Little Darlings Release!!

Hello and Happy Wednesday everyone!  I got back late Monday evening from my trip to Michigan.  What a weekend it was, LOL---I laughed so much that my cheeks and sides STILL hurt.  I had a blast and so enjoyed teaching all the ladies up there.  I also got to meet quite a few ladies that I’ve known online for awhile and my friend Vivi Casale flew allll the way from Brazil with her husband for the classes as well---wow! She is such a sweetie and it was fabulous to meet her.  We had lots of late nights, junk food and laughs---if you saw our silliness on facebook this weekend you know what I’m talking about (hey---where’s Waldo?).  My friends hid like 50 lil’ Waldo’s all over the place—I was still finding them today when I unpacked, LOL! Waving hi to Wini, Froggy, Janine, Meg, Cindy, Judy & Wini  (my party gals) and everyone else too!   Our long journey back home took me a total of 13 hours in the car and I think I’m still sore and crippled, LOL but having Melanie in the car for most of the ride helped big time.  I know she laughed but I’m sure she thinks I’m a NUT for sure, hee hee!  So now I’m playing catch up with projects and emails so I can enjoy this weekend outside with my family.  Can’t believe May will be ending soon---feels like it just started!

NewsBitz:

-Blog Candy still going on in the post below if you need some non-calorie goodness!

-SCACD has some awesome new goodies in stock including Gluebers, Viva Décor MAGIC Pearl Pens (oh so pretty) and new Sew Easy tools.

Top picture is me, Froggy, Vivi, Janine & Meg

Bottom Picture is me and Vivi!

****************************************************************************************

Fly Away & Dream

 

Today I get to share a new stamp line with you from my friend Angie Hunt called “Little Darlings” and they are cute lil’ darlings for sure!  I was so happy she asked me to help with the release and today there is a super-fun Blog Hop to celebrate. The blog hop order is at the end of the post, so make sure to get hopping around today!  Make sure you stop by her new store “Love to Stamp” HERE to check these cuties out!  She also has a new Challenge Blog HERE that you should check out.

I'm entering this in the For Your Inspiration Challenge (you'll see why when you click over, lol)~

I had so much fun working with this image---I like to think she represents me just a little bit.  Everyday I feel like I’m living a bit of my dream and I’m so thankful for that---getting to know so many wonderful people, travel, teach coloring and having a great family.  What more could a gal ask for?  This one is called “Up, Up And Away” and she was fun to color with my Copics too!  This paper matched perfectly as well which is always a bonus IMO—its new from my fave paper company My Minds Eye “Lime Twist-Out of the Blue”.  

I used the larger balloon printed paper for my main background and then stamped a fun sentiment from PTI in blue at the bottom.  I used PTI ribbon to wrap around, tied with a Bow Easy and put a button on top.  The extra cloud in the left corner is from a PTI die that I inked and added Stickles to.  A few orange rhinestones and a border with a Fiskars punch finishes it off.


Yep she got colored with Copics—I kept the colors bright and happy to match the papers (makes you smile right? lol)  Copics used are BG72,BG11,BG10/YR23,Y15,Y11/YR18,YR12,YR00/E25,E31,E50/E11,E00.  I added some Stickles to her scarf and the middle of the balloon.  Her flying goggles got some Diamond Glaze as well.  So very cute!

Okay—now you MUST hop along to these fabulous designers blogs to see more inspiration!!  And don’t forget to leave comments for a chance at some yummy Blog Candy!

Challenge Blog - http://littledarlingschallenges.blogspot.com/
Mindy - http://stampinmindy.blogspot.com/
Ruby - http://rubyonlywrote.blogspot.com/
Angela - http://angelwoodcrafts.blogspot.com/
Suzanne Dean (Special Guest) - http://www.scrapbitz.blogspot.com/
Lena - http://scrappeskreppe.blogspot.com/
Dena (Special Guest) - http://denasstampingcorner.blogspot.com/
Myrna - http://hikers3.wordpress.com/
Barbara - http://forgottenscraps.blogspot.com/
Sandie (Special Guest) - http://sandieshores.blogspot.com/
Janiel - http://www.scrappyjandesigns.blogspot.com/
Magali (Special Guest) - http://magslittlethings.blogspot.com/
Angie -  http://www.scrapgirl-angie.blogspot.com/

The Wedding March Hop!

Hello and a Happy Monday to you all!  Did you enjoy your weekend?  I am hopefully on my way driving home the 10.5 hour drive from Michigan to Virginia today--yikes.  Then I will get home and "die" for a few hours so I can get up and be productive on Tuesday, hee hee.  I am actually home for a few weeks this time and then gone almost all of June with 3 travel locations for classes (including Vegas me thinks) and then a 2 week beach vacation in Hilton Head, SC.  NO groaning please! LOL!  I know I just got home from Maui BUT that is not a normal spring break trip for us and because spring break was so late it kinda all got mushed together.  We go to SC every summer for 2 weeks and rent the same house on the beach---it is a family-only event (no friends much to my daughter's chagrin, hee hee) and we really relax and enjoy each other.  BUT I do work while I'm there LOL but only late evenings so no one gets mad at me.  South Carolina will be my home state in a few years---after the kids graduate I have BIG plans to move down there.  I like the slower pace of life and the much warmer and milder winters of course--I feel like it was meant for me to live there!  So five more years and I will be SC bound for good, LOL!

NewsBitz:

-New locations of Copic Classes will be up this week on my site www.cmcroad.com to include Ohio and possibly Las Vegas.  If you are interested in classes in Ontario in August the registration info is up and I am amazed as usual and thankful but the spots are filling up very quickly so act now, LOL!

-Winners of the last Blog Candy are..................TIARA MOORE, CHRIS CHRISTENSEN and PAM BROWN!!  Please email me with your choice of a $25 Gift Certificate to either Magnolia-licious, SCACD or 7 Kids College Fund and congrats to you all!

-Have you subscribed to the mini-magazine "Through the Craftroom Door" I publish with my friend Marti yet?  If not go to our site (it is open to everyone to visit) and see what we are all about.  IF its handmade then we talk about it, if its new in the craft world then we will probably be chatting about it--so come see us!

-My Magnolia-licious DT sister Mindy Baxter NOW has a class at the CMC Classroom featuring only Magnolia stamps, copic instruction and how to mask and create scenes.  You can register HERE and class invites will be sent out this Thursday!

Want this badge?

**Blog Candy Below for you!!**

***********************************************************

The Wedding March Hop!

Today the Magnolia-licious DT has a fun "Wedding Themed" Blog Hop for you that includes using some awesome Scor-Pal projects as well.  Since May & June are the busiest and most popular of wedding months we thought it was appropriate to work on some great wedding Magnolia projects.  You can find more Blog Hop details on the Magnolia Highlites Blog as well as a way to join in on the fun!  I made a card using some beautiful stamps and a matching purse/bag that could be given to the Flower Girl (or bride) with a nice treat or gift inside.  See HERE for a complete selection of Magnolia wedding stamps from Magnolia-licious!

 

I used the most beautiful stamp from Magnolia--I think it is just so sweet and its called "Bride & Bridesmaid #3051".  A perfect image for the bride or for the flower girl me thinks.  My papers from Basic Grey's "Capella" really created the color combo of creams and soft aqua blues.  The scrolls are from Marianne Designs and then I accented them with Prima roses and pearl sprays.  The corner brackets were made using a MS border punch and then I accented them with Ranger Liquid Pearls in platinum that look like small pearls. 

 

To color my image I used my Copics along with the Colorless Blender as a sort of paintbrush to create the very soft faded colors.  I used E43,E42,E40 and BG72,BG10 for their dresses.  Hair was done with E37,YR24,YR21 and E50 for the bride and then YR24,YR20 & E35 for the flower girl.  I accented the flowers with stickles and added more Ranger Liquid Pearls to the bride's necklace, flower sprays and hair clip.

For my Scor-Pal project I used some great instructions for different purses/bags that you can find HERE!  If you have never visited the Scor-Pal Project website, you are in for a treat--100's of great projects that you can make with your Scor-Pal.  I use my Scor-Pal everyday and work right on top of the mat each day as well---to me it is one of my top 10 must haves :)  I used the same papers for my purse and embellished it in the same manner as my card.  To keep the purse flap closed I used a Basic Grey large magnet which I keep stocked in my craftroom at all times!  This purse would be a great way to give a small gift to your bride or flower girl to thank them.  Very easy to make and so fun too!

Blog Candy for U: Now to thank you for stopping by and always leaving such wonderful comments, I am giving away 3 Magnolia stamps of your choice from Magnolia-licious along with a pad of this fabulous Basic Grey paper.  Just tell me (cuz' I'm curious and nosy and love a great story, lol) --

"What is your favorite Wedding memory--either from your own wedding or someone else's?" 

and I'll share mine with you soon as well (and yes its FUNNY, hee hee, another Suzanne moment for sure).  Leave your answer on this post only by Friday and I'll pick a winner!

Now you need to hop on over to my very talented friend Mindy Baxter's Blog HERE to see what fabulous-ness she has created!

Rockstar Power!!

Happy Sunday friends!  Hope the weekend has been good to you!  I am finishing up my weekend of teaching Copic Classes here in Michigan & then will make my way home tomorrow and arrive later that evening.  The weather here in Michigan has been great, much warmer than what I expected so I'm loving that, LOL!  I got to meet a lot of fabulous ladies, old friends and new while I was here.  Cindy of StampingScrapping.com had a retreat and taught classes as well so there were lots of crafty ladies in attendance for a fun-filled weekend!  Sorry for the short posts but the internet here is kinda slow (per the normal) so I'm trying to get as much done as I can while I can, LOL.  Tomorrow I have a Magnolia-licious Blog Hop post for you that you will not want to miss (and the winner of the last blog candy will be on that as well).

*********************************************************

Rockin' Yellow Rockstar!!

Today is the 15th so that means another fun Copic Creations Challenge!  The challenge this week is to color yellows--a fun but much underused color, but such an easy one to use and blend!  This week our fabulous sponsor is (one of our own dt sistah's) Katie Cotton's Paper Makeup Stamps!  She so generously allowed the DT to pick a digi image or stamp to use on our projects today---she has lots of cuties so you NEED to check them out at her store!! :)

I used this super fun digi image (great for a teen or gal in your life that has rockstar status, lol) called "Moody for Rock".  I just loved her and had a blast coloring and making this project.  For my yellows I used Y13,Y11,Y00,Y000 and for the Gold Guitar I used YR24,YR23,Y15,Y11.  I colored the water drops with C5,C3,C1,C00 and then coated them with stardust stickles.  Her bangles and guitar accents got some platinum and silver stickles for more rockin' bling :)  I used some fun Spellbinders dies in star shape and pinking circles for my mats and inked the edges with black/gray inks.  I accented the stars and the card with some black rhinestones for more bling!  The gray cs is actually a silver cs from PTI for more sparkle.  The papers are a mix of scraps from Kaisercraft. 

Now make sure to hop over to the Copic Creations Blog to see the rest of the DT projects and how to join in on the fun!  See ya back here tomorrow!

Faux Sew?

Hi everyone!  I am re-typing and posting this post as Blogger had a HUGE HICCUP and deleted everyone's last post--ugh!  So this info might not be new to anyone, I apologize, LOL---if you commented all the comments disappeared as well (arghhhh darn blogger)!  I am in Grand Rapids, Michigan thru Sunday teaching and yes it was a long 10.5 hour drive!  But I had my friend Melanie in the car and time passed much quicker than when I travel alone that's for sure.  I'm sure she thinks I'm totally NUTS now as you will all find out when you meet me in person, LOL!  I will have a new post up on Sunday and Monday for you all so please stop back by!  Then I get home late Monday evening :)

**********************************************

Gina K Blog Hop - Faux or Sew!!

Members of Gina K.'s Design Team have come together to host a hop with sewing as the center theme. Along the hop you will find a variety of sewing techniques from hand sewing to faux sewing!

If you came from the lovely Sharon Harnist's Blog, you're at the right place. If not make sure to head over to StampTV where you will find a list of all those participating in today's hop.

So the fun blog hop is all about SEWING today--BUT I will admit something (shhhh) I HATE TO SEW, yikes! LOL!  I know how to sew I just don't like too, but growing up my mom was a phenomenal sew-er and could do anything with the sewing machine.  The thought of screwing up my card or image with a bad stitch makes me incredibly nervous but I am going to try it this summer when I have more time (yeah time, right, LOL).  So I'm all into FAUX sewing!  I used this fabulous (and one of my faves) Gina K sets called "Farm Life"--its a great set because it can be used for so many occasions.

I love to stamp and color with Copics on Kraft cardstock--such a vintage and different look and easy to do. TIP: when coloring with copics on kraft make sure to use darker colors than normal or they will not show up as well.  I used Copic colors E44,E43,E42,E41 and then my fave white Sharpie Poster Paint Pen to highlight the flowers and grass---the white really POPS on kraft.  I colored and cut out the watering can out and popped it up for a bit more fun dimension. The sentiment was embossed with white EP.  The dark brown mat was cut with my fave Spellbenders die "Labels 16" and then embossed with a CB embossing folder and lightly sanded. For my faux sewing I used my paper piercer to pierce holes and then drew dashes between each hole with my white Sharpie pen--great and easy way to give a similar feel (for those non-sewers like myself).  Some vintage crinkly ribbon and a fun button finish it off!

Now you need to continue on the hop to the wonderful Tami Mayberry's Blog HERE!  Enjoy!

Fly "ME" Away Home!!

Happy Wednesday to you all!  I am on my way to Delaware to spend the night at my dear friend Anary's house--we will have some good girly talk and laughs I'm sure and I'm looking forward to it!  Then tomorrow I will make my way to Grand Rapids, Michigan with my pal Melanie to teach for the weekend.  Should be fun and looking forward to it all!  Yesterday was a MAD rush to get everything done and I'm not even sure I did get done everything I should've LOL!  And my TEEN daughter was NOT helpful, ugh!  I swear the good days are definitely STILL interspersed with very BAD (read-moody) days.  Have you heard that song by Martina McBride called "Teenage Daughters"--see video link below for it if you haven't.  She READ MY MIND--how'd she do that?  Oh yeah, she has teen girls too! LMBO!  You love 'em, you're proud of 'em and some days you want them to go into their rooms and not come out for a VERY LONG TIME KWIM?  I just keep saying' my mantra over & over "tomorrow is a new day, it will get better!" --- it does get better right?  Well even if you say NO please don't share with me as I like to live in la-la land for right now, LOL.  Then she's tearful when I leave, but when I am home she's giving me the third degree about why she shouldn't have to do chores, or how I'm too naggy, or I just don't understand.  My house some days feels like an insane asylum and I am the only sane one (ha ha)!  I pray for James to get thru this week while I'm gone, hee hee---poor guy hasn't a clue!

NewsBitz:

**Register NOW for the CMC Copic Classes in Ontario, Canada HERE!  They are hosted by Scrappin' Great Deals right outside London, Ontario---I'd love to see you there.  Soon to come--registration info on classes in Ohio at Scrap Happy in Tiffin, Ohio!

**Pre-Register for the new Magnolia Only Class at the CMC Classroom HERE taught by Mindy Baxter!  It is a fun class using only Magnolia stamps, copic instruction, masking skills and more!  Hover over the Class Description/Pricing Tab to click on class to see description and registration terms!

Martina McBride Song:

**********************************************************

Fly "ME" Away Home!!

Today I get to share with you a very fun project I made last week--I had soooooo much fun with this and putting all the perfect details on it!  This is for the 7 Kids Challenge Blog today which is to create a "Circle Card"--I love, love circle cards so this was easy peasy for me.  The cutie pie image is called "Pilot Luka" by La La Land Stamps.  I adore this line of stamps and my friend Irina (and Eric) both illustrate these cuties.  As soon as I saw this one at CHA I knew he'd be mine as he reminds me sooo very much of my son when he was younger although he STILL has a fascination with all things that fly, LOL!

The papers are a mix by Basic Grey and then kraft cs that I stamped a newsprint stamp on by PTI.  I distressed the edges with my fave Zutter Distress Machine & then inked all my edges with the Inkssentials Blending tool (love those two things sooo much)!  The tag I created myself with various Tim Holtz stamps stamped on kraft cs and then clipped the edges, added some bakers twine to the end.  The blue cardstock was embossed with the CB Embossing folder "Clockworks" and inked it a bit as well.

This card I entered into the "Cards For Men Challenge" as well :) Great challenge blog!

You know I'm a product junkie and the more I can add to my projects the better, LOL!  I used Diamond Glaze on his helmet and eyes for a great shiny effect!  His fur collar and fur trim on helmet got a coat of Polar White Flower Soft--I didn't use flock because I wanted it to look a little more textural than a soft flock.  And of course some Stickles on the stars and dog collar charm :)  He's colored up with Copics of course-- B99,B97,B95,B91/E39,E37,E35,E31,E50/YR23,YR20,E50/E11,E00,R20/C7,C5,C3,C1,C00/E43,E42,E40.

To create my large circle card I used my fabulous Spellbinders Grand Caliber and the Grand Circle Nestabilities.  IF you have been on the fence about the machine and/or the larger dies--don't be--they are great for card makers too.  I use them all the time and the largest sized die is great for creating shaped cards like this.  The Grand Caliber is easy to use, cuts perfectly and you can cut a few things at once on it's large plate and embosses better than the Cuttlebug in my opinion (and I love, love my Cuttlebug, lol).  To create that fun enameled embellie I just used some PTI stamps and inked the edges and then put Diamond Glaze in the center (TWICE--but wait for 1st coat to dry before adding 2nd coat) to make it pop!  Fun and cheap ;)

Now make sure to head over to the 7 Kids Challenge Blog HERE to see the rest of the DT projects and how to join in on the fun!!  See ya back here tomorrow!

Play Ball!

How Y'all Doin' today! Sorry I didn't post yesterday but the weekend kinda got away from me without getting any projects done, LOL.  I hope all of you had a fabulous Mother's Day weekend!  Mine was great--the weather here in VA was PERFECT and we spent all weekend outside.  I got my garden planted, James planted most of our new shrubs and we barbecued out both nights.  A nice, slow, at home weekend which I royally enjoyed after running around so much lately.  When we finish all the planting (crossing fingers by end of month, lol) I'll share new pics with you!  And then I leave tomorrow for my friend Anary's house in Delaware for the night and then I pick up my friend Melanie on Thursday morning for our trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan to teach for the weekend.  I'm looking forward to catching up with friends old and new and then I will be back home late Monday night.  Then I'm home for the rest of the month to catch up on projects, deadlines and new videos--yay!  Next up on my traveling schedule is Greensboro, NC and Greenville, SC (and maybe Vegas in June, whoo hoo)--you can register or see info at www.cmcroad.com.  I can't believe my kids only have 5 weeks of school left--HOW did that happen? LOL!  Then they'll be home for the summer--the first few weeks are ok but then they start getting bored, annoying me and each other and then by August we are all ready for them to go back, hee hee.  The Circle of Life I guess...........LOL!

NewsBitz:

-Upcoming locations that I will be teaching my CMC Copic Classes include Canada and Ohio and maybe Vegas! South Carolina and North Carolina sign ups are listed NOW for June!  Look at the www.cmcroad.com site next week for registration info!

-New class going up at the CMC Classroom taught by my friend and DT sistah Mindy Baxter.  She's teaching a Magnolia Only Class that features copic coloring instruction, masking and other ways to put projects together.  Its a fun class and you can pre-register for it HERE starting tomorrow May 11th (hover over Class Description/Pricing tab)--class invites will go out next week around Thursday when it debuts!

-7 Kids has the NEW Basic Grey paper packs and accessories (all 4 sets) HERE and the NEW super-cute Bildmalarna stamps HERE!

************************************************************

Play Ball!

Today I'm sharing a fun project I made last year while I was on the Dirty Dozen team for Splitcoast Stampers--it was one of my faves!  Since its baseball season again I knew it was a good time to pull it out of the vault, LOL.  This is a great and easy set for a birthday boy or even for a team party--not hard to put together at all.  

The main image is a digi from Mo's Digital Pencil--I adore Mo and her images are so full of life!  You can almost hear the crowd roaring for this lil' guy to catch that ball!  This image is called "Tuesday's Child-Boy" and he's just so much fun!  I colored him up with Copics to match the Pebbles paper called "Lil' Buddy Collection".  The sentiment banner is by PTI's "All Star Team" set which is perfect if you have a sporty person in your life.  To create the large baseball I cut out a white circle with my Spellbinders Nestabilities and then embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder called "Tiny Bubbles" which gave a great texture to the ball.  I used my orange Copic Spica pen to create the stitching that I just hand drew on.

The ball basket would be great as a party favor or filled with a small treat for someone special in your life.  Super easy to make--its a basic box pattern (use any size you want) and then I just cut two more circles and embossed them and added some "dirt" with my Inkssentials Blending tool and SU ink.  To make some grass I added some green FlowerSoft which gives a nice texture to the project.  Again I used the PTI "All Star Team" set for the pennant and stars.  The handle was easily made using the matching patterned papers.  Perfect for this baseball season & your favorite lil' or BIG ballplayer (wink)!

Alright I will be gone for 5 days but I have lots of projects done and will be blogging them this week including a Gina K Blog Hop and a 7 Kids Challenge--so stop back by!!

Happy Mom's Day Weekend!

Happy Mom's Day weekend to all the mom's and grand-ma's out there!  Do you all have anything planned for the weekend?  Hubby is taking me, Alexa and her boyfriend to the movies to see "Something Borrowed" tonight cuz I liked the book a lot :)  Riley and a friend are seeing "Thor" as they did not want to see a "chick-flick" (not sure hubby does either, but he promised, lol).  This is Alexa's boyfriend first time having an outing with the Dean Family, hee hee---we'll (or I'll) make sure to initiate him correctly at dinner, LMBO.  Alexa is sooooooooooo worried and she SHOULD be, LOL!  We are a very strange bunch but to know us is to love us (wink)!  Then we are planting new shrubs on Saturday around the patio and mulching--not a ton of fun but I love pretty landscaping!  I told the kids to buy me a tree that I could plant so that's what they are doing and I love it!  To all the mom's out there--I do believe there is NO HARDER job than being a parent but especially a mom.  A 24-hour, 7 days a week job that never stops, quits or gets easy and rarely any vacations from it that's for sure.  We NEVER get to leave our "work" at the office right? LOL!  So I hope all the mom's/grand-ma's out there take the day to enjoy, relax and rest just a bit for once!  I know I will--I'm gonna do some more reading in bed and hopefully get my Dunkin' Donut (boston creme only) in bed with a BIG glass of chocolate milk--that's all I want, LOL!  And of course I will be calling my own mom (so get ready mom, lol) on Sunday as well.  I ordered her present but it will be LATE as I forgot to add an important something so it's coming (hear that mom)!  My mom is the best!  Hopefully she's taking the day off too!

NewsBitz:

-Want to be on the CMC Challenge DT with me?  I'm taking entries thru May 15th to add to the DT and you can find out all the details HERE (just scroll down to the end)!  I'm pretty easy to work for I think and it's a fabulous team of ladies--all levels of Copic work are welcome to apply so if you want to get your feet wet with a DT this is a great place to start!

-Don't forget to enter for my yummy Birthday Blog Candy HERE--you have until Saturday night to enter!!

-Have you stopped by to see the CMC Challenge Group at my Color Me Creative Classroom yet?  EVERYONE is welcome to join, there is a fun challenge every 2 weeks with a great prize/sponsor and the winners are randomly picked so all levels can play.  Its a fun group and gets you to maybe step outta the box and try something new!  Also TWO GREAT WAYS to win now--all details HERE!  (you have to join the site to play and everyone is welcome to join--this is how I keep the spammers out, thanks)

-7 Kids has some new goodies you might wanna check out!  The NEW Theresa Collins StampMaker machine HERE and all FOUR NEW Basic Grey Collections HERE (oh so yummy)!

***************************************************

Enjoy Yourself!!

This card I made with Mother's Day in mind--I thought it was a perfect image for a mom and a reminder to "take a break".  This cutie is one of 2 NEW stamps by Victoria Case for SCACD that you can find HERE.  This one is called "Spa Time Fairy" and I love this lil' fairy taking a spa day in the tea cup.  When I was little I was OBSESSED with fairies and fairy books--I used to imaging them living in my doll house and using items like this, so fun!

I'm entering this into the below challenges that asked for Mother's Day Cards--fun!

Craft Us Crazy

Party Time Tuesdays

Delightful Sketches

Make It Monday

I used the My Minds Eye paper pad "Fine & Dandy"(15% off right now)--love the soft colors and delicate patterns.  I distressed the edges of the paper for a bit of shabby-chic effect.  The pearl swirl is by Prima and bow was done with my Bow Easy.  The matting behind the image was done with my Spellbinders Lacey Circles.  CHECK out the new My Minds Eye 6x6 paper pads and the new ones by Echo Park too--HERE!  (shhh I just ordered them ALL cuz I cannot help myself, lol, and I am not supposed to be getting new paper)  The sentiment is from PTI.

The image was colored with Copics BG72,BG11,BG10/R21,R20/C3,C1,C00 and then I coated the teacup and saucer with Diamond Glaze to make it glass shiny!  All the wings and the water got some Stickles for sparkle.  Such a cutie!

Ok--I wish you all a wonderful weekend spent with friends and family! I'll see you back here on Monday!

Ride 'dem Horses!

Howdy Cowgirls and all you other ladies (and gents, hee hee)!  Hope your week is going swell for ya so far.  Thank you, thank you for all the birthday wishes I received here on my blog, on Facebook and by email---I was quite overwhelmed by it all.  I don't think I have ever had so many birthday wishes, LOL and I so appreciate them all. You are all so sweet to take the time to let me know---love y'all!  I spent the day sitting on the patio (after I got my work done) in the warm sun reading my NEW Karen White book "The Beach Trees".  Which I finished early this morning (don't ask what time I stayed up till hee hee)--it was really, really good and I recommend it for sure!  Then hubby brought me a dozen MD blue crabs (yummers) that we ate on the patio---they were huge and fab.  If you've never had one, you are missing out---come to my house and I'll show you how to pick 'em.  I've been doing it since I was a toddler and I can get thru half a dozen crabs lickety split, LOL.  Drives the kids crazy that I can pick them so fast and hubby won't pick them as he's lazy--he likes his food prepared for him, LMBO.  But if you grew up in MD or around the Chesapeake Bay you know its more of a social event--you pick, you eat, you drink, you eat, you talk and jabber the whole time :)  See a pic of these babies below!

MD Blue Crabs coated in Old Bay and then dipped in a mix of vinegar/old bay--yum!

I've got the very last Maui slideshow for you today (sniff sniff, lol). This one has pics of Alexa's Birthday dinner at the very yummy Basil's Restaurant in Ka'anapali--Italian is her fave.  And then the other pictures are from the night we went to the Luau at the Marriott Resort in Maui---it was FANTASTIC and the sun setting behind the stage was postcard picture perfect (it almost looks fake but its not).  The dancers were fabulous and YES Suzanne DID get up and dance with them (but of course, duh, did you expect less & yes I was invited to) ;)  And hubby even danced a song with me too---the kids were GROANING with their heads in their hands at our front row table, hee hee!  Loved it!  And YES I DID LOVE the poi--no one else did but I was dipping all my food in it, weird you think, nah! LOL!  We also took time to visit the Maui Aquarium which was fun--both of the kids really enjoyed that.  Then we spent one more day in Lahaina walking thru the historic district which is along the west coast of Maui. We had to stop by the oldest and largest Banyan tree---it was HUGE and so pretty.  We ate at Kemo's which looked over the water and it way yummy.  For all those that asked if I ate while I was there--YES I DID! LOL and it was yummy but I stuck with mostly fresh fish, veggies and fruit which is abundant there & so good, and am lucky to say I actually lost 4 lbs on vacation.  All that activity I guess!  We finished it off with some yummy homemade gelato cones (mine was pineapple & chocolate which was the BEST).  And that tops off our dream family vacation of a lifetime---I will treasure that time and our memories forever.  When I get the videos done I will add those on the blog and the underwater pics too at some point!

Maui Slideshow #5

*************************************************************

Ride 'dem Horses!

Today I'm sharing a fun card I did for the House of Gilli--our lovely hostess is Wini Bell and she challenged us with a "Stitches & Layers" challenge.  So the layer part was supremely easy for me (lol) but the sewing.....errr not so much.  I HATE to sew in any form but I stuck it out and added some hand stitching, LOL.  You can find all the challenge details, DT projects and how to win at the House of Gilli Blog HERE!

I used the fabulously cute "Cowgirl Gilli" and I think she has such a cute outfit and spirit about her!  I used papers from BoBunny that I felt looked a bit rustic and country.  I distressed all the layers with my Zutter Distress Tool and then inked them.  The oval was embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder and then rubbed the same brown ink over it with my Inkssentials Blending Tool.  The flowers are by Prima, buttons by PTI and the scrolls are Marianne Designs (thought they resembled ranch brands a bit 'eh?).  The stitching was done by using my Sew Easy tool and then I handstitched rustic twine---to darken the cream twine I just inked it with my SU inkpad :)

She's colored with Copics of course-- E25,E35,E31,E50/E11,E00,R20/E09,E08,E13/YR24,E35,E25,E31.  Then I added some cowgirl bling to her boots, skirt and belt with stickles.  Isn't she a cutie?

Thanks for stopping by today and hope you have a fabulous day!!

Another Year Goes By!

Hello everyone & Happy May 3rd to you all!  Yep today is my birthday---another year older I am, sigh!  As I hover closer to 40 I don't know that my birthday appeals to me as much anymore, LOL.  I really have liked my 30's and don't want to move into the next decade---so I've decided that THIS year I will REMAIN 37, hee hee.  Yep I will be 37 for at least 8 more years just like Zsa Zsa Gabor :) ('cept I'm not having any more kids, lol)  Birthdays never really bothered me much before---my 30th I spent in the hospital recovering my surgery and 21 was a happy year of course but they always come & go and I'm fine with it.  But when I turn 40 in 3 years---I will be on a remote island and I will NOT acknowledge my birthday in any way.  Yes I know 40 is the new 30 and all that crap that people say but I'm still not digging it and yes Jennifer Aniston & Courtney Cox look fabby but I also don't have personal trainers and plastic surgeons at my disposal.  Just prayer, a good face cream and crossed fingers in my arsenal, LOL!  And I was reading about using cow pee or some kind of urine in face creams the other day in a magazine so I guess I might slather some of that on me too if it works, LMBO!  So we'll see!  As for celebrations---nah, I'm good--Maui was present enough for me.  A dream come true it was so anything else it just icing on the cake so to speak.  I just want a sunny day, quiet day and then hubby is bringing me a dozen MD blue crabs to eat on the patio--YUM! My favorite food in the whole world dipped in vinegar/Old Bay and topped off with a cold Cherry Coke.  NO cake for me--I hate cake (gasp) LOL.  I like pie though and Lemon Meringue or Key Lime are my faves :)

 This was my present from hubby--a white gold & diamond plumeria necklace (love it) so simple and pretty!  Thanks hubby ;)
AND my fave author Karen White released her new book "The Beach Trees" today! Yep it's on my Ipad already, LOL!

A shout out to a few of my birthday twins today as well---both my DT sistah's Candy and Mindy Baxter are celebrating so if you stop by their blogs give them a birthday message too :)  And my good pal Marti Will's birthday is tomorrow too---lots of us Taureans rocking the May birthdays this week! (know what they say about us Taureans, hee hee)!

**And to celebrate the RIGHT way I'm giving away some 

Celebratory--no calorie-BLOG CANDY 

today so read to the end of this post on the yummy details! **

Ok--here is another slideshow of Maui pics for ya today!  This one shows our hike we did off of the Hana Highway with "Hike Maui" (who I highly recommend, the guide was great).  We hiked on a beautiful day and saw 5 waterfalls.  You could jump off the tops (which the kids & James did many times) of the waterfalls but the water was CHILLY!  And if you know Riley for him to jump off that high up was HUGE (he's very cautious and hates heights so I was proud)!  So beautiful to see and our guide fed us fresh pineapple and bananas right off the trees and a gourmet packed lunch.  It was a great time and it was always a dream of mine to see these waterfalls--worth every second!  Then we celebrated Alexa's 15th birthday by going on a Snorkeling Cruise to Molokini with Trilogy (another group I recommend highly).  Not only did we see schools of spinner dolphins but a HUGE sea turtle popped up in front of me & Alexa and scared the PEE out of me---it was bigger than me.  I hope my water camera got some good pics of it--it's head was huge and it looked at me like "Hey lady, what the heck are you doing here?" LOL.  Trilogy provides an awesome breakfast (fresh fruit and homemade, yummy cinnamon buns) and homemade lunch but Capt. Chris' salsa with pineapple was WOW!  Then on the way back they opened the sails on the catamaran and fed us ice cream.  Off in the distance I thought I saw something but kept watching and sure enough it was a WHALE--so Alexa screamed and everyone came running, LOL.  It was FANTASTIC--we saw a baby humpback, its mom and male escort.  The baby was learning to swim so it was flipping and flopping all over.  The cooleset thing I saw in my whole LIFE--a moment to remember for sure.  I have some pics below and a video when I figure out how to post it (I also have it up on my Facebook).  If you missed the other slideshows just page down to see those and I'll have 1 more this week (told you I took LOTS of pics, hee hee)


Maui Slideshow #4

**********************************************************************

Sunny Days Are Here Again!!

Today I'm sharing a card with you that I made for this month's Magnolia-licious DT Challenge.  I am the lucky hostess this month so I've created a sketch for everyone to try out.  I love, love sketches--they usually pull me out of mojo-block and get me on the right path (although sometimes when I'm finished they don't look at all like the sketch, lol).  You can find the sketch and how to play along with us at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog!

I broke out a pack of awesome new papers by Fancy Pants called " "--I loved the pops of black in all the patterns.  Black is one of my fave colors and I always think it gives colors and projects such a great POP of definition.  I used two NEW Magnolia images from the Butterfly Dreams Collection from Magnolia-licious called "Tilda Holding Daffodil" and "Tulip Walkway".  Tulips are my fave flower and hubby brought me a nice bouquet of them yesterday--but I have to put them way up high as my one cat (arghhh) likes to eat fresh flowers, LOL.  The flowers are a mix of Primas and the corner brackets were made with my border punch and then just cut into a 90 degree angle and accented with pearls.  The scrolly leaves are by my fave Marianne Designs and then I coated them with stickles.  Butterfly is a punch from MS and I just punched one out of black cs and then punched small holes in it and backed it with another butterfly punched in the yellow cs (the middle is a small pc of the pattern paper).

And yes she's colored with Copics of course to match the papers--- C9,C5,C3,C1/G12,G000/E49,E47,E31,E50/E11,E00,R20/YG67,YG03,G20,YG63/Y18,Y11,Y000.  I cut lil' Tilda out and popped her up on dimensionals on top of the field of tulips.  Each tulip and her white shirt and shoes got a coat of Stickles for more sparkle.  The cloudy sky was done with a sponge dauber and ink and a handcut cloud template :)

So now you need to hop over to the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog to see the DT's fabulous projects using this sketch and details on how to join in.

And I couldn't celebrate my birthday without having a yummy celebration candy right?  So just leave a comment today (no questions this time, I'm giving you the day off, hee hee) on this post only I will give 3 WINNERS one of these prizes:  a $25 Gift Certificate to Magnolia-licious, a $25 Gift Certificate to SCACD or a $25 Gift Certificate to 7 Kids College Fund!  So leave a comment by Saturday (May 7th)!!

Yeppers I'm Back!!

Well Aloha all my wonderful friends and Happy May 2nd!  Yep I'm back home (sniff sniff) safe & sound, LOL!  One thing about visiting paradise---it is SUPER HARD to come back home that's for sure!  Every day in Maui was perfect--we had an absolutely unbelievable time and we will all remember this trip forever!  There is never a bad weather day in Maui--sunny & blue skies and 85 degrees each day, like a dream I tell ya!  The trip back however was not so nice, LOL---changing 4 time zones and two different flights including a red eye that arrived home at 6:55 am on Friday morning, blech!  I had the JOY of a 5 year old boy sitting behind me on the first flight back--he kicked, screamed & hollered for the whole 5.5 hours! OMGoodness I was ready to start crying myself---and here his mother is laughing at him and not doing a thing about it.  I cannot STAND it when parents allow their kids to be obnoxious at the expense of others KWIM.  Its okay if someone is crying because they are upset, tired or sick-as parents we all understand that, but when your kid is just throwing temper tantrums because he feels like it---NOT!  Second flight I'm all geared up to sleep for the 5 hour flight home, Alexa is beside me & James & Riley in front of us.  NO SLEEP FOR SUZANNE---no way Jose!  Between Riley bouncing in his seat the WHOLE DARN WAY like a nutzo (and yes he got a few head smacks from his momma, LOL) and a HUGE man behind me snoring so loudly I swear the airplane windows were shaking.  UGH!  What a disaster, LOL--BUT I did make it home in time to scoot the kids off to school (they wanted to so don't shake your head, they take after their momma, lol) and James went to work and I got to see the Royal Wedding "KISS" and all the highlights before I passed out on the couch for a bit.  I'm still trying to get my body on EST--we'll see as I want to go to bed at 4 am which is 11 pm Maui time, LOL.


I took sooooo many pictures (over 1200) that I have had quite a job going thru them all---so I will have a few slideshows this week to break it all up for ya, LOL!  You can see the earlier ones in the posts below.  This slideshow shows our shopping trip to Ka'anapali which is beautiful and on the west coast of Maui.  We did some "hurtin'" on some of the shops including a necklace for Alexa for her 15th birthday.  I got a white gold/diamond Plumeria necklace as well for my birthday from James--will share a pic later this week (yep my bday is tomorrow, ugh, another year older, sigh).  We also went ziplining near the Haleakala Crater (volcano) which was a BLAST.  I do NOT recommend it for those of you who are scared of heights though--it is a leap of faith, LOL.  We loved it and I do have some video of the kids but gotta figure out how to get it on here this week.  And lastly in this slideshow are pics of the Dean family at Surf School (thru Maui Wave Riders)--a dream of mine as well.  I was NOT so natural at surfing and my instructor told me I was a bit of a "challenge" and hard to figure out, LMBO---well then.  I always do everything so FAST and that is very detrimental in surfing but I did finally hang 10 a few times and it was fun if not exhausting.  Alexa was a natural and took to it like a pro---all those ballet & gymnastic lessons we paid for paying off, hee hee.  James' "slow nature" also served him well and he excelled as well.  Riley struggled a bit at first but then he got the hang of it and did well too (the photograper didn't get photos of him upright sadly though).  If you have never tried to surf or want to---it is so worth it.  I think I'll stick to boogie boarding myself but I had a blast and will remember it always!


Maui Slideshow #3 (you must come directly to my blog to see slideshows if you get this via email)


I don't have any projects to share today but I will have projects all this week to share with you.  I had to get thru a crate of mail, 7500+ emails and other fun chores like laundry and dog grooming before I was able to get in my studio and craft, LOL.  But I have some coming so check back tomorrow!  But I do have newsies for ya that you might want to check out!

NewsBitz:

-SCACD had a mini-release the other day featuring FAIRIES--and they are little beauties by Victoria Case for SCACD.  You can see these cuties HERE!  She also has the new Kraftin' Kimmie stamps in stock here!

-Copic Creations has a FAB new challenge HERE up for you to participate featuring Lily of the Valley stamps and "sky/clouds" as the challenge.  The DT samples are jaw-dropping amazing!

-I have a new class up for NC for my On the Road CMC Copic Classes---check the details out HERE!  I will also be posting the Chicago dates/locations and Ontario Canada dates next week! Stay tuned!

-Lots of new goodies at 7 Kids College Fund including stamps by Crafters Companion, Penny Black and High Hopes! Gotta check 'em all out!

And I'll leave you with a few of my fave pics for today :)

Ok--I'm off to craft--see you back here tomorrow!  I'll share our whale video with you tomorrow too :)