You Make Me Smile!

Happy Tuesday Everyone and First Day of March!  Let's hope it's a wonderful month of SPRING--yay!  I thought it would be fun (for me anywho, lol) to give you a bit of background about myself and why I am enjoying myself so much these days, LOL.  A little insight into my brain so to speak---scary stuff people so beware of what lies ahead, bawahahaha!

Let's start with my childhood okay!  I was a VERY shy child with people outside my immediate family or friends and I mean SHYYYYYYY like would want to puke and break into sweats if I had to talk to anyone else.  BUT I was extremely stubborn and independent too and I could be mouthy to authority on occasion (I see my mom shaking her head yes right now, hee hee).  I always knew that I would do it all MY WAY, MY TERMS and on MY TIME no matter what!  My family was also very much homebodies which isn't a bad thing (and my mom & dad still are, lol) but I ALWAYS wanted to move, get out, see things and travel.  Didn't happen much in my life growing up but I had big dreams of traveling, starting my own company and seeing/conquering the world as I grew up.  I always felt that maybe I was really a child of gypsies because I felt so restless, bored in a way.  I loved to read (still do) and that was my way of escaping to other locations, times and countries.  By the time I reached high school I was becoming better at coming out of my shell, more at ease with people although I HATED getting in front of people and speaking--ugh, nightmare.  I had dreams of going to college far, far away and traveling still in my view.

Long story short, I didn't go to college that far away, LOL and I never did conquer the world or get to travel like I thought.  I met my husband, had two kids and devoted my life to being the best Mom, Wife and Homemaker that I could.  But as a lot of us find out we lose ourselves in becoming what we "think" we have to be or should be.  Life is filled with so many "shoulds" and "have to's" that its easy to forget WHO or WHAT we wanted to become because duty calls.  Not that I regret anything in my life--I can honestly say I have no regrets in my life and I don't play that game at all.  I always look forward and I am a die-hard optimist no matter what---what's the point in looking back when the future awaits us.  Crafting and art helped me find that person I was again without giving up or changing how I lived my life and took care of my family.  And the internet suddenly let me meet others that lived far away who loved the same things I did--Facebook allowed me to keep up with friends--blogging allowed me to share my stories and crafts!  The internet had a HUGE involvement in helping me find myself again---the Suzanne that isn't a Mom, Wife, Volunteer, Sister, Daughter, etc. and it made me very happy.  Soooo when people ask me if the traveling/blogging/crafting/business is tough, I'm always honest with everyone.  Yeah it can be tiring and stressful BUT the payback is so much better that it is worth all the pain.  I enjoy meeting people, I can now talk in front of groups of people and not freak out (or puke or sweat, lol) and I enjoy EVERY MINUTE that I travel.  Even sitting in an airport talking or singing with strangers is another page in my life and why not enjoy it.  I'm getting to see the country, travel, meet new people and friends and teach something I really and truly love to do.  I feel like I live out my dream everyday and that this is what I was meant to do and at the time I was meant to do it.  I was meant to meet my husband, I was meant to have my kids and live my life the way I did===it made me happy and I hope I made them happy.  And now I'm getting to do something I didn't know I wanted to do so badly so YES I am enjoying it.  I don't know how long it will last, but I feel blessed everyday to be able to blog, craft, color and teach---IT WAS MY DREAM ALL along and this is truly what I was meant to do!  Its a SUZANNE ADVENTURE everyday my feet hit the floor and I'm able to live.  And I hope that I'm inspiring not just my daughter but my son too---that its ok to veer off the "planned path" of life but to DREAM BIG and DO WHAT YOU LOVE.  Everything will fall into place and will be as its meant to be, might not be on your exact timeline but it will come when the time is right.  I hope my daughter sees that its okay to dream, fail, survive, aspire, be independent and do what you love no matter what---that's what I hope my work does for her and my son everyday.  Live BIG---and as I always say "You only get one life, so live it BIG and FABULOUS"!!

And for all of you that stop by each day, email me, support me, friend me---I thank you BIGTIME for helping me along the way too!!  YOU make me SMILE everyday :)

PS--Blog Candy Winner will be announced tomorrow :) Stay Tuned!

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You Make Me Happy!

Since today is March 1st that means it is another super-fun Magnolia-licious DT Challenge!  This month our lovely hostess is Janiel Corley and she challenged us with a fun project and recipe.  To make a frame project that includes at least one of each: ribbon/trim, bling/pearls, Magnolia image, and flowers.  You can find all the Challenge Details at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog!  I was so excited to pull out a new image from the Magnolia "Butterfly Dreams Collection" at Magnolia-licious.  I used this cutie called "Running Tilda" and I love the way she's skipping across a spring field of wildflowers don't you?!

I bought a few cheap white frames that were discounted (4x6") at Target for only $2 a piece that I knew I would use for some fun scenes.  This project is actually a present for someone's birthday and I have a few others up my sleeve, lol.  You can pick up cheap frames and have fun dressing them up like this.  I got my color theme from these NEW AWESOME papers from Anna Griffin called "Willow"--I fell in love with them at CHA and couldn't wait to get them.  I love the bold patterns and mix of blues, whites and creams, just beautiful!  For the pictures I took the glass off of the frame so there would be no glare but I'll pop it back in to protect the scene before I give it away.  I decorated around the edges of the frame with layered Primas and some greenery dies made from THIS Marianne Designs Die.  I added stickles to the flowers for a bit of bling/sparkle.  I put them on the frame with Scor-Tape so they stay on there nice & strong.  The sentiment is from PTI "Signature Greetings"--love it!

For the landscape I used the Magnolia Stamp "Summer Background"--I couldn't find it at Magnolia-licious but there are two others that would work beautifully.  "Summer Background-Fairytale" or the new "Tulip Walkway" (which I'm waiting on as I love tulips).  I actually cut my background into pieces (clouds, grass and sun) so I could stamp it as I wanted which is great for larger scenes like this.  Then I just keep them in a baggie all together.  The flowers are a MINI Magnolia stamp called "Mini-Lazy Summer Flowers"--they work great for small flowers on my background, love them!

"Running Tilda" got colored with Copics using B39,B37,B34,B21/C3,C1,C00/E11,E00/YR24,E25,E31,E50.  I added Diamond Glaze to her shoes and Stickles to her dress trim and all the flowers and grass and clouds for lots of sparkle.  Makes you want to skip along with her in the sunny, warm weather dontcha' think?  LOL--at least I do!

I hope you enjoyed my project today and now are inspired to make your own with these fabulous Magnolia stamps from Magnolia-licious!  Make sure to stop by the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog to see all the fabulous DT projects and find out how to join in on the fun too!