Lifting Off!

Happy Monday to all of my friends out there!  I am in beautiful and sunny South Carolina, my favorite place on earth it is!  The weather has been fabulous and we spent the day on the beach yesterday which was nice—I like to just sit and read and I’ve got my Ipad Kindle loaded up with a bunch of great books for this summer.  Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan, some books by Barbara Freethy, Beach Lane by Sherryl Woods (love this Chesapeake series), One Summer by David Balducci and a new one by one of my fave SC authors Kathryn Wall (I’m going to meet her Tuesday night, yay) in the Bay Tanner Series “Jericho Cay”!  I’m sure I’ll read more than this but this is a great start, LOL!  Last year I read 13 books at the beach, hee hee, and yes I am a fast reader and I read very LATE into the night!

If you follow my blog you know I read A LOT---the 2 questions I get asked the most?  When do you have time to read?  Very late at night, I read before I go to bed every night no matter how tired I am as it helps me relax a bit and sometimes I’ll read until 4 am if the book is really, really good.  And then sometimes during the day on the weekends if our schedule allows it.  How do I get everything I do done? (that’s the 2nd question)  Welllllll, I’m not really sure and I have no easy answer for it really.  I work a lot, I’m a bit Type A and I like to be busy and moving until bedtime, LOL.  I have no magic answers or magic schedule and there are days that I want to pull my hair out and yes I do get stressed.  But I always remind myself that I’m happy to be alive, happy to work in such a great community and doing something I love and happy that I have the supportive family I have.  And oh yeah----I DO RUN ON BATTERIES LMBO

And of course I can’t EVER travel without a few fun things happening right?  I mean I have a curse me thinks that allows weird, strange and crazy things that follow me around for sure!  So we left for SC on Friday and took a pit stop at my parent’s to drop my dogs off and then ventured onwards to Florence, SC where we stopped for the night.  But at a NC rest stop I was in the potty and washing my hands when a woman came out with her pants at her ankles (no she was NOT special needs or older, she was around 30ish).  Best part?  She had NO underwear on---OMG!!  I was so stunned I just stood there and then I bust out laughing and ran out of the bathroom.  My friend Andi on FB suggested that maybe she was “air drying” LMBO but I’m not really sure what the heck she was up to---but I do know that I like toilet paper wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much, hee hee!  Then last night Riley and I were eating Alaskan King Crab legs for dinner (yum) and Riley put his shells in the basket BUT decided that there was a BUMP in the basket that he just haaaad to push down, LOL.  Why you ask---cuz that’s what crazy boys do I guess!  Yep he pushed it and the crab legs flew up thru the air and landed on the table beside us which surprised the heck outta the people sitting there of course—LMBO—omgoodness.  This is why you want to AVOID being near us when we eat or pretty much anywhere the Dean family goes, hee hee----strangeness FOLLOWS us.  But its all good and always fun

Here are a few pics for ya to giggle at (if you get this by email, pics are only viewable at website)



NewsBitz: 


-7 Kids College Fund has the new and super fabulous Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps in stock HERE!


-Check out the NEW CMC Challenge that just started this past weekend HERE!  Its a fun one and our sponsor is Tiddly Inks.  I love Christy Croll who is the artist and her digi images are so much fun to use and color!  Everyone is welcome to join in the fun--the more the merrier!

-And oh yeah, guess what I got CHIBI'd!!  LOL---that's right and she's below for you! If you want to get one visit Kristy's site HERE!  She does an awesome job and I just adore mine--too cute!  Red is my fave color and she included that in my shirt---kinda looks like me in cartoon form 'eh?  LOL!  Thanks Kristy!

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Flying Dreams!!

Today I’m sharing a project with you that I did while I was on the Splitcoast Stampers Dirty Dozen team in early 2010.  I’m thankful that I have a stock pile of projects from that time to share with you every now & again, lol.  These projects were not allowed to be shown at my blog until 6 mos after my term ended.  Helps me out when I’m on vacation since I only was able to get a few projects done before I left home!  This was one of my faves and features stamps by Paper Trey Ink.



The stamp set from Paper Trey Ink is called “Up, Up, & Away” along with the matching PTI dies to cut the balloons and clouds out.  The theme that particular month for the Dirty Dozen was “Invitations” and I created different invites using only tutorials/templates from the SCS site.  This one is called “Free Standing Pop Up Card”—a really fun & easy project to make and so many variations too.  I decided to make a Graduation Invitation with this stamp set---the air balloons remind me of dreaming, aiming high and heading off to new adventures.  The papers are by GCD Studios called “Homespun Chic” and I loved the yellow and aqua color combos. I stamped the hot air balloons right onto the patterned paper.  I die cut the clouds and then softly inked the edges with my Inkssentials Blending tool and then added Stickles to them for sparkle.



I made my card so that the insert pulls fully out, so you can flip the front around to reveal the invitation part.  I used another PTI set called “ for the “For the Graduate” sentiment and then used my computer to print off the invitation details.  I added a few more hot air balloon and cloud die cuts to match the front.  Don’t you think this would be such a FUN invite to receive?  I’d love to get something like this myself, LOL!



And then the insert slides down in the box part and it all folds flat so you can mail it easily!  A fun and creative way to make some invites for a summer party perhaps?

Ok I hope you enjoy your week!  I will have another post on Wed for you but if you want to keep up with me and my CRAZY family on vacation (lol ) you can follow me on FB. I regularly update it with pictures and such while I’m away and traveling (yes my family is used to this)!

Driving Silly!!

Well a Very Happy Friday to you all my friends!  As you read this today I will be making my way to my parent’s house to drop off my doggies and then towards South Carolina for the next 2 weeks. We always stop half way down in Florence, SC for the night and then continue down to Hilton Head on Saturday which is the day we can check into our beach house.  It breaks the trip up a bit and makes the drive a little bit more enjoyable and bearable for everyone, LOL.  Plus (shhhhh don’t tell) our hotel is near a Hobby Lobby, hee hee and I’m gonna make a quick pit stop on Saturday morning!  Hey, I don’t have one at home so you gotta go while you can right?  A crafter’s perogative me thinks I’m super ready to recharge my batteries with my family before I head out on the road again this summer.  I always enjoy the beach so much and the pace of life in South Carolina is so much slower than here where we live outside of Washington, DC.  As I grow older (sigh, lol) I find that I enjoy that slower pace of life more and more!  Now don’t get me wrong, I still love the city and still run around at 225 mph myself, but I like the ENVIRONMENT to be a bit slower KWIM?!  Everyone is always so nice in the south, they always have time for you and to chat (you know I love to chat, hee hee) and as soon as I cross the South Carolina state line I feel like a new person.  Really I do—I let out a deep breath and feel like I’ve arrived home.  James and I are really able to relax, calm down a bit and recharge together as both a couple and a family which I think is so important.  We run 500 mph during most of the year, in different directions that I thinks its very important for us to take the time to slow down & just enjoy each other.  I realized that we only have 2-3 more summers with Alexa before she graduates high school (and maybe doesn’t want to vacation with us, lol) and I’m trying to suck each moment up, make lots of memories and really get to spend time with her and Riley both.  Time flies by so fast and before you know your kids are grown and gone out the door---so I’m really trying to have quality time and be present in each moment with my kids.  I know I’m busy and James is busy but family is ALWAYS 120% our priority no matter what---they are the reason we do what we do and who we are.

NewsBitz:


**Blog Candy still going on HERE thru tomorrow—so go ahead and leave a comment to win!

**And ooooohhhhh what’s coming soon to the CMC Classroom you ask?  A fun NEW GROUP that will debut in July!  Stay tuned for details!!!

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NEW RELEASE DAY for SCACD!!

Today is an exciting day as it’s a double release day for SCACD!!  Victoria Case has two beautiful new stamp sets available today for you—Hearts & Hugs the Fun Collection AND Retro Crew #2!   Two great sets that include a ton of fun and fabulous images for any occasion!  You can see more done with these stamps over at the SCACD Store Blog HERE to give you some yummy inspiration!  Both of these sets are available for purchase today HERE at SCACD!  If you are overseas then you can buy these at Quixotic Paperie as well!

I’m entering this card into the following fun challenges:

Stampin’ B’s Challenge (use a friendship sentiment)

Crafts & Me Challenges (use stitches/real or faux)

Scrapbook Sisters (anything goes)

Incy Wincy Designs (sketch)

I chose to use this darling girl called “Thinking of You”---isn’t she a sweetie?!  She was so much fun to color and match up with these fun papers by My Minds Eye “Stella Rose”, love the color combo!  The intricate mat beneath the main image is a new Spellbinders die called “FDL Squares”.  I added some layered Prima flowers and a bow made with my Bow Easy.  The sentiment is from a great stamp set by PTI and it says “Having You as a Friend, is like curling up with a Good Book!” (aww love that, don’t you)!!



Around the circle image I paper pierced – I kept my circle die on the paper and just pierced using it as a template.  Then I used my white Sharpie Poster Paint pen to connect the dots for a Faux Sew look (I don’t like to sew LOL).  The image was colored with Copics BG72,BG11,BG10 / Y26,Y23,Y21,Y100 /E25,E31,E50 / E11,E00,R20.  Then I added some Diamond Glaze to her eyes and paper for pretty shine, stickles to her hair bow and shirt stripes for bling.




Now make sure to view the complete sets at SCACD HERE!  I’ll see you back here on Monday with some pics of SC and a new project as well!  Have a great weekend!

Field of Flowers!!

Hello everyone and a Happy Wednesday to you!  I am busy, busy, busy like a beeeeee today getting work done and laundry so I can begin the arduous task of packing for 2 weeks for my family.  Yes, LOL, I pack for everyone pretty much—this way I know NOTHING gets forgotten!  The kids pack their backpacks with junk for the trip but I take care of suitcase packing!  I travel enough that my poor red suitcase looks like its been thru WW3 and has yet to be fully unpacked since JANUARY—I KID YOU NOT LOL!  I keep it loaded with stuff that always needs to be taken so it makes my life easier.  When I get back from our 2 week vacation I will only be home for 5 days before I fly out to Chicago for a week to teach and attend CHA (Craft & Hobby Association).  That leaves me enough time to do laundry, unpack the family, pick up the animals and do some work, LOL.  It’s a crazed life but a happy life so don’t worry about me---I’m never complaining—only grateful and thankful!  Like I always say “if my feet hit the floor and I’m standing then I’m SMILING” and that’s how I live each day!  I’m grateful for each moment I get to enjoy (whether happy or sad) with my family, friends and the world! I always think that if I died I hope to have lived my life well and happily and hopefully touched others lives with kindness, laughter and love—my main goal it is for sure!!  So if you will be in Chicago at CHA make sure you stop by and say HI---I’d love to meet and chat with you (yes look for the CRAZY LADY at the Scor-Pal & Magnolia-licious booth, lol).

NewsBitz:

-7 Kids College Fund has a coupon for 10% off all CC Designs Stamps—Use Code CCTY10, good through 6/27/11!  Like to mask or airbrush? Check out the fabulous Copic Xpress It- Mask It that works like a dream!

-Yep SCACD is having another fabulous release on Friday featuring gorgeous stamps by Victoria Case exclusively for SCACD.  Enter for the yummy Blog Candy and see Sneak Peeks at the store blog HERE!

-I have Blog Candy on my last post (below this one) if you’d like to enter---you have until Friday to do so!!

-The current CMC Challenge will be ending on Friday—the challenge is to color BRUNETTES (see slideshow of my DT’s gorgeous work below) and we’d love to have you enter---lots of fun prizes!!  Everyone is welcome!  New Challenge will go up on Friday and run for 2 weeks---Tiddly Inks is our fabulous sponsor!

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Field of Flowers

Today I’m sharing a project with you that I did for the new 7 Kids Challenge!  Wendy is our lovely hostess and she has challenged us to use “FLUFF & STUFF”—which means to use soft things on our cards like fluff, flock, fabric, flower soft and more!  Fun huh?  Make sure to stop by the 7 Kids Challenge Blog to see the gorgeous DT projects and play along with us!!

I’m entering this card into the following other challenges:

Cupcake Craft Challenges (sketch)

Spoonful of Sugar (ribbons & bows)

Anything Goes Challenge (summertime)

Deep Ocean Challenge (flowers)

Make It Monday (anything goes)

I used a Stampavie stamp by Sarah Kay called “Juliet in a field of Nastutiums”— isn’t she a lil beauty?  I used soft papers by Kaisercraft called “English Rose”—I loved the soft mauves and greens in the patterns.  The layout is the current sketch at Cupcake Craft Challenges, see link above. The leaf dies are from Marianne Designs and then I added small seed pearls with Viva Décor Pearl Pen in Ice White.  The edges of my  papers got distressed with my fave Zutter Distress Tool (love it)!  The border was done with a MS border punch.



Yes she was colored with Copics of course and I’ll add the pink colors I used later—I cannot remember in my sleepy head right now, LOL.  But the Greens were G99,G82,G20 and Hair was E35,YR20 & E50.  I used Flower Soft for the grassy areas and then more Viva Décor Pearl Pen on the flower centers for more texture.



That’s all for me today, I hope you have a joyful Wednesday!  See you back here on Friday!!

Go Fly A Kite—hmmppft!

Hey there friends—how are you this Monday?!  Did you all celebrate Father’s Day yesterday with your families?  We spent the day at home chilling, got some MD Blue Crabs and grilled out on the patio with hubby.  That’s what he wanted, so that’s what we did, LOL.  I must say I could not ask for a better Dad for my two kiddoes than my hubby—he has a great relationship with them and I’m always so grateful for his partnership in raising the kids!  He’s the BEST!! 

 Saturday night me, Alexa, my mom-in-law and Alexa’s friend went to see Sugarland in concert---whooooowheeee were they good!  We traveled 4 hours to Pennsylvania to see them and it was soooooooooooooooo WORTH it---boy can Jennifer Nettles sinnnnng (I sooo love her)!  We had front seats behind the crazy pit and they were excellent—they put on a great show (see pics below) We had a blast and it was hilarious trying to get down the mountain with the 1000’s of people, LOL---my mom-in-law was stressed OUT when I told her to “just sit back, that I was channeling my inner NYC cabbie driver self” hee hee!  But sometimes I just gotta break it out and use it at times when its needed & if you’ve ever tried getting out of a concert like this where people are drunk, tailgating & partying (whoohooo, lol) you know how it is!  We had a few drunks lean into the truck with us (nice ones of course) and I just laughed---the rest of the crew were a wee bit skeeered, hee hee!  You just gotta roll with the flow

But it was a great weekend and now I’ve got lots to get done this week as we leave for Hilton Head, SC on Friday for our annual 2 week beach vacation.  My posting will be sporadic during those couple of weeks but check in cuz’ I’ll be sharing some projects, stories of course and pictures while I’m away.  If you are down that way and you SEE ME---come say Hello cuz I’d love to meet you!  If you see a crazy woman, laughing loudly and fooling around---THEN you know it’s MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE   I make it my mission to have a good time every day and the beach is a healing place for me and my family---we enjoy every day there.

Sugarland Photos:






My fave Sugarland song/video:




NewsBitz:


-New Release coming from Victoria Case for SCACD this Friday and you can see sneak peeks all week along with a chance at some super yummy Blog Candy at the store Blog HERE!

-Winner of the FREE ONLINE COPIC CLASS at the CMC Classroom is…..Lillian Child!!  Lillian email me with your choice and we’ll get ya started!  Thanks everyone!

-Summer Special still on-going at the CMC Classroom for all online Copic Classes—stop by to check them out!  Also the new BookEndz Group will be debuting very soon there so stay tuned—if you love books and crafting you’ll want to join us!

-Magnolia-licious has those awesome new No-More-Shims from the UK that you NEED—read about them HERE!

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Go Fly A Kite!!!

Today the Magnolia-licious DT has a super fun Blog Hop for you!  Diana suggested we do a Black & White with POP Blog Hop to kick off summer for ya!  I love using black and white on my cards and I threw in a HUGE POP of RED for ya, hee hee!  You can find all the details on our blog hop and how to win BIG at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog!  We hope you’ll join in with us!  If you want to start the hop from the beginning head over to Barb’s fantastic blog here!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Scrappy Frogs Challenge (use red) 

Card Makin' Mamas (for kids)

Inspire Me Fridays (anything goes)

Totally Papercrafts Challenge (punches, dies)

 

I decided to dig into my paper scrap stash (which is gigantic) and use some up so this has a mix of PTI, Gina K and Kaisercraft papers.  I used this super sweet “Tilda with Kite” from the Sweet Rainbow Collection---you can see the whole sweeter than sweet collection HERE at Magnolia-licious!  I loved coloring in some non-traditional colors like this—I love going against what “should” be done (the rebel in me, hee hee).  The scrolls were done with a Marianne Designs and the black cs got embossed with a CB embossing folder.




This cutie got colored up with Copics C9,C7,C5,C3,C1,C00/ R29,R24,R22,R20 /E11,E00 and then stardust Stickles on her shirt, hairbands and kite.  I cut the image so the kite came out the side a bit—gives it some extra fun!

If you read closely here is some sugar blog candy for ya---I’m giving away 4 Magnolia stamps of your choice if you answer this question “If you created a kite, what would you have on it?” on this post by Friday (and come on let’s be creative & funny---if you tickle my funny bone you could win something extra)!!

Now make sure to hop on over to the fabulous and my friend

JANIEL’S beautiful BLOG HERE

to continue on the Hop!  All Details are at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog!

Clowning Around!!

Well hello friends and Happy Friday to you!  Wow—it’s the weekend already LOL!  I hope you have a great weekend planned for yourselves!  Oh boy I am still resting and working and catching up from the past few weeks—whewwwwheeee is all I’ll say.  But of course I have some stories for you---I was in VEGAS where there is always a story, LOL!  (well they seem to follow me I think)

**WARNING LONG POST ABOUT MY VEGAS STORIES----SCROLL DOWN TO SEE PROJECT LOL! **

South Carolina was a blast and I had so much fun hanging out with my good friends Pat Jaynes & Dana Shaw.  I laughed and talked so much my ribs STILL hurt---the three of use together is BAD, but good kinda bad, hee hee!  We saw Bridesmaids the movie and I’m still quoting it—in fact I might go see it again this weekend with hubby cuz’ I enjoyed it so much!  Visiting the Biltmore House in Asheville was another check off of my bucket list and it was amazing and fun to see with my pals.  I want to go there this fall for a weekend anniversary trip with my hubby—we’ve wanted to do it for awhile and now that Southwest flies to Greenville it will be an easy weekend trip for us.  So thanks to Pat, Dana and the rest of the gals I got to meet & visit with in South Carolina---it was great to see you all!

**WARNING---no alcohol was involved in this trip minus 1 glass of wine, I kid you not! Long story AHEAD!  What Happens In Vegas, Suzanne ALWAYS tells LOL!!**

Ok—so after a 7.5 hour drive home from SC after only about 7 hours of sleep over 4 nights I got home and went right to my pedicurist’s chair, LOL.  I don’t remember the drive home (ummm scary, lol) but I do recommend getting a leg/foot massage if you’ve taught for 20+ hours like me and need some help.  Got home, worked on projects, did laundry and repacked my suitcase for Vegas and left at 7 am the next morning.  I flew to Long Beach, CA on my first leg of my flight and I must say I was so exhausted I was asleep before we took off (I have that ability now yes, lol) and slept 4.5 of the 6 hour flight.  Got into Long Beach and if you’ve never been there its TINY but I love it—you walk down stairs onto the tarmac into a tiny building that’s the airport.  Well I sat down for my 1.5 hour layover and spotted WHO?  A grown up Harry Potter or Simon Cowell’s twin—I’m not really sure which one, LOL (see photo below).  Then the small airport alarm goes off---WHERE?  Right over my head, hee hee and NOPE I swear it wasn’t me but everyone was looking at me like it was, LOL.  I just waved and smiled and said loudly it must have been my contraband in my bag! (yes I have no shame)  Get on the plane to Vegas and a guy sits in the aisle seat cuz of COURSE I have my window seat and he says the words I hear ALL THE TIME “did you fly from Dulles cuz’ I recognize your pink travel pillow” LMBO!  Well he was the nicest guy, in his 60’s and a self-made millionaire who had been in my neck of the woods in VA visiting his daughter.  Needless to say he knew “people” at my hotel the Encore and got me bumped up to a TOWER SUITE for no charge and  a VIP table and entry to the Blush nightclub in the Wynn, hee hee.  SEE IT DOES PAY TO TALK & BE NICE TO PEOPLE!!  I have his card and next time I go to Vegas I will let him know, lol (and yes I met his wife so no weird thoughts ok, lol).  Well let’s just say that the flight was BUMPY which didn’t upset me but made me laugh---no I wasn’t drunk but perhaps exhaustion has a similar effect, yeah second thought it surely must!  I managed to spill my whole soda on myself, my Ipad and my feet LOL and had everyone wiping me down---it was a bit comical and I’m laughing hysterically like I’m a mental patient the whole time.  If my clothes stay clean for a whole day I’m doing REAAAAL good!  So we land and I’m walking down the little tunnel off the plane (forget what they call them but I like to say tunnels cuz its fun) in Vegas and yep Suzanne takes a massive SPILL over absolutely NOTHING and managed to land flat on my face along with all the contents of my bag (no I was not texting, or angry, or asleep).  I’m totally blaming it on my lack of sleep at this point—the poor people of Vegas were getting quite a view of me, hee hee.  And this is trip/fall #1000 for me so I am NEVER surprised or embarrassed!  Got to my hotel and do you think I could find my room, too many elevators going different places and I was all over the Encore in the first 25 mins I kid you not, even ended down in the spa somehow and talked to some nice folks that helped me out.  I swear they try to get you lost in those casinos and point in wrong directions so you’ll gamble more—its their evil plan you know but AHA I figured them out Ha Ha!  And do you think I could figure out how to close the blinds in my room—NO!  Who knew they were automatic, and who knew they had HIDDEN the darn remote in a drawer.  So yes I called down to the front desk to ask how to close them, hee hee—I am very smart (well I think so) but I couldn’t for the life of me figure it out---I told them they needed to NOT HIDE the remote, DUH!!!  And I’m sure they were thinking well “she’s a total dumb-a**)!   Well my friends and I met up and we gambled (I won a whopping $500 the first night—yay me, lucky me, who knew) and went to dinner and then nightclubbed it cuz yes I love to dance & sing. I’ve been clubbing since I was 17 going into Washington, DC every weekend to dance, I love it almost as much as airport sing-a-longs.  I met my homeboy (hee hee) Lil’ Wayne (yes I like his music) and danced with him ahem………..on the stage for a bit, hee hee.  Hey if you ask me to dance the answer is almost ALWAYS YES (and yes hubby knew).  Then we headed to Harrah’s to their outdoor club "Carnaval Court" and had front row seats for the great band “The Crashers” and I danced for 3 hours straight. Where my energy comes from?  I HAVE NOT A CLUE PEOPLE, LOL---but it could be true that I run on rechargeable batteries <wink>  Passed out in bed that night for sure (gotta recharge) and no there was no alcohol involved for me---that just makes me sick & sleepy, not a good combo for Suzanne.  Give me a few Cokes and I’m good to go for hours & hours—poor people, my poor friends and yes my poor family LOL!

Next day I met my friend Terri of Stamps Alive! for lunch and some shopping in the 101 degree weather---perhaps Waldo joined us—you’ll have to see below….hmmmm.  That night we did dinner by limo, went to see Cirque de Soleil’s “LOVE” which is set to Beatles music and it was FABULOUS!  Then onto a club for more dancing and gambling—I’m pretty sure I was numb and delirious at this point cuz I don’t remember too much, LOL.  I know I won lots more money after befriending the dealer whose name was “Sammie” and I’m pretty sure he felt sorry for me. And yes I befriend lots of people, that’s why we are here on earth so get to talking to peeps, you never know what you may find out or who you will meet.  He basically told me how to play BlackJack and helped me win a few hands---he also kept me in good supply of Coke, lol. (yes I’m SURE he felt sorry for my delirious self)  I asked him lots of “gambling inappropriate questions” as my friends say like where he lived, what his story was and why he kept pulling Aces and I was pulling 2’s LOL!  Since it was my last night we were out till 2 am and I got to meet a TON of drag queens—whooowheee they were good, LOL.  I met Lady Gaga, Cher, Madonna and more---these queens were hilarious, I think I was meant to party with people like this cuz we had a blast dancing and chatting.  And then I had a great cabbie driver while I was there, his name was Toni and I’m pretty sure he was a guy but I cannot confirm that as an “i” on the end of his name was a bit suspicious, LOL.  I had his card and he was my cabbie as I texted him (poor guy) when we needed him during my stay---he loved us I’m sure I gave him a few laughs and fell into the taxi a few times in my heels and skirts as I’m not the most graceful person in the world at times. You are asking why I wear heels aren’t ya?  Well I always wear heels or wedges—ask anyone that knows me, I prefer them and I don’t care if I fall everyday it will NEVAH STOP ME!!  I asked Toni with an “i" to take me to a store for a Coke icee (my fave) and he did, even ran in and got it for me---gotta love a cabbie that does that (ummmm HELLO NYC cabbies would nevah).  He told us some FAB stories that I cannot share about local celebrities, but just know I almost peed my pants a few times.

Ok so the trip home---here we goooo!  I was supposed to leave at 6:30 pm but was tired so changed my flight to a 1:15 pm flight so I could be home at 11:30 pm instead of 5:30 am the next day KWIM.  Get to the airport and find out my flight is delayed 1 hour—ok I can deal. BUT Vegas airports have slot machines—I mean I think they delay flights just so you will play—they just stare at  you with their twinkling lights and fun sounds (yes these things draw me in like a bug to light) but I resisted.  Talked it up with 2 ladies who had just finished their 75th trip to Vegas together—they were 88 and had been coming for a LONG time and 1 even got married in a Vegas chapel.  Between the 2 of them they had won $11,000---ohhhhh I want that luck but I play only in small numbers (you know under $10 lol). Find out plane is over sold and my loading number was B49---UMMMM that’s like BUTT LAST on the plane—NO WAY JOSE!  I must have a window seat so I found a guy who had A17 as his boarding number (yes I am sneaky and conniving when I need to be to get my good seat) and CONVINCED him he MUST save me a window seat or the plane would NOT take off cuz I would have a major meltdown—I KID YOU NOT!  Well I guess I scared him badly enough cuz’ he saved it for me although he kept looking at me regularly I’m sure to see if I was mental or not—he was skeeeered, hee hee. No worries cuz I slept all the way to Chicago.  I knew something was up the MINUTE I landed—the place was PACKED due to weather delays—ugh!  My flight was delayed for 2 hours of course but I bought a sandwich and found one of the last seats in our terminal.  Well the hockey game was on and the place was WILD!  There were people yelling, dancing and singing---this might be scary to most but it was RIGHT UP MY ALLEY YESSSSS!  I WAS LIKE LET’S PARTYYYYYYY! Yes I know you are shaking your head wondering what planet I’m from but its so much better than a quiet airport I assure you.  So we were singing Billy Joel sing-a-longs and a dude was playing a harmonica—people were drinking and laughing---it was CRAZY and I LOVED it! So we finally load onto the plane and everyone is seated and they announce “GUESS WHAT---YOU HAVE NOOOOOOOO PILOT”---ummmmmmmmmm what????  Yep our pilot was lost so we had to WAIT for another pilot for another 35 minutes. Ummm like did the pilot run away, party too hard or what---I was like “HEY—if the PILOT is LOST we don’t want him ok—that’s a BAD BAD SIGN” LMBO.  And yes I said it loudly to the plane (to much laughter and no arrests thank goodness) cuz I don’t know better and I lack a mouth filter at times but come on---do you want a pilot that has disappeared flying your plane at night?  I think NOT or at least I don’t!  NEW (thank god) pilot comes and we start flying—I have 2 guy seatmates and we all CRASHED and I slept the whole flight even tho it was bumpy as heck.

Get off the plane at 12:30 am (yes an hour behind) to find the train at Dulles is down for maintenance---oopsies.  Waited (I kid you not) for 35 mins for a train as there isn’t another way you can get across the tarmac now to get my darn luggage.  Get on the train which is packed with my whole flight and someone pushes me and I fall out of the train---DOOR CLOSE!!! UMmmmm NO, NO, NO---I started YELLING LIKE A MENTAL PERSON (ask me to impersonate one and I do it well).  Well I scared the train guy so bad he opened the doors back up and stopped the train, hee hee---that got his attention!!  I got back on the train, gave the dude who pushed me a dirty look and said to him “It’ll take more than that mister to make me miss this train---you have NO IDEA what I’ll do when push comes to shove or what I’ve been thru” LOL.  Yep he was a bit scared (rightly so), I can have that effect when angered which isn’t often but when it happens WATCH OUT.  Got to hubby and got home and have NO recollection of getting in bed but it was lights out quickly for me. 

So that is in round-a-bout terms my story for ya---there is a lot more but you’ll have to wait for my BOOK to see those, hee hee (hmmmmmmmm…makes you think right)!  Anyhow if you ever want to travel with me and you are NOT scared I’d be happy to have ya----its always fun, never boring and sometimes downright exhausting!!  I always will have a story to tell, people to meet and things to experience whether its' good or bad---that’s just LIFE

Pictures for ya (I don't have a ton cuz' my phone & camera didn't come everywhere in Vegas--lack of pockets and purse, lol):




NewsBitz:

-7 Kids College Fund has NEW Bildmalarna Stamps for Pre-Order HERE!  New La La Land Pre-orders HERE Too!  Want NEW Basic Grey? It’s HERE!

-REMEMBER----keep track of all the places Waldo has been with me this summer starting at my Greensboro, NC trip and you could win a prize at the end of August worth $150!!

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Clowning Around!!

So keeping in the party mood I used this fun and supercute clown stamp that I got at my pal Betty’s store in Greensboro, NC called the Stamping and Scrapbooking Room.  These stamps are by Morehead Stamps—they have the cutest faces, I just love them.  This one is called “Joy for You—Sweety” and she’s so sweet for birthday cards.  (don’t want to order from overseas? call or contact Betty & she will ship to you)

I'm entering this cutie-pie into these challenges (remember to check Feline Playful for challenges):

Delightful Challenges (anything goes)

Southern Girl Challenge (anything goes)

Crafts & Me Challenges (Bling)

Celebrate the Occasion (Birthdays/Party Hat)

Shopping Our Stash 

(SOS--use S or O products--I used Stickles, Spellbinders,Scrolls)

Sweet Stamps (embossing)

Forever Friends

KB Cute Monday (Anything Goes)

I used new papers by My Minds Eye called “Lime Twist—Happy Go Lucky” cuz I loved the mix of fun patterns and great colors!  The purple embossed mat was done with a Spellbinders Nestie and then embossed but to make it larger I cut it in half and put it under the middle paper to stretch it out.  The image is matted with Spellbinders “Lacey Circles” and the swirly die is newer from Heartfelt Creations called “Bella Rose” (see here—it has leaves but I cut them off to make it versatile).  The sentiment is from PTI and then I topped the end off with a button and some Scrapper’s Floss.
 


Yes this cutie was colored with copics to match the fun papers V09,V06,V04,V000 / BG72,BG11,BG10 / YG25,YG03,G20.  I put Stickles (stardust only) on her hat, clown suit trim and shoes for sparkle.  The top of her hat got a mixture of fun Sparkly Fluff in two colors—I mixed an aqua and purple together to match the papers.  The ball and ice cream cone got some Diamond Glaze on them.  Isn’t she such a lil’ cutie?  I got a few of these sets but thinking I need MORE (yikes)!!



Hope you enjoyed this today, maybe laughed and smiled a bit and sure hope I didn’t wear you out LOL!  Yes I wear myself out but I’m still truckin’ so I’m doing good I leave next Friday for a 2 week beach vacation in Hilton Head, SC and there I will calm down and rest a bit (yeah right huh)!  Have a great weekend!

Let's Go Riding!!

Well Happy Wednesday to you all!  As you are reading this I am soon headed home from my trip to Vegas--I have a red eye so I get in tomorrow morning at 5 am LOL.  Hope the flight is quiet and I'm actually able to sleep KWIM.  I am pre-typing this so I don't have any fun Vegas stories for you.......YET LOL!  There is definitely dancing and singing for sure though and I do know we are seeing "LOVE" which is the Beatles Cirque de Soleil.  No hangover movie-like stories for me though---I don't drink much at all cuz it makes me sleepy.  I'm much more fun after TWO Cherry Cokes hee hee ;)

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Let's Go For a Ride!!

Today is the 15th so that means its another fun Copic Creations Challenge!  Our fun and fabulous sponsor is Penny Black and they generously gave the DT some of their new stamps---love them!!  The challenge this time was to use our multi-liners in new or fun ways---easy yes!  I love my multi-liners & I always suggest in my classes that you have 2 black SP's (one thin line & one thick line).  Splurge for the SP's as they are refillable and worth the extra bucks.  You can find out more of the challenge details and the DT projects HERE!

I'm entering this Vrooom Vroooom baby into the following fun challenges: 

Going Grey with Scrap-Creations (anything goes)

Creative Cowgirls Challenge (summer fun)

Paper Sundaes (girly girl)

My image is "About Town" by Penny Black and I think she is ADORABLE!  Hmmmm reminds me a little of myself driving in my new BMW Convertible which I hope to get back next week (if you remember I only had it 2 weeks before I was rudely rear ended in April) and start driving it again.  My papers are by SEI called "Sunny Days" and I loved the bright & cheery colors---fun and perfect for summer projects.  The scrolls and flower are made with a Marianne Designs die and then I added some rhinestones for bling.  The sentiment is from a PTI stamp set--perfect eh'?

Of course my image got colored with Copics R05,R02,R00 / C1,C00 / E43,E42,E41 / Y15,Y11 / E11,E00,R20 / E25,E31,E50  Then I used my black multi-liner (0.3) to create some fine line shading on the car, marks on the tires and to give the road some texture.  I put Diamond Glaze all over the car so its nice and shiny, and of course some Stickles on the headlight, wheels and the girl's shirt.  She is blinged up and ready to ROLL I tell ya!!

Ok I will see you back here on Friday and I will also post the last Blog Candy winner then too so stay tuned!  AND don't forget to keep track of Waldo this summer--someone will win a $150 craft prize if you keep track (and yep I'm taking him to Vegas, lol).

Grrrr Girl Power!

Hi friends and Happy Friday to you all---yay it’s the weekend!  So if you are on the East Coast you know it has been hot, hot, hot---100 degrees at home in Virginia yesterday WOW!  Wonder what it will be like in Vegas next week? LOL!  Yesterday I spent the day with my gal pals Pat Jaynes and Dana Shaw touring the beautiful Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC---it was beautiful weather and we had a great time.  I’ll share pics with you next week of my fun.  Then we went to the movies to see “Bridesmaids”---if you have not seen this movie you MUST GO and go with your friends!  My sides still hurt from laughing thru-out the movie---and YES the “Annie” character IS my alter ego, LMBO!  I saw myself in that movie A LOT and we laughed thru the movie, on the ride home and when we got back, hee hee.  A must see for sure!  Pat & Dana were my roommates when I was down in FL teaching and I must say the 3 of us together, combined---whooohooo!  We were rolling and laughing all day---my face STILL hurts, hee hee!  I love these gals!  Today I’m teaching Copic classes in Greenville, SC and again tomorrow.  I’m excited to see some of the gals I know and meet some new friends of course.  Then I will drive home Sunday and hopefully be home by 2 pm so I can leave for Vegas on Monday, hee hee.  AND no there will be NO Hangover Movie like stuff going on for me in Vegas, LOL!

NewsBitz:

-Check out this FABULOUS new product from Viva Decor called Crystal Gel found at SCACD and exclusive molds to use with it!  This is the coolest stuff and see all the fun projects the SCACD DT came up with and a tutorial video on how to use it HERE!

The beautiful Biltmore Estate

Pat Jaynes, Me & Dana Shaw at the Biltmore

 Oh & look closely---who do you see in the picture?
Remember if you keep track of WALDO this summer, at the end of August
I will run a fun contest and someone will win $150 of craft gifts!!

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Grrrrr Girl Power!

Today I’m sharing a fun card I made for the current Magnolia-licious Challenge.  Our lovely hostess this month is my DT sister Janiel Corley and she challenged us to use ONLY the Mini-Magnolia stamps on our projects!  There are a TON of MINI Magnolia stamps and regular sized ones at Magnolia-licious—have fun shopping hee hee!  You can find all the challenge details and the other DT gals projects at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog!



I decided to use these darling Pirate stamps and change it up and make it super girly & fun with bright colors and embellishments!  This is MINI “Tilda with Jolly Roger” and MINI “Barrel & Skull”---aren’t they so cute!  I think this card would be perfect for a birthday girl of any age!  The papers are by Memory Box me thinks but I cannot for the life of me remember and since I’m not home I can’t check, LOL!  And then I used my Spellbinders dies for the matting behind my images.  A few pearls, bow easy bow and a sentiment from an older set by Pink Cat Studio finish it off!  Of course we gave this pirate girl some bling with Stickles and Diamond Glaze too!



These stamps are so cute & fun to color! Mine are colored with Copics of course RV17,RV13,RV10 / C9,C5,C3,C1 / B04,B02,B000 / E25,E31,E50 / E00,E11,R20. And yep this pirate is BLINGED up with Stickles!  The anchor and barrel bands have Diamond Glaze on them!


Alrighty friends---hope you have a fabulous & COOL weekend ahead of you! I’ll see you back here Monday!

Cupcake Party!!

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I’m headed down to South Carolina today and I left around 6:30 am so I hope to be at my friend Pat’s house by 2:30ish.  I play a game in the car with the GPS who I call Glinda, LOL.  Why Glinda? Cuz’ sometimes she's a smart & good witch and sometimes she’s NOT She has told me to turn off bridges, do u-turns on highways and more---so I do believe she might smoke crack when I’m not looking, LOL!  So Glinda the GPS and I play a game—she gives me her estimated time she thinks I will arrive and I try to beat her, hee hee.  So far I have beat her 90% of the time and yes I am CRAZY but its something to do on long drives. My usual goal is to shave off at least 20 mins from her time—coming back from North Carolina I shaved off 35 mins which was fabulous—woohoo.  So I think she might be a tad mad at me right now but we’ll see tomorrow how she does!  And yes I do think I’m sane most of the time but come on don’t we all play games now & again to keep us from being bored or sleeping!?  Don’t worry I have it all planned---if I get pulled over by a cop I’ll just tell him my GPS was smoking crack and I was on a mission to beat her ETA while speeding….errrr driving!  Whatcha’ think? Perhaps he would put my bum in a cell for the night huh? LOL—hubby would love that!  He always says he’ll never be surprised when the call comes in that I have been hauled off by the police (big meanie he is, hee hee) and that my first call better be to our lawyer and not him—HA HA!  Nah—I’m smarter than that right

NewsBitz:

-7 Kids College Fund has a SALE on all Whiff of Joy stamps as she is discontinuing carrying them.  So they are all 25% off HERE and use code WOJCLEARANCE!  Also new Tim Holtz paper rosette dies are HERE—love these, want these bad, lol!


-Don’t forget to join in on the CMC Challenge—it ends on Friday night and someone will be a lucky winner.  New challenge will be posted Friday night as well---we have a copic challenge every 2 weeks---everyone is always welcome!!

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A Cupcake Party—Yum!!!

Today is a fun 7 Kids Challenge and our hostess is Tori Hemingway---she’s challenged us to create something Hot, Hot, Hot—summery! (and NO Magnolia stamps allowed)  Well my project isn’t hot per se, LOL, but it is summery and perfect for a summer birthday me thinks.  You can see the current challenge HERE and all the DT projects as well—hope you’ll join in with us!



I used this super cute CC Designs Swiss Pixies “Cupcake Birgitta”—isn’t she a doll?  I love to color these cuties—they offer so much space to color that you can really play around with techniques.  I used papers from Kaisercraft and my layout is actually a sketch challenge at Card Positioning Systems this week. I love a pink and green combo don’t you? So girly & fresh!!  The leaves were created with a new Spellbinders die called “Foliage” that is fabulous—I inked the edges of the leaves and added stickles to them to make them sparkle lots.  The die mats behind my image are both a Spellbinders pendant (pink) and the white is a Marianne Designs die.  A few Prima flowers, ribbon and pearls finish this cutie off.



I colored her with Copics—YG25,YG03,G20 / RV17,RV13,RV10 / E11,E00,R20 / E25,E31,E50 /C1,C00.  And then some stickles to her stockings, wings and cupcake frosting!  Make sure to hop over to the 7 Kids Challenge Blog to see the rest of the DT’s fabulous projects!  See ya on Friday!