My Best Friend!!

Hello friends & Artists!! How is everyone's weekend going?  I swear I might need to build an ark with all the rain that Ida has brought here to the East Coast--ugh!  I hate rain, I hate dreariness & on top of that it's friggin' COLD--ackkkkkk!  But tonight we're off to a friend's Wine & Cheese Cocktail party so I'm looking forward to some socializing with friends!  And I am sooo sleeping in tomorrow--we had 5 girls for a slumber party last night & they were up till 3 AM--omgoodness, I'm tuckered out & a nap might be in order for me today!  5 almost 14 year old girls shrieking thru the house---sigh---my poor aching ears, LOL!  And then tomorrow I have more work to get done, hee hee, but will hopefully be well rested!

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Mo's Digital Pencil

Today I'm sharing a fabulous new digi image from Mo's Digital Pencil called "You're The Best"--isn't she a cutie (she also has this one in a Boy version and an African American boy & girl).  I had to have her cuz' my daughter has a bunny that she's had since she was a baby & she still sleeps with it (she will die knowing I told you that, hee hee)--but it just reminds me of her when she was much smaller :o)  I paired her up with this cheery dp from SU--I just love these colors together! The image was colored with Copics then I added glitter to her hairbands & buttons--diamond glaze on her shoes!  The perfect sentiment is by Kim Hughes "Pet-tootie Sentiments"!  The flowers were made with my MS Hydrangea punches---love them!  Hope you love this cutie as much as me!!

Next up are some elegant CAS holiday cards I made using a Lockhart Stamp Co "Quilt Block #4".  I wanted to use this stamp to make an elegant card, no cutesy or country feel this time!  So I embossed the image with Stewart Superior Filigree gold EB powder (it is the BEST for fine line embossing I tell ya) right on the Memory Box dp (Spice Berry).  I kept the colors simple, cream and red with gold accents.  The sentiment is from PTI's "Holiday Wishes" set onto cream cs and then backed with gold mirrored cs.  Easy to assemble & create--a few of these will be going out to my friends & family this holiday season!

Hope you've enjoyed my projects today & maybe take a little inspiration away with you today!  I'll be back tomorrow with my Copic Creations Challenge card and another Lockhart project for ya!  Have a fab Saturday!

I'm Still Here!!

Happy Tuesday to you all! I'm here, I'm here--LOL! Nothing major going on just alot of STUFF ya know so I wasn't able to get a post up for yesterday. Dumb blogger wasn't letting me upload pics on Sunday night and by 11:30 pm I'd had enough so I just went to bed! We had a good weekend, Riley is much better and we managed to get to the Pumpkin Patch on Sunday. The weather was absolutely perfect for the pumpkin patch and we had a great time, nice to see the sun again after days & days of rain! I will have pics for ya tomorrow of our fall adventure!

I'm so thrilled & touched by all the donations to the Lost Dog & Cat Foundation that have been pouring in from you all--I made my first goal and had to set another, hee hee!! It makes my heart sing to know this wonderful animal rescue will be getting much needed funds to keep helping all those abandoned & at risk animals this year!! So a big thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this along with me, I really appreciate it and the animals will benefit greatly! You still have until November 1st to enter for the Charity Blog Candy and all the details are HERE! If you do donate, please make sure & come back to my blog and leave a comment on that post so you're entered for that HUGE BLOG CANDY!! Thanks from the bottom of my heart!

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NewsBitz:

-New Blog is coming this week---so stay tuned--I'm so excited for you to see it, it's very ME!! Can you guess what it might look like?

-Charity Blog Candy Post HERE for all the details!!

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Try It Out Tuesday #41

So since it's Tuesday that means it's another Try It Out Tuesday Challenge #41 for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design! This week I challenged the DT to use metal elements on their cards--could be charms, metallic paints, metallic papers, etc.! I chose to use a new Victoria Case for SCACD stamp called "Kringlet"--isn't she just a lil' cutie!! This sketch is this week's Mojo Monday Sketch #110--really liked this sketch this week!

My papers are by 3 Bugs In A Rug--aren't they fun?! I added some mini jingle bells to the bow and also one to end of her elf cap (I cut off the paper bell)! A few felt SU snowflakes and I stamped a sentiment from PTI onto my cutout hearts (heart nestabilities) and I used my Gold DecoColor pen to create a border around the white heart & add dots to!

I colored her with Copics and then added stardust Stickles to her dress, diamond glaze to her heart and eyes, and Gold Smooch paint to her dress trim and bell on her booties! Such a cutie don't ya think!

Now make sure & stop by the store blog "Follow Your Heart" to see the rest of the DT's fabulous projects for today!

Second project uses a favorite Lockhart stamp called "Snowlady" (there are a few in this snowman line)--I just adore snowpeople!! For this card I kept it simple--white & navy blue and lots of texture. I couldn't help but make a set of cute earring to match--I used shrinky dink paper to create them, added color with my Prisma pencils and some stickles for sparkle. The bottom of the earrings have small snowflakes attached that I made with my shrinky dink paper as well.

I embossed the white card with a Cuttlebug Folder and added a fun sentiment from the new PTI set "Vintage Ornaments". The snowflakes were all made with my punches and I added my fave Martha Stewart Snow Glitter to the white ones. The dark blue paper is actually royal blue mirrored cardstock--really shiny & pretty. The snowlady is colored with copics and then she got some Stickles on her for lots of sparkle! Just a fun holiday set!

Hope you enjoyed my projects today--and I promise to be back tomorrow with more :o)

Clean & Simple!!

Oh Thank Goodness it's Friday, whewwww! I swear this has been the longest-never-ending week of my entire life, LOL! I'm so thankful for the weekend, Riley is feeling better & getting stronger so that's good. The weather is supposed to be nice so we're going to try and get to the pumpkin patch on Sunday if he's doing well! Saturday we have a date with friends of ours at my favorite Japanese restaurant so that will surely be fun and nice to get out of the house! We have to get last minute stuff for Halloween as well like candy, candles and some miscellaneous stuff for the kids costumes but nothing major to get done which I like :o) Anyone have any exciting plans for this weekend (that is if you're not a sickie-poo like 1/2 of America, lol)!?

Okay, moving on today I have another Blog Hop for you featuring the Magnolia-licious DT and the theme this time is "Clean & Simple" cards--I struggled with this, but it was a fun challenge (you know how I like my layers & embellies, hee hee)


NewsBitz:

-Don't forget to participate in the "Find-It Lockhart Holiday" Blog Hop!! You can start here on my blog (post below this one) and hop along to count all the hidden hearts and leave your comment on the store blog HERE to win a fabulous prize!!

-If you've ordered from my Etsy shop--all the orders will be put in the mail to this morning! Sorry that I've gotten behind on that this week, but you'll get them ASAP!

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Magnolia-licious DT BLOG HOP
"Clean & Simple"

Welcome to the Magnolia-licious DT Blog Hop--today the DT has created some fabulous "Clean & Simple" cards for you! All of these fabulous stamps can be found at the fabulous Magnolia-licious store HERE! This was a hard one for me since I'm so used to using lots of layers and embellies but the fact is, is that you can create beautiful & lovely cards with not alot of materials (hmmm...who woulda thunk it, hee hee). I think I found the key to this challenge for me anyhow, was to pick materials that I could add texture to & use one bold color to really make it pop!

For this card I paired up kraft cs with white & red--a little bit country and all cute!! This cutie pie is "Waiting Tilda" & she is probably my most favorite & most-used winter Magnolia stamp--I really just love her!! To create texture I created a diamond pattern on my kraft cs using my Scor-Pal and then where the diamonds met I paper pieced a hole each time. The white cs got embossed with a Cuttlebug snowflake folder as well and the entire card got a good spritz of Shimmerz Spritz (in baby's breath)! The fabulous gingham ribbon I got from Michaels & made my bow with my Bow Easy, and the sentiment is from the PTI that I stamped with my glue pad & added red glitter to. Easy peasy :o)

Here is this lil' cutie up close & personal--I set her on the ribbon and then her sweater dress & cap trim got a good dose of stardust stickles for some extra bling! Whatcha' think?? I like her alot and of course red is my fave color, hee hee! :o)

Second card uses another cute Magnolia stamp called "Tilda w/ Huge Bunch of Roses" and that's a whole lotta roses, hee hee! I used some Basic Grey dp as my starting point for this card and colored Tilda to match with Copics. If you click on the above picture to make it larger you'll see that the background white cs was stamped lightly in pink with a birthday sentiment over & over from the PTI set "Around & About Sentiments"--so obviously this is a bday card, LOL! I embossed the white cs behind Tilda with my CB Swiss Dots embossing folder for more texture and added a few pearls. I really like that the small frame of dp is bold & bright--grabs your attention paired with the white!

Here's this cutie close-up--I had to add some stickles to the leaves & you can't see it here but the roses have Shimmerz on them in Pixie Dust for a subtle sparkle. I had to use a bit of sheer ribbon to make a 3-D bow for these flowers--so cute!

Well, I hope you liked my Clean & Simple Magnolia cards for ya today---I think I spent more time figuring out these than I do my multi-layered cards, LMBO! But I like 'em!!

Now if you're coming here from Sharon's blog then I'm the end of the road for the hop, but if you're starting with me, make sure and start the hop with Kerry! And make sure and hop over to the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog to get all the details on how you can join in on the fun as well!!

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Clean & Simple Holiday Cards

Since I was working on some Clean & Simple cards, I decided to try and create my "mass" holiday card that I will send out to my friends for the holidays. I wanted something that was elegant, simple & of course easy to make lots of but have a nice impact as well. So I pulled out a few of my favorite holiday Lockhart Itty Bitty stamps "Wreath" & "Ornaments"! I embossed the background (3/4's of it) with a new Cuttlebug embossing folder called "Victoria", spritzed it with Shimmerz Spritz in baby's breath & stamped the bottom with sentiments from the PTI set "Signature Christmas".
I cut out my images with my Nestabilities Labels 1 and used the FABULOUS PTI set "Vintage Labels"to stamp the red lined label inside--these stamps fit within the Labels 1, how cool is that!!

Both of the images got Flower Soft (shamrock green) on the greenery, the ornaments have gold spica pen accents as well! Easy to make & put together! So if you're on my holiday list for Christmas cards, this is what will be in your mailbox, LOL (minus my mom, sister, bosses, & grandma--they get multi-layered goodness, hee hee)!

Well hope you enjoyed the blog hop & my clean and simple cards for ya today. And I hope I inspired you to try to make some as well! See ya back here tomorrow with just ONE (GASP) project for ya!

hugz,
Suzanne

Fairies, Candies, Oh My!

Hiya & Happy Tuesday to ya all! Well we're slowly into the week from heck for me, LOL! Just lots goin' on & lots to get done as usual. Today I have to get my son to his pulmonologist appointment (fight traffic in rush hour, and race back to try & get him back to school before noon) and then drive Alexa to gymnastics and somewhere in between find time to complete projects & make dinner, hee hee! And I'm still stunned & depressed over the death of Patrick Swayze--I knew he was sick, but it always comes as a bad shock ya know?! I have always adored "Dirty Dancing", "Ghost" & "The Outsiders" that he was in and have watched them more times than I can admit to ya, hee hee! And I always admired the drama free & loyal romance he had with his wife for so many years--gotta love that! Anywhoo, movin' on..........

NewsBitz:

Winner of my 300,000 Blog Hits Blog Candy is....
Donna of Indiana Inking!!
Congrats Girlie! Email me w/ your addy so I can get your goodies to ya!
Thanks to everyone for entering--it was fun!

**I have openings in my Copic Classes on Sept.26th & October 11th!! Email me for details!! I'd love to have ya (class runs from 1-4:30 pm/$65)

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Copic Creations Challenge!!

Today is the 15th of the month so that means it's Copic Creations Challenge time!! This time we were challenged to use BOTH Copics & Prisma Pencils together on these beautiful fairy images from Stamps Happen! Stamps Happen is our sponsor for this challenge & they graciously donated a fairy stamp to each of the DT to use today along w/ a fabulous prize you can see at the Copic Creations Challenge Blog HERE.

The fairy I used is called "Chicory Fairy" and you can see/buy their stamps HERE! This was very fun to color but oh so detailed to do. And I hadn't used my Prismas in over a year, but it was fun to pull them out again. The sentiment is from a Verve Stamps set I have and the ribbon is Offray!
I used my Prisma's on the sky background (lt.cerulan blue, true blue, parma violet), leaves (dark green) and flowers/dress (pink) along with my copics. To do this you color with your copics first and then add your Prisma coloring/shading & then blend w/ your gamsol (odorless mineral spirites). The gamsol DOES NOT hurt your copic coloring in any way--very cool technique. Then I added diamond stickles to her wings and gold Smooch to the inside stems of the flowers. I think she's just beautiful IMO, hee hee--I really love her!

Now make sure and stop by the Copic Creations Challenge Blog to see the rest of the DT's fabulous creations & find out how you can enter the challenge as well!

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Try It Out Tuesday for SCACD!

And since today is Tuesday that means it's also "Try It Out Tuesday" Challenge for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design store. This week I challenged the DT with a fun project from the Scor-Pal site called a "Triangular Card" and you can find the instructions right HERE. This is a pretty small card (4x4) so they're quick & easy to make & so much fun to give.

For my card today I used one of the fabulous NEW Lockhart Stamp Co. images called "Candy Wreath"--you can see/buy all the new Lockharts right HERE. I colored mine with copics and then added diamond glaze to the candies & diamond stickles to the wrappers for lots of sparkle! I cut it out w/ my circle nestabilities so it would look like a fun wreath on the front of my card along w/ a fab bow!

This is what the card looks like when it's opened! I created my front image on a belly-band so you can just slip it off easily but you can also create this card with different closures to your liking! A Holly-Jolly Christmas card for ya today!

Now make sure and stop by the "Follow Your Heart" blog to see what the rest of the DT came up with for ya today!

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

Fall Elegance & Blog Candy TOO!!

Happy Wednesday everyone! How ya doin'? Are you a busy, busy bee like me, hee hee?! Lots to get done this week & not enough time to do it all! I'm still frantically trying to hunt down a couple more things that the kids need for school supplies--I hate that the middle school doesn't give out their lists early when all the stores are well stocked, makes it so much harder for everyone! I've got a very long post for ya today so I'll keep my "monologue" shorter for ya, lol! There's alot on this post including my kid's first day of school pics, 300,000 Hits Blog Candy & my project of the day--so make sure & scroll all the way down to see it all!

This is Alexa yesterday all ready for the first day of 8th grade! She's always hated to wear dresses & skirts but I guess she's starting to change her mind cuz' she insisted she needed this jean skirt, hee hee! Can't believe she'll be 14 soon--where does time fly off to?
Here's my "little man" (don't let him know I told you my nickname for him or else he'll kill me, hee hee)! Gettin' to be a big man I think (boo hoo) and in 6th grade now! This is his half grin cuz' he hates me taking his picture but I do it anyway cuz' that's what mom's do, hee hee! He was pretty nervous & didn't want to eat much breakfast and came home & said that middle school was "ok" but he had issues with his locker! Crossing my fingers that tomorrow goes smoother for him!

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300,000+ Hits Blog Candy

Alrighty friends! Today is the day for the blog candy for my lil' ole blog hitting over 300,000 hits in just a year and a half--WOW! Thanks to all of you lovely, supportive & wonderful readers for stopping by & visiting with me everyday--I appreciate you all so much & have made so many wonderful friends in the stampin' community! So to thank you I'm giving away just (1) one VERY LARGE BLOG CANDY!!

What can you win:
-3 Magnolia stamps (donated by Diana Crick of Magnolia-licious)
-1 Sugar Nellie stamp (Goin' for a Spin/Sweet Art Ebony)
-1 Paper Trey Ink "Anniversary Set" (not for sale, given as gift to customers for purchasing during the year so this is a limited edition set)
-1 Spiral Whisper Christmas Dog stamp
-1 Whiff of Joy Oakley Angel stamp
-1 Snowman stamp from The Stampin' Place
-1 Basic Grey clear Xmas tree stamp
-2 Studio G stamps
-1 Gina K "Whimsical Autumn" stamp set
-1 pack of DoveCraft Winter Wonderland papers
-1 pad of Basic Grey's NEW "Indian Summer" paper (donated by Susana of SCACD)
-1 NEW Bow Easy (donated by Susana as well)
-Embellies include a pack of Christmas buttons, bag of mixed Prima flowers & 5 spools of ribbon
-1 Sharpie Poster Paint marker (my favorite highlighter)
-1 small Memento black inkpad
-1 Fern Branch paper punch (brand new)
-1 medium scrapbook
-25 chipboard coasters

How Can You Win?
-Answer this question "What book is your favorite that you've ever read & why?" on this post only in the comment section! (please leave an email addy w/ your comment)
-Tell your friends on your blog, Twitter or Facebook (not required but nice, hee hee)
-Entry deadline is Monday, September 14th at midnight (EST)--winner will be announced next Wednesday! Good Luck!!

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Today's project is one I made as a thank-you gift for a neighbor/friends of ours that had us over for a lobster feast dinner this past weekend--YUM! I love all seafood & crabs & lobster are my top favorites and they were so sweet to ask us over! So to thank them I made them some homemade muffins (raspberry & chocolate chip--yes I made extras for us too, hee hee), a card and a bread basket towel that I stamped & colored!

I haven't done stamping/coloring w/ Copics on fabric in awhile, but I do love it--it's so much fun! I have a tutorial on my sidebar on how to do this if you're interested--I stamp on my fabric with memento ink when I'm coloring the image w/ Copics! Copics are permanent & fabric friendly--I always heat set it with an iron when I'm done so that it is washable! The main image is my all-time favorite Lockhart stamp "Harvest Candle"--I use this stamp alot in the fall season! The swirls and leaves are from the Paper Trey Ink set "Fall Elegance" and I stamped them in Palette Inks which are washable inks as well. I thought this would be lovely in a bread basket for the fall season--I'm going to make a couple more (one for myself & some to sell if you're interested). The swirls & leaves go around the entire towel (which is a flour sak towel) and on the opposite corner is the same fabulous Lockhart image colored again.

I of course had to make a matching card with the same Lockhart "Harvest Candle" stamp! It's colored w/ the same Copics and then I added diamond glaze to the hurricane candle & grapes and stickles on the leaves. The elegant shape is from my Nestabilities Labels 4 and I shaded the edges with my favorite Inkssentials Blending Tool (oh how I love it)! The cs, dp and ribbon are from PTI--the bow was tied w/ my Bow Easy and then I added some Bella Baubles to the bottom. The leaf charm is actually a brad and I cut off the back shanks & then punched thru the metal with my hole punch so I could make it a charm!! A perfect fall gift set! Whaddya think?

Whew, that was a long post and I'm tuckered out from just typing it, LOL! Hope you have a fabulous day!

hugz,
Suzanne

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

Some Like It Hot!!

Happy Wednesday my friends! Some Like it Hot--hee, hee!! Do you? I like my weather hot, my shower hot, hot chocolate but NOT spicy hot food, LOL! My son on the other hand likes spicy food ALOT--last night we ate a restaurant that has varying degrees of hot wings & he ate the hottest, YUCKO--just the smell made my nose hurt, hee hee! He gets that lovely trait from his uncle & grandma (my mom & brother)--the rest of us are wimps when it comes to spicy! I mean Riley's favorite snack is a jalepeno pepper--ewwwwww! My idea of a snack usually involves something gooey with chocolate & caramel inside-LOL! Although Jillian Michaels is not too happy with me since I haven't exercised w/ her in 2 weeks, YIKES--she might come kick my butt, hee hee! But I have been running still, just gotta get back into a better workout routine once the kids start back to school. We've been all over the place this month with crazy bedtimes, meal times & such that somedays I don't even know what day it is! (well actually that's any day for me, hee hee) Anywho, my HOT projects today only involve my fave color combo-Hot Pink & Black!!

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So for all of my projects today I used the same dp from Paper Trey Ink (raspberry fizz & basic black)! For this notecard set I used the fabulous Lockhart Stamp Co. "Strawberries"--isn't it fab & you can get yours HERE!? I didn't really color my strawberries true to color cuz' I wanted them Hot Pink & fabulous, hee hee! My layout is from a sketch from last week's Verve Anniversary Challenges--love the faux quilt background ( I used my one inch scalloped square punch to make my cut-outs). The strawberries got diamond stickles & the bowl was coated w/ diamond glaze! The soft pink edges around the image were done w/one of my favorite tools that I use all the time on most of my images--the Ranger Inkssentials Blending Tool (buy extra sponges & tool here)! I just love this tool & in one of my YouTube videos I show how to use it (the Cardmaking Process video on sidebar)--very easy & gives such a soft effect!

I made 2 of these cards as a set (hard to part w/ I must say, hee hee) & they are for sale on my Etsy site if you're interested in them! Personally, I love how they turned out--LOL!

Next up is a birthday Magnolia card I made for a very special friend (it's making it's way across the country now, hee hee)! I decided to keep the theme the same & did strips of the dp instead of squares. I used a fabulously cute Magnolia from the "Pet Collection"--this is "Tilda w/ Cat" and she's available HERE at Magnolia-licious! I colored her with Copics to match my color combo & added some diamond glaze to her fun pink shoes! The dp, ribbon & sentiment (from Vintage Picnic) are all from PTI & the flowers are stacked Primas! The fun charm came from my friend Nikki of Bunny-Zoe's blog store right HERE--she has bunches of fab charms & super fast shipping :o) I hope the recipient loves it as much as I do--she was so much fun to make :o)

That's all for me today--I'll see ya tomorrow!


hugz,
Suzanne

Let's Make Lemonade!!

Hi friends & Happy Tuesday!! Sorry no postie yesterday from me, but I spent the day at my mom's and picked up the kids--it was a good time w/o the kids, lots of hubby time, hee hee! We had some great dinners & some shopping sprees of course, LOL--I got new furniture for my NEW craft room (more details to come--me sooo excited), scrappin' goodies and new bedding for our bedroom :o) And that's sayin' alot cuz' my hubby HATES to shop but he indulged me this weekend & we also didn't have any kids whining that they were bored which helped, giggle!! I also finished up my daughter's bedroom so it is now a beachy-teen hangout--we just have to spray paint her lamp & some shadow boxes this week & it will be done--I'll share pics soon! So a very fun & productive 5 days!! And lemme' tell ya it is HOT here in VA--supposed to be 105 degrees today--wowza! I'm stayin' inside & craftin' all day long--kids will play with friends & stay cool inside! Speakin' of stayin' cool....let's move on to my project for today!

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NewsBitz:

-Susana's Store now has the BRAND NEW Spellbinders in (all new labels that I love & ordered all of, shhh...don't tell, lol), new Pink Cat Studio Stamps in and fabulous beautiful Tear Drop Dew Drops!! So make sure and stop by to check them out!!
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So it's Tuesday, which means it's Try It Out Tuesday for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design and today I've challenged the DT to use pink, black & yellow on their projects!! I adore these colors together and I was lucky enough to use this fabulous Basic Grey "Urban Prairie" dp!! My layout was semi-CASED from this card HERE by Laurie of Just Give Me Stamps (who does just beautiful work & I'm always in awe)--I loved the elegance of all the elements!

I used the fabulous Lockhart Stamp Co. stamp "Lemons & Bayleaves" and colored w/ copics to match the dp--the lemons have diamond glaze on top and stickles on the leaves. The buttons, ribbon & sentiment are all from Paper Trey Ink and the black cs was embossed w/ a Cuttlebug Folder. I half circled my main image with Kaiser Pearls in black to finish it off! Just a simple & elegant notecard for someone special!!

Now make sure & stop by Susana's store blog "Follow Your Heart" to see the rest of the DT's fabulous projects today!

See ya back here tomorrow!


hugz,
Suzanne

Lavender Blues!!

Hallelujah it's Friday Friends!! This has seemed like the longest week evah'!! I went to an early movie with friends last night to see "The Ugly Truth" & OMGoodness did I laugh---that has to be one of the crassest movies I've evah' seen, LMBO!! There were things said in that movie that I had never heard before, hee hee (course that's not surprising cuz' I am somewhat naive, LOL)! I'm still gigglin' just thinkin' about it!!

BTW, I finished the "Bobby & Jackie--A Love Story" novel (about Jackie Kennedy's affair w/ Bobby Kennedy) & what a page-turner it was, really enlightening & good. Oh my the things that have gone on with that family--I'm so happy to be a "boring" person, hee hee! Anywho, I hope you all have a fabulous summer weekend planned for yourselves!


**BLOG CANDY--If you haven't entered for my blog candy yet, you have until August 2nd to do so right HERE!! Just a mid-summer thankyou to all my stampin' friends :o)
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Today's card uses another one of my favorite flower stamps from Lockhart Stamp Co. "Cottage Flowers" (starting Monday there's gonna be an awesome Lockhart challenge/prizes sponsored by Susana's store too--so stay tuned). I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch #97 for my layout and this fabulously yummy dp from Melissa Frances. Love the soft & vintage feel of this paper--reminds me of Shabby Chic sheets that have gone thru the wash many times & are now downy soft! The corner cut-outs were done with a punch I've had forevah' & the lovely charm is by Blue Moon that you can buy HERE.

I colored with Copics (what else right?hee hee) and then added a few diamond stickles to the flowers--the jar got a coat of my fave diamond glaze too. Just a soft & lovely card--I really like how this one turned out :o) Hope you do too!

I'll be posting tomorrow with my Whiff of Joy Project of the Month & a card for the Copic Creations Challenge Blog--so make sure & drop by! Have a good one!


hugz,

Suzanne

Christmas in July!!

Happy Monday friends--I'm home again!!! It's always so wonderful to get away but just as great to get home to your own bed & comforts ya know!! We had a wonderful time in NY visiting family & hanging out but now it's back to real life for me, hee hee! I was supposed to be leaving for CHA this week (boohoo), but had to cancel my trip just because of time constraints & Riley will be having some cysts removed from his throat this Friday :o( He has 2 doctors appts tomorrow and we'll hopefully get some more answers & see if he has improved at all---his cough is better but he's still short of breath so fingers crossed please! I'll be going to CHA this January so if you decide to come make sure & say "hi" if ya see me, lol!

Alrighty, I have a slideshow at the bottom of this post with all my NY pictures and my cool antiquing finds if you're interested! Now onto my projects........

NewsBitz: Check out my last project for my Guest Designer position for All That Scraps today right HERE. It has been such an honor & sooooo much fun to design for them this month--hope you've liked all my projects too!

So today my post is all about Christmas in July, lol---thank goodness its not winter yet but we'll just pretend 'kay!? The Magnolia-licious DT has a special treat for you all today---a Magnolia themed Christmas Challenge! All the details and fabulous DT cards are over on the Magnolia-licious Highlites blog--if you decide to join in on the challenge there could be prizes involved!!

I decided to use one of my favorite Christmas colors and fave holiday dp by Heidi Grace. This Magnolia is "Tilda w/ Candle" and is available at Magnolia-licious--she's so elegant and peaceful looking! The large star/snowflake cutout was done on my Cricut and the other snowflakes were done with punches & small buttons.

I added LOTS of diamond stickles to the snowflakes, her head crown & her sash for lots of shimmer! If you only own or want ONE stickles it should be diamond--it's the best! A few yellow stickles to her candle too. (Her dress was colored with BG11, BG10, BG0000 Copics) Isn't she just lovely? Now hop over the Magnolia-licious Highlites blog to join in on the fun!!

Now since I was in a holly jolly Xmas mood yesterday (LOL) I decided to make a second Christmas card too! This one uses the fabulous Lockhart Stamp Co. image "Trumpet Angel" --this is just one angel in the series (there are actually 7). The dp is from last years Stampin' Up which is some of favorite evah' too! (Yes I have ALOT of favorites, lol) I cut her out using the Nestabilities Labels 4 and then traced the inside of the die with my gold Sharpie poster paint pen (extra fine tip). Her trumpet was done with Smooch in Gold (all new Smooch colors HERE) and her wings with diamond stickles. I added some Prima poinsettias & leaves and sprayed the entire card with Shimmerz Spritz in baby's breath. I finished it off by stamping a Xmas sentiment from PTI's "Mega Mixed Messages". Two Christmas cards down and only a million more to go, hee hee! Hope this gave you a lil' inspiration for the upcoming holiday season :o)

My New York trip pics!!

I'll see ya back here tomorrow with some more fun projects!!

hugz,

Suzanne

Sunshine Coloring!!

Wednesday, Wednesday is here my friends!! What's everyone up to this summer? I found lots of goodies on my antiquing trip yesterday--I'll have to share pictures soon. I got a beautiful old antique lunch pail that has faded/painted strawberries on it--its awesome!! I also got some depression glass bowls, an old map book from the 1800's, a huge old trunk for my family room & a beautiful gray-blue scale that has great curves for my kitchen! Fun day even if it did rain, hee hee! Today we're off to Lake Erie for the afternoon & then to my cousin's for dinner--so beautiful & peaceful here out in the country.

Today I just have a quick & fun project for ya!! I made a set of 4 of these notecards (up for sale on my Etsy shop if you're interested) using the fabulous Lockhart Co. stamp "Daisy Cupcake". The dp is Basic Grey's "Lemonade" and I used my scalloped circle nestabilities to make my card shapes--I adore making these shaped cards. The lil' "hello" sentiment is from PTI's "Mega Mixed Messages" and I added some diamond stickles to the flowers for sparkle! Always good to have a stash of pretty notecards on hand!

Thought I'd share a picture of one of my 5 cats--this is Snowbell and we rescued her off the streets last October. She is a beautiful & sweet cat and she looks NOTHING like what she used too--she was so scrawny & mangey looking when we got her. She's such a sweetie & weighs only 7 lbs--although her puffy fur makes her look bigger, LOL!

I'll see ya back here tomorrow! Have a fabulous Wednesday!

hugz,
Suzanne

Happy Everything!

Hello Everyone! How is your week goin' for ya? Busy, busy for me this week--lots of projects to get done, new stamp releases, and some fun stuff with friends! I'm leaving on Saturday for a week in New York (Buffalo area) with my son & mom to visit my grandma! A week of just visiting & nothing else--definitely a bit of downtime for sure. My uncle will take Riley fishing & out on his 4-wheeler, so that will keep him occupied. My son loves the slow pace of country life--he could definitely be a farm boy!! So anywho, I've got lots to finish up before I leave including finishing laundry & other errands so my hubby can survive a whole week w/o me, LOL!

NewsBitz:
**Yummy Elisabeth Bell BLOG CANDY details are up on the store blog!! Check it out!
**The NEW Elisabeth Bell for SCACD stamps will be available for purchase this FRIDAY!!
**The DT (Susana's Custom Art & Card Design) will be having a BLOG HOP on Thursday to reveal the new Elisabeth Bell stamps!!


Today is Try It Out Tuesday #27 for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design (SCACD) and I challenged the DT with a sketch this week! Make sure & stop by the store blog "Follow Your Heart" to check out the sketch & join in and to see the rest of the DT's fabulous projects!

For my card I used Pink Cat Studio's "Lily at the Beach"(Susana has most of Pink Cat stamps in stock)--I just adore this cute image of Lily on top of the turtle! The speckled background behind Lily was done by spraying 2 colors of Shimmerz Spritz (olive branch & cotton candy) onto white cs--a fun & easy technique. The turtle shell has diamond glaze on it and I stacked buttons on top of Primas & tied them off with some lavendar Scrapper's Floss. The sentiment is from a Melissa Frances sentiment set and the dp is My Mind's Eye "Penny Lane". Isn't she a cutie-pie?

Second card uses a brand-spankin' new stamp from Lockhart Stamp Co. called "Rocking Chair"--this has to be my favorite in this line of her "chair" stamps. I love the summertime feel & quilt thrown over the back--so country & vintage! I paired it up with this fabulous dp from Basic Grey's "June Bug"--love the vintage feel of these papers. I cut the ends of my cs with my Nestabilities Labels 1 for a different look. I added some diamond glaze to the apples & just a few diamond stickles to the quilt blocks. The sentiment is also from Lockhart. Just a fun summery notecard!!

So make sure and stop by Susana's store blog today to get details on the yummy Elisabeth Bell candy & to see the DT's fabulous projects today!

See ya tomorrow!

hugz,
Suzanne

Through the Window!!

Oh thank goodness it's Friday--hallejuah!! I'm SOOOO over this week I tell ya--onto the weekend please, lol! Vowed to myself that yesterday would be a GREAT day which it started off & then quickly went downhill. Seems my daughter has gotten herself into some "texting" trouble--egads. Nothing law-breaking (thank god) but she's learned that some things that are meant to be private should NEVER be written down and don't say things you'll later regret! Hopefully she learns a great lesson from this & she HAS to fix this one herself, not mom or dad this time (being a grown-up sucks sometimes, hee hee). I swear I'm gonna be a gray-haired momma soon and she's only 13--how will I make it to 18? So much easier when they were small me thinks--but I keep repeating to myself "tomorrow is another day & you will get thru this" over & over. Think the lady in the grocery store thought I was a nut job while I was repeating this over & over to myself, lmbo---bwahhahahhh--maybe I am goin' crazy!! Anywho, moving on.....and here's to a great weekend. I'm off to see Elton John & Billy Joel tomorrow with hubby & am goin' to fully enjoy myself!

And thanks to everyone who has sent me encouraging notes & words of comfort--that means alot to me!! Hugz to you all!

**Also stop by my friend Eve's new blog and say hello! She's new to blog-land (addicting as it is) and I know she'd love a little love on her beautiful projects! Her blog is Creative Card Designs!! ***

My card today uses a brand-spankin' new stamp from the Lockhart Stamp Co.--isn't it fabulous? This new release has 2 beautiful "window" stamps and lots of other cuties too--they're all available at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design. This one is called "Pie in the Window" & I lovee it, makes me wanna have some yummy apple pie!! The sketch layout is from this week's SCS sketch #236 and the fabby dp is by Melissa Frances. That sentiment is also a Lockhart stamp--love the swirlies!

Close up for ya, hee hee! I actually stamped & colored the shutters twice & they are popped up on dimensionals for added dimension to the image. I used lots of my favorite products on this image including some lemon yellow Flower Soft, Diamond Glaze on the window, stickles on the shutters & yellow Liquid Pearls on the flower centers. This image was really fun to play with!

I'll see ya back here on Monday with some BIG NEWS!! Have a fabulous weekend!

hugz,
Suzanne