Back Atcha’

Hi everyone!  I knoooooowwww its been 2 weeks since I posted last…I am sooo sorry LOL!  But between being very sick and working feverishly every minute on my newest class at CMC and the start of school for my teens, well it left no time for me to create anything let alone post anything ack!  But I am back and I promise to keep posting regularly for now LOL…cuz you just never know what may happen.  In fact I just started feeling better, finished my class and NOW I AM SICK with Strep throat, double ear infection and sinus infection (ugh)…I shall go lay down in front of a semi!  It NEVER fails that when the kids start school they bring home all kinds of awful germs and my immune system was already low…half of the high school is sick so Riley is sick and he gave it to me, oh yay!  But whatever…I will deal…pull on my big girl panties and keep truckin as well as I can.  Although I will say that strep ugh-double-uck…I would rather have the flu than strep..its yucky!

My son's team in blue, he's on the field playing in this photo

So my son’s football team is 2-0 so far….yay and he’s having fun and doing a great job!  In fact he has a game tonight so hopefully they win again!!  The high school had their first tailgate and varsity game last weekend which was a blast…we always love going and the school (even tho its only 3 yrs old) has great team spirit.  The Tusky Terror is the group of students 250+ strong that dresses up, cheers & shoots off confetti canons…of course Alexa is in this LOL!  So its like that “small town” Friday football night but in a bigger town so to speak LOL!  And while we’re on the subject WHOOOOT REDSKINS and RGIII…what a great way to start of season…and Ravens too!  So excited to have the football season kick off!

 In photo at left that is Alexa w/ her mouth open in middle by her friend Hannah with long, dark hair in their Tusky Terror gear LOL!

Photo on right are Alexa's BFFs Grace, Alexa & Sophia ready for the game!

We also made it to another Nats Baseball game in DC…hoping the Nats make it all the way to the World Series (that would be uber exciting)!!  We took one of Alexa’s friends Darrius…or as I say “one of my son’s LOL since he is like my son. They all call me Momma Dean …he’s a senior and is being scouted by colleges for football so I’m a proud Mama!  If you’ve ever seen the movie “Blindside”…yeah that Sandra Bullock character IS ME, 110% just like me, how I talk, think and act so it always makes me laugh.  My kids and their friends when they first saw it all said OMG Momma Dean is in that movie hahahahaha and its true, that could very well be me.  Darrius is just one of my “adopted” children, I have a few and I have high hopes for their futures just like my “real” kids that’s for sure!  I AM MY KIDS (those that I birthed AND those that I've adopted lol) BIGGEST FAN..ALWAYS! (PS Yes Riley is 6'3 and Darrius IS bigger than him..oy LOL)

Riley, Alexa & Darrius at Nats Stadium on Sunday

So for anyone interested my CMC “All About Hair” Class is up and going…you can join anytime and its all on HAIR, how to color hair with alcohol markers. I break it all down step by step, rule by rule, color by color in many styles!  So if you want to check it out CLICK HERE!

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NewsBitz:

-CMC has new beginning Mixed Media Classes taught by Marti Wills!  You can find the info HERE….she’s also looking for some crafters that LOVE to get messy for her DT for the Mixed Media Group.  You have 2 weeks to apply, submit 2 mixed media projects and your blog/background and email to marti@pezadoodle.com

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Whatever…it’s your Birthday!

Today I’m using a super cute digi image from Tiddly Inks called “Whatever!”..I love her lil’ attitude AND the fact that she has fabulous hair for me to color.  She is one of the images I’ve used to show how to color black hair on an image with no hair lines for my CMC All About Hair Class!  Christy Croll has drawn the hair in such a way that it makes it fabulously fun to add depth and texture to it.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Try It On Tuesday (anything goes)

Use It Tuesday (anything goes/old products--mine is my old trusty glitter dots)

Make It Monday (anything goes)

Paper Pretties (birthday)

Cutie Pie Challenge (no flowers)

Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge (sketch)

I used the Sweet Sunday Sketch today....I loved the fun layout and longer card size which worked well with my image!  The papers are a mix from a few paper pads – MME “Glitz Paper-Cashmere” and MME “Six by Six-Oh Happy Day”(both on sale now at SCACD)…I wantedd a fun mix of hot pink, teal and black for this cutie!  The funky branch elements are a Memory Box die called Leafy Branch, I used a new MS Border Punch for the border and those are black Glitter Dots at top.  (sentiment from PTI)

She was colored with Copics – C9,C5,C3 / E11,E00,R20 / BG15,BG11,BG10 / RV17,RV14,RV11.  I added some stardust Stickles to parts of the image, then I used some fun PTI stamps to stamp around the image a bit to funk it up.

That’s all for me, have a great week!

Blabber-Boo!!

Happy Thursday everyone!  Please read thru bottom as I have some newsies I’d like y’all to hear ok?  I am busy shooting videos for the All About Hair Class so this is a blabber-filled post LOL!

Are your kids back in school yet?  Ahhhhhhhhh…..hear that..no you don’t…..yeah cuz its silence…………yeah that’s MY house all quiet during the day once again…I LOVE IT!  I get soooo much more done when the teens are in school that’s for sure and I love the sound of SILENCE!  I haven’t even had my music on cuz’ I’ve been enjoying the quiet (minus the sounds of dogs barking & cats fussin’ LOL)!  Don’t get me wrong I love the kids but I love them in school too hahahaha!  Alexa is a junior and Riley is a freshman…man-o-man I’m not sure how they got so big…what the heck happened LOL!  But my kids are not so thrilled with the early mornings after sleeping half the summer away and Alexa is a ton of AP classes so she had work this summer to do and came home with homework and projects the first day LOL…tis the nature of school!  Riley is doing well so far as a freshman and he has football practice every day till 6:30…I pick them up, he showers, then we eat dinner and watch some tv if they don’t have homework.  So basically back to the old rig-a-ma-roll KWIM!?  Below is their first day of school pic—Riley’s idea of dressing up is his camo pants and a new t-shirt hahhaha (he didn’t forget is shoes, he just was lazy for the pic)!  Alexa has her outfits picked out for the week just like a girl LOL!



Me, my mom and Alexa had a blast in Virginia Beach at the Luke Bryan/Jason Aldean concert…although traffic was so backed up we didn’t get there until 15 mins before Luke came on stage. YES SUZANNE WAS READY TO HAVE A HEART ATTACK!!!  But a great concert…yes I’ve seen him many times but it NEVER gets old LOL!  We had quite a few laughs and we were STARVING since we had no time to eat before concert due to traffic.  So we took mom to IHop for a midnight meal LOL!  Then me and Alexa were standing in the bathtub washing our feet after the concert and I accidentally turned the shower on LMAO…that was a tad surprising and we screamed…LOUDLY…at 1 am in the morning!  Good times!  I just got tix to see Jake Owen, Florida-Georgia Line and Love-n-Theft in MD in October…yay I cannot wait for that either! 

my cutie-patootie Luke Bryan!

Soooo I’m working on taping all the videos for the All About Hair Class at the CMC Classroom.  I can only tape a few videos each day because I’m having arm tremors badly still…so 3 videos a day is how it goes.  Originally I had said it would debut Aug 31st but it’s gonna be Sept 7th instead…I apologize but my arm is not cooperating as quickly as I’d like and I haven’t been up to par and I want the class to be 110% awesomely perfect KWIM.  So I knew I had to delay the start a week, I hope you all understand.  For anyone who pre-registered you will get your invites the evening of Sept 6th via your email ok!  The manual is all done and the class is set up, I just have to finish shooting videos and editing and load them up.  But I’m excited about this class, its just FUN and lots of hair styles and color combos…I’m having fun making it so I hope you all have fun taking it.   Its an online class like my others…you do it on your own time & at your own pace and once registered you get a full year in class to view videos and download manual

If you want to come take a class with me before the end of the year I only have 2 more upcoming locations and then I will most likely be taking 6 mos off from travel-teaching.  I will still be going to CHA in Anaheim and maybe teaching the Hair Only Class while there but I’m taking some time off to let my body recupe a bit which I think its telling me to do.  So my next classes are:

-Stafford Springs, CT (if you are in NY, NJ or MA come on over)…I’m teaching Beg and Adv classes along with the Hair Class Sept 22 and 23rd.  Details at www.cmcroad.com

-Guelph Ontario…I’ll be at Younique Retreats for a week of classes in Nov, yep a week LOL.  They are my last classes of the year so if you’d like to come up please do…its gonna be fun.  I think my pal Andi is gonna hang out with me and some other friends might be coming up too…so we shall be causing some mischief when I’m not teaching hahahaha! www.cmcroad.com

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Winner of the Back 2 School Blog Candy is………

Kathy of “Will Stamp For Wine”

(email me at sjdean@smartneighborhood.net for prize details)

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I’m a day late with this (sorry) but please if you can participate in the Blog Hop below I would be so appreciative! 

Lots of great prizes to win including one from my CMC Classroom for a

FREE “ALL ABOUT HAIR CLASS”!

(if you have signed up for it and you win I will refund you $$ or you can choose another class ok)

 

Please start the HOP HERE!  Today we take time to honor our friend and fellow crafter, Jen Scull.  If you are here hopping with us, then we are sure you know Jen is battling breast cancer.  She has been fighting this nasty disease since February.
On behalf of Jen, we thank you for being here. 

The hop will run thru Sept 4th and winners announced Sept 7th!

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Ok that’s it for me today, enough of my blabbering!  I promise to try and be back soon with a project but the videos are taking everything I gots right now LOL!  So as soon as I can I will post something! Thanks y’all!  I shall leave you with a funny that made me LOL:

Boot Scootin’ Boogie!

Happy TGIFriday everyone!  How are you all doing this week?  I am off to today with Alexa to go pick up my mom 2 hours south of me, then head to Virginia Beach for the night to see……………wait for it……………wait………….YEP……….my country boyfriend…………….LUKE BRYAN and Jason Aldean LMBO!!  We are spending the night there and having lunch at the beach tomorrow and then head home.  I’m sooooooooo looking forward to seeing my Lukey for the 5th time this year bwahahahaha…I’m such a groupie….or stalker depending on your view. But man they put on a good show and I’m so looking forward to seeing it again.  I’m no where near up to my usual 200% snuff so no dancing or jumping for this gal but I will be singing LOUD and clapping and screaming of course LOL.  I don’t want to injure myself more than I already am….and YES for those who know I wear heels 99% of the time everywhere, don’t worry I’ll be in flats!  YES FLATS…I know hard to believe but check out the FLATS that I’m gonna be in…………yeah got my new cowgirl boots baby (see below) and I’m super excited to break them in!! Whooot! Yeehawwww! hahahaha!  So I’ll be ready to get my cowgirl boot scootin’ boogie on! 

My mom even made us a cheesecake to eat after the show cuz we are always thirsty and have the munchies and my mom makes the BEST baked goods you have EVER had in your life (lemon meringue pie is my fave).  I’m not a baker, didn’t get that gene although I can do it but I don’t enjoy it….I love to cook though but I’m not a recipe girl.  I prefer to make my own recipes and lead by taste, no measuring….so I do love that.  Alexa is usually my sous chef these days although I sure could use a kitchen-cleaner-upper, that’d be a luxury!  We love all the Food Network shows especially Chopped, Restaurant Impossible and Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins!  My family loves, loves good food…in another life perhaps I’d be a professional foodie LOL!  Although my body doesn’t like food much due to Crohns I still like to taste things even if I never get to finish anything…such a bummer but oh well!

Then Sunday we will finish school shopping cuz’ kiddos go back to school on Monday….whoooooohoooooooooooo…..oooops did I say that out loud? LOL!  I love my teens but I also like a quiet house during the day and my house is NEVER quiet when they are around along with their friends.  And lately I’ve just been running stinky, sweaty boys back & forth to practice twice a day…omgosh I’m so ready for school.  But hard to believe Alexa is a junior and Riley is a freshman.  I’m NOT a crier but the past few weeks I’ve HAD A LOT going on and been pushed to my outer limits so I have found myself crying in random spurts…really weird and it better stop cuz’ I no likey KWIM!  So Riley and his pals are walking out of orientation yesterday and I’m in truck waiting for them, and I start bawling….like really BAWLING at seeing them all walk out of the highschool.  Its just hard to comprehend that my BABY is 6’3 and in highschool…I’m struggling.  Riley gets in front seat and his buddies climb in back….he looks at me and goes “what in the heck is wrong with you?  are you ok?” and I’m like yeah I’m fine, just hard to see you all looking so BIG!  He looks at his friends and goes “OMGod girls are so weird…mom you really are losing it!” LOL  But I’ll  be ok, just gotta get thru this stuff and move forward, ugh!

NewsBitz:

-SUMMER SALE ENDS TODAY at the CMC CLASSROOM ---all the classes there are on sale.  Now if you miss the deadline and still want to buy a class on sale thru the weekend I will honor the deal till Monday ok.  Just shoot me an email!

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A Bundled Up Cutie!

Today I’m sharing a lil’ cutie called “All Bundled Up“ from SCACD’s Elisabeth Bell’s Sampler #7  line!  She’s perfect for the upcoming winter and holiday season!  I chose to use her for a fun wintry card but she’d sure look cute all done up in holiday colors.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Make It Monday (anything goes)

CCEE Stampers (paper piecing)

Paper Crafting Journey (anything goes)

I used some new yummy papers from MME 6x6 Designs in Meadow (10% 0ff)!  The scrolly pendant accents were done with a new Memory Box die “Quinn Flourish” that I just love!  I distressed my papers with my Zutter Distress machine which I love as you know.  Buttons are by PTI along with the fun sentiment!

I thought it would be fun to paper piece her beret and some accents on her coat (pockets, collar and sleeve accents) with the MME paper….always shade your paper pieces with your markers so they match the rest of your shaded/colored image.  I used Doodlebug Flock on her pom-pom accents, Stickles to accent her a bit.  I colored her with Shinhan TouchTwin markers in: Y42,G43,GY48,GY124 / B62,B66,B143 / BR95, BR04,BR109 and skin was done with Copics E11,E00.  I used some PTI scroll stamps to accent outside of the image as well.

That’s all for me today…make sure to stop by SCACD and check out the NEW STAMPS HERE and the new SCACD DIES too!

Want a Mouse-Cake?

Hiya my friends!  Just a short note from me today….if you follow me on Facebook you know the drama story that has happened this week in my house.  And because of that its caused my health issues to flare up a bit so I’m trying to take it easy the next couple of days so I can get back to my regularly scheduled programing and work LOL. 

I am off to watch my son’s scrimmage against a rival HS in football today…he has back-to-back scrimmages so we will see how long my body can sustain sitting on metal bleachers.  He said when I dropped him off at school for practice today “well I guess since you don’t feel well you won’t be yelling loud like usual right?’….and I said “UM NOPE, sorry unless my voice is taken I’m gonna use it!” LMBO!  I am a total whooper yellin’ momma from the bleachers and I could care less, I want Riley and his friends to know we are there supporting them KWIM!

I’ll leave you with a funny today cuz I know I needed this laugh (see pic below)…..my youngest Cairn Terrier Baylee has been a sock thief since she was a puppy.  So the pile below I found under my bed along with an odd assortment of slippers, tissue and cotton balls.  She was in the room when I discovered it and she slowwwwwwly backed out of the room like “uh-oh momma has found my stash and I’m in trouble” hahahahaha..she was so cute!  But I NOW KNOW where all those mates to my socks have gone and here I was blaming the dryer all this time LOL!

NewsBitz:


-New Mixed Media Classes including fun project classes are up now at CMC Classroom taught by Marti Wills.  If you have been curious about Mixed Media and how to use it and incorporate it into your work…you need to go check out her classes ok, they are fab!

-The SUMMER SALE on all classes at the CMC Classroom ends Aug 24th so go stock up now, only a couple days left ok!! www.scrapbitzcopics.ning.com

-Blog Candy can still be entered for until Friday on my previous post or click HERE!

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A Mouse-Cake!!

This cutie is my card for the current TouchTwin Challenge which is to use something with FOOD and SHADING…you can find details HERE and you could win 12 markers!!  So go play along if you can, its an awesome prize!

I'm entering this into the following challenges as well:

Make It Monday (anything goes)

SFYTT Challenge (see blurb below)

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge (birthdays)

Created With Love Challenges (3 of a kind)

Forever Friends Challenge (animal/anything goes)

Lollipop Crafts (anything goes)

I used this cute Whipper Snapper stamp and colored with my TouchTwin markers.  The paper is NEW from MME 6x6 Designs “Life of the Party”…(10% off now too) - I loved the fun combo of colors and patterns.  I used the sketch from the Aug SFYTT Challenge which I loved cuz it uses lots of layers…my fave   The sentiment is from PTI along with the buttons and ribbon.  I distressed my papers with my fave Zutter Distress tool which makes the job much easier! I accented with my White Sharpie Poster Paint pen and stickles for fun sparkle.  To make my buttons sparkly I coated them with Stickles too…you can never have enough stickles in my opinion!

Have a great rest of the week ok!

Back 2 School Fun!!

Happy Monday everyone!  Hope you had a fabulouso weekend!  We had beautiful weather on Saturday so after all my chores were done we were outside grillin! And then we had our friends/neighbors over for dessert on the patio and to watch the Redskins pre-season game—unfortunately we lost by 2 pts in the last 60 secs…arghhh but they gave good fight!  We are still in baseball season here at our house, just finished up with Olympics and now gearin’ up for a glorious football season LOL.  And pretty soon hockey starts too…always a good sports time in our household…we LOVE IT!  Yesterday we went to Redskins Park (which is 10 mins from our house) for a fan event/car show…it started to drizzle but we persevered and I know Riley was excited to be there even if he was acting “cool” hahahaha.  He was too shy to get autographs…I however do NOT have that problem so I got his jersey and hat signed by everyone and pics too. I had to play the “girl card” a bit since I was shorter than most of the guys standing there waiting heehee, but in times like that I’ll use what I need to….I was like “hey hey girl fan here that’s too short to see” so many of the Redskins guys reached over for my hat and a picture.  I know Riley was both ready to KILL me and happy I was doing it LOL.  Most of them were very nice and joking and more than happy to meet Riley…funny thing was that Riley was taller than most of them (although he’s gotta work on his muscles some more).  Riley is 6’3 and headed up so he’s gonna be BIG, apparently I birthed a giant lmao…he’s been working out all summer with his football team and he is Offensive Tackle on the team, first game is the 25th of Aug.  So you know Mom will be there yelling, cheering, hiding my eyes and probably doing just enough that they will want to duct-tape my mouth..but whatever!  Being a football mom is SCARY…it was bad enough when Alexa was a flyer for her cheerleading squad (oy vey) but seeing my boy get hit on the field is NOT fun ugh.  Should be an interesting season me thinks…I’m just crossin’ my fingers for NO injuries ok?!

Slideshow of Pics (click here if u get this by email to see):







NewsBitz:

-The CMC Classroom SALE ENDS AUG 24th! All the classes over there are on sale, so go stock up now!  The “All About Hair Class” starts on Aug 31st but is up for pre-registration pricing now! www.scrapbitzcopics.ning.com

-Blog Candy down below that is fun and calorie-free!!

-SCACD has some awesome NEW SCACD dies in stock HERE...go check them out and also lots of new 6x6 paper pads are on sale too, you may want to stock up (like I did cuz I always need paper hahaha)!

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Back 2 School Fun!

Today the Magnolia-licious DT has a fun Back-2-School themed Blog Hop for you all today!  You can see all the challenge details at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog so you can play along with us…make sure to hop along to see all the DT projects too!  I used to love back to school…new crayons, new pencils and notebooks..it was fun and I always enjoyed school.  Now as a mom I enjoy the kids GOING BACK to school but not so much on buying school supplies…wowza they got super expensive…$210 for both kids school supplies!  Both of my kids are in high school and Alexa has multiple AP classes…they all need special (re: expensive) binders, books and so on blahblahblah LOL! But it was always fun to see the kids dressed for the first day of school, new bookbags at the ready at the bus stop..I always made them a special treat for their lunchboxes for that day.  Now they barely eat breakfast and get up 20 mins before the bus comes and run out the door LMBO –oh how times change huh?  So I BASED my project today on a gift for a smaller child to get on their first day of school….a mini lunchbox filled with crayons, notepad and fun lipgloss then a candy pencil I made…fun things for them to open.

I'm also entering this into the following challenges:

Gingerloft (use metal)

No Matter Which Challenges (anything goes)

One Stitch at a Time (back 2 school)
Just Some Lines (layers) 
My Sheri Crafts (back 2 school)

I picked up a bunch of these cute, mini lunchboxes a few years ago…I always stock up at the Target $1 bin cuz as a crafter YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN you might need it right? hahahaha  I colored up this cute NEW “Autumn Tilda with Pencils” to decorate the front of my lunchbox…the papers are from a new pack from MME 6x6 pack “Quilting Bee” (loved the scissor pattern).  The lil paper with A+ on it was made using some of my PTI sets…I also used the alphabet border to decorate the faux-bellyband.  Some fun mix of ribbons finish it off and make it girly!  Check out the rest of the stamps in the Turning Leaves Collection HERE!  Also pre-orders are up for Little Christmas Collection too (so so cute)!

This cutie “Autumn Tilda with Pencils” got colored with BOTH Copics and TouchTwin markers…I added a bit of Stickles to her hairbands and her shoes for sparkle.

I saw these candy pencils on Pinterest (oh lawdy the time spent and lost on that site hahahaha—I luv it)…you can see the original tutorial HERE.  I decided to use Fruit Mentos cuz’ my kids always loved them instead of Rolos (they don’t like caramel..cuz they are crazy lol).  I cut a dk yellow cs to size and then scored it on my Scor-Pal every 1/2 inch for the creases…pink cs makes the eraser and then a slim pc of Reynolds Wrap (foil) for the band on the eraser.  The pencil tip is a Hershey’s Kiss that I airbrushed the wrapper with a Copic Brown marker (E37) so that it was a bit darker.  Then I made a double tag with “Mini Autumn Tilda with Pencils” stamped in red (I just colored the pencils for a fun, different effect)…the other tag was made using the same PTI set and then tied off with Bakers Twine.  What kid wouldn’t have fun opening this set…heck I’d like one for meself hahahaha!

Ok 2 things today, first is Blog Candy (cuz I haven’t done it in a long long time)….if you leave a comment telling me “What Your Fave Back 2 School supply was to buy or get when you were young?” on this post by Friday you will win a pack of NEW MME 6x6 paper and 2 Magnolia stamps of your choice!  (Mine was paper and new box of crayons...go figure lol)

Secondly make sure to hop on to

Chris Christensen’s Blog next

She is our Guest Designer for the month of August and she’s created some pretty fabulous things for you all!  Have fun hoppin!

Homespun Hills!

Happy Friday everyone!  Are you ready for the weekend? I know I sure am, I still feel like I need some sleep and a bit of down time this weekend doing not much of anything LOL. Although on Sunday we are headed to Redskin Training camp for a fan-event…hoping to meet some of the Redskins…cuz if there is a will, I WILL FIND A WAY LOL!  I had a blast up in Canada as I always do…I love the ladies up there and they are always so much fun and so kind.  Sheila is the owner of Scrappin’ Great Deals in Ontario and she’s such a lovely lady…a bit crazy tho like me..so we get along REAL good hahahaha!  And Sarah for always being so sweet and helping me during class and before and after…I appreciate her help and friendship!  And to my friend Andi Murdock who took me to dinner when I got in Friday night and then had me to her house the next night…her hubby fixed us an awesome dinner (yum to the coconut shrimp and choc ganache cake).  I so appreciated it and just being able to hang out, chat and laugh a lot with her, Sarah and her family in the evenings.  I have to say there is NOTHING better (well your family of course) than having GOOD friends….to me if I didn’t have such awesome friends I truly don’t know what I’d do.  I don’t know how I’d get thru some days without my friends…I can text them, email them (cuz I don’t do phone calls lol) anytime and I know they are listening…helping…commiserating..angered for me/happy for me/sad for me/…making me laugh and more…just basically being there.  I appreciate that more than anything…cuz let’s face it…your friends sometimes just know you better than anyone else…even your hubby or family…or its just easier to say things to them sometimes cuz you know they’ll understand.  It would be a sad day indeed if I didn’t have my close buddies…I love em, I root for them, I laugh with them (ok sometimes at them hahahaha), I yell with them, act crazy dumb with them and I’d do anything for ‘em!!  And I’m a Taurus…so I’m loyal and trustworthy to a fault..I really value my friends, their lives and families, their secrets and their fears and I know they do the same for me.  And hey a girl has gotta have some friends to get their CRAZY-ON with KWIM LOL!!!

Were you an Olympic watcher?  The Dean’s are HUGE Olympic fans and we pretty much saw them everyday and enjoyed each event and the athlete’s stories.  I’m kinda sad now that they aren’t on…I feel lost without rooting on or biting my lip as each race starts hahahaha!  And as always I’m amazed by these athlete’s total commitment to their sport, their poise and grace and maturity…blows me away!  Now as for the US’s Ralph Lauren outfits…don’t get me started hahaha…I hated ‘em.  To me if you are representing the USofA then you should be wearing a baseball cap, not a FRENCH BERET.  And I’ll stop there heehee!

I stopped at my Gram’s house on the way to Canada for a few days…Alexa came up with me this time too.  My Gram is 91 and shoot she still does more than me some days…that’s scary huh!?  Its always fun to hang out and spend time…I always learn new family stories when I’m up there…she’s like a time capsule of memories ya know.  One day I took Alexa up to Niagara Falls since she’d never been…it was a beautiful day and we had a blast!  We donned our ponchos and did The Cave of the Winds, had some snacks and walked around enjoying the park.  Below is a slideshow of pics from my trip…enjoy!!  I’ll save my trip back over the border to the US for another time….if you follow me on Facebook then you already know about that whole catastrophe LOL!

Slideshow:





NewsBitz:

-The Summer Sale at the CMC Classroom ends Aug 24th….so go stock up now at great prices.  Also the “All About Hair” Class online is up for pre-registration if that interests you!

-My next CMC travel classes will be in Stafford Springs, CT so if you live in the Mass, NYC or CT area…its pretty close so come on and take a class!  All details are at www.cmcroad.com!

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Hills of Memories!

So I’m a bit behind on my Gina K projects since I was traveling so I’m going to share a few over the next couple weeks as I get them all done with the newest sets.  If you haven’t seen the NEW Gina K releases go HERE…they are fabulous and so much fun to use in different ways.  I’m using “Country Roads” illustrated by Theresa Momber (it makes me wanna sing some John Denver ya know)  I love the vintage images in this set AND REMEMBER you can now buy the sets in clear or red rubber (mmmm me luvs clear stamps)!  I love that Gina’s sets lends themselves to coloring or other stamping techniques so you can use them in so many different ways.

I'm entering this into the following fab challenges:

Delightful Challenges (dies & punches)

DYSU Challenge (buttons)

Papercrafting Journey (anything goes)

Fresh Brewed Challenges (rubber stamps only)

Cards & More Challenges (anything goes)

Flourishes (kraft cs)

I used papers from Glitz called “Yours Truly” (10% off too)…I loved the patterns and colors in this pack!  I cut some half circles in different sizes with my CB and dies then distressed the edges with my Zutter Distress tool.  I stamped the images on kraft cs with different inks…the clouds is an old stamp that I inked in cream ink, stamped it off and then lightly stamped onto my cs for a softer look.  The mini pearls were made with Liquid Pearls in platinum, ribbon from PTI.  I liked the homespun, quilt feeling of the mix of papers this gives.

That’s it for me today!  I sure hope you have a fabulous weekend ahead of you…school starts soon here in VA so I’m gonna have to resign myself to some shoppin’ with the teens soon…ugh…not any fun…LOL!  See ya on Monday!

A Bit of Heaven!

The Design Team for Gina K. Designs welcomes you to another fabulous Inspiration Blog Hop!!! Gina and the Design Team will inspire you with many beautiful ideas! And as you hop through their blogs, make sure to leave a comment on each of them because we will choose a few random comments and those stampers will each win a grab bag of deeply etched, pre-cut Gina K. Designs stamps! To see the full list of winners check the Big News forum at Stamp TV a couple of days after the hops!!

Today I am using the fabulous Gina K STV Kit called “Sun Kissed Autumn” which is packed full of great images and sentiments…and you get some crafty goodies with it when you buy!  I have a lot of people going thru a lot of things right now….so as I was making this I kept them all in mind.  I kept the colors cheery and graphic and I adore the saying “When you climb a tree, you’re a little bit closer to heaven”..awww!

I used some new papers from Glitz that I loved and paper-pieced each tree for a fun, happy look!  Then I just added many layers of cardstock with some black cardstock to make it all POP!  Then I stamped the sentiment below in black ink.  Not a difficult card to make but I love the graphic quality of it and that it makes me SMILE !!!

That’s all for me today….hop to the fabulous designers below and leave a comment on each to be entered to win the fun goody-bag of stamps!

• Gina K
• AJ Otto
• Beth Silaika
• Carolyn King
• Cathy Tidwell
• Deb Felts
• Giovana Smith
• Jimmi Mayo
• Lee Murphy
• Lori McAree
• Melanie Muenchinger
• Sharon Harnist
• Suzanne Dean (that's me, thanks so much)
• Tami Mayberry
• Theresa Momber
• Tina Gilliland
• Vicki Dutcher

Hissy Fits!!

Happy Monday my friends!  Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!  I am still hobbling around with my back but there is lots to do, so no down-time for me right now.  I figure life is too short to sit in pain and not contribute so we went to the movies Friday evening (I gritted thru the pain LOL as I know how to do) and saw “The Watch”…which was hilarious but FULL of crude humor, so if you don’t do crude than don’t see it.  But it was a nice silly movie that made me laugh.  I really want to see the new movie “Hope Springs” with Tommy Lee Jones & Meryl Streep…looks soooo good!  Then Saturday night James had to entertain clients in his box at Nationals Stadium so the kids and I + my “other” son (Riley’s BFF LOL) all tagged along. WHAT A GAME…OMGoodness it was one of the best baseball games of the season!  But between standing up and down my back was a-screechin’ so I was a hobblin' Nats fan for sure.  Then Riley high-fived me in the middle of the game…ok he’s 220 lbs and 6’3..he high-fived me SO HARD that he made one of my veins in my hand blow (ewww gross) and my hand is still swelled up badly.  Course its my coloring/writing/dominant hand so that’s just great—seriously the boy does not know his own strength!  I told him he may now only give me GENTLE fist bumps at games...we're gonna have to practice to make sure he knows what GENTLE means!!  I may take up the idea of wrapping myself completely in bubble wrap and yellow caution tape…think that might do it? hahahahaha probably not ‘eh?

On Sunday we just hung out with family watching the Nats play and the Olympics and had some yummy MD Blue Crabs…I do love me some Old Bay, vinegar and crab dippin…nothing better.  In my will (yes I will go morbid on ya for a few secs) I have said I want my organs donated, then cremate me, then have my ashes put in a firecracker (yes there is a company that does this) and shot off at the end of a huge party/crab feast…I wanna go out with a BANG and scatter in the wind KWIM!  Seriously I want everyone to celebrate the way I wanted to live and things I liked to do…do not waste tears at my party cuz I will come back in ghostly form and haunt!! LOL!  My hubby HATES that stipulation but he’s been warned if he doesn’t follow my wishes I will attach my ghostly self to him and make his life hell, hee hee…and he knows I’m not kiddin’!  As I always say Live Life Large, Have Fun, Enjoy Every Day and Love Hard..nothing better than when you apply that to each day (even when in pain LOL)

Yummy MD Crabs & Double-Cherry Cokes for me!!

My son & his friend at the game—don’t they look thrilled with me hahaha!

NewsBitz:

-My newest online coloring class “All About Hair” is up for pre-registration now HERE at the CMC Classroom !  It will go live August 31st and we focus 100% on hair styles and colors!  This class I am also teaching in-person in Canada and in Connecticut…see www.cmcroad.com for more details on that.

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Hissy Fits?

Today I’m sharing a new card with another super-cute image from the NEWEST release at SCACD.  This uses an Elisabeth Bell for SCACD “The Storybook Collection” and this cutie is called “The Misunderstanding”…hahahahaha!  A polite way to call a childish temper tantrum in my words…my daughter HAD TONS OF THESE as a child.  Let’s just say she was very HIGH-spirited…heck she still is but she’s reigned most of the tantrum stuff in thank goodness LOL. During the early teen years we removed the door from her room so often I was an expert “Door Remover” hahahaha…she liked to slam it often so she lost it often!!  (I luv my kids ferociously but I play no games with them...I'm their parent first...and they know it) So when I saw this it just made me think of her when she was little.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Dream Valley Challenges (dies/punches)

Fashionable Stamping Challenges (anything goes)

No Matter Which Challenge (anything goes)

2 Sisters Challenge Blog (sketch/anything goes)

Challenge Up Your Life (everything goes)

Send a Smile for Kids (for the girls)

I used some great papers from “Family Ties“ (from First Edition) paper pad…I love the cheery mix of reds, yellows and blues!  The fun sentiment at the bottom is from an old Hannah Stamps set and I thought it was PERFECT for this card!  I distressed my papers and then added a mix of Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts flowers.  The swirls are from the Heartfelt Designs die “Bella Rose”…a fave of mine to use.

The image was colored with TouchTwin markers:  Y32,Y35,Y38 / PB71,PB70,PB76 / R11,R12,RP7 / BR92,BR93,BR97 / BR101,YR132.

That’s all for me today…I’m shuttling boys to & fro football practice, doing laundry, packing, making some release projects and prepping for classes up in Canada…oy.  Long day…have a goodie!

Sneakers Peekers!!

Happy TGIFriday everyone!  Yippppeeee it’s the weekend again!  I’m keeping my chatter short today…I’ve put my lower back out and can barely walk so I’m gritting my teeth as I type this up.  Yes this is normal for me, I have a disintegrating disc in my lower back that likes to act up and this time its reallly bad…I might go get a shot at the dr’s office if I cannot get some relief.  Not to mention I’m leaving Tuesday for NY and Canada and have a TON of stuff to do of course…its like torture of many kinds I tell ya cuz I have issues with not moving and being immobile..big..and it makes me CRANKY LOL.  Which means I am a bowl-ful of fun to be around hahahaha! And no I’m not having surgery to correct it, I don’t want any surgery on my back right now…if you know my medical history than you know why that is but it ain’t happenin’ on my back right now.  But I’ll be ok and will push it as much as I can…tomorrow I just have lots of typing to do no coloring.  Coloring makes me bend in such a way that causes PAIN when my back hurts…I colored for 3 hours yesterday and gritted my teeth the whole time, no fun!

And for you I share a moment of hilarity with you Suzanne style (cuz this is my hubby every night, cuz I like to talk in bed LOL)…if you follow me on Facebook then you’ve seen this already hee hee!

Anywho I hope you are all gonna have a fabulous weekend!  I certainly plan to immobile or not hahahaha!

NewsBitz:

-You can pre-register for my “All About Hair” Class online at the CMC Classroom HERE. It will debut on Aug 31st but you can pre-register for special pricing until then.

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Peeker Fever!!!

Today get ready for a Cute and Cuddly release from Elisabeth Bell for SCACD—three new sets released today!!!  Our first set, The Storybook Collection, brings us all back to those childhood days when our best friend was our beloved Teddy Bear. We all told our secrets to our Teddy Bears, had a few misunderstandings but we always made up and were ready for new adventures to unfold.  Next we have a set of 4 adorable little girls who know how to work an accessory with their FUN hats that make up Sampler #6. Our final set, Sampler #7, is a variety of cute and fun! These 4 little girls remind us all of the simple pleasures of childhood from lollipop dreams, playing in the rain, picking wildflowers and getting bundled for weather to the point of not being able to move.

The DT is having a fun release hop so make sure to hop thru and see all these cuties in action!  If you came here Alex’s fun blog then I am last on the stop today or if you get lost (heehee) you can find the blog hop order on the Store Blog Here!!

IF you are overseas you can buy these cuties at Quixotic Paperie!

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

4 Crafty Chicks (distressing)  
PaperPlay Challenges (layers) 
Party Time Tuesdays (anything goes) 

Top Tip Tuesday (ribbon)

I used the super cute “Big Hat Peeker” isn’t she a doll?  My papers are from “Authentique“ and I distressed all my edges just a bit for a soft look.  The photo corners are “Classic Corner” dies from Dies by SCACD.  The sentiment is by PTI, as is the ribbon and button accent!

She got colored up in Copics and I paper pieced the top of her shirt with the matching paper for a fun look.  Some Stickles on her hat dots and bottom of her shirt and pants..she wanted to shimmer!

That’s all for me today…now I’m last on hop so you can start with Danni or head to the SCACD Store to shop!!