Fairy Happiness!!

Happy Fairy Thursday everyone! How has everyone's week been so far? Busy, busy, busy is mine--what else in new, hee hee! Today I am working all day on projects, I have nowhere to be, just lots to get done. I'm only sharing one project with you today, because tomorrow I will have lots since its the FUN 1st of the Month!!!

I used yesterday's SCS sketch #226 for this fairy-licious card! I looked at the sketch for awhile, stumped--LOL--it looked a lil challenging but I figured it out!! I have had this Greeting Farm "Fairy Chloe" for quite awhile, always wanting to use it, just not enuff time, but I knew she'd be perfect for this sketch. I paired her up with this awesome dp from Dream Street Papers called "Fresh"--isn't it lovely? The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy & the flowers are Primas with glitterdots in the centers! I cut the sentiment out with my Shapeabilities Ribbon Tag Trio--love those!

Isn't she just a cutie-pop? I love her! I added lots of diamond stickles on her wings for some extra fantasy bling!!

**BLOG CANDY ALERT--Susana's store blog "Follow Your Heart" is having a yummy candy giveaway to celebrate over 10,000 hits! Up for grabs--a $25 gift certificate to Susana's store!! Stop by the blog to enter today thru Tuesday, May 5th (midnite EST)!******

Have a wonderful day! I'll see ya back here tomorrow with a Whiff of Joy Project of the Month, a sneakie peekie of some new H&M Stamps & a Copic Creation card!!

hugz,

Suzanne

Randomness!!!

Happy Wednesday everyone--we're halfway thru the week, yay! I am off and about today, trying to get lots of things done in not enough time, hee hee. Today is my lunch bunch with my favorite gal pals & yesterday I got my hair done. Can't believe I hadn't gotten my hair cut & colored since before I left for CHA in January--my hair grows veryyyyyy slooooowwww, LOL! Plus I don't really like to sit in a chair for very long--I get antsy, so I try not to go to often, my stamper's ADD again, LMBO!!



BTW, I got news that a few more of my projects were excepted to CardMaker Magazine--Whooot, Whooot!! I'm sooooo excited & what a great birthday present dontcha' think? My project in PaperCrafts Magazine will be out in June--that will be my first published piece & I cannot wait, definitely will be framing that issue :o) Anywho, I've got a couple random cards to share with you that I had done but not posted on my blog yet....

The first card uses the fabulous "Damask Designs" set by PTI--I love all things damask or toile (or zebra print, hee hee)! I made 4 of these notecards (2 thanks & 2 happy bdays) as a set and they're for sale over on my Etsy shoppe! This set is so fun to use & I just paired it with PTI's spring moss & vintage cream cs--the ribbon & buttons are PTI too (ya know I lovee my PTI products!!). Simply elegant!

Second card uses some of the new Medieval stamps from Whiff of Joy. Isn't this horse gorgeous--I love it! I paired "Charlotte's Horse" with "Knight Charlie"--so cute together & fabulous for a boy's birthday or graduation card. You can get both of these stamps at 7 Kids College Fund now if you live here in the States! The sentiment is from Verve Stamps "Wonderful Wishes" set--I thought it went perfectly with this scene. I kept the embellishments to some stickles & diamond glaze on the image & some masculine dp. Simple and fun!

Hope you're having a fabulous day! See ya back here tomorrow!

hugz,

Suzanne

Tuckered' Out Tuesday!!

Hi everyone & Happy Tuesday! Sorry no postie yesterday but this weekend's activities really tuckered me out, LOL! Alexa's bday slumber party kept me up until 4 am on Friday, then we went to Tyson's Corner Mall & shopped till we dropped (literally)! I also finished planting the rest of my garden & helping hubby w/ yardwork in the 95 degree weather we had this weekend! And yesterday was spent at the Washington, DC National Zoo & it was blisterin' hot I tell ya--I had to have sweated & walked off at least 5 lbs, LOL! (at least I hope, hee hee) It was a great weekend but I was in bed by 10 Sunday nite (which is early for me) & didn't wake up until 10 in the morning (ty hubby for getting the kids ready for school)-- so that's why I didn't post. So I think Alexa's 13th bday weekend was a success! She got a laptop (hubby totally caved) & she's loving SKYPEing w/ her BFF's, LOL! My kids are spoiled rotten I tell ya, but they're good kids & we love 'em, hee hee! Anywho, I've got 2 projects for ya today & a slideshow if you're interested!

My first card is for this week's Try It Out Tuesday challenge for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design store blog "Follow Your Heart". This week I challenged (and I mean really hard challenged, lol) the DT to create a card using only half of their stamped image! Even I had a hard time with this one, but I persevered! I used a Serendipity stamp "Violets" from Susana's store & cut it out w/ my circle nesties after coloring w/ Copics--and yes it really was halved (I didn't cheat), the whole bottom portion of it is gone! :o) I used this week's Mojo Monday sketch #84 for the layout which I just loved! The main sentiment is from a Heidi Grace set I've had (got it at AC Moore). The dp is from Chatterbox and the pearls are Kaiser.

I also painted the violets with Iced Lavender Shimmerz and the lovely ribbon is from the Offray outlet! Now make sure & hop over to the store blog to see the rest of the DT's creative projects for today!!

Second card is a fun Magnolia Z-Fold card I made. I think this little Tilda is soooo cute & you can get her, the birdie & stone wall at Magnolia-licious! The dp is "Garden Party" from My Mind's Eye and the sentiment is from PTI's "Around & About Sentiments".
Z-Fold cards are so easy & fun to make--gives your cards an extra POP!

Just a close-up of the image--I added stickles to her wings, hairbands & lil' birdie friend. I made my stone wall in brown tones this time, although I usually do it in grays--but I like it in this color family too! This card is up for sale in my Etsy shop if you're interested (link on sidebar)!

2009 Washington, DC National Zoo pics!

Hope you have a fabulous day! I'm off to get my hair colored & cut before I leave for Vegas this weekend for my birthday & then I have tons of projects to finish up!

hugz,

Suzanne

A Celebration!!

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope you're off to a wonderful weekend! It's in the high 70's today & I'm just soakin' up the sun! Today is also my "first baby's", Alexa's 13th birthday! Wow, how did 13 years fly by soooo fast! It has been a joyful, surprising, happy, painful, challenging, fulfilling & crazy raising an independent, spunky, intelligent & hard headed Taurean like myself, LOL!! Everyday is never the same, always different & I'm proud of the girl she's become & will be! She's crazy talented, beautiful, so smart & trully a kind girl who loves to sing, dance & be with her friends. She hopes to go to college & major in animal psychology so she can work with dolphins & other sea animals--and I sure hope she does, how wonderful is that! My poor husband has 2 battling Taureans in the house now, but I'm hopeful that those battles in the teens will subside to a wonderful friendship in adulthood. I can't wait to see who & what she becomes because I know she will be WONDERFUL!!

Happy 13th Birthday babe--WE LOVE YOU!!!

Still just a kid at heart!!!

And to celebrate Alexa's birthday, I'm sharing 2 birthday cards I made a bit ago with H&M Stamps new set called "Cupcake Wishes"! Just two happy birthday cards in 2 very different color schemes.

First one is bright & colorful using Basic Grey's "Cupcake" (how appropriate, huh) dp, PTI twill ribbon and glitter dots & scrappers floss! Just a fun & happy birthday card!!

Second card is more of an elegant look--pink & black are always so "oh, la, la" French dontcha' think? The dp is PTI and I put pink pearls on some of the cupcake decorations for extra dimension and in the corners too!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend & I'll see ya back here on Monday!!

hugz,

Suzanne

A 2 Occasion Day!!

Happy, happy Friday everyone! I'm back w/ my mojo squarely strapped on, LOL! Sometimes ya just need a breather to clear your head, YKWIM!!? Tomorrow is my daughter's 13th birthday (egads, I'm feelin' old already), so tonight she has having her 3 best buds over for a sleepover. I'm taking them to the movies to see "17 Again" although I'm not allowed in the same theater--I've been banned, LOL! So hubby, me & Riley are going to see "Monsters vs. Aliens" in 3D (which will surely give me a migraine, 3D makes me fuzzy, how 'bout you?). So we compromised on her presents and got her a netbook and some giftcards. The netbook is a little cheaper than a full laptop and has everything she wants including a webcam so it will work for now :o) And since she broke my camera the other day (SOB), I now have to scrounge money up to get another one--and I REALLY loved my camera :o( And on Sunday we're off to the Baltimore Zoo for the day--its supposed to be in the mid-80's all weekend (Yay) so I'm thrilled! Alrighty, enuff chitter-chatter from me today, hee hee!

So, today I made 2 cards using this week's SCS sketch challenge #225--I really liked it! I finally got all my new PTI goodies the other day, so I had to break them out to play! This PTI set "Men of Life" isn't new (just new to me) and I have soooo many occasions to use this set for! I made this card for my dad for this upcoming Father's Day (yes, I'm wayyy ahead of the game). He has a sailboat and loves spending time out on the Chesapeake Bay fishing & sailing--and he retires on the 30th so my mom is hoping he spends lots of time on the boat (get my drift) LMBO!! Anywho, I really like how this turned out! The dp & cs are from PTI and I wrapped some twine around the card and attached a Blue Moon fish charm to it!

The boat was stamped twice, I cut the second set out & popped it up w/ dimensionals & then applied a good layer of diamond glaze on top! Aren't those star buttons fun? They're from my large button stash :o)

Second card uses the brand, spankin' new PTI set "Tea for Two"--I have soooo many fabby ideas for this set! But today I just made a card that can be used for multiple occasions including Mother's Day! I flipped the sketch this time & used some new PTI dp called "Green Tea Leaves"-so pretty! I stamped one of the teapots onto vanilla cs & then colored part of it w/ a green copic to match the PTI "spring moss" cs. I added some red & cream pearls and also some diamond glaze on top of the teapot!

The ribbon is from PTI and I made my own hatpin using some beads from my stash & this gorgeous handwrapped silk bead (soon available in multiple colors at Susana's store)! I just love it!!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend--I'm sure I'm in for a loud & sleepless nite (w/ 4 teenage girls boppin' around, lol)! See ya back here tomorrow!

hugz,

Suzanne

Stamping Pals!

Hi & Happy Thursday all! I have to say "Sorry" for not posting today--I'm just worn out and needed to take a day off! I've got lots to catch up on and get done before I leave next week! But I'll be back tomorrow with a project for ya!

Make sure and stop by the Follow Your Heart blog today for a great tutorial. The tutorial is on making a corner bookmark like I made yesterday by DT Aud! So make sure to check it out!

I'll share a couple fun pictures of my 2 cairns with ya though!! These are my 2 stamping pals that you hear on most of my tutorials, LOL!

Casey, my 8 year old cairn! My big baby #1 or "Tater Tot" as I call her!!

Baylee, my 2 year old cairn or Lil' baby #2 or "Betty Bop"!

How can ya not love those lil' faces, hee hee! After coming in from the rain they both jump up onto our family room couch & plop down (so naughty, lol) & look at me like "This is what you get for taking us out in the rain, lady!!!?"---LOL! I love them to bitz!

I also wanted to thank my blog friend Sheri of Twitterpated with Paper for giving me this award--thanks so much & I really appreciate it! I'm going to skip the 7 things ya need to know about me, cuz' you all probably know more than you want to know about me, LOL! And I'll pass this out to everyone who visits me everyday--you all are sooo worthy of this award!!!

Have a great day & see ya tomorrow!!

hugz,

Suzanne

Oh Mother Earth!!

Hiya & Happy Wednesday & Happy Earth Day too!! I'm feeling a bit better today--my spring allergies are just in high gear right now! I wish my sinuses liked spring as much as I do, hee hee--nothing like a sinus migraine to bring ya down! Thanks for all the well wishes though! Busy day today--projects to finish, birthday presents to buy, vet visit for both of my pups & then taking my daughter to get her hair cut after school. Hopefully the weather cooperates so I don't have to run around in the rain--hate that! Doin' anything special for Earth Day? I'm counting my new veggie garden & 10 new trees we ordered as my contribution this week!! So I've made a flowery card to celebrate the day...

Well, Mother's Day is coming around the corner real soon so I thought I'd work on some fun ideas & projects to get your mojo, mojo-in!! My poor hubby gets slammed this time of year cuz' its our daughters birthday on Saturday (13--eekkkk), my birthday on May 3rd & then Mother's Day the following week, LOL! This year I'll be in Vegas for my birthday so he's kinda off the hook, hee hee! Anyhow....



My project today uses one of my favorite Magnolia's "Tilda w/ Lilacs" & the coordinating "Lilac" stamp available HERE at Magnolia-licious! My flowers today are not lilacs okay--I wanted to make them yellow & that's the beauty of being the creator, hee hee! :o) I based my project which is a Mother's Day card & matching bookmark-- around this yummy dp by Daisy D's--so cheery & bright and paired it with both PTI & Coredinations cs. I got the idea for the bookmark from my friend (and DT sistah) Aud, when she had made one for a challenge a bit ago & I just adored it! Stop by her blog to see her fabulous designs & her take on the bookmark--she's going to do a tutorial on it soon on the Follow Your Heart blog!

I colored Tilda w/ Copics and then added Flower Soft & stickles to the image--I used 2 colors of yellow Flower Soft (lemon & sunshine yellow). The sentiment is from PTI's "Mother" set. I used my favorite Swiss Dots CB folder to emboss my cs--wish CB would come out with some new embossing folders soon!

And here is the fun bookmark--it slips right over your page in your book! Such a fun & pretty gift to give. I know I'll be making lots of these--my son already requested a "boy" one!! This set is for sale on my Etsy shop for anyone interested (on sidebar).

Hope you enjoyed these projects today & I'll see ya back here tomorrow! Have a great Wednesday!

hugz,

Suzanne

Bling It On!!

Hello Friends! I'm feeling a bit under the weather today so I'm going to keep my monologue super short-so no chit-chat from me today :o( Hope your week is going awesome for ya so far!

Just a quick FYI: I have a new PDF file to share with everyone if you're interested! It's a list of starter colors of Copics that I recommend to anyone starting their collection. Each color family has a light, medium & dark tone recommended for it so they easily work together/blend & are great to build on!! It's listed on my sidebar under "PDF Files--Copic Starter List"!

So today is Try It Out Tuesday #15 for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design store! This week I've challenged the DT to "Bling It On" their projects--use lots of bling-y embellishments that they could! Check out the store blog "Follow Your Heart" to see the rest of the DT's blingy projects & we'd love to have you join in too!

My first card for the challenge uses Lockhart's "Hydrangea & Berries"!--if you're interested in seeing how I created the main image using Flower Soft, Smooch & glitter-you can check out my video tutorial under "Other Video Tutorials--Using Flower Soft in Fun Ways"! The dp is from Dream Street Papers (thanks Susana) & I kept the layout simple & fresh! Very patriotic me thinks! The pearls in the corners are Kaiser & the ribbon is from PTI. I also used my new Labels 3 Nestabilities--love the shape!!
**When using Smooch on Flower Soft--it takes 24 hours to dry depending on how much you use!!

Up Close shot of the Flower Soft with glitter applied while wet and then Azure Smooch metallic paint on top! The berries were done with Liquid Pearls & I also used Diamond Glaze on the jar!
Susana has a deal right now on the Smooch paints--buy 7 & get the 8th one free!

Second card uses a cute fairy named "Poppy" from Eat Cake Graphics--Susana has quite a few of these stamps that are super cute & in stock at the store. I cut my Dovecraft dp in strips for a different & fun look. My image was cut out with Peony Nestabilities & the sentiment on my tag is from PTI's "Limitless Labels".

I blinged this fairy alot--she has stickles on her outfit/wings, Shimmerz on the panel (angel wingz) and then I added Kaiser rhinestones in Lavender around the outside panel. I also added some stickles to the dp in a few spots to make it sparkly too! Bling-a-licious! Such a cute birthday card for a girl in your life!!

Make sure & stop by the "Follow Your Heart" blog to see the rest of the DT's fab projects! I'll see ya back here tomorrow--hopefully feeling better than I do today, LOL!

hugz,

Suzanne

You're Gorjuss!!

Happy Monday Friends!! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I had a wonderful weekend spending time outside in the gorgeous, spring weather we had--but sadly its raining now & supposed to rain thru Wednesday, BLECH!! I got my veggie garden in & I'm so happy its done now--hopefully lots of fresh veggies to come! Ya know fresh is best, especially when you know where everything came from & NO pesticides! I see some yummy grilled veggies in my future--YUM! When everything is grown in a bit, I'll take a picture for you all to see. Hubby did a great job building me a raised garden pit--looks really nice!

NEWSBITZ:
**If you live in the Northern VA area (or nearbouts, DC, MD)--I am having a Copic class on May 17th from 1-4 at my home! I will teach you all about Copics, how to color/shade/highlight, we will make 3 cards & use fun NEW products like Smooch paints, Flower Soft & Shimmerz! Class cost is $60 (w/ $20 deposit) & includes class & goody bag filled with good stuff (flower soft samples, colorless blender, inkpad, paper samples, images & more)!! Email me if you'd like to come & I'd love to have ya!! I've got 6 spots open...

**Katharina from Whiff of Joy is running some awesome BLOG CANDY on her blog for a lucky someone! Up for grabs, the entire Summer Kit by Elisabeth Bell (pre-order yours thru May 4th)!! Go HERE for all the details!!

**7 Kids College Fund now has all the New Basic Grey papers & accessories up for pre-order--will be in stock this week!! Includes the lovely Wisteria & fun Lime-Rickey Collection!! Make sure and use the coupon code BG10 to get 10% off any Basic Grey Products--good this week ONLY!



So, while I was working on the 4 NEW Video Tutorials yesterday (more about that later) I had colored up these fabby Gorjuss girls for them & wanted to put them to good use! I adore this paper that I've been hoarding from Stemma Designs (got mine at Michaels or Joann's)--love the bold graphic pattern & colors! You can get the Gorjuss girl stamps at FunkyKits here.

First up is the card, which the front of is only 3/4 of the entire card--I cut the edge with my Curvy Rectangle Nestabilities! The image is colored w/ my Copics of course & accented with some stickles. The sentiment is PTI's "Around & About Sentiments" set stamped in their white palette ink. I just tied a simple ribbon bow underneath & its done--so cute!

The door hanger is easy peasy to make--Just layered cs and then cut the door handle hole with my scalloped circle nestabilities. The image is popped up with dimensional foam tape & the "Keep Out" is actually a slider that you can pull out & flip over to "Come In" (see below)! The words were created & printed from my computer and then I stamped some floral swirls around it!
Here is the door hanger with the slider flipped over to "Come In"! Just a cute set for a girl in your life and its for sale at my Etsy shop if you're interested!! (on sidebar)



Now for the Video Tutorials! I shot 4 in total & am thrilled to pieces that I've finally figured out my video editing software (after a whole month, hee hee)! So all my new videos including the black/white object videos NOW FACE the correct way, so you don't have to crane your neck anymore, LOL! All videos are on my sidebar under Copic Video Tutorials & "Other Video Tutorials" and here is what they are:


-Video 8--HairColors Part 1 (dk. brunette & dk. blonde hair coloring w/ copics)

-Video 9--HairColors Part 2 (auburn/red & lt. blonde hair coloring w/ copics)

-Smooch It--shows fun ways to use the NEW Metallic SMOOCH paints

-Flower Soft/Ways to Enhance it--shows how to use flower soft & other fun products you can use on it & with it!


My next 2 videos will be on using the Colorless Blender & techniques & coloring wood objects!
Hope you like them!


hugz,
Suzanne

Peaceful Summer Dreamin'!!!

Hello & Happy Saturday everyone! Hope your weekend is off to a wonderful start. It's supposed to be 80 here today---wahoooo! But rain again tomorrow thru Wednesday--blech! I'm tired of all the rain :o( We're planting our veggie garden today--hope the rain doesn't wash it away, LOL--I'm looking forward to some fresh veggies soon, YUM! Just one card to share with you today & some exciting news....

This card makes me dream of summers just sitting in the sun & reading a great book with no worries, YKWIM! Just looking at it makes me feel peaceful! This image is "Adirondack Chair" by Karen Lockhart & I adore it. I made this card for this week's SCS "Ways to Use It Challenge" which was to create or use a frame on your project. I created a multi-layered frame with cs--the glossy cs was scored using my scor-pal and then I cut away the center and popped it up over my image with dimensional foam tape. Doesn't it look like a glass frame--so pretty!

The dp is by Little Yellow Bicycle and the image was colored with my Copics and then some Angel Wingz Shimmerz on top. I used some yellow Liquid Pearls on the flower centers for some additional dimension! The sentiment is from PTI's "Mega Mixed Messages" set--love that set!

In some other exciting news--the Gina K visited my blog yesterday and I'm still floating on cloud 9, hee hee! Her stamps were the first stamps I ever bought outside of SU stamps over a year ago & I still adore them (just don't have as much time to use them right now, sigh...)! She's a wonderful, super-talented & generous lady--I really admire her! Well, she put me on her blog roll under "Phenomenal Copic Artists" along with copic guru Marianne--can you believe it! I can't--hee hee--just a gal here who loves to color :o) But I was so excited, I just needed to share with all of you!!

BTW, my two new Copic videos are up on my sidebar showing techniques for coloring black & white images/objects if you're interested!!

Have a great weekend & see ya back here on Monday!!

hugz,
Suzanne

Rough & Tumble Friday!!

Hi everyone & Happy, Happy Friday--wahoooo! It's 75 degrees here today & sunny and I am lovin' life!! :o) Nothing better than being able to have your windows open, nice breeze & sunrays coming in--LOVE it! Do you have some awesome plans for your weekend? We're putting in our veggie garden tomorrow & then off to do some clothes shopping on Sunday (I like that, but hubby is not so thrilled, LOL)!

Gotta get ready for my birthday(hee hee--I like to pick out my own presents) & my daughter's birthday. My daughter is having 3 girls for a bday sleepover next Friday (ackk..she'll be 13--am I really old enuff to have a teenager, hee hee) & they want to go to the movies & raise alot of heck probably--and then we'll take her to the Baltimore Zoo/Inner Harbor on Sunday (her bday is April 25th) like she wanted. She wants a laptop (hee hee, not sure about that, maybe) and gift cards--easy peasy.


For my birthday (May 3) I am going to VEGAS baby (wahooooo) with 3 of my girlfriends and I CANNOT wait! We leave on May 1st and come back 4 days later---good times for sure! We're staying at the Bellagio & I'm hoping to get a spa treatment in (cuz' I never get to do that it seems) but no gambling--I don't like to lose my hard earned dollars so gambling does not appeal to me at all! I will be 35 (egads, that's gettin' closer to 40--eeekkkk) and this will be my first trip to Vegas! Does that "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" still work? LOL--just joshin' ya--we're not THAT CRAZY, hee hee! Anywhoo....I've got a few rough'n'tumble boy projects for ya today!!

So my first project is a Kids Get Well set--I adore this lil' dinosaur (Denny Dinosaur) from Whipper Snapper (I've had him for awhile now) and he's perfect for a get well card. I wanted to make some more get well sets cuz' they always come in handy & are quick-n-easy to make. I got this idea originally from my blogger pal Sandy(see her site for dimensions) and you can see my original one here. I just left out the throat lozenger on this one and replaced the regular chapstick with some LipSmackers fruit flavored chapstick---much kid friendlier!
The dp is from DCWV "Nana's Kids" and lil' dino was colored with Copics & then I added some Shimmerz to him too. Isn't he a cutie-pop--I love him! The sentiment is from PTI's "Mega Mixed Messages" set (a must-have set in my opinion--use it everday it seems) !

Inside view-- travel pack of tissues and LipSmacker chapstick! Great lil' set to give to someone that is sick, recovering or not feeling well! These sets are for sale on my Etsy site (on sidebar) if you're interested! Hope you like it!

Second card uses this cute lil' Eat Cake Graphics stamp that I have been dying to use forevah'! He so reminds me of my son--always tearing into my boxes in the recycling bin & creating something out of them! This lil' guy's name is "Casey" & there are lots of other cuties in this line of stamps too---right HERE at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design Store--(Casey is only $3--can't beat it). I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch #82 for the layout--perfect for this image! The dp is from DCWV "Nana's Kids" again--love this dp, so bright & cheery! I added a Basic Grey button to the center of my ribbon bow & tied it off with yellow Scrappers Floss.

Those stars are lil' brads I had and I cut the back shanks off with my Tonic scissors (cut thru anything) and attached w/ gluedots! I, of course had to add some diamond glaze to his lil' plane for some more texture--I just love how it turned out! This would make a wonderful birthday card for someone special!!

Last but not least, I get asked alot about how I take my pictures so here ya go. I bought this light box off of Ebay last year (it came w/ 2 lights but I don't use them cuz' they make my pics more pink than I like). I laid down some white cs inside & I set it up on my kitchen table along with my Ott Lite (love, love it)! The Ott light simulates natural daylight so I can take pics at anytime of the day. One tip: the light SHOULD NOT be directly over or shining directly on your card or else your pictures will look washed out!!! Put the light in front of your card/project pointing down so the light is indirect!

I use a Panasonic Lumix camera with a 10x zoom--I have a Canon Rebel XT too, but I mostly use my little Lumix--it takes wonderful pics (if you saw my slideshow below of my vacation pics--they were all taken with my Lumix). Then I just upload them to my Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 & adjust the colors/contrast if I need to, crop the pictures & add my watermark. Hope that helps you some :o)

EDITED TO ADD: MY 2 new Copic Video Tutorials are now up on my sidebar--video 6 shows how I color images/objects black & video 7 shows how I color white images/objects!!

Alrighty, I'm done now--hee, hee! Have a great Friday!

hugz,

Suzanne

Variations on a Sketch!!

Hello friends & happy "almost-Friday", LOL! I sure am hoping for some blue skies & sun today--the gray weather & rain is making me grumpy :o( Just for fun, I was perusing realtor.com last night looking at homes in Hilton Head Island, SC---found quite a few that I could buy & move in to, hee hee! Always good to have a goal & dream in hand, dontcha' think? One of these days I'll live in the South where I belong, sigh..... and yeah I'm kinda crazy I know (ROFL)!! But onto to a couple of cheery, springy cards for ya today!!




For both of my cards today I used this week's SCS sketch #224--so versatile! On this lovely Magnolia card, I flipped the sketch sideways. I adore this "Tilda with Lamb" from Magnolia-licious and was sad I didn't get to use it before Easter, but I believe alot of these cute stamps can be used for so many more events than just one specific holiday! I wanted Tilda to look like she was sitting on a hill of wildflowers with a baby lamb friend who just happened to wander by.

The background stamp is "Summer Background" that is available at Magnolia-licious too! After coloring with Copics I added some Flower Soft (sunshine yellow & heather) to the hillside for some pretty wildflowers! The yummy dp is from SU paired up with PTI cs (plum pudding & lavender moon). Tilda was cut out & popped up and the sentiment is from a Hero Arts set I've had for a bit. Flowers are Primas, Doodlebug brads & stickles on the clouds & sun! I really love this card--YILM (NOT)!!!! (This card is for sale in my Etsy shop--link on sidebar)

This second card was done using the same sketch, just flipped! I LOVE, LOVE this image of Charlotte (Rogue Charlotte) since I first got a peek of it months ago--she's one of the new stamps in the new Medieval Collection from Whiff of Joy! She's so cute & gives off such a great attitude--reminds me of myself, hee hee! Girly on the outside, but strong & tough as nails inside!! So of course I had to have an appropriate sentiment that had some 'tude in it, LOL! This sentiment is from a Sweet 'n Sassy set (Stylin Shoes--now 25% off too)--lovee the sentiments in it!

The dp is by My Minds Eye (Tres Jolie) paired with PTI cs & ribbon (melon berry)! I added a few Bella Baubles to embellish it too! Lovee this card so much :o)

Just a close-up to show you all the Shimmerz (Angel Wingz) I used on it; the arrow was colored with my gold spica pen. Make sure and check out all the new Medieval stamps now available at Whiff of Joy--they're fabby & I'll have more projects with them over the next few days!

If you haven't purchased the "Summer Kit" from WOJ yet, you have until May 4th to do so! You get 11 stamps by Elisabeth Bell & 4 sentiments by Katharina for only $37--its a deal baby!

BTW, Paper Trey Ink had their release on the 15th and yes I ordered everything again---cuz' I can't help myself (its a sickness for sure)! I wish they'd take a month off, so my checkbook can get a break, LOL! Make sure and check out all their new goodies (love, love the new teapot set)!
And no, I don't get paid by them (I wish) just really love all their products :o)

Make sure and stop by Susana's store blog "Follow Your Heart" today to see a tutorial by DT member Christine--she's showing you how to make those fun Pizza Boxes!!

Have a great day!
hugz,
Suzanne

April Showers, Bring May Flowers!!!

Happy Wednesday everyone! We're halfway thru the week already, oh my! I have so much work to catch up on--eeekkkkk! We're also planting our veggie garden this weekend & its supposed to be in the 70's thankfully. It's been nothing but rain since we got home--yucko! Messing with my mood for sure---I need the South Carolina sun!! Anywho, I've got some great projects to share with you, a blog-hop & vacation pictures too---so go all the way to the end of the post!


So today, H&M Stamp's DT is having a BLOG HOP for ya! Our challenge was to create a Mother's Day or Wedding 3-D project & card! I decided to make a fun Mother's Day project to share with everyone! I made a wall hanging & matching card using some of that yummy "Sonoma" dp by MME and the wonderful stamp set from H&M Stamps "Petals of Friendship"!

For the wall hanging, I used 2 of my coasters (yes, my box of 800 is going down slowly--you can buy them HERE) and covered them with my dp. I used 2 of my sets of Nestabilities (Labels 4 and Labels 1) to cut out my shapes (the back is covered with a matching stripe dp). I stamped out a few of the flowers from the set and cut them out, glittered 'em up with Stickles & attached them with Scor-Tape. I added a fun button to the center of each flower--lovee buttons!

The ribbon is from PTI, I attached the coasters together with ribbon & also made a looped bow so it could be hung up! Yes, that's my lovely mug on the picture--but I didn't have one of my Mom & I together cuz' she doesn't like to have her picture taken, but I'm gonna change that (hear that mom--I know you're reading this)!!! LOL!

I just love this sentiment--so appropriate for Mother's Day! I distressed the edges after cutting out with my new Labels 4 Nestabilities w/ my Inkssentials Blending Tool.

This is the matching card--I didn't gussy it up too much! I wanted the lovely dp to stand alone with the great sentiment. I just added some pink pearls for an accent! This would be such a great & easy project to make with your kids for a grandma, aunt or other special someone for this coming Mother's Day! Now make sure & hop along the BLOG HOP below, 'kay:

~Carolina
~Dawn
~Heather Rolin
~Julia
~Melissa
~Suzanne (ME)
~Tracy
~Heather Klump

Second card for ya today was made for the Copic Creations Blog! This blog will feature Copic Techniques twice a month (1st & 15th) for you along with fantastic examples/tutorials from members of the DT (including me)! So this time we were to create a project using our favorite technique & colors for coloring blue jeans!

I decided to use one of my favorite Whiff of Joy stamps, "Willow w/ Umbrella"--I just lovee this stamp so much. I paired it up with an MFT sentiment from "Rain or Shine"! All the dp & cs is from SU and the ribbon is from Making Memories & Doodlebug. I use alot of different combos for blue jeans but today I'm showcasing my favorite combo for you. I used B37, B34 & B21 on her jeans & accented them with my Sharpie White Poster Paint (extra fine) marker. I added some diamond stickles to the rain and puddle & some lovely Kaiser rhinestones to finish it up!

Make sure and stop by the Copic Creations Blog to see all the lovely projects by the DT & some great info on coloring blue jeans!

Here is my slideshow pictures of our Spring Break vacation in Hilton Head Island, SC! We had an awesome time, the weather was beautiful & we got to see & do alot of things. We spent time on the beach, swam in the pool, I got to read 2 books (finished them too, amazing) & caught up on my magazines. We did Putt Putt golf, a sunset dolphin cruise, shopping & a day trip to Savannah, GA! It was absolutely wonderful!

Until tomorrow friends---

hugz,

Suzanne