Spring is a Comin'!!

Happy Weekend my Friends!! Have any happy plans in store for the weekend! We're staying home today cuz' we're going to the Washington Capitals game in DC tomorrow (that's hockey for those of ya not in the know, hee hee)--should be a good time! And they're calling for ice and snow on Sunday too--blech---where's my Spring?

BTW, thanks to all of you who found info for me on hatpins & accessories--I appreciate it! After much searching I found a company who sells the hatpin, endcaps & other accessories--if you're interested you can find them HERE !!!

Today the H&M Stamps DT gets to show their sneakie-peekies of the 3 new stamp sets that will be available for purchase on March 1st!! I'm previewing "Seasons of Trees" for ya today which is a really fun & versatile set! Included you get the tree and different images to put in & on the tree--I'm using flowers (for spring) but there is leaves and apples too and fun things to add on. I used the grass stamp, birdhouse, and small bird for my tree! Cuz' I'm soooo longing for Spring ya know :o) And I had to make my birdie a bluebird!!

I used Basic Grey's "Euphoria" dp which I thought matched the tree a bit and I love the fresh, springlike colors! I popped my tree up on dimensionals, colored it all with Copics and added these fun Stampendous flower stickers to the flower centers and around the card! The sentiment is from PTI's "Mailbox Greetings" set--very appropriate me thinks! Check out my DT sistah's below for more sneak peeks today!

Carolina - http://www.creativepad.typepad.com/
Julia - http://www.createwithjulia.blogspot.com/
Heather K – www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=91956
Heather R. - http://www.hlr976.blogspot.com/
Makiko - http://www.makinkstudio.blogspot.com/
Maria - http://www.scrapsbym.blogspot.com/
Melissa - http://www.instampingmode.blogspot.com/
Tracy - http://www.tracylynn00.blogspot.com/

My second project today is a fun little "Baby" set I made using one of Karen Lockhart's Itty Bitty stamps called "Goodnight Moon". Oh I loved reading that book to my kids when they were itty bitty's themselves--such a soothing nite-nite book! Whenever I give baby gifts I always include a couple of nice books and this is always one that include with my gift! Anywhoo....

I wanted to use soft baby colors that were "gender neutral" because its easier to have these on hand without a "girl" or "boy" color to tend with. The polka-dot dp is new from PTI--comes in a stack of all their lovely colors and I paired it up with their "Lemon Tart" cs and Aqua Mist twill ribbon. I colored my moons with my Copics, added some fun stickles to the moon's and popped 'em up with dimensionals. Just a fun card and gift tag that you could make multiples of, the new parents could use a set as thankyou's or even baby announcements!!

The pearls are from Kaiser and the sentiment is from PTI's "Mixed Messages" set--a great set to own! Make sure and check out Susana's Custom Art & Card Design for the entire selection of Lockhart stamps (buy 4 regulars & get an itty bitty free, free shipping over $100 too)!!

Make sure and visit my SUINK DT sistah's Colleen, Carolina & Laura for some more sneak peeks of the new sets out on March 1st! Lots of new stamps out there for ya to buy, oh my!!

Have a great Saturday,

hugz,

Suzanne

End of the Month Craziness!

Ahhh, Happpy, happy Friday everyone!! It's the weekend again, yippee!! Can you believe it will be March 1st on Sunday? Spring is coming for sure now, I just knows it :o) Now I won't have to hunt down that groundhog & make him disappear, hee hee! I've got a couple of cards to show you today--I am in my end of month "MADNESS" right now trying to finish projects & get sneak peeks ready & all that! ARGHHHHH---stressful for sure!


Anywho, make sure and check back this weekend because I'll have some H&M Stamp's sneakie peekies, Magnolia March sketch & Whiff of Joy's Project of the Month for ya!!

Can I just say I love, love this dp by Basic Grey "Marrakech"--the colors are so cheerful & the prints are just bee-u-tiful! I was looking at some new Karen Lockhart stamps I had recieved from my friend Susana's store & knew that the pattern on this stamp "Apples in Chintz" would go wonderfully with this fun dp! So I colored up my image with my Copics to match (I am doing a video tutorial next week on how I colored this image in case you're interested)!

I added a fun hatpin from Making Memories (got a package of them at Michaels) and added some fun beads to match! This is my new obssession--so you might be seeing alot more hatpins on my projects, hee hee---love 'em!! If anyone knows where I can find "endcaps" for the hatpins so they don't injure someone, lol---please let me know cuz' I can't find them anywhere!

Just a close-up view of the image---I added some diamond glaze to my apples to make them all nice & shiny!

Second card for today uses another lovely image from Whiff of Joy's Spring Collection. This stamp is "Oakley w/ Slipover" and I think he's such a cute lil' boy image! I wanted to use him to make a fun boy's birthday card which is always a bit of a struggle for me. I colored him up to match this fun dp from Piggy Tales and the sentiment is from PTI's "Limitless Labels". I drew a little grassy mound for him to sit upon (this tutorial with Copics will be up soon as part of a "Tips & Tricks" segment I'll be doing too).

If you haven't had a chance, check out my Copic tutorials that are listed on my sidebar under "Copic Bundle Tutorials"! You can purchase each bundle of Sketch Copics at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design---a great way to start off your Copic Collection!

Also stop by Susana's store blog HERE, to see today's tutorial on Criss Cross cards by Anki---you'll love this easy to follow tutorial!!

Alrighty--time for me to get back to work! Have a great Friday!

hugz,

Suzanne

Cookin' Mama!!

Happy Thursday everyone! Almost the weekend--yay! Do any of you play video games with your kids (or perhaps alone, hee hee)? We have literally every gaming system made including the Wii, GameCube & the new XBox 360 and of course my kids love them. Every now & then I get sucked down to our rec room to play (against my will too) and end up playing for like 2 hours. I'm highly competitive so I must figure the game out & get to level #? before I can stop, lol! So the other night I was forced to play "LEGO Indiana Jones" and I had so much fun, hee hee, and I got way farther then my son (who was deemed my sidekick) so now everyone is mad at me & no one wants to play with me anymore :o( Can't figure out if its a blessing or not, bwahhhahhhhh, lol!! But I will say that I recommend a lil' video gamin' as a great stress reliever!!

Anywho...while making my card today the thought for my blog title "Cookin' Mama" came to me, and of course its a Wii game that we have that I hate, but is fun anyway! Just thought you should know that, hee hee!

For my card today, I used "Cowberry Muffin Tilda" and she's one of my faves---you can get her here at Magnolia-licious. I paired her up with this new DCWV "Nana's Kitchen" dp (and I got this stack wayyy before I made the vow of no more paper, lol---so no cyber smacking me). The layout is last week's SCS sketch which was a fun one! My lil sentiment is from PTI's new "Around & About Sentiments" which I love! I don't sew (I know how, but I don't like it at all) so I did some faux stitching around my card with my paper piercer and white gel pen--looks kinda real, huh?

Alright, no more random ramblings from me cuz' I've got a ton of work to do. The last week of every month is super busy for me because lots of stamp companies start their sneak peeks for the next month including SUINK & H&M Stamps! Make sure and check out my DT sistah's blogs from SUINK today for more sneak peeks---Tori, Janna and Kristen! H&M Stamps sneak peeks coming soon!

hugz,
Suzanne

Sneak Peeks of Spring!!

Hello friends & Happy Wednesday! LOL--I'm sitting here writing and thinking to myself its only Tuesday, ha ha, then realized oh no, it is Wednesday! I swear my brain is fried this week for sure! Too many items on the to-do list and my mind is twirling and my body is tired!! My Cherry Coke is not doing its job---I'm going to have to write them and complain that they didn't put enough caffeine in my soda this month, LOL!! I need something if I'm gonna make it thru this week, not sure what yet---hee hee! Anyhow, I've got a couple of sneak peeks for you today from Storage Units, Ink & More!

Introducing "Your Some Bunny Special" which is...you guessed it...a fun, spring & Easter set full of lots of images to create fun scenes with on your projects! That's why I love these sets so much, there are so many stamps in each set that it gives you unlimitless possibilities---love 'em!! I used some more paper from my scrap pile (me being green & using what I have, lol)--this lovely paper is from Chatterbox and I love the colors & delicate floral on it.

I used three stamps from this set including the girl in her Easter best and the Easter basket which I cut out & popped w/ dimensionals! I drew my own grass with my Copics and added these fun Stampendous stickers from 7 Kids College Fund---they're shimmery, lots on a sheet & come in different colors! I paired the dp with cs and ribbons from Paper Trey Ink. Using the sentiment I created my own tag and tied it on with my scrappers floss.

This close-up shows the diamond glaze I used on her bows, shoes & Easter eggs and stickles on the ruffle of her dress & daisies in her hat! I really love how this turned out!

This is just a "mini" sneak peek of the other set being released on March 1st called "Let's Play"! I made a fun 4x4 card using DCWV "Grade School" pack dp--fun and colorful. I thought this would make a cute invitation for a child's playdate!! I added some more Diamond Glaze to the wagon and the sentiment to really make it pop!

Make sure and check out the other sneak peeks this week by the DT. Today my DT sistah's Leigh & Amber have some more sneak peeks for ya!! These sets will be available for purchase on March 1st!!

Alrighty, I'm off to find something to keep me energetic and sane this week---lol! Not sure what's available for all that, hee hee!

hugz,

Suzanne

Spring Chicks!!

Hello & a Happy Tuesday to ya all! Can I just say one more time how sick I am of the cold, the wind & the gray? I am so anxious to see some green on the trees, feel some warm air and see the pretty spring flowers--makes me feel so much more productive and creative when its actually pretty outside, how 'bout you? Anyway, I made a springy card to share with you today!

Today is "Try It Out Tuesday Challenge #7" for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design store blog, Follow Your Heart! This week's challenge was to include 3 embellishments on your card from the store. I used this cutie-patootie image from Anki's Sweethearts called "Young Catherine & Friends" that you can also get at Susana's store! For my layout I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch #75 which I loved! The dp is from "Daisy Bucket" I believe but not sure since they were in my scrap pile (see me using what I have, lol)!

I cheated a bit on the embellies but I did use more than 3 and the 3 from Susana's store are the Scrappers Floss bow, the daisy flower and the Shimmerz on her shirt & chicks. Those buttons are new from PTI--a whole bag for $5 of different sized buttons! The sentiment is hard to see here but its from PTI's "Spring Tag Collection" and it says "Happiness is Knowing You"--perfect!

Just a close up of my image with Shimmerz on it--I used "golden wheat" Shimmerz here. Such a fun way to add sparkle to your images! Please stop by the store blog to see what the rest of the DT has created and feel free to join in on the challenge too!
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I also wanted to let you know about the NEW Copic Bundles that Susana is carrying in her store that were put together by me personally. Each bundle has a few Sketch Copics in it that work together to get you started with Copics or to add to your collection. They come in Skin Tones, Blonde Hair 2, Brunette Hair 1, Basic Blue Jeans, The Reds, and Landscape.

The beauty of these is that for under $30 you can get a set of Copics that work together, blend well and are easy to add more to. I know most people don't have $100+ to buy a set of Copics & if you do, most of the colors do not work together well and you end up having to buy more---frustrating for sure!

I did Copic tutorials for each bundle to show you how to use them and some tips & tricks to mastering coloring with the Copics! There will be more bundles added in the future and some more tutorials to go along with them! You can find the tutorials here on my blog in my sidebar under "Copic Bundle Tutorials" and the store blog! I will also have video tutorials within the next week so you can actually watch me "in action", lol!

Hope you have a great Tuesday!
hugz,
Suzanne

Bold & Bright!!

Hiya and Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! Mine was both relaxing and full of chores, LOL! I had a temper tantrum in my craft room on Sunday (this sometimes happens when there is too much clutter & not enuff organization--just ask hubby, lol)and ran out to the store to buy more organizers and baskets! It took me 4 hours but it looks soooooooooooo much better now & my mind feels better too! My supplies were getting out of control and I have 2 new vows:

1) to not buy anymore patterned paper cuz' I must have over 6,000 sheets of it (oh my)what was I thinking, eekkk!! (So cyber smack me if I do, ok)
2) I do not need anymore ribbon either except PTI's monthly releases of new colors, hee hee!

I really, really need to start using what I have before I buy anymore goodies ALTHOUGH I did go to Michaels and guess what they had? The brand, spankin' new EK Success punches (see them here) that I drooled over at CHA! What's so great about them, well there are lots of them(regular punches & borders), they are flat like a cell phone & can be stacked. Not to mention that they punch as smoothly as a stapler--LOVE THEM!! Well, Suzanne bought 6 punches & 3 borders---I couldn't help myself cuz' I knew if I waited that when I came back they'd be gone & we can't have that, oh no!!! I did have some coupons though, hee hee :o) Anywhoo, onto my card today & enuff about me & my issue, lol...

TODAY the "Enchanted Lily" stamps from Pink Cat Studio are available for purchase---yay! And today is the last sneak peek for ya too! I used the Lily Fairy stamp to make a spinner card which is always fun (she's on both sides of the spinner)! I colored with Copics and used my favorite Inkssentials blending tool to blend 2 colors (yellow & orange) around my image--love that tool. My papers are from the DCWV "Citrus" stack and I just loved the bold & bright images--up close its shiny & sparkly too! To make the flowers I used my Spellbinders Flower dies to make the flowers out of the matching cs--Love 'em! I think this is my favorite out of all the Lily cards I made :o) Whatcha' think?

Here is a look at the complete set---so many cutie-pop images & sentiments! If you lovee it and you want it, you can get it right HERE!

Hope ya have a great one!

hugz,

Suzanne

Lily Pads, Fairies & Friends!!

Hello everyone & Happy Sunday to ya! Ahh, the weekend is almost over and I still have so much left to do (always that way it seems, lol)! I usually don't post on Sunday cuz' I tend to take that day off but today is special because I get to share a few more Pink Cat Studio Sneak Peeks for ya!! Are you sooooo lovin' them so far?


This card uses one of the 4 images--Fairy Lily with her toad friend--toad-a-ly cute (couldn't help myself, lol)! I colored my image with my Copics and created some water too---the water has a nice coat of diamond stickles like her wings. I really wanted to make a tri-fold flap card for this image because it fits sooo nicely in my oval nestabilities. The fun dp is from Stampin' Up that I paired up with PTI's spring rain cs and ribbon.
If you click on the above pic to make larger you'll see I lightly stamped the image again on the inside with PTI's spring rain Palette ink and then stamped the cute sentiment "Have a Fairy Nice Day!". Such a pretty presentation for a card---love tri-folds!

Second card today uses Lily on top of these cute mushrooms holding her lil' beetle friend! I colored w/ Copics again and if you click for a close-up you'll see I added a layer of Diamond Glaze to the mushroom tops for shine! The fabby dp is by DCWV's "Latte" which worked perfectly with this image! Simple layout to let cute Lily shine! Fairy Sweet :o)

Make sure and stop by the Pink Cat blog to see the rest of the DT's fabby projects today. The stamps will be available to purchase tomorrow!

See ya tomorrow with one more Pink Cat project featuring "Fairy Lily"--

hugz,

Suzanne

Pink Cat Fairies!!

Happy Saturday everyone & Happy Pink Cat Release Day too! I was so thrilled to be asked by Pink Cat Studio's owner Melissa to be a guest designer this month---wahoooo! These new "Enchanted Lily" stamps are sooo stinkin' cute & I know you will just fall in love with them too!

Today the DT and I are previewing "Lily Fairy on Swing" which is one of 4 Lily images included in this set along with lots of sentiments too! I chose to cut my Lily out because I really wanted to use this yummy dp from Basic Grey's "Sultry" dp to be the background scene. She's colored with Copics of course and I added diamond stickles to her fairy wings for sparkle. Popped her up on dimensionals and added some fun Primas along the side! For the sentiment I just bent it in a few places and adhered it with glue dots to create a wavy effect!

Such a fun & sweet image---I have lots of ideas for this stamp for sure!! Make sure and check out the Pink Cat Studio blog today for more peeks from the rest of the DT--they're sure to be fabulous!

And stop back by tomorrow for 2 more projects using 2 more of these "Enchanted Lily" stamps!! They will be available for purchase on Monday, February 23rd!!

**FYI** I have a TON of Copic tutorials coming up next week including some video tutorials (fingers crossed hee hee) so stay tuned....**

Have a great weekend,
Suzanne

Lovin' Lockhart!!

Yayyyy---Happy Friday everyone! Hooray for the weekend!! Hope you have some relaxin' in your plans for the weekend cuz' I know I do, LOL! I'm taking my daughter and her friend to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic" on Sunday; I read the book a few years ago & it made me laugh so I'm anxious to see if the movie is any good (books are always better ya know)! But other than that we don't have any big plans (love that) except running to the grocery store, oh not fun! But whatever you do this weekend I hope its a great one for ya!

It's no surprise that I really love my Lockhart Stamp Co. stamps---simple, elegant & so many to choose from--how can you not love 'em, lol!! For this card I used the Lockhart stamp "Hydrangea" and I lovee hydrangeas; second only to my love of tulips. I made my hydrangeas fluffy white with Flower Soft--I used to have a beautiful Snowbell White Hydrangea at my old house, it was soooo beautiful & I miss it (I heard the new owners ripped it out, dumb people, lol)! To make the berries pop I added Liquid Pearls in ruby red too.

***If you buy 4 regular Lockharts from Susana's store you get a free Itty Bitty stamp of your choice---more to play with, lol!!**8

This card was done for yesterday's SCS "Ways to Use It" challenge which was to use stripes on your card. I decided on subtle stripes by embossing the background with my Scor-Pal--simple but elegant! Love the bright pop of red against the bright white too! That fabby ribbon is from I gift I got at Christmas on a present & of course I saved it, who wouldn't right, its gorgeous!!

Okay, I don't know if anyone has made these before but I came up with this thank-you card idea in bed the other night when I shoulda been sleeping, lol! (best ideas come to me at nite) I needed to make some fun thank-you cards for my son to send out for his birthday gifts and came up with these. I call them my Swivel Round Abouts, hee hee, and I made (4 of them) using the Lockhart stamps "Chinese Checkers", "Checkers" & "Gumball Machine".

Easy peasy to make---I just used my circle Nestabilities to cut all my shapes out and then attached the two largest together at the top with a brad so they swivel open--cool, huh? I can see making these as fun invitations or cards for someone---I'm sure you'll see me make these again soon :o)

Just a little close-up of the cute gumball machine--it was a ton of fun to color in! I gave the glass part a nice thick coat of my favorite Diamond Glaze.

Make sure and check back tomorrow and Sunday cuz' I'm a Guest Designer for Pink Cat Studio this month---yay! And I'll have sneak peeks all weekend of the new stamps for you to see--they are darling and super cute!!

hugz,

Suzanne

Spring Flowers bring....!!

Happy Thursday already! Seems like this week has sped by pretty fast which is always a good thing---the faster the weekend comes the better, right? Wish spring would speed up too! I've had a superbly busy week (what else is new right) but I've had just an absolute blast making projects this week, just a really fun time! Nothing makes me happier than spending a few productive hours in my craftroom and I feel so blessed to be able to do this as a hobby, a business and a way to share my crafts with all of you. So thank you for that!! Anywhoo, onto my spring projects cuz' you know Easter is soon to be here :o)

All of the Elisabeth Bell images in this new Spring Collection for Whiff of Joy are super gorgeous but this is probably my most favorite of them all. Such a peacefully, sweet and innocent image! I paired her up with one of my new Alota stamps that I bought a bit ago---this is a flower oval that fits in my oval nestabilities, and there are quite a few different ones on the sheet---love them & you can see them here & there are circle ones too (just in case you'd like to buy them, hee hee).

I used this lovely, soft dp from Basic Grey's "Lily Kate" --so pretty & springlike. Of course I colored w/ Copics and I also used my Inkssentials blending tool on the edges of the image to rub in some soft blue. The sentiment is from the NEW PTI set (got all my new PTI goodies yesterday, wahoooo) "Tags for Spring". And those are Bella Baubles in Merlot too.

I had to add some sparkle of course, so there are some Diamond Stickles on the flowers too! (Click to make larger)

My second card uses another stamp from the Whiff of Joy Spring Collection too! Such a lil' cutie! I paper pieced her shirt (hadn't done that in awhile it seems) to match the fun dp's from Paper Trey Ink. This layout is from this week's Mojo Monday sketch #74. The sentiment is also from PTI and its their "Around & About Sentiment" set--so many cool sentiments in this set---I also stamped a small flower image included in the set in the center and added an Oyster Bella Bauble to match the ones at the top.

I also used some Flower Soft on her basket of flowers---adds such a fun & beautiful element to your cards & is so easy to use. If you haven't seen my tutorial that I did on using Flower Soft you can find it HERE. (it's also on my sidebar under tutorials) And to make her headband & bow glossy I used my favorite Diamond Glaze!

Hope you liked everything today & if you didn't order the kit the Spring stamps are now available for individual sale on the Whiff of Joy site. If you're interested in becoming a Guest Designer for Whiff of Joy all the details for that are here---deadline is March 4th!!

**Tutorial Alert** My DT sistah Danni has a tutorial up on Susana's store blog today that is all about "Spotlighting"--make sure and stop the blog HERE to check it out!!

hugz,

Suzanne

A La` Creme`!!

Bonjour friends!! Oui, I'm speaking some French for you today, hee hee! I took 4 years of French in high school & can read French fluently, but I don't speak it so well anymore sadly! I know you probably think I've lost my mind (oui, oui) but I had alot of French songs and sayings flying through my head when I was using my yummy new DCWV stack "La Creme"!! And I lovee black and cream together---very french & oh so elegant! So onto my projects for today all with this ooh la la French theme using H&M Stamps and for SUINK's challenge :o)!!

I wanted to make another set of 4x4 notecards because I've had soooo much fun making them last week! This time I made this set for someone special's birthday (can't say, shhhh secret) and made a matching box to put them all in. For this entire set I used H&M Stamp's "Coffee's Brewin'" stamp set, DCWV "La Creme" dp and PTI's vintage cream & black cardstock! And yes the gift recipient is a bigtime Coffee Lover, lol (unlike me, who prefers Cherry Coke) so this stamp set is perfect for you or those friends that are coffee addicts!

This box was made with my Cricut & the "Boxes, Bags & Tags" cartridge. I just gussied it up with some dp and this great sentiment and coffee cup image.

I tell ya, these 4x4 are almost too fun to make, hee hee! I stamped the couch image directly on the dp and the coffee/cup image was stamped onto the black cs using PTI's "vintage cream" palette ink (works beautifully on dark cs). The espresso machine has a nice thick coat of Diamond Glaze on it for shine & dimension!

I stamped out the coffee bag and then the beans again with the PTI palette ink. Both of the coffee cups have Diamond Glaze on top & they're popped with dimensionals! This entire set only took me 1 hour to complete and I had soooo much fun doing it! Hope the gift recipient loves it as much as I do!!

Today is also Whatchadoin' Wednesday Challenge #28 over at the Storage Units, Ink & More blog today! Today's challenge was to make a favor or treat for a wedding/shower or St. Patrick's Day. I used stamps from the "Goin' to the Chapel" set for my Wedding Favors. These could easily be used as favors at a wedding shower or at the wedding reception. I used my Nestabilities Labels 1 to create this fun favor box/bag and matching card! I stamped my images onto my cream cs with black ink and then accented the images with my gold Spica pens for sparkle.

This was made very simply by cutting out 2 labels 1 from my black cs and creating a small base inside of the two and attaching with Scor-tape. I didn't have any pretty wedding candies (LOL) but you get the idea of what you could put inside! I used my slot punch and threaded my cream ribbons and tied off---I added a small gold bow to the front too!

This up close view shows the shimmer from the gold Spica pen and that yummy dp from DCWV is flocked---beautiful!! I intentionally kept these projects fairly simple as far as assembly goes in case they would need to be mass produced. But when you use gorgeous products it looks like you've spent a ton of money$$ and time on them :o) Make sure and visit the SUINK blog to see the rest of the DT's lovely projects today!

Hope you liked my "la creme" projects today! I'll have a few Whiff of Joy projects for you tomorrow using more gorgeous images from the new Spring Collection kit.

hugz,

Suzanne

Spring Fling!!

Happy Tuesday friends!! Oh, how I wish I could say "Happy Spring" to ya too, lol! Looks like we've got a few more weeks of winter unfortunately & its supposed to be yucky and snowy here tomorrow! Dumb groundhog and his horrible predictions (giggle)!! To cheer ya up (if you're in a winter hating mood like myself) I've got a couple of spring projects for you today!

I also wanted to let you in on some news of mine too---I have been guest designing for Heather Rolin of H&M Stamps for a couple of months & I'm honored & thrilled to say that she has asked me to remain on the DT for the next 6 mos---Wahooooo! So thank you Heather for asking me and if you haven't checked out her stamps--whatcha' waitin' for!! LOL! She has a few new sets coming out next month so stay tuned for those too. I'll have some projects tomorrow using some of her fun sets that are in the store right now!!

My first project today is for "Try It Out Tuesday" challenge #6 over on Susana's Custom Art & Card Design store blog "Follow Your Heart"! This week's challenge was to use any of the new "Anki's Sweetheart" stamps to make anything BUT a card! And lucky me that yesterday's Technique Challenge #208 on SCS was a round-top box template---yay! Such a fun and easy project to do---just print out the template right onto your cs and cut out, a bit of scor-tape and its assembled! The dp is from DCWV new "Whimsey" stack (fabby spring papers) and all the cs is from PTI.

I chose the "Catherine with Butterfly" stamp for my project because she just looks so carefree & spring-like to me! The sentiment is from Verve Stamps "Fairy Tales" and then I stamped over it with their flower stamp from "Beautiful You". The circles including the background one were all made with my circle nestabilities and my hole punch. I punched 2 butterflies out of vellum with my MS butterfly punch and attached them---so pretty and delicate looking! I think this would make a wonderful Easter or spring treat box---mine is filled with those yummy strawberry Whoppers (oh so good) and tied off with ribbon from PTI!!

Make sure and head over to the store blog HERE, to see what the rest of the DT has come up with for their projects! And we'd love to have you join in too! Also visit the store's PaperCraft Planet site to join in on our sketch challenge contest we have running--all details can be seen HERE!

My second project uses stamps from Whiff of Joy's new Spring stamp kit which has been shipped out to everyone (so if you ordered it, it will be their very soon)! All of these stamps will be available for individual purchase at the end of this week at the Whiff of Joy site in case you're dying for some of these adorable Elisabeth Bell cuties! (I have not recieved my Medieval stamps yet, but hopefully this week & then I'll have some projects up w/ them too)



I used 3 of the new stamps (girl, tree stump and butterfly) on this card---the sentiment is from the "Party Animal" sentiment set. Isn't she just so adorable dressed up in her spring best--I love that their are a couple of images in this set that you can "sit" on things including this stump. All the papers are from Basic Grey's "Lily Kate" paired up with PTI's spring rain cs! I sponged my sky/cloud bg and popped the girl and butterfly up w/ dimensionals. The corner brackets are a Spellbinders die and the pearls are by KaiserKraft.


Check out the rest of the WOJ DT's blogs (on my sidebar) today for more peeks at the Spring Stamp Kit--they've got some beautiful projects up!



See ya tomorrow & hugz,
Suzanne

Sweet Peas!!

Happy President's Day (for those of ya here in the states)! Hope you're enjoying a day off! Kids and hubby are off today and we're going shopping for me (hee hee)---for a new chair for my family room and a new scanner! We didn't do much for Valentine's Day since the kids had sleepovers but hubby did buy me the ENTIRE new release of Paper Trey Ink goodies---wahooo! No candy or chocolate for me---just stamping goodies & I'm in HEAVEN!! Have you seen those beautiful buttons that match all their wonderous colors (225 buttons for only $5)!!? Ahh, anyway....onto my projects for the day---

PICTURES REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION--sorry!!

I lovee Karen Lockhart stamps---they're fun, elegant and so versatile for any project you might need. I've used the "Sweet Pea" stamp for all my projects today! (Remember if you buy 4 regular Lockharts from Susana's store, you get to pick out a Lockhart Itty Bitty stamp for free!)

I made a set of 4 of these notecards and a matching notepad as a gift set! Most boutiques sell these sets for $20+ and it probably only cost me a few bucks in supplies to make--who wouldn't love a gift like this!! And easy peasy to put together too :o)

I think navy and cream/white are so, so elegant together and such a great pop of color! The dp & cs is from Stampin' Up. I colored with Copics and then added a layer of Shimmerz in "Ultramarine" to the flowers for a soft shimmer. Also added a thick coat of diamond glaze to the vase! The layout I used on the card is from my sketch over on the "Fans of Karen Lockhart" site on PaperCraft Planet---its the February sketch of the month and you have until the end of the month to participate if you'd like. At the end of the month someone will win a PRIZE!!

Just a peek of the inside of the notepad. I buy 10 packs of these small white notepads for like $3 at Staples--they're by Mead. I use them for everything and they're so fun to make covers for--easy to do & so pretty too!

For the second card I changed up the colors a bit--so spring like! I loved this ribbon I had so I basically built my card around it :o) Lots of Cuttlebug Embossing on my cs, the photo corners are by Spellbinders that I added some yellow pearls to.

I love Flower Soft--I got to play with it at CHA although I already owned a few pots myself and really learned how to use it more effectively. Flower Soft pairs up wonderfully with all of the Lockhart stamps too. I colored my image with Copics first and then added 2 colors of Flower Soft on top. I also put Diamond Glaze on my vase again--love that look! But the Flower Soft just ROCKS---looks so pretty & realistic!

I did a tutorial for 7 Kids College Fund on using Flower Soft if you'd like to see it right HERE--they have all the kits and single pots in stock. I will also keep a link to the tutorial on my sidebar (its also up at the PaperCraft Planet site too). You can get Flower Soft kits at Pez-a-Doodle too! If you haven't tried it you shoud---the Starter Kit "Pretty Pots" is a great way to get started because it includes a little bit of everything in it including the glue!

Well, I'm off to go shopping and hopefully some playtime in my craftroom too!

hugz,

Suzanne

New Parents!!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! Yay its the weekend---wahoo!! I'm off today at my daughter's District Chorus concert and then meeting up with hubby. Hubby is wrangling my son & his friends at laser tag today and then we're meeting up to have pizza. Two of the boys will be spending the night to round out my son's birthday events!! What a Valentine's Day right? Actually I'm not into Valentine's Day that much---I've been married for almost 14 years now & I've always told my hubby that Valentine's Day should be everyday, lol!! The kids always get "Cupid" gifts but I'm more of a practical girl--no flowers or candy for me! I want stamp supplies, a new scanner and Japanese for dinner, LOL! We'll see if hubby comes thru..... :o)

Okay, sorry about the title of the post---but no, we're not expecting, thank goodness! My years of having babies are over--I like to borrow friend's babies and then give them back, lol!! But I still have lots of friends who are in the "baby years" so I can always use a great baby card. H&M Stamp Co. makes a wonderful stamp set that includes images for new parents, expecting parents and baby showers called "Miracle From Above". I love this image--such a peacful & serene looking new mom!

I used this past week's Mojo Monday sketch #73(I flipped it)--it's such a great sketch and so versatile too! All my papers are from SU (baja breeze) which is such a soft and neutral color for this kind of card. I colored her with Copics and then added Angel Wingz Shimmerz on her shirt for some nice shimmer. The pearls in the corner are from Kaiser and the color "Bliss" matches Baja Breeze perfectly (lovee pearls)!

If you didn't get a chance to check out the new stamp line "Anki's Sweethearts for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design"--make sure and check them out HERE. They are super sweet & super cute!!

Hope you have a super Valentine's Day (if you're celebrating) and a wonderful weekend! See ya back here on Monday!

hugz,

Suzanne

News!News!News!!

TGIFriday everyone--yay!!! I'm ready for the 3 day weekend--kids & hubby have off on Monday for President's Day! Riley had a wonderful birthday and got lots of fun presents including a NEW XBox 360 that he's been begging for (cuz' the Wii we have wasn't enough I guess, lol) and some military games to go with it. Thank you to everyone who wished him a happy birthday---he read them all (was a little embarassed) but I knew he loved it!! He's going lasertagging with friends tomorrow and having a sleepover so the fun continues (and on Valentine's Day no less), LOL!

Okay, onto the news of the day! We've been having sneaky-peeky's of a new illustrator's stamps over at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design store site on PaperCraft Planet all week and today is the day we get to announce who the illustrator is--YAY!

Introducing "Anki's Sweethearts" for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design (exclusively)

Isn't she just a cutie-pie? Our fellow DT sistah, Anki Bargman is the new Illustrator of these wonderful new stamps called "Anki's Sweethearts for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design"! She's a talented lady cuz' these stamps are CUUUUTE! They are available today at Susana's store (at 8 am PST) and you can see the entire collection right HERE! And stop by the DT's blogs today to see their creations too--we all used a different stamp on our projects today (blog links on sidebar)! And stop by Anki's blog and leave her some love--I know she's been anxious about this release!!

I used multiple colors of cs to echo the fun striped Cosmo Cricket dp for a beachy feel on my card. This stamp is called "Felicia" and I love her & her lil' crab friend! She's colored with Copics and I added diamond stickles to her shell headband and sand. There's also some Diamond Glaze on her crab friend so his shell is nice & shiny :o) The sentiment is from a PTI set and that lil starfish charm comes in a package of 6 ocean charms that you can get HERE. I tied it on with some more scrapper's floss & twirled the edges. Just a cute, fun friend's card to send!

Make sure and check out the rest of these wonderful stamps--you will love them all for sure!

hugz,

Suzanne

My Umbrella Friend!!

Happy Thursday everyone! One more day till the weekend--can I hear a Whoo-Hoo!!! Today is a special day in the Dean household cuz' my baby (Riley) turns 11 today! Oh my how the past 11 years have flown by---I had a wonderful pregnancy with Riley and ended up gaining 70 lbs with him (thankfully I lost it all in 3 mos) and he was just the cutest, fattest little guy! His nicknames were "Lil Man" & "Chunky Monkey" (he'll love that I told you that, hee hee) and he has just been the best son we could ever ask for. He's alot like his dad; patient, laid-back and think's he's Mr. Funny-Man!

He's obsessed with history and the military and loves to watch documentary's on TV(which can drive mom crazy, lol)--he can tell you any fact, from any war or anytime in history---he really just AMAZES me everyday! And he'll love this, but I ask him if he'll take care of me when he's rich & famous & he says "Yes, mom! I will buy you a house and buy you lots of shoes & purses!"--ah, my baby knows me well, lol!! I know he's on the road to growing up into an awesome, talented & wonderful young man!

We Love Ya Baby! Happy 11th Birthday to Ya!!

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I have a tutorial up today on the "Follow Your Heart" Blog about using your punches in different ways! We will be having a bi-monthly segment on "Using What You Have" so we can dig out those tools & old supplies & use them in new & fun ways. Make sure and check it out!!

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With this warm weather we've been having, I've been in a sunny, cheery mood so I had to use my new DCWV "Citrus" pack! I was naughty & ordered all of the new DCWV stacks that have come out (eek) but I love them sooooo much {If you're naughty too--you can see them HERE, lol}! This pack is just chock'full of fun & bright prints to use! I pulled out this cute Magnolia that I had gotten from the Magnolia Fall Kit---if you love her perhaps Diana will order her if she gets enuff requests :o) but you can find lots of other fun Magnolia's at Magnolia-licious too!


The sketch I used today is from this week's SCS sketch #215 (I flipped it)--great sketch to use with your Magnolia's. The sentiment is from MFT's "Rain or Shine" stamp set--perfect for this image! I added some fun MME buttons and threaded Scrapper's Floss thru and tied a bow--love that Scrapper's Floss!
Close-up shows the Diamond Stickles that I applied on her heart, raindrops & puddle. I also used Diamond Glaze on her boots & Shimmerz on her "leafy" umbrella! Isn't she just a cutie-pop!



If you haven't had a chance to enter the yummy WebCandy we have going on thru tonight at midnite(EST) on Susana's Custom Art & Card Design site on PaperCraft Planet! All the details are right HERE!!

I'm off to finish up birthday preparations and finish some work (hopefully)!



hugz,
Suzanne

Monochromatic Madness!

Hello Stampin' Friends & Happy Wednesday! Middle of the week already---eekkk--and I have so much left to do & not enuff time to do it all (as usual), LOL! I tell ya this weather we're having is CRAZY--58 yesterday and high 60's today--WOWZER! I'm lovin' it---bummer that spring isn't around the corner though!

Some NewsBitz for ya:
* I am skipping my 100,000 Blog Candy and instead gonna have a ginormous, gigantic Bloga-vers-ary Blowout Extravaganza in late March when my lil' bitty blog turns 1!!!! Sound Good?

*In case you haven't heard (where ya been,lol) but Elisabeth Bell announced what 4 stores she will be making illustrations/stamps for yesterday and one of them is Susana's Custom Art & Card Design---WAHOOOOOOO! So Susana will have exclusive stamps that noone else will get--how stinkin' cool is that!!! Elisabeth will also continue her illustration/stamps for Whiff of Joy too so don't worry!! Lots of EBell stamps for everyone!!! Can't wait....

*Speaking of Whiff of Joy---Katharina has sneak peeks of the new Medieval Stamps by Alison Acton on her blog and the opportunity to win them all, so hurry over and enter! The new stamps will be available to buy on Feb.14th--sweet Valentine's present for yourself! Mine will be here sometime this week (yay) and I'll have some projects up for you to see!
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(you can click on the pictures to make larger)

Today is Whatchadoin' Wednesday Challenge #27---and its to make monochromatic cards! I love to do this--such a pretty look me thinks! I decided to make some fun 4x4 cards using a bunch of different SUINK stamp sets! I made these with Valentine's Day in mind but actually these 2 cards can be used for lots of occasions! The cs, dp & ribbon is from PTI (makes monochromatic easy when you use products from the same company). The cupcake card uses 2 stamps from the "Sweet Things" set--I put a Bella Bauble (merlot) on top of the cupcake on on the bottom of card---simple embellies! The heart card was fun to make using the "Will You Be My Valentine" set--I took the heart image and stamped around the circle 4 x using the matching PTI inks (plum pudding & lavender moon) and added stickles to them. The "hugs" sentiment I attached with dimensionals after punching out w/ my SU word punch.

Well, I was just gonna make 2 cards but I was having so much fun that I decided to make 2 more--hee hee! This time for St. Patrick's Day obviously, using the new SUINK set "Blarney Stone". All the dp, cs, inks and ribbon are from PTI again (gosh I love their stuff & they're coming out with bags of buttons that match all their colors for $5--sigh, can't wait)! I colored the lil' leprachaun with Copics and then used my gold Spica pen to color the gold accents and ground! The second card uses the same technique as the heart card above--I just stamped 2 of the shamrocks around my circle and then popped the sentiment up on top! Easy, peasy fun cards to make!

Make sure and stop by the SUINK blog to see the rest of the DT's fabby projects too!

hugz,
Suzanne

Smirk-a-licious!!

Happy Tuesday everyone! Hope you're having a swell week so far. Sorry no posting yesterday--hadn't been feeling well and was trying to get a bunch of things done yesterday. My son's birthday is Thursday so I'm trying to plan his "paintball" excursion with friends and finish shopping for his presents. We've had some awesome, awesome weather here in VA since Saturday--its been in the 60's everyday in February, unbelievable!! I've had my windows open and have been enjoying the fresh air (which u know is my favorite thing next to stamping, lol). Unfortunately I know it isn't going to last and is supposed to get cold again later this week, but I'm takin' advantage for sure!!

PICTURES REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION--SORRY!!

Today is "Try It Out Tuesday--Challenge #5" over at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design store blog, Follow Your Heart. This week I challenged the DT to a sketch challenge cuz' I love 'em---nothing like a good sketch to get your mojo flowin'(see sketch above)!! If you want to participate in the challenge all the details are over on the store blog for ya!

I decided to use these new, fun stamps called Smirks that Susana is now carrying. I love, love them so much that I've gotta order more and they're only $3.95 so how can you not collect them all, lol :o) I decided to use the sketch to make a few notecards (2 of each design) as a gift for a friend. All the cs and dp is from Paper Trey Ink (new raspberry fizz/black & white designs).

This first notecard uses the Smirk "Fashion Gal"--isn't she a cutie with her lil doggie! The sentiment is from a Sweet 'n' Sassy set I've had and worked perfectly! I used Diamond Glaze on her purse and shoes and of course some stickles on her bows :o)

The second notecard uses "Party Gal"and she just cracks me up with her drink in each hand--zoom in to see her lil' olive in her martini, lol! I added Diamond Glaze to her glasses and some fun stickles to her purse! The sentiment is from Stamping Bella and the lil rhinestones you can get HERE.

Please head over to the store blog to see the rest of the DT's fabulous projects & join in on the challenge too! Don't forget to stop by Susana's store site on PaperCraft Planet to enter for some yummy new WebCandy and see sneak peeks of a NEW STAMP by a NEW ILLUSTRATOR--you will love 'em!

hugz,

Suzanne

A Girl & Her Dog!

Happy Saturday friends!! Yay its the weekend! I have a busy day today for sure---I'm off to do a friend's daughter's 7th birthday party today. She wanted a Valentine's Day Craft party so we're making VDay cards of course :o) Then tonight we have a dinner at another friend's house with my Lunch Bunch crew & hubby's---fun, fun! So that means on Sunday I will be sleeping in & resting---hee hee! Have any fun plans this weekend?

Just a quick post for you today since I've got ALOT going on today, lol! Love, love this Rubber Romance stamp called "Ally"--you can get her and others right HERE. Little doggie reminds me of my two cairns--so cute. Had to use my 2 favorite colors again---nothing like red & black to make it elegant. I heat curled my sheer ribbon again---gosh, I love that effect! The pearls are from KaiserCraft---one of my favorite embellies!! I layered a ton of black stickles on her top too--nice & sparkly!

Susana's Custom Art & Card Design has lots of new goodies in stock right now, including NEW Smirk stamps & Eat Cake Graphics Stamps (too cute, you must check them out!!).

Susana also has a NEW ILLUSTRATOR with new stamps coming--to kick off the big reveal (on Feb.13th) we are having a huge WebCandy giveaway over on the PaperCraft Planet store site. You can enter to win a $25 gift card to the store AND a hand colored/signed stamp by the new illustrator. You can see all the details and enter right HERE!! Hop on over there and check it out!

Have a great weekend & see ya on Monday!!

hugz,
Suzanne