Plum Prettied!

Happy Thursday to you all!  How's your week going?  Hubby is away in NC and Georgia for business...ahem so he says LOL..since he's also attending the Masters Golf event in Augusta ;)  But that's ok, me and the teens are hanging out and eating dinner on the patio every night and bein' chill.  Last night I FINALLY took over the tv and watched the ACM Awards with Alexa!!  YES I missed them cuz we were at the hockey game in DC so I wasn't able to see 'em.  But me and Lex enjoyed em...and my yummy Luke Bryan.  Hubby was glad he said cuz' I wasn't drooling where he could see ahahahaha ;) (typed as I wipe it off my keyboard)!! 

I have some new posts up on my newest blog "Bitz of Me" if you need something else to read!!

Also the CMC 3rd Birthday Bash will be April 26th thru April 29th so go join the 

Bash Group HERE and get ready for the fun!!

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Plum Prettied!!

This is my prettied plum card using a fabulous Sherri Baldy Bestie digi stamp called "Big Eye Big Head Dolls"...isn't she a doll (hahahaha get it?).  I collect Raggedy Anne dolls...only vintage ones though ;) so I just fell in love with this image!  I actually colored this cutie while I was down in Florida with my BFFs Pat Jaynes & Dana Shaw but finally got a chance to put her on a project!

The papers are from PaperManina "Lincoln Linen" and then some shimmery plum cardstock my pal Pat gave me that matched the plum colors perfectly.  Lots of dies on this one:  the dark cream mat is a Spellbinders die, the photo corner is "Filigree Corner" die from La La Land Crafts, the swirls by the flowers and the cream swirls are both Memory Box dies (Elegant Scrollwork and Quinn Flourish) .  I like to layer and cut 'em up and use as much as I can without going overboard LOL!  Flowers are Prima and Wild Orchid Crafts..the plum flower is punched with a Nellie Snellen punch.  Papers were distressed with my fave Zutter Distress machine (if you get one here's some tips (1) face your paper away from you when you run thru to get it distressed on the right side (2) running paper thru it to the right gives you a light distress look, run it towards the left and get a heavy distress!)

  

She got colored with Copics:  RV69, RV95, RV93, RV91 / E44,E43,E42,E41,E40 / E11,E00,R20 / C9,C5,C3.  I didn't go as dark as I usually do with her black hair...I wanted to keep my colors lighter on this card so I kept the blacks a bit softer too.  Then I added some Stickles to her dress, headband and bows for pretty sparkle.  Diamond Glaze on her eyes and shoes for shine!

That's it for me today...enjoy the rest of your day!!

Sea You Later!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  Hope you had a lovely weekend!  I must say I'm SUPER EXCITED this week because its in the mid-70's and 80's all week...WAHOOOO about darn time I say!  So I tried to get a bunch of work & cleaning done yesterday so I can sit out in the sun a bit and work in the garden...this gal needs some SUN-time!  Hubby leaves on Wed for work travel and then he's in Augusta, GA for the Masters (that's golf...hohum boring to me lol) so he can hobknob with Tiger Woods I guess LOL!  Funny thing is, it will be warmer here than in GA while he's there...heehee.  We also got to eat outside on the patio last night for the first time in 2013...I love, love eating outside and we try to do it as much as possible when the weather is nice.  Plan on eating out there tonight too!

We had a crazy Sunday...we were at the Orioles game in Baltimore on Sunday afternoon and it was beautiful weather and fun even if we lost (boohoo).  Then we stopped by a local crab-place in Baltimore to pick up CrabFest-NFL Draft tix for the 25th...its Alexa's 17th birthday on the 25th and she wanted to spend it at Jimmy's Seafood watching the NFL Draft.  Why you ask???  Well she's obsessed with sports like the rest of us AND some of the Ravens football players are hosting the event AND we get to eat crabs and that's what she wanted....'nuff said? LOL!  Then we hauled arse down to DC to catch the Washington Capitals hockey game Sunday evening...we have front row seats along the glass so good seats AND I get to yell loudly.  I'm a loud fan...I'm a passionate fan...and I don't give 2 poo-poos who is there, if I gotta yell I gotta yell LOL.  I yelled at the refs that night for a HORRIBLE call and got us on TV...not once but a few times AND a highfive from one of the players thru the glass hee hee.  Hubby just sits to the side and claps cuz' he says I handle all the trash-talkin' and yelling for him ;)  So we didn't get home until 12:30 am so I must say I'm still a bit drowsy from all that craziness.  Never a dull moment here I tell ya.....

Pics from the weekend:

Starting April 26th thru April 29th the CMC Classroom 

will be celebrating it's 3rd Birthday!  

So all are welcome to come on over and join us in the fun festivities!  We will have lots of fun games & challenges along with some AMAZING prizes that you can win!!  

Go HERE and join our Birthday Group to stay in the "know" :)

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Sea You Later!

This is my project for today's

 Magnolia-licious Tuesday Challenge at the Challenge Blog.  

Its all about "Buttons, Bows & Beads...or All Three"!  I used 2 outta 3...I did a bow of sorts (mine is a frayed one) and beads (aka pearls) on mine!  I used "Dangling Sea Tilda" from the 2010 Bon Voyage Collection (seen here)...I had never used this cutie before but I had used the one with Edwin.  The Bon Voyage Collection remains one of my all time favorite from Magnolia.  You can hop over to the Challenge Blog Here and see the DT gals fabulous projects and join in on the fun too!

I'm entering this into the following fab challenges: 

Make It Monday (anything goes)

Card Mania Challenges (punches & dies)

Crafty Bloggers Network (anything goes)

Lexi's Creations (punches/dies)

MarkerPOP Challenge (anything goes)

Mema's Crafts Monday Challenge (anything goes) 

Stamps + Fun= Creativity (girly) 

 

I kept the style a bit shabby-chic and antiquated...love that look!  The papers are by Prima called "Printerly"...loved the mix of aqua, cream and blacks in this pack of pretty papers.  The tag with the frayed bow in the back is from 7 Gypsies that I inked a bit.  All the papers got inked with Distress Ink in Old Paper.  The fun clock cut-out is an SCACD die called "Classic Timepiece" and the sentiment is by Magnolia as well.  The ribbon is some tea-stained ribbon I got a bit ago on Etsy...love the crumpled, vintage look of it.  The black photo-corners were done with a Spellbinders oval tag die I had...I diecut it out of black cs and then cut it in half and glued it to my paper.  Then I added my "beads" ala champagne colored pearls to the inside....I love to use my dies in many different ways like this.  The aqua mat behind the main image was die cut and then embossed with a ledger-embossing folder and inked.

"Dangling Sea Tilda" was colored with Copics:  BG75,BG72,BG11,BG10 / E11,E00,R20 / W9,W7,W5,W3,W1 / E43,E42,E40 / E47,E31,E50.  I added some Stickles to her shirt and shoes and then Diamond Glaze to the anchor and hat band for shine.  I also inked her a bit around the edges with the DI Old Paper too!

That's all for me today...hope you liked this cutie pop and please stop by the Challenge Blog to see the DT's work and to join in on the challenge!!

Wedding Bells Anyone!?

Happy TGIFriday...short week for me but I have managed to get everything done that I needed wahoo.  Today I'm cleaning the basement real good and baseboards...Riley has friends coming over and Alexa is off to a friends house for a sleepover.  Saturday is chore day...lots of things I want to get done to the dismay of my hubby...but the chore list calls and I won't feel good unless a few things get marked off.  And I gotta get some furniture up on Craigs List to get rid of it...we got new family room furniture and I gotta make room for it LOL.  I'm also working on front porch/door redo so lots to do for that too...hope to have it all done by end of month.  My hubby is procrastinator-EXTRAORDINAIRE so I gotta be on him all the time...seriously he will start a project and be content to not finish it for months.  It drives me NUTTY...if I start it I want it finished ASAP so I can start the next one.  I like the sense of completion and fulfillment...obvs he does NOT share my love of those things LOL.  So I'm like a bull...charging ahead...dragging him along with me usually unwillingly hee hee but that's just how it goes in my house ;)

Then on Sunday we will be at an Orioles game in Baltimore during the day and finish up the evening in DC at a Wash Caps hockey game...yeah a full day of sports.  Might sound terrible to most of y'all but sounds like a GREAT day to me!  ONLY thing is I miss the ACM's that night hosted by my Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton..but I'll be taping it so no worries.  But no play-by-play commentary from me on Facebook during the show like I usually do...I know I know...y'all are sad...boo hoo...hahahahaha!  So make sure to tune in cuz I'll be watching LATE when I get home on Sunday no doubt!

NewsBitz:

*If you missed our vacation pics & wanna see...they are at my other blog "Bitz of Me" (scroll down to see the slideshow).

*The CMC Classroom will be celebrating its 3rd Birthday Bash at the end of this month (26th - 29th) so get prepared for lots of fun games and challenges and of course some yummy prizes!!  All are welcome to join in the fun!!  Join the thread HERE so you're ready when we kick it off!

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Wedding Bells!

Today I'm sharing a wedding card I made using a beautiful Saturated Canary stamp from Little Darlings Stamps.  I'm the lucky guest designer this month for the Little Darlings Challenge and the shop is owned by my lovely and talented friend Angie Hunt.  The challenge is Anything Goes so hop on over and check it out and join in!  This beautiful stamp is called "Rebecca" and is only available in rubber stamp form.  I think she works fabulous for a wedding card don't you?  I kept the colors soft and shabby chic-like...feminine and romantic.

Crafty Ribbons (anything goes)

4 Crafty Chicks (charms)

Saturated Canary Challenges (pastels)

The Play Date Cafe (picture/neutrals)

Inklings & Yarn (anything goes)

Rhedd & Rosie's Challenge (shabby chic)

Stampin' Royalty (ribbons & pearls)

My papers are a mix from Docraft's Papermania "Lincoln Linen" and Pink Paislee's "London Market" were used.  I inked and distressed them all with my Zutter Distress machine (luv that thing..it can make a racket but it works soooo good).  I used a few dies on this...the doily mat behind the image is from Marianne Designs and the swirls at the corners is Memory Box "Quinn Flourish", corners are made with a die from La La Land.  The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, the keys are from Tim Holtz and hatpins I made myself.  The sentiment is from Verve Stamps and a few pretty pearls finish it off.

She got colored with Copics...the dress is the E44 thru E40 range and hair is E59,E44,E15,E31,E50.  I also added a soft background with Copics E41,E50,W00 and then added some Stickles to the background and to her dress for sparkle.  Diamond Glaze on her eyes and ribbon.

That's all for me....hope you will pop over to the Little Darlings Challenge and join in on the fun!

Have a great weekend!!

Saddle Up!

Happy Thursday friends?  Did ya miss me? heehee....well I'm backkkkkk!  I didn't post while I was gone because 1) internet on Hilton Head Island is almost non-existent most days/nights and 2) We were running around so much that I was exhausted LOL!  Plus a few weeks off every year from blogging is good for my soul I have found ;)  We had a great Spring Break although it was very busy and not as warm as I woulda liked..but we got to spend time together so that's what is most important.  I have some pics below of the Luke Bryan, Florida-Georgia Line, and Thompson Square concert that me, Alexa & my mom went to in Charlottesville, VA.  And I got a fun story for you..well it wasn't funny at the time I must say.  I pre-ordered my tickets thru the Luke Bryan fan club months ago and got pit tix for the 3 of us.  I had a printed receipt that said exactly what I ordered right...right yes LOL.  So the box office opened at 3 pm on Saturday and we got there at 3 pm so that we could stand in line to run in and get good position around the stage...duh...I will stand for HOURS if need be to get good spots ;)  Got the tix and looked in envelope...they were for floor tix not pit.  Ummmm someone made a big oopsie...so I go back to the window and tell them I should have pit tix and show them my receipt.  The lady calls the manager who comes and looks at my receipt...NEVER looks at me and says nope she has floor tix cuz that's just what she got.  UMMMM WTH???  No, no, no...I got pit tix lady but she wouldn't do anything, good thing there was glass separating us cuz I woulda jumped on her no lie ugh and so rude..PAH.  So I was PISSED...yes PISSED BIG TIME and yes I just typed that...you won't wanna know what words came out of my mouth at the time.  Alexa is about ready to cry because she was so excited to be in the pit and I'm steaming.  So I start emailing everyone I know about the tix that may be able to help.  The fan club, credit card company, the venue, etc.  Then I started tweeting...I'm big on Twitter, I love it...and I'm lucky to say a lot of the country stars follow me on Twitter....what does that mean?  It means you can DIRECT MESSAGE them folks...yep like a text.  So I start tweeting Florida Georgia Line cuz they follow me, Luke Bryan fan club and Luke Bryan's tour manager and everyone else I know in country music land LMAO.  Now the tour guy just started following me a month ago...and I suddenly remember that he followed me and I'm like "let's see if he responds".  So we sit outside with everyone that has pit tix...boo hoo...and wait..and wait.  No one has responded by the time they open the doors so sadly we walk to our seats...which are only a few rows from the stage BUT STILL NOT WHAT I PAID FOR KWIM.  But I told Alexa at least we were there and its all good, you just gotta make lemonade from lemons sometimes and put on a happy face!  So about 10 mins later I get a tweet from the tour manager...OMG...he asked where we were sitting...so I immediately tweet him back with our row and seat #'s.  No response...SIGH...pouty face...LOL!  Then about 15 mins before the show begins a lady comes out and asks my mom if she's "Susan"..Alexa says "you mean Suzanne?" and she says "yes"...I'm like "that's me, that's me"....well she came out with 3 pit tix armbands for us...YEP sent by the tour manager to us.  OMGEEEEEEE IS RIGHT PEOPLE!!! So my mom is a bit confused...she thought it was just one ticket for me and she was still sitting LOL and I'm like "MOM, get up...goooooo, move quick, gooooooo".  I was so excited I almost kissed the gal...she hadn't known what happened so I explained it to her...then we RAN to the pit to get a good spot.  Amazingly we were 2 people from the stage for the entire show....it was AMAZING...and Alexa got Luke Bryan's guitar pic so she was ecstatic.  What a NIGHT I TELL YA!!!  So the moral of the story is.....Tweeting regularly on Twitter can pay off when you need it to LOL.  AND HEY BOX OFFICE MGR...YEAH YOU....GUESS WHAT...I WENT ABOVE YOU AND GOT MY TIX SO HA HA HA IN YOUR FACE...yes my childish self could not resist cuz she was just soooo darn rude ugh!  So if you don't follow me on Twitter (Suzanne J Dean)....well you can...but I will warn you its a "personal" account so there isn't any crafting or stuff on it...its all about sports, life, random thoughts and music on my Twitter...not like my Facebook ok...so don't be surprised hee hee!  Anywho I owe that tour mgr a lot and I tweeted him many thanks...I still can't believe it happened but SO HAPPY it did!

If you want to see some pics of our Spring Break...then hop over to my new blog "Bitz of Me'...I've posted them all there!!

Concert Pics:

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SADDLE UP

Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy!!

(in honor of my Lukey Bryan, the title is a country song if you haven't heard it heehee)

So in honor of my country concert fun I present a Saddle Up & Rock It Country card using a fun Mini Magnolia "Cowgirl"...seemed appropriate eh? LOL!  She's so cute and fun to color I couldn't resist!  The newest collection of Magnolia stamps "Once Upon A Time" is coming (preorder now) and GUESS WHAT? There will be mini Magnolia stamps to match as well....yayyyyyy...so stay tuned!  I used some fun papers by Farmhouse Paper Company called Fair Skies and roughed them up with my Zutter Distress machine and inked.  The kraft cs mat behind the image got embossed with a wood grain folder then inked and flowers made with my Nellie Snellen punches.  I added some fun swirls (Doohickey die by Magnolia), sheriff-like stars and pinwheels and buttons.  The sentiment is a fun one from Paper Trey Ink's set "On the Farm"...its a fun one!

She's my Mini Monday card for this past Monday at the Magnolia-licious Challenge blog...no internet meant no posting so I apologize for being late with this.  See the other DT gals cards HERE and don't forget to join in our Tuesday Spring Challenge HERE!

She got colored with Copics:  B39,B34,B21/ C3,C1 / E25,E31,E50,YR20/ E11,E00,R20.  Some Stickles on her boots and around on the Copic colored background for sparkle.  I stamped some airmail/postage stamps around the image for a fun look.

See you back here tomorrow with another fun project!!  Have a goodie!

A Spring Explosion!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I apologize for the short post today but I'm on the road and currently typing this up at midnight, and I'm soooo exhausted LOL!  I have been on the road since Friday...first to Charlottesville to see Luke Bryan (awesome, more on that in another post cuz I gots stories heehee)..then back to my mom's...then to Columbia, SC on Sunday & toured Univ of SC on Monday...then traveled almost 6 hours to Birmingham, AL where we will tour Auburn Univ tomorrow and leave on Wed for Hilton Head.  Does that make you tired?  Yeah I'm BEAT LOL!  But so far a good time...course I think all our bums are numb and we are a tad travel weary.  We are staying at the Ross Bridge Resort in Birmingham (Alexa has declared its like Hogwarts so she's happy lol)..we have 2 rooms so I hope to get a bit of rest and then see some things around town after our tour tomorrow!  Anywho stay tuned for more posts & stories!!  **note it was chilly in SC and WINDY, then it snowed in Atlanta...so the weather is NOT very Spring like ugh**


Here's a few pics for ya:

my Luke Bryan...yeah we were in the pit...and we were really CLOSE ;)

James & Alexa on the U of SC tour yesterday!

my son passed out in car on drive to Alabama LOL!

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Spring Explosion!!

Today is the Magnolia-licious Tuesday Challenge over at the Challenge Blog!  Its all about SPRING...spring colors, spring images, spring feel (cuz Spring sure is sloooow to come huh)!  So you can join in on the fun with us using a Magnolia OR Wee Stamp...all the challenge details and DT projects are at the Challenge Blog HERE!  I created the brightest, sunniest, happiest, cheeriest colored card I possibly could to chase the winter blues AWAY!!!

My card uses an older image from the 2012 Summer Memories Collection "Rose Garden Tilda" (she's 12% off too) at Magnolia-licious...whoot!  I had never used her (gasp) but she's soooo DARN CUTE and perfect for Spring!  I used a mix of papers from Trimcraft "Hideaway"...loved the bright colors!  I used a Memory Box die for the white swirls, flowers are all from Wild Orchid Crafts and border is from a MS border punch.  The leaves are a mix of Marianne Designs dies & Spellbinders dies that I inked.  The other green-foliage in the corners is actually an SCACD die "Ornate Hinge"...its a beautiful die that can be used in other ways.  The sentiment is from PTI accented with some rhinestones.

She's colored with TouchTwin markers (colors to come, sorry I forgot my chart) but I'll update it soon.  Some Stickles on the flowers and trim on her shirt.  Perfect for a Spring's Day!

Have an awesome week everyone!!

Easter Blog Hop...Hippity Hop!!

Happy Thursday friends!  Hope the week has been treating you well!  I almost had a cardiac-arrest experience yesterday...I was running around doing 50 million things think that it was Thursday already and I wasn't going to have all my work done before I left.  I literally was having heart palpitations from stress...then I went to put something in the calendar and I realized it was only Wednesday...bwahahahaha.  You ever do that?  Oh boy, what a relief it was to know I had one more day to get things in order.  SO I did finish all my projects and posts and will finish laundry today and all the packing.  I leave tomorrow with Alexa to pick up my Mom and head to Charlottesville for the weekend to see my Luke Bryan and Florida-Georgia Line....pit tix...so that means I'll be up close & PERSONAL with Lukey hee hee (I'm not scary am I hahahaha).  Then on Sunday we leave for Columbia, SC and spend the night...tour University of South Carolina on Monday and meet with the Marine Biology dept.  Then we leave that evening to travel to Birmingham, Alabama for two nights...on Tues we tour Auburn University (Alexa's first choice of college) and meet with the Zoology dept.  Then on Wed we will travel back up to Hilton Head, SC for a few days of rest at the beach...one of our fave places in the world.  Then we leave Easter Sunday for Charleston, SC for 2 days of fun...then home on Tues.  You tired yet?  Yeah me too...it will be crazy, chaotic but always fun and its all about family time for spring break.  So I will have a few posts up between today and April 2nd but not many...I try to make sure that I get quality-uninterrupted time with my family while I'm away and not have to worry about work stuffs much...hence the mad rush to get work stuffs done before I leave Friday morning LOL!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend and spend it doing something fun!  And YES you know I will post my shenanigans and photos on Facebook if you follow me there!

I also have a new post up on my other blog "Bitz of Me"....for those that were asking for my BBQ ribs recipe...there you will find it!

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Magnolia-licious Easter Blog Hop

Today the entire Magnolia-licious DT has gotten together for a fun Easter/Spring Blog Hop!  Each DT gal has created a project in the hippity...hoppity...Easter theme.  We hope you get inspired to get crafty as well and find some new ideas to try!  You can find the entire blog hop list at the Challenge Blog HERE!  Or start at the beginning of the hop with Norma Lee's blog!

 

I created a fun Easter book that opens up to reveal a box inside...perfect for yummy treats or other fun presents from the Easter Bunny!  The the book-box was cut on my Silhouette Cameo and the cut file is from the Silhouette Store...oh boy I can wander forever in the cut file store and put lots in my cart LOL. I love that I can buy just one cut file at a time instead of a cartridge of images I will never use...much more economical!   My image is new from the 2013 Easter Collection at Magnolia-licious called "Tilda Hiding Easter Egg"...so cute huh in her bunny outfit!  The "Once Upon A Time" is a cut file from Silhouette as well...I loved the font and curliques...I added some ink to it to distress a bit.  Then a few flowers and swirls from a Memory Box die.

I inked the outside of my book where in a real book you would find the pages....I used a light brown Copic Spica pen to draw random lines lightly with a ruler so it looked like a real book.  Then I filled my book with yummy Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs....Alexa's faves, shhhhh LOL!  I forgot to take a picture of the inside without the candy..but I lined the inside of the box with matching papers as well.  I left the left side of the inside cover blank because I will most likely write a message and attach it there for someone...shhh :)  **Forgot to add the papers are by Authentique "Hope" (10% off now)**

"Tilda Hiding Easter Egg" was colored with Copics:  E43,E42,E41,E40 / R20,E11,E00, E59,E31/ B99,B95,B91.  Yes she has some grass on her feet...why you ask...well I was gonna create a scene for her and then decided she looked better cut out...so there ya go....she has some grass stains on her footsies ;)  There are Stickles on the egg for some sparkle...oh by the way...that BIG egg in the background was cut from the Cameo as well.

That's it from me...now you need to hop on over to 

Angela Wood's blog 

to see what Easter-awesomeness she's created for you!!

Enjoy Your Life!!

Happy Monday everyone!  Hope that those of you that celebrated St. Paddy's day yesterday didn't over-indulge LOL...I am part Irish but sadly didn't celebrate.  We were busy finishing up Alexa's bedroom makeover and just didn't have time to do everything.  Oh well...I'm sure my Irish Gram will forgive me this one ;)  Plus Riley thinks he's 100% Irish so he celebrates everyday hahahahaha (no not with the drinking...no no no...just with Irish pride)!

I will be sharing pics of her NEW room very soon...still waiting on a Ocean Canvas I ordered from Etsy to come in to hang over her dresser.  And I have a couple of projects I'm making for her shelves...we will have new carpet put in after Spring Break.  Then she's DONE (well we have to paint her dressers white once it gets warmer).  Then we move onto Riley's new bedroom in the basement..phew.  We have most everything ordered...but we have to paint and get everything put together and done.  Saving that for AFTER Spring Break for sure.  He's super excited to move downstairs and have his own big bed and space.  I'm tired just thinking of all I gotta do to get him moved in...oy vey ;)

Check out my new Lifestyle blog "Bitz of Me" ...I have a couple of new posts up and one coming tomorrow on some cute things I finished up!!

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Enjoy Your Life!!

(A TouchTwin Inspiration Hop)

Today all the TouchTwin DT gals have a fun March Inspiration Hop for you to showcase these awesome alcohol markers.  If you haven't tried them you really should...the ink flows beautifully, great-soft brush nibs and they work with other alcohol markers you may have on hand.  (shop here) I am IMPATIENTLY waiting for Spring to arrive here in VA...me and that groundhog have some things to talk about cuz we got snow last night...ahem..ugh!  So all my projects lately have been BRIGHT and SPRINGy LOL for a reason.  So I had to use this cutie-patootie by Saturated Canary called "Summer Swing".  I had a tire swing growing up that I spent a lot of time on...it was hung under our huge willow tree and I have such great memories.  Ahhhh the joy of summer when you are a kid...nothing beats it yet we seem to wish it away all too soon.  That's why I added the "enjoy" sentiment...we need to make sure we enjoy all the moments in our life, because they are usually gone way too soon!

I'm entering this sweetie into the following challenges:

613 Avenue Challenge (anything goes)

Challenges 4 Everybody (anything goes)

Gingerloft Challenge (green)

No Matter Which Challenge (anything goes)

Sentimental Sundays (anything goes)

I used pretty papers from a few different pads but the main one is First Edition "Hideaway".  I love the bright spring green and corals together.  The grass elements (coated with Stickles) and the "enjoy" sentiment were done on my Cameo machine...man I love that thing!  The "enjoy" sentiment actually said "enjoy the moment" but I cut it down to just one word to simplify! I distressed all my papers with my Zutter Distress machine and the butterflies were done with punches.  The circle element over the image was done with a Spellbinders die...I like spotlighting the main image this way!

TouchTwin Colors Used:

Greens:  G43, GY47,GY59,GY174

Corals:  R14,RP7R, Colorless Blender

Hair:  BR98,BR95,BR97,BR107,YR132

Skin:  BR103,BR97,YR133

Grays:  CG9,CG7,CG5,CG3,CG1,CG0

Some Stickles were put on the butterflies and her frilly underskirt.  Diamond Glaze on her eyes and shoes for shine.

That's it for me...now your next stop on the hop is my 

lovely friend Vicki's Blog!

(If you'd like to start at the beginning of the hop go HERE)

Silhouette Art!

Happy Friday folks...I love Fridays!!  We have a busy home-improvement weekend that includes painting Alexa's room, putting up her shelves and finishing her new desk from Ikea.  Also visiting the flooring store to pick new carpet for upstairs bedrooms & basement rec-rm and bedroom and tile for lower foyer.  And I have to fit in a few projects as well LOL..so not much sitting for this gal.  I leave next Friday for a weekend away with my Mom & Alexa to see my Luke Bryan and Florida-Georgia-Line...whoot!  We have pit tix...that means SUZANNE WILL BE UP CLOSE & PERSONAL with my Lukey...sooooo excited!!  Then next Sunday we leave for SC and Alabama for college tours thru Wed for Alexa (SC Univ and Auburn Univ)...then finish up with 5 days in Hilton Head, SC.  We love it there...SC is my future home one day soon :)  So anywho, that leaves just a few days next week to get projects done and stuffs...not much time! So tomorrow starts a whirlwind of activity...can you hear my hubby sighing already???? heeheehee

I will have my FL pics and stories on my post on Sunday for you all ok?  New project too!  Have a great weekend everyone!!

I have new posts on the "Bitz of Me" Blog too if you wanna scoot-a-loo over & see!  More fun stuff to come after this weekend when I actually get some half-finished projects DONE LOL!

 

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Silhouettes!!

Today is a NEW SCACD release..whoot!  I'm so excited to share my projects...as they will be on the walls of my new office soon!  Following on the fantastic Blank Canvas Collection, we are excited to present the SCACD Blank Canvas Collection #2 & Natures Direction Set. Building on the original release (recently featured in Craft Stamper Magazine), this new collection will take you on further creative adventures as you mix and match the stamps and use a variety of techniques. Perfect for beginners and seasoned mixed media enthusiasts alike, these stamps will grace cards and paper-crafting projects as beautifully as they will altered canvases and other mixed media projects. 

Also 4 new SCACD Dies released today here! 

Check out the yummy 6x6 paper pads on sale HERE too! 

International friends can get the stamps/dies at Quixotic Paperie.

I LOVE Silhouette Art...so pretty and elegant and I knew I wanted some for my office but man its PRICEY to purchase.  Well I have all the tools to make my own so that's what I set out to do with these stamps!  Simple black frames I got at Michaels and they were on clearance too + coupon so they each cost $4 and the smaller one was $2...so $10 for frames.  The background papers are from an older 12x12 MME collection I had....FREE.  So for $10 I had art for my office...it doesn't get much better than that huh?

The two images above are from the "Blank Canvas Collection #2"...there are many different versions of stamps for all kinds of art in this set.  The dancer/leaper "Leap of Faith" comes in line art also so you could paper piece her, paint her, etc (the women stamps are sold in pairs). So many options with this set of images so make sure to check them all out! I embossed the images with Stewart Fine Detail Embossing Powder in black...I love the coverage of this powder.  I emboss with Versamark pads (I have it in the Dazzle color too)...I'm old school and it works good so why change right?  I embossed on shiny-coated white cardstock...I like the gleam of the paper with the images.

Can you tell how much I love these...squeal!! LOL!  And so easy to make as well!

This Inspire Stamp is FREE with the purchase of both the "Blank Canvas Set #2 AND Nature's Direction" Sets.  I love it, perfect for my office!  I embossed it as well but changed the background paper to a darker version so it would coordinate but stand out as well! (It would great colored too)

Now I am the last stop on the hop...but you can start at the beginning at Elaine's Blog Here to see everyone's fabulous projects!! 

Easter Eggies!

Happy Tuesday everyone!  I am home from Florida and I promise to share more photos of my trip later this week after I get them loaded & edited.  If you follow me on Facebook you've probably seen AND heard some stories/pics already hee hee.  I have a few stories OF COURSE that will make you chuckle from my vacation.  But I will say I am extremely grateful to have been able to go and visit my two besties (Pat & Dana)...especially after Pat's cancer/health struggles last year...we felt blessed to be able to spend this time together again.  And we ENJOYED it, laughed hard and just had a great time together...I will treasure it always!

Although I will say it was extremely HARD to leave the sun, blooms, beach & 80 deg temps to come back to cool, gray & rain LOL!  But I know Spring is on its way soon here so I will IMpatiently wait for it.  But back to the real world for me today...that meant cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping and cooking.  Because NOTHING gets done when I'm gone EVER, NEVER, EVER...ugh!  So I had to do a lot of scrubbing today...drives me nutters that no one in my house knows what a vacuum is or a dust cloth.  But I'm all caught up again and got groceries and had to pick up daughter from school for a drs appt.  Tomorrow she gets her braces off so she's a very happy girl...I on the other hand GET my braces very soon...oy vey.  I had braces in high school but my teeth have moved again causing me extreme migraines & jaw pain.  So I am getting molds made for Invisalign, which are clear and are worn like retainers for 9 mos...then I will be done..for the 2nd time...ugh!

If you haven't popped over to my new blog "Bitz of Me"...you are welcome to :)  I will have a new post up tomorrow for you and there are a few fun posts up over there now too!  As always...thanks for visiting!

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Easter Eggies--A Magnolia-licious Challenge!!

Today is another fun Magnolia-licious Challenge (we have them every 2 weeks) and this time the challenge is to create "Spring/Easter Projects".  Easy peasy with the newest stamps from the Easter Collection at Magnolia-licious!  You can find all the challenge details AND see the beautiful projects done by the DT at the Challenge Blog Here! 

I'm entering this into "Thistlewood Farms" Spring Linky Party!!

I used this sweet stamp "Tilda with Egg & Chicken"...isn't she the cutest?? I created this fun lil basket using my Silhouette Cameo...where I have placed my image is actually where there is an intricate egg cut out (called "basket box easter egg in Silhouette image store).  I love using the Cameo, so easy and quick and so many fun things to make.  I cut the basket out with 2 sided/colored cardstock and then decorated with these fabulous new papers from Teresa Collins.  The scrollies were done with a Memory Box die and then I added some layered flowers...the lil sparkly eggs in the flowers are from Michaels (they come in sprays and I just cut off what I needed).

This cutie was colored with Copics:  E37,E50,E31 / B02,B00,B000 / RV34,RV32,RV000 / Y15,Y11,Y00.  I added some Stickles to her sleeves and a few of the eggs.  Perfect image for Spring/Easter!