Fallin’ Home!

Happy Saturday my friends!  Hope you have a fun, relaxing weekend ahead of you planned.  Amazingly I have NOTHING planned for this weekend, nowhere to go, no big to-do list…even I’m shocked…see my mouth hangin’ open as I write this?!  THAT NEVER HAPPENS…but glad that it is cuz’ I need to get better before I leave for CT on Friday to teach…they NEED me to have my voice and to be standing upright LOL!  Otherwise they will probably take pics of me and put them on the web saying I was drunk or some nonsense ahahahahahaha!  I do need to run out to JoAnn’s and get a few supplies but other than that I’m good to go for the weekend and I plan on NOT doing much either.  I think some reading is in my future along with just sitting on the patio…while I watch hubby mow the lawn Payback is sweet sometimes…yes indeedy it is!  If you have NO idea what crazy stuffs I’m talkin’ about just scroll down to read last post and you’ll understand!  And while you are there READ the comments left…OMGosh they made me laugh so hard, thank you to all who posted…I LOLed a few times that’s for sure!  I have a funny below for you that will probably make you spit your drink out and laugh like it did me!  I like to post a Friday Funny on Facebook each week that makes me laugh, snort, smile or all 3 heehee!

I mean let’s put it this way….if I WAS an obedient wife (heaven forbid) life would be sooooooo B-O-R-I-N-G…and I’d not be a nice person hahahaha…there were no words that implied “obey” in my marriage vows, I made sure of that

NewsBitz:

-CMC Challenge has a new challenge up “Fall Colors”---you can use any alcohol markers or colored pencils on your images, its open to everyone to join in as well and runs for 2 weeks!  Bugaboo is our fabulous sponsor this time…so hop over & check it out & join in!

-We have also started a new Group at the CMC Classroom for all those that use & love their Cameo Silhouette machines.  Its open to everyone, its still a work in progress but we have some useful links & videos up, you can share tips, your projects and have fun too!

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Fallin’ Home!!

Today I’m sharing a card I made for my sister’s birthday next month (shhhhh don’t tell) and I am way ahead on my birthday cards…whoot LOL!  Her and my mom both love primitive style/antiques and love doing puzzles by Charles Wysocki.  So when Paper Trey Ink (PTI) called “Autumn Hills Stamp Set” came out with this set I knew I had to get it.  My sister loves aqua and soft blues so paired up with some choc brown makes a nice fall card.  And I was asked to be a Guest Designer this week for the challenge at “My Sheri’s Crafts Blog” which I was honored to do.  The challenge is “Family”, so you have to make something for family or a family member!

The papers are a mix from a couple of my pads and I distressed them all with my fave Zutter Distress machine, the branch die is from Memory Box called “Leafy Branch” (luv it for fall and for other things like this card here I did). And he tborder was done with a Jumbo MS border punch.  The image was colored with Copics on cream cardstock for a more vintage look, topped with a bow done with my Bow Easy and a button (cardstock, bow & button from PTI).

Have a great fall weekend everyone!  See you on Monday with a fun 

Magnolia-licious Blog Hop called "2 For 1 Holiday!

Anchors Away!

Hi everyone--hope your week is going great for ya!  Still enjoying the wonderful, warm weather--hope to get outside for a jog today.  Gotta get my bum in gear and get back into working out regularly and eating right.  While I was getting these businesses/websites up off the ground I really let everything sllllllllllllide, ya know!  Well summer means less clothes so I gotta get the flab off, hee hee, especially before I leave for our summer vacation at the end of June.  We've rented a house for 2 weeks at Hilton Head again this year--I'm counting down the days and ready for some summer sun and fun!  Are you all ready for summer--if so what plans do YOU have for summertime?!!

In that same breath, I've got some summer fun projects to share with you!

PS--winner of my Blog Candy to be announced tomorrow, sorry I forgot, lol!

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Anchors Away, 2 Ways!!

I've had these couple of fun Magnolia stamps from Magnolia-licious for awhile now & they were still in their packaging (gasp)!  I had to pull them out & get them inky cuz' they're sooo cute!  This one is called "Boat Tilda" and she's sittin' on a Magnolia pier fence although I couldn't find it at the store (but I'm sure if you email Diana she can get some in)--I believe it's from the Lazy Summer Days Collection as well. 

I wanted to create a patriotic summertime feel so I pulled out some of my scrap paper that I had (not sure who by?) and cut it into strips and attached it to my white cardstock.  Ran my white cs thru the Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" folder for some extra texture.  The star punches are from SU and then I attached some little glass stars I had in my stash.  That fun sentiment (perfect 'eh) is from the PTI set "Out to Sea"--great set to have I tell ya!  Fun for any special lil' sailor in your life!

The images are colored with Copics and then I've added some Diamond Glaze onto the lifesaver floatie and her lil' white shoes for some shine.  The sea and her shirt got some stardust stickles for some bling!

So I had so much fun with the first, I decided to just use the background stamp for a separate card!  This time I didn't use any dp, just the same colored cs for this card.  The navy cs got embossed with a CB folder from the "asian collection" folders which I LOVE!  The I added some twine, buttons and SU corner punches to create some nautical fun (the white dots are with my Sharpie Poster Paint pen)!  The sentiment is from the same PTI set that I used above.  This card would be great for anyone in your life--equally feminine & masculine!

That's all for me today--see ya back here tomorrow!

Harvest Time!

Happy Saturday friends! Whatcha' got planned for the weekend? We're finishing school shopping today (ack) so please pray for me, hee hee! After that we have nothin' planned for the evening which sounds good to meeeee! Plus its supposed to be dreary & rainy here again today, so its a good day to snuggle in w/ a great book! Sunday, hubby & son are going to our local airport for an airshow of helicopters, bombers & other 'guy' stuff while Alexa & I stay home! Hopeful to get some craftin' in so my week isn't too crazy--the kids both have their 6th & 8th grade orientations this week and we might try and go away for a few days for the holiday. I want to go the the Maryland Eastern Shore and hangout for a few days & eat lots of yummy blue crabs (my favorite food evah') & relax before the new school year starts & holidays appear fast on the horizon!

NewsBitz:

-haven't had enough sun to shoot my Bow-Easy video & new Copic tutorial, but hopefully will get that done on Sunday! So stay tuned!

-In "Suzanne's Book Reviews" for ya (LOL)--I just finshed Karen White's "House on Tradd Street" which was FABULOUS--her new one will be out in Nov.! Another one I finished yesterday which was great too was Jennifer Weiner's "Goodnight Nobody"--I love her books! Her "Certain Girls" is a great one too! And I'm counting down the days until Sept. 15th when Dan Brown's new book comes--I will be taking the entire day off to read it, hee hee!

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Just one card for ya today--sorry no postie yesterday but I didn't have internet until 9 pm last night & wasn't able to get it done :o( (but I did finish my book, hee hee) This card uses the fabulous Lockhart Stamp Co. "Harvest Angel"--isn't she fab!? Karen has done a few of these angels for different seasons & they're all lovely. I colored her w/ Copics and used my new Nestabilities Labels 9 to cut out my angel & cs layer. I used my Bow-Easy again to make my bow, and the sentiment is from PTI's Autumn Abundance set. I punched scrolls out w/ my fave punch & added some fun rhinestones to the centers. And of course stickles on her leaf wings & diamond glaze on the hurricane glass! Perfect for fall holidays!

Alrighty, have a fabulous weekend & I'll see ya back here on Monday!


hugz,
Suzanne

Quilting Friends!!

Happy Friday everyone! I'm still here in South Carolina enjoying the sun & getting some "relaxin'" done!! Hope you all have some wonderful plans for the Easter weekend!! This is the first time we've been away from home for Easter and not done our usual Easter Egg Hunt & Easter baskets! But the kids are older now & they really wanted to come to the beach for their Easter so that's what we did :o)

Before I had left, I created another gift set using one of my favorite Paper Trey Ink sets "Quilter's Sampler"! This set includes a covered notepad (on left above), matching pen, 2 cards and a tea towel! All the supplies are from PTI including the buttons & Palette Inks I used to stamp on the cards & towel. (I have 2 of these sets for sale on my Etsy shop on sidebar)

This is one of the cards that can be sent to a great friend and the other card in the set is a birthday sentiment!! The colors I used from PTI are Melon Berry, Spring Moss, Summer Sunrise & Ocean Tides.

This tea towel was stamped with PTI's Palette Inks so it can be washed over & over again! Love that!

This is the covered notepad & matching pen! Such a fun set to give as a gift to someone special!!

**If you haven't entered for the yummy Elisabeth Bell Blog Candy over at Susana's store blog--make sure and go enter before the 14th!! It's an awesome opportunity to win something special!**

Alrighty, I'm outta here---enjoy your Easter weekend!

hugz,

Suzanne

BLOGAVERSARY CELEBRATION #2!!

Yay & Happy Friday everyone! I'm so happy it's the weekend--seems like this week has lasted forevah! I won't talk your ear off today cuz' this is gonna be another LONG blog post, hee hee! Please make sure and read to the end cuz' I've got a card to share, some Copic color info and of course BLOG CANDY #2 for ya!!

Today's card was made yesterday using this week's SCS Sketch 221 which was a fun if not a slightly challenging one! I used my new PTI set "Life" (which is a gorgeous set) and paired it with this yummy dp from My Mind's Eye (Laundry Line). I stamped the flower image a couple of times in PTI's aqua mist & SU's sage shadow--and then went back in with the small flower bud stamp in Palette Cream ink. The border was done w/ a Fiskars border punch and the pearls are Kaiser. I took my Diamond Glaze and globbed it on (technical term, hee hee) and while it was wet sprinkled some fine glitter on top. I really like it--and I think its so pretty!

**Edited to Add--because so many of you asked nicely, I have made this Copic Hair chart into a pdf file that you can download & print. You can find it on my sidebar under Copic pdf files--Hair colors!**

I have had so many people ask for hair color recommendations that I decided to color up a bunch of heads (lol) with my favorite color combo's for ya! This is my own personal colors that I use--there are many more combo's out there I'm sure, but I use these the most :o) (CLICK on picture to make larger) **NOTE--all my Copic Tutorials in both video & PDF form are on my right sidebar here on my blog**

Dark Brunette--E25, E49, E53, E59

Auburn/Red--E13, E17, E18, E19

Dark Blonde--YR23, E35, Y23 (Buy this Bundle of Copics HERE)

Light Blonde--Y11, Y21, E97, E99

Light Brunette--E25, E29, E31 (Buy this Bundle of Copics HERE)

Black--C3, C5, C7, C9

Golden-Red Brunette--E39, E99, E18, YR23
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BLOG CANDY #2--Purple Celebration!!!

Okay, here is Blogaversary Candy #2 which I'm naming Purple Celebration cuz' I tried to keep them themed, hee hee! This candy will be up for grabs until Sunday (3/29) at midnite EST!
What's included you ask??

-2 Whiff of Joy stamps (New Guardian Angel "Musing Melinda" and "Henry Celebrating Mouse) donated by the wonderful Katharina of WOJ
-1 Rachel Anne Miller "Cuddle Up" stamp
-2 Copic Markers (V04 & BV02)
-1 pot of Iced Lavender Shimmerz
-1 bottle of Purple Stickles
-1 pack of 8x8 Dovecraft dp (Retro Floral) donated by Susana of Susana's Custom Art & Card Design
-1 pack of Stampendous GeoSparklers stickers in Silver and 1 pack of white Glitter Dots donated by Susana too!
-1 pack of Imaginisce "All Kinds Of Happy" celebration rub-ons
-2 alterable items including stack of coasters and small clipboard
-1 Bag of assorted Primas
-1 pack of Making Memories ribbon labels
-2 rolls of American Craft ribbon
-1 Studio G sentiment stamp set

Sound good to ya! Whaddya need to do to enter? Answer the following question in the comment section of this post--

"What was the best birthday present you ever recieved?"

Leave your answer on this post by Sunday at midnite (EST) to be entered for a chance to win the above candy #2!! Please make sure you leave a name & email address if you do not have a blog! (one entry per person)

BLOG CANDY #1--you can still enter for this candy right HERE until tomorrow nite at midnite too!!!

BLOG CANDY #3 will be up this Sunday for my last BLOGAVERSARY Giveaway!! Have a great Friday & enjoy your weekend!! I'll be back tomorrow with another project to share!

hugz,

Suzanne

Pumpkin Party!!

Happy Wednesday everyone! I am back with a quick post for you--this will be short, as I am working on tomorrow's tutorial and other projects on my neverending to-do list!

This image is from Inkadinkado and I just had to have it when I saw it on http://www.addictedtorubberstamps.com/ (not sure of its name). Our family goes to the pumpkin patch every year since our kids were lil babies and its our favorite fall thing to do, so this stamp reminds me of all the hayrides we've gone on to pick our pumpkins. This was really fun to color with my Copics too. The dp is from K&Co's "Fall Harvest" mat pad and the deep chocolate cs and ribbon is from PTI. This card is pretty self-explanatory, just alot of layering. I distressed the image with some Colorbox chalk ink just around the edges. The sentiment is new from PTI's "First Fruits" stamp set--this is my favorite font ever, I wish I could get more sentiments w/ this font. I'm very fond of old-fashioned fonts. I thought this card just needed a simple word to go with it as not to take away from the main image. For a final touch, I added dew drops to the corner and tied a bow around.

Alrighty, I'm off to finish up things. Hope you have a great day--its beautiful here and I have all my windows open with a nice breeze floating in---nothing bettah' than that!!

Suzanne

How Does Your Candy Grow!!

Good Monday afternoon! I am in the midst of re-organizing my entire craft room and it is a disaster zone right now. I just got tired of stuff being everywhere and moving things to get to other things---YKWIM!! Of course my loving hubby had what he thought was a good solution--stop buying more stuff---Yeah right buddy-o, HA, HA--NEVER!!!! :) What I need is a larger room--but that's not happening!

I'm sharing a card I made last week with my new Pink Cat Studio stamps called "Limitless Limbs". Now my intent was to make another card with this set to show you the versatility and different ways to use it, but I haven't yet :( --I'll try to this week. I'm working on lotsa top-secret stuff....shhhhh....its a surprise!!!! I will have some tutorials this week on using Copics though. Ok...

I'll make this quick for you. Basically this set comes with different trees and all kindsa decorations for the trees. I chose to use the candy corn and pot for the tree to dress it up. I also added some dew drops to the tree for some added shine and dimension. The Halloween dp is from Heidi Grace (isn't it cute-a-licious), the brown dp and cs are from SU. The little ghost is a stamp I've had for awhile from Stampendous and the greeting is from MFT's "Monster Squad" set. I added some stickles (of course) to the candy corn, ghost and the o's in the sentiment. The brown twill ribbon is from PTI.

Hope you like it and I will make another card/project w/ this set again--its really fun to use! Ok, back to my mess so that hopefully later on today I can work on some more projects!

Till then....

Suzanne

PS--I still need your votes over at the JustRite Stampers blog for my teacher notecard box/cards--You can vote once a day. If ya wanna vote head on over there thru Tuesday evening--I appreciate it!!

What...More Christmas!!

Good Thursday Morning to ya! Hope everyone is doing well so far and I'm hoping all my blogger friends in Florida are staying safe with that Hurricane coming to town. I don't want a hurricane, but if we could get just a little bitta rain, that would be wonderful--it is pathetically dry and brown here in VA. I'm typing this up (last nite) while watching the Olympics again and feeling an increasing urge to get in my bed. I am extremely tired and feel like I might be coming down with somethin' not so good--hope it passes me by, we'll see...but it's definitely slowin' me down!

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***BLOG CANDY ALERT*** If you haven't entered for my blog candy here, you still have until 11 pm EST to do so. I will be picking a winner on Friday using that random # thingy (have yet to try it--hope I can figure it out--lol) and posting by 2 pm on Friday.

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I know what you're thinking...its August, what's with the Christmas stuff? I just really love my stamps from Whiff of Joy, they are so much fun to color and you know how much I love to color--I find it so relaxing. I had seen this Joy Fold technique card on All That Scraps blog and wanted to try it out. This stamp is called "Carol Singing Charlotte", isn't she the cutest thing? I so had to use this holiday sheet music dp (from Recollections last year) that I've been hoarding and paired it with the poinsettia dp from Daisy D's. I colored her with Copics and inked around the edges with my Memento dew drop in desert sand, highlighted w/ Inkssentials pen, black stickles on the music notes and diamond stickles on her furry cap. The clip and ribbon are both from Michaels, flowers are Primas. On the inside of the card I used some of my new Inkadinkado stamps for the sentiment and the ivy (Ornate Christmas and Winter Trails). I was quite pleased with the end result, whaddya think? I'm entering this into the Caardvarks challenge--you have to use something on your card with "music"--I think this works, yes?

I have a confession--I ordered 800 coasters from a restaurant supply store 6 months ago and they sit under my desk day after day after day. I have made it a personal challenge to make a project with them once a week to justify my purchasing them--lol! I thought the quilt stamps from PTI's "Quilters Sampler" would make a wonderful Christmas ornament. I wanted to make this ornament kinda country vintage so I really distressed/inked up the edges of the dp (by Memory Box). The quilt blocks are colored with Copics and mounted on many layers of cs. The reverse side's sentiment is from PTI's "Quilters Sampler Sentiments" and I just love it. I used my nesties to cut the ovals out. The buttons are from Michaels and the delish ribbon is new from PTI (yes I got my big box of new goodies yesterday--can't wait to share)--its their new poppy color, just a beautiful red and perfect for the upcoming holidays. I have a ladies holiday luncheon every year and I'm going to make these as their favors/gifts to hang on their trees. I need to make one for myself too--I am a Christmas fanatic and I have 8 trees (this year will be 9) that I decorate every December all in different themes (I will post pictures for ya in December) and yes I am that CRAZY, but I love it!!

Alrighty, I'm outta here! Much to do, lots to catch up on and blah, blah, blah--LOL!!

Suzanne

A Hootin' Happy Day!

Good afternoon again! I promised I'd be back with my finished "boy" card, didn't I? I always try and stay good on my word!

I've had just the happiest mail day today. First I got a box full of goodies (and I mean lots) from my bella sistah Cathy--over on the Bellaholics Anonymous Yahoo group for Stamping Bella we get matched up with a "sistah" for a few months and you chat and send goody boxes to each other. This week is her birthday, so I sent her a box of goodies too--but boy did I get alot--thankya, thankya, thankya Cathy!! She sent me lots of embellies, paper packs, rubons, ribbon & new Stella stamps-yippee!

I also got my huge box of goodies from All That Scraps--I spent over 1/2 of my monthly allowance on that box of goodies I tell ya (my stampin' allowance that is), but I saved some for all the new Gina K stamps coming out tomorrow--he he he! I got new Spica markers, new stickles, stamps, ribbon, buttons, inks and paper & more--yeah me!!! More to play with!

Ok, onto my "boy card" for the day. I made this card using one of my new stamp sets from PTI called "Wise Owl" and its cuter than cute--so many good sayings in it too. You can mix and match all his little parts so you're owls look different everytime (they're coming out w/ more owl belly stamps too for only $5). The sketch is for Julee's Mojo Monday sketch #47 (I flipped it around) and I also made this for the Dirty Girl challenge on SCS by Michelle that was to make a masculine card. I have to say this was out of my comfort zone--I like ribbon & flowers and such too much!!

I stamped this lil' guy on PTI's vanilla cs and stamped 1 of his bellies onto the new dp by PTI (which I thought looked very masculine, like a plaid shirt) and cut his belly out. I colored him in with Copics and then attached his paper pieced belly. I then cut him out and added diamond glaze to his eyes. I got all my brand spankin' new CB embossing folders the other day, so I had to use the "argyle" one since that seems so manly. I embossed SU's really rust cs and layered it on PTI's chocolate brown cs. I used my oval nesties to cut out 3 layers of cs & then attached the owl with dimensionals. I bent the sentiment on my acrylic block so that it would echo the curve of the oval (love to do that w/ the acrylic stamps--they bend every which way) and stamped using SU's markers. For the final touch I layered some buttons from MyMindsEye with glue dots and this lil guy was done. And for the final test--my son said it looked very "manly" and great for a guy--mission accomplished! :)

Alright, I'm on to finish up some things. We didn't get to go to the pool today because it's stormy and gray here today in VA. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. Until then...

Suzanne

Quilt Eye Candy!

Good Wednesday morning to you! I am just posting a quick post before I take my kids and their friends to the pool for the day. I am still working on my boy card and some other things--hopefully I will get that posted later today.

My card today features PTI's new "quilter's sampler" stamp set that was released this month. I love quilts--my mom and grandmother made many for our home growing up and I adore them. I wanted to participate in the Dirty Girl Challenge over on SCS (you have to be a fan club member to participate) and one of the challenges was to make most of your card white. I love how white just makes colors pop and I really wanted to use navy--one of my favorite color combos. And of course, Mr. Brown delivered my "happy mail" from PTI today which had all my new stamp sets, paper and ribbon inside---love that brown truck :)!! Make sure and check out all of PTI's new stuff this month--lovin' it (spent why too much money though-lol)!

So what could be better than a navy & white quilt. This set lets you create your own quilt blocks, so you can pretty much make whatever design your heart desires. I also bought the 3/4 punch that PTI sells that punches out the little squares perfectly. After coloring with one Copic Marker (I have never only used one marker--its a record) and punching them out, I glued each quilt block to SU's night of navy cs, then layered again on white cs and again on the navy cs. I made my card base w/ PTI's white cs (the only paper I use to stamp on & color w/ Copics) and embossed it with the CB swiss dots folder. I stamped the sentiment (this set comes with many good ones and they have a second set of sentiments that you can buy too) and layered that too. Both the quilt and sentiment are popped up with dimensionals. I just threaded some white satin ribbon under the sentiment and around the card and tied off to the side--ta da, it was done. Simple to do, but dramatic in effect I think. I'll definitely be using this set alot more!

Ok--I'll be back later to post my "boy" card for ya! Have a great day!

Suzanne

I Scream For (Ben & Jerry's) Ice Cream!

Happy TGIF everyone! Hope you all had a good week and are looking forward to the weekend--I know I am. I mentioned to you yesterday about my "obsession" with my Ben & Jerry's ice cream "One Brownie Cheesecake"--which I had last night & was yummo! So today I'm rewarding myself with a "no-calorie" treat (my butt thanks me :)) to share with you.

***BLOG CANDY ALERT***If you haven't entered for my blog candy yet you still have until 11 pm (EST) to do so. You can enter for it here.

This first card uses Pink Cat Studio's "Sweet Treats" stamp set which I love because it has lotsa desserts in it & who doesn't love a great dessert every now & then (or everyday, twice a day...)! I used a sheet of Basic Grey's dp from their "Two Scoops" line--how appropriate, eh (oh no! my Canadian friends are rubbing off on me-lol)!! All of the cs is from PTI (aqua mist, sweet blush & lemon tart). I used my most favoritest CB embossing folder evah'--swiss dots, on some of the bg paper. Of course it's colored with my Copics and I added diamond glaze to the sundae glass for a nice shine. I added liquid applique for the cool whip and heated it to puff it up and lastly I added some cotton candy stickles to the cherry--yummo-licious!! I'm entering this card in a "tool challenge" over on the Mothers and Daughters Creations blog that you can see here. Check it out when you get a chance--you have to use Nestabilities somewhere on your project--easy, peasy for me cuz' ya know how much I love 'em!!

**Enabler Alert--CutatHome has all the new CB embossing folders in; I ordered mine yesterday so if you're interested you better get a move on, cuz' they're going fast!***

The second card of the day is for the All That Scraps sketch challenge that you can see here. I flipped the sketch around to fit my needs as usual! I used my stamp set from CC Designs called "Froggie & Friends" that you can purchase at All That Scraps. This set is very versatile, allowing you to mix and match the stamps together. For instance the frog, turtle and birthday hats are all separate stamps that I used together. I wanted my froggie to leap-frog over his turtle friend! They're all colored with Copics and I added a few stickles to their hats. The dp is from SU's "spring fling" line that I paired with their certainly celery & barely banana cs. I used one of my other CB embossing folders on the background (don't know the name of it) and used twill ribbon from Taylored Expressions (this stuff is great & comes in a rainbow of colors). I added a few baubles from Stamping Bella & it's done. A fun birthday card for someone!

All right, we're going to the library and then I'm taking the kids out to lunch today for a treat--then hopefully some stampin' time. Hope you have a great Friday!

Suzanne

PS--Lots of times I type my blogs the night before and have them post at 12:01 am the next day, so if you subscribe and get this in your box very early that's why. We're on EST here--I like to stay ahead of the game sometimes if I have my chicks all in order, that way it gives me more time to stamp :) Just to explain the time stamp!

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th of July everyone!! I'm sure you're all out at parties and picnics today & having lotsa fun. I, on the other hand am not:( I slipped and fell in the kitchen last night and put my back out and I'm in PAIN!! So we're not going to picnics today, but we're taking the kids out to dinner at Fuddruckers (our favorite place) for burgers and shakes and then seeing "Wall-E" at the movies. My hubby and son our out golfing right now and my daughter is chatting w/ friends on our other computer (her favorite pasttime these days)! Hopefully, tomorrow I will feel better as we have our Club's picnic and fireworks to go to (hope the weather is nice). We wanted to go to the pool today, but it's pretty overcast and is supposed to storm so that's out too. Oh well, I get some extra time in the craft room (nothing, not even pain, can keep me away--lol)!!

I made just a simple (at least for me) card for today to share. I always see other stamper's "simple" cards and they are so elegant, but I always have to have at least a couple of layers, some sparkle and such. I just can't do it :( The stamp I used on this card is from Ellen Hutson and it's a Lockhart Stamp--so appropriate for today. I used my Cuttlebug swiss dots (I love it so much) embossing folder on the white bg and layered w/ SU cs. The image is colored with my Copics and just a few stickles in the flowers--the blueberry pie and watermelon are coated with Diamond Glaze for shine and dimension. The sentiment is from PTI's "mixed messages" and the circle stamp around it is from their "borders & corners monogram edition"--I love how you can mix and match their stamps together. And because they're clear it's so easy to line them up. I punched it out with my SU circle punch and popped it on dimensionals along with the other image. The ribbon is also from SU. So there you have it, and it was put together in 30 mins. which is a record for me-lol!

By the way, my most loving, supportive and wonderful husband (gush, gush) bought me 15 more Copic markers yesterday as a present for getting on the Design Team for Magnolia-licious. Is he the best or what? He knew I was wanting some more and told me to go ahead and order them--lovey him so much :)!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I only need about 30 more to complete my collection and I'll have them all--yipppeee!! They are the best and I highly recommend them for sure. If you have them and aren't sure how to use them, Marianne from Copic has the best blog about using them and tips & such--check it out when you get a chance. I get all my Copics from Dick Blick's online store (great price & selection) and I use the sketch markers just so ya know, in case you need enabling-ha ha!

Ok, back to stamping--I hope you all have a fun & safe holiday this weekend! I'll see ya around!Suzanne

Bee Happy!!

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a good, restful weekend (like me)!! I had a relaxing weekend at my mom's just hanging out and chilling--felt good, but doing nothing tires me out--lol!! I'm used to doing something every minute it seems. I got to eat my yum-o crabs w/ lots of Old Bay on them too and we celebrated my "older" brother's birthday (he's 43) & I'm a much younger (34)-lol!! I couldn't wait to get in my craft room today and work, I really missed it. I'm like a strange addict ya know--when I've been away too long it eats at me until I can get back in there and work/stamp :) Anyhoo....

The first card up today is just a fun little card I made with one of my Stampendous bee's from their "Bee Happy Collection". I thought this was a great summer stamp especially this week when everyone is gearing up for Fourth of July picnics and barbecues. I think it's a great image of summertime cuz' most people love watermelon at their summer picnics (except me--I hate all melons, weird, I know)!! The cs is from Bazzill and the dp is from DCWV's "summer matstack" which I thought had just the right "watermelon-ee" colors in it. The tag sentiment is from Sweet 'n Sassy's "Bee Happy" stamp set and the tag is from my new nestabilities tag set that I got from Cut@Home. I cut and popped the watermelon and added Diamond Glaze to it for lots of wet shine and their are some stickles on the bee (of course). The actual sketch layout is from Lauren Meader's Saturday sketch which I usually try to do cuz' they're always fun!

The second card is made with PTI's "Boards and Beams" stamp set--which I LOVE!! You probably remember the pop-up card I made with this set before but with the farmhouse instead. This is the "city" house which reminds me of homes in Old Town Alexandria, VA--historic row homes that are so elegant & quaint. I really wanted to use this new dp from Basic Grey called "Lily Kate" that I just got. I'm posting this card over on the OCC blog (Our Creative Corner) whose challenge this week was to use Basic Grey paper. The cs is Groovy Guava from SU. The images are colored with my Copics and I stamped the topiary trees and dormer twice, colored them and then cut one set out & popped it with dimensionals. The trees have some stickles on them and the windows are coated with Diamond Glaze again. The sentiment (which I adore) is another one I got from Rosie's Roadshow. If you haven't checked out all her great stamps, especially sentiments, you definitely need to. I used my Nestabilities tag dies again to cut the sentiment out and the satin ribbon is from Offray. These two cards didn't take too long to put together--which is good because I'm working on some other things I want to share this week.

Don't forget that Wednesday night is the release party for My Favorite Things--you can check out the forum on SCS for sneak peeks. I love the "gotta have it all" package you can get that includes all the new stamps--I'll be getting that on Wed. nite!!

See ya tomorrow!

Suzanne

Bee Happy card--Stampendous bee stamp, Sweet 'n Sassy sentiment (Bee Happy), DCWV dp, Bazzill cs, Copics, Diamond Glaze, Michaels ribbon, Nestabilities tag die, nestabilities circles, stickles, dimensionals, Ranger Inkssentials pen

City Home card--PTI "Boards & Beams" stamp set, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment, Nestabilities tag die, Offray ribbon, dimensionals, Copics, stickles, Diamond Glaze, Basic Grey "Lily Kate" dp, SU cs, MM brads

Home Again!

*********PICTURES REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION***************

Happy Thursday everyone! It's another beautiful day here in VA and we are getting ready to go to our Club's pool for the day. The kids are bringing friends so they won't be hollering or bothering me while I get some reading done. I love to read and have a huge stack of books that have been piling up the last few months, so I have lots to catch up on.

Onto today's project! I must say that I just love, love,love how this turned out. It was very labor intensive, but I adore the end result! This is a new stamp set from PTI called "Boards & Beams" and I just think its so unique. It has 2 houses included, this one and a city townhouse, lots of sentiments and accessories (trees, fences, stone, etc.)--just lovin it! The dark plum paper is new from them too, called plum pudding--it goes so well with their other colors like the spring moss that I used for the card base. I stamped and colored (w/ Copics) everything and then cut them out to figure out how to lay out the card. I added stickles to the trees and diamond glaze to the windows to make them shiny like glass. The background paper behind the house is stamped with a small stamp from PTI's "corners & borders-square" that I inked up with the plum pudding ink and stamped on the cs. I had originally gotten the idea for making this card from the Ismaki challenge website (although I didn't follow their sketch exactly) for a pop up card so I'm going to enter it over there too. The front of the card has PTI's new patterned 6x6 cardstock layered on the front with some more stickled trees and another sentiment. This card works wonderfully for someone who has just moved in, but the stamps are versatile for so many other things too.

Ok, I'm off to finish getting everything ready to go to the pool. Hope everyone has a great day & I'll see ya tomorrow w/ a new project!

Suzanne

Boards & Beams--PTI stamps, cs, dp, & ribbon;stickles, diamond glaze, dimensionals, Copics