Somethin’ About Those Boys!

Well helllooooo everyone!  Whew its been awhile huh…I told ya I was taking some time off LOL!  My family is super serious about keeping me away from my computer when we are away…I have to sneak it LOL…its BRUTAL.  And to TOP IT ALL OFF…I had NO flippin’ cell signal at the beach and the internet was slooooooow like dial up almost..yeah y’all remember dial up (Helloo….you’ve got mail that takes 50 mins to upload a picture) hahaha!  It was KILLING ME I tell ya…I’m so used to tweeting on Twitter, poppin’ in on Facebook, reading all my emails, texting my friends that I had some serious withdrawal people!  Hubby just kept laughing at me…he was like “you’ve got a serious problem when you are getting so angry cuz you can’t use your phone!”…but I WAS NOT HAPPY!  I even considered breaking my stupid AT&T contract and going on a shopping spree at Verizon but DANG IT I am holding out for the iPhone 5…I don’t want another 4 LOL…so I finally resigned myself to the fact that I couldn’t use my phone unless we went off island.  And a local dude told me one night at dinner that NO ONE on Hilton Head Island uses AT&T cuz there is no signal…dang it!  But by the middle of the week I got used to not checking in but for sure as soon as we left Monday morning I was all OVER my phone while James drove hee hee…he just rolled his eyes (something I’m VERY used to after 18 years together KWIM).  So there was definitely NO posting to my blog since uploading pictures was a no go…so I’m posting today for ya!

Did I have a good time on Hilton Head Island with my family though?  You betcha’ bum I surely did   The weather was awesome, sunny & in the 80’s every day but one and I soaked it all up.  I could so be a beach bum..seriously…just sitting there with my bum in the sand every day, reading and enjoying the sun and water.  Yeah I might get bored after a bit, but I’d like to try…darn gotta start playing the lottery more…need to win the Mega-Lottery! Can’t win if we don’t play yes?  We didn’t do a whole lot…not like we usually do when we are there for 2 weeks in the summer…I think we were all needing a major break.  We didn’t even go shopping…GASP…I know I must’ve had a brain injury I tell ya!  So we did lots of beach days, some major challenges at the Putt-Putt courses (and arghh James came in first both times, but I did get 3 almost-hole-in-ones LOL).  We went to Tybee Island, GA one day to hang out and eat at the Crab Shack.  And yes we ATE A LOT OF ICE CREAM—Hilton Head Ice Cream….homemade…brownie cheesecake chunk is my fave…fresh made brownies in each scoop…omgosh its heaven on earth!  Thankfully we did a bit of bike riding to work it off, but I think I still got some chunks to work off in the next few weeks hahahaha!  But vacation is about sitting back, enjoying who you’re with and getting some R&R…and that WE DID!  We also went to see “21 Jump Street” (funny but violent) and “Mirror Mirror” (cute but not as funny as I woulda thought).  So yep I’m back home and working up a storm…lots to do as usual!

 I’ll leave you with a little Alexa-ism today (oh lordy she had a ton of them and she will KILL me for sharing…but hey I gotta do it).  We had the late evening news on one evening in our hotel room before we left for dinner….Alexa goes “Hey Mom, I didn’t know Martha Stewart did the news now?”….hahahaha…it was Diane Sawyer!  I told her she might be spending just a WEE bit too much time in my craft stuff LMBO…oyyy the poor girl!  We laughed for a long time over that one!

NewsBitz:

-I will be in San Jose, CA next weekend and I have a few spots left in my classes if you’d like to come! Its sure to be a good time and my darling daughter will be there, part of her 16th Bday present is a trip to San Francisco so we will be spending some time in the area (San Fran, Carmel and Monterey).  She’s super excited   All details for classes including upcoming classes in CT, Baltimore, Montreal and Ontario Canada are up for registration at www.cmcroad.com

-The CMC BookEndz Wrap Up Chat is tonight at 7:45 pm EST to discuss the March book selection and announce the new April pick!  Its always fun…and the gals always bring their wine & chocolates..LOL..cyberlly of course, no worries!  All are welcome to come join in!

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Something About A Boy!

Today I’m sharing my DT project for the Magnolia-licious April Challenge!  Our hostess was the fabulously awesome Ruby Montes and she’s challenged us to create baby projects using all those new stamps from the newest collection “Princes & Princesses” (here at Magnolia-licious).  I created a fun boy’s gift with a card and a matching bib!  You can find all the details at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog on how to join in and see the rest of the DT’s magnificent projects!

I'm entering this into the following fun challenges:

Anything Goes Challenge

Shopping Our Stash (boys)

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge (anything goes)

Make It Monday (anything goes)

Paper Pretties (layers)

Isn’t he a cutie?  This one is called “Edwin with Airplane” and he reminds me soooo much of my son when he was a toddler…he had plump lil cheeks and sweet curly brown hair (hey he was close to 10 lbs when born) and he LOVED anything with wheels or wings LOL!  Sigh…now he’s a size 14 shoe and 6’3…no more little in him..but he’ll always be my baby!  I used ALL scraps from my scrap pile…I’m always so proud of myself when I do that LOL!  I wanted to use fun, boyish, bold colors…with new baby girls you want all those pastels, but with boys you can go FAR out!  I used my SB Star dies and embossed some of them with different embossing folders then added buttons to top them off.  I used my Slice machine again (yay me…I’m on a roll I tell ya) for the B-O-Y letters and added a fun button to the center of my O.  The layout was from a challenge 2 weeks ago, but dang if I can remember (sorry ‘bout that…guess I’m getting old eh)!

I know…he’s so cute you could just squish him…well I could hahaha!  I colored this cutie with Copics and added a few stickles here & there (yes everyone’s gotta have a bit of sparkle).

I haven’t colored on fabric with my Copics in a long time!  If you want to try this I have some videos on YouTube that I did a few years ago (the main video is HERE, now remember its an old video LOL so its not like my newer ones so there could be dogs barking lol)…its really fun to do and YES you can shade on the fabric with them!  I use VersaCraft Ink which is what quilters use to stamp patterns on material…it works well with Copics and its washable and non-toxic!  I heat set my material first then stamp, color with Copics and then I heat set it again to set it.  I used another Magnolia stamp from the Bon Voyage collection called “Airplane”..this image goes so well with this lil’ Edwin stamp! I sewed (GASP I KNOW) some buttons and used my Viva Décor Pearl Pens to add some accents to the bib.  The “BOY” letters are from a PTI set.  Everything on the bib is washable and non-toxic so perfect for a lil’ baby…you can always snip off the buttons if you have a “gobbler” LOL!

Alrighty that’s it for me…hope you liked this project!  I’ll be back later this week with some blog hops for Gina K, SCACD and Magnolia-licious AND some pics of our vacay if you’re interested!  Have a great one!

Hellooooo my friends!!

Well a very happy Monday to you all!  I’m so sorry I’ve been gone for sooooooo long, LOL—hope no one missed me ha ha ha!  I am back from our 2 week vacation in Hilton Head, SC and my batteries are super-charged and rearin’ to go! (rut-oh)! This is a super short week for me as I leave on Friday for Chicago to teach for a few days and then attend CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) and leave next Thursday for home.  So lots to get done in 4 days, ackkkkkk, panic, sheer terror is setting in & I’m sweating big time………..NAWWW I’m used to this kinda schedule so its all good, LOL!  If you will be at CHA please stop by the Scor-Pal/Mini Magnolia booth and say “HI” to me ok—I’d love to meet you!  I promise to NOT make you participate in any sing-a-longs or dancing (well ummmm maybe, hee hee)!

We had such a fantastic time in South Carolina---its truly the one place on earth I can fully relax (who knew I could, lol) and really just enjoy my surroundings and my family to the fullest.  We spent a few magical days in Charleston, SC as well and I have a slideshow below of pics for you. The first evening we caught the hotel shuttle back to our hotel and we had a ROCKING DRIVER—omg I loved him!  He was CRAZY LIKE ME—yay!  I played Michael Jackson songs and we got the whole shuttle bus singing and dancing—it was ROCKING (James excluded of course, as he does not participate in my craziness, only observes)! I was like “I am soooo moving to SC” LOL!  Then one day we did the Charleston Aquarium in the morning and then we had 2.5 hours before our boat left for Fort Sumter so we were STARVING!  Thinking there would be food down near the aquarium on Sunday we decided to walk around and find it…..ummmmm BAD IDEA DEAN FAMILY!!!  We walked 18 blocks to the nearest open food place, LOL and I SWEAR I WAS HALLUCINATING flying Coca-Colas as I was severely dehydrated and drained of all my energy (remember I survive on sugar and my sugar tank was below empty). I was stumbling and mumbling and the kids weren’t much better, LOL---poor James he was ready to leave us!!  Finally we saw a pizza sign up ahead and we gathered our strength and made a run for it---the people inside thought we were NUTS (nothing new huh).  We ordered two pizzas and 4 yummylicious Cokes and sat down—the lady asked us if we thought we’d need boxes….ummm what?  We hadn’t even gotten our food yet was she nutsy?!  Well the two pizzas arrived and they were the BIGGEST PIZZAs I have ever seen in my life—no lie—only one would fit on the table, LMBO!  And each piece was larger than Riley’s head—see pics below—well we were in such a starving state that we didn’t realize they had HUGE pizzas or we’d only would’ve ordered one, LOL. No wonder she asked if we wanted boxes, hee hee—she thought we were piggly wigglies!

   

After stuffing ourselves we now had to walk the 18 blocks BACK TO THE HARBOR to get our boat to Fort Sumter in the summer humidity and heat! LOL—what a walk that was, I’m sure we scared a few Charlestonians as we were singing and dancing the whole way (James excluded himself from this as is his norm)!  Loaded the boat and sat down and realized that the boat announcer (recording) IS THE SAME VOICE that is at Disney World on the train that goes around the Magic Kingdom—no joke.  Sooooo that led me and the teens to start singing Disney songs and the like, hee hee with others joining in (but not James, no way Jose, no way—see the trend here) LOL!  You know if there is singing I might be NEAR BY

Then we decided to do a carriage ride of Charleston as all the teens were WORN out—awww poor them, NOT!  So we took a ride around town before our Creepy Haunted Jail tour---bwahahahaha!  Alexa was not so thrilled with this tour at all---she stuck so close to James that I thought they were glued together, LOL.  I had my EMF reader (yes people I watch Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures and I was prepared) and hey another guy had one to so ha ha!  The first 15 mins we got a GHOST oh yes we did---the EMF readers went crazy and we all felt COLD.  Well Alexa was almost peeing her pants (I was laughing) and some other girls were creeped out---of course our guide was a bit creepy herself (not in a mean way I say, but she was indeed creepy).  On the way to our car we stopped at the cemetary and did some more ghost hunting when a HUGE BLACK CAT ran out in front of Alexa---omg did that girl tear down the street, LMBO!  It was the best (yes I am a bad mom sometimes but it WAS funny, even James laughed).  On our way home that night we passed……ok ok I made James stop… at the Krispy Kreme store where fresh warm donuts were CALLING OUT TO ME, I kid you not!  So we stopped and had some fresh donuts (see pics) and this is AFTER having had ice cream---yes the Dean family had officially become piggies, LOL! But they were so worth it and so yummy---even if it felt like I had a yeast bomb in my stomach all night!  So anyways, the pictures are below and I’ll share more stories and pics this week if you care to read about the Dean Family Adventures.  You know I have MORE stories for ya, LOL!

Charleston, SC Slideshow (you need to come to website to view):




NewsBitz:

-SCACD has a SALE on all 6x6 paper pads---you know you want…errr….need more paper like me right? LOL! Yes!!!  Also check out the newly released “From the Vault” stamps here & here—they are wonderful!

-I sent out my CMC Classroom July Newsletter yesterday, if you did not receive it and would like to read it you can find it HERE!  All news for the classroom is there!

-the CMC Challenge Group has a NEW Challenge up and everyone is welcome to join—new challenges every 2 weeks and you just need to use your copics to play!  Also check out the NEW TTCRD Challenge HERE---again everyone is welcome to play and we hope you will!

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Baby Stuff’s!!

Today I’m sharing a fun little baby project I made for CHA for Diana using a cute Mini Magnolia stamp called “Cuddly Horse” (it comes in large size too) from Magnolia-licious.  I created a simple baby card and matching gift tag for a fun and quick project!

I'm entering this into the following challenges thanks to the fabulous Feline Playful Challenge site:

One Stitch at a Time (anything goes)

CES Challenge Blog-Crafty Emma's (Recipe)

Mark's Finest Papers (die cut as matting)

Sweet Stampin Challenge Blog (cute & cuddly)

Inspire Me Fridays (anything goes)

Stamp Insanity (anything goes)

I have been on a MISSION to use up some of my scraps of papers—I have so many scraps that it is really ridiculous.  So it’s a mix of PTI and My Minds Eye papers I used.  I wrapped the bottom with ribbon and created a bow with my Bow Easy and topped it with a cute button.  The tag and the main image on the card were cut & matted with Spellbinders dies.




The gift tag was super easy to create, I just matched the colors and papers and colored two images.  I didn’t get a picture of the backside but I stamped it with a “For, From” and cute baby sentiment from PTI.  Again the mats are made with Spellbinders dies and I sandwiched ribbon in between to make a loop.  The shininess on the cute horse is made with Diamond Glaze and then Stickles on the mane and tail.



This little cutie got colored with Copics and then the background was done with the same colored Copics R20,R21,Colorless Blender / BG11,BG10/ W00/RV10. I kept thee colors soft and of course this image would be cute done in BOY colors too!

If you haven’t stopped by and joined in on the July Magnolia-licious Challenge, you can find all the details at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog!

See you tomorrow,

Baby Booty!

Well Happy, Happy Monday to you all and last day of February!  Wow this month just flew right by me thinks, LOL!  I'm happy to be home--I got home late on Friday night from San Diego and slept like a dead person.  Saturday I went to lunch with hubby (kids were out with friends cuz they missed me soooo much, ha ha ha) and then over to the Apple Store!  Yep, Suzanne bought herself a NEW Mac Book Air--only 2 lbs and it will SAVE my shoulders and neck when I'm traveling.  My other laptop while it is great for editing photos and such it is just wayyyy TOO BIG and heavy for me to carry on & off airplanes all the time.  So I've been saving up for the Air and finally was able to get it---I'm so excited and I just love it.  I also indulged and bought hubby and me each a New Touch Nano (mine is red & snazzy)--his is for when he exercises and mine is for the planes.  Sometimes you have VERY annoying yakkers behind or in front of you that feel they NEED to have everyone in the ENTIRE plane hear their conversations for 7 HOURS--OMG!  Drives me insane that's for sure so this new Nano will help me drown them all out, LOL!  I also am starting to keep a journal on my Ipad called "Suzanne's Traveling Adventures"---its a collection of all the things that happen to me when I'm traveling and all the interesting people I meet.  I got about 25 people in the Denver airports to sing along with me to John Denver songs on my Ipad---it was definitely a YouTube moment (Alexa would've died, lol).  Good times!  When you spend that much time traveling you might as well have fun right?  I also met a real cowboy that was about 7 ft tall from Montana---his name was Clyde, hee hee.  This was only his second time on a plane and he was a weeee bit nervous but really nice.  I also shared a cab with an Apple executive so I gave him an inquisition about the new Ipad, LOL---gotta do it while I had him in a locked location.  But he was really nice and picked up the cab fare (and he was old enuff to be my dad, yes, lol).  But I figure I get to travel and I love to meet people and its always fun to talk and find out all about people---I have NO problem striking up conversations with anyone, LOL!  That's all part of the adventure as far as I'm concerned!  And to "Tammy Wright" who said she is a Southwest Airline Stewardess---watch for me soon on my way to Phoenix and Salt Lake City, LOL!  I'm flying down to Florida this Thursday for 5 days of classes, fun & sun---can't wait!

My New Mac Air Book and 2 Nano's ;)

My new baby!

Our cat Tucker (aka Trouble) made a new bed of my Mac Box, LOL!

NewsBitz:

-7 Kids is having a great deal on High Hopes Stamps--10% off thru March 4th using code HIGHHOPES10---see all the new ones HERE!  Also check out the new "Innocence" Primas that can be spritzed, sprayed and colored--they're beautiful!

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Baby Booty!

I made this shabby chic baby set for my stint on the Dirty Dozen DT for Splitcoast Stampers last year--you have to join the SCS Fan Club in order to see Dirty Dozen projects.  This was one of my favorite projects I had done and so much fun too.  I created a Welome Baby card and matching baby booties that could be used as ornaments, decorations or favors. 

I used papers from Prima (last year's line)--I loved the vintage prints and soft pinks and creams.  Perfect for a new baby girl!  I used some MS border punches for the pretty paper lace and inked all edges with creamy brown ink and my Inkssentials Blending Tool.  The pearls were all made with Viva Decor Pearl Pen (cream).  I tied a bow with wide cream satin ribbon and added some cream tulle as an extra touch.  The sentiment is by PTI and stamped in soft pink ink (sorry it didn't show up well in the pic).

Aren't these paper baby booties soooo cute?!  I just love 'em!  You can find a printable template for them HERE---there is also a pattern for boy booties too.  I used the same papers and inked the edges, Viva Decor Pearl Pen accents and buttons from PTI finish them off.  I think they would be cute tied to a baby shower present or for favors stuffed with little candies at a baby shower.

Hope you enjoyed this project today!  I will have NEW projects and challenges allllll week this week so stay tuned, LOL.  Even though I'm off to FL I will have lots going on here at the blog :)  Have a fabulous Monday!

Under the Sea!!

Good Thursday Evening to you all!  YAY-the weekend is almost here and a early Happy Mother's Day to you all that are mom's, grandma's and great-grandmas!  I told hubby I only wanted my side garden finished and my fridge's icemaker fixed--THAT WILL MAKE me super HAPPY!  I don't need anything else, I just like the house to-do list to be shortened a bit :o)

Tonight I have some special projects to share with you all using the fabulous Gina K set "Quite a Catch"--the DT's are having a fun BLOG HOP for you this evening, so make sure to hop around.  I did quite a few projects so this post will be a little long, hee hee--but I had lots to include!

If you are looking for the new QuikBitz Copic Video--you can see it on the post below or click on my Tutorials/Templates tab at the top of my blog!

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Under the Sea Baby Gifts

For my gift set I created a tent-card, a baby bib and a baby onesie using the "Quite a Catch" stamp set from Gina K.   I LOVE stamping & coloring on fabric--it's such a fun way to personalize you gifts and another great way to use your Copics.  If you take Class 4 in my Color Me Creative Classroom you will learn to create/color this entire set--it's really fun to do!  Remember Copics are permanent markers so you can color on fabric and wash them :0)  I also have 2 quick tutorials on coloring on fabric with copics on my Tutorials/Template page (tab at top of blog) if you are interested in getting started with this--it's really FUN!

I love making these tent cards--you can find a tutorial on them HERE--they are super easy to make!  I colored the crab, fish and starfish along with some of the seagrasses and then cut them each out after coloring with copics.  That sand stuff is so fun--it's by Mudd Puddles and it dries hard and you can apply it to any paper surface! It makes the perfect addition to this under the sea card.  I embossed the background with a fun wave-like CB embossing folder called D'vine Swirls.  The starfish hangs down from the top on a piece of Scrappers Floss which is a little sturdier than floss.

I did my tent card a little differently--from the side you can see the accordion fold on the bottom, for my card I flipped it so it makes an "M".  On the tutorials you will see they tell you to do it the other way to make a "W" fold.  I like it better this way because it will still fold flat but it gives more depth between the front & back of the card which I like.  I also created a top tent for the card (a pc of cs folded in half) then embellished with some more embossed cs, a scroll punch and a bow made with my Bow Easy.

Aren't they a cute cast of characters?  Love them!  They all got some stickles for sparkle on them and then all of their eyes got diamond glaze (Crystal Accents does the same thing--see here at Gina's) on them for shine.  I also added some bubbles above the fish and crab with my Viva Decor Gloss pen in transparent--you know they're talking underwater to each other, LOL!

I love to buy blank fabric items--I'm always searching them out in my craft and fabric stores and online--these cotton bibs I bought online in bulk (I like to have lots of extra on hand at all times, yes it is a sickness I have with all craft supplies, lol)!  I stamped the images with Versacraft Ink in black, green & yellow (these inks are made for fabric and are washable & non-toxic, great colors and copics will not make them bleed). You can use Memento but it fades quickly when washed--DON'T USE STAZ-ON!!

Then I colored the starfish just like I did on the card (YR23,YR21,YR20,Y11,Y00,R20)--the concept is the same as on paper as far as your shading and coloring but the technique is different (it's more of a quick dabbing when you use copics on fabric).  Then I used my Viva Decor Glitter Liner in holographic to color in the grasses and the circle that is around the sentiment--the glitter liner can be used on any surface, non-toxic and can be washed!  What baby wouldn't like to look at this cute bib and mess it up, hee hee?!

Then I had to create a little matching baby onesie--again I buy these all cotton onesies in bulk by Gerber to stamp on.  I had to use the cute crab again cuz' he's just my favorite from the set. I colored him with the same colors as the card (E08,R02,R00,C1) and then lightly stamped the seaweed/grass in the Versacraft Ink in spring green.  Again I used the Viva Decor Glitter Liner pen to highlight those grasses and stamped a cute sentiment. 

Isn't he a cutie?  Remember these tips when coloring on fabric--heat set your fabric first (I iron them real quick or you can toss them in a hot dryer for 5 mins).  This gets any moisture out of the fabric, then stamp and color and embellish.  Then you want to heat set them again to set the colors--I put a light towel on top and then iron over it a few times and then it's ready to go.  Also remember that your copic colors will be darker on fabric then on paper so keep that in mind when you get ready to do this.

Hope you liked these projects--I sure do and I had so much FUN creating them--that's the best part!

Now you need to hop around all the fabulous designer's blogs below for more great inspiration!

Visit these designer's blogs tonight for even more samples with the Quite a Catch stamp set

• Jessica Fick
• Bev Gerard
• Colleen Schaan
• Suzanne Dean
• Valerie Stangle
• Cathy Tidwell
• Lee Murphy
• Theresa Momber
• Geri Utterback
• Tina Gilliland
• Sharri Seffens
• Vicki Dutcher
• Jennie Harper
• Melissa Shultz
• Brenda Turner
• Joy Hadden
• Linda Payne
• Jen Charboneau
• Cheri Weston 

To see the adorable samples in the StampTV gallery, check out this link: quiteacatch   

Pearls, Pearls Everywhere!

Helllooooo and Happy Friday to you all!  I'm so thrilled that the weekend is here I tell ya!  Although I have a lot of work to get done, I can sleep in a bit and hang with the family!  Tomorrow my daughter has her All-District Chorus concert which will be nice--I always enjoy those.  She picked out her high school curriculum yesterday---woweee---can't believe she starts high school in the fall, where the heck did time go?!  These classes they take in high school now, so much work and so much pressure on these young kids---I worry about them!  Between all the nastiness out there, the peer pressure, social pressure and school pressure it's no wonder teens have a tough time of it these days---SUCCESS is forced down their throats so much ya know.  I continue to tell my kids that I want them to do well in school but I want them to be successful in what THEY WANT to do you know.  My dad always told me that if I pursued art as a career it would take me nowhere--LOL--well, Dad guess what---look where I am now and all the wonderful things I get to take part in :o)  You really have to pursue what you love and I truly believe that--passion is the key to living life well!!  And now I'll get off my preachy podium, hee hee!

OMGoodness I've been overwhelmed with all the comments and emails that I've gotten about the magazine/newsletter and my Copic Classes that I am STUNNED I tell ya!  I'm so thrilled that so many of you are as excited as I am and looking forward to it all!  And thank you all for your kind and encouraging words--it means ALOT to me!!

Some More Answers for ya quickly:

-I will have Copic Class Descriptions with prices and supply lists up on my blog very soon--so you can have an idea of everything and be prepared!  There is NO waiting list, you will be able to take the classes whenever you'd like for as long as you like (within a year) :o)  I promise you, they will NOT disappoint and you will be a pro at Copics when you finish the classes!!

-The classes will be on a separate site, NOT here on my blog!  There will be links on my blog to the site though and I will announce it on my blog so don't worry, hee hee!

-IF and ONLY IF, you have taken a Copic class with me at my home (or plan to) you can also register for the classes at a VERY discounted and low rate--so you will have access to all the pdf files and videos as well.  When the site is up and running and if this is something you want to do, you can email me separately for an invoice.

-I will STILL DO MY BLOG!!  I will still do YouTube videos, I will still be designing---yes I have alot on my plate but nothing will change here at ScrapBitz!!

-Marti & I are looking for ideas, submissions and projects for our first issue!  If you want to email me at sjdean0574@yahoo.com this is what I am looking for (pictures must be clear and bright) and please tag your email subject lines as stated below:

**craft room pictures (subject line: craft room)
**projects that SHIMMER & SPARKLE  (subject line: shimmer)
**what questions you might have about a particular product, tool or technique (subject line: question)
**if you specialize in a craft technique let me know if you'd like to share a project that showcases that technique (subject line: special technique) and/or if you would like to do a coordinating video
**if you know someone that might want to share their talent, let THEM know :o)

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Today I have some projects for ya featuring some HOT NEW Products called "Viva Decor" that are all available HERE at Susana's Store!  I have also done two videos (with 2 more to come) that you can see HERE and HERE that give more info on some of the products!  Go HERE to enter for some FREE PRODUCT!

**NEW Video on Glass Effects Gel and Glitter Liners HERE!!***

Cute as a Button!!

If you watch my Viva Decor "Pearl Pen" video HERE, you will see this cute baby onesie that I did.  I used the PTI set "Baby Button Bits" to create a custom baby gift and card.  The paper is also by PTI. 

For my card I used a fave color combo of hot pink, pale yellow and lots of white!  I stamped out the flower image from "Baby Button Bits", added some PTI buttons after coloring with Copics and some stickles to the leaves.  Then I added some Pearl Pen (in ice white) to the stems of the flower--I LOVE these Pearl Pens!  Why?  You can create your own pearls (and you know how I luv 'em)--any size, any color!  The fun ribbon is from Michaels and I used my Bow Easy to make that nice bow ;o)

Here's a closer look at the onsie--I used the "bee" stamp from the PTI set to make a butterfly!  HOW?  Well I CUT the bee from it's flight path (easy to do with acrylic stamps), stamped it on the onesie in PTI Palette Ink, then inked up just the antennae part and flipped it to create the bottom wings.  Then I stamped the flight path in pink Palette Ink AND white Palette ink.  The sentiment is from the PTI set "Handwritten Notes" and I took a felt button and added it to the center of the butterfly with Aleenes fabric/washable glue.  Then I traced the butterfly's flight path with the Pearl Pen to make small seed pearls and did the same along the neckline of the onesie.  (I did small pearls since this is for a baby FYI)

The Pearl Pen is WASHABLE (cool & gently cycle/no dryer)--they do not come off no matter how hard you try AND they are hard, you can not indent them or damage them!  Cool huh!!  I have soooo many fabric projects I'm going to use these on--tote bags, towels, t-shirts not to mention you can use them on any textile (including leather), wood, acrylic, paper and glass surfaces!  You can check them out HERE!  Watch my video on them HERE!

Second project uses one of my favorite line of stamps from I Brake For Stamps--the Humorous Seniors line!  I just love these old folks--they give me a good laugh everytime!  Here's a secret I'll let you in on...shhh...I want to learn to knit so I've signed up for a class at my JoAnn's, hee hee!  I've been wanting to do it for awhile so I saw the ad and went in and signed up--we'll see how I do,LOL!  My grandma taught me when I was young but all I ever made was VERY LONG STRING, LMBO! 

So I had to have this stamp called "Knitting Jane with Cat"--this might be me in 30 years, LMBO!!  I paper pieced the chair to match using papers from SEI.  Isn't that sentiment fun--it CRACKS me up I tell ya!  You can find the entire Humorous Seniors Line HERE and don't forget to use the Coupon Code "SAVE10SUZANNE" to get 10% off your entire order!!  And yes, I created all those pearls with my Pearl Pen in ice white--love that pen!  I also used some Smooch Illuminate Paint on the yarn and chair too and some stickles on her slippers!

SUZANNE TIP:  When you paper piece don't forget to shade it with your Copics so it all matches--you don't want it to look flat!  I shaded mine with BG11 and C2 & C3. I also added some diamond glaze to her glasses :o)  Isn't she fun--love her!

That's it from me today---I'll see ya tomorrow!

Gina K Previews!!

Good evening everyone!! I'm here from super cold & snowy VA, lol and we're expecting another 20 inches of snow tomorrow to add to the 34 we have on the ground--BLECH! I'm soooo sick of winter I can't even tell ya! And my kids have off of school thru next Tuesday--I'm gonna go INSANE I TELL YOU, LOL! Hubby is whisking me off to dinner tonight w/o kids so I can at least get outta the house for a few hours and enjoy food cooked by anyone but myself, hee hee!
Tonight I'm lucky enough to get to share some more Gina K Previews with you and these cards hopefully make you forget about winter for just a bit :0)  All of these fabulous stamp sets (and new papers, trims and cs) will be available after the Release Party on Thursday evening (Feb.11th) at Gina K's store HERE!

**And don't forget about the special stamp set "Hope is Faith" (see my sample on post below this) which is benefiting relief efforts in Haiti!  It's a beautiful set and for a wonderful cause--a definite must have for your stamp collection!***

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Spring Florals Card Club Kit

One of the set's I'm previewing tonight is called "Spring Florals" and I'm so looking forward to spring! These beautiful flower images and sentiments are perfect for every occasion--I love them!  I decided to make my card a little shabby chic and used some gorgeous papers from K&Co.--the edges of my papers got distressed with my Tonic Distress Tool and then I inked the edges. 
(For a limited time, a free Card Kit will automatically be included with each purchase of the Spring Florals stamp set. The entire kit includes the stamp set, a binder sheet, the instructions and materials to make 3 complete cards for $19.95. For more details on the cards, please visit Jessica Fick's blog.)

The flower image was stamped first in SU's sage shadow and then stamped again & colored with Copics (I love the shadow effect).  Some stickles on the flowers and some Prima pearl/rhinestone swirls add a nice bling-y touch!  And you can't have shabby without some pretty trims and buttons!

My second project uses the new set "O Baby" by Rupa Shevde and there are sooo many cute images in this set--perfect for all those baby projects you might need to make.  I love stamping and coloring on fabric (see tutorial page at top of my blog for more on that)--it's easy and fun and best of all it can be washed once it's heat set.  I created a fun baby card and matching "burp" cloth to go along with it.

The card uses some fun papers by K&Co called "Itsy Bitsy" and I love the gender neutral colors! I had to use this fun duckie pull-toy cuz' it's just adorable.  I colored with Copics and added some stickles and more buttons.  The double bow was made with my Bow Easy and I cut the sentiment into 2 pieces so I could stamp them over each other instead of askew.

The burp clothes I buy in bulk and iron them to heat set the cloth, then stamp them with my Memento ink and color with Copics.  The sentiment was stamped with Palette Ink which like Copics is both permanent and washable!  You can still shade on fabric with your copics, but coloring is more of a "dabbing" effect than a rubbing.  After you're finished you can toss it in the dryer or do like me and iron it real good to heat set the ink.  I used the duckie pull-toy again and then stamped the button image along the entire border which is really cute--and I love the sentiment!!  Hope you like all of these projects too--it's always fun to use your stamps in multiple ways!

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A note from our DT Leader Jessica Fick:

The Pressed Flowers stamp set was designed to be a perfect companion to Melanie's A Year of Flowers set! It is also a perfect stand alone set as each bold stamp image lends itself to many techniques as you will see on each designer's blogs tonight!

Start with the Illustrator's blog Melanie Muenchinger and then visit these designer's blogs for even more samples with this stamp set and Rupa Shevde's O Baby Stamp set as well!

Gina Krupsky
Jessica Fick *
Theresa Momber
Nina Brackett
Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Kurtis Amundson
Donna Baker
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Bev Gerard
Suzanne Dean *

* also previewing the new Card Kit Stamp set: Spring Florals

Fabric Stamping!!

Hiya & Happy Monday!! Did you all have a good weekend? I did, it was pretty uneventful but I did get to Target & Michaels (yay)!! It also rained all weekend, which was a bummer so I'm hoping for some sun this week! I also managed to get 4 video tutorials done for you all and a bunch of projects completed so that makes me happy :O)

**And my video disclaimer is that "YES" I do have on cherry-print jammie pants in my videos, LOL!! Sunday was "pj day" here in our house, hee hee!**

I'm sure you're all anxious to know who has won the first 2 blog candies, so here ya go:

Winner of BLOG CANDY #1 is Melissa (you don't have a public blogger profile so I can't get ahold of you, but you are a subscriber) and you said "Hi Suzanne! Congrats on your blogaversary! I get your posts by email, and always look forward to reading them over breakfast. Thanks for all the inspiration! I would love some tutorials on how you color hair with copics - specifically, what color combinations you use. I need to branch out a bit."
Here are your random numbers:121
Timestamp: 2009-03-30 04:48:52 UTC

Winner of BLOG CANDY #2 is....Christina D
Here are your random numbers:86
Timestamp: 2009-03-30 04:33:22 UTC

Congratulations to you both! Please contact me so I can get you your goodies out this week-my email is in my sidebar!! I enjoyed reading everyone's comments and answers to my "nosy" questions so, so much--it was really enjoyable!! I love that most of your happiest birthday presents were so sweet & so close to the heart! Thank you again for stopping by & being a friend to me!

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For my "stamping on fabric" project today I have a "New Baby Gift Bundle" for ya! I have to say that I am super-pleased with how this turned out, lol! I used all Paper Trey Ink products for this (palette inks, stamp sets & ribbons). PTI's Palette Inks come in so many beautiful colors and they are a permanent dye ink so they work wonderfully on fabric (takes hundreds of washings to get the dye to disappear). I bought packs of newborn baby onesies at Target--these are organic cotton by Gerber and the socks are cotton also.

Stamping on fabric w/ inks is very easy & you can customize so many things and make so many gifts this way. I used the following Paper Trey Ink sets on these onesies & socks--Tags for Spring, Wishing You, and Mega Mixed Messages. Palette ink colors used were--Hibiscus, Lavender Moon, Lemon Tart and Spring Moss.

**You can see the video tutorial of how to stamp this project right HERE!!
(also linked on my sidebar)

Up close of one of the onesies & matching baby socks using the PTI set "Tags for Spring" in PTI's palette ink in Hibiscus.

Up close of the matching gift card and tag on basket! Such pretty and girly colors to use together--I just love it! This gift bundle is up for sale on my Etsy site (link on my sidebar)!

My second project is another handstamped gift set that I made a video tutorial of too. This time while stamping on the tea towel, I used Lockhart's "Cherries in Colander" and "IB Cherry" from Susana's Custom Art & Card Design. I love any kind of cherry images, they just make me happy!

A close-up view of the towel I stamped and colored with Copics--I just tied the top off with some of this fun gingham ribbon! I had picked up this set of (4) ceramic spreaders that matched my gingham ribbon perfectly. I just made a belly band to match the notecard and added a nice label to the front. You could add any sentiment to the front of this, but I chose this "thankyou hostess" sentiment from PTI's "Mega Mixed Messages".

This is a close-up of my notecard--I created a patterned paper with my Lockhart "IB Cherry" to match my tea towel. I added some Diamond Glaze to the top of the cherries for some nice shine! And I just adore this gingham ribbon I got at the Offray Outlet (whole roll for $0.50)! This gift bundle is up for sale on my Etsy site too!

**You can see the video tutorial for this project HERE!!

Hope you've enjoyed my projects today & you can find all my tutorials linked on my sidebar!! I've also set up an Etsy shop if anyone is interested--that's linked on my sidebar too! :o)

See ya back here tomorrow! BLOG CANDY #3 is still open until Tuesday at midnite(EST)--you can enter HERE!!

hugz,

Suzanne