Shabby Chic Butterflies!

Hi everyone!  I hope you had a great week!  For those in the US have a great 3 day weekend for Memorial Day and to those who serve (or served) our country....THANK YOU each & every day for your work and sacrifices!  I think a lot of times we forget what this holiday is actually about in the rush to have some summer fun.  So just my two cents on it but wishing all those who have served the US a very restful holiday weekend as well.

I won tix to see Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Eli Young Band and Kacey Musgraves in concert tomorrow night through the Washington Redskins Women Group...whooohoooo!  I almost peed my pants when I found out since I enter contests ALL the darn time but never win.  Well I won and I will be there at FedEx Field with Alexa whooping and hollering LOL.  Its gonna be in the 70s so I will be wearing a coat LOL...not sure where the HOT weather went but I want it back...NOW!  Then on Monday we will go see the Washington Nationals play the Baltimore Orioles...our 2 fave teams facing off...gonna be a good one!  And blissfully on Sunday we have nothing...nothing but hanging around and doing nothing LOL.

Only 2 more weeks of school left...my kids get out on June 6th and not only are they excited but SO AM I...omegosh!  Between field trips, choral events, exams, projects and papers due...I'm TIRED.  Why these high school teachers assign so much in the last 3 weeks of school is beyond me.  But they've both had hours of homework each night and I'm DONE with editing papers.  They both had 4 papers EACH...two of which had to be 10-14 pages long...and I'm the family editer...I'm over it LOL!  Alexa doesn't know but she's getting a BIG award on Tues for her academics (she has a 4.1 GPA) so she will be surprised.  So proud of her because she's had a TOUGH year with all her AP classes, Calculus and Chemistry...lots of homework, tests and projects for those this year and she's pulled straight A's all the way through...that's a tough accomplishment.  She will be applying for early acceptance to her #1 choice Univ of SC in August.  They base early acceptance on Academics only, nothing else so I'm hoping she gets in with that round...if not she can apply again in Oct.  She's also applying to Auburn Univ, Florida State, Towson Univ and U of NC.  So we shall see...hard to believe she will be a senior in the fall.

If you need more reading, I have some new posts and projects on my other blog "Bitz of Me" HERE that you may enjoy!! :) 

PS...if you hover over my blog pics now you will see an AQUA P...that means you can pin it to Pinterest if you'd like! :)

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Altered Cigar Box....Shabby Chic Style!

Soooo this is my Mother's Day present for my mom....yup its late...yup she doesn't have it yet LOL.  I will HAND deliver it in a few weeks when I see her and she will see it here on my blog as well ahahaha.  But I had good intentions to get it done in time but some of my "supplies" didn't get here when they were supposed to...ugh.  But I got it done and I'm purty pleased with how it came out.  Its a bit shabby-chic-french-country and yes its another altered cigar box.

This is what it started out as...a plain old cigar box minus the cigars (eyucky)!  I removed most of the stickers and sanded it down a bit in places.  You can see my other altered cigar box I did HERE!

The papers are all Graphic 45 "French Country"...that I ADORE and just ordered more of LOL!  Everything was distressed with my Zutter Distress machine (ohhh how I love that thing) and inked with Distress Inks "Vintage Photo".  I glue on my papers to the wood with Modge Podge...the things you can do with that stuff...me luv!  I added feet to my box as well...they are unfinished wood feet from Michaels (2 in a pack for 99 cents) that I painted cream and distressed.  I used just cream acrylic paint and also painted any edges of the box in places but after painting wiped with a rag so it looks a bit more worn.  The front lock is from a Tim Holtz Idea-ology pack that I wiped with cream paint and then sealed.  I added the legs with Gorilla Glue and then all the metal embellishments with Best Glue Ever (stuff is SUPER strong and is truly the best evah).

The flower postcard image is actually a stamp from Crafty Individuals Stamps (yup I used the chicken stamp on my last box) and this one is called "Postcard Blooms" and its in stock at SCACD.  I stamped it on dark cream cs, added a bit of color with Copics (B99,B97,B95,B91/E43,E42,E40) to it and a few Stickles for sparkle...then distressed it well. The other postcard is from the Graphic 45 pack that I distressed more.  The swirls/scrolls were done with a Memory Box die "Val Flourish" (one of my faves) and then inked.  All the butterflies are metal and they came in a pack of 5 at JoAnns in the clearance section for $2...forget what company they are from but I love that I can bend them and ink them.

The blue butterfly underneath the large metal butterfly is a Jenni Bowlin accent...as are the hat pins.  Flowers are a mishmash that I inked to distress and the ribbon I buy off of Etsy already tea-stained.  Tiny paperclips are from Idea-ology as well.  **Funny story about Jenni Bowlin...we grew up together and went to school together in Maryland.  Lost touch during college but one day when kids were much younger I was watching a Scrapbook show on TV that used to be on and this guest was on doing a stamp bleaching technique.  I was like "I swear that looks like Jennifer Russell, she talks like her & has same mannerisms"...hubby was like "oh yeahhhh right"...so I tracked her down online and sent an email asking if it was her by her maiden name.  AND IT WAS HER LOL...I took art classes and ran an art club in high school and Jenni was NEVER interested so how funny we ended up in the same industry.  But her mom was into antiquing and junking so I see that influence in her designs and store!  We see each other at CHA every year and catch up...its nice to do that and so funny how it all came to be.**

I didn't do much to the inside other than line the bottom...I like to leave the wood burned branding on the lid intact as I think its part of the cigar box charm.  I have to say I'm QUITE enjoying these boxes...I have a few more on hand and already thinking up some ideas for them ;)

I'm sure my mom won't mind that I put the box in my living room to display until I give to her....bwahahahaha...NAW I'm joking!  I just put it there to get some pics of it "staged"...its safe & sound in my studio where the cats can't get at it ;)  Anyway I hope she loves it...if not I know of another good home for it !

Have a great weekend everyone!

Cock-a-doodle-Doo!!

Happy Saturday to ya friends! Ahhhh, the smell of the weekend & waking up to the sun FINALLY--it has rained & thunderstormed here since Monday & seriously messed w/ my mojo!! Suzanne needs sun--why oh why can't I live where its sunny & warm 300 days outta the year!! BTW, I noticed my hits are getting really close to 200,000--can you believe it, I can't!! I'm plannin' up some fun to celebrate so keep on the lookout for that very, very soon! I've also been kickin' up my workout routine, lifting heavier weights & doing more cardio. Do you know my Wii Fit asked me "did I trip alot"--LMBO--and the answer is "yes" I do. I am totally not coordinated, not a dancer & can never keep up in aerobics class cuz' I'm always missing a step or turn or whatever, LOL! I prefer easy movements that require no constant thought, like running & weight lifting!! The nerve of that Wii Fit!!! (course hubby thought it was hilarious)! Anyhow, hope you're off to a great weekend so far!

**Copics Used on Hen/Rooster--E09, E08, R05, Y21, Y26, E33, G94**

So my project today is another fun one I've done using more of my Graphic 45 papers which I {heart} so much! I paired them up with the Lockhart's "Rooster" and "Buttermilk Hen" for a fun kitchen gift set--both of these stamps are available at Susana's store. They were colored with copics & then I added some stickle bling to each of them!

I distressed the edges after I cut this handsome guy out with my Labels 1 nestabilities. The ribbon is from Emma's paperie and I added some BG buttons to the top! (And yes I know the music notes are upside down, but I wanted the fruit at the top, hee hee)
I have soooo many of these large clothespins cuz' I picked them up at Michael's when they were only .50 each and haven't used but one. I covered the clothespin with dp and then modge podged(matte) over them so they're adhered well and can be wiped off if need be. I think this would be fabulous to use in the kitchen to hold a recipe card or note!

Well that's all for me--I'm off to see Alexa sing for the state senators today and then we're getting our toenails done for fun! I think we're going to go see Star Trek at the Imax theater tonie too--been waiting impatiently to see that!

hugz,
Suzanne

Vintage Gal!!

Hiya everyone & Happy Memorial Day to ya!! Hope you all have been enjoying the 3 day weekend here in the States. We've had a great weekend of relaxing, hanging out in the backyard grilling & roasting marshmallows! Yesterday Riley & hubby went paintballing while I got some time in my craftroom (yay) and then we went to dinner & saw "Night At the Museum 2"--loved, loved that movie! So funny & cute! I've also continued working out alot (only 1 coke this weekend & no bad foods--mostly fish & veggies) so I'm anxious to see what the scale says tomorrow (cross fingers)! Alexa comes back this evening from her trip with her friend's family--they went out on their boat for the weekend & sounds like she had a blast too! Today we're off to the Smithsonian of American History (Riley's fave place)--should be fun as long as the rain holds off for a bit & the crowds are small! So I've just got one project for ya & some newsbitz too!

NEWSBITZ: Today kicks off the start of the Stamping Out Alzheimers Event HERE--for just a $5 donation you get access to the site for a week of fun challenges & prizes! All the money goes to funding for research for Alzheimers (such a great cause)! Susana's Custom Art & Card Design and Whiff of Joy both have fun challenges posted, so make sure and stop by both!! We'd love to see you over there!

So after 2 tries I finally got my design team stamps from Whiff of Joy--boy someone in customs must love these stamps because this is the 3rd time they've gotten lost, ugh!! LOL Anywho, I'm late creating but wanted to share a project I got done (actually got 4 projects done yesterday, woohoo) yesterday using the new Whiff of Joy Summer Kit stamps available for preorder (early June) in the states right HERE! I really adore all of these images by Elisabeth Bell, but this "Dreamy Willow with Flowers" is my favorite!

I pulled out some more of those awesome papers from Graphic 45 and went to town, making Willow bold but vintage-y! I just adore how this card turned out--love the patterns & colors together (colored w/ my Copics)! The ribbon is from SU and I added some stickles to her flowers--the sentiment is available from Whiff of Joy too! Hope you like it as much as me too :o)

See ya back here tomorrow with some new projects & don't forget to stop by the Stamping Out Alzheimer's site when you get a chance!

hugz,
Suzanne