Seaside Vintage!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Hope you had a good 3 day weekend if you had off for President's Day here in the States.  My kids had 5 days off due to the 18" of YUCKY snow we got and we got another inch last night.  However it will be in the high 50's and low 60's this week so I'm praying most of this snow melts away.  And melting snow means a muddy yard which translates to muddy paws for my dogs LOL...I have to keep towels by the patio door and wipe their paws when they come in (which they hate).  I'm soooooo ready for Spring..this winter has been BRUTAL and I cannot wait to see green grass, flowers in bloom and warm breezes coming through the window.

We had a great Valentine's Day...you can see what Cupid brought my hubby and the teens here. I got tickets to see Billy Joel this summer with the hubs...it will be my 4th time seeing him live and I just love him.  Little bit of fun trivia for you:  Alexa my daughter was named after Billy Joel & Christie Brinkley's daughter Alexa Ray :)  And Riley had a great 16th birthday....you can read all about him through the years on my other blog HERE.  He opted for a big present instead of a trip (I took Alexa to Cali for her 16th) so he got an Alienware Gaming Laptop to play all his battle/strategy games and a Team USA Hockey jersey...so he was a very happy boy!!

Ok onto my project for the day......

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Seaside Vintage!

I'm in such a Spring state of mind...there may be snow on the ground but I'm looking so forward to the colors of Spring and the oncoming heat of Summer lemme tell ya :)  So I pulled out this cutie "Playing on Beach Tilda" from the Sea Breeze Collection at Magnolia-licious (she's available in both reg size & mini)...she was unopened & ready to come out to play.  This project is for the current Tues Challenge "Pretty In Pink" over at the Challenge Blog so I did a shabby chic, vintage, pink beachy scene.

My papers are a mix of My Minds Eye and Prima that I inked and distressed.  I love the weathered board paper (MME) and it reminded me of the old boardwalks & piers found along the beaches on the East Coast.  The swirl die is a Magnolia die and the sentiment says "Sending my love to you" from PTI.  A mix of flowers from Lavish Laces and Prima along with some pearls and cream colored cheesecloth to add to the vintage look.

Tilda is colored in Copics and I added Diamond Glaze to her little floatie.  I have had Frantage since it came out...a friend gave me 6 bottles at CHA the year it debuted and it has sat, and sat and sat on my shelf in my studio LOL.  I finally decided it was time to put it to good use.  So around the image and the circle mat I added "Aged Rose" Embossing Enamel...you just shake on what you want & where you want it and then heat it from underneath till it melts.

Flowers, cheesecloth & a tag finish off the corner of the card.

Have a fabulous & crafty week!

Bike Party!

Happy Happy Tuesday & February 4th to you all!  Did anyone watch the Superbowl on Sunday?  We watched...thought it was kind of a snooze-fest unless you were a Seahawks fan. We were rooting for the Broncos because we like Peyton but I like Russell Wilson too :)  I like a closer and more competitive game like last year's SB personally...makes it more fun and exciting!  And the food I made was yummy...in fact we had leftovers last night...some of the recipes are at my other blog here if you are interested.

However I love Bruno Mars and I thought he knocked it out of the park...wish he'd played longer. He's just a talented dancer, choreographer, musician and singer. Would love to see him in concert but looks like we will be over in Europe when he's hear near DC...maybe next year!

Now I'm getting excited for baseball season...only 59 more days till opening day!  We have season tix for the Washington Nationals..our home team.  Hubby and I will be at Opening Day in DC...the teens will be in school hahaha and they can't miss for it (shhhh they don't know yet hehehe). I just love baseball and there is nothing better than hanging out at the ballpark on a beautiful day...one of our favorite things to do as a family.

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Bike Party!

Today I'm sharing a special birthday card for my mom...shhhhhh...her birthday is on the 13th this year.   So my son's birthday is the 12th, my mom's the 13th and Valentine's Day the 14th... a very busy week!  She will be 71 and my Gram is 92 and they BOTH can still run circles around me...its craziness ..I always feel like I'm lagging behind them :)  But growing up one of the things my mom and I always did after dinner was go on long bike rides. We'd bike everywhere and I miss that...we all have bikes here but I definitely don't ride it as much as I should...gonna try to do that more this year!  And since February's birthstone is the amethyst and violet is one of my mom's favorite colors...that decided my color palette for this card.   Hope she likes it!!  

This card is for the Magnolia-licious Tuesday Challenge "Anything Goes"...hop on over to the Challenge Blog to see all the DT gal's beautiful projects and join in on the fun too!

I used this super sweet "On the Road Tilda"(mini version here) because I think she's adorable and I loved the flowers in her bike basket. I'm so ready for spring so I think I'm craving spring colors and flowers in my projects lately.  All my papers are by MemoryBox "Viola" that I've had for awhile but was waiting for the right project. The first thing I choose after my image is my papers...the papers have to move and inspire me..otherwise I don't feel it...its just the way I operate ;)  I used some dies from Spellbinders, PTI and MemoryBox for the image mat, the middle border and the small tag.  I used my MS butterfly punch on some of the papers and inked them...always need some beautiful butterflies on a gorgeous spring day.

The lined paper was scrap paper that I had and then I stamped some script from PTI in violet ink.

A few bits of burlap that I inked under the flowers and behind the image.

I like a vintage, distressed look so I inked and distressed all the papers and accents..and my fingers are lovely shades of brown and violet..hehe..the issues of a stamper/papercrafter yes?

This cutie was colored with Copics:  BV17,BV11,BV02,BV00 / C9,C5,C3,C1 / E11,E00 / E43,E42,E40 / YG67,YG03,G20 / background: YG93,YG91,E41,W0

I added some Stickles dotted around the image too...always have to have a little sparkle ;)

I haven't used Flower Soft in AGES...OMGosh...and I have every color ever made LOL...crafter's prerogative ya know!  So I used two different mixes on the flowers in her basket. I didn't want it to overwhelm the image so after it dried I picked off some of it so you could see the leaves and space in between.

I like to layer different elements together with flowers...here I used some burlap, a punched butterfly, pearls, a tag and different flowers.  I add my embellies with Scor-Tape in either 1/2" or 1/4"...my fave thing to use on my cards.

Hope you enjoyed & have a fabulous week!

Kitty Love!

Happy Wednesday everyone...are you warm wherever you are?  Its cold, cold, cold here...temps in the teens in Virginia...not so much fun.  And the hubs is in NYC so I'm praying that we have NO incidents with frozen pipes tonight..because I may lose my head if they do...I'm so over it all ugh.  Spring...ohhhh spring where art thou Spring???????

But not everyone in my family hates the weather...my one cairn terrier Casey LOVES it!  She loves to frolick and play and snuffle in the snow...she just cracks me up!

Then you have Baylee my other cairn (on right) who HATES the snow...she's my outside dog that wants to be out all the time UNLESS its snowing.  And Casey never wants to spend time outside unless it IS snowing! Ay yi yi they try and make me crazy me thinks. Baylee was staring at me with her ears back cuz she'd had ENOUGH of my picture taking and wanted to come in LOL!

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Kitty Love!

This is my card for today's Magnolia-licious' "W"ednesday Post...you can check out the other designers projects on the Challenge Blog here!  I used these sweet Wee Stamp "Playful Kittens" (4 stamps in set) from Magnolia-licous...isn't this kitty the cutest and perfect for the upcoming Valentines Day too!

Papers are from DoCrafts Papermania and were distressed, LaLa Land Corner die, Spellbinder Heart dies, Dollar Store heart doily and PTI sentiment, ribbon & buttons.

Colored with TouchTwin Markers and Stickles added to heart for pretty sparkle! Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Sunny Days Will Soon Be Here!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  It is a SNOWY & COLD Tuesday here in Virginia.  We are being hit with another cold blast this week and supposedly 8 inches of snow...can you tell I'm so thrilled. I told Winter I was breaking up with him but he didn't get the message ;)  So it took a whole week for me to get over the flu...I am not wishing it on anyone that's for sure, so hope everyone is doing well. And my pipe mess is cleaned up but we still have to drywall the walls and paint and redo the carpet so that will take a few weekends to get it all done. No fun that's for sure...doing that work delays all the OTHER work I gotta do LOL..oy vey!

So I needed some SUN and WARMTH in my life...if Mother Nature won't give it to me...well I have to take matters in my own hands right?  LOL so that's what I was thinking while I created my project below and was belting out songs along with iTunes yesterday ;)  Hope it makes your day a wee bit sunny too!

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Sunny Cheer!

This card was made for the current Magnolia-licious Tuesday Challenge "Celebrations"...make a project for any celebration! So mine is for two things: 1) Birthdays and 2) Celebration of the Sun LOL...because I need sun and warmth in my life and Spring is still a bit away sadly.

This super cutie is from the Little Moscow Collection and she's "Matryoshka Tilda"...I just love her adorable self so much!  I used new papers from Authentique "Beyoutiful"..I loved the fun patterns and cheery colors...so pretty! I used a lot of dies on this card..love me my dies..a mix of older Spellbinders and Memory Box dies.  I distressed all the papers with my Zutter Distress machine and inked them in yellow ink.  The sentiment is from PTI and the flowers from Lavish Laces Etsy shop.  A few pearl swirls from Prima finish off the corners...I just snipped the pieces off that fit the best.

I colored this cutie "Matryoshka Tilda" with a mix of Copics & TouchTwin markers.

Then added some sparkle with Stickles...I also stamped around the edges with a small scrolly stamp from PTI in yellow ink.

That's all from me today...but stop by tomorrow because I have another

project up my sleeve :)  Stay warm & Keep Crafty!

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!

Valentine Chic!

Happy Freezing Monday everyone!  I'm typing this up the night before (while watching the Pro Bowl..yay to the NFC) so the teens may or may not be home due to the freezing rain they are calling for.  I literally feel like we are living in the Anartic these days...so cold, windy, snow, sleet...I can't think of weather I HATE more ugh.  So I will probably have a full house today..oy..and James & Alexa both have the stomach flu.  Seeing that I've had all the flu bugs I'm hopeful that I won't be affected ugh...didn't enjoy the 5 weeks of sickness I had, it took me down harder than I liked.

But we had a great weekend...Saturday Alexa's choral program put on "Desserts on Broadway" where all the choir students perform Broadway or Movie Songs.  They hold it in the audiotorium and have the lights dimmed, candles on decorated tables and serve desserts during intermission...really fun and lots of talent but OY it was 3 hours long.  Suzanne does NOT sit that long very well LOL and we hadn't eaten dinner so we had dinner at 10:30 at night much to Riley's chagrin.  Then Sunday I worked on projects, organized 2 closets, kitchen desk and our master bathroom cabinets and vacuumed first floor.  And then made homemade calzones..mmmmm..for dinner while we watched the NFC/AFC ProBowl on tv. I like to be productive on Sunday when I can as I feel I get the week started AHEAD..and trust me I need all the help I can get going into a long week LOL.  We've been watching the X-Games as well every night...crazy the things these athletes do to their bodies..so many terrible injuries.  Hard for me to watch at times that is for sure, especially as a mom I can only imagine what their parents are going thru...eek!

 Desserts on Broadway

Any of you have nightmares?  I have had crazy, terrible nightmares since I was a kid.  My brother had them too and he would actually sleep walk and act crazy.  I usually would just wake up screaming which is what I've been doing a lot of lately.  Not the quiet screaming...but blood-curdling-wake-hubby-up-scare-the-pants-off-of-everyone LOL. I sometimes wake up not being able to breathe & feeling like its "actually" happening...man I HATE that.  The night before last I had 5 episodes in a row, got NO sleep and was just miserable.  I'm a very visual person..if I see something it sticks with me..this is why I watch no news at night, don't watch scary movies/shows and try to not read scary stuff.  But it doesn't seem to help much ugh.  I used to be on sleep meds but 2 years ago I went off of them trying to reduce the amount of prescriptions I was on to clear out my body so I don't really want to go that route again. I take melatonin and an Advil PM on occasion but not sure how to get rid of these nightmares.  Guess after having them for most of my life you'd think I'd be used to it but I'm not and its so disruptive and tiring. I don't lead a scary life, I don't do scary things LOL so not sure why I have horrible dreams...my dreams seriously could be epic-long movies at times.   Anyone else have this issue and what did you do to help with it?  Any help for me you think LOL?

 my Winston...whaddya think he's saying? "please don't wake me up yet momma" LOL

NewsBitz:

-The current CMC Challenge is up HERE ...the challenge is to use your favorite color combos so easy-peasy!  Go see what the DT created and join in on the fun...everyone is welcome to join!

-If you are on Facebook come join/like our CMC Classroom there...we will be having some fun FB only contests soon and all of the NEWSIES will be announced there too!

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Shabby Chic Valentine

This is my version of a shabby chic Valentine...I saw a picture of a shabby chic porch below in my web travels and was totally inspired by it. (the fact that it looks warm and sunny in the pic coulda been a factor LOL).  I used papers from Pink Paislee called "London Market"...love the vintage patterns and soft pinks...perfect for this project.  This card has A LOT of layers, I mean A LOT LOL..and it took me a good long while to make as well.  All the papers got distressed with my Zutter Distress machine & then inked in 2 different brown inks.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Avenue 613 Challenge (anything goes)

Addicted To Stamps (texture/material)

Challenges For Everybody (anything goes)

Gingerloft Challenge (love)

Scrapper's Delights Challenge (Love)

So Artful Challenges (neutrals & pink)

The stamp image is from I Brake For Stamps called "English Rose Tile Collage" and I find myself drawn to collage/shabby chic/vintage images lately.  I just ordered a few more for myself to play with..hee hee!  The stamp was inked with a soft pink Memento ink onto cream cardstock, then I added some postage stamps to it in brown and the "Sending Love to You" sentiment to the top of image from PTI.  The rose image in the center I stamped twice and then cut out and raised the 2nd one with pop-dots on top of the image & tilted it just a bit for more interest..it also has Stickles around the rose for some sparkle.  The scroll-parentheses are from Pink Paislee as well and are called "Artisan Elements"..I love them as they are super flexible, self-sticky and you can ink/distress/spritz/color them.  The cream tulle I burned with matches...its really fun to do LOL..I think my secret pyro-girl comes out ahahahaha but I love the vintage/worn look it gives the tulle (beware to not burn yourself or your house ok lol)

Then I used some Marianne Designs doily dies to create more layers/interest and inked them as well.  The bow was topped with small roses that were inked and under bow is tulle and a doily die cut along with the leafy branches (a Memory Box die I believe) that got stickled for bling.

That's it for me today!  Hope you have a wonderful, warm week & I'll see you back here on Wed!!

Snow Day!!

Happy Snowy Friday everyone! "Snow, Snow Go Away--never come another Day!!"--LOL!  Well we're in the major snow belt today and expected to get upwards of 30+ inches--can you see I'm sooo thrilled--NOT!  I am ready to jump on a plane I tell ya & head south!  And get this, my hubby says to me last night "let's leave in the morning for a ski resort so we can be snowed in?"....ummmm...ARE YOU FRIGGIN KIDDIN' ME was my not so quiet response! LOL--I mean really, if I'm going anywhere it will be to a VERY WARM island and I'm not comin' back until Spring arrives! :o)  He enjoys the cold obviously, while I can not tolerate it at all any more--blech, blech, blech!  But I braved Wegman's last nite at 10 pm to miss some of the crazies that come out and snatch up all the food, hee hee---I wanted to make sure I had all my supplies for Super Bowl Sunday ya know.  Chili, cheese dips, tortillas, stuff to make guacomole, pizza supplies, etc!  You watching the Super Bowl?  I'll be rooting for the Saints "GO SAINTS", but I'll be working all day on projects as well!  They called off school today and hubby is working from home, so I'm sure come Monday I will be literally pulling my hair out, LOL!  Doesn't the school board know that to keep myself SANE, I NEED the kids to be in school everyday--ack!!  Lordy help me please..................hee hee!
And since I might as well join in on the wintry weather, I've got a wintry post for ya today!

NewsBitz:

-7 Kids College Fund has the Brand New Penny Black stamps in stock at the store HERE!  They are Ca-Ute--the new bears are my fave though :o)

-Want a chance at a Guest Designer Spot for Mo's Digital Pencil alongside the Dream Team?  You can find all the details HERE!  Hope you'll try out!!

-I'm also in love with Couture Cardstock (insert swooning here)! I discovered them at CHA and love, love, love all their pretty cs colors, variety of textures and prices.  They also make a great white cs that is great for Copics that I'm learning right now to use called "One Sheet Wonder"--it's pretty darn good so far I tell ya!  You can visit them HERE (I just got my 50 lbs of paper the other day & I LOVE it...shhhh don't tell hubby, lol).  And if you want to replace your SU "riding hood red" that I'm almost out of, well Dervish & Rudolph are pretty darn good matches (and yes I got some of each ;o) )!!

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Winter Friends

I've had some of these cutie pie CC Designs stamps from 7 Kids on my desk for awhile and finally got to put one to good use!  I used some soft new papers and cs from PTI to create a wintry shabby chic card for ya!  This sweet Swiss Pixie is called "Nora" and you can find all of these cuties HERE!  I tattered up some newsprint paper (K&Co) and distressed all the papers with my Tonic Distress Tool and then used Distress Inks (I use Old Paper and & Vintage Paper) to ink the edges up.  I punched some snowflakes out, inked them and added some MS Snow Glitter.  The ticket is from a Hero Art stamp set HERE that I love to use---the inside sentiment is from a PTI set (forgot which one, sorry).

I colored her with Copics (BG11,BG10,V12,V00) and added some stickles to her wings and some MS Snow Glitter to the snowflakes floating around her and at her feet!  I just love her and hope you do too!

See ya back here tomorrow!