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!

Tag You're It!

Happy Tuesday friends!!  Hope you had a wonderful weekend & your week is off to a good start!  I had a glorious weekend that involved my Tim McGraw...touching him, seeing him, up close & personal...yeah it was realllllll good LOL!  I have a TON of pics...I took 330 pictures with my camera LOL cuz he's THAT good.  Best concert of my life...literally...and you know how many concerts I go to right?  And I'm not lying it was the BEST!  It was hotter than Hades and Alexa & I waited for hours at the gate to be down in the pit at the stage FIRST.  We made alliances with some other friendly folks and decided we'd all run (about a 1/4 mile to stage) and whoever got there first would save everyone spots.  You gotta make friends when it comes to the pit...there is a "pit" code LOL...and the faster you make buddies the better your experience will be trust me on this!  They were great...funny and not drinking and we had the best time...no one was pushing and everyone was polite amazingly.  We were so hot that running that far I thought I was gonna vomit and the concession stand workers were dying laughing at us all...but we DON'T CARE cuz we got front of the pit baby ;)  Hang around me long enough and I will teach you the wayyyyys of concerts ahahahaha...I've learned a lot of tricks along the way.  Including where to wait, what to do and who to know...if you are a serious concert goer like me you will learn the secrets bwahahaha!  Next concerts for us this summer are Florida Georgia Line/Gary Allen, One Republic, Jason Aldean/Jake Owen and yesssss Luke Bryan AGAIN whoohooo!  I save my pennies to go to concerts...its my crack/cigarette addicition along with iTunes and books on my Kindles...could be worse right? We all have our passions and music rates #1 with this gal!  And I'm bringing up Alexa to love it as much as me hee hee...and my mom too..3 generations of crazy women hee! Nuttin' better right?  I will have a full slideshow up this week of concert pics if you wanna see...for now I leave you with these 2...yes that WAS MY VIEW!!

Mr. Tim McGraw you are still FINE! :) 

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Tag You're It!!

The current Magnolia-licious Tuesday Challenge is "Butterflies"...so today Team B posts which includes yours truly, so hop over to the challenge blog to see all the DT inspiration.  I haven't created a tag in forever so I decided to whip up one for this challenge in a vintage kind-of way.  I used a Mini Magnolia "Japanese Tilda" for this one...I love Asian/Oriental type stamps and knew she'd be lovely with these Prima papers.  You can see all the challenge details at the blog and I hope you stop in to join in!

**Check out the NEW Special Moments Collection at Magnolia-licious...they will be shipping late this week and they are adorable!  Regular sized, Mini sized and dies in this collection! **

All the papers are by Prima and I distressed them and inked the edges.  The lil' postcards/papers on the left of the tag are from the paperpad, I just cut them out & used them as small accents.  The scrolls are a Memory Box die "Val Flourish" and my BUTTERFLIES are punches by MS and I punched them out of the matching papers.  Also in a totally unplanned coincidence the cream paper with writing says "Butterfly Challenge" LOL which I thought was totally cool. :)  The leaves are from a Memory Box die as well "Cottage Leaf"(10% off) .  And some pearls and layered flowers finished it off.

"Japanese Tilda" from Magnolia-licious got colored with TouchTwin Markers in:  GY173,GY174/ GY48/ G43 / CG9,CG5,CG3/ Y169/ YR132,YR133,R131.  Some Stickles on her kimono and the butterflies for pretty sparkle.  The tags were cut with dies I got from the UK...not sure of the their name sorry, its been awhile.

Enjoy your week & see you back here on Thursday!

Vintage Country!!

Happy Thursday to you all!  The week is almost done...seems like this week has flown by.  I have to take Alexa out after school today to get shoes, clutch & jewelry for prom.  Her dress is red and she wants gold accessories so I hope we are able to find everything today as I have no time this weekend to do it.  Prom is next Saturday and there are 42...YES 42 kids having their pictures taken together...oy vey.  And then about 6 girls will be here early getting ready, 12 for pictures at the house including Alexa's date and then we go to the park to take pics of all 42 of them.  Her friend Maya is coming up for the weekend from Atlanta (she moved in March) and will be staying with us and going to prom...so they are all super excited.  Alexa gets her hair done at 1 and then all the girls will be here at 3 to get ready...so my house will be overrun with girls, giggling and yelling LOL.

My mom is coming up for the weekend as well...so its gonna be a full house...crazy...chaotic but always FUN!  Of course if you follow me on Facebook you will see all the prom pics up there first LOL.

This weekend we are doing more yard work on Saturday to get the yard finished up for prom pictures and then on Sunday we will be in DC at a Nationals game...yup my Mother's Day will be at Nat's Park for this gal...its all good (as long as we win of course).  I asked for a large lilac bush for my Mom's Day gift...I love the smell of lilacs and my Gram has a HUGE lilac tree/bush that I just adore! Hope mine blooms like my Gram's does...its gorgeous and the smell is HEAVEN!

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Vintage Country!

One of my fave projects I've done in awhile....this one is for ME and takes its spot in my kitchen.  I collect antique recipe boxes, they have to be special and different for me to add them to my collection.  But I have a bit of a rooster/chicken fetish too...I have a few rooster & chicken things around the house...you won't come in and see a BUNCH of them though, no way but I do have a few here and there.  I like just a few and they have to be special for me to display them...I don't do cute knick-knacks in my house, cuz' I hate extra clutter or stuff just sitting around.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Make It Monday (anything goes)

Crafty Creations Challenges (old/new)

Divas by Design (anything goes)

Whimsical Designs (alter it)

Loves Rubber Stamps (anything goes)

This is what my project started out like....a plain, wooden cigar box and some Tim Holtz metal legs.

I have a few cigar boxes...when I see them I grab them...don't ask how many a "few" is LOL!

I used Graphic 45 "French Country" papers...I LOVE LOVE LOVE them...got that...I LOVE these papers LOL!  Match my colors in my first floor of my house perfectly!  All my papers were distressed...heavily with my Zutter and then inked heavily with Distress Ink and Stain in Vintage Photo.  I attached all my papers to the box with Modge Podge.

The rooster image is a Crafty Individuals stamp called "Fresh Eggs & Chickens"...I love their collage stamps and SCACD carries some of their line too (I think I want the ship next..yuppers).  The "Recipes" was done with two PTI stamps and then distressed.  The lil paper clips are from Tim Holtz too.  I added a bit of color to the chickens with TouchTwins to just make them pop more.  The decorative nails holding the recipe down are actually brads...I cut off the backs with my Tonic scissors, press them flat and then add them so they look like nails.  The scroll underneath Recipes is a Memory Box die "Val Flourish", the clock die at top is an SCACD die "Classic Timepiece"...both were cut out of the same patterned paper used on sides of box.  The postcard is actually from the Graphic 45 paper pad, I just cut it out and distressed it a bit.

The legs from Tim Holtz Idea-ology just add an extra oomph to it I think!  They are kind of burnished silver but I used acrylic paint in black & brown to distress them...let it dry and then added an acrylic sealer so it doesn't chip off.

After the modge podge dried on the box I went back in with a sanding block and roughed up all the edges and paper...then went over it with Distress Stain in Vintage Photo.

The clasp on the cigar box was brass and I didn't like it LOL.  So I added the same acrylic paint mix to the clasp.  The lock is from Tim Holtz added with some wire and I added some paint to that as well...when dry it was sprayed with acrylic sealer.

I didn't alter the inside...I like the wood stamp that is in the cigar boxes and wanted to keep the wood untouched.

So there ya go...my altered cigar box...sitting in my kitchen so I can see it all the time!  Will I use it for recipes?  Probably not LOL!

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!!