Puttin’ Fires Out!!

Hi there my friends!  Sorry for no post yesterday---I was having a “goober kinda” day and just kind unmotivated and non-creative feeling.  Just some stuff I had to deal with and trying to clear it all out.  I call ‘em goober days cuz’ when the kids were young and they were having a bad day or off day I would tell them they were having a “goober day” LOL.  That would usually make them laugh---in fact Riley asked me yesterday if I was having one hee hee and yep I was.  And the weather was a tad gloomy too which never helps---I’m a sunny day kinda gal

But I have a TON of stuff to do and its homecoming week for Alexa.  She has spirit days this week and then a pep rally that I have to go to on Friday to see her cheer dance, then hubby and I have to be ticket takers along with some friends of us for the football game (pray to god for no rain lol).  Then Saturday is the actual homecoming dance so we’ve got nail & hair appts to get her to, I do her makeup and get her dressed and to the waterfall for pics with her friends.  She has a “date” this year—oh my LOL—he’s a friend although me and “her friends” agree he likes her more than a friend. She just cracks me up though cuz she DOES take after me A LOT which is a TAD scary!  So she tells him (after they agree to go to the dance together) that he SHOULD ASK HER TO THE DANCE in a VERY ORIGINAL WAY!!  So below is what he did for her yesterday---he put a question on her locker and then had a rose inside saying he was happy to be going with her.



Awww isn’t that sweet?  See, some guys still have it in them hee hee!  He’s a good kid so even if they don’t date, I’m glad he’ll be looking after her and they have a HUGE group of friends so they all go as a group too which is fun. They are all bringing a dish to a friend’s house to eat before and then onto the dance, then one of her friends is having everyone over afterwards for a bonfire!  Nope she still can’t officially date until she’s 16 so Mom & Dad will drop them off at the dance—bummer hee hee! Oh Well!  I’m just happy we have a dress we BOTH like, she got her shoes (too high in my opinion but apparently they all take them off to dance, who knew) and jewelry.  Now for her to decide on her hair—first she wanted it half up, now she wants it all up—OMG teens are soooo much fun I tell ya! LOL!  But they will have fun, hopefully everyone stays safe and that they come away with a lot of great memories.  And DUH of course I’ll share pics with y’all on Monday or on Facebook if you follow me on there

NewsBitz:


-Wanna take a Copic class with me?  I have classes next weekend in San Jose, CA and then in Chicago in November (Saturday is full but Sunday has spots open for Chicago)  These are the last classes of the year for me! Then I will start up again in the new year!

-My new Copic Videos (there are 3) are up on YouTube showing how I colored the Wee Stamps fairy from this post HERE!

Fairy #1 Folds - http://youtu.be/1I-p82LtEcc
Fairy #2 Wings - http://youtu.be/RvXKWjTxgvE
Fairy #3 Hair - http://youtu.be/jrac7RHkbLc

-Swimming for Katie!!  From October 10-12 some of the best stampers are joining together to support and encourage our friend and fellow stamper, Katie Renz, who is currently battling inoperable gastric cancer.  If you're not familiar with her, Katie’s cancer story started just before Christmas last year.  Katie & I were on some of our very first DTs together years ago and she is super talented, married and has young kids of her own. She got the bad news about her incurable stomach cancer and has been fighting it as hard as she can since! Her first post about it is here.  The idea of “Swimming for Katie” came from her recent post here.  You can read more about how to help, buy stamps or just donate for a chance to win some awesome prize HERE!!!!  Let’s help support one of our fellow crafters ok!!

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Fire, Fire!!!

Ok,ok I hear ya! LOL—I get a ton of requests to create more boy/masculine cards and projects.  I have no problem with making them, they are always fun but I have tons more girly-girl stuff in my possession LOL!  But La La Land makes such cutie-pie boy images and they are sooooo much fun to color!  This is an older image called “Fireman Luka” and he’s just so cute!  I used all my son’s fave colors on this—he loved primary colors when he was little and he LOVED fire trucks too!  You can all the NEW La La Land stamps for pre-order right HERE!

I used some fun papers from my scrap pile on this (I'm trying my darndest to use them scraps up lol).  I embossed the goldish/yellow cs with a fun CB domino embossing folder.  I used some star punches from SU and then added a fun sentiment—perfect for a young birthday boy.  I distressed all the papers with my Zutter Distress Tool—love that darn machine!

I'm entering this cutie into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly 

(use 3 shapes on card--mine are square, triangle & circle)

Heart Song Inspirations (die cuts or sponging)

Karen's Doodles Challenge (distressing)

Make It Monday (anything goes)

Pollycraft Challenge (Boys)

He got colored with Copics:  R29,R24,R22,R20 / YR24,YR23,Y15 / E11,E00 / B28,B24,B21 / E25,E31,E50.  I added some Diamond Glaze to his hat’s badge, eyes and the hose for some fun shine and sparkle.  The corners were done with triangles of Magic Mesh I cut out---just some fun boyish-texture.

Hope you enjoyed that today and I’ll see you back here soon!

Oh My Pumpkin!

Hi everyone & Happy Monday (& happy Columbus Day for those in the US)!  Yep that means my kiddos are home with me today—oh joy LOL!  Actually I’m taking Riley to get his hair cut and Alexa to get shoes for her homecoming dance this weekend and then I have work to get done.  WOW—what a fabulous weekend of weather we had here in Virginia, absolutely perfect.  Sunny, blue skies and in the mid to high 70’s each day---I loved it.

 I saw this sign and it made me chuckle—thought you might enjoy it too LOL!

We spent most of the day at the Pumpkin Patch out in Bluemont, VA in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains goofing off and having lots of fun (see slideshow below).  There is a picture of Riley next to a “height chart” and he’s hitting the 6 foot mark now but when we started going there 5 years ago he was barely reaching the top of the pumpkin—my how kids grow huh?  Well we did our maze, drank cider and ate Kettle corn, raced on the tube slides and then took a hay ride to the pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins.  Alexa of course picked one wayyyyy too big for her to carry, LOL, even though our rule has always been---“you pick it, you carry it” LMBO So it was a bit comical to watch her try to carry it thru the patch and yes I laughed the whole time!  Then we rode up to one of the mountains where a winery is and took pics—they have huge boulders there that make great posing platforms for some fall pics.  We finished off the day at my fave restaurant in Leesburg called “Lightfoot” and ate outside on their patio enjoying the beautiful weather!  I had my fave Oysters Rockefeller (yummers---if it comes from the sea then I luv it)!

Oysters Rockefeller—my fave!

Then Alexa went to a nighttime corn maze with her friends and had a sleepover with the girls at her friend’s house.  That left hubby and me to hit the movies at 10:30 pm to see 50/50 which was really good, I highly recommend it—I laughed a lot and cried a bit.  A very REAL look at friends and how we deal with cancer or crisis in our lives—I loved it!  We also chaperoned our son & eight 14-year old boys to the movies so they could see “Real Steel” and then got most of them back home---we are the neighborhood hang-out and chaperone/chauffeur service dontcha’ know.  Its because we are the vampire parents---we are always up till 2 am so we get relegated to taking care of all the teens LOL. 

Yesterday hubby and I cleaned up the yard, trimmed bushes, planted some new shrubs and decorated the front porch for fall.  I gotta get some cornstalks for my columns but other than that its all good.  We had dinner outside in front of the fireplace and roasted Smores with some of Alexa’s “guy friends” who came over.  There is NEVER a moment when there is NOT a gang of teens in my house I tell ya—its like a freaking teen magnet LOL!  I don’t mind most of the time and at least I know what they’re up to KWIM! 


our front porch

New Copic Videos--

I’ve got 3 NEW YouTube videos up featuring how to color the Forest Fairy Card I did with the Wee Stamps “Silver Fairy” by Sylvia Zet if you are interested in seeing those.  You can see the card and all the card details at this post here!

Video #1 – Coloring the Fairy Dress & Folds
Video #2 – Coloring the Fairy Wings
Video #3 – Coloring the Fairy’s Hair

Slideshow of pics (if you get my blog by email you must come to the blog website to view them):




I don’t have a project to share yet but I will have one for ya tomorrow! Stay tuned and have a fabulous day!

Nostalgic Much?!!

Hellooooo and a very happy Friday to you all---can I hear a Yeahhhhh for the weekend anyone?  YEAHHHHHH! I’m so excited to have alll my work done so I can enjoy my first full weekend at home in a long time LOL.  The weather is supposed to be sunny, in the 70’s and we are headed to the Pumpkin Patch tomorrow—yeehaw. Gonna do a lil’ pumpkin pickin’, hay ridin’ and apple cider drinkin’ y’all under the shadows of the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains.  We go every year no matter where we have lived and I’m sure hubby and I will go once the kids are in college and then maybe one day with grandkids (shhhh I don’t want grandbabies for a LOOOONGGG time lol).  And I have been on a roll the past few days—the sun and getting some long needed rest has energized me even more (yes hubby is very skeeered).  I groomed my dogs, made and ordered all my Xmas cards and photo books, bought frames and ordered my Maui & beach pics for a wall collage, made homemade dinners, baked, and cleaned my closet out (again).  whoo hooo! I like it! Sunday we are going to prune all our bushes outside and put in new door hardware (do you hear my hubby groaning) but gotta get it all done early cuz Sunday afternoons/nights are reserved for FOOTBALL baby hee hee. Redskins & Ravens have off this week but we watch any game lol so its all good.  Last night hubby and I sat outside on the patio with a fire roaring—that’s one thing I love about fall is fires and punkin’ patches See pic below!  Anywho I hope you have a super fantastic weekend and I will have my video up on YouTube by Sunday for y’all ‘kay!

our outside patio fireplace

NewsBitz:

-I’m coming to San Jose, CA and Waco, TX this fall so sign up if you wanna come to a Copic class with me.  Always fun and I would love to meet you in person—I promise to not wipe you out or fall on you ‘kay? LOL!  www.cmcroad.com

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Nostalgia!!

Are you a nostalgic kinda person?  I know I am—I can smell something and it takes me right down memory lane or if I see a picture then I’m right back there again.  I am obsessed with red barns (yes I have lots of obsessions including forest fairies, skin care, Tim McGraw & Luke Bryan and Cherry Coke to name a few).  My dream house one day will be a low-country farmhouse near the water in SC perhaps with a red barn and stream (yeah I never ask for too much hee hee).  I love red barns, they remind me of my grandparents farm they owned in New York—I loved spending summers there in the country. Bare feet, mudpies, swimming in the streams, smells of the grape vineyards and laundry in the breeze—not too mention ice cream and goodies made by my grandma.  So I wanted to recreate that feeling a bit with this card—equal parts rustic and romantic and nostalgic. 

This is my project for my new “Free For All Friday” Challenge over at StampTV today---hope you will get a chance to join in!  Its all about KRAFT and RED—use kraft cs and the color red in your projects.  I’ve got some inspiration photos as well you can use too if you’d like!

I'm also entering this into these fun challenges:

365 Cards Challenge (rustic-thurs)

Do You Stack Up? (browns)

Moving Along with the Times (autumn leaves)

Paper Play Challenges (autumnal colors)

The Pixie Cottage (Fall fun)

I used two different stamps sets from Gina K on my project. The main image is from “Farm Life” and it has some beautiful images in it, all gorgeous and this is the last one that I hadn’t used.  And of course my barn HAD TO BE RED, duh! LOL!  All my patterned papers are from my scrap pile but the cardstock is Gina’s Pure Luxury Kraft, nice weight to it too.  The vine-like die cut out is new from Memory Box—its actually a wreath but I cut it into sections to wrap the corners of my image with.  The sentiment is from Gina K’s “Dreams” set and I love it---cuz you all know I’m married to James Dean right?  Yep that’s my hubby’s name and his dad was Jimmy Dean, LOL!  ( a movie star & the sausage king)  I distressed the papers with my Zutter Distress It tool and then added a bow with my Bow Easy topped with some Prima flowers and some pearls.



For the barn I wanted a rusty red color---Copic has a range of rustier reds from E07 to E19 but they weren’t exactly what I wanted.  So I colored the barn in R29,R24,R22 & R20 and then went over the R29 with E35 to brown it down a bit.  I also took E31 over the lighter reds too and then topped it with the reds again—kinda like a sandwich.  That’s the beauty of Copics—you can layer colors to create new colors to your liking   I used a mix of colors on the fall trees—E08,YR24,YR20,YG03,E31,YR12 and then added stickles to make them sparkle.  The roof of the barn was done with my W grays and the silo in C grays.

Alrighty I wish you all a fabulous weekend and if you get a chance join in on the challenge with me at StampTV HERE—anyone can play!

Forest Gatherings!

Happy Wednesday to you all!  Hope you all are having a fabulous week!  Guess WHAT??  My daughter finally settled on a dress for homecoming—OMGoodness what a horrendous experience it has been LOL.  She had wanted this dress that was quite “inappropriate” (that’s a kind way to say it) and I was adamant that it would NOT be happening.  SO many tears and much screaming & slamming on her part we came to a conclusion.  I would order a few more dresses and if she didn’t pick one then she wouldn’t be going—I offer quick and easy ultimatums in my house (hey that’s how I am, lol).  While I was spending quite a bit of time in airports between Kansas, Chicago & Tampa I perused the internet and ordered her 5 more dresses that were in her “style” but appropriate for a 10th grader NOT a street walker KWIM!  I had a guy at the airport (cuz I always do) lean over and look at what I was doing on my laptop—gosh peeps are nosy huh—and ask me if I was buying a Homecoming dress for myself.  UMMM NO CREEPER LOL!!  So while I was in Ohio the dresses came and Alexa actually liked them all (pat on the back for good ‘ole mom here) but narrowed it down to 2 of them and then a final selection.  Its classy, pretty and age appropriate so Momma is a a happy girl and so is Alexa.  Now the battle for the shoes and jewelry will commence this weekend, so please send prayers my way---this could get ugly LOL.  NO really I hope this part will be easy but we always get into the conversation of pretty vs practical and I really cannot say much because I will sometimes suffer for a pair of great looking shoes So we will seeeee….!  For those of you SUFFERING thru the same thing, I understand, you can vent to me and we can cyberly share a glass of wine and WHINE a bit ok!!  Next weekend is homecoming and my mom is coming up—so far the after party location has NOT been decided upon. But I have a feeling it will be here again like last year, lord help me and pray the weather is good so they can stay in the backyard, hee hee!

NewsBitz:


-The October CMC Newsletter went out yesterday—if you didn’t receive it you can always find it at the CMC Site in the CMC News Tab HERE!  Lots of goodies & events to read about!

-The Outlawz Challenge Group is celebrating its 1000+ members with a HUGE party and $800 worth of prizes.  So go help my pal Colleen and her girls celebrate!

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Forest Fairy!!

Today I’m sharing a project with you that just might be one of my faves this year.  Did I tell you I have a slight “obsession” with forest fairies LOL?  Ever since I was little I believed they lived in the woods and would make fairy houses for them—so when I saw this image I knew I had to have it!  Della, my good friend & owner of I Brake For Stamps asked me to be a guest artist for their new line of stamps they are carrying and I can never tell a friend NO LOL!   This stamp is NOW available at I Brake For Stamps along with some other cute ones by the artist Sylvia Zet so you MUST go check them out.  This one is called “Silver Fairy” but I reinterpreted her as a forest fairy—isn’t she a beauty?  I cannot even tell you how much fun I had coloring her with my Copics—I might do her again but in different colors   And I video-taped how I colored her too---yes I darn well did, can you believe it LOL—I haven’t done a video in ages!  I don’t mind shooting them but I HATE editing them LOL!  It will up this weekend for y’all!

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

Anything Goes Challenge Blog (punches/dies)

Papertake Weekly Challenge (anything goes)

Crafty Cardmakers (anything goes)

There's Magic in the Air (go green)

Paper Sundaes (lots of layers)

**Also check out the I Brake For Challenges Blog--the new challenge is "Girl Power"**

So I decided to keep my colors fairly monochromatic—just creams and dk greens, very forestry eh? The papers are all by PTI and they are what really gave me my inspiration—I always pick my papers first before I start coloring!  The swirls are dies by Cherry Lynn Designs and the flowers are a mix of Primas and WOC Flowers—and guess what?  I Brake For Stamps carries the Wild Orchid flowers here in the US so you can get them faster, LOL—I love FAST!!  I added a few pearls to finish it off.  The image was dramatic enough that I didn’t want to overwhelm it KWIM.



She’s colored with Copics of course and I used YG97,YG95,YG93,YG91 / E43,E42,E40 / E25,E31,E50 / E11,E00.  Then I added stickles to some parts of her wings and flowers and arm/leg cuffs for sparkle.  I drew in a bit of grass with my Copics as well and then used my Inkssentials Blending tool to soften the edges of my image with SU ink.




Ok so I’m off to visit with my pal Marti for a bit (yep she still loves me even after the Ohio trip LOL) and then work on some projects and edit video (e-yuck)!  See you on Friday!!  Make sure to check out the stamps at I Brake For Stamps too!!

You Skeeeered?!!

Hello my dear friends and a Happy Tuesday to ya!  It is STILL raining here in Virginia—I am so sick of the gray, come on!  I want some more sun & warmth before fall really comes into town---work with me Mother Nature ok!!

So I’m thrilled that soooooo many of you found my trip home from Ohio so funny-ha ha ha ha, NOT!  No just kidding, it WAS pretty funny and I still chuckle to myself when I think about certain parts (if you missed it, read below post lol).  A lot of you STILL said you’d want to travel with me but I’m not so sure you REALLY know what you might be committing yourself to LOL!

Ok so I want to talk skincare today with y’all!  I have been a skin-freak since I was 12 years old and started getting “TEEN” magazine.  I’ve always been obsessed with squeaky-clean, wrinkle-free skin and I’ve tried many things in my 37 years.  I also have sensitive skin so I have to be pretty careful with what I use and I use a lot of organic/natural products like Mineral Makeup (a faithful Bare Escentuals customer for 13 years) and Mario Badescu products.  I was wearing sunblock on my face/neck long before it was popular and I pride myself on not having very many wrinkles hee hee.  BUT I have a genetic problem (thanks Mom & Grandma) that terrorizes us all---I have deep set eyes and my upper eyelids, right under my brow are starting to droop and when I'm really tired I almost cannot open my eyes!  It’s a problem, I HATE it, it bothers me A LOT more than anything else and yes it is VAIN but I CANNOT help it LOL!  So I was actually researching non-surgical methods like botox and products the past 6 months to fix it.  I had researched Nu Skin quite a bit and when I went to the Women’s Show last month in Charlotte they had a booth and well I had to visit them. Of course I didn’t realize they were gonna take off all my makeup, arghhh (yeah thanks Pat - I'm still giving you the evil eye,lol) but they did and OMGoodness I loved the results this machine had in just one treatment.  I had heard so many good things about it but until I tried it I just wasn’t sure—and it had fabulous results on my friend Dana too.  So yep I bought the whole system and I’m gonna use it every Tuesday & Thursday and I will let you know how my results are in 3 months ok.  Apparently the gels you put on are charged when you use the machine and it breaks down the wrinkle enzyme we all have on our skin, it’s a lot of scientific stuff but you can read about the system HERE!  I am not a spokesperson for it LOL but I am a real-life user so I’ll let you know my opinion as you know I won’t hold back or lie about it LMBO!!  If it works then I will be thrilled cuz’ Botox was an option but not one that I really wanted to try—something weird about putting a known disease into your body KWIM? ucky!  And let’s see how I do with a machine that charges electrons and such---hopefully no weird incidents—I’ll be the first woman to be electrocuted by the machine LOL!

NewsBitz:

-Want to come take a class with me?  Cuz I’d love to see you!  I have classes coming soon in San Jose, CA / Waco, TX and Chicago and then that’s it for this year.  You can see more details at www.cmcroad.com !

-I have added some fabulous new ladies to my CMC Challenge DT and I’d love you to welcome them---see all these ladies bios/work HERE!  Also the new challenge is up at the CMC Challenge Group and it’s a fun one—everyone is welcome to join in!

-Books!!  My new Book Club pick is up at my BookEndz Group and its one of my all time favorite books—its not a new book but it is FANTASTIC!  It’s “The Mercy of Thin Air” by Ronlyn Domingue and perfect for October (no its not a scary read cuz I don’t do scary—read post below lol).  I read it about 9 years ago and it was a pick for my old book club and everyone loved it so I’m bringing it back LOL!  Right now I’m currently reading “Girls in White Dresses” by Jennifer Close and “The Explorers Code” by Kitty Pilgrim.

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Don’t be Skeered!!

Ok so I’m sharing a super fun project with you today, I had sooo much fun making this LOL!  For the Magnolia-licious DT Challenge, our lovely hostess Maureen Kuppe challenged us to a sketch, octagons and orange and fall/Halloween.  Well I got all of ‘em correct BUT the sketch LOL.  I SUCK at following sketches cuz I get an idea and it just goes to pot after that!  So I added an octagon in the sentiment so I tried hard LOL!  You can find all the challenge details at the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog and see the DT’s projects too (yeah they followed the sketch hee hee).

I'm entering this into the following fun challenges:

Craft Your Passion (anything goes/ribbon)

Heart Song Inspirations (anything goes)

Make It Monday (anything goes)

Paper Creations Ink (black & orange)

Stamp With Fun (Halloween)

The Pink Elephant (Halloween)

For the background stamp “Haunted House”, which is from Alota Stamps, I embossed it in black Ep powder and then added some color with my old SU markers (Copics can sometimes make black ep bleed so beware).  I also added Stickles to the moon and windows for sparkle.  The black bats are made with a MS punch and the sentiment is from PTI.



I used this super cute “Brother & Sister” stamp from Magnolia-licious—I love them!  I thought they were PERFECT for this card, it looks like they are scared and he’s protecting her right?  I love to use stamps meant for other things for OTHER things LOL! (this stamp comes in mini form here too)  I colored them with Copics—B16,B13,Colorless / YR18,YR15,YR12,YR00 / E11,E00,R20 / YR24,YR20,E35 / E25,E31,E50 / C9,C7,C5,C3,C1.

That’s it for me today—I’m off to work on some magazine stuff and finish a few projects too!  Hope you have a fabulous, SUNNY DAY!!!

Truly Unbelievable!

Well happy Sunday evening my friends! It is another dreary, rainy day here in Virgina—I swear we have had more rain in the past 6 weeks then we ever have before, seriously depressing! But I am home from teaching in Ohio at Scrap Happy and I had a blast up there (waving hi to all the fabulous Ohio ladies) teaching---if you are ever in that area stop by and say HI to Suzy who is the owner.  I’m sure you’ll have fun shopping in her store filled with yummy craft goodies. Her store also has its own lie of dies that are fantastic—see here—you will see me use some real soon!

So the following story is very true, unbelievable but true and I’m still not sure if we were hysterical laughing or crying—at some point I was just delirious!!  The trip up to Ohio was pretty non-eventful which should have been a “sign” to me that something might be amiss.  Marti and I got in to our hotel around 7:30 pm Friday night, I took a shower and did some work and lights out by 10:45.  It was rainy & cold on Saturday and ding-dong Marti had no coat and only a t-shirt LOL so she was a wee bit cold.  I ALWAYS check the weather before I leave cuz’ I’m SMART like that <wink> and I was dressed appropriately.  We went to dinner with our pal Ann Shuman after classes and then I got gas and we were headed home … umm at least we thought we were. GPS says we will be home by 3 am!  WE MISSED A FEW ESSENTIAL CLUES on this trip so I will lay them out for you!  I used James’ GPS (otherwise known as the wicked Glinda) and hit the HOME button which is always programmed with our home address.  We set out down the DARK(no moon), flat roads of Ohio and we are cruising along just fine.  Pretty soon we get on the turnpike and I notice a city skyline (CLUE #1) and I ask Marti “Hey we didn’t see that driving up right?” and she’s like “nope” but I didn’t think too much about it because the GPS sometimes re-routes on the return trip home.  So we go thru Cleveland (very pretty skyline) and pass the Indians baseball stadium and there’s no traffic so we’re still cruising along.  Its getting close to 11:15 pm at this point and Marti has to pee so we pull off to this rest stop—no cars just semi’s and dark as night (also located in a place called Hell Hollow Wilderness---I KID YOU NOT and it was creepy and lots of cornfields).  We run up to the restrooms and get in the bathroom, lights are off and then they blink on and Marti runs into the hand-blower and it comes on loudly. We both jump scared and hurriedly pee and then run back out to the car—we DID NOT WANT to be one of “those stories” KWIM!!  Headline—“GIRLS KILLED IN OHIO RESTSTOP in Hell’s Hollow” LOL.

Get back in the car and I’m thirsty and need a drink so we go for a bit more and get off on an exit and get a soda for me, ice cream for Marti and head back out.  So we are driving and driving and I notice how close we are to Lake Erie and I comment to Marti about it cuz the wind is blowing and its starting to rain now (oh boy fabulous).  So I zoom out on the GPS a few times to see where its heading us and lo’ and behold the GPS has our “home flag” firmly situated in TORONTO CANADA PEOPLE!  YES CANADA!  OMG we both looked at each other and started laughing hysterically, I almost peed my pants and we were hyperventilating.  If there had been a camera in the car to record our faces I’m sure it would be priceless—stunned looks and then laughing!  I’m like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO this cannot be happening, I need to get home, wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!  So I quickly pull off at a truck stop to evaluate and sure enough GPS has us headed to Canada and we would reach the border in about 20 mins.  We are still laughing like lunatics and Marti’s like “OMG I am posting this on FB cuz no one will believe it” and I’m like “oh yeah they will lol”!  So our NEW home arrival time suddenly becomes 5:45 am and I am ready to cryyyyyy.  So lovely Glinda recalculates and takes us on this back road, not sure what it was but it was like going thru the tunnel of HELL.  Dark, curvy and pouring rain and more DARN CORNFIELDS (do you see a theme here).  We are still laughing like maniacs so I call James and I can barely speak but I’m like “hey we are gonna be a LITTLE LATE cuz’ apparently we were headed to Canada” and he’s like 'how did that happen” & I say “you don’t wanna know but your GPS is seriously messed up dude”.  He says in all seriousness (you have to know my hubby to really get this) “ok well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon” LMBO—yeah no not that late I hope!! (CLUE #2)  I hang up and UH OH something darts out into the road and I hit it HEAD ON LOUDLY—yep a very LARGE RACOON just lost its life because of me and Glinda.  I scream and Marti grabs the car handle (on the ceiling) and screams “holy mother of god did YOU HIT A BODY!!” and I lose it.  I laughed so hard I had to stop the car in the middle of the road (trust me there was NO traffic in the tunnel of death) to gather myself, I was laughing, crying, totally delirious at this point.  I swear we laughed for a solid hour and I can still see Marti’s face every time!  At this point Marti is like “NEVER-EVER invite me on one of your trips again cuz’ I ain’t coming!” (she lies cuz she loves me and she needed an adventure Suzanne-style hee hee).

Marti falls asleep around 12:30 and I turn on the a/c and crank the tunes to stay alert.  It is raining like crazy and dark as hell out, no moon, no stars, no sign of CIVILIZATION anywhere.  Finally reach the turnpike and its still raining but I’m happy to be on a main road.  Driving, driving and get near Breezewood, PA and suddenly see blinking lights up ahead (Clue #3) – “rut oh” me thinks, this CANNOT BE GOOD!  Apparently the FREAKING UNIVERSE WAS OUT TO GET ME and they had a “falling rock” incident and Rt. 70 is closeddddd!  Nooooooooooooooooooo!  They send me on a detour and you know how much I lovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve detours—NOT!  Glinda has recalculated and yep I’m checking up on her regularly to make sure we are moving towards Virginia.  I end up on another road thru hell, windy, raining and going up hill and NOW THERE IS FOG PEOPLE—not light fog but soupy thick fog.  AND MORE FREAKING CORNFIELDS—like Marti said “FARMING IS STILL ALIVE & WELL” and we saw every farm, every small town from Ohio to Virignia last night I kid you not.  I could hear banjo music and evil laughing the whole ride home, it was like I was in a Halloween movie of some sorts that I didn’t ask to be in KWIM!?  Weird named towns like Nova, Spira and then Marti wakes up and says where are we and I laugh a bit evilly and I’m like well “it says we are in Africa and at this point I have no clue if we are still in the US” (I kid you not we were in a town called Africa)  She sits up & is like “WHAT” and I repeat the falling rock story and why we are now still traveling in a tunnel of hell with no Virginia on the horizon—at this point its 3:40 am.  I have to pee sooooo bad and Marti says “so I guess it doesn’t matter that I really need to pee” and I’m like well I can stop in the RAIN and you can run your ARSE out to the cornfields cuz they seem to be the ONLY thing we have seen the WHOLE DARN TRIP!!

Well I don’t know where GPS Glinda took us but we ended up NOT going thru Baltimore but circling all the way around, thru the mountains and dump out close to Hagerstown, Maryland---yeah Maryland.  Now that’s my old stomping grounds so I’ve NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY TO SEE A SIGN OF FAMILIARITY IN MY LIFE.  I take Marti home and NOW IT STOPS RAINING---I MEAN COME ON!  It rains the whollllllllle way home and I’m now 15 mins from home and it stops—UGH the universe conspires against me for sure.  I get in the driveway at 6:20 am, grab my suitcase and run up to bed—hubby is sleeping and he’s like oh what time is it and I just mumble, fall flat into bed and don’t remember a thing until noonish today.  I have never been so tired in my whole life and I’m thankful that I’m such a GOOD, ALERT driver (so yeah Marti, there lol) and we got home safely….I won’t mention the red light & stop sign I blared thru in one of those small towns hee hee.  TRUST ME there was NO TRAFFIC so it was just fine, LOL!

So there you go, a complete NUTSO story, totally true and one that encapsulates MY WHOLE LIFE---yes this is how things usually go for me.  If you thought it was a fluke, well I’m here to tell you its NOT!  So now you all that said you WOULD LOVE to travel with me, might want to re-evaluate or at least ask Marti first LOL!  Love ya Marti and that was truly a ride home for the storybooks!! (but hey—let’s never repeat it ‘kay?)

Now that has completely exhausted me so I will share a project with you all tomorrow evening---I need another nap apparently LOL!

Hope your weekend was less stressful and less exciting---cuz hey BORING IS GOOD!!  See ya!

No Tricks, Just Treatz!!

Happy TGIFriday to you all and the last day of September too!  I cannot believe it will be October already, wow summer is gone and fall is flying by.  I don’t even wanna think about the holidays, ugh, as much as I love them it is a super-busy time for me.  I stop traveling mid-November and will have off thru mid-January—although I have a ton of work to do I won’t be traveling and will be able to get some things done around the house.  And of course plan for my 13th Christmas tree—cuz’ yep I’m adding one this year LOL!  (shhhh don’t tell hubby—but it will be animal themed, I already got my zebra & leopard ribbons hee hee)  So lots to do in the upcoming months and we are considering taking the kids to Tampa for Thanksgiving (NOT my fave holiday) to stay and go to Busch Gardens—I have some free hotel nights & plane tix so we’ll see!

Ok want another cool travel story?  On the way home Monday from Tampa I had to fly back thru Chicago (Midway Airport)—yes I spend HALF my life in that airport cuz’ it’s a hub for Southwest Airlines.  Well I had a 2 hour layover and I was just beyond exhausted so I was kinda out of it LOL.  A guy that looked just like Indiana Jones (I kid you not) sits down by me and yes there were lots of empty seats but people for whatever reason LIKE to sit next to me LOL!  He obviously didn’t notice my tiredness and spaciness cuz he starts talking to me.  Well turns out he is a world renowned Geologist/Paleontologist who just finished a year-long world turn.  He has a super-armored case with him and he’s telling me stories and showing me cool stuff—so I got to see fossilized baby dino eggs and crystals. He had this high-tech microscope that folds up and travels, we had that baby out and we were examining everything.  It was like a cool history/science lab set up in the airport---people were like “what the heck are they doing?”.  But he was on his way to DC to work at the Smithsonian and present his findings.  See you NEVER know who may sit next to you and you will have missed a cool experience in that moment---so don’t knock that person who sits by you somewhere, strike up a conversation and be “open” to it. That IS the best part of traveling for me, the journey and the experience of course, but it’s the people that I meet along the way that make it so worthwhile !

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Only a Treatz Peeker!!!

Today I am sharing a project with the BRAND NEW Elisabeth Bell for SCACD “Holiday Peekers”—yep we’ve got holiday ones for ya!  You can see more of the DT inspiration at the store blog here and of course you can buy…errr see the whole line at SCACD HERE! LOL!

I got to use the fabulously cute “Pumpkin Patch Peeker”—she reminds me of my daughter at the patch.  Every year we go to the pumpkin patch wherever we live---yep even though they are teens we still go and have fun and do silly things and OF COURSE pick out some awesome pumpkins!  We have never missed a year and I plan on going for a long time.  Here in VA we go to a patch that is near the Blue Ridge Mountains—its beautiful there and we always have a blast.  This Halloween we are taking a bunch of the teens to a 10 pm Corn Field Maze done with flashlights---lots of fun and a good way to spend the evening.

I'm entering this into the following challenges;

4 Crafty Chicks (anything goes)

Crafty Ribbons Challenge (Halloween)
Rainbow Lady's Challenge (fall)
Southern Girls (anything goes)
Stampin' B's Challenge (fall/Halloween)

The papers I used (are on sale here) are by Apothecary Emporium—loved the fun prints and colors in this pack!  The sketch is from last week’s Cute Card Thursday, I loved the fun circle element.  The corner elements are done with a new Spellbinders set called “Shapeabilities—Twisted Metal & Accents”. The sentiment is from PTI and the die cut is from the same SB set I just mentioned.  I added a bow and some black Bella Baubles to finish it off.  Yep a few stickles to decorate and it was colored with Copics but of course!



Alrighty, as you finish this up I will be on my way to Ohio with my pal Marti to teach on Saturday and then home the same evening!  Have a fun weekend my friends!

Like Totally…Dudette!!

Hi my friends & Happy Thursday to you all!  I am busy getting ready to leave for Ohio tomorrow morning with my pal Marti---Marti is going to be my FB queen for the day and post any traveling mishaps that we mayyyyy incur on our 7 hour drive up hee hee. (let’s hope they are few & far between kwim)!

Ok I got a few more traveling stories for you---if you missed yesterday’s then read post below this ok LOL!  My good friend Tina (crazy banana girl from CMC chats for those that know what I’m talking about lol) came in on Saturday to Kansas City from Iowa and she roomed with me Saturday nite—poor girl huh? LOL!  We went to dinner Saturday night at a place near the hotel and while we were walking there a car pulls up next to use full of guys---drunk or “high” guys.  They asked us if we were going to the “hen house”---I’m like what the heck---Tina’s like “where the chicks live duh Suzanne” LOL.  Ummm no we are going to the restaurant---he says “well where’s the party”—umm I have NO idea---then he says “ok well we’ll see ya at the party”---yeah UMMM NOOOO!  The next morning Tina goes down to the lobby and comes back up and says those guys were on the elevator with her and they looked like death—they didn’t say a word so I’m guessing they found A Party LOL!  Weirdo’s—sorry Tina, they follow me!  And Tina says to me “I only have guys bow down to me when I’m with you”---ummm yeah NO I don’t dig that kind of bowing LOL!

Ok I fly to Tampa on a 6 am flight from Kansas City Monday morning.  This meant a 3:15 am wake up call (double ugh) and a 4 am taxi ride.  The taxi driver was quite perky and I asked him to take me to an atm—so we pull into this gas station and he’s like what can I get you? LOL—so he got me a Coke Icee while I used the ATM, never had that kinda service from a taxi hee hee.  Then we get in the car and he tells me about the person he had picked up before me.  He picked him up at this deserted building, the guy gave him a $100 bill and said he had no address but would tell him how to get wherever he needed to go (creepy #1). He said he was dressed in multiple dirty layers (creepy #2) and wouldn’t answer any questions (creepy #3).  So the taxi driver (Andre) kept all the inside lights on, LOL and finally they reached the destination---KNOW WHAT IT WAS????  LEAVENWORTH---yeah the prison people!!  He said he got out of the car went up to the guard gate & disappeared inside---guess he was CHECKING IN, LMBO---can you imagine, that’s just CREEPY, ICKY!  So he was so excited that I was normal (hmmm if he only knew) and just going to the airport that he had to buy me a Coke Icee hee hee!

Ok I have 3 more stories from this trip I will share with you over the next few days—one is unbelievable!!  Well most of them are but they seem to like to “find” me!!

NewsBitz:


-For those that have joined my cyber book club BookEndz over at the CMC Classroom (anyone is welcome to join)!  We are having our Wrap Up Party tonight at 8 pm EST for our September Book pick.  We will have some fun prizes, fun questions, fun chat and then announcement of the October Book Pick! Hope you can join us!!

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Like…Totally Dudette!!

So I got to pull out some more of those super-cute new Magnolia stamps from the “Winner Takes It All” Collection from Magnolia-licious.  This cutie “Skateboard Tilda” just stole my heart cuz I WAS SUCH A TOMBOY when I was younger and her stance & ‘tude remind me of myself!  And what do I like?  Yep, bright colors and zebra stripes so I had to use both on this card!!  I saw this Skipping Stones sketch here at my pal Amy Sheffer’s beautiful blog and I knew it was PERFECT for this gal!!

This card is being entered into the following challenges:

Penny's Challenges (anything goes)

Simon Says Stamp (anything goes)

Going Grey with Scrap-Creations (girly)

Make It Monday (anything goes)

So the papers are by Basic Grey “Lauderdale”—love the fun & bright colors and patterns!  I used my SBs Pinking Circles to cut out my mat circles and I embossed the aqua layer with my Zebra Cuttlebug Embossing folder—gotta have more zebra.  I used my SU star punches and layered them with buttons and swirls from Marianne Designs dies.  The sentiment is from PTI and I put a few colored pearls underneath for more bling!



Yep she’s colored with Copics—BG75,BG72,BG11,BG10 / RV14,RV13,RV10 / E59,E25,E31,E50 / E11,E00,R20 / YG25,YG03,G20 / forget the blues I used LOL but B21 & B34 were two of them.  I used Diamond Glaze on the skateboard and stickles on her shirt!  Hey even Tomboys can have bling




Hope you have a brilliant day and make it a great one!!

Home at Last...well for a few anyway LOL!

Hello all my friends!!   Sorry I've been gone for a bit huh? LOL!  Its good to be home but I leave again on Friday for Ohio to teach and my pal Marti is riding up with me---uh oh could be trouble in the making with the 2 of us ;)  But we will leave after classes on Saturday night and get home around 2 am on Sunday.  Then I'm actually home for like almost 3 weeks--shocker I know and I have a TON of stuff to finish and get done including Class 5 for my CMC Classroom which I hope to have ready by Halloween.  And for all of those that ordered DVDs they are coming this week finally yay and I will ship them out lickety split to you all.  They were a DISASTER to get done, oh my goodness what a horror story project but they are finished and just need to get them to the house now and get them out.  Plus I have Alexa's homecoming, yard work and other house stuff to finish before the winter sets in soon.

Ok of course I've been gone 6 days traveling--I left for Kansas City last Friday and taught then I was supposed to head home on Monday evening. But instead of sitting in airport I took a 6 am flight down to Tampa to visit friends and then came home this evening.  6 back-to back plane rides (VA to Chicago to Kansas City, Kansas City to Chicago to Tampa, Tampa to Chicago to VA) knocked the wind outta my sails that's for sure, oh my goodness am I exhausted and my skin is PARCHED.  So you KNOW I GOT lots of travel stories for ya of course---if I NEVER have a story something is terribly wrong LOL!

Last Friday I left to fly to Chicago and then onto Kansas City--the flights were smooth and uneventful and I slept most of the first flight.  Second flight--uh oh here we go!  I'm the 11th person on the plane and yep I'm in my 7th row window seat like a happy girl on my happy Southwest plane with my happy regular flight crew.  I'm settling in with my pillow and blanket when I see this woman get on the plane, she's smaller than me but she has on about 20 layers including a full length winter coat--like she's freaking going to the Antartic or something.  My skin prickled up and I tried to look away but its like I have a DARN BULLETIN BOARD blinking a message "SIT WITH ME CUZ' I LIKE FREAKS"!!  The whole freaking plane is EMPTY still but noooooooooo of course not, she sits .... errr lands her freaky self on me in the middle seat. I kid you not she had so many layers on and this huge backpack--I was like what is she hiding in that coat, it was scary!  The plane loads and I'm trying to get settled so I can go to sleep when I hear this low humming coming from the weirdo next to me----she's CHANTING people and fast and strangely.  Then when we take off she brings out this tray of oils and starts patting them on herself and taking some in her mouth---I'm looking at her with my mouth hanging open I'm sure like "what the heck?".  She turns to me and says "Don't worry, I'm saving us all" and I'm like "saving me from WHAT" cuz right now I wanna be saved from YOU!  FREAKY FREAKY FREAKY and she chanted the whole way to Kansas City, I thought I might kill myself for sure.

I get off plane and the lovely owners of The Scrapbook Page pick me up and we go to the store so I can do some work--totally uneventful.  Then I get to my hotel and get ready to have dinner with some gals that night (waving hi to Mary, Kathy & Gail) and that's uneventful.  Dinner was fantastic and the company was lovely, I get back and I'm in bed at 10:30 pm --- BONUS!  I text hubby that I'm in bed and settled for the night when I realize I put my license in my pocket after going thru security at the airport but I didn't remember putting it back in my wallet.  Now I love to travel but I also LIKE to go home and no license means no home so I roll out of bed and go check.  Now mind you this whole episode I'm about to tell you takes place in less than 3 mins ok LOL.  My purse was under a table attached to this huge entertainment center so I'm kneeling down to look in my wallet--and yep my license is in there so Suzanne is a happy gal and I rear up quickly (cuz god forbid I do anything slow--uh uh) and I slammed my forehead into the table so hard I fell backwards and almost knocked myself out--the whole entertainment center shook.  OMGOODNESS I AM IN PAINNNNNNN but I'm laughing cuz here I have no major accidents or incidents for the whole darn day and the last 5 mins of my night I almost kill myself.  Typical Suzanne Moment!  I go in bathroom and I NOW LOOK LIKE A UNICORN---I kid you not it was baddddd!  So I take a picture (yep that's what I did) and texted it to James hee hee. Then I run down hallway in my pjs to find some ice for my rapidly growing unicorn horn.  James calls and he's like "what the heck happened, you just said you went to bed, how did you bump your head in bed" -- LMBO!!  It hurt so bad--I was dizzy for two days afterwards especially anytime I'd bend over.  Now its a lovely huge circle of yellow & purple on my forehead--what a beauty!!

See so anytime you think you are having a weird or crummy day---you just head on over here and see what I've done & I'm SURE you will feel sooooo much better LOL!  Never a dull moment in my days that's for sure---I'll share some more stories with you tomorrow along with a project!

Have a  great day!

Pixie Dust

Happy TGIFriday my friends!  UGH--I am NOT an early morning bird at all and I am typing this up at 5:30 am at Dulles airport waiting for my flight to Kansas City.  NO sing-a-longs this morning LOL.  I plan on sleeping to Chicago and sleeping again to Kansas, got my blankie & pillow all ready to go!  I like to fly early cuz' the airports are quiet and hopefully the pilots are fresh KWIM (know what I mean).  And lets hope no space trash interferes with my travel--it would be just like the darn universe to throw that at me while I'm traveling.  I can see it now---actually I won't see it cuz' I will be sleeping hee hee.  Looking forward to classes and this is my first time to Kansas---oh hey maybe the Scarecrow & Tin Man will show up LOL (yep I've always been a huge Wizard of Oz fan).  I've got lots of friends I'm meeting and my pal Tina (crazy banana that she is) is rooming with me tomorrow night---tonight I'm going to dinner with some new friends and then hopefully an early bedtime for me as we have a full house both tomorrow & Sunday for classes.  I've been told to be on my best game err..... behavior LOL so I gotta get some sleep for that to happen LOL!  I fly home late Monday night--not sure how I booked a 6:30 pm flight but I must have been asleep when I did that, so I get home at 11:30 pm that night ugh!

Ok I hope you have a fabulous weekend!  If you are coming to classes, be prepared for fun, some dancing and lots of coloring :)  Hubby & kids are off to the Frederick Fair in MD since its the last day tomorrow--they always go every year.  I go on occasion but I got fair-ed out when the kids were small and even though its a nice big fair I can skip it every now and then (as long as they bring me home an Amish made Whoopie Pie LOL).

NewsBitz:

-If you wanna come take a Copic class or two with me you can see the rest of my fall schedule at www.cmcroad.com -- upcoming locations are Ohio, Chicago, San Jose CA, & Texas.  Then I am taking a break from mid November thru mid January from traveling so I can rest (lol) and gear up for the holidays.  But next year I am planning on hitting Vancouver, San Diego, Anaheim, Seattle & more!!  Stay tuned!

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Pixie Dust!

Today I'm sharing a project with you featuring those super-cute Sylvia Zet stamps for SCACD.  This cutie is called "Hope" and I have to tell you these gals are soooo much fun to color and their faces are too cute!  I needed some lively colors so I chose these fun prints from an older DCWV paper pad that I had bought ages ago and never used (ha ha story of my life 'eh).

I'm entering this cutie into the following challenges:

Little Miss Muffet Challenge (things with wings)

Moving Along With The Times (recipe)

Southern Girls Challenge (anything goes)

Crafty Creations (fairies)

Simon Says Stamp (dies)

Pretty simple layout and I used some of my new Cherry Lynn Designs dies (read more about them in the previous post) to layer my cute sparkly Prima flowers on top of -- the dies are called "Tropical Leaves" I believe.  These dies cut FABULOUSLY--one pass thru my Cuttlebug and they cut all the way thru each time, no shims or 2nd passes needed.  A few of the new Prima rhinestones finish off the card with sparkle.

And yep she's colored with Copics of course -- RV14,RV13,RV10 / Y23,Y21,Y11, YR23,Y15 / E11,E00 / E25,E50,E31 / C3,C1,C00 / E19,E18,E15,E11,E50 for hair.  I added Diamond Glaze to the hope chest's lock, all the berries and to her eyes for shine.  Some Stickles to her wings and shoes of course for more sparkle.

Did any of you have hope chests when you were growing up?  My sister did and she filled it with stuff for her wedding and house but I never did---I was ANTI-marriage (LOL) and anti-housewife so I didn't want to do that icky.  Then I got married and had kids early and did the housewife thing for 13 years---see you never know how life will turn out even with the best laid plans.  But that was the right path for me, I live with no regrets and am happy with my life even with all the crazy twists and turns.  I believe in always looking forward and never backwards--whats the point really?  But I think the idea of hope chests is cute but possibly outdated?  Not sure Alexa would like to have one either LOL!

Ok have a great weekend & pray no space trash hits me or anyone else this weekend ;) LOL!

The Fall Door!

Happy Wednesday friends—hope the week is being good to ya! Tomorrow is my last day at home before I head to Kansas City to the Scrapbook Page for classes so I got lots to do, hee hee.  Oh you ladies (and gents) in the Kansas City classes, watch out cuz’ it might be CRAZY ROWDY ahem…..I’m just saying LOL.  Well I will keep it contained in class but afterwards whoowheee it might be LOUD & CRAZY!  I’ve got quite a few friends coming and they are “similar” to me so I’m not sure what will happen!  But I’m just warning you—‘kay?!  If you missed the Chat/Party at the CMC Classroom last night then you might be confused LOL but it was fast, chaotic, crazy & FUN!  Just how I love it to be!! (hmmm sounds like my life ‘eh?) LOL!

I’m watching my fave fluff tv show “Housewives of Beverly Hills”—I LOVE it and I about died when Anderson Cooper said he was a fan too (love him, love his new show)!  These women are unbelievable and make me laugh—I could never live like that ugh—no fun me thinks!  And Glee started lasted night too, oh yeah, I love fall tv for sure.  But I don’t have enough hours to watch it all so I’m always behind on my TiVo LOL.  We have taped Ringer, Glee, Anderson (my Oprah replacement), Up All Night, Tanked, Castle, and more ugh. I’m still watching last season’s Chuck and Castle trying to catch up before the new ones start And then add in football (a whoot whoot for the Redskins win this weekend) and my travels and that leaves not much time for me, hee hee!  What shows are you looking forward to this fall?  I also can’t wait for that “ever after” show about Snow White and the fairytale characters by the creators of Lost—looks really good!

NewsBitz:


-SCACD has new embossing folders and Kraftin’ Kimmie stamps in stock—so check them out!
-Come take Copic classes with me—I’d love to meet you & they are always fun, www.cmcroad.com !  I’m all around the US thru mid-November when I then take a break until CHA in January LOL!  Then I speed around again

-Oh I’m gonna get you all addicted to Luke Bryan just like me ok!? I found this link to a video from his concert and I think I might’ve drooled all over myself LOL—I cannot wait to be front & center next month at his concert.  They may have to call security hee hee!  So watch this video—he ROCKS!! (‘scuse me while I wipe my drool off the screen)!

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The Fall Door!!

Today I’m sharing a fall card I made with a fantastic new Lockhart Stamp called “Autumn Gate”.  SCACD has a fabulous selection of Lockharts in stock—they have always been a favorite of mine, I like to color them and they are so elegant.  I use a few of them in all my Copic classes too.

I’m entering this into the following challenges:

I Brake For Stamps Challenge (fall-ing for you)

Anything Goes Challenge (anything goes)

Heart Song Inspirations (orange & buttons)

Make It Monday with Kraft Outlet (use kraft & fall)

My Craft Spot (fall leaves)

Stamp With Fun (anything goes)

I have been on a no-patterned paper kick as of late and I’m not sure why cuz’ you know how I LOVE paper.  Maybe because life has been chaotic & busy lately and I can’t handle anymore busy-ness LOL! And I love kraft cardstock with fall cards—always a bit rustic feeling!  But I used an oldie-but-goodie technique of scoring a basket weave pattern on my cs with my Scor-Pal—easy but effective.  The die I used (love these) is from Cherry Lynn and from my pal Betty’s NC store (hey she ships everywhere—see here).  These dies are FANTASTIC, they cut better than any I’ve used and they have so many delicate and fab designs.  You NEED to check them out, LOL!  I finished it off with pearls and a bow and button!

This image was a ton of fun to color and yeah I used a lot of Copics on it too, LOL.  The image got some goodies on it of course—Stickles on the wreath and lantern glass, Diamond Glaze on the pumpkins & lantern tops & ribbon.  A perfect image for any fall card occasion.  Hope you’ll check the Lockharts out---if you have Crafter’s ADD like me you will like to change it up now & again with different images like this

Ok I’m outta here to work on some projects and stamp out all the images for classes in Kansas City—at least 1500 images that is, yikes! LOL!  Have a good one!