Dreaming in Fall Colors!!

Happy Thursday everyone! How are you doing this week? I swear after months of no rain we have been getting tons of it the past 10 days on & off here in VA! I have to say as much as we needed it, I'm soooo over it and wishing for blue skies!  My patio will NEVER be finished at this rate since they can't finish the electrical stuff in the rain, lol!  Glad most of you enjoyed my blah, blah, blah post--had to do something to fill the space, hee hee---probably more info than you EVER needed to know about me right?  I'm still in the midst of finishing the holiday edition of our magazine "Through the Craftroom Door" and prepping for my classes in DE this weekend so its a busy day today.  Gotta go to the post office and run some other boring errands as well including getting new black boots.  I realized my most favorite boots that are sooo comfortable and broken in (I've had them for years) have cracked in a few places so I must find a replacement---here's hoping its not a long quest, lol!  And to add to the stress my kids are acting CRAZY and one of them (by the name of Alexa) got herself grounded for the rest of the weekend---trust me, you don't want to know :) but let's just say I'm glad to get away for a few days.  The teenage years might just kill me for sure!

NewsBitz:

-Ok, sorry I'm late with this but I can only post this stuff up on certain days!  The winner of the "Bats 'n' Brooms" Blog Candy is LISA of "Land of enCraftment"!! Congrats Lisa--contact me for details!

-Just to clear up ANY CONFUSION, lol cuz' I get this A LOT!  Susana of Susana's Custom Art & Card Design is a SEPARATE PERSON from MEEEEE!  She is the store owner of SCACD and lives in CA!  I am the designer, owner of the Color Me Creative Classroom, Copic Videos, ScrapBitz and co-owner of Through the Craft Room Door Magazine!!  I know it can get confusing but just wanted to clear it up for you all---we're never offended by it though!  So I don't OWN a store, lol!

-The magazine is looking for some fun fall, winter or winter holiday submissions using the sketch below!  Get them to us by Oct 20th at craftdoor@yahoo.com !!  We're also looking for thank you cards, superbowl projects and anything homemade (sewing, cooking, woodworking, clay making & more)--come on, don't you want to see your names in lights?????  LOL!

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Dreaming in Fall Colors!!

Yep today is the BIG DAY!!!  A Dual Release from two fab artists for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design---both Elisabeth Bell and Victoria Case have mini releases coming out today at the store!  And the SCACD DT has a fun Blog Hop to show off all the images for you--make sure to scroll all the way down to see who's next on the hop and maybe something sweet as well!  I got to work with Elisabeth Bell's for SCACD "First Leaf of Fall" image today from the Mini Sampler Edition #1 and I just adore it---check out Victoria Case's release "Mini Little Acorns Set" for SCACD HERE!

I have a fun copic challenge going on at my Color Me Creative Classroom's CMC Copic Challenge Group (anyone can join in on the fun here--you have to join the main site first tho') that features a monochromatic technique and the prizes are from SCACD.  The technique I used for the majority of my image was monochromatic--which means to take one color and use different tones of it (for this image it's E44,E43,E42,E41 & E40)!

 

So to keep the monochromatic theme going thru-out my card I used papers from Basic Grey's "Manilla" and "Kraft" paper pads--I love these pads and the fun, vintage patterns that are in them both.  The fall sentiment is from PTI's "Autumn Tags" set, pearls by Kaisercraft and the scrolls are from an EK Success punch.  All the edges got distressed with my Zutter Distress Tool which I of course loveeee!

My image is called "First Leaf of Fall" and colored with Copics, including the background and grass (I teach how to do these watercolored backgrounds in both my online copic classes & on the road classes)! Colors used:  E44,E43,E42,E41,E40/E11,E00,R20/E08,Y15,YR01,YR18).  I added some Stickles to the grass, her back pocket & collar and the leaves for sparkle!

The bow was made with my Bow Easy of course (I love that $5 tool sooo much)!  The flowers are layered cream Primas and orang flowers I punched with my Nellie Snellen punches  I inked the edges of all my flowers with my Inkssentials Foam Tool--it is awesome and I use it to ink the edges of my images as well for a soft, airbrushed look! The leaves were punched from the Basic Grey pattern paper, folded in half and then I inked the edges before adding them to the card. 

A mini Blog Candy for you today if you answer this question "What scares you most??" (it can be a funny scare, movie scare or real-life scare)!  One winner will win a package of Prima flowers, an Inkssentials Blending Tool, a stamp (one) of your choice from SCACD and a pack each of the Basic Grey paper pads I used today!

Hope you enjoyed my post today and your next fun stop on the Blog Hop is KIM!!!

Stick People Go to the Farm!!

Good Evening again everyone! I have one last sneakie peekie preview using a fun set by Gina K called "Funny Farm" and this set is CA-UTE! I love each image, you can create so many fun projects with this set and GUESS WHAT? It's also the card kit of the month so that means when you buy the stamp set you get full sized sheet cardstocks - white and black; 1/2 sheet: navy, little boy blue, red hot, innocent pink, sweet corn, and green apple, 1 yard 5/8" black gingham ribbon,  silver brads and an Instruction sheet!!

Now make sure to read down to see whatever designers are previewing tonight and if you missed my other sneak peek using "Fanciful Fall" just scroll down to the next post!

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Funny Farm

I adore this set--the images are cute and there are sooooo many images to use and create different projects.  Plus I love the name, lol, my house feels like a funny farm sometimes with teenagers running in and out and 7 animals barking or screeching all at once!  On my card tonight I used ONLY what is included in the Card Kit (that you get FREE when you buy this stamp set) except for one cheat (sorry couldn't help myself, lol) the large red button was from my stash.  Please forgive me for my cheating, hee hee!

I had fun choosing which images to use on my card and I wanted to keep it clean with only a few colors.  I love the graphic quality of the gingham ribbon agains the black cardstock that I embossed with a CB folder.  I used the silver brads included in the kit---TIP: I don't like to punch holes in my cards unless I absolutely have to so what I do is I clip the ends/shanks off the brads using my Tonic Scissors (those babies will cut most anything--luv them).  Then I attach them to my project with glue dots.  I used the Bow Easy to make my bow and then I topped it with my red button (not included, lol) and tied some black thread thru it and topped it with another brad.

I kept the colors simple so that the reds and blacks really popped--I even colored most of the background fields in shades of gray so the images in the front pop more (colored with Copics)!  The girl farmer was cut out & popped up with dimensionals and I added some stickles to the trees, her pocket and silo.  Isn't that cow cute--I want to squish him, lol!!  Hope you enjoyed my Funny Farm this evening--I sure had fun making this!

For more samples with tonight's new stamp sets, please visit these participating designer's blog links:

• GinaK
• Jessica
• Theresa
  
• Tami
  
• Melanie
  
• Nina
• Cathy
• Lee
• Lynn 
• Asela
• Bev
• Colleen
• Sankari
• Suzanne (that's me!)
• Valerie
• Tera *our CenterStage Spotlight Designer* 

The entire team would like to cordially invite each of you to our release party this Thursday night, September 30.  We'll have contest questions, challenges, chatter, and lots of samples with the new stamp sets to share during the party. Please make plans to join us from 7-10 central on StampTV!

Autumn Blessings!

Hiya everyone! This is my second post today so if you missed the first one, just scroll on down. No project on that one, just lots of FUN info about me that I know you were dying to know, lmbo (NOT, right?)!

Tonight starts the week of sneak peeks for Gina K's NEW releases and tonight I get to preview "Fanciful Fall" by Theresa Momber. It's a beautiful set with so many different images you can mix and match to create lovely fall scenes. Make sure to read to the end to find out whatever designers have creations for you to see tonight as well!

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Autumn Blessings

I used the two different pumpkins from the "Fancifull Fall" set to create a serene autumn image (but there are jack-o-lantern faces included too for these pumpkins)!  I roughed up my cardstock a bit with my Zutter Distress tool and my dp is from Kaisercraft (cs by Gina K here).

I always like to add some fun embellishments so I created a paper trim with my MS border punch by punching on both sides of my cream cs.  Then I added two strips of my orange cs along the sides and inked all the edges.  That got wrapped in cream ribbon and then some twine on top (twine & autumn go hand in hand dontcha' think, lol)--used my fave Bow Easy to create my bow and added a button to top it off.

My image was colored with Copics (YR18,YR12,YR01,YR00/E44,E31,E50/YG63) and drew in some fall grasses with YR24,Y21,E35 & E31.  Then I added some Diamond Glaze on top of my pumpkins for shine (Crystal Lacquer works the same way)--the leaves got a bit of Stickles for bling.

Hope you enjoyed this post and now make sure to hop to the designers below for some more awesome treats!!

For more samples with tonight's new stamp sets, please visit these participating designer's blog links:

• GinaK
• Theresa*Illustrator of Fanciful Fall*
  
• Tami*Illustrator of So Groovy*
  
• Jessica
• Melanie
  
• Carolyn
• Cathy
• Lee
• Lynn
• Asela
• Suzanne (that's me)
• Valerie
• Tera *our CenterStage Spotlight Designer* 

The entire team would like to cordially invite each of you to our release party this Thursday night, September 30.  We'll have contest questions, challenges, chatter, and lots of samples with the new stamp sets to share during the party. Please make plans to join us from 7-10 central on StampTV!

Blah Blah blah!!

Hiya my most wonderful friends! I hope you had a beeeee-utiful weekend! The weather was PERFECT here in VA and I soaked in every minute of it!  Now that I'm traveling I try to eek out lots of quality time with my kids and hubby (and animals,lol) so I really try not to work on the weekends when I'm home.  We spent the day on Saturday outside on our patio and grilled out for dinner then had some homemade smores and blasted some tunes on the ipod dock and just talked and enjoyed the cooler weather :)  Sunday we headed down to DC to see the Washington Nationals play (they won--yay) and we had awesome club seats right behind home plate (see pics) which means free food and snacks, lol--although I just had some Cracker Jacks!!  And a nice cool breeze and sunny blue skies, what a beautiful day it was!  Even if the Redskins did lose and totally bummed me out later that evening, lol!  So all in all a nice & relaxing weekend with my family--just the way I like it!  This Friday I will be headed up to Wilmington, DE to teach my CMC Copic Class and meet some friends as well (waving hi to Anary & Cindy)!!  Then I'll head back home after the classes on Saturday evening so I can enjoy Sunday with my family and catch up on chores, lol!  Next weekend I'll be in Long Island NY so if you're interested check out my site www.cmcroad.com !

Baseball Pics (if you subscribe you must come to blog site to view these):



I didn't finish my project for today so I thought I'd do just some fun lists for you, lol!  I haven't done this in FOREVER so I thought now was a good time, hee hee!  More than you ever wanted to know, right??

4 Strange Things About Me:

-I like even numbers--for real--I CANNOT stand uneven things.  If someone hands me three cookies I either put one back or ask for another, lol!  See each subject here "4" need I say more, lol!

-I am a HUGE scaredy-cat!  Ever since I saw the movie "Psycho" when I was 8 (yes my parents thought I was asleep in the backseat at the drive-in, well I wasn't, lol) I have been an extremely cautious and freaked out gal!  I slept with a fireplace poker UNDER my pillow at my hotel in Michigan cuz it helped me sleep, lol!  Yes I do these things!

-I like Ruffles potato chips in my ice cream--this I blame on my father who did this while I was young, lol!  I love salt and sweet together! (can anyone say Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby, lol)

-I will not walk into the ocean in SC--I only will FLOAT out because I HATE stepping on live sand dollars--it creeps me out big time!  I make hubby pull me out on the float and then pull me back in, lol!

- here's an extra for ya, lol--I can read French fluently but I SUCK at speaking it!!

4 Pet Peeves:

-I HATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTE bad, slow, careless, stupid drivers!!  I have a bit of a potty mouth in the car and nothing infuriates me more than someone talkin'/textin' on their phone, not paying attention and doing stupid crap on the roads!  I WILL put my window down and let you know how dumb I think you are if you do something that endangers me, anyone in my vehicle or anyone else on the road.  No lie--ask my family, lol!

-I hate to talk about religion or politics at dinner---I have my opinion and I respect your opinion, but I don't want to get upset while I'm eating!  I like to EAT, lol!  Some things are best discussed elsewhere KWIM!

-Bath Soap!  I only will use liquid soap EVER--it disgusts me to think about where that bar of soap might have been, lol!

-Silly but true, when the pillows are messed up on my couches and chairs in my family room it can make me go BONKERS!  I mean literally I could have a coronary about it and no one in my family heeds my warnings--it drives me NUTS, lol!

My 4 Fave Things I Own (not have like family, but own):

-My KINDLE---best gift ever and I loveeeee it!  (you can get a new one now for only $135)

-my new Lane doublewide Snuggler recliner chair in my family room that is MINE (mine came from a furniture store and it's a butter yellow, lol)!  It's comfy and wide enough for all my furbabies to sit with me while I work, lol!

-my wedding rings :) of course!

-my sound machine (Homedics)--I love it, cannot sleep w/o it, travel with it and makes me a happy girl!!

4 Great Books I Just Read:

-Juliet by Anne Fortier (excellenteeeee)

-The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass

-1022 Evergreen Place by Debbie Macomber (the newest in the Cedar Cove series)

-The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard

-and an extra---I am a magazine lover--I get over 20 subscriptions and I love to read them all each month!!  When I run out, I buy others at the store!!

My Top 4 Craft Tools (minus Copics, lol):

-My Zutter Distress Tool-- I use it constantly and it saves me bum-loads of time!

-My Tonic Guillotine Cutter--I've had it for almost 2.5 years and it still cuts beautifully and I love that it's bigger than a 12x12 paper that has a border! (and no replacing blades, luv that)

-My Inkssentials Blending Foam Tool--I use it 99% of the time on my stamped images for soft backgrounds and to ink my papers!

-My Ott Lites!  I have 2 in my craft room and one downstairs by my light box for taking pictures!  I love the true light they give out!

My 4 Fave Songs at the Moment (I am a broad & eclectic music listener, hee hee):

-The NEW David Gray album (yes it's an album not a song)--I have loveddddd him for years and his music is soulful, soft and easy on the ears.

-"Only a Dream" by Nelly (lovvvvvvvvvvvve it and I'm singing it now, hear me, lol)

-Maroon 5 with Lady Antebellum "Out of Goodbyes"

-Mumford & Sons "Little Lion Man" (it makes me smile)

My Top 4 Shows I watch on TV (or Tivo most likely, lol):

-Chuck

-Modern Family

-Castle

-Glee

(and any other time I usually have HGTV playing!!)

My Top 4 Movies EVER:

-Top Gun (uhhhh duh, I've seen it 100 times, lol)

-Steel Magnolias (makes you laugh & cry)

-Toy Story (all of them--first movie I took my kids too and still remains a fave for all of us)

-When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle and Who's Got Mail (yes it's 3) but I LOVE to watch these over & over and Meg Ryan was in her prime best!!

-I DO NOT subject myself to horror/thriller movies--I don't need any more nightmares and I just dislike them.  I also will not watch most dramas especially if they are sad or depressing---we get enough of that in real life and in the news, I don't need to watch it in my free time.  I stick to fun comedies the majority of the time--when I get free time I like to be entertained and laugh NOT cry!

And lastly My Top 4 Places I Want to Visit:

-Florence, Venice & Rome, Italy

-Paris, Brittany and Normandy, France

-Australia (all of it, lol)

-Maui

Now that's all you'll ever need to know about me, lol!!  See you tomorrow with a project!!!

Mum's Away!

Happy Saturday my friends! My chitter chatter will be at a minimum (do I hear you sighing with relief, lol) since it's late on Friday night as I type this and I'm ready for bed! :) I had date night with hubby tonight while the kids were off with their friends which was a nice break for us both. I also had a glass of wine which has been at least 2 months since I've had one and it's making me very drowsy, lol! I'll be doing some work tomorrow but we hope to spend most of the day chilling on our 98% completed patio, lol and I want to grill out some!  On Sunday we're headed to DC for the Washington Nationals game (baseball for those who don't know, lol)--just the four of us so it will be fun and I'm sure we'll suck down some hotdogs and other junk (cotton candy for meeeeee), lol!

So anywho I don't want to type up some mumbo jumbo here tonight that won't make sense, lol---but I'll be back on Monday with a new post, some chatter and the winner of the last blog candy (Bats n Brooms)! Have a fabulous weekend and Enjoy it!

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Mum's Away!!

I'm so lucky cuz' today I get to preview a DUAL MINI RELEASE from SCACD!  That's right two mini releases--one from Elisabeth Bell and one from Victoria Case for SCACD!  Both of these mini sets will be released on Sept. 30th so mark your calendars!  Right now you can enter for some AWESOME Blog Candy at the store blog HERE!  I'm using a cute NEW Elisabeth Bell image called "Flowers For Mom" from the Mini Sampler #1 Edition!

I really love this image called "Flowers for Mom" from Elisabeth Bell for SCACD because I can envision it used for many seasons.  I made my flowers more fall-like but you could create early spring flowers and colors as well!  So just by changing up the colors of the papers and images you can get multiple uses out of this image (and isn't she a cutie)!  I used my Bow Easy to create a double bow and then my Marianne Designs leaf die for the scrolls and fun leaves popping out at the top!  A few rhinestones in the corner finish it off!

I used lots of fun fall colors to match my papers (scrap ??) including YR23,Y21,YR20/E18,E15,E11/BG23,BG10!  The flower pot on the left got a mixture of Flower Soft colors to create a more mum like flower and then in the centers of those gold daisies are tiny gold rhinestones.  I glittered up her headband, pant cuffs and top of her sweater for some more fun bling!

Hope you enjoyed this fall card and make sure to stop by the store blog HERE to enter for that awesome blog candy!!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Twinkle Twinkle!

Happy Friday to you friends! Hope you have a magnificent weekend planned out for yourselves! We are having a "family-only" weekend since I will be gone the next two weekends teaching the CMC Copic classes in Wilmington, DE and Long Island, NY!  So I want to soak in some fun and relaxing time with my family--hee hee, my daughter is sooo NOT loving that as I put a big kabash on her social activities this weekend!  We have also had a death in our extended family so we have to attend to that as well this weekend.  I'm hoping for great weather so I can at least spend a bit of my time outside enjoying my 90% finished backyard, lol--hope to have it all finished by next week.  I've also got to plan time to get to the mall to get my daughter a homecoming dress because that's coming up on the 23rd of Oct and she would DIE if she had to go with her dad (dad might die too, lol)!  So as always lots of stuff's to get done!

And then while I was typing my blog I thought I'd catch up on some of the new Oprah shows I've been tivo'ing and whaddya know--once again I'm buying stuff.  I swear everytime I watch that show I hop over to the internet and end up buying something, what is wrong with me--thank goodness I don't watch all the shows??  So now because of her premier show I have 4 Chicken Pot pies coming to my house the week of Thanksgiving from Harry & David (shhhh don't tell hubby but they're part of his bday present cuz he lovvvvvvvvvvves chicken pot pie, hee hee)!  Not only that but I bought Jon Stewart's (love that man) new book she had as well for hubby--see a theme?  I gotta stop watching Oprah or not have my laptop near me while I'm watching, lol!  Do you do this at all?  Is it just me?  If it is don't tell me ok, let me think that it is a universal problem, it will make me feel better :)

NewsBitz:

-There will be a NEW dual release on Sept. 30th at SCACD!  Tomorrow I will have a sneak peek and info on how to win BIG!

-I Brake For Stamps has a new website, new stamps and took over another company which is fabulous--see them all HERE!  Want to buy--use coupon code "SAVE10SUZANNE" for 10% off your entire order!

-Yep, Nellie Snellen has holiday punches for pre-order HERE at 7 Kids and there are gorgeous new holiday paper pads from SEI here as well (I neeeeed them, lol)!

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Twinkle Twinkle!

Today I'm sharing my last project as a Guest Artist for Bildmalarna US/Stamping Scrapping BUT not my last project using these cute stamps!  I had such a blast using these cuties and each one was so much fun to color up and figure out how to use in different ways!  Today I'm using a new Halloween cutie called "Mimosa Witch"--isn't she a sweetie?  You can also pre-order the NEW Xmas Bildmalarna's HERE as well--they are ca-utttte!

The papers I used are NEW from Cosmo Cricket called "Matilda" and they are just fun and bright colored for the fall holidays!  Then I used my SU star punches to create some fun embellishments to go along with the fun star paper--I punched them from the PTI plum & orange cs and inked their edges.  I added some of that fun Magic Mesh in black behind my image and distressed all the edges with my fave Zutter Distress tool!  The button on the large stars was custom made by ME using those fabulous NEW Epiphany Button Makers--easy, fun and cool to use!!  The sentiment is from a Halloween PTI set that I use bunches!

One of my favorite Copic techniques to teach is called "feathering" and its so much fun because there are so many different ways to do it and all look good.  Basically pick two different colors (2-3 tones of each color) and create a fun, feathered almost tie-dyed look on your images--you can do it on birds, wings, clothing, flowers & more!!!  I chose to do this technique on her skirt using plums and oranges (V99,V95,V000 & YR18,YR12,YR00)--this technique was also the challenge over at my CMC Challenge Groups (see here--open for everyone to join) and the entries were FABULOUS!  I added some Diamond Glaze on the milk bottle, milk in bowl and boots.  Then I added Stickles to her tights, top of her dress and the milk bowl for some fun bling.  Gotta have some fun texture on that image KWIM!

Hope you enjoyed this one for you today and I'll see you back here tomorrow with a new SCACD sneakie peekie!!

Santa Did Whaaaaaaaaaaaaatt?

Helllllllloooooooooooo my friends! Yes, I am back and I finally have  recovered from my trip, lol! I had a blast teaching in Michigan this past week and I think it was a huge success (ask the girls tho for confirmation, hee hee)!  The drive up there took me 8 hours and it was pretty uneventful which was nice.  I checked in and met a friend (waving HI to Mary Clark) who very generously gave up her Friday night to meet me and take me to dinner---not only that but she helped me clean up and organize after my classes on Saturday and THEN came back to help me again on Sunday evening, she brought me dinner and a bag of snacks for the car.  I will say the energy drink she gave me helped me BIG TIME get thru the 8 hour drive straight thru the night, which felt twice as long, lol!  I got in at 4:30 am and slept until 2 pm on Monday.  Today I'm feeling much better and ready to tackle all my work again.  I also got to meet up with Angie Hunt (Scrap Girl) who is my dt sistah at Magnolia-licious on Saturday night for dinner---I had such a good time talking to her and she is a beautiful person inside and out (waving HI Angie)!  Angie is a MASTER at Distress Ink watercoloring and she will be teaching classes at my online classroom Color Me Creative VERY SOON--stay tuned!

But I have to say I was overwhelmed and humbled by the ladies I met this weekend and made me feel right at home!  I am soooo lucky to have such great friends around this country and I treasure each one of you and the kindness and generosity you have shown me--thank you so much!  I hope the ladies enjoyed the classes and it was so much fun to meet you all (waving hi to all the ladies of Michigan--including those rowdy gals who had too much caffeine, LOL)!!  Below are pics of my very first classes below at the Paper Hollow---next up I'll be in Wilmington, DE on Oct.2 then Long Island, NY the next weekend.  Find out more at www.cmcroad.com if you are interested!

NewsBitz:

-Winner of the "2 Small Words" Blog Hop is the most lovely Cami of  Capture a Heart!  Congrats Cami!  Email me for details!!

**Also the winner of the other blog hop (Shop Til U Drop) was Chris Hawley--Chris if I don't hear from you within a week I'll have to pick another winner--so drop me a line!

-Looking for great prices on supplies/cartridges for the NEW Cricut Imagine--stop by Stamps Alive! and my friend Terri will hook you up :)  She also has great prices on Copics and other supplies!

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Santa Did Whaaaaaaaaat???

Sometimes a card should just make you LAUGH and SMILE dontcha' think?  As soon as I saw this image at Paper Romance I KNEW I had to have it--it made me laugh!  This image is from High Hopes and is called "Skiing Santa"--obviously Santa was sooooooo OVER winter (like me) that he had to hit the water in a much warmer climate, lol!

Challenges I participated in with this card are:
The sketch is from last week's Friday's Sketchers--which was cool to use!  Also for Anything Goes Challenge (make it cute--umm what's cuter than Santa in his swim trunks, lol)!  Cards for Men is to use something with a form of transportation!

The papers I used are new from Kaisercraft "Be Merry" which are holiday bright and fun!  The scrolls are from Marianne Designs (yes I try not to use these dies but I physically CANNOT help myself, hee hee)!!  The sentiment was already on that cool die cut and comes with the paper pad--I just gussied it up with a bow and some Stickles!

I colored my image with Copics of course and then I went to town on the fun embellishments--I think the more you can accent an image the more special you make it.  You WILL NOT ever find an image of mine that isn't dressed up with some good stuff :)  The tops of the water waves got white Liquid Applique on them (puffed up with heat) and some stickles to make that water sparkle!  The water skis got Diamond Glaze on them and his fluff on his hat got Stickles as well.  Don't you just love his little chub pudge hanging out over his swim trunks, hee hee!?

Hope you enjoyed my first Christmas card of the year (1 down, many more to go)!!  See ya later!

Bats and Brooms!!

Hello and a happy new week to you all! As you are reading this I'm either driving home from Michigan or sleeping the day away, lol! I'll be leaving Michigan after my last evening class on Sunday and driving straight thru--I hope to be home around 4-5 am! So I'll be catching up on my sleep today and settling back in at home and catching up! I'll tell you more about my trip and classes in the next post, 'kay!?  So settle in, rev up those broomsticks (if you have one, hee hee) and fly along with us all............

Today the Magnolia-licious DT has a fabulous "Bats & Brooms" Blog Hop for you and all the projects will be Halloween or Fall themed!  You can stop by the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog for all the hop details!  Make sure to make it to the end for the next stop on the hop and maybe some candy for your trick-or-treating bad, hee hee!

I came up with this idea a few nights ago when I should have been sleeping (again, lol) and I will be doing the matching "girly" version this week for you!  I ran out of time before I had to leave for Michigan and I don't like to rush my projects--that's no fun and I'm never happy with them KWIM?!  I think this would be so much fun to give a younger child for Halloween--it's not only a card with an area on the back to write a note it can be a decoration too.  It stands up by itself and would be cute set in amongst the Halloween decor!

I used a couple fabulous Halloween Stamps from the "So Spooky" Collection at Magnolia-licious--see both the category for So Spooky and Halloween for all the Halloween Mag stamps.  I used "Halloween Edwin" and the "Spider Web" for the scene part of this card.  The fun branches and tombstones are older CC Designs stamps I've had forevah, but check out the Magnolia branches/tree here (I couldn't find mine to use, sobbb)!  I handmade a cloud template and then sponged the spooky sky with different gray inks.  A few sparkly bats flying through the air and lil' Edwin finds himself in a spooky graveyard.

The cool gate is the large MS Halloween gate punch which I punched out of black cs and then stamped the sentiment on the front (sentiment from a M.Frances set).  I also sponged the gate (and bats) with white ink--I scored the fence on both sides and attached it to the back of my card/scene so that it rounded out in the front.  This is what makes the card free-standing!  I also spritzed it with Vanilla Smooch Spritz so it all has a subtle sparkle to it.

I'll have the girly-spooky version for you later this week so check back in! Blog Candy Alert: But for now how would you like to win a set of MS punches (corner and border) cobweb punches, a pack of Cosmo Cricket Halloween paper and 2 stamps from Magnolia-licious of your choice?  Tell me what your favorite Halloween costume was or you created for someone (don't celebrate Halloween, tell me your fave fall food)?  Leave a comment on this post only by Wednesday to win!

Now you need to make your last broom-ride hop over to PATTI JO's BLOG HERE---she's the last hop today and she's sure to have something Spooktacular for you!  Thanks for joining us on the hop!!

A Watercolor Kinda Day!!

Well a very happy Saturday to you all! I'm pre-typing this because as you read this I'll be in Michigan teaching the first of many Copic Classes on the Road--check out www.cmcroad.com for more locations/dates!  Here's to a happy day for everyone and I hope you're having a fabulous weekend so far!  I'll be back home very, very early Monday morning as I'm leaving after my last class on Sunday (around 8 pm) to drive straight home.  I'm sure I'll be missing my hubby and dogs and ummm okay my kids too by this point, lol!  But I'm lucky to have some friends here that I'll get to connect with and have dinner with and chat (one is my Mag DT sistah Angie Hunt)!  So it will be fun and I am looking forward to it!

NewsBitz:

-Last few days for the Color Me Creative Classroom "Fall Back 2 School" Special---take any 2 classes at CMC and get $10 back, take any one class and get $5 back!  Special ends September 20th!

-Monday, the Magnolia-licious DT will have a fun "Brooms & Bats" Blog Hop for you--so make sure to stop by!!

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A Watercolor Kinda Day

My month as a guest designer for Bildmalarna USA (Stamping Scrapping) is coming to an end soon and I have had so much fun using these cute stamps!  They are so much darn fun to color I tell ya!  This cutie is called "Mimosa Wonderful Day" and indeed she's having a great day it looks like.  Like the Bildy stamps (that's what I call 'em, lol) well the NEW Holiday/Winter stamps are up HERE for pre-order and they are supah cute!!!  I used this week's SCS Sketch #298 for my layout and all my papers are from that AWESOME Prima paper pad that I used the other day--the patterns and colors are just beautiful!  Those pearl swirls are from Prima as well!

I love the watercolor effect---very soft and very serene I think!

This lil' girl was colored with Copics (RV14,RV11,RV10/BG11,BG10 and Colorless blender)--I kept all the colors very soft to match the papers.  I used very little of my darker colors and used my Colorless Blender as a true "blending pen" to keep everything nice and soft--this is a tricky technique and you have to be light of hand to make it work w/o removing the color!  I also added stickles to the aqua shirt and aqua stripes of her leggings and then diamond glaze on her shoes.  Just a soft and peaceful kinda day she's having!

Hope you enjoyed this post and I'll see you back here on Monday with a fun Magnolia-licious Blog Hop!

Two Small Words!

Hello friends and Happy Thursday to you all! As usual I'm in a mass panic to finish off my to-do list before I hop on the road tomorrow morning to drive to Michigan! Lots to get done--gotta stamp images, pack and finish laundry while managing kids schedules and house duties, lol! Aye yi yi--it never ends does it? LOL! But I'm super excited to get there and teach and meet everyone but I wish I could blink my eyes and be there already, hee hee!

My post today features 2 small words "thank you"--both words are simply special when put together don't you think?  Sometimes I wonder if we all use these words enough for the people in our lives or that touch our lives in some?  And how do you say "thank you" when words don't seem enough?  How many people have passed through our lives helping us in some manner along the way?  Even if it that moment only lasts 5 seconds, it still matters.   I ask myself that almost every day and I think generically we've gotten used to handing out phrases quickly because it's easy, or we don't know another way but I think it's good if we really can think about what we're thanking for!?  Words mean a lot but to me actions speak more and one of my resolutions is to really SHOW someone my gratitude, my thank-you's and my love.  That's something I will continually work on, some days I struggle and some days I'm happy with how I've expressed myself but I think it's all something we can ponder on.  As I always say "We only get so many days on this earth, make them special, make them count and have no regrets along the way"!  So my card today is for EVERYONE who has blessed my life, helped me, befriended me and loved me---thank you so very much for having had a positive impact on my life!

I will have a fun post for you on Saturday and then another on Monday so please stop back by on those days to visit--I might have something sweet for ya!   Ok now, I'll keep my chitter chatter short for ya!

NewsBitz:

-Blog Candy Winner of the "Shop Til You Drop" is Chris Hawley of Cutie Patootie Creations who said "My most recent "ouch" purchase was my copic ciao markers. I bought the set A from JoAnns. I did feel a little guilty, although I did use my own money from my sold projects!!!! And am so glad I did now!!!!"  Congrats Chris---email me for details!!

-Only a Few more days left for my Fall Back 2 School Copic Class Special!  Take any two classes at the Color Me Creative Classroom and get $10 back!  Take any one class and get $5 back!!  And see where I'll be teaching next at the CMC On The Road website www.cmcroad.com!!

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2 Small Words

Isn't she just a cutie?  This is a new fairy stamp from a set by Pergamano called "Flower Girls"--I got my set while I was at CHA because I just fell in love with them.  But SCACD is now carrying them all HERE and you will want them I know--fun to color and squeezably cute!  My card is for this week's TIOT for SCACD--our challenge was to create a card that wasn't square!  Well I semi-obeyed the rules, lol by making an easel card with the main part of the easel round (that counts right?lol)! You can see all the DT's challenge projects at the store blog HERE!

I used some stunningly beautiful Prima papers here for the bottom of my card--I love the dreamy, watercolor effect they have.

She's colored with Copics (R05,R02,R00/G02,G00,G0000/YR24,YR21,YR20/hair E35,E31,YR20) and I added a few stickles to some of the flowers, her shoes and the large die cut leaves.  The leaf die cut is from another Marianne Designs die here that I just got (omg how I lovee these)--if you have problems getting these delicate die cuts out of the die use WAX PAPER between the die and the paper so they pop out easily!  I used some flowers from Wild Orchid as well.  The large round die cut is by Marianne Designs as well and then I ran it thru my Cuttlebug Folder.  I love this new folder and everyone has asked me what it is but I have NO CLUE, lol!  It is a larger folder by Cuttlebug but I can't find it on the web anywhere--so if you know what it is, please clue me in so I can tell everyone 'kay?!!

The sentiment is from a beautiful PTI set called "Inside & Out-Thank You" and I just stamped half in my yellow ink and the other half in my dk orange ink to make the dual colors.  I love the mix of pastels, watercolors and fallish colors on this card and I hope you like it too!

BLOG CANDY:  "If you had to go back and thank only 1 person in your life who would it be and why?"   Tell me your answer on this post and someone will win a Pergamano set of your choice from SCACD AND a pad of this Prima paper!  You have until Monday to answer!!

See you back here on Saturday---have a good one!

Witchy-Poo 2 You!

Hello everyone & Happy Wednesday to you all! Sorry I didn't get around to posting yesterday but I am super tight on time this week. I leave Friday morning for Michigan to teach my first "CMC On the Road" classes---yay! And I have lots more prep-work to finish up before I go along with the usual design team work, housework and kid-work, lol. My hubby and son leave Friday morning as well for the NY Catskills for an RC Plane flying weekend show. They'll be camping out over the weekend and Riley is super excited so I hope the weather cooperates and they have a great time. I'm looking forward to the classes--there isn't much that I enjoy more than teaching coloring with copics but the prep work will KILL ME, LOL! I can't wait to meet everyone and a few I have known for awhile cyber-ly so it will be nice to catch up in person!  So my blog pickings this week might be a little slim but I'll be back in full force next week for you!!

NewsBitz:

-Have you seen the locations I'll be teaching my CMC Copic Classes? I'll be in Long Island NY, Wilimington DE and Greensboro NC this fall and I'd love to meet you!  Visit my website at www.cmcroad.com for details!

-Have you see the NEW Epiphany Crafts Button Makers that SCACD is carrying--they are SA-WEETTTTTTTT!  I just got mine in the mail from SCACD and I cannot wait to use them on my project for tomorrow.  I'm going to do a short video as well for you to show you how easy and fun they are to use!  You will want one trust me, lol!  She's also got new holiday 6x6 paper pads in as well HERE!  Also a never before seen NEW STAMP by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD HERE!

-Winners of Blog Candy will get posted tomorrow---stay tuned!!

My Box of Copics that had to be labeled last night for the classes--hubby helped :)

Our cat Tucker who can NEVER resist an empty box, lol!

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Witchy-Poo Boo!

I am so proud that I was able to combine two challenges today into one project---gotta love that!!  Today is the 7 Kids Challenge Blog and I am the hostess this time with a fun sketch for you with a twist---all projects must be FALL THEMED.  Find out all the details, see the sketch and the DT's fab projects at the 7 Kids Challenge Blog!

And it's also a new challenge day for the Copic Creations Challenge Blog!  Our sponsor this week is the fabulous Kraftin' Kimmie stamps and our challenge is shading!  Easy peasy--I love to shade my images while I'm coloring, that's what makes them realistic!

So I made a bit of an error and used a stamp that isn't in stock at 7 Kids (forgive me) but Tab DOES have all the other Kraftin' Kimmie stamps in stock HERE for you!  I adore this "Witchy Poo" by Kraftin Kimmie--doesn't it look like she's having a flying good time, LOL?  I used some My Mind's Eye papers from last year on my card and I let the main dp be the sentiment as well!  The bow and some of the other web-looking mesh behind the image is Magic Mesh--really fun to use (its great for Halloween and distressed projects)!  To make the bow I just cut some mesh off and twisted it in the middle--then used a strip of black ribbon in the center to secure it.  I also added a fun black feather behind her too--maybe a friendly crow's feather, lol!  The bats are from a MS punch and I sponged the edges with white ink and put stickles on their bodies for sparkle.

My image is colored with copics (duh, lol) and I used C9 thru C1 for my blacks, and YR18,YR12 & YR01 for the oranges and E29,E25,E31 & E50 for the browns.  I also have her some fun shadows using W3,W1,Y00 and inked all my edges with my Inkssentials Blending Tool.  To make parts of my image pop off the circle, I traced my nestabilities circle around my image and then hand cut it out making sure to cut out the areas that poke out the edges--a fun and easy thing to do!  Her dress bodice got stickles as did the skulls---her boots, bow and eyes got diamond glaze on them for shine.

Now make sure and hop over to both challenge blogs---7 Kids Challenge Blog and the Copic Creations Challenge Blog!  Hope you'll try to participate in both!