Whiff of Joy Blitz!!

Happy Tuesday Morning to ya!! Hope your week has started off swell so far! I'm still very happy since the Washington Redskins (my home team) beat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday---Yahoo! If you follow football at all, you know this has always been one of the biggest rivalries (sorry if you love the Cowboys) but we beatcha' fair and square, lol!!! Nothing better than watching a good football game on Sunday in the fall--lovee it!

Ok, onto my cards today. I confess, I fibbed about the new Whiff of Joy stamps---there are 2 girls included in this release, sorry I forgot (gasp) until I got the rest of my images in the mail yesterday! I'm sharing a new image of Willow and another of Charlie with you today. All of these new stamps will be available for purchase on October 4th!





Isn't this image of Willow just adorable? I think she's just precious. My colors were all based on this yummy dp from My Minds Eye called "Laundry Line"--love the colors and the shimmer. The fun sentiment is from MFT's "Rain or Shine" stamp set and I used my Copics to color her too. Simple layout I think, but effective. I used a heavy hand with my diamond glaze on the rain and puddle I made under her, after it dried I applied diamond stickles on top for more watery shimmer. The ribbon and cs color is "Berry Sorbet" from PTI and I added a few dew drops in the corner. Hope you like her!



Doesn't this Charlie image look suave like James Bond--which off on another tangent, hee hee, I can't wait to see the new James Bond movie! My hubby and I love those movies, but whoaaa is Daniel Craig a hottie--definitely makes me a fan, lol!!

Anywhoo, back to my Charlie project,lol! As soon as I saw this image I knew he would look fantastic as a "bottle topper"! I think this would be an awesome hostess/party gift during this holiday season. I used multiple layers of cs to make the topper, colored Charlie w/ Copics and then cut him out. I stamped the black cs with the cute "cheers" sentiment (also by WOJ) in gold ink and layered an oval of gold shimmer cs by PTI on top. TaDa--a perfect gift for a party this season dontcha' think?

Hope you like the sneak peeks so far. Don't forget to visit my DT sistah's blogs (on sidebar) today for their lovely projects using all the new images too! And tomorrow we will all have our "Projects of the Month" to share with you--fun, fun! And make sure and visit Fran's blog today to see her sneak peek of course but also to enter for her yummy blog candy--she's giving away a "Melinda Blowing Kisses" stamp!

Remember to visit the DT blogs today (Mary Jo, Dawn, and Jen) for more peeks of the new Storage Units, Ink and More stamps that will be released tomorrow. I'll have a project (wow, a double post from me tomorrow) to share with the new releases too.

Also, the Clear Dollar Stamps will be released tomorrow so you'll have to see all those cuties too.

Ok--enough from me, I'm outta here!
Suzanne

Santa Charlie!!

Just another Manic Monday, whoa-o-oooo!! Remember that Bangles song--loved it as a teen but now I REALLY relate, LOL!! This is a super-duper, crazy busy week with lots of projects to share, lotsa sneak peeks and activities here in the Dean household. And don't forget on Thursday my mom & I are going to see New Kids on the Block---yeehaw, can't wait!!! I'm getting my hair done (ahhh, long overdue) on Wed just in case I should meet one of them, ROFL!! (Ya never know, gotta be prepared)

Ok, onto the sneak peek for ya today! Whiff of Joy is releasing all of their new stamps on October 4th and the DT will have sneak peeks for ya all week (make sure and check out my DT sistahs blogs all week on my sidebar)! We haven't gotten our Guardian Angels yet, but should this week, so as soon as I get them I will be working hard on some projects to share with you!

The theme for all of the new releases by WOJ is "Boys"---all of the images are of boys! Which I love since I have a lil' rascal of my own :) This image is illustrated by the fabulous Alison Acton and it's Charlie dressed up and ready for Christmas! Isn't he just the cutest with that gleam in his eye? I colored him with my Copics (super fun to color) and added some stickles to the image for sparkle and some diamond glaze to his boots and those yummy caramel apples. I added a Jolee's Boutique dimensional sticker to the sentiment and the dp is from MFT--love those candy canes. Hope you like this "peek"! I'll be back tomorrow with another sneak peek for ya.

There's also lots of other sneak peeks for you to go check out. Storage Units, Ink and More has more peeks for their release on October 1st (super fun, super cute sets you won't wanna miss). Check out Kim's, Susan's and Kathie's blogs today for some awesome projects.

Clear Dollar Stamps is releasing a bunch of new sets on October 1st too---wait until you see these cuties, omgoodness, want them all! Visit Laurie's blog to see some peeks and visit my DT sistah's blogs (on sidebar) for more too.

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

Suzanne

Puppy Love!

Happy Sunday everybody! Yes, it is still nasty weather here and we're not going to the zoo. We'll have to try again another weekend, oh well! I'm still feeling a little sick so I probably wouldn't enjoy it much anyway.

I'm gonna make my post short for you today since I was soooo long-winded yesterday, ha ha! I made this card using one of my fabby Sarah Kay images that I hadn't inked up yet (gasp)! This one is called Fanny's Cuddle, isn't she darling with that cute lil' puppy. She's colored w/ Copics (I use Sketch only for those who wanted to know--my reasons are in my tutorials on sidebar if you're interested). The lovely dp is from the "Tres Jolie" line by My Minds Eye--lovee the colors together. The sketch layout is this past week's challenge on SCS #195--fun, fun! The sentiment is from Heidi Grace---I found a sheet of clear sentiments by her on sale at Michaels for $7.99 and they all are beautiful! The ribbon is from PTI and I distressed the white stitching with my Copics (did ya know you can use Copics on just about everything), buttons are SEI and I distressed the cs with my ColorBox chalk ink in wheat (love that stuff). Hope you likee!

Today, my DT sistahs Debbie and Leigh from Storage Units, Ink & More (SUINK) have some more sneak peeks for ya of the new stamps to be released on the 1st--so get on over there and check 'em out!

And don't forget starting tomorrow me and my Whiff of Joy DT sistahs (their links are in my sidebar) will have sneak peeks for ya of the new yummy stamps---you won't wanna miss it! The stamps will be released for purchase on October 4th. And a big Congrats to the 2 new Guest Designers for Whiff of Joy, Aija and Suzy--we look forward to seeing your work real soon!

The Clear Dollar Stamps DT has sneak peeks also of all the new stamps for release Oct. 1st--check out Laurie's blog for peeks and a run-down of DT members who have peeks this week. Loving that Charlie Horse--he's a keeper!! I won't have any samples for ya until the sneak peek week at the end of October, so stay tuned...

Have a great Sunday! See ya back here tomorrow!

Suzanne

Candle Harvest!

Happy Saturday everyone & welcome to the weekend, can I get a "Yippee"!!!! I have finally gotten out of my jammies (gasp...yes I love my jammies when I sick) and I'm feeling a little better. Now if the weather would improve, I'd be set :) Lots of Cherry Coke in my system now and I'm cranking out projects, lol!

***Don't forget to head over to Jen's blog I{heart}2stamp today for her Sketch For You to Try. Today is my last day as her guest designer :( so check out my card if you get a chance!***

So I have some more news for ya today---I know you're like "gimmee a break" how much news can ya have, right, ha ha!!! Denise Wenzloff of Storage Units, Ink and More contacted me a bit ago and asked if I'd be interested in designing for her....and my response....heck yeah (you can visit her blog & the announcement here)!!! Not only are her stamps cutie-patootielicious (yes that is a word in Suzanneland) but she has a brilliant group of gals working for her too (check out my side bar for all their lovely blogs). The new stamps get released on October 1st so stay tuned for that. Until then members of the DT have sneak peeks everyday for ya. Today it's Lauren Meader's and Bethany Paull's turn, so take a browse thru their blogs when you get a chance---you won't be sorry!

Second news of the day, if you didn't catch it in my blog post yesterday....well.....you missed out on the brand spankin' new opening of Magnolia-licious. Ya know the webshop Diana Crick has been feverishly working on to sell all things Magnolia. The website is beautiful and unique, so take a gander, okay! The link on my sidebar is NOW working and will take you there anytime you'd like :)

Ok, onto my card of the day. I have to start off by saying that I love, love Karen Lockhart images. They're always beautiful and so unique--which is why I chose to buy this lovely fall image. I make 2 centerpieces very similar to this every year for my table and fireplace mantle in an old wooden bread bowl so I had to have this stamp. The image was colored with Copics and then I added diamond glaze to the glass hurricane and a few sparkles here and there with both stickles and my Copic Atyou Spica pens. The dp is from DCWV and it had some scrolls already in the bottom left corner, but I wanted to add more all around so I used SU's "Baroque Motifs" w/ choc.chip ink. I used my oval nesties to cut everything out and wrapped the card in PTI's chocolate ribbon--the sentiment is from PTI's "First Fruits" set too. I think it makes a simple, elegant fall card, whatcha' think?

Have a wonderful weekend wherever in the world you may be!

Hugz,

Suzanne

Sewing a Friendship!!

Happy Friday afternoon everyone! I know, I know I'm running late---lol! I promised I would be back with a card so I'm keeping my promise to ya! I was finally able to get a good picture because its so gloomy, cold and rainy here still, yucky! We wanted to take the kids to the zoo this weekend but I don't know if that's gonna happen with this huge coastal storm. And I'm still sick so that doesn't help. Unfortunately I have a very low immune system so when the kids bring germs home I'm usually the first to get sick...ugh!!!

Anywhoo, onto my card that I made yesterday. I adore everything about this card (YILM-not)--I love the soft colors, the images and the sentiment. I actually know how to cross stitch (my mom taught me) but I don't like to do things that are monotonous like knitting or stitching---my mind doesn't work that way I guess cuz' I like to move on to the next project always, lol! So this card reminds me of my mom cross-stitching every evening when I was growing up. Unfortunately she has arthritis pretty bad in her hands now and doesn't do it as much as she used to :(

This is Cross Stitch Tilda and Diana Crick has her and the shelf image in stock if you'd like to order it from her new webshop Magnolia-licious --yes, its finally open for business, yippee!! I wanted this image to look vintage and distressed and old fashioned. I lovee this paper from Cosmo Cricket called "Honey Pie"--the patterns all look sewn and stitched and just lovely colors too. Of course I used my Copics (what else right) and there's actually no sparkles on this card--I know, can ya believe it! I also stamped the background behind her with SU's "Bella Toile" bg stamp in a light pink ink to resemble faded wallpaper. The sentiment is from PTI's "Quilters Sampler" set. I used my ColorBox ink in "wheat" to ink/distress the edges of everything. The buttons are an assortment from SEI that I attached with gluedots and then I paper pierced the edges too.

Hope you likee! I hope the weather is nicer where you are and you're off to have a wonderful weekend too! See ya tomorrow!

hugz,

Suzanne

Sale and WOJ Sneak Peeks!

Hi everyone! I will be posting tomorrow w/ a card for ya---the weather here has been cold and rainy and yucky. Not to mention I am sick w/ a nasty head cold and sore throat--yucko! I'm just posting 3 items that I'm selling (after clearing out one of my craft bins). All of these items are brand new and never removed from their packaging. I will accept PayPal for these items if you are interested (first come/first serve basis).

--(2) BoBunny "Through the Years" 6x6 Scrapbook kits (details and pictures here & to see some of the paper go here) The patterned paper and embellishments for each month are super cute--2 pages per month!
$22 each which includes shipping (within the US; extra postage fee for outside of US)

--(1) Creating Keepsakes "Becky Higgins--School Years Scrapbook Kit" (video & details here)
this includes everything for your kid's school years from Pre-school thru 12th grade--never even taken out of the box
$36 includes shipping (within the US; extra postage fee for outside US)

Sadly, I just don't have the time to commit to these projects so I'm selling them so they don't take up my precious craftroom space :) Please contact me at sjdean@smartneighborhood.net if you are interested in any of the 3 above.
*************************************************************





The pictures above are two sneak peeks for the new Whiff of Joy stamps to be released October 4th. Next week the DT will have lots of sneak peek projects for ya--these new stamps are fabulous. The first image/stamp is by Elisabeth Bell and is the boy Guardian Angel Matthew. The second image is from Alison Acton and this is Charlie again--party boy this time :) Cuties both of them! Hope you likee!

See you back here tomorrow....hugz,
Suzanne

Happy Birthday Sweets!!

Hello everyone! I am super-busy today so just a short post for ya! I had a blast at my lunch w/ my gal pals yesterday and we also went to the movies to see "The Women". I don't care what the reviewers said, we thought the movie was fabulous, 2 thumbs up!!! I just love Meg Ryan--great to see her back in a good, comedic movie!!

I have 4 big announcements for you over the next couple of days that are super exciting for me, but I can't say all of them until I'm allowed (sorry to tease). Two I can tell you about--I was asked to be a Guest Designer for Spiral Whisper for the month of October--yippee! Lovee those stamps and they ship here to the US superfast too! I'll have a card for ya tomorrow with some of the new Xmas stamps (becuz' my girl outings didn't allow me to finish it up in time yesterday, lol). You can check out my announcement and my future designs on their blog here.

I was also chosen to be on the Clear Dollar Stamps Design Team--yahoo! I'm honored to have been chosen alongside so many other great designers. (I will have the DT blog list up on my sidebar by tomorrow for ya) If you haven't checked them out before, you really should--lots of good stuff over there (I think Charlie the horsie is my fave though)!! So look for sneak peek projects here pretty soon--lots to share with you.

Onto the card of the day--this is a stamp set that I ordered just a bit ago (okay, 2mos ago but whose counting) and I finally inked it up! This set is called "Merry Muffins" by Stampendous which is exclusive to the Eclectic Paperie store. I love that you can mix and match the stamps to make whatever combination of sweet treats that you want. I wanted to use this yummy Heidi Grace dp and make this a 50's like soda fountain birthday card. The cs is all by PTI including the ribbon and the sentiment is from SU's "Spectacular Birthdays"(retired). I added some diamond glaze to the glass and liquid applique to the whipped cream. Aren't these lil' creatures so cute--love their faces! I also used my "happy birthday" cuttlebug folder for the embossed background (dontcha' just love those). And I colored it w/ my Copics which by the way I got another order in from Carpe Diem and now my color chart is complete...ahhhh...now I have to buy all the refills, lol!!

Hope you like it! I may be back with more today, we'll see....

hugz,

Suzanne Dean

Leaf Jumpin'!!

Happy Hump (that's Wed in goofy speak) day everyone! Here in VA fall has certainly arrived--I've had my windows open for 2 weeks now, yippee! Althought the evenings are getting a little too chilly for my taste--I despise cold weather!! Someday I will be living down South somewhere....dreamin' right!! I'm off to lunch today with my "lunch bunch" gal pals which is always a good time (oh if the hubby's knew what we talked about, ha ha). I'm having a "double-girl" outing today, first lunch and then this evening we're going out to the movies to see "The Women" (love Meg Ryan)--I'll letcha' know how it is, okay!!

Ok, moving on...since it feels like fall I made a couple of fall cards for ya! Both of these cards use stamps from H&M Stamp Co. called "A Leaf Load"--I LOVE it! It's so much fun to use and I already have 3 more cards planned with this set! I wanted them both to be similar in style (for my kiddos for their lunchboxes). They're both flap cards which I don't always do, but I really think they add a fun element to your card.

The first card uses the cute girl stamp--she is in 2 parts so she looks like she's under the leaves. I popped her up on dimensionals and is colored with Copics. The fabulous dp is from Black Market Paper Society called "Imported Rhythm" paired w/ cs from PTI. I added some stickles here and there for sparkle and then punched a couple of leaves out of the dp and attached.

Don't these kids remind you of when you were young--I loved jumping into a fresh pile of leaves! Not anymore :( since I'm the one raking them & there could be snakes hiding in there ya know, lol! I added some extra leaves flying thru the air to this "boy" card--he looks so joyful doesn't he! The dp on this card is from DCWV's "fall matstack"--lovee the fun colors!

Hope you enjoyed my fall cards today! Don't forget to enter for some yummy Whiff of Joy blog candy over on my DT sistah Kimmie's blog--she's giving one lucky person a "Melinda Blowing Kisses" stamp. If you already own some of these lovely Whiff of Joy ** stamps you can now participate in weekly challenges over on the new Whiff of Joy Challenge blog too.

lots of hugz,

Suzanne

**If you want to order the Whiff of Joy stamps here in the US, you can now get them from All That Scraps.

You're a Rockstar!!

Hello and Happy Tuesday my stampin' friends!! How's your week goin' so far!! Mine is crazy busy as usual but I'm tryin' to keep up with all the craziness, lol! I have lots of announcements and secrets to reveal over the next week--I can't wait to share with you, so stay tuned!

I'm sharing a card I made that I just adore (YILM)! I love to take images and sometimes use them with unexpected colors or designs--so many of our stamps only get used for one event or celebration. I know alot of people look at this gorgeous Whiff of Joy stamp called "Melinda Blowing Kisses" and see a love or Valentine's Day card. Not meeeeee, lol! I wanted her to be a ROCKSTAR and just a little edgy! I wanted this to be appropriate for a girl of any age and how many of us have dreamed (or think we are, lol) of being a rockstar ya know!

The colors were based on this gorgeous DCWV dp called "All Dressed Up" (one of my favorites of theirs)--of course all rocker chics wear some black, right. She's colored w/ my Copics and embellished up with lotsa rockstar sparkles. And just in time I got these new Primas and Petaloo's (if you haven't seen the new ones, omg I lovee them all) to use. The Petaloo's come with awesome flower "centers" like this black jewel flower I used--fabulous! The scrolls are from a punch I got from Gina K and I added some silver stickles to shimmer it up. The very appropriate sentiment is from Verve Stamps "Starlight Starbright"--there's some great ones in that set! I stamped the sentiment on PTI's new shimmer cs (I used white)--in real life the sentiment is darker but the sun kinda glinted off of it and made it photograph lighter, sorry!

Don't forget if you live here in the states you can now get the fabulous and lovely Whiff of Joy stamps from All That Scraps ! The WOJ DT will soon have sneak peeks of all the new stamps to be released next month, so stay tuned (I've seen them and they are GORGEOUS).

My fellow WOJ DT sistah Kimmie is having her BLOG CANDY giveaway starting today too so make sure and check that out--she's giving away the stamp I've used today, "Melinda Blowing Kisses" and some other goodies! If you haven't entered to be the next WOJ guest designer you still have until September 26th and you can see all the details here.

See ya around tomorrow!

Suzanne

From My House to Yours...!!!

Hello and Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a wonderfull weekend! I had a great one visiting with my mom and sister and just hanging out. Yesterday after they left I got to spend some quality time in my craft room finishing up some projects for ya this week. And guess what else....we had a gigantic vulture in our front yard yesterday eating a dead, 3 ft long black snake---ewwwwww! My hubby took care of it this time, while I stood inside, lol! What is it with the wildlife liking my yard? Go away snakes, I'm sick of ya!!

The card I'm sharing with you today is another Christmas card (hey, gotta start 'em early ya know)!! I used another Magnolia stamp from their fall kit (if you missed out on this kit, the individual stamps will be for sale soon and the winter kit can now be pre-ordered here). I love this lil' Tilda in her nightgown giggling like she has a secret and can't wait for Santa!! The background stamp is from The Stampin Place again (told ya I have lots of them in store for ya)--they work beautifully with the Magnolias. Diana Crick's store will be opening this week--I'll post everything as soon as her site is up and running so you can order lots of Magnolias :) !!!

Pretty simple card layout, but this card has lots goin' on! I used diamond glaze on the glass of milk, candles and clock face for shine. I used my Atyou Spica pens for subtle glitter in lots of spots and stickles on the flames in the fireplace. The stockings have liquid applique on them for a textural puffed look. I also added some Gel-tins scented powder in pine to the garland--smells wonderful, like fresh cut xmas trees. The dp and cs is from SU. The sentiment is again from PTI's "Holiday Wishes" (lovee that set) and I added red glitterdots to the corners.

So whatcha' think! This card only took me about 1.5 hours, so not too bad and it was really fun to put together and color. I'll be making about 5 more of these to send out for the holidays too. Hope ya have a great day and I'll see ya back here tomorrow!

hugz,

Suzanne

I've Been Tagged...Ahhhhh!!!!

Just a real quick post for ya tonight. I was tagged by Kim G and Ann Kranitz and thought I better do it before I forget (ya know how my brain operates, I don't evah forget purposefully tho!). So here are the rules for ya:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Ok here's 7 (umm...I did 10) things you might not know and might not wanna know (ha, ha):

1) I am the youngest of 3 (my bro is 9 yrs older and sis is 11 yrs older--can you say "the accident" child, lol)

2) My middle name comes from a Dolly Parton song (no lie, and I'm not tellin' so you'll have to figure it out yourselves)

3) I gained 80 lbs with my second kiddo and lost it all in 2 months (wouldn't happen now, but that's why your 20's are great right, lol)

4) I am actually allergic to cats, but I have 5 (go figure--I guess I like to suffer, hee hee)

5) I am tragically afraid to fly (literally I will scare the pants off of ya if you fly w/ me, just ask my hubby)

6) I can tie a cherry stem w/ my tongue (stupid human trick I learned, musta not have had anything better to do)

7) I have broken my nose 3 times (can you say rhinoplasty next year, yeppo)

8) I am a speed reader and have been since I was 5

9) I have a degree in Computer Science and never really used it (waste of my moulah)

10) You know those things that happen in life when people say "this only happens to 1% of people", well I'm that 1% (don't ask me about all my freakish accidents although you would probably get a good laugh)

So there ya go--probably more info than you evah wanted, right!! ROFL!! So here are the 7 luckiest people alive (hee, hee) that I am taggin:

1) Jen del Muro
2) Christine Riley
3)Marti Willis
4)Susan Dube
5)Rach
6)Susan Liles
7)Katharina Frei

So go check out their answers and awesome blogs when ya get a chance!! I'm stamping the day away tomorrow so I'll have lots to share with you next week!

hugz,
Suzanne

Quick Gifts!

Happy Saturday everyone! My post will be short today as my mom and sister are in town for the weekend (no post tomorrow, sorry, but will return on Monday)!! We had a ton of fun last night at Comedy Night--I laughed my butt off!! And the best part was my kids didn't call us at all to complain about each other---ahhhh, peace reigns at the Dean household for a few hours, ROFL!!! (If you know how my 2 children fight, you would TOTALLY understand)

Make sure and head over to Jen's I{heart}2stamp blog today for her Sketch For You to Try. My sample as her guest designer this month is all about "giving thanks". Check it out and try the sketch if you can and let me know what you think of my card too!!

Anywhoo, I made these notecard sets for a good friend of mine and another set for my mom (3 of each design w/ matching stamped envies). I wanted something that was elegant but quick to put together cuz' I don't like making multiples of anything, I'm kinda ADD like that--I like to move on to the next project, lol! All of these stamps are from Inkadinkado (Autumn Foliage and Winter Birds)--I got mine at Michael's but my friend Marti sells them at her shop Pez-a-doodles and you can also get them at 7 Kids College Fund.

The dp used for all of them is from SU's new designer prints--I'm especially loving Baja Blue (since they got rid of soft sky, sigh....)! I used my Fiskars threading water border punch to make the scalloped edges. I colored the fall notecards with my Copics and added some stickles. The blue one has diamond stickles and the red notecard has stickles and I used a gold Krylon pen in the flower centers. The sentiments are from PTI's "Holiday Wishes" and "First Fruits"(note: the fall cards have a thankyou and a happy autumn greeting). I also stamped the envies w/ a matching stamp to dress them up a bit.

Just an elegant set of holiday notecards that are not hard to put together for someone. I know my mom and friend will love them and hope you do too.

Hope ya have a great weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday (gasp...I'm taking the day off tomorrow)!! BTW, I got all my new PTI goodies yesterday so I can't wait to play, hee hee!

hugz,

Suzanne

PS--The new winner of the blog candy is Julie Temple, please contact me asap so I can get your goodies out to you!!

PSS--If you haven't already entered my WOJ DT sistah Bev's Blog Candy--get on over there and do it already, lol!!

New Blog Candy Winner!!

And the new blog candy winner is...................................

Here are your random numbers:47
Timestamp: 2008-09-19 19:03:45 UTC

Julie Temple of Julie's Rubber Temple

Congratulations Julie! Email me your address asap so I can get your goodies out to you!! I'm at sjdean@smartneighborhood.net!

Spooky, Spooky!

Happy TGIF---wow what a long week and I'm soooo happy the weekend is here!! I'm looking forward to a night out w/ my hubby and friends and lots of laughs too! Hope you've had a great week and the "sickies" haven't visited your house yet--seems everyone in my house and my neighbor's houses have been sick, yucky! So I'm sending out hugs and good wishes to all my stampin' pals who are feeling sicky-poo too, no fun!!

Only one card for ya today, I have lots of things to run around and get done before tonight. Seems those naggy chores must get done (ya know laundry, vacuuming and picking up "kid" clutter)--ugh... And of course I have to figure out what to wear tonight---whatever makes me look thin will win, lol!!

This card uses all 3 new Halloween sets by CC Designs--I had to make a spooky scene with them (they insisted I swear)! Is this lil' doggie all scared not the cutest? The ghost isn't really spooky either, but certainly cute!! Basic card for ya, I layered everything on gray cs (most of the images were cut out except the bat and cat) and then I sponged a spooky "fog" before I attached my images. Everything was colored w/ Copics and I added some stickles here and there. On the moon I used my new Shimmerz paint (I ordered like 10 colors--I'm a sicko or something & can't stop ordering, ROFL). Love this stuff--I used it on a couple of other cards that I'll share w/ you soon too. It's very translucent and shimmery--easy to apply and quick drying too. The dp is from MFT and the glitterdots are from Gina K (lovee these dots).

Hope ya liked to be "spooked" today! Gotta run, I'll try and post for ya tomorrow. Don't forget to check out Jen's I{heart}2Stamp blog tomorrow for her Sketch For You to Try. My card sample as her guest designer is all about "giving thanks" so check it out when you get a chance!

Hugz,

Suzanne

PS- I have still not heard from Linda Deline so I will be back later with a new winner of the blog candy. Theresa, your blog candy will be sent out tomorrow--hugz!

Animal Crazy!

Happy Thursday everyone! For some reason this feels like the loonnngest week--maybe cuz' I'm still recovering from my sinus infection or just the feelin' that I'm not getting much done, lol! Tomorrow night, my hubby and I are going out to dinner with a bunch of our friends to see a comedy show---I'm looking forward to it, but I still don't know what I'm wearing. Not a surprise to my hubby as he says I wait till the last minute and thrash around in my closet and go thru many outfits before I'm satisfied...ummm...doesn't everyone, lol? And my mom and sister will be here Saturday for the weekend and I have some housekeeping to do before then--it seems the laundry miiighhtt be getting out of control, hee hee! All those pesky chores keeping me from my craft room!

I have another theme day for ya' and this time it's furbabies. I love all my furbabies so much and I have recently added to my family(2 doggies, now 5 kitties, 1 hermit crab). I rescued an 8 yr old siamese kitty and we adopted her this week. The owner had to give her up as she was going to an assisted-living facility and the shelter was just days away from euthanizing this lovely kitty. My siamese passed away last year and she was my lap kitty and I miss her so--but Simona is loving my lap too it seems :) My loving and supportive hubby has told me "NO more animals" unless we move to a farm, hee hee--I love that man! So instead I made two animal cards for ya today.

The first card is a Rachael Anne Miller stamp called "Peek-a-Boo"--her images are so whimsical and fun! I didn't want to use traditional colors so I based everything on this dp from Black Market called Lucky 'n Love. I covered a chipboard flower with dp and just did alot of layering. There's a few stickles thrown in too, lol! The sentiment is from Pink Cat Studio. I'm entering this one in the Cute Card Thursday Challenge which was to make a card with a cat or dog (ha ha I did both)!

The second card uses a Spiral Whisper stamp--this is one of the cairn terrier images by Janet Roberts (she has one and I have 2 cairns). I used the sketch from Papertake Weekly by the very talented Katharina of Whiff of Joy for this card--the circles were cut out with my nestabilities. The sentiment is from Lizzie Anne (sketched sentiments) and the ribbon is SU as is the yummy dp (Green Tea).

Hope ya like my "animals" today! BTW, I got my new "rubbah" from Whiff of Joy and I'm lovin the new stamps---you'll have to wait and see...(sorry to tease ya)!! Don't forget to visit the following sites if you haven't already:

-Bev (my fellow Whiff of Joy DT sistah) has blog candy up for grabs until the 22nd

-Katharina (of WOJ) is looking for a guest designer here

hugz,

Suzanne

PS--Today is the last day for Linda Deline to claim my blog candy from last Friday. If I don't hear from you by 11 pm (EST) I will have to draw another winner which I will announce tomorrow, so check back !

No Snow!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope the beginning of your week has been swell so far. I don't have any icky animal stories for ya today, lol! But we are having some beautiful weather, yesterday it was in the 70's and all of windows are wide open :) I have also restocked my fridge with 4 cases of Cherry Coke (my main addicition after stamps and supplies, hee hee) and I am ready to finish up my many projects this week!!

Don't forget to check out Katharina's blog (of Whiff of Joy) to see how you can become the next Guest Designer! And Bev, my fellow DT member for Whiff of Joy has her yummy blog candy up on her blog (until the 22nd) so go enter for that too! And the wonderful Elisabeth Bell has candy up for grabs on her blog too! They all have sneak peeks of some new stamps to come--beautiful!! Lots of low-fat candy for ya too :)

Onto my card for today. Ya know how sometimes you just get stuck in a certain "stamp" mood---well right now I'm obssessed with my Magnolia stamps. I just love 'em and they're so much fun to use and put in "scenes". I have a bunch of these scene cards to share with you over the next couple of weeks--I am on a stamping roll right now, lol!!

This background stamp came from The Stamping Place again---they have so many cute ones (and yes I bought most of them, oh my). I pulled out my favorite wintertime dp from Memory Box called "Frost"--I love the soft colors and I based the card colors on this one particular pattern. This is Tilda with Sled (Diana does not carry this stamp, but maybe if we all beg her she can get it in if you really like it...:)) BTW, Diana informed us that her webshop Magnolia-licious will be open for business next week---yippee!!! You can still contact her at magnolia.us@shaw.ca for ordering info of these adorable Magnolia stamps.

After coloring both images with my Copics, I added liquid applique and diamond stickles to the the snow drifts for dimension and sparkle. I layered snowflakes in the corner and added white glitter dots to the center. The sentiment is from PTI's "Holiday Wishes" set--a must have for the holidays, lovee it! Since A Spoonful of Sugar's challenge this week is to make a Christmas card--I think this works, right!

Hope ya like it! I'll be back tomorrow with some "animals" for ya (the cute & cuddly kind tho)!

Suzanne

What a Day!

Hello Everyone! And what a day yesterday was for sure! First I want to tell you that Katharina of Whiff of Joy asked me last week to become a permanent member of her DT--yippee!! I was so excited and ya know I said "yes" right away, tee hee! I lovvvvvvvveee those stamps so much and cannot wait for the new ones. BTW, she's having another challenge to look for the next Guest Designer so get on over to her blog and check it out! And my DT sistah Bev is having her Whiff of Joy blog candy giveaway starting today, so get on over there and check it out & enter (make sure and enjoy her gorgeous creations too)! And if that's not enough for ya, Elisabeth Bell is having blog candy on her blog too (yummilicious)! And for those of you here in the US who want some Whiff of Joy stamps, All That Scraps now has them for you to purchase (although Christine does not have all of them yet) or you can still order them directly from Whiff of Joy.

A quick funny story for ya (if you are a lover of snakes, skip to next paragraph). Yesterday afternoon there was a copperhead snake (venomous & poisonous) in my back stairwell (our basement has walk-up stairs to the yard with woods behind us). Unbeknownst to me I had let the doggies out in the yard and I almost stepped on it--yucko! So I'm totally freaked out because I don't want the snake to get up in the yard but I'm scared to death to go outside and kill it. Long story short, my good friend Sally came up for moral support and both us got armed w/ shovels to attack. My son took a video and if you are familiar with the "I Love Lucy" show--well we were Lucy & Ethel for sure (its comical now after the fact, lol). Anywhoo, after much screaming and jumping around we managed to kill it and bag it up (for my hubby to dispose of)! Sorry, but I just do not like snakes of any kind--gross-o! I thought I might actually have a heart attack or vomit at the same--for sure the grossest thing I've ever done! Hopefully no more snakes come back for vengeance to get me!!

Ok, onto to more pleasant things! This card was made with a new Magnolia stamp from the Fall Kit (Winter Kit is now available for pre-order here. It works out to about $45 for all the stamps and shipping so it is a deal). The background stamp is from Alota stamps--its actually probably supposed to be a summer bg but I colored it so it was fall. I paper pieced her shirt--the dp is new from SU's designer paper pack (hostess level). After coloring the bg w/ my Copics I used my pearlescent watercolors to color the clouds and sky for a nice soft shimmer. I also added stickles to the edges of the clouds and some to the trees. The ribbon and cs is from PTI and the sentiment is actually a clear sticker from Cloud 9 Designs that I attached to cs. I'm hoping Diana Crick's webshop for Magnolia-licious is close to opening, but until then you can contact her at magnolia.us@shaw.ca for ordering information (the fall kit stamp will not be available thru her).

All right, I'm off to work on some more projects. I got all the new JustRite stamping goodies yesterday so I have to try them out--lovee them! And I have another "secret" to share w/ ya this week so stay tuned...!

See ya--

Suzanne

**NOTE: My blog candy #1 has still not been claimed by Linda Deline--if I don't hear from you by Thursday I will redraw a number and award the blog candy to someone else. Thanks!***

Silent Night!!

Happy Monday morning to you all! We survived the weekend and hopefull you did too, lol! Octoberfest was a blast even though we got a quick rainshower which the kids loved playing in--but it was steamy hot for sure. My Copic class was fun and hopefully the girls came away with some good tips and learned something! And my football team, the Redskins won their game yesterday so all is good!! But as always I'm sending out good thoughts and prayers to those who are suffering from the aftermath of big, bad Hurricane Ike! Hopefully that's the last of those kinda storms for the coast, here here!!

I'm just posting one card for ya today. I have lots to share with you this week though, so stay tuned. I actually colored this image at my Copic class I did on Saturday and knew I had to make another card with her. I love this Willow by Whiff of Joy (illustrated by the fabulous Elisabeth Bell)--she is definitely my favorite, just so beautiful and elegant for the holidays (not to mention that her dress is super fun to color). I wanted to use some colors that aren't always associated with Christmas but are lovely just the same. I chose to use this dp from Memory Box called "Frost"(absolutely love all their holiday paper) and incorporate the lilac colors throughout my card and image. **NOTE--I just found out that Christine from All That Scraps is carrying most of the Whiff of Joy stamps--yippee! So for you in the US this is wonderful!**

After coloring her with my Copics, I added sparkle with my Copic Atyou Spica markers (if you haven't tried them you really should)--a softer, finer sparkle than Stickles. The only problem is they don't photograph as well as the Stickles, so in real life this card really sparkles! The sentiment is from Cornish Heritage Farms "Christmas Expressions" by Mona Lisa Moments--wonderful for Xmas. I also added pearls to the center of the dp's snowflakes to match the snowflake flowers by K&Company. I wanted her to look as though she was floating thru a snowy night--so whatcha think? BTW, sneak peeks of the new Whiff of Joy stamps will be coming real soon--wait until you see them, omgosh just so fun and beautiful!! Katharina will also be having sneak peeks on her blog too!

If you didn't go to Paper Trey Ink's release party last nite (super fun) then you should definitely check out their new releases. The stamps, paper and ribbon, oh my--I had to have it all :)

See ya tomorrow,

Suzanne

Fright Nite!!

Good Saturday Morning to ya! First and foremost, I hope all my stampin' pals and cohorts in the Texas area are safe and dry with big ole' Hurricane Ike hitting the area last nite. We're all praying and thinking about ya!

We're off to the Octoberfest today with some of our friends--hope the weather stays nice and it should be fun. Then I'm teaching a Copics class at Marti's (Pez-a-doodles) house--we'll see how I do, lol! And boy do I have some news for you, but its still top secret right now (3 big secrets actually)--can't wait to share with ya'll!

Don't forget to visit Jen del Muro's blog (I{heart}2stamp) today for her Saturday Sketch For You to Try and my sample I made as her guest designer this month. Let's just say it will be a "bella-riffic" sketch for ya!!

I decided to make it a theme day again--so today is "fright nite" for ya, tee hee! I love Halloween and I love to decorate for Halloween. Every year I haul out my boxes of decorations and then of course go buy some new things and decorate the front yard for the many trick-or-treaters we get. I even fire up my fog machine so the front yard "graveyard" is spooky--I just love it! So when I saw this "Fright Night" stamp set from H&M Stamps I just had to have it! I love that you can make spooky scenes with it and ya gotta love all the different gravestones. Everything was colored w/ Copics and I added some stickles to the house's windows for a sparkly glow. I cut each of the gravestones out and popped 'em up w/ dimensionals. I love the sentiment too--so fun! The fence is a Martha Stewart punch and I bent the fence outwards and adhered it w/ tacky tape at the edges for a big 3-D pop! The dp is from Reminisce, isn't it fabby, I love it!

The second card uses stamps from MFT's "Totally Witchin'" set and I used the MFT sketch #47 from this week for the layout. Make sure and check out the MFT forum next week for their week of challenges-looks like fun! I stamped each of the "secret ingredients" out and colored them and then added colored stickles. I added some cobwebs using a Martha Stewart punch and then added black stickles to them. Pretty basic card, just frighteningly fun!

Hope you all have a great weekend! Until then...
Suzanne

Mix-Its!

Happy, Happy Friday! I'm super-happy today cuz' I don't have jury duty--YIPPEE for me!! I'm so relieved and happy that they didn't call my number last nite---yeah!! What a relief I tell ya! I know I need to do my civic duty, but when your time comes up--yuck-0. I did not want to spend the day sitting in the courthouse, especially when I could be stampin', lol!
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Ok, first things first---the WINNER of my BLOG CANDY is..........
Here are your random numbers:
210
Timestamp: 2008-09-12 03:06:34 UTC

Linda Deline said...
"What a neat offer. I love WOJ stamps! My favorite movie isn't well known but I love it... Heart and Souls. It's a story about four 'souls' who were given a second chance if they helped someone on earth and didn't realize it until the time was almost up. Great movie. God bless."

Congratulations! Thank you to everyone who entered and left some great comments and great movies you all chose too! I can't believe I had so many of you enter--you all ROCK! And yes I do read every comment and email I recieve and I try to get back to everyone within a day if you've asked me a question!!

Because I had so many entries, I'm adding a second smaller blog candy (8 Whiff of Joy stamped images, 1 spool of ribbon and a bottle of stickles) and that second winner is...............

Here are your random numbers:
21
Timestamp: 2008-09-12 03:09:42 UTC

Theresa of lil-bitta life

Email me your addresses asap so I can get your goodies to ya!! **NOTE** I use the Random.org number generator and then manually count the entries editing out double posts and those "friends" who commented but didn't want to enter, just so ya know!!
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Most of the movies that were named were all some of my faves too, but here are my top 10 for ya:
1) When Harry Met Sally (we played the soundtrack at our wedding--its me & hubby's favorite movie evah)
2) Sleepless in Seattle (come on, when his son is on the phone to the radio host talking about his dad's new girlfriend, I still laugh my tail off, not to mention that I love Meg Ryan)
3) The Goonies (first movie I ever saw at the movie theater and I still love it)
4) Sixteen Candles (every girl can relate to Molly Ringwald in this movie)
5) Top Gun (let's just say I've seen it over 100 times!)
6) Steel Magnolias (You laugh, you cry--just all around great)
7) Meet The Parents (we laugh until we cry--too funny)
8) Breakfast at Tiffany's (love this movie so much, Audrey Hepburn was the best)
9) Indiana Jones--the first 3 (love action adventure and I love history--great mix of both)
10) Dirty Dancing (how can you not fall in love w/ Patrick Swayze and wanna dance at the same time)

Can ya tell I like romantic and comedy type of movies? What can I say, I love a happy movie--I don't wanna watch a movie and be depressed. I like action adventure too but I don't watch scary movies--I'm too much of a scaredy cat!! I've heard everyone loves the Mamma Mia movie so I'll have to go see that. I've seen the musical and absolutely loved that so I should like the movie too right! So there ya go--a little venture into my mind, scary right, ha ha!!

Today I'm showing you 2 different projects--no theme for ya today, hee hee! The first card uses Verve Stamp's new "Birthday Surprise" set--these birdies are just too cute! I wanted this card to be all monochromatic and very feminine (think all the pink will do, ha ha). All of the cs and dp is from PTI including the ink I used (berry sorbet and sweet blush). The corner scroll punch is from SU and I stamped out the presents and popped them up w/ dimensionals and added a few stickles. Great stamp set for birthday cards--you can dress them up elegant or make them super fun!


The second card is actually a postcard and a bookmark. Basically you write on the back like a postcard but the user can use it as a bookmark cuz' its small. I love this Guardian Angel from Whiff of Joy--her name is "Melinda reading Book". In my mind she's reading a memory book or scrapbook which is why I chose the "remember" sentiment from PTI. The dp is new from Black Market Paper Society. Is this leaf ribbon not the best thing--it's new from PTI and in their ribbon couture set. I just loosely attached it around the card and then added this metal flower brad to finish if off. And of course she's colored w/ Copics!! I also added some sparkle with my Atyou Spica glitter markers in clear and gold (if you click on the pic and make it larger you can see them).

Ok, onto to work on new projects. I got my Magnolia Fall Kit in the mail yesterday, and I cannot wait to stamp them up! Saturday our neighborhood is having a big Octoberfest Festival so we'll be there all day (wish I could go to the real one in Germany--one day maybe). Then I'm travelling out to my blog pal Marti's house (check out her blog and store Pez-a-doodles) to teach a Copics class which should be fun, although I've never taught a class before so we'll see...

Until then,
Suzanne

PS--Don't forget to stop by Jen's blog I{heart}2stamp tomorrow for her Saturday sketch and my card I did for it as her guest designer this month! It's a super fun sketch so go check it out!

Fall-ing For Autumn!

Happy Thursday everyone! I am happy and thankful today! My sinus infection is on its way out the door and I brought my kitty home too!! He's eating up a storm and resting--I'm so glad to have him home!! Maybe now I can get some sleep....ha ha!! Now if the "powers that be" could just get me out of jury duty tomorrow, I'd be set!! And I'm thankful to all of you in the "stamping blog land" of ours for sending me your well wishes and support--its so appreciated!

BLOG CANDY ALERT--If you have not entered for my blog candy, you can do so until 11 pm EST tonight right HERE!!
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I have 2 cards for ya today and both are fall themed again! I am loving all my new fall stamps and dp, I just gotta use them! My first card uses another Spiral Whisper stamp by Janet Roberts (Autumn Millie)--she's just a cutie-pie! I pulled out a new pack of dp from SU called "Sweet Always" (lovee the colors and patterns in this pack for sure) and used the sketch on SCS (SC193) for my layout. The sentiment is from PTI's "Mailbox Greetings"--love the versatility of that set (use it all the time)!




The second card uses a new stamp set I got from H&M Stamp Co. called "Old Fashioned Hayride"--this set has a ton of stamps in it and all of them are great! Heather Rolin is both a stamp designer and owner for this company--she's super talented and super nice too! I ordered a few sets from H&M and they are really great---I'll be sharing my projects with those real soon! I stamped out all 3 elements (the scarecrow does not have a crow on his hat, but the set comes w/ one and I thought it looked cute there) and colored them w/ Copics. I used my circle nesties to cut everything out. The dp is from DCWV "fall mat stack" paired w/ PTI cs. I punched my brown cs with my new Fiskars border punch and just layered away. The sentiment is the same one from PTI that I used above--I always cut my sentiments when I get them because I like to stamp them in different ways. This way you can make them fit to your needs too. I added a few stickles to make everything pop!

Hope you like the cards today! I will type up my post for Friday tonight with the winner of the blog candy since I'll probably be gone all day tomorrow doing my civic duty (yuck)! Hope ya have a great day!

Suzanne

Wedding Day!

Good Wednesday morning! My post will be quick today as I am going to pick up my kitty from the hospital. He had his surgery and is doing well--just has to recover! Thanks for all your sweet comments and well wishes, I soooo appreciate it (and yes the animal hospital is footing the bill--especially after my hubby had "words" w/ them--in fact they'll be footing his bills for the rest of his life!)!! So I have had 2 nites of no sleep and a sinus infection to boot---I'm just over exhausted :(

BLOG CANDY ALERT--If you haven't already entered for my blog candy you have until Thursday evening to do so. You can enter at the end of this post from yesterday.

If you missed it, Verve Stamps had a rockin' release party last night for all their new stamps and I was a Guest Diva this month (thankyou to Julee and Shannan)! I'm sharing two of my favorite projects from their new releases today. Make sure and get over to Verve and check out all their new sets--lovee them!

The first project uses Verve's new set called "Black Tie Birdies"--when I first saw it I knew it would make a beautiful wedding day card. The dp is new from Black Market called "Ebony & Alabaster" and the cs is all SU. I used my cuttlebug to emboss the white cs and then I stickled the birdies with black Stickles. Aren't these birdies the cutest--there are so many occassions you could dress these cuties up for.

I also wanted to make some bride-to-be earrings and jewelry box with this set. I thought it would be something fun for the soon to be bride to wear at her wedding shower or bachelorette party. I stamped the birdies on shrinky dink sheets with staz-on ink and heated them w/ my heat gun. I added some stickles to their bows and hooked them onto earring hooks from Michaels and added some beads. The tin for the jewelry box is from PTI and I just used the same dp from the card above to cover the top. The sentiment was embossed with white embossing powder and the silver frame is from SU's hodgepodge hardware. Just a fun, easy gift to give!

Also, CC Designs came out with all their new "spooktacular" stamps last nite too, so check them out. They are really cute! And yes, I ordered them cuz' I cannot stop myself--I need a stamp addict help group me thinks :)

Have a great day!

Suzanne

PS--I'm having a great time reading everyone's comments on their favorite movies! Quite a few of my favorite movies have been named too. I will list my faves for ya on Friday--I can't single it down to one, so I'll do my top 10 :) I'm a big movie buff!