OWH Hop!!

Hi everyone!  I'm not gonna take up much chatter time here since I'm participating in a very special blog hop today and I'd rather you spend the time hopping...or creating a project yourself!  If you need more to read from me (bwahahaha) I have a fun new post on my OTHER BLOG HERE as well!

Hello Hopping Friends! Thank you so much for coming by! 

We brought our creativity together in the hopes that we would inspire you to join us (DT members) in doing a good deed!

Most of you know our men and women from the armed forces are deployed all over the world. Sometimes these men and women are in places that make it very hard,or they’re far away from where they can pick up a sweet card to send a quick note home. Luckily,they have OPERATION WRITE HOME (OWH). OWH is a non-profit organization that sends special boxes filled with cards to soldiers all over the world. How can you help OWH keep the good deed going? By creating cards!!! Yes! OWH angels receive tons of handmade cards from crafters all over the world,then they check and organize cards to be sent out to our soldiers. 

Now we would love for you to join us to help OWH. We thought it would be amazing fun to do a blog hop to inspire you! Design Teams from Paper Temptress, Oozak and Color me Creative Classroom have joined together in one amazing Card Drive HOP. The fun just gets better! You can join in by making as many cards as you possibly can..the more you create the better your chances are to win one or more prizes.  Here are the guidelines on how to enter and win!  PLEASE remember that…IMPORTANT….OWH guidlines MUST be followed to be entered to win a prize.

 Once you create as many cards as possible enter a picture of ONE of the cards you have created on the hop inlinkz then mail all the cards you created  to the address below. Send as many cards as you can create so you have the best chance possible to win one or more of the 14 fabulous prizes by November 7th.

YES!! You do a good deed and you also can win a sweet gift!!!

Please visit the Hero Blog to see how much they appreciate the cards 

**WIN!!-You can join in by making a project (following OWH – size and safety guidelines), entering a picture of the project on the hop inlinkz (one project linked per person please) then mailing the project to us. We would LOVE it if you could send as many as you can by November 7th (we will screen them and send all of them to OWH) . You could win super prizes from amazing, super generous sponsors!!! YES!! You do a good deed and you also can win a sweet gift!!!

Thank you to our sponsors-

 ♥ Paper Temptress ♥ Oozak ♥ Color me Creative Classroom ♥

♥ Heartfelt Creations ♥ Gilli Stamps ♥ Bugaboo stamps ♥

♥ A day for daisies ♥ Through the Craft Door Room Magazine ♥

♥ Floppy Latte ♥ Sweet Pea Stamps ♥ Pizzaz Aplenty ♥

I created two seasonal cards with more generic sentiments.  I didn't want them to look too girly or too manly depending on who used them...in between works great!  I kept the layout similar so it was easy to cut and create both but make them each special in their own way.  This is about as CAS (clean & simple) as I get folks...I tried for less but I'm a more-is-more kinda girl but the layers all lay pretty flat and aren't very heavy.

Cardstock was a mix of Paper Trey Ink and Paper Temptress and I used a fall theme for this one.

The patterned paper is from BoBunny..I just used a circle die to trace and cut the round hills out.

Then distressed and inked them well.  The dark cream cs got embossed with D'vine Swirls embossing folder that I love and is great for fall/wintry backgrounds.  Sentiment is by PTI and then a few pearls and ribbon finished it off.  I glued everything done well and nothing on here would get hurt or damaged if smooshed flat which is important when creating for the OWH.

Inside both cards I created a "card within a card"...that way whomever gets this has plenty of space to write a letter or note home.  The cards can only be 4.5x5 so that doesn't give you a lot of writing space..this just adds a little more without making it bulky.  I stamped some leaves from a PTI set inside to decorate a bit more.

I changed the colors up for a wintry theme and added some snowflakes done with my punches. I embossed the aqua background with a CB embossing folder and inked the edges.  Sentiment is from PTI along with the ribbon at the bottom.

The beautiful white, shiny cardstock is from Paper Temptress and is called "Vintage Silver Lustre".

It KILLED me to not use glitter (a no-no for these OWH cards) so I went with a shiny, pretty paper instead, perfect for a snowy-wintry effect.

Isn't it gorgeous?  And its 25% off right now too...perfect for the holidays!

Hope you liked both and now I would LOVE for you to hop, leave comments and join in on the fun!

Its a great way to show you support and care for those overseas and missing home!

♥♥♥

Now it’s time to HOP around. Leave a little note as you pass by all these lovely designers’ blogs! Don’t forget to add your project to the Inlinkz at the end of the Hop! 

You will also find the address to mail your cards at the end of the hop. You can Hop throughout the month of October. This way everyone in their own time can hop and join in!

Make sure to add your card to the InLinkz (last blog on hop) so you get an entry for participating!

Find Address to Send OWH Cards to HERE

Blog Hop list directory

Anary 

  Sandy 

Allnock 

  Patricia St Martin

Steph Ackerman

Ann Fran

Dana Joy

Anita Autore

Danni Bindel

Lynne Haston

Monica Lowrance 

  Suzanne J Dean ~ you are here thx

Linda Payne 

  Amanda Reed 

  Nancy Jensen 

  Cathy Preissing 

  Vickie Kertz 

  Holley Barnhart 

  Karen Gautier 

  Samantha Casey 

  Christine Riley 

  Melanie 

  Paper Temptress  

Make sure to add your card to the InLinkz so you get an entry for participating!

Find Address to Send OWH Cards to HERE

Candy Monsters!

Cute right?  Easy as a blink to make and cheap to make...a win/win!

I've made these in the past for the kids and their friends. I never made 100's to give away on Halloween just because where we live its NUTS with how many kids come by. That's wayyy too much work LOL!  But I would make these for a few of the kids besties or for sleepovers.

Supplies Needed:

-long, thin candy bars like Hershey bars

-a great craft glue (I like Best Glue Ever)

-Googly eyes

-Scotch Tape

-crepe streamers in colors (black, white, orange, green, etc)

-optional ink pads

I usually would buy my candy bars in huge packs at Costco..if you have lots to make its more economical. 

However our grocery store had a Buy 2-Get 1 Free Deal last week...so that worked for this project well.  Only thing I bought was google eyes (.89 cents) and candy bars ($3), the rest I had on hand.

Pick a candy bar and a colored crepe streamer to start with.

Obviously you can do this in many colors...use orange streamer for a pumpkin face...hot pink for a fun girly monster..whatever your mind dreams up!!

Tape the streamer onto the candy bar..doesn't really matter where...and then just wrap the candy bar as much as you'd like but make sure to wrap in different directions for a fun look.

I like to ink the edges of the crepe streamers to add a bit of dimension to them.

Easy Peasy..take an ink pad in your color of choice and rub around the edges as much as you'd like.

Dirty 'em up a bit!

Glue their eyeballs wherever you'd like...more than one pair if you want to go crazy with it :)

I like to tuck some of the eyes a bit under the streamer wrap too.  My green & black bar is my version of Frankenstein ahahaha, the black one is a Ninja and then some ghosties..but let your imagination SOARRRR and have fun with it!  

But remember to KISS...keep it simple so its fun and easy..and get your kids to help.  Mine "used" to help when they were younger...as teens, well...not so much anymore LOL!

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!

Indian Summer!!

Yay & Happy TGIFriday stampin' friends!! It's the weekend--wahoo & I have absolutely no plans other than to finish my Dan Brown book (compelling & hard to put down) & catch up on projects! Hubby is taking the kids to the Frederick, MD fair tomorrow but I'm not going---I'm so "faired" out, we've gone to at least 2 fairs every year since the kids were born & I'm just not in the mood this year plus I need to catch up on projects & Etsy orders. On the 27th we're going to a Hot Air Balloon Rally near Warrenton, VA & I'm looking forward to that--that will be my fair experience this year, hee hee! I'm hoping the weather this weekend is MUCH better than it has been the past couple of days--dreary & rainy, YUCK!

Seems like I'm not the only one getting less than 5 hours of sleep a night, LOL! I got one comment from "Angelwood" saying she wants to poke her peacefully sleeping hubby & that cracked me up cuz' that's how I feel. I asked him the other night how he can just lay down, clear his mind & fall asleep in 1 minute flat! It disgusts me I tell ya', LMBO--I will purposefully poke him or ask him questions just to keep him awake sometimes (yes I'm a meanie sometimes, hee hee)--I don't know how men do it. I have NEVER laid down & been able to clear my head that fast--it normally takes me an hour to fall asleep cuz' my mind is racin' I tell ya, and sometimes that's when I have my best ideas :o) Oh well, maybe one day sleep will come easier--we'll see!


NewsBitz:

-Susana's Custom Art & Card Design has the NEW BASIC GREY papers (Indian Summer, Eskimo Kisses & Eerie collections), buttons & brads IN STOCK NOW HERE--so run & get yours!

-7 Kids College Fund has the cutie-palicious Whiff of Joy Christmas stamps up for Pre-Order right HERE--those mice will steal your heart I tell ya!! (shipping mid-October)

-Note: If a word is in italics in my blog than it is most likely a link that you can click on :o)

-Hmm...somethin's up at Pink Cat Studio starting next Tuesday!! Keep a look out!!

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Today I have a fun fall card that gives me warm & fuzzy fall feeling's, hee hee! I LOVE the colors & patterns in the new Basic Grey "Indian Summer" papers--such pretty combo's & perfect for fall! The fabulous image is by Elisabeth Bell for SCACD "Rian" available HERE & she's colored with Copics to match the dp! I adorned the card with Prima Hydrangeas (in Sweet Pea & Woodlands), Prima Velvet Leaves, ribbon & Bella Baubles (in Lemonade & Merlot).

Up close & personal with "Rian"--I added some stickles to the flowers/hearts on her clothes & flowers on the ground. I used the NEW "Inspiration Paints" (fabulously fun to use) in Copper on the ground, Sage on the leaves & Light Purple on the background surrounding her! They leave a great shimmer & are nice & easy to blend (I use my Fantastix's or my fingers)! Hope you love her as much as I do!!?

Have a fabulous weekend & I'll see ya back here on Monday!
hugz,

Suzanne

Fall Elegance & Blog Candy TOO!!

Happy Wednesday everyone! How ya doin'? Are you a busy, busy bee like me, hee hee?! Lots to get done this week & not enough time to do it all! I'm still frantically trying to hunt down a couple more things that the kids need for school supplies--I hate that the middle school doesn't give out their lists early when all the stores are well stocked, makes it so much harder for everyone! I've got a very long post for ya today so I'll keep my "monologue" shorter for ya, lol! There's alot on this post including my kid's first day of school pics, 300,000 Hits Blog Candy & my project of the day--so make sure & scroll all the way down to see it all!

This is Alexa yesterday all ready for the first day of 8th grade! She's always hated to wear dresses & skirts but I guess she's starting to change her mind cuz' she insisted she needed this jean skirt, hee hee! Can't believe she'll be 14 soon--where does time fly off to?
Here's my "little man" (don't let him know I told you my nickname for him or else he'll kill me, hee hee)! Gettin' to be a big man I think (boo hoo) and in 6th grade now! This is his half grin cuz' he hates me taking his picture but I do it anyway cuz' that's what mom's do, hee hee! He was pretty nervous & didn't want to eat much breakfast and came home & said that middle school was "ok" but he had issues with his locker! Crossing my fingers that tomorrow goes smoother for him!

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300,000+ Hits Blog Candy

Alrighty friends! Today is the day for the blog candy for my lil' ole blog hitting over 300,000 hits in just a year and a half--WOW! Thanks to all of you lovely, supportive & wonderful readers for stopping by & visiting with me everyday--I appreciate you all so much & have made so many wonderful friends in the stampin' community! So to thank you I'm giving away just (1) one VERY LARGE BLOG CANDY!!

What can you win:
-3 Magnolia stamps (donated by Diana Crick of Magnolia-licious)
-1 Sugar Nellie stamp (Goin' for a Spin/Sweet Art Ebony)
-1 Paper Trey Ink "Anniversary Set" (not for sale, given as gift to customers for purchasing during the year so this is a limited edition set)
-1 Spiral Whisper Christmas Dog stamp
-1 Whiff of Joy Oakley Angel stamp
-1 Snowman stamp from The Stampin' Place
-1 Basic Grey clear Xmas tree stamp
-2 Studio G stamps
-1 Gina K "Whimsical Autumn" stamp set
-1 pack of DoveCraft Winter Wonderland papers
-1 pad of Basic Grey's NEW "Indian Summer" paper (donated by Susana of SCACD)
-1 NEW Bow Easy (donated by Susana as well)
-Embellies include a pack of Christmas buttons, bag of mixed Prima flowers & 5 spools of ribbon
-1 Sharpie Poster Paint marker (my favorite highlighter)
-1 small Memento black inkpad
-1 Fern Branch paper punch (brand new)
-1 medium scrapbook
-25 chipboard coasters

How Can You Win?
-Answer this question "What book is your favorite that you've ever read & why?" on this post only in the comment section! (please leave an email addy w/ your comment)
-Tell your friends on your blog, Twitter or Facebook (not required but nice, hee hee)
-Entry deadline is Monday, September 14th at midnight (EST)--winner will be announced next Wednesday! Good Luck!!

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Today's project is one I made as a thank-you gift for a neighbor/friends of ours that had us over for a lobster feast dinner this past weekend--YUM! I love all seafood & crabs & lobster are my top favorites and they were so sweet to ask us over! So to thank them I made them some homemade muffins (raspberry & chocolate chip--yes I made extras for us too, hee hee), a card and a bread basket towel that I stamped & colored!

I haven't done stamping/coloring w/ Copics on fabric in awhile, but I do love it--it's so much fun! I have a tutorial on my sidebar on how to do this if you're interested--I stamp on my fabric with memento ink when I'm coloring the image w/ Copics! Copics are permanent & fabric friendly--I always heat set it with an iron when I'm done so that it is washable! The main image is my all-time favorite Lockhart stamp "Harvest Candle"--I use this stamp alot in the fall season! The swirls and leaves are from the Paper Trey Ink set "Fall Elegance" and I stamped them in Palette Inks which are washable inks as well. I thought this would be lovely in a bread basket for the fall season--I'm going to make a couple more (one for myself & some to sell if you're interested). The swirls & leaves go around the entire towel (which is a flour sak towel) and on the opposite corner is the same fabulous Lockhart image colored again.

I of course had to make a matching card with the same Lockhart "Harvest Candle" stamp! It's colored w/ the same Copics and then I added diamond glaze to the hurricane candle & grapes and stickles on the leaves. The elegant shape is from my Nestabilities Labels 4 and I shaded the edges with my favorite Inkssentials Blending Tool (oh how I love it)! The cs, dp and ribbon are from PTI--the bow was tied w/ my Bow Easy and then I added some Bella Baubles to the bottom. The leaf charm is actually a brad and I cut off the back shanks & then punched thru the metal with my hole punch so I could make it a charm!! A perfect fall gift set! Whaddya think?

Whew, that was a long post and I'm tuckered out from just typing it, LOL! Hope you have a fabulous day!

hugz,
Suzanne

Harvest Time!

Happy Saturday friends! Whatcha' got planned for the weekend? We're finishing school shopping today (ack) so please pray for me, hee hee! After that we have nothin' planned for the evening which sounds good to meeeee! Plus its supposed to be dreary & rainy here again today, so its a good day to snuggle in w/ a great book! Sunday, hubby & son are going to our local airport for an airshow of helicopters, bombers & other 'guy' stuff while Alexa & I stay home! Hopeful to get some craftin' in so my week isn't too crazy--the kids both have their 6th & 8th grade orientations this week and we might try and go away for a few days for the holiday. I want to go the the Maryland Eastern Shore and hangout for a few days & eat lots of yummy blue crabs (my favorite food evah') & relax before the new school year starts & holidays appear fast on the horizon!

NewsBitz:

-haven't had enough sun to shoot my Bow-Easy video & new Copic tutorial, but hopefully will get that done on Sunday! So stay tuned!

-In "Suzanne's Book Reviews" for ya (LOL)--I just finshed Karen White's "House on Tradd Street" which was FABULOUS--her new one will be out in Nov.! Another one I finished yesterday which was great too was Jennifer Weiner's "Goodnight Nobody"--I love her books! Her "Certain Girls" is a great one too! And I'm counting down the days until Sept. 15th when Dan Brown's new book comes--I will be taking the entire day off to read it, hee hee!

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Just one card for ya today--sorry no postie yesterday but I didn't have internet until 9 pm last night & wasn't able to get it done :o( (but I did finish my book, hee hee) This card uses the fabulous Lockhart Stamp Co. "Harvest Angel"--isn't she fab!? Karen has done a few of these angels for different seasons & they're all lovely. I colored her w/ Copics and used my new Nestabilities Labels 9 to cut out my angel & cs layer. I used my Bow-Easy again to make my bow, and the sentiment is from PTI's Autumn Abundance set. I punched scrolls out w/ my fave punch & added some fun rhinestones to the centers. And of course stickles on her leaf wings & diamond glaze on the hurricane glass! Perfect for fall holidays!

Alrighty, have a fabulous weekend & I'll see ya back here on Monday!


hugz,
Suzanne

Pumkins, Pumkins!

Happy Monday everyone! Did ya have an awesome weekend? Ours was pretty good minus the hurricane drenching rains & storms we got Friday & Saturday! Wow--we got 4 inches of rain here, we needed rain but NOT that much, LOL! Even with the rain we braved it & headed to Tyson's Corner Mall (our big, gigantic) mall with hubby, son, duaghter & daughter's friend! ACK! We figured everyone would stay away due to the awful weather, but OH NO--they were ALL there at the mall with me! ARGHHHHHH--I HATE CROWDS OF PEOPLE!! We did manage to get about half of our shoppin' done but I still gotta go again---lord help me & provide me with lots of ADVIL!! LOL--I hate school shoppin! So to recover the Dean Family had jammie day yesterday, hee hee---my favorite activity in the whole world :o) But I did manage to sell the majority of my SU sets (yay) & work on some new projects for this week! I've gots lots to share with ya this week that's for sure!

NewsBitz:

-A Happy, Stampendous Birthday Shout-Out to Diana Crick today!! She's a wonderful boss, stamp store owner, super talented (she invented the Scor-Pal ya know), kind & amazingly generous lady I tell ya! I had the wonderful opportunity to have lunch with her at CHA last year & she is EVEN nicer in person :o) Happy Birthday Diana--I hope it's a "Magnolia-Fabulous Day"!! Drop her a line at the Magnolia Store & give her a bday wish 'kay!!

-If you haven't gotten any of the NEW Victoria Case for SCACD stamps yet--whaddya waitin' for! These cuties are a steal at $7 a piece or the whole sheet of 8 stamps for $40 (that's $5 a piece--a total deal)!! They're a must have I tell ya!! Get yours HERE!

-And I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to those of you who buy from my Etsy shop!! Some of you are my "regulars" hee hee & I just really want to let you know how much I appreciate you buying my projects! I hope they give you as much joy as I have making them! It's great to have supporters buying handmade projects--if you haven't checked out Etsy you really should! They have so many fabulous goodies of all kinds (cards, shoes, fashion, housewares, etc.) & they're all handmade, which makes them even more special. You can see them all HERE!

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So today I have a fun project for ya! A bit ago, Christine of All That Scraps (& fabulous illustrator of the CC Designs Sugarplums stamps) had an early pre-order of their Fall Sugarplum Stamps & of course I HAD to have them, hee hee! Now these stamps will be available on Sept. 7th right HERE if you want them! I will have a couple more cards done with them this week--they are stop-ur-heart CUTE I tell ya! The dp on this card is new from PTI along with a sentiment from CC Designs Fall Sugarplum stamps their new set "Fall Elegance". I say "pumkin's" (not misspelled, hee hee) cuz that's what my son called them when he was little & it always cracked us up--so to tease him now every fall we always say we're goin' to get lotsa pumkins!! LOL

I used quite a few stamps on my card today & below is a slideshow w/ instructions showing how I paper pieced this cutie in case you don't understand or know how to do it!! I paper pieced her apron & headband and colored the rest of the images (girl & wagon, pumpkin & fence). Remember to color your image FIRST before adding the paperpieces--much easier & you can still add shading to the paper piecing with your copics so it doesn't look flat!

Another "Suzanne Tip of the Day"(LOL) is my nestability shapes--I used the largest Scalloped Square Nestability (7 Kids has these nesties HERE & others for sale for $16.99--a deal for sure) to go behind my image but I still wanted a darker color behind that but didn't have a larger nestie. So I cut the same size scalloped square out of my darker cs & then cut all 4 sides off in strips & adhered them to my scalloped square so they peeked out just a bit!! Now I have a 2-toned scalloped square!! This makes all of your flat-edged nesties much more versatile for ya!

I cut the main part of my image out & popped it with dimensionals in front of the fence and then added another cute pumkin! The pumkin's & her shoes got diamond glaze on them & her dress has diamond stickles for some sparkle! So cute!

Paper Piecing Slideshow Below w/ Instructions:

See ya back here tomorrow!

hugz,
Suzanne

Time for Autumn!!

Happy Thursday Friends!! How's everyone doin' today? I still feel half dead, hee hee--but I did go out to dinner w/ hubby last nite which was nice. I hadn't been outta the house since last Friday--I love my new craft room but I don't wanna be in it ALL the time, LOL! Glad you all liked my room too--if you had seen what my other room looked like, aye-yi-yi! No storage areas, no walls (only big windows) & everyday I was sure I would die a sad death being taken over by craft products (not too bad a way to go, hee hee--but I'm too young for that)! So now I breathe easier knowing I won't die a "death by stamps", LMBO!! :o)

Here are some answers to some questions I got yesterday about my room:

(1) My white cabinets came from Lowes & hubby built them (all of them were $650 together)
(2) Paint is Valspar from Lowes called "porch swing" (low VOC) matches SU's "soft sky" perfectly!
(3) The only stamps I have in CD cases are my PTI's, Gina K's & CC Designs, the white cabinet holds clear stamp sets and in my closet I have large sterilite drawers that hold all my red rubber stamps (separated by company) & my wood stamps (Lockhart & etc.) & of course all of my "Maggies" (Magnolia's & they are separated by theme)
(4) My ribbon in the pantry racks have stick pins in the rolls to keep the ends from flappin' off
(5) Yes, that is a fabulous Scor-Pal on top of my desk--it's what I stamp on & work on along with just use everyday! If you don't have one, YOU NEED ONE!! LOL!


NewsBitz:

-Tomorrow is a fabulous "Tricks-n-Treats" BLOG HOP from the Magnolia-licious DT for ya! There are some fabulous projects to be seen & prizes too!! So don't forget to stop by the Magnolia-licious Highlites Blog HERE to see how to get started tomorrow!

-Today is the last day to enter the fabulous Victoria Case for SCACD Blog Candy that Susana is graciously givin' away!! Go HERE to enter (you have until tonight at 11 pm EST to do so)!

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So today Susana's Custom Art & Card Design DT is showcasing the fabulous NEW Victoria Case for SCACD stamps for ya! These stamps will be available to buy tomorrow (Friday) & they are C-U-T-E!! Make sure & stop by the DT's blog's today to see their projects--each DT member is showcasing a different stamp! (links on my sidebar or at the store blog HERE).

Today I get to show you my favorite of them all "Autumn"--isn't she cute & fabulous. I love her pose & her fabulous UGG boots with pom-poms! I colored her w/ Copics to match my dp by Chatterbox & Daisy Bucket! The layout is from this week's SCS Sketch #242 which was perfect for this image! The sentiment is a SU rub-on! And those are fabulous Bella Baubles at the top of the card too.

I added Diamond Stickles to her sweater, leaves & pom-poms for lots of sparkle! No card is complete in "Suzanne's World" w/o sparkle, LOL! Her eyes got some Diamond Glaze too--Victoria's images are perfect for this! I just adore her--she reminds me of my daughter when she about 8 yrs old! Of course she still wears UGGs though :o)

Now make sure & hop around the DT blogs to see all the fabulous stamps that will be released tomorrow!


hugz,
Suzanne

Autumn Thoughts!!

Happy Monday friendly Stampers!! Sorry I didn't post anything this weekend, but the weather was so nasty with wind & rain that I couldn't take any pictures of my projects. So now I have a ton of things to share with ya this week, lol! I'm sharing two with you today!

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BTW, I have an announcement for ya too--I am a Guest Designer for H&M Stamps thru February, yippee!! You MUST check out Heather's awesome stamps, there's something for everyone I tell ya! I'll have a project with one of my favorite sets for ya tomorrow (didn't get a photo yet). And check out my fellow GDT gals blogs too(Dawn Easton & Cindy Lawrence)--they're super & fabulously talented!! And yes, I am SUPER BUSY right now, ROFL!!
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First up is my fall card using one of the new Holiday Magnolia's that I got from Magnolia-licious. (edited--I will add link asap when it lets me,lol). I adore this fall dp from SU--lovee the colors in it. I love this Tilda cuz' she can be for so many occasions and I paired her up with this beautiful "Covered Bridge Scene" stamp from The Stampin' Place. I love this covered bridge stamp because you can color it for any season you'd like--I can't wait to ink it up again for winter and make snow on it! I used my Copics to color and added some stickles (gold & copper) to her buttons and the leaves. I also got to use my new Nestabilities (seems like it took forevah to get them) to layer with--this is the Labels 1 set(my friend Tab who owns 7 Kids College Fund has all the new ones in SUPER CHEAP, great prices). The sentiment is from PTI's "Mailbox Greetings". You likee? Some of my friends who got a sneakie peekie of this card yesterday (u know who u r :o)) said it reminded them of "The Bridges of Madison County" and I agree. Where we lived in Maryland before movin' to Virginia there were quite a few covered bridges and they were just beautiful!

Second card is one I made with my new "Whiffies" (got that from my pal Susana,lol) which is Whiff of Joy of course! This new stamp is called "Herb with Baby" and the sentiment is WOJ too. I used my favorite My Minds Eye "laundry line" dp and colored with Copics. This layout was last weeks SCS sketch #202 & I used it for this card and another I'll share later in the week (I flipped the sketch around). I lovee the soft colors and these snowman images are just the cutest, IMO!! If you haven't ordered yours and you really want some, REMEMBER they will not be available for very long, so get ordering already, lol!! Two stores here in the US that carry them are Roses on Paper and All That Scraps if you're nervous about ordering from overseas (although you shouldn't cuz Katharina is fabulous & gets them to you super quick)!

That's all I gots for ya today! Hope your week is starting off well & see ya back here tomorrow...

hugz,
Suzanne

Leaf Jumpin'!!

Happy Hump (that's Wed in goofy speak) day everyone! Here in VA fall has certainly arrived--I've had my windows open for 2 weeks now, yippee! Althought the evenings are getting a little too chilly for my taste--I despise cold weather!! Someday I will be living down South somewhere....dreamin' right!! I'm off to lunch today with my "lunch bunch" gal pals which is always a good time (oh if the hubby's knew what we talked about, ha ha). I'm having a "double-girl" outing today, first lunch and then this evening we're going out to the movies to see "The Women" (love Meg Ryan)--I'll letcha' know how it is, okay!!

Ok, moving on...since it feels like fall I made a couple of fall cards for ya! Both of these cards use stamps from H&M Stamp Co. called "A Leaf Load"--I LOVE it! It's so much fun to use and I already have 3 more cards planned with this set! I wanted them both to be similar in style (for my kiddos for their lunchboxes). They're both flap cards which I don't always do, but I really think they add a fun element to your card.

The first card uses the cute girl stamp--she is in 2 parts so she looks like she's under the leaves. I popped her up on dimensionals and is colored with Copics. The fabulous dp is from Black Market Paper Society called "Imported Rhythm" paired w/ cs from PTI. I added some stickles here and there for sparkle and then punched a couple of leaves out of the dp and attached.

Don't these kids remind you of when you were young--I loved jumping into a fresh pile of leaves! Not anymore :( since I'm the one raking them & there could be snakes hiding in there ya know, lol! I added some extra leaves flying thru the air to this "boy" card--he looks so joyful doesn't he! The dp on this card is from DCWV's "fall matstack"--lovee the fun colors!

Hope you enjoyed my fall cards today! Don't forget to enter for some yummy Whiff of Joy blog candy over on my DT sistah Kimmie's blog--she's giving one lucky person a "Melinda Blowing Kisses" stamp. If you already own some of these lovely Whiff of Joy ** stamps you can now participate in weekly challenges over on the new Whiff of Joy Challenge blog too.

lots of hugz,

Suzanne

**If you want to order the Whiff of Joy stamps here in the US, you can now get them from All That Scraps.

What a Day!

Hello Everyone! And what a day yesterday was for sure! First I want to tell you that Katharina of Whiff of Joy asked me last week to become a permanent member of her DT--yippee!! I was so excited and ya know I said "yes" right away, tee hee! I lovvvvvvvveee those stamps so much and cannot wait for the new ones. BTW, she's having another challenge to look for the next Guest Designer so get on over to her blog and check it out! And my DT sistah Bev is having her Whiff of Joy blog candy giveaway starting today, so get on over there and check it out & enter (make sure and enjoy her gorgeous creations too)! And if that's not enough for ya, Elisabeth Bell is having blog candy on her blog too (yummilicious)! And for those of you here in the US who want some Whiff of Joy stamps, All That Scraps now has them for you to purchase (although Christine does not have all of them yet) or you can still order them directly from Whiff of Joy.

A quick funny story for ya (if you are a lover of snakes, skip to next paragraph). Yesterday afternoon there was a copperhead snake (venomous & poisonous) in my back stairwell (our basement has walk-up stairs to the yard with woods behind us). Unbeknownst to me I had let the doggies out in the yard and I almost stepped on it--yucko! So I'm totally freaked out because I don't want the snake to get up in the yard but I'm scared to death to go outside and kill it. Long story short, my good friend Sally came up for moral support and both us got armed w/ shovels to attack. My son took a video and if you are familiar with the "I Love Lucy" show--well we were Lucy & Ethel for sure (its comical now after the fact, lol). Anywhoo, after much screaming and jumping around we managed to kill it and bag it up (for my hubby to dispose of)! Sorry, but I just do not like snakes of any kind--gross-o! I thought I might actually have a heart attack or vomit at the same--for sure the grossest thing I've ever done! Hopefully no more snakes come back for vengeance to get me!!

Ok, onto to more pleasant things! This card was made with a new Magnolia stamp from the Fall Kit (Winter Kit is now available for pre-order here. It works out to about $45 for all the stamps and shipping so it is a deal). The background stamp is from Alota stamps--its actually probably supposed to be a summer bg but I colored it so it was fall. I paper pieced her shirt--the dp is new from SU's designer paper pack (hostess level). After coloring the bg w/ my Copics I used my pearlescent watercolors to color the clouds and sky for a nice soft shimmer. I also added stickles to the edges of the clouds and some to the trees. The ribbon and cs is from PTI and the sentiment is actually a clear sticker from Cloud 9 Designs that I attached to cs. I'm hoping Diana Crick's webshop for Magnolia-licious is close to opening, but until then you can contact her at magnolia.us@shaw.ca for ordering information (the fall kit stamp will not be available thru her).

All right, I'm off to work on some more projects. I got all the new JustRite stamping goodies yesterday so I have to try them out--lovee them! And I have another "secret" to share w/ ya this week so stay tuned...!

See ya--

Suzanne

**NOTE: My blog candy #1 has still not been claimed by Linda Deline--if I don't hear from you by Thursday I will redraw a number and award the blog candy to someone else. Thanks!***

Fright Nite!!

Good Saturday Morning to ya! First and foremost, I hope all my stampin' pals and cohorts in the Texas area are safe and dry with big ole' Hurricane Ike hitting the area last nite. We're all praying and thinking about ya!

We're off to the Octoberfest today with some of our friends--hope the weather stays nice and it should be fun. Then I'm teaching a Copics class at Marti's (Pez-a-doodles) house--we'll see how I do, lol! And boy do I have some news for you, but its still top secret right now (3 big secrets actually)--can't wait to share with ya'll!

Don't forget to visit Jen del Muro's blog (I{heart}2stamp) today for her Saturday Sketch For You to Try and my sample I made as her guest designer this month. Let's just say it will be a "bella-riffic" sketch for ya!!

I decided to make it a theme day again--so today is "fright nite" for ya, tee hee! I love Halloween and I love to decorate for Halloween. Every year I haul out my boxes of decorations and then of course go buy some new things and decorate the front yard for the many trick-or-treaters we get. I even fire up my fog machine so the front yard "graveyard" is spooky--I just love it! So when I saw this "Fright Night" stamp set from H&M Stamps I just had to have it! I love that you can make spooky scenes with it and ya gotta love all the different gravestones. Everything was colored w/ Copics and I added some stickles to the house's windows for a sparkly glow. I cut each of the gravestones out and popped 'em up w/ dimensionals. I love the sentiment too--so fun! The fence is a Martha Stewart punch and I bent the fence outwards and adhered it w/ tacky tape at the edges for a big 3-D pop! The dp is from Reminisce, isn't it fabby, I love it!

The second card uses stamps from MFT's "Totally Witchin'" set and I used the MFT sketch #47 from this week for the layout. Make sure and check out the MFT forum next week for their week of challenges-looks like fun! I stamped each of the "secret ingredients" out and colored them and then added colored stickles. I added some cobwebs using a Martha Stewart punch and then added black stickles to them. Pretty basic card, just frighteningly fun!

Hope you all have a great weekend! Until then...
Suzanne

Fall-ing For Autumn!

Happy Thursday everyone! I am happy and thankful today! My sinus infection is on its way out the door and I brought my kitty home too!! He's eating up a storm and resting--I'm so glad to have him home!! Maybe now I can get some sleep....ha ha!! Now if the "powers that be" could just get me out of jury duty tomorrow, I'd be set!! And I'm thankful to all of you in the "stamping blog land" of ours for sending me your well wishes and support--its so appreciated!

BLOG CANDY ALERT--If you have not entered for my blog candy, you can do so until 11 pm EST tonight right HERE!!
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I have 2 cards for ya today and both are fall themed again! I am loving all my new fall stamps and dp, I just gotta use them! My first card uses another Spiral Whisper stamp by Janet Roberts (Autumn Millie)--she's just a cutie-pie! I pulled out a new pack of dp from SU called "Sweet Always" (lovee the colors and patterns in this pack for sure) and used the sketch on SCS (SC193) for my layout. The sentiment is from PTI's "Mailbox Greetings"--love the versatility of that set (use it all the time)!




The second card uses a new stamp set I got from H&M Stamp Co. called "Old Fashioned Hayride"--this set has a ton of stamps in it and all of them are great! Heather Rolin is both a stamp designer and owner for this company--she's super talented and super nice too! I ordered a few sets from H&M and they are really great---I'll be sharing my projects with those real soon! I stamped out all 3 elements (the scarecrow does not have a crow on his hat, but the set comes w/ one and I thought it looked cute there) and colored them w/ Copics. I used my circle nesties to cut everything out. The dp is from DCWV "fall mat stack" paired w/ PTI cs. I punched my brown cs with my new Fiskars border punch and just layered away. The sentiment is the same one from PTI that I used above--I always cut my sentiments when I get them because I like to stamp them in different ways. This way you can make them fit to your needs too. I added a few stickles to make everything pop!

Hope you like the cards today! I will type up my post for Friday tonight with the winner of the blog candy since I'll probably be gone all day tomorrow doing my civic duty (yuck)! Hope ya have a great day!

Suzanne