It's MY Party!!

Happy TGIFriday everyone!  Yay its the weekend...we have no real plans which is nice cuz next week will be tough.  Trying to prepare for our 2 week vacation and I have a ton of things to get done.  We also have 2 birthday parties for hubby's Grampa who will be 90 next week...one of the parties is at Nats park in DC for a baseball game so gotta love that :)  So other than yardwork I plan on doing NOT much of anything LOL.  We are going to the mall tonight to pick up some stuff and get a new carry-on as Alexa pretty much wore hers out over the years and the zipper totally ripped off one side.  So gotta replace that and hopefully I can snag a pizza dinner OUTSIDE the house LOL so I get a break...I love to cook but every cook needs a night off eh?

And let's talk about the weather...UGHHhhhhh!  We've had so much rain the past 2 weeks in Virginia that we have flooding and trees down everywhere, its no longer a helpful rain here.  We literally don't need rain for a month...my backyard is a soggy mess that I joke is trying to suck me down into the underworld...although I may mean it LOL.  And yesterday we got awful winds and rain again with a bad storm...we need a break.  Chicago area likes to send us some nasty storms...they need to cut that crap out;)  And those out west need the rain to beat the heat and put out the fires YET they get none.  Strange summer weather I tell ya, no fun!  If you've never experienced an East Coast summer storm...well you are lucky LOL...terrible winds, loud thunder claps, hail, lightening...its crazy.  And I grew up with it but I never underestimate the danger of them, they are still scary and can cause a lot of damage.  And the summer weather is supposed to be real bad this summer with all the hurricanes & tropical storms predicted...EYUCK!  So stay safe & cool wherever you may be!

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Floatin' Away

(I hope to be doin that in another week yay)

This cutie from Kraftin Kimmie Stamps is called "Margarita" and she's at SCACD...I call her "Summer Suzanne" ahhahahaha!  As soon as I saw her I knew I HAD to have her.  I hope to be doing a bit of floating and sipping some yummy Pina Coladas on my vacation real soon...I envision my bum in the sand reading A LOT ;) The new summer KK stamps are just too cute!!

The paper is new from Fancy Pants "Down By the Shore"(10% off)...I love the fun colors and more graphic patterns...a bit modern and fresh!  The flowers were layered on top leaves from the Memory Box "Cottage Leaf" die (20% off)...I always ink the edges of the leaves for shadowing.  The navy die cuts peeking out from the corners are by Memory Box "Prized Chrysanthemum Outline" die.  The sentiment is from a PTI set ALTHOUGH the stamp comes with its own sentiment, it just didn't fit where I needed it LOL.  Then some buttons tied off with twine finish it off.

She got colored with Copics....I colored the floatie-inner tube to match my stripes in my paper.  It is not actually stamped like that...just something fun to add.  Then I stickled her bathing suit and water for pretty sparkle.  Her eyes and glass got some Diamond Glaze for shine.

Hope you liked this cutie & see you back here next week!

I have new posts on my "Bitz of Me Blog" if you wanna check those out ;)

Furr-Friends Fur U!!

Happy Sunday my friends!  Hope your weekend has been swell so far for ya!  Firstly, thank you to everyone who sent me emails about my Rambling Comments Post yesterday (below) LOL--glad you enjoyed that and saw yourself in some of them too (ha ha I knew I wasn't alone--so take that hubby & teens). Yeah that was me, the real me just being really real with y'all as always LOL!

 I spent all day in the craft room yesterday working on some things—oooh I had a ton of fun making “things” that I’ll share with y’all tomorrow!  Then I went into my bathroom to get ready to out to dinner with the family and realized I had a few “issues” LOL (what else is new ‘eh).  I had pearls stuck to my socks and bum, glue chunks in my hair, glitter on my nose and IN MY TEETH—ummm how’d that get there and flower soft stuck to my shirt.  I looked like AC Moore threw up on me, hee hee---a real craft moment there for sure.  And my craft room was a mess before but now it looks like WW3 hit it—ugh but no time to clean it much.  I have a 6 ft table and work in a 12x12 inch area---do you feel me?  Do you do the same thing?  I work on my Scor-Pal and that’s it, stuff is EVERYWHERE!  I’m always suspicious of those people that have pics of perfectly clean & neat craftrooms—I MEAN COME ON, CLEAN CRAFT ROOM?  That is an oxymoron in itself dontcha’ think?  My pics of my craftroom were taken the week I moved it upstairs 2 years ago before I delved in to work LOL (smart girl I am).  So that is basically the only time it was clean (you can see those pics if you click on the ALL ABOUT ME tab at top under my blog banner—just know that it is a LOT MESSIER right now). Envision me under boxes of craft stuff with one hand swinging out to grab a Copic Marker and Cherry Coke!  Yep that’s me right about now. I refuse to clean or organize cuz I’m moving my craftroom downstairs to a much larger space and see no point in organizing it yet (oh yeah hubby is thrilled).  If anyone has a free couple of days to come help me, you are more than welcome and you will go home with lots of goodies, trust me, I need to purge a whole lotta stuff! So all in all a very crafty weekend---today I’m shooting pics for my step-by-step pdfs for Class 5 at the CMC Classroom.  I still have 4 more videos to shoot and then edit them all and upload them.  Slowly but surely I’m getting there.  I’m only taking off for Turkey Day on Thursday so I hope it will all go smoothly!

Need a laugh?  Ok I’m not really sure why but this song cracks me up and I cannot for the LIFE OF ME get it outta my head, ugh!  So its called “Red Solo Cup” by Toby Keith HERE  (BUT WARNING, there is a naughty word in the beginning just so you know ok—so Suzanne WARNED ya LOL—proceed with caution and then laugh your bums off)!!!  If you prefer to not listen that’s ok but it is catchy and it is funny and while I would NEVER advocate doing this stuff (LOL) I know we have all drank a drink outta a red solo cup at least once in our lives…some more than others… Me? I drink Coke outta my solo cups but of course!!  Geesh!

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Are You a Fur-Friend?!

TODAY IS THE DAY---KRAFTIN’ KIMMIE RELEASE DAY!!  Yeppers, you can now proceed to the store right HERE and buy, buy, buy all this fun goody-goodness ok! (come on u know u wanna, hee hee)!!  And there is a super hot-super-fun Blog Hop today to kick off the festivities!  Start at store blog here if you want!!  **Don't forget to leave comments as you hop for a chance to WIN, WIN, WIN!! **

From my pal Kim (yeah she IS Kraftin’ Kimmie lol):
There is a fun new SET by Cheryl Alger for the DUDES in your life!! It’s called SNIPS AND SNAILS! We also have TWO fantastic sets of FURRY FRIENDS from Emilie Goulet called CANINE CAPERS 1 and 2!!! And of course we have an amazing new set of six GOTHIC GIRLS from Annie Rodrigue! PLUS we are also releasing the BEST FRIENDS stamp that was our special commemorative stamp from Krafty Day last month!!  You will get to see most of the new images today as you sit back and enjoy our NOVEMBER Krafty Hop!



So I love animals and I super-love doggies (I have 2 cairn terriers myself) so I loved, loved working with this image by Emilie Goulet for K.Kimmie called “Shih Tzu”.  My mom has a shih tzu and let me just say she is a DIVAAAAA—oh yes she is LOL! (she rules the roost in that house)  So I had fun coloring this one and playing around with patterned papers.  The die cut surrounding the main image is by a Spellbinders “Labels 16” and I cut 2 sets out (1 outta pattern paper & 1 outta brown cs), then cut them in half and shadow-layered them on each side of the image. I think it kinda looks like a large doggie bone, yes?  Suzanne Tip: CUT your die cuts, I always do—it makes them new, different & very versatile!  The papers are by My Minds Eye “Honey Cake” and then I added some Prima flowers, a bow and the brown leaves are from a Marianne Designs die.

Yep this cutie got colored with Copics and I tried to color her in Shih Tzu colorways—E49,E47,E25,E31,E50 / YR18,YR12,YR00,YR000/ C1,C00.  Some Diamond Glaze on her eyes and nose and Stickles on her bow and shoe.  Isn’t she a cutie pie? Woof Woof!

Ok so now you get to HOP onto some more crafty goodiness (if you get lost or want to start at beginning hop over to store blog here)…..

but Keep on Hoppin to

Peggy Marsh’s Blog Here!!

Dolly Dots!!

Hi and happy Saturday to you all!  It is brrrrr cold here in Virginia—I’m thinking winter is surely knocking on our door.  I love snowmen, love them but I don’t want to be one or build one ‘kay?  So snow stayyyyy away!  Are you listening Mother Nature—I’ve had enough of your craziness this year?  NO MORE—I’ll start a petition—who’s gonna sign it? LOL!

I have some rambling confessions for you all cuz' I'm feeling a bit wacky...so bear with me if you can LOL!  I am a bit of a nut (no news there right)! I have a few strange obsessions..umm…Luke Bryan & Tim McGraw…penguins and snowmen…People Magazine and ITunes…Copics and fuzzy jammies…Cherry Coke and Cheese Doodles…Christmas trees and roosters…zebra stripes and toile…MD Blue crabs & Japanese Hibachi. That’s just a few of ‘em & that’s just who I am.  I have a few quirks…I hate people touching or reading my magazines before I do…hey I pay for ‘em so don’t touch ‘em until I’m done (just sayin’).  I like to wipe my granite counters…I don’t like smears and crumbs…so I will wipe them probably 10 times a day!  I like my pillows a certain way on my couches and chairs…my dogs and teens knock them on the floor…drives me nuts!  I love my friends…I am loyal to a fault…I believe the best in people until proved otherwise…I can hold secrets till the day I die and I’ve heard lots in 37 years.  My family is my life…I would do whatever needed to protect them and love them.  I do not accept whining or complaining…if you do my ears turn off…positive thinking is how I choose to live…weed out the negativity and toxicity.  I sometimes lack a filter in my mouth…I refuse to be shut up…I speak my mind but never to the detriment of others.  I am a skincare crazy…wash my face with my zebra Clarisonic every night…have used sunscreen since I was 15…hate wrinkles and leathery skin.  I only watch funny movies…too much stress and nonsense in this world to watch depressing stuff…I’m a scaredy cat…I sleep with weapons (yes I do—don’t laugh)…I refuse to watch horror movies…I can take down a 300 lb man if I need to.  I read at least 45 mins every night before bed…need to calm my crazy brain down…then I play Words for Friends for at least 10 mins and then turn the lights off.  Sometimes Words is played under the covers so hubby can’t see the glow from my IPhone…LOL…sneaky I know!  If my book is really good I will read until 4 am….then I have to use the potty…usually wakes hubby up and he complains that I’m still up.  So I tell him I just turned the light on to go potty and that I went to bed hours ago…he grunts ok…then goes to sleep and I hear no nagging LOL.  I sleep with my Iphone, IPad and Mac Air within arms reach of my bed…sick I know…but I can be online in 2.2 seconds!  I have 2 dogs & 5 cats and I want another puppy…hubby says no, but I know how to work that one…hee hee.  What do I want for Christmas…a Coke machine…yep a real one that is installed in my bar in my rec-room…its better than diamonds to me!  Hubby would score MAJOR points if it does that I tell ya…a whole marriage worth of points!  I want everyone in Congress to retire and fill that Capital up with new faces, new energy and some brains…oh yeah I was a Democrat…but now think I’m gonna be an Independent…yeah I’m a rebel like that.  I like to watch Rachel Maddow and Jon Stewart…they make me laugh and say things I think everyday!  I tweet random stuff…drives the teens crazy…makes me tweet more!  I like to travel…meet people, even the strange ones…I like to talk & hear stories..I like adventure.  Every day is different…a new journey…new people…new experiences…I enjoy every second.  Just a little random ramblings from this rambling girl on this random day for you.

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Dolly Dots

Today is the last day of sneakie peekies for the NEW Kraftin’ Kimmie releases---tomorrow there will be a fun Blog Hop and then you can buy, buy, buy!!  Today we are sharing the super-cute-super-fun Annie’s Gothic Girls. I’m using “Wednesday” today---kinda reminds ya of the Addams Family girlie huh..she was always my fave.  I used to watch the oldie-but-goodie Addams Family show everyday after elementary school when I was young…yep the black n white version!  I want to go see it on Broadway in NYC this winter!

**OK I forgot but there is a Kraftin Kimmie Challenge today on the Store Blog HERE!  I started out using the sketch and then the card took on a life of its own LOL--so I apologize for not sticking to the sketch better (me sorrrrryyyyy).

My fave color is red…love, love it and combined with black it’s even better.  I also have a thing for polka-dots so I stock up on all kinds of polka-dot papers LOL.  All paired together and you have a bunch of my fave things!  The papers are a mix of MME and PTI, scrolls are by Marianne Designs and lots of pearls. I made my corner accents again with my border punches…another great way to make them versatile.

I'm entering this into the following fun challenges:

Frosted Designs (use die cuts)

Forever Night Challenges (circles)

Inspire Me Fridays (anything goes)

Pixie Dust Studio (black,white,red)

Wednesday is colored with Copics- R29,R24,R22,R20 / C9,C5,C3,C1,C00 / E11,E00.  Then I added Diamond Glaze to her bustier top and bow and stickles to accent the dolls and skulls (hey I rhymed hee hee).

That’s all for me today but stop on by the Kraftin Kimmie Blog to see more of the DT and Krafty Guest’s projects—they are sure to inspire!!  And remember to stop by tomorrow for our fun Blog Hop!

Best Buds!

Happy Thursday to you!  I’m keeping my chitter-chatter to a minimum today (sorry-ha ha ha)!  I have a full day of work and then Riley’s band concert is this evening and JUST yesterday he tells me his dress shirt he wears to band concerts is too small LOL!  So I gotta run out and find a shirt for a TALL MAN apparently – hard to remember that my “baby” is a 6 ft growing boy—ack!  So another day of scattered thoughts, moments, accidents and so on for me.  I’m just praying for Dec 1st—once that arrives all my BIG work and deadlines will be complete and I can BREATHE just a bit LOL.  I’m not complaining in any way—I am so happy to do what I do and I do enjoy it BUT this girl is tired.  When I think about what I’ve done and where I’ve gone this year it makes me feel MORE tired LOL.  But after 11 months I need a few weeks of downtime, no deadlines, no major commitments and just time to enjoy my family and the holidays for a bit.  I know I’m not the only one feeling this – seems we start wrapping up the year and everyone is tired and looking forward to the holidays and the new year yes!?  But I do say that 2011 was a GREAT year in so many ways and I’m sad to see it come to an end for sure.  But I’m hopeful for another great year in 2012 and I’m not even gonna try to IMAGINE what crazy shenanigans I might get myself into next year, hee hee.  Never in my wildest imagination could I have ever dreamed of some of the crazy stuff, experiences and people (umm lil’ lady living large, drunk man, 7 ft cowboy) I’ve met this year, LOL, NEVER!  So I’m not even gonna try to think what could happen in 2012. What I do know is that I will have the opportunity to have fun doing something I love, meeting fabulous friends all over and seeing new places and laughing the whole way and ENJOYING each & every minute.  Life should be fun, fabulous, memorable and sunny each day and sometimes we get so consumed by the stress and bad stuff and forget about all the GOOD stuff (including me on occasions like now when I am super-stressed).  So I’m taking a deep breath, remembering all those special friends I have out there supporting me, my fabulous family that loves me and the fact that I am alive and well on this earth to enjoy the next day and I hope you can do the same!



Me and Anary yesterday—she kidnapped me for a bit from my work to sit and enjoy lunch!  I just love her to bits—she is the sweetest!!

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Best Buds!

Today I get to share a sneakie-peekie with you of some fabulously cute new Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps that will be available for sale this Sunday.  Today I’m sharing a stamp by Cheryl Alger for Kraftin Kimmie—this is from the “Snips n Snails Collection” and its soooo cute!  I know a lot of us have boys in our lives and its sometimes hard to find cute images for them---so this is perfect to add to your collections! 

On Sunday there will be a fun blog hop and you will be able to BUY all these cutie-patooties for yourself (Merry Christmas to you early I say or my motto is "one for you, two for me" LOL)

I broke out my unused (yikes) Basic Grey “Max & Whiskers” paper pad and I loved the colors of teal, oranges and browns—great for boys but bright too!  I used some Spellbinders dies (Pinking circles) and a MS border punch for texture.  The pinking circle got dots of Viva Décor Pearl Pen in copper and then 3 buttons tied off with twine.  He was colored with Copics and YES I added some stickles cuz no card of mine is complete without them LOL!  (yes I even sneak them on guys cards)



So that’s it from me today! BUT make sure to hop over to the Kraftin Kimmie Store Blog to see all the details and goodies that are coming for this release—you won’t want to miss it!

Hey Snow Guy!!

Hi y’all—how you all doing this fine November Saturday!  Did you do anything special for 11-11-11? LOL!  Well Alexa and I road-tripped all the wayyyyy to Chicago yesterday (I’m teaching in Bloomington today) and woooowzzzeee what a trip it was.  First of all it was COLD, like windy, 35 degrees cold and snowing from Western Maryland thru West Viginia thru Pennsylvania and some of Ohio—brrrrr.  Me no likey the snow, blech and the wind about blew the car off the road (my baby the BMW convertible made the trip up LOL).  We stopped at a rest stop at Rocky Gap and I thought for sure we might tumble down the mountain top from the wind LOL.  Secondly, it is a looooooooooooooooong drive to Chicago my friends, yes indeed and my bum was very sore LOL!  We had my Ipod going the whole time though and we both sang the ENTIRE way and YES we did some car dancing too—to the delight of all passerbys and truckers hee hee.  You have to amuse yourself cuz the interstate highways are so boring and long and boring and Ohio and Indiana are nothing but flat cornfields I swear to goodness for 80% of the time.  And if you remember my trip to Ohio with Marti & the cornfields…well yeah…it brought back BAD memories LOL!  We did drive right by the Indy 500 race way in Indianapolis though which was cool. And yes Glinda the Garmin (otherwise known as the crack lady GPS) had a few episodes yesterday so we had Google Maps on my Iphone too just in case.  Then she got mad at us and she wouldn’t come on for over an hour (and yes she was charged & plugged in)—I swear she is very tempermental and DUMB..but shhhh don’t tell her cuz I gotta get home ok! So we are driving thru Indiana and its flat and dark and lots of trucks and we are singing Luke Bryan songs (duh but of course lol) when a large DEAD animal is in the road—I have NO WHERE to go so I had to go over it.  It was larger than my car so I hope my car’s undercarriage is ok (I looked and it all seemed fine) and I screamed, Alexa screamed and we both said “Was that a bear?”.  I kid you not it looked like a dead bear w/o a head (yes I am laughing cuz this reminds me of my raccoon incident with Marti but oh so gross) and I’m still not sure what it was.  But EWWWW, we saw so many dead animals—it was like a bad episode of “Swamp People” I tell you. I told Alexa that our “game” going home would be to count dead animals and Walmarts—cuz no matter where you go there is ALWAYS a Walmart LOL!  And yes all my trips are fun and very eventful—if they weren’t I’d be bored and hey I would have nothing to talk about.  But do I sometimes yearnnnnn for boring---oh yeah LMBO!!

So I’m teaching all day today, Alexa is helping in the store and being good LOL.  Then tomorrow I’m taking her into the city for a bit of sight-seeing and then heading home cuz I’m a MEAN mom and she has to be in school on Monday morning.  So she and her silly pillow-pet will be sleeping for a bit of the ride home since we won’t get home until about 3 am.  So if you are in the area, you may see us in the car bopping on by or being blown away somewhere down in the city LOL!

**Check out the HUGE Challenge Magnolia-licious is having at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog!  You won’t want to miss out on it!!

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SNOW GUY!!

This is my second week this month as a Krafty Guest for Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps (which I loveeee)!  This week’s challenge is to create a “GUY/MASCULINE” project which I love to do but don’t do very often…hmmm…LOL!  So I used this new October release called “Winter Greetings” by Cheryl Alger for Kraftin Kimmie—isn’t he a cutie!?  Now make sure to go over to the STORE BLOG HERE for all the Challenge details and DT projects!!

So the papers I used are new from Simple Stories "25 Days of Christmas" and they rock for more vintage or male holiday projects (or any really)!  But I liked that they had more “guy” colors like green, tan and black which helped me out a bit.  The fun snowflake/scroll border is by Memory Box and I liked that it echoed the snowman’s branch arms.  The papers all got distressed a bit and the black cardstock was embossed with a CB (argyle) folder. A bow with button/twine topper finish it all off.



He got colored with Copics and I paper pieced his scarf a bit to match the houndstooth dp—just something fun and special for this cutie! (remember to shadow your paper piecing with your copics too).  His nose got some stickles and the snow is MS Snow Glitter (my fave for holiday/winter projects).




Ok I hope you have a fabulous weekend and I’ll see you back here next week!  Stay WARM!!!

Happy Anniversary!!

Happy Saturday to you all and a Happy Weekend to you all!   I apologize for my lean blog this week and yep sorry next week too but I am knee deep into so much work that I may NOT reach the other side LOL.  Trying to finish up Class 5 for my CMC Classroom, dt work and next issue of the magazine I co-publish.  Yikes! But one day at a time yes? LOL! Yesterday was me and my hubby’s 17th wedding anniversary---whootwhoot!  Some days it doesn’t feel that long at all and then other days I look at our 2 teens and say Ohhhhh Yeahhhhhh it has been a looooooong time LMBO!  No really I’m a super lucky gal who married her best friend, someone that can put up (and handle) my nuttiness, my excitedness, my loudness, my dancing, my late nite hours and my gypsy spirit!  I know there are NOT a lot of guys out there that would put up with my strong independence and smart mouth LOL so I am a lucky gal and I love him to death, more now than 16 years ago.  I also appreciate him more now than I did when we were first married—he’s a rock, my calm in my crazy storm and yep he does irritate me on occasion and he does need to SPEED up sometimes (ughhh he is so very slow when I need to get somewhere or do something). I tell Alexa all the time that she needs to pick a guy with the qualities of her dad (and yes she elicits the word “ewwww”) but its so true.  Someone that will allow you to be YOU like James allows me to be me without trying to change you.  He loves me for ME and not for what I pretend to be (bwahahaha yeah me pretend to be something other than I am, yeahhhh riggggghhhht). I can hear hubby chuckling now as he always jokes “I never have to worry how you are feeling cuz you just let it all out there”---YUPPP I do cuz that’s the way I roll LOL (lack of filter & diarrhea mouth as my friends say)!   But I love, love him and so happy to have spent all these years with him and our 4-pack family---Love You!!!!

And nope our wedding didn’t cost us $10 million dollars like some “K” celebrity LOL—but it was perfect in every way and one of the best days of my life!!

NewsBitz:

-CMC Class 5 is up for pre-registration at the Color Me Creative Classroom and I am working like a looney trying to shoot videos. It will debut on Nov 18th (I may be dead at that point but its all ok lol)

-New locations for early 2012 for my CMC Copic Classes on the Road!  California, Texas, Florida and soon to come West Virginia!  Check them all out at www.cmcroad.com

-BookEndz--like to read? like to craft? Well we'd love to have you join us over at BookEndz--everyone is welcome!  We just announced our Nov book selection and its the fabulous "Emily & Einstein" by Linda Francis Lee! At the end of the month we always have a fun, live chat with reviews, questions and prizes!  AND you can enter a project for another fun way to win!

-The CMC Challenge Group has a new challenge up and its "All About Boys"--so come enter a boy project for a chance to win, everyone is welcome to join in.  While you are there check out the DT's awesome projects using Mo's Digital Pencil images and our guest designer too!  New challenge every 2 weeks!

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Go SHOP til you DROP!!

So lucky me I get to be a guest designer this month for my friend Kim Reid’s awesome stamp company “Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps”—which I loooooveee!  So today is a fun Kraftin Kimmie Saturday Challenge #103 and its called “Pin It Down”—you have to use a pin of some sorts on your project!  I’m using a super cute stamp released last month called “Sara Shopper”—hmmm she mayyyy be a tad like meee LOL!  Make sure to stop by the Store Blog HERE to see the challenge details, dt cards and how to play along!!



The pretty papers are from My Mind’s Eye “A Beautiful Life”—love the mix of plums & blues together!  The border was made with my MS border punch and I added a bow, some Primas and pearls to finish it off.  I wanted to add the sentiment on the front but it was too busy looking so I put it inside and FORGOT to take a picture—geesh LOL.  Anywho it says “I prefer to call it HELPING the Economy!!” hee hee—yep I use that one alllllllllllll the time!




She was colored with Copics and I used my violet Copic Spica to create stripes on one of the shopping bags and then coated it with stickles for BLING!!!!  Her eyes got a coat of Diamond Glaze for shine along with the hat box.  My hat pins I created myself, I like to make them to match whatever I’m doing—super easy to do too!

Readers, Readers Everywhere!!

Well a very happy Thursday to you all!  It is gonna be another hot one here in Virginia and tomorrow it will be 100 degrees again---man oh man I wanted summer but I think this is a bit extreme huh? LOL!  Alexa left for the beach today with her best bud and I can’t think of a better place to be in the heat.  We are traveling to West Virginia this weekend to go white water rafting and I’m so looking forward to it.  Just pray that there are no WEIRD Suzanne incidents---I want to stay IN the raft, not under it ‘kay? LOL!  But it should be a great day and a good way to keep cool in the heat of this summer.



Today is the BIG DAY!!!  Yeppers, the new group I’m starting called BookEndz debuts today over at my Color Me Creative (CMC) Classroom!  There will be fun contests and challenges all day so make sure to pop on over there to check them out.  I’ll also be announcing the Book Club book that we will read for the next 6 weeks.  If you are also a crafter than you will be able to create/share projects in the theme/spirit of the book as well for a chance to win at the end of the 6 weeks.  Not a crafter but like to read? Well you are welcome to as we will chatter about the book regularly and at the end of 6 weeks have a Cyber Book Party with prizes for everyone to get a chance at too!  And my project today is actually for the BookEndz premiere so it MIGHT just give you a hint to what the book will be….hmmmmm…..have to pop over at 9 am to see that! LOL!  This group is something I’ve been planning in my head for a LONG time, hee hee.  My two favorite things are to read and to craft so what could be better than combining the two right?  I started a book club in my old neighborhood and it was really fun, the hostess each month would have food and games in the theme of the book.  I sure do miss it and I just never got around to creating one in my new neighborhood.  So many of us here work, have young kids and live crazy lives that there was never time so I thought about creating a Cyber Book Club for awhile---that way lots of people can join in whenever you can with others who love to read too!  So I have great hopes for a fun, relaxed atmosphere there---my CMC Classroom is very much like that and I enjoy the chats and people I’ve gotten to know through it.  So please hop on over & join us for a bit today---I’d love to have ya!

PS—thank you, thank you for all the wonderfully sweet emails and comments I got yesterday on my post (you can read it below this post).  It made my day, brought a smile to my face many times and really enforces my reasoning behind blogging every day!  And for those that think I should write a book? Hmmm You NEVER KNOW what I might be up to (wink) LOL!

NewsBitz:


-OMGoodness have you seen the new La La Land Crafts stamps? I saw them while I was at CHA visiting with Irina and they are SOOOO CUTE you will want them all (a crafters addiction right)! Check them all out HERE!

-Tomorrow is RELEASE DAY for the new Elisabeth Bell “Peekers 2” Collection for SCACD---awww they are adorable and I can’t wait to share my project with you all!

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A Fan Friend!!

Oh la la la---I adore these new papers from Authentique, these are from the JOURNEY Collection. I was drooling over them at CHA and guess what?  SCACD has them all in stock HERE—run get them while they last, cuz you know us crazy crafters we like to HOARD stuff, hee hee!  And yes this new card is in the THEME of our very first BookEndz book we will be reading---any guesses?????

I'm entering this into the following fabulous challenges:

Crafts & Me (ribbon)

Papercraft Star Challenge (anything goes)

Party Time Tuesday Challenge (anything goes)

Stamps + Fun= Creativity (no sentiment)

One Stitch at a Time Challenge (pearls & swirls)

This gorgeous stamp is a Kraftin’ Kimmie stamp called “Sakura” and she’s just so lovely---the whole line of Oriental/Asian Kraftin’ Kimmie stamps are 25% off right now HERE!  I had a ball working with this lovely lady and using these fabulous papers.  The bow is a double flat bow---created by making two loops of ribbon, adhered with Scor-Tape and then a middle piece of ribbon wrapped around to secure the bow.  I wanted to replicate the bow on the back of her “obi” or sash.  The swirls are YES from my fave Marianne Designs dies and the round elements were made with SB’s Lacey Circles and regular Circles nesties.  Then I layered some flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts on there as well.  The small black pearls were done with my Graphite Viva Décor Pearl Pen.



She’s colored with Copics B04,B02,B01,B000,B0000 / C9,C5,C3,C1 / E11,E00,R20.  And you can’t see well in the photo but I used pale aquas and grays to create a soft background around her and then faded it out with the Colorless Blender.  Her obi and fan got a nice thick coat of Diamond Glaze and then Stickles on her beautiful hair comb.




Hope you enjoyed this today and makes you want to get reading and crafty LOL!  Make sure to pop over to the BookEndz Group today to join in on the fun!

And this is how I roll.......................!

Well Hiya & Happy Saturday to you all! Boy do I have a tale to tell you AND GUESS WHAT???? It's ALL TRUE!!!  So as most of you know a blizzard/snow/ice storm blew thru the DC area on Wednesday and I WAS SUPPOSED to fly out Thursday morning with my pal Marti to LA for CHA!  At 10 pm that night I am packed and ready to go and fixing a late dinner for me & hubby because it took him 6 HOURS to get home from work because of the storm.  The storm was so bad that some people spent 10 hours in their cars, abandoned their cars, ran out of gas---it was BAD!  Hubby gets home and I get an email saying that my Southwest flight has been CANCELLED!  So I freaked of course and called Marti-O who was already in bed.  They couldn't assure me that I would be able to fly out Thursday morning from Dulles sooooo I HAD to be in LA Friday to teach a class so THIS WAS NOT AN OPTION for me 'kay!  So hubby is on the phone with Southwest and they have a flight out of Norfolk, VA on Thursday morning--Norfolk is 3.5 hours south from me and in the blizzard it was 6.5 hours!  Hubby says "can you be ready to go in 45 mins"----UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I guess, LOL!  So 45 mins later we are in the car driving in a blizzard, roads closed, vehicles abandoned EVERYWHERE like a friggin' obstacle course.  So I arrived in Norfolk at 6:30 am, airport is deserted and no snow to be found---great!  Runway goes right off over the water--not so great, lol!  Get on the 8:50 am flight for $300 EXTRA to Chicago --flight has 22 people on it and 3 Fed. Air Marshals----WHAT????????  One behind me, one in the row beside me and one in front of me---am I being escorted to Chicago??? LOL!  Well it made me feel a bit safe so I stretched out with my pillow and coat and was asleep before the darn plane took off--if you know me you know that that is HUGE!  Usually I'm a nervous wreck but I was so exhausted I didn't care if we crashed right in the darn water at the point, LOL!  I arrive in Chicago at 10 am (chicago time) to snow and ice on the ground and DELAYS everywhere---OY VEY!  But my flight is on time.  Meanwhile Marti-O calls and she was able to get a later flight out of Dulles that morning and is meeting up with me in Chicago to fly to LA.  I get on the plane (full house this time) and save her a seat--no Marti, no Marti, still no Marti.  20 mins after boarding the plane she gets on, LOL, her flight was late and she had to run to make it!  We both crashed and slept the whole darn way to LA.  Get to LA and no luggage for Marti--didn't make the plane, LOL!  Thank goodness my bags did because all my class stuff & copics were in my luggage and I would have seriously laid an egg if it hadn't arrived KWIM!?  1 hour later we finally get Terri (my roomie) to pick us up at the airport and then thru a series of bad turns arrive at the hotel 1.5 hours later (the airport is only 15 mins away okay) LMBO!  We check in, settle in and grab a quick bite to eat and then we all die in our beds by 9 pm (midnite my time).  Well okay, Marti died at 7:30 pm LOL! At 11:30 pm the hotel phone rings and rings and when we finally wake up  they want to let us know that Marti's luggage has arrived-- AT FREAKING 11:30 PM, are you KIDDING ME?  Helloooooooooooooooooooooooo we are SLEEPINGGGGG & we'll get it in the morning people!  At 5:45 AM the FREAKING HOTEL FIRE ALARM GOES OFF NO LIE---scares the living daylights out of us and you can hear people leaving their rooms and the hotel.  BUT NOT US--I said "they will have to come up here and drag us out if its a real emergency cuz I AIN'T going out in the LA street at 6 am in my  jammies---NO WAY JOSE!"  The alarm continues to go off for an hour and then shuts up finally.  By that time I'm awake and cranky but I get ready for my class at 10 am.  Class starts and at 11:30 the banquet manager comes to tell me that they power in the hotel MIGHT be shutting off for a few hours!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME---HELLO WE NEED LIGHT TO COLOR---DUHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  So we broke for lunch, came back STILL NO power--power finally came on at 1:30 after I pulled out my McGuyver skills & tied the curtains in the room back with my Ipad power cord and phone cords, LOL!  Class finishes and we head out to dinner---Terri wants to show us around LA---so we saw the GREAT parts of LA & the not so great parts, LOL!  But it's always an adventure and I figure if I don't die or stroke out from it all I'll just chalk it up to another fun adventure in Suzanne's life, LOL!  I'm hoping the next few days are BORING, I'm really good at boring and calm stuff KWIM!  So this story is to be continued for you all on Monday..............................

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Monkey Fun!!

Today is my last project as a Guest Designer for Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps (sniff..sniff) and I've had such a great time working with the stamps this past month.  They are always so much fun to color and use!  Today is another fun Kraftin Kimmie Challenge and today's challenge is to "Reuse & Recycle"!  I pulled out one of the new stamps by artist Crissy Armstrong called "Cheeky Monkey"

for my Valentine's Day Project (find Kraftin' Kimmie stamps in the US HERE)!  This one I made for my hubby and I found this super cute Chocolate Monkey at my Wegmans and he inspired the whole project, LOL!  Aren't they CUTE??

So for my recycled part of my project all of my cardstock and ribbon were from my scrap bins.  The patterned paper is Bo Bunny and I liked the browns in it with the reds and pinks---perfect for a guy's card.  The hearts were cut out with my SB nesties and then embossed.  To make the fun rings around my image I used my circle nesties--a large one and then a smaller one and looped them around the image.  I liked the whimsical look it gave the card.  The pink cs embossed with hearts was done with a CB folder as well.  That cute sentiment is from PTI and punched out with an SU "Word Slot Punch".  A fun chocolate bow and rhinestones finish it off!

Isn't he a cutie-pie?  He's colored with Copics---I colored him in dots instead of soft blending so it gave him some fun texture me thinks.  (E37,E35,E31,E50,E51)  The leaves got a coat of stickles for just a bit of sparkle--not too much bling for my hubby :)  Make sure to hop over to the Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge Blog to see all the fun DT projects and join in the fun too!

Hope this post gave you a smile today and that you have a WONDERFUL weekend!  I'll be back with a post on Monday or Tuesday (depending on my state of mind, LOL) and then I head home on Tuesday!

Sweet Strawberry Skippin'!!

Hello friends and Happy Sunday to you all!  Hope you had a swell weekend!  Total bummer to see the Ravens lose to the Steelers--we're all a bit bummed in the Dean household, lol!  It sure would've been nice to see a hometown team in the Superbowl--it's been a long while since that's happened!  But maybe next year right?  That's what I say every year dang it all, LOL!  Only in sports games can you go from a super high, high-fivin' and then total silence and bummed outness, LMBO!  We are off today to the RV and Camping show for awhile--James' favorite event of the year.  I can just see his brain twirling & whirlin' while we are there planning our future.  I'm all for RV'in and traveling the country BUT I will not give up living in a house and I repeat that to him regularly, hee hee---NO WAY JOSE!  I'm up for close living quarters for awhile but not FOREVER, I need my space KWIM.  I love him dearly but I also need my time, he needs his time and I gotta have a studio.  Not to mention we have 7 animals, LOL, who take up space!  And thanks for the well wishes for Riley--he's doing ok just struggling still but crossing fingers that the new antibiotic kicks in and helps!

NewsBitz:

-Interested in taking Copic Classes with me?  Check out all my upcoming locations at www.cmcroad.com---next up are Nashville, TN and LA before CHA!  I'd love to see ya!

-Want to learn more about watercoloring with Distress Inks?  Angie Hunt is a fabulous and talented designer who uses these masterfully and she's teaching a class at the Color Me Creative Classroom.  Check out the details HERE and save $$ if you sign up before Jan.25th!

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Sweet Strawberry Skippin'!!

Well today is the day my friends!  Yep it's RELEASE DAY for Kraftin Kimmie Stamps and we are celebrating with a fun-filled Blog Hop!  If you get lost along the way you can always find a link list at the Kraftin Kimmie Blog HERE!  I got to use this fabulous stamp called "Stella Strawberry" by artist Annie Rodrigue---isn't she a sweet beauty?  This line is called "Berry Girls" and there are 6 of them in the collection, all cute and wonderful so make sure you check them all out!  And there are 16 NEW Stamps in the entire release for January 2011 so lots to see and buy, hee hee!  You know you wanna add some to your collection!  You can buy the stamps at Kraftin' Kimmie or for those here in the states, SCACD carries them HERE as well!  **As you hop from blog to blog, be sure to leave a comment at each and every stop because some lucky stampers will win packages of stamps from the new release!!

I had so much fun coloring her and my fun papers were perfect for a strawberry skippin' card.  The papers are by Kaisercraft called "Candy Lane"--love the bright pinks and greens.  The scroll work around the sides of the image is a die by Marianne Designs that I cut in half.  I used some white tulle to accent my Prima flowers to replicate the beautiful ruffles underneath her dress. 

She's colored with Copics but of course (RV17,RV14,RV11,RV10/YG25,YG03,YG01,YG0000/E39,E31,YR20/E15,E11,E00).  I added stickles to the strawberries on her dress and in her hair and the bodice layer of her dress.  I always like to add Diamond Glaze to their large eyes for shine too, just a fun addition!

Okay so your NEXT STOP on the BLOG HOP is my fun & talented Canadian pal VICKI HERE!!!  

Have fun hopping today and you are sure to get lots of inspiration from all the designers!

 If you want to start from the beginning of the hop, just head over to the Kraftin’ Kimmie Challenge Blog!  As you hop from blog to blog, be sure to leave a comment at each and every stop because some lucky stampers will win packages of stamps from the new release!! 

Make sure to stop at Kraftin' Kimmie's HERE or for those in the US at SCACD HERE to load up on these cuties!

Stop back by on Monday for a fun Magnolia-licious DT Blog Hop!!