Mother Love!

Hellooooo & Happy Friday to you...its the weekend!  I'm pretty sure I will be excited to see Monday after this weekend and I NEVER say that :)  Prom festivities have started...Alexa (and me) got pedicures yesterday.  Her best friend that moved to Georgia is flying in tomorrow evening for the weekend and to go to prom and she's staying with us...so the girls are excited.  My mom comes up today too and we will be doing some stuffs as well.  Riley is paintballing on Saturday morning, I'm going to the nursery to get some flowers for my pots, Alexa has a hair appt at 1, I gotta pick up her date's boutinniere, take Mom to lunch and then prom pics at 5ish.  Phewwwwww!  Then the adults are going to dinner and Riley is having friends over for the night and we will have some of Alexa's friends here after prom too.    AND YES if you follow me on FB and Instagram I will have tons of photos of prom up this weekend if you wanna check em out!  HINT:  Alexa's dress is my FAVE color :)

This end of year school stuff is always killer but as they get older there is ssoooo much going on all the time, its like a whirlwind.  Most of you may have noticed I'm not traveling and teaching as much this year...not that I'm fully stopping but I'm definitely not doing it as much.  After 3 years of non-stop traveling I felt the need to take a bit of a break.  Plus I want to be home more as this is Alexa's last year of High School and I don't want to miss a thing.  Being a good mom and wife has always been important to me...you only get one chance at this stuff so I feel you gotta be really present & good the first time around.   I also have A LOT of "other" things I want to do, try, accomplish and I just haven't had the time to do while I was traveling.  And yes I miss it but I know what's MOST important in my life and I felt for both me and my family I needed to be home a bit more.  Doesn't mean I'm stopping what I'm doing...it just means I'll be doing A LOT more of stuff LOL!  I have lots of ideas and time still flies by but I'm trying to cram as much livin' in as I can!

AND as soon as I get my PC laptop fixed and/or get some software for my Mac so it will accept my camcorder I will have LOTS new videos coming, not just coloring but other things too....so stay tuned!

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A Mother's Love

So I consider myself a thoughtful, loving and caring person, I really do...I always have the best intentions and tend to lead my life with my heart first.  However I suck at getting people their cards and presents on time, its a character flaw but I readily admit to everyone trust me...the thought is there I however SUCK at mailing stuff or getting it there on time.  So this is my Mother's Day card for my mom LOL...she's coming tomorrow so I figured I'd just hand deliver it.  She knows me well enough to never be surprised by this...plus I consider the card a "thing" not the only representation of my love, admiration and respect of my mother who I count as my #1 best friend and fan.  So one of her favorite colors is lavender (and blue) so this card was custom-made for her.  I'm still working on the other part of her gift...not my fault though lol...the supplies came later than I had expected!  Will share that when its done!

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Just Hanna Stamps (mothers)

Belli Challenges (Mother's Day)

Fresh Brewed Challenges (flowers)

So Ms. Sherri Baldy has some awesome new Besties digis...heck if you follow her on FB she has new ones up every day that make me drool.  So when I saw this cutie, I had to have her...reminds me a bit of myself (she's admittedly much cuter than me though lol) with my gray kitty Poncho.  Funny story about Poncho & my mom in a minute...she will get a chuckle out of this card for sure.  But this Bestie is called "Besties with Kitty", she's a doll huh?  

When we first had Poncho (and his sis Millie) he was a REAL DIVA...he still is but he's more mellow these days.  For whatever reason Poncho did not like my mom that much LMBO...she'd walk by him and he'd hiss or swat at her...even when she'd try to pet him.  It was hilarious...he really only let me and Riley be his "keeper".  Then a few years after we had him he had a bladder infection and blockage...he was really really sick and had to have surgery.  After surgery he came home more mellow but about 6 mos later he was still sick...so I took him to our new vet and they discovered the catheter had been left inside after surgery OMG...he was close to a deadly infection so he had to have surgery again.  Well after that he came home a changed kitty-man LOL...he's very mellow and never hisses or swats anymore.  Although Mom tends to still avoid him a bit when she comes up...so that's why I made this kitty gray...like my Poncho ;) hee!

Supplies: Papers are by Prima and all were distressed with my Zutter Distress machine.  I love a monochromatic theme and this one is a bit shabby chic.  The decorative corners were done with a La La Land die "Filigree Corner", ribbon is from Michaels, charm I've had for ages and the leafy elements were done with a Memory Box die.  Flowers are a mix of Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts.

She got colored with Copics:  V99,V95,V93,V000 / E11,E00,R11/ E47,E35,E31,E50 / C5,C3,C1.  Then I added Diamond Glaze to her eyes and Stickles o her shirt for sprakle.

So that's all from me....busy weekend ahead!  See you next week & have a great one!

Plum Prettied!

Happy Thursday to you all!  How's your week going?  Hubby is away in NC and Georgia for business...ahem so he says LOL..since he's also attending the Masters Golf event in Augusta ;)  But that's ok, me and the teens are hanging out and eating dinner on the patio every night and bein' chill.  Last night I FINALLY took over the tv and watched the ACM Awards with Alexa!!  YES I missed them cuz we were at the hockey game in DC so I wasn't able to see 'em.  But me and Lex enjoyed em...and my yummy Luke Bryan.  Hubby was glad he said cuz' I wasn't drooling where he could see ahahahaha ;) (typed as I wipe it off my keyboard)!! 

I have some new posts up on my newest blog "Bitz of Me" if you need something else to read!!

Also the CMC 3rd Birthday Bash will be April 26th thru April 29th so go join the 

Bash Group HERE and get ready for the fun!!

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Plum Prettied!!

This is my prettied plum card using a fabulous Sherri Baldy Bestie digi stamp called "Big Eye Big Head Dolls"...isn't she a doll (hahahaha get it?).  I collect Raggedy Anne dolls...only vintage ones though ;) so I just fell in love with this image!  I actually colored this cutie while I was down in Florida with my BFFs Pat Jaynes & Dana Shaw but finally got a chance to put her on a project!

The papers are from PaperManina "Lincoln Linen" and then some shimmery plum cardstock my pal Pat gave me that matched the plum colors perfectly.  Lots of dies on this one:  the dark cream mat is a Spellbinders die, the photo corner is "Filigree Corner" die from La La Land Crafts, the swirls by the flowers and the cream swirls are both Memory Box dies (Elegant Scrollwork and Quinn Flourish) .  I like to layer and cut 'em up and use as much as I can without going overboard LOL!  Flowers are Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts..the plum flower is punched with a Nellie Snellen punch.  Papers were distressed with my fave Zutter Distress machine (if you get one here's some tips (1) face your paper away from you when you run thru to get it distressed on the right side (2) running paper thru it to the right gives you a light distress look, run it towards the left and get a heavy distress!)

  

She got colored with Copics:  RV69, RV95, RV93, RV91 / E44,E43,E42,E41,E40 / E11,E00,R20 / C9,C5,C3.  I didn't go as dark as I usually do with her black hair...I wanted to keep my colors lighter on this card so I kept the blacks a bit softer too.  Then I added some Stickles to her dress, headband and bows for pretty sparkle.  Diamond Glaze on her eyes and shoes for shine!

That's it for me today...enjoy the rest of your day!!

My Besties!!

Helllooooooo T.G.I.Friday right everyone? LOL...I have a do-nothing weekend...that doesn't mean I will do nothing of course, but no big plans!  We are going to IKEA on Sunday to get some goodies and hopefully find a new headboard for Riley's new bed.  I need to get him OUT and in his new room, he's like a giant sleeping in a toddler bed I swear.  I look in on him at night and its like the bed and room just SHRUNK with him in it.  Plus once he's finally out of his room, I get to take it over as my office #2...whoo hoo.  I already have the paint and goodies ready for it ;) and it will match my new blog's "Bitz of Me" color scheme.  I hope to find a desk at IKEA for the room and a bookshelf as well...I'm a fan of the Expedit system and we have the black versions in our basement.  They hold up well but aren't too expensive.  But I'm going junking for an antique buffet that I can paint & rough up for my office too...I want something a bit shabby chic in there for storage.  James starts sweating and getting nervous when I talk about this stuff cuz' he knows he's gotta put things together and move things up and downstairs.  But I'm TIRED of waiting and Riley is too...so I'm gonna have to push him on this.  God love the man but he is not always the most motivated of people on the weekend when I want to tackle projects.  I wish I had a project-friend that lived closer so we could work on projects like this together and then trade off...that would be awesome.  Usually its me doing it by myself during the day when everyone is gone LOL...which can sometimes lead to all kinds of debacles ahahaha!  So stay tuned for that project...it will all be documented on my other blog.

Pat, Me & Dana last year

The Big, Mad, Hissing Gator!

But I'm really looking forward to flying down to Naples, FL on Wednesday for a week in the sun with my two bestest buddies, Pat Jaynes and Dana Shaw.  This will be our third year doing this and we always have a BLAST and always lots of STORIES.  Last year our Everglades airboat ran over a GIGANTIC GATOR and we were in the front (dummies that we are) and the guy goes back to see if the gator is ok and pulls up RIGHT NEXT TO HIM...and the gator is HISSING LOUDLY cuz' duhhhh he is PEEVED alrighty.  And yours truly is the closest to him freaking out just a teeny bit...ok A LOT...I was pushing Pat & Dana off the end of the bench trying to MOVE AS FAR AS I COULD while those two are laughing hysterically.  Then the guide nonchalantly says "yeah did you know gators can jump up to 6 feet, pretty cool huh"....UMMM ARE YOU NUTS...then I was ready to walk on water at that point or run and about to have cardiac arrest.  Then they thought I was gonna hold the baby gator when we got back to the center...yeah no..not on my bucket list so don't care and don't wanna and I didn't LOL!  Good times...lord knows what may happen to us this time..perhaps we need some prayers yes? ;)

NewsBitz:

-My friend Jami Bova is still raising funds for the MS Bike Ride she is doing with her husband to raise monies for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation.  By donating even a few dollars you are entered to win a NEW Kindle Fire and if you come back to my blog to let me know you donated you can be entered to win a $25 GC to Amazon.com.  This is of course a cause near & dear to me and you can read more HERE!  Thanks!

-If you haven't checked out my new blog "Bitz of Me"...well you are welcome to LOL.  Its not a crafty blog but a lifestyle-story-everything-blog of fun!  There will be fun decorating and organizing projects I'm working on, recipes and fitness stuff, fashion and life stuff....you name it and I'll probably be talking about it at some point (within reason people, let's not get all excited heehee)

-The CMC Challenge Group has a new challenge up today...everyone is welcome to join in on the fun.  Hop over to see the DTs fabulous projects, our guest designers and our fabulous sponsor Louby Lou Digital Designs (challenge is ANYTHING GOES COLORING) but the DT did all buggies & reptiles for a fun twist!!

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Besties!!

So today I'm sharing a card that I made with a Sherri Baldy Designs Besties digi image called "Carley Rose"...isn't she a cutie? I'd soooo wear that outfit myself, I love it!  Sherri so kindly sent me this image and I just fell in love with her...her big eyes & retro outfit, too fun!  It took me longer to color her then normal...because I've been lifting weights and I swear everything on me HURTS LOL.  Including my forearms so I had to take breaks coloring her ahahahaha..no fun!

I'm entering her into the following challenges:

Craft Us Crazy (anything goes)

Crafty Ribbon Challenge (anything goes w/ ribbon)

Moving Along With the Times (Lovely Ladies)

Crafting For All Seasons (punches & dies)

Divas by Design (anything goes)

I used new papers from Authentique "Renew" (10% off too) that I adore...love, love, love this color combo and the patterns in this pack.  I distressed all the papers with my Zutter Distress machine for a little bit of shabby chic-ness.  The black swirls were made with a Magnolia Doohickey "Leaf & Swirl" die, the yellow swirls with a Memory Box "Elegant Scrollwork" die and the corner decorations were made with a La La Land die "Filigree Corner Die ".  I layered flowers and made some with my NEW Nellie Snellen "Floral" punches I just got in...love using those!  The sentiment is from PTI (Paper Trey Ink).

She was colored with Copics: BG75,BG72,BG11,BG10 / Y15,Y11,Y00,E31 / E11,E00,RV11 / C9,C5,C3,C1 / E37,E35,E31,YR20.  Then I added some Diamond Glaze to her eyes and necklace, Stickles to the flowers and sash on the dress for sparkle.

Wishing you all a fabulous & happy weekend!!