my exciting "news" that I can't wait to share with you all!! Until then...

Suzanne

Snow in July!!!

Hello everyone! Hope your Wednesday is going well. I have to say a big "YIPEE"--know why? Cuz' I FINISHED all of the 20 Dirty Girl Challenges today on SCS---yeah me!! I did it and can't believe I did it, it was fun, tiring and challenging that's for sure. I'll share some of the challenge cards with you over the next week or so.

So today I got some happy mail from my blogger friend Heidi. We swapped images--she sent me some oh so adorable Precious Moments images and I sent her Sarah Kay images. I want all of these Precious Moments stamps--LOVE them! I have alot of Precious Moments figurines, my mom started buying them for me when I was little and I have a ton!! Of course they're going for a small fortune over on Ebay, but I have my lil' eye on a couple that I want (don't ask me what I'm willing to pay cuz' you might faint away-lol)!! So, I'm sssssooooo thankful to Heidi for sending me a bunch, especially the Xmas ones--just darling.

Since I was so excited to get these PM images I just had to use one today. I decided to do the challenge over on Our Creative Corner this week--it's to make a Christmas card in July. Now I am definitely not one to get going on my holiday stuff early especially when it feels like 100 degrees outside--ya know what I mean? I love Christmas (I am a xmas addict and will have 9 trees in my house this year--yes I am a fanatic--I will post pics in December) but I just can't into the mood until fall when the kids go back to school--I want to enjoy the summer, not worry about how many days I have to make my xmas cards-lol!!

Ok, onto the deets of this card. I watercolored the image with my SU inkpads and Twinkling H2O's. I added some stickles to some of the Xmas decorations and put on liquid applique and puffed it w/ my heat gun for the snow. The yummy Xmas dp is from Basic Grey's "fruitcake" line that I got last year. I paired it w/ some Bazzill cs that I had. I used my nestabilities to cut out all of the circles (gosh, how I {heart} those things). The ribbon is from Michaels and those cutie-patootie white glitter dots I got from Gina K (love em--want them all)--don't they look like snowballs? The silver snowflake I got in a pack from AC Moore last year and I added a glitter dot to the middle and attached it to the ribbon center. For the final touch I used my Inkssentials pen to highlight the image some and add dots to the scalloped circle.

So there ya go--Merry Xmas in July!! It was fun to make, but I think I'll save my Xmas creations for the fall--I'm still on summer TIME people!! Until tomorrow...

Suzanne

Flower Friends!

Good Tuesday afternoon everyone! It is HOT here today, no kiddin'--you will wilt if you go outside today :)!! At least it's sunny tho! I'm excited because I only have one more challenge to finish up today for the Dirty Girl Challenges on SCS--yippee!! There were 20 challenges total and boy did some of them take me out of my comfort zone for sure, but it was fun, now we'll see if I win (ha ha)! I am excited that I won a new stamp set from Sweet 'n Sassy the other night randomly, so my luck must be turning (thanks Korin)! I also get to have a girl's nite out tonight--it's been awhile that I've gone out at nite w/ friends cuz' we're always so busy. I'm looking forward to a nice glass of wine and some "girl" talk!

Ok, my newest Sugar Nellie stamps by Elisabeth Bell came yesterday from Funky Kits and I had to ink one up today. This one is called "Planting Some Love" and I think its darling--it actually comes with a kitty chasing a butterfly stamp too, but I didn't add that on today. I colored her with my Copics and added a few stickles to the flowers on her hat. I added a few highlights w/ my Inkssentials pen too. The delicious dp is from Chatterbox's "Violet Dahlias" and I love the color combo--thought it worked perfectly with this image. I used the sketch challenge from the Dirty Girl challenges on SCS by Holly for this one (although she used a oval & I made mine a circle to fit the image in). The sentiment is from Gina K's "friendship blooms" set and I stamped it w/ SU's lavender lace inkpad directly onto the dp. For a final touch I layered a bazillion Prima flowers and leaves (lol) and adhered them w/ glue dots (the centers are Doodlebug brads). I'm pretty pleased w/ the turnout, whatcha' think?

Ok, onto my last challenge card and I will finally be done w/ all these challenges-hurrah!!! I'll see ya tomorrow--

Suzanne

PS--Jacqui over at Cats Wiskers is giving away some wonderful blog candy. Check it and all her fab creations out here.

Viva La Diva!

Good Monday Morning! Usually on Monday's I say uck!, but this week is fairly low key for me--nothing major going on which is nice. The kids have evening activities to go to a couple of times, but that's it (love it)!! Hopin' your week is low key too!

I made this card today with another Dirty Girl challenge over on SCS again. I know, I know...I'm doing alot of them, but if you finish them all(and there's a ton) you get entered for 4 gigantic prize packages, so I'm tryin'! I like to incorporate a couple in each card, but I still have 7 more to go and finish up by Aug. 1st (hope I make it)!! If you're not a fan club member on SCS and are interested, you can read about it here. This challenge was to use pink & black colors and faux stitching on your card. I LOVE pink and black together--tres chic, I think, especially paired with my (French Diva) Tilda with her beret! At least I think she's frenchie lookin' :)

I created this card layout after many different attempts, but I'm pleased with the final layout. I stamped and then colored her with my Copics and added dots to her shirt and skirt w/ my white Inkssentials pen (and highlights). I also added some pink stickles to her hairbows and diamond glaze to her shoes. I used my oval nestabilities to cut her out and the scalloped oval. The b&w floral dp is by Imaginisce, the pink argyle dp is from SU and the polka-dots dp is by Doodlebug Designs. I made the corner elements by punching out 2 scalloped squares w/ my Marvy punch and then cutting them in half and attaching them w/ dimensionals. The scalloped border is with my handy dandy Fiskars border punch (threading water)-gotta love that thing!! The sentiment is from Hero Arts. I wrapped my favorite black satin ribbon (Offray) around and tied it off--this time I added a centerpiece to the knot. I layered 3 Primas and placed a polka dotted brad in the middle and attached it with glue dots. For the faux stitching element, I used my Inkssentials pen again to "stitch" around the edge of the card. Tres Chic indeed!!! Hope you like!

Remember, if you're interested in ordering the Magnolia stamps you can contact Diana Crick of Scor-Pal at magnolia.us@shaw.ca. If you haven't joined the Magnolia-licious Yahoo Group yet, whatcha' waiting for--you can join up and look at the list of Diana's inventory for you to browse and drool over. Can't wait until her webshop is up & running...very soon!!

I am also selling a bunch of my retired or unused SU stamp sets, some of which have never been opened. If you are interested in buying any, please email me at sjdean@smartneighborhood.net and I will hold them for you on a 1st come basis. I can send you a paypal invoice or I will accept personal checks--if you are sending a personal check I cannot send the stamps until your check has cleared. If you're not sure what each set looks like, you can check out www.ebay.com and they have pictures of them all. I'm charging a flat shipping fee of $2.50.

-Mixed Bouquet (gently used) $10

-Olive You (gently used) $4

-Fun Filled (gently used) $5

-Paint Prints (brand new) $5

-Shape Ups (brand new) $4

-Letter Patterns (mounted but never used) $8

-Polka Dots & Paisley (gently used) $10

-Winged Things (gently used) $7

-Double Line Doodles (brand new) $12

-Two-Step Stampin Christmas Foliage (gently used) $8

-Year Round Fun II (brand new) $14

-Fun Filled (gently used) $4

-Happy Heart Day (gently used) $7

-Collage Alphabet (only a few have been used) $18

-Collage Alphabet Numbers $5

-Doodle Alphabet (gently used) $14

I'm off to work on card orders and hopefully to complete another challenge! Enjoy your day!Suzanne

Hang 10!

Good morning fellow stampin' addicts!! Hopin' your having a good summer weekend so far. I'm not sure what we're up to today, because we're supposed to have storms and torrential rain all day--yucko! Guess that leaves the pool out, huh? We might go check out the 3-D "Journey to the Center of the Earth" movie, see if its any good. If not I'll be hangin' 10 (lol) in my craft room!

I made this card yesterday (along w/ a few others) for 2 more Dirty Girl challenges on SCS. One was a sketch and the other was to make a "scene" with your stamps. I really liked the sketch and I wanted to use another CC Designs stamp--this lil' surfer doggy is from the Itzie Inkies "Summertime Fun" set. All of the stamps in this set are super-cute!! The dp is from Autumn Leaves and I liked the softer tropical colors in it, not like the usual bright colors. I paper pieced his lil' swimmin' trunks w/ the dp and the rest of the image is colored w/ my Copics. I cut the image out and mounted it on dimensionals and created a "scene" by making an ocean w/ my Copics on another sheet of white cs. I coated his "wave" and the ocean with diamond glaze, and then once dried I added diamond stickles on top with my finger for a nice sheen. The dk organge cs is by Bazzill and the other cs I used is SU's soft sky, which I embossed with my CB embossing folder. I like this CB emboss. folder (D'vine Swirls) because it reminds me of waves. The sentiment is from Eclectic Paperie's Sushi's Favorite Words stamp set (check it out, they're cute)--I just put 3 together to make the phrase I wanted, punched it out and mounted it w/ dimensionals and added orange stickles around the circle layer. I wanted to add some fish to my "scene" so I stamped 2 different fishies from PTI's "Pond Life" stamp set in SU's pumpkin pie ink and then added orange stickles to their bodies for more shimmer. For a final touch I looped some ribbon from Michaels around the center and tied off. My doggy friend is "hangin' 10" for sure! I think this would be a "cool" birthday card for a young boy (have to check w/ my son on that--he he). Hope you like it!

All right, I'm off to enjoy the day, rain or no rain. See ya tomorrow!

Suzanne

Sweet Summertime!

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope your weekend has started off good. We had a wonderful time at dinner last night w/ our friends and it was nice to have adult talk and no kiddos at the table!! Lots of good food (including dessert) and lots of laughs--a great time. I have had quite a bit of time in my craft room today and it's been wonderful--lovin' it!

My first card today incorporates 3 challenges if you can believe it--told ya I'm a multi-tasker!! I'll name them real quick for you-- 2 of these challenges are from the Dirty Girl**challenges over on SCS (one by Julia to sew on your card, the other by Christine to watercolor) and the other is for the challenge blog Caardvarks --this is a sketch by Kazan. This card uses my newest Sarah Kay stamp called "Picnics of Daisies" that I ordered from 7 Kids College Fund and to me it just personifies summer! I watercolored her with my aquapainter and SU reinkers/pads--I haven't done this in awhile & I forgot how much I enjoy it, such a softer look. The larger patterned dp is from DCWV "Pocket of Posies" stack mat and the smaller, red dp is from SU paired with SU cs. I punched the corners of the main dp then I actually stitched it to the card w/ red thread in all the corners. Now if you know me well, you'll know I hate to sew (I know how, but I don't like to do it)!! I also sewed 2 Prima flowers along with an SEI button to the card. The sentiment I stamped directly on my main image and it's from PTI's "Mailbox Greetings" set. Everything is layered and popped up with dimensionals. The scalloped border is made w/ my Fiskars "threading water" border punch. It doesn't show up well in the picture, but I added a lil' sparkle to the flowers, hat bow and picnic basket cover w/ my clear Spica pen. Ta-Da, she's all done and I love it!

If you haven't checked out Gina K's new stamps, get on over there. There's a super cute one by Melanie Muenchinger that I love (and ordered).

I have lots more to share with you and I'll be back tomorrow to share another project. Until then have a great Saturday evening!

Suzanne

** You can only participate in the Dirty Girl Challenges on SCS if you are a fan club member. You can join at any time over there.

Sunglasses People!!

Good TGIF everyone!! Yeahhhhhh, its the weekend!! We have absolutely no plans this weekend & ya know what that means? Stampin' time for me, oh yeah!! We are going to dinner tonight with friends w/o the kids which is a rare treat for us, so that will be fun. But other than that, we have no plans...how often does that happen--nevah!!

Ok, today is a 2 card day for ya, but ya bettah put your sunglasses on cuz' they're BRIGHT!! My first card I made using some of my new goodies from All That Scraps that came the other day (remember my happy mail). This stamp set is by CC Designs & is called "Sweet Treats"--too stinkin' cute I think!! I used the weekly sketch #186 over on SCS for this card. This dp by Doodlebug Designs (birthday girl party time) I adore and it fits right in w/ this stamp, dontcha' think? The limey green cs is by Coredinations, the hot pink by SU. I colored my lil' bear w/ Copics and then added some diamond stickles to the edges of the ice cream. I also paper pierced around her for some added detail. The strip of hot pink cs w/ embossed buttons was made with one of the new CB embossing folders (Just My Type borders)--it comes with 5 cute edge borders that I got from CutatHome but you can also get it here. I used one of the sentiments and added stickles to the "SWEET" and layered it. For final touches I added some pink pearls from Ellen Hutson and the cute lil' library clip (thanks to my bella sistah Cathy for these) is by MM.

The second card I made actually won me a prize this week. I had made this last week and added it to the Inque Boutique gallery--they pick a card from the gallery every week to win $50 worth of their stamps. This was the first time I had entered and I actually won--can ya' believe it!! I had my list of stamps I wanted all ready for them--ha ha!! Anyhow, this card was made with one of their mini sets called "Memoirs" that you can get here. If you haven't tried out their stamps, they are really great & stamp beautifully (not to mention easy on the wallet)! I used 3 of the stamps together to make a mini scene (the tree is 2 stamps). I added diamond glaze to the tree foliage for shine and outlined the house w/ black marker to make it pop. This dp is from Cosmo Cricket's "Hello Sunshine" paper pad--pretty mod I think. I used my largest scalloped circle nestie to make the card base--I like these round cards and this is my first time making one. I used some more nesties to cut out the rest of the layers including the sentiment. I added some ribbon from the Michaels $1 bin and made a loop at the top and tied it. I thought this would make a great housewarming gift card to attach to a bottle of wine or a goodie basket and it was quick & easy to make. It's a winner (ha ha)!!

Ok, I hope you all have a great Friday evening and I will post at least once this weekend for ya!! Until then...

Suzanne

PS--I've won a couple of awards from some sweet blogging friends--I will upload them this weekend (I haven't forgotten) & thanks!!!

Take a Break!

Good Thursday morning everyone! It's almost weekend time again--yippee! I don't know what our plans are today--just depends on the weather. It's been really stormy here the past 3 days, we need the rain, but I've had enough--I NEED the sun!! I'm getting grumpy from lack of sunlight :( Not good for Suzanne's MOJO, ya know.

Ok, enough mopin', onto the card of the day. I made this for two challenges again--how 'bout that for killin' 2 birds w/ one card (or however that goes-ha ha)!! I love combining challenges with one card, frees me up to make more! This is for the MFT sketch challenge #40 over on SCS and another Dirty Girl challenge by Texas Jody on SCS. For Jody's challenge you had to base your entire card on ribbon--I have never done this before evah!! But I gotta tell ya' I liked doing it--I've had this ribbon for awhile so I really wanted to use it with this bathtub image from MFT called "Take a Break-by Annie LaPointe". I love this striped, vintage bathtub filled with lilacs--too cute! I bought this paper a few weeks ago by ATD called "story of us"--I really like the black, cream & gray blues in the dp and it matched perfectly with this ribbon from Michaels. The image is colored with Copics and I stamped the lilacs twice. The second set I tilted and popped up w/ dimensionals to make the tub look extra filled up w/ flowahs. I added a few stickles for some sparkle too. After coloring I coated the tub w/ Diamond Glaze for shine (in my picture it's not fully dried so you'll see a couple of small bubbles--they're gone now)! I used my nesties for the circle cutouts and there is basically just alot of layering and popping w/ dimensionals. I added these small black corner brackets from ClubScrap--I liked the Victorian touch they add to the vintage tub image. I wrapped the ribbon around and tied it off & its done--didn't take long at all. I think a bunch of these would make a great gift set for someone special--don't we all need to take a break occasionally (at least I do)!!

Well, I hope you liked it and I hope you all have a great day! Talk with ya' tomorrow--
Suzanne

MFT stamp "Take a Break", ATD dp "story of us", SU cs, PTI vanilla cs, nestabilities, dimensionals, Michaels ribbon, Copics, Diamond Glaze, Club Scrap brackets

A Hootin' Happy Day!

Good afternoon again! I promised I'd be back with my finished "boy" card, didn't I? I always try and stay good on my word!

I've had just the happiest mail day today. First I got a box full of goodies (and I mean lots) from my bella sistah Cathy--over on the Bellaholics Anonymous Yahoo group for Stamping Bella we get matched up with a "sistah" for a few months and you chat and send goody boxes to each other. This week is her birthday, so I sent her a box of goodies too--but boy did I get alot--thankya, thankya, thankya Cathy!! She sent me lots of embellies, paper packs, rubons, ribbon & new Stella stamps-yippee!

I also got my huge box of goodies from All That Scraps--I spent over 1/2 of my monthly allowance on that box of goodies I tell ya (my stampin' allowance that is), but I saved some for all the new Gina K stamps coming out tomorrow--he he he! I got new Spica markers, new stickles, stamps, ribbon, buttons, inks and paper & more--yeah me!!! More to play with!

Ok, onto my "boy card" for the day. I made this card using one of my new stamp sets from PTI called "Wise Owl" and its cuter than cute--so many good sayings in it too. You can mix and match all his little parts so you're owls look different everytime (they're coming out w/ more owl belly stamps too for only $5). The sketch is for Julee's Mojo Monday sketch #47 (I flipped it around) and I also made this for the Dirty Girl challenge on SCS by Michelle that was to make a masculine card. I have to say this was out of my comfort zone--I like ribbon & flowers and such too much!!

I stamped this lil' guy on PTI's vanilla cs and stamped 1 of his bellies onto the new dp by PTI (which I thought looked very masculine, like a plaid shirt) and cut his belly out. I colored him in with Copics and then attached his paper pieced belly. I then cut him out and added diamond glaze to his eyes. I got all my brand spankin' new CB embossing folders the other day, so I had to use the "argyle" one since that seems so manly. I embossed SU's really rust cs and layered it on PTI's chocolate brown cs. I used my oval nesties to cut out 3 layers of cs & then attached the owl with dimensionals. I bent the sentiment on my acrylic block so that it would echo the curve of the oval (love to do that w/ the acrylic stamps--they bend every which way) and stamped using SU's markers. For the final touch I layered some buttons from MyMindsEye with glue dots and this lil guy was done. And for the final test--my son said it looked very "manly" and great for a guy--mission accomplished! :)

Alright, I'm on to finish up some things. We didn't get to go to the pool today because it's stormy and gray here today in VA. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. Until then...

Suzanne

Quilt Eye Candy!

Good Wednesday morning to you! I am just posting a quick post before I take my kids and their friends to the pool for the day. I am still working on my boy card and some other things--hopefully I will get that posted later today.

My card today features PTI's new "quilter's sampler" stamp set that was released this month. I love quilts--my mom and grandmother made many for our home growing up and I adore them. I wanted to participate in the Dirty Girl Challenge over on SCS (you have to be a fan club member to participate) and one of the challenges was to make most of your card white. I love how white just makes colors pop and I really wanted to use navy--one of my favorite color combos. And of course, Mr. Brown delivered my "happy mail" from PTI today which had all my new stamp sets, paper and ribbon inside---love that brown truck :)!! Make sure and check out all of PTI's new stuff this month--lovin' it (spent why too much money though-lol)!

So what could be better than a navy & white quilt. This set lets you create your own quilt blocks, so you can pretty much make whatever design your heart desires. I also bought the 3/4 punch that PTI sells that punches out the little squares perfectly. After coloring with one Copic Marker (I have never only used one marker--its a record) and punching them out, I glued each quilt block to SU's night of navy cs, then layered again on white cs and again on the navy cs. I made my card base w/ PTI's white cs (the only paper I use to stamp on & color w/ Copics) and embossed it with the CB swiss dots folder. I stamped the sentiment (this set comes with many good ones and they have a second set of sentiments that you can buy too) and layered that too. Both the quilt and sentiment are popped up with dimensionals. I just threaded some white satin ribbon under the sentiment and around the card and tied off to the side--ta da, it was done. Simple to do, but dramatic in effect I think. I'll definitely be using this set alot more!

Ok--I'll be back later to post my "boy" card for ya! Have a great day!

Suzanne

Cowgirls!

Good Tuesday afternoon everyone! I hope you're having a good one. Unfortunately, I had no "card" dreams last night to guide me today--ha ha! We did have storms here around 1 am that kept me up for awhile. I'm not really scared of storms, but my older dog Casey is and she insists on hiding out on top of my head in bed when it storms at night. Of course, I'm not the greatest sleeper anyway and her panting on top of my head did not help with my sleep issues last night. I know this is a probably funny image to you (I might laugh later) but lack of sleep keeps me from laughing right now-lol!!!

My card today is for a guest DT challenge/call for a new line of stamps by Katharina Frei whose new line will be called "Whiff of Joy". You have to use her sketch for the card. I decided to ink up my Sugar Nellie/Sweet Ebony "Giddy Up" stamp which hasn't been used yet. I love little cowgirl images--too cute (although my son is hammerin' me to make a BOY card--maybe tomorrow). The dp is Marcella by K&Co (ancestry) and the cs is SU's choc. chip & blue bayou. The kraft cs is from PTI. After coloring her with my Copics I inked all the edges with my cream and brown ColorBox chalk inks for distressing. I added a few platinum stickles to her belt buckle--cuz every cowgirl needs a rhinestone buckle!! I also added lt. pink liquid pearls to the center of all the flowers. The "Howdy" sentiment is from MFT's "Ride Em Cowgirl" stamp set and the circle stamp around it is from PTI's "borders & corners" set. I used my nesties to cut the tag and the bg scallop out. I added an eyelet to the tag and threaded twine thru and around the card and tied off then roped around the edge of the card and attached w/ glue dots. For a final touch, I added Prima flowers that I layered and attached with Basic Grey brads. I am quite happy with how it turned out and I really like the soft colors--hope you likee too!

I'm going to try and make a boy card tomorrow (to appease my ds)--I haven't made very many of them, so it should be challenging for me :) See ya tomorrow!

Suzanne

Dreamin'!!

Good Monday evening everyone! Sorry this is a late post today, but I was running around doing errands today and just couldn't get everything done--ya know how it is, right? I feel like I've been in and out of my hot car 50 million times today, and I'm still hot--feels like 100 degrees here today & humid (yucky). I just have to blab about my not sleeping again, ya know I'm an incurable insomniac & night crawler--never can get to sleep. Most nights I lay in bed thinking about card layouts and other ideas--I even keep a notepad by my bed to jot things down. I know there's others of you out there that do the same thing--come on & admit it!!! Last night I had a dream about Magnolia's at night in the moonlight and I actually remembered this morning and that is what my card is based on today--I actually made my dream into fruition--how about that! Hope you like my "dream" card!

This card uses Tilda on the pier again (I think its probably my favorite Magnolia stamp right now). If you're interested in ordering some Magnolia stamps you can get in touch with Diana Crick at magnolia.us@shaw.ca to order them. Believe it or not, but this uses no one's sketches or challenges in it at all! I used SU's night of navy cardstock for the card base and bashful blue for accents; the dp is from DCWV "summer matstack". I drew my "water scene w/ clouds" and colored everything with Copics (there was a lot of coloring & blending in this one)--I really wanted it to look like the moonlight was shining down on her and the water. I used mostly dark blues for a moody, night look and lots of pale yellow & white for the moonlight. I used my Nestabilities to cut out all of the circles and then added diamond glaze to the water. I put diamond stickles on the moon and her wings too. I cut into the side of the clouds and glued the moon in between the clouds so it would poke out from the main circle image. The bashful blue cs is embossed w/ the CB swiss dots folder (by the way I got all the new ones from CutatHome today--yippee) and then I rubbed night of navy ink over the embossing for contrast. The sentiment is from Verve Stamp's "wonderful wishes-remixed"--I tell ya they have the best sentiments (I know, what a repeater I am)! I stamped around the sentiment w/ PTI's "borders & corners" stamp set and then cut it out and mounted it onto PTI's "lemon tart" cs. I thought the navy cs looked a little plain so I stamped it with versamark ink using the same PTI stamp set but w/ the circle stamp this time. For a final touch I added some layered Primas at the top with some MM brads. I'm very pleased with how it all turned out! Hope you all like it too!

Ok--I'm outta here to go make dinner for my hubby and move my sprinklers (no rain in site for us here right now). Until tomorrow...

Suzanne

PS--I just have to tell you about a new store I found (at least new to me) that you MUST check-out called 7 Kids College Fund. The owner, Tab, has the best stuff at great prices and she has all the new things in from CHA that you can preorder--yippee!! Make sure to check her store out. Her store is listed in my links, just click on the logo anytime.

PS--Make sure and check out Artfull Ila's blog--she's giving away some great Magnolia BLOG CANDY!! Check out all her fab creations while you're over there too!

Inspiration Everywhere!!

Good Saturday afternoon everyone! Hope you're all having a splendid day! It is hotter than hot here today--and we have a pool party to go to in an hour, lovely! Hopefully it will start cooling off a bit, we'll see. I just wanted to thank everyone again for participating in my blog candy--it was fun seeing what everyone's answers to the question were. Although I'm a bit embarassed to say how long it can take me to make just 1 card after reading all of your answers. But I'm an honest kinda gal and & I won't lie to ya'--it can take me anywhere from 30 mins (simple cards) to up to 3 1/2 hrs (most of my cards lie in between). Of course that's with interruptions like potty breaks, taking the dogs out and attending to my kids needs (or whines :)). I almost never leave a card for the next day, once I have my idea I like to run w/ it. I always pick out my stamp first and then move on to the dp, after that it's all up in the air as far as what I do next. If I really like a sketch challenge I'll try that out, but sometimes my cards take on a life of their own, ya know? I never glue down anything until I have all my elements in place, which can take me awhile because I like to fidget w/ it & try different things (not to mention my perfectionism butting in)! Anyhoo...

My card for today started with some inspiration I got from the cover of this catalog. If you've heard me blab before, you know how much I love French Country and toile fabric (even my craft room curtains are b&w toile)--love it! So when I saw this cover, I remembered that I had some BoBunny toile dp that would match (I have just about every toile dp there is on the market-lol). I also wanted to participate in 2 challenges again, the first one being the Sarah Kay Weekly Challenge and the Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge #8. The Sarah Kay challenge is using a sketch and Spoon Full of Sugar is to make a card for girls using Sugar Nellie stamps. I really liked the chairs tied with ribbon/fabric in the inspiration piece so I tried to incorporate that into the card-I didn't have gingham ribbon to match so I just used white satin instead. This stamp is called "My Sweet Lil" from Sarah Kay that I got from Sweet 'n Sassy. If you're looking to get some of these stamps(becuz Sweet 'n Sassy is sold out right now) try http://www.7kidscollegefund.com/ because they are getting a whole bunch in on July 20th. I colored her with Copics and added Diamond Glaze to the hair bows and ball for shine. The cs and polka dot dp are from PTI and the ribbon is from American Crafts. The sentiment is from Verve Stamp's "Petals & Stems" set--they have the best sentiments & I just love them all. Lastly I added some colored buttons to finish it all off. Alright, I'm off to the pool--yippee me!! Hope you like the card.

The pictures above are of the basket of Blog Candy entries and the #1 winning entry from Peggy. Somewhere in my mess of a craft table I have Shannon's entry too, but I can't seem to find it...not surprising if you saw my desk :) Ladies, in case you are looking for my email its on the sidebar or here at sjdean@smartneighborhood.net.

Till then...

Suzanne

BLOG CANDY WINNER(s)!!!!!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...............AND THE WINNER OF THE BLOG CANDY IS:

scrappinpeg said...

Suzanne your card is really gorgeous.... Thanks also for a chance at the blog candy..... Well, now for my time spent making a card! Most of the time it is a good 3 - 5 hours. I know that is horrible isn't it? I switched from Scrapbooking over to card making so it would be FASTER! ROFL. By the time I color with markers and then search for embellishments and assemble... time does lapse! oh well, it's all the love of the craft! LOL.I've linked you to my blog too...http://scrappingpeg.blogspot.com/My address for emailing is: rbiggs28@cox.netthanks.... Peggy
July 15, 2008 10:52 PM

Congratulations Peggy! Thanks for visiting me & leaving such a nice comment. Just email me your address and I will get this out in the mail on Monday.
************************************************************************
Now, because I'm in such a great mood and I loved reading everyone's comments (and it took me forevah' to cut out everyone's comments-lol) I'm giving out a second blog candy which will include:
-5 stamped Sarah Kay images
-5 stamped Magnolia images
-1 bottle of Diamond Stickles
-1 roll of ribbon

Next time I will figure out how to use that Random Number thingy for sure!! So the second winner of the day of BLOG CANDY #2 is:

Shannon Roberts said...
It varies cause, I really never know what I am gonna do or design.......plus finding the supplies, time, etc.........LOL.....about an hour!I so luv your blog & CONGRATS!
July 17, 2008 5:29 PM

Congrats Shannon and thanks for your post! Email me your address and I will get this second blog candy out on Monday!!
*********************************************************************

Thanks to everyone who visited and left me so many wonderful comments. It makes a person feel good to know that people are liking what you do, and I really love to do this which makes me even happier. I appreciate the time each & everyone of you takes to visit me each day and leave encouraging words for me. Cheers to you all & here's to another 5,000 hits!!
Suzanne

PS-- I will be back later with some "eye candy" for ya and a picture of all the comments cut out and in my basket (just in case you're wondering if I really did cut them all out & my paper cutter will tell u that I surely did!!)!! My camera battery is charging right now so I couldn't upload any pictures--sorry!

Good Mistakes!

Hi again everyone! Yes, it's a double-posting day I guess (doesn't happen often) but I was really pleased with how this creation turned out and wanted to share, since I have something else planned for tomorrow.

This card started off as a triangular-fold card from Beate that you can see here. I wanted mine to be much larger but after cutting & scoring I realized that my measurements were off--not surprising. But I liked the look of having my triangles not reaching the end of the paper so that you can see more of whats behind it. In case you want to try it, my measurements were 5 3/4 x 12 ", after scoring and folding you will have to trim the sides of the triangles a bit. I'm calling mine the "off center triangle fold" card--lol! I make lotsa "good mistakes" that turn into something different from what I planned but sometimes I like it even better!

I used one of my new Sarah Kay stamps called "Rose's Garden" that you can get from Sweet 'n Sassy. I based all my colors off of this yummy paper from K&Co. (Marcella) and used my Copics to color her. I colored the background w/ a soft cream to mimic fabric which is why you can see some lines, it supposed to be that way--everything else is blended. I used my oval nesties to cut and emboss the image. I added some new flowers I bought by Prima which I love--I just layered 2 together and added a jewel to the center (from Doodlebug Designs)--I also colored/blended the edges of the flowers w/ my Copics for some contrast. I pretty much change up most of my embellishments with ink, like brads and flowers--makes what you have go farther. I've had these great metal sentiments hanging around in my embellies drawer for awhile and forgot about them and came across them while digging for my jewels (obviously I need to organize this drawer-lol). These sentiments are from Making Memories and I believe I had bought them at Michaels, the ribbon is from them too. I just shabbed the metal tag up with some ink so it wasn't such a bright white.

I also added a lacelike trim to the edges and inside with my Fiskars border punch (don't know the name of it) but I got most of these Fiskar punches at Target. To finish the inside off, I stamped the side panels with Verve Stamp's "filigree fantasy" set w/ SU's river rock ink. I made my card so it uses the ribbon as a belly band but instead of tying the ribbon I added Scotch's velcro circles to the ribbon to make it easier to get off. I made this card for the Limited Supply Challenge #177 on SCS (although I didn't limit my supplies, ha ha) but I did do a folding card. I also made this for Ismaki's Challenge #28 that you can find here.

All right, I'm outta here. I'm taking a field trip to AC Moore's and Borders tonight, so hopefully I'll come home w/ some goodies. My PTI package should be here tomorrow--yippee!! Until then...

Suzanne

I Scream For (Ben & Jerry's) Ice Cream!

Happy TGIF everyone! Hope you all had a good week and are looking forward to the weekend--I know I am. I mentioned to you yesterday about my "obsession" with my Ben & Jerry's ice cream "One Brownie Cheesecake"--which I had last night & was yummo! So today I'm rewarding myself with a "no-calorie" treat (my butt thanks me :)) to share with you.

***BLOG CANDY ALERT***If you haven't entered for my blog candy yet you still have until 11 pm (EST) to do so. You can enter for it here.

This first card uses Pink Cat Studio's "Sweet Treats" stamp set which I love because it has lotsa desserts in it & who doesn't love a great dessert every now & then (or everyday, twice a day...)! I used a sheet of Basic Grey's dp from their "Two Scoops" line--how appropriate, eh (oh no! my Canadian friends are rubbing off on me-lol)!! All of the cs is from PTI (aqua mist, sweet blush & lemon tart). I used my most favoritest CB embossing folder evah'--swiss dots, on some of the bg paper. Of course it's colored with my Copics and I added diamond glaze to the sundae glass for a nice shine. I added liquid applique for the cool whip and heated it to puff it up and lastly I added some cotton candy stickles to the cherry--yummo-licious!! I'm entering this card in a "tool challenge" over on the Mothers and Daughters Creations blog that you can see here. Check it out when you get a chance--you have to use Nestabilities somewhere on your project--easy, peasy for me cuz' ya know how much I love 'em!!

**Enabler Alert--CutatHome has all the new CB embossing folders in; I ordered mine yesterday so if you're interested you better get a move on, cuz' they're going fast!***

The second card of the day is for the All That Scraps sketch challenge that you can see here. I flipped the sketch around to fit my needs as usual! I used my stamp set from CC Designs called "Froggie & Friends" that you can purchase at All That Scraps. This set is very versatile, allowing you to mix and match the stamps together. For instance the frog, turtle and birthday hats are all separate stamps that I used together. I wanted my froggie to leap-frog over his turtle friend! They're all colored with Copics and I added a few stickles to their hats. The dp is from SU's "spring fling" line that I paired with their certainly celery & barely banana cs. I used one of my other CB embossing folders on the background (don't know the name of it) and used twill ribbon from Taylored Expressions (this stuff is great & comes in a rainbow of colors). I added a few baubles from Stamping Bella & it's done. A fun birthday card for someone!

All right, we're going to the library and then I'm taking the kids out to lunch today for a treat--then hopefully some stampin' time. Hope you have a great Friday!

Suzanne

PS--Lots of times I type my blogs the night before and have them post at 12:01 am the next day, so if you subscribe and get this in your box very early that's why. We're on EST here--I like to stay ahead of the game sometimes if I have my chicks all in order, that way it gives me more time to stamp :) Just to explain the time stamp!

Flower Power!

Good Thursday to everyone! One more day to the weekend-yippee! We have a few things planned for this weekend but not anything major. My dd, Alexa, is taking a 5 hour babysitting/cpr course on Saturday and then we have a pool party to go to. On Sunday my dh and son are playing in a parent/child golf tournament at our Golf Club--my son is so excited about it. Afterwards they give out the prizes and have an ice cream sundae bar set up (hmm..I might have to go that part-lol)! Speaking of ice cream, I don't know if any of you like chocolate brownies & cheesecake (my two faves), but Ben & Jerry's has put the two together and it is fantabulous!! I buy 3 pints at a time---my butt is showing it, so more walking/jogging for me :) If you happen to want some it's called "One Cheesecake Brownie"--hope you can find it cuz' I might have bought them all out--LOL!! Hmmm....maybe I should have done "dessert" cards today---maybe tomorrow :)

***BLOG CANDY ALERT--If you haven't already entered to win my blog candy, you can do so here until this Friday at 11 pm (EST)***

Ok, onto my stamping projects for today. My first card I made was using this week's "new technique" spotlight over at SCS which was making a grid on your cs (they have a tutorial too). Now, I have seen it on others creations & just loved it, but had never tried it for myself--how dumb is that? It's super easy and if you have a scor-pal it will only take a minute to do (if you don't you can use a ruler & bone folder too). This stamp set was the "free with three" over on Gina K's this past month and I just loved this vase of flowers. My mom always had fresh cut flowers in the house in a milk vase similar to this, so I had to get it since it brings good memories. I used this yummo-licious paper (which I'm hoarding cuz' I love it so much) from Daisy D's called "Autumn Collection-Fall in Love" and paired it with SU's really rust cs. I scored a grid onto the cs and then added the dp to the card. The image is colored w/ Copics and I then added 2 coats of diamond glaze to the vase for a nice, glassy shine (ya know I love that stuff--wish I could buy it by the gallon). I used my square nestabilities to layer it and popped it and the sentiment up w/ dimensionals. The ribbon is some that I had gotten from Michael's $1 bin (don't ya love those $1 bins) and it paired well with all the colors. I love this color combo and I definitely will be using it again (kinda fall like which I'm not ready for yet-lol). I inked the edges of everything & the grid pattern with my cream chalk ink from ColorBox to shab it up a bit and ta-da it's done!

The second card is using my Stamping Bella "Gardenia Greenthumb" stamp that my bella Sistah Cathy sent me (thanks again). This is the first time I've inked her up, I haven't used any of my bellas in awhile, they must be lonely. Have you seen some of their new stamps--I really want that bella on a bike w/ her dog, eventually I guess I'll get it. I used dp from Basic Grey's "Sultry" pad and the cs is SU's pixie pink & purely pomegranate. She's colored with Copics and I added stickles to some of the flowers and her lil' fairy wings. The sentiment is from PTI's "flower garden sentiments" and stamped w/ SU's coordinating ink. I added a faux bow with the matching SU ribbon and placed the sentiment (which is glazed with diamond glaze for a glass pebble look) on top. All of the edges were punched with my SU ticket corner punch, which I love to use. Lastly I added 3 rhinestone flowers from Imaginisce and she's done--all pretty in pink and dressed up to garden--ha ha, like any of us evah' look like that gardening!

Hope you have a great afternoon--if the weather stays nice we are headed to the pool for awhile!

Until tomorrow...

Suzanne

Farm Animal Frenzy!

Happy Wednesday everyone-hope its a good one! We're just hanging around the house today. My dd had to babysit this morning and both of the kids have evening activities so we're not doing much this afternoon. Which means more time to stamp for me--yippee! I won't keep you long today, as I have much to finish up here.

***If you haven't entered for my blog candy you can do it here until Friday night at 11 pm (EST)***

Both of my cards today feature farm animals--gotta love 'em! Both of these stamps are from Penny Black ("for a spin" & "chic chick") and I got mine here. I've told you before about my love affair with cows--just too cute--and even though I'm only "allowed" by my dh to have a few "classy" farm animals in the house, I can make as many cards w/ them as I please!! When I saw this cow on the bike zooming down the road with his chicky friends I knew I had to have it! The dp is from DCWV (summer matstack) and I adore it--because ya know red & black are my all time favorites & I paired it up w/ SU's wild wasabi cs. My images are colored with Copics & yes the cow has some white areas in his black spots--that's not bad coloring, just how the stamp stamps the image:) I added some diamond glaze to the bike to make it shine and the flowers are all by Prima & I added button centers (I'm on a button-love craze right now)! I made this card yesterday afternoon & today when I checked out SCS's weekly sketch #185 this card fit the bill--how's that for luck! I wanted the sentiment (from MFT's Punny Farm) to be hidden so I made a slot with dimensional foam tape for it under the main image. I added ribbon & another button to it, and now the recipient can just pull it out.

The second card was just a quickie color-blocking card I was messin' around with. This Penny Black image is too funny w/ her lil' purse and cell phone in hand. She's colored w/ Copics and I added diamond glaze to her cell phone & beak (love the shine and dimension it gives). The red dp is from MAMBI (Me&My Big Ideas) and the other dp's I made. The blue dp is made with SU's bashful blue cs and then I stamped a circle image from PTI's "b&c monogram edition" with watermark ink and used my Inkssentials pen to make the white dots. The red polka dots are made with PTI's "polka dot basics" set using SU's real red ink. I used my tag trio nestabilities on both cards for the sentiments--love those things--this sentiment is from MFT's "Can Ya Dig It" set. And the ribbon is from SU--I also added some rhinestones from AMuse onto the bottom of the sentiment for some bling. Just a quick & easy notecard--fun, fun!

Don't forget to check out all of PTI's new stamp sets & accessories--love 'em! I can't wait for everyone to get back from CHA to show us all the new products that are coming out! I'd love to go to this next year--sounds like loads of fun! See ya tomorrow!

Suzanne

Real Life Grind and Blog Candy!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am back from my too short vacay! We had a good time just hangin' out in Snowshoe, WV. I love to get away, but boy do I hate coming back to the "real life grind" as I like to call it. Ya know, laundry, grocery shopping and kids activities to run and do--there's no adjustment period when you get back from a trip, its just smack dab back into the middle of it all!! Oh, well at least its still summertime and I did manage to sneak a lil' time in the craft room, although my mojo was running slow today--it needs to get back up to speed-lol! Just a few more pics of our vacation above:

-my son Riley hangin' out in the hammock (that's some real downtime)

-Alexa & Riley w/ their cousin Jenna doing their version of "Charlies Angels"

-lookout tower at Droop Mountain State Park

-picture of my blog candy (see end of post)

Ok, my card today uses Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch #46 for this week. The only change I made was to move the sentiment off-center. I used another Magnolia stamp that I got from Diana Crick whom you can contact here at magnolia.us@shaw.ca to order Magnolia stamps from--I can't wait until her new online store is up & running. I really like this stamp because it reminds me of when I was little hanging out on the pier with my feet dangling in the Chesapeake Bay either fishin' or catching crabs--good times I tell ya! The dp is from Crate Paper (Sweet Branch Collection-Cherish) and I paired it with PTI's summer sunrise & lavender moon cs--I love the bright pop of the goldish yellow in this card (Enabler alert--Paper Trey Ink released all their new stamps for the month along with their new, yummy chocolate brown color cs, dp & ribbons--I've ordered mine, have you?). I used my new Martha Stewart ribbon slot punch (that I've been looking for forevah & they finally got in stock online) and laced my ribbon from Michaels thru and tied it off. Tilda is colored with Copics and her wings have diamond stickles on them. The background I colored with my twinkling H2O's for a real light shimmer. The sentiment is from Verve Stamp's "feeling groovy" set that I had won awhile back--it has song lyric sentiments on it & is so fun! Too finish it off I added MM brads in the corners and used my Ranger Inkssentials pen to make dots around the scalloped circle to match the ribbon. Not too hard of a card to put together I think--I'm working on more projects for this week so stay tuned!!

***Blog Candy*** I'm over 5,000 hits thanks to all of you who read and leave me so much nice feedback. So to celebrate I'm giving away blog candy that I know you'll love! It includes (picture of it all above):

-1 Sweet Ebony/Sugar Nellie stamp (flowers)

-2 spools of ribbon

-1 Cropper Hopper ribbon spool drawer

-1 6x6 pad of dp by Making Memories

-1 bottle of brads from Queen&Co.

-1 travel scrapbook (that you can alter)

-10 stamped Magnolia images

All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post by Friday at 11pm (EST) telling me "how long does it take you to finish a card/project on average?" No rhyme or reason, I'm just curious for curiosity's sake!! Please make sure your comments are not anonymous so in case you win I can contact you--I will randomly pick & announce the winner on Saturday afternoon. If you link my blog candy announcement to your blog you'll get an extra entry (just let me know if you do in your comment) Thanks for playing!!

Suzanne

Magnolia stamp, nestabilities, Inkssentials pen, MM brads, dp by Crate Paper, cs by PTI, sentiment from Verve Stamps "feeling groovy", Michaels ribbon, Martha Stewart ribbon slot punch, Twinkling H2O's, Copics, dimensionals, diamond stickles

Bubbly Fun!

Hello everyone! I am still on vacay until Tuesday, but I wanted to post at least once while I was gone. We are having a great time here in Snowshoe, WV--the weather has been perfect with no humidity which is wonderful. We spent the day yesterday at the mountain for their annual Chili Cookoff which was fun--although my dh and brother had some really hot chili that was making people puke--that's not food just torture!! We took the ski lift down to the base of the mountain and went paddleboating on the lake (actually my dh took the kids while I relaxed in the shade--lol) and went on a walk on the trail! The first pic is of my dh with our kids and our niece Jenna at the top of the mountain. The views here are spectacular and yesterday was so clear. My dh and brother are taking the kids to a park in a gorge to see some Civil War battle sites today--my SIL and I are chillin' with the baby (that's my dh with my niece Taylor above--isn't she a cutie). Anyhow, I'll share more with you on Tuesday when I'm home in my craft room (which I miss, miss)!

***Blog Candy Alert*** I've gotten over 5,000 hits so that means blog candy this week when I get home. I'll let you know what's going to be in it soon, but I can tell you there will be lots of Magnolia images and a brand spankin' new Sweet Ebony/Sugar Nellie Stamp, so stay tuned!***

Ok, my card I made before I left uses the Penny Black "Bubbly" acrylic stamp set and the images in this set are super cute! I just love this kitty drinking champagne in the tubby with his mouse friend (don't we all wish for time like that, oh yeah :)) I used a different Cuttlebug embossing folder this time (shocker I know) to emboss all of the circles. I embossed a piece of acetate and placed it over the stamped image to give the illusion of a gel/water card with floating bubbles--the less messy way to do it I guess-lol! I also used more embossed circles that I popped up with dimensionals for a "bubbly" look. And this dp from Memory Box "summer" just fit the bill perfectly with all of the circles on it. I love the color scheme of this card (PTI's spring moss paired w/ SU's soft sky) it just reminds me of soapy fun for some reason--calming and soft. I will definitely use this color combo again--luv it! I love the sentiment that comes with this set too--perfecto! I finished it off with some dew drops scattered about and that's it. Hope ya like it!

Alright, I'm signing off until Tuesday. I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!

See ya--Suzanne

Penny Black "bubbly" stamp set, Memory Box dp, PTI spring moss cs & SU soft sky cs, cuttlebug embossing folder, Copics, dimensionals, stickles, nestabilities, acetate, dew drops