Field of Flowers!!

Hello everyone and a Happy Wednesday to you!  I am busy, busy, busy like a beeeeee today getting work done and laundry so I can begin the arduous task of packing for 2 weeks for my family.  Yes, LOL, I pack for everyone pretty much—this way I know NOTHING gets forgotten!  The kids pack their backpacks with junk for the trip but I take care of suitcase packing!  I travel enough that my poor red suitcase looks like its been thru WW3 and has yet to be fully unpacked since JANUARY—I KID YOU NOT LOL!  I keep it loaded with stuff that always needs to be taken so it makes my life easier.  When I get back from our 2 week vacation I will only be home for 5 days before I fly out to Chicago for a week to teach and attend CHA (Craft & Hobby Association).  That leaves me enough time to do laundry, unpack the family, pick up the animals and do some work, LOL.  It’s a crazed life but a happy life so don’t worry about me---I’m never complaining—only grateful and thankful!  Like I always say “if my feet hit the floor and I’m standing then I’m SMILING” and that’s how I live each day!  I’m grateful for each moment I get to enjoy (whether happy or sad) with my family, friends and the world! I always think that if I died I hope to have lived my life well and happily and hopefully touched others lives with kindness, laughter and love—my main goal it is for sure!!  So if you will be in Chicago at CHA make sure you stop by and say HI---I’d love to meet and chat with you (yes look for the CRAZY LADY at the Scor-Pal & Magnolia-licious booth, lol).

NewsBitz:

-7 Kids College Fund has a coupon for 10% off all CC Designs Stamps—Use Code CCTY10, good through 6/27/11!  Like to mask or airbrush? Check out the fabulous Copic Xpress It- Mask It that works like a dream!

-Yep SCACD is having another fabulous release on Friday featuring gorgeous stamps by Victoria Case exclusively for SCACD.  Enter for the yummy Blog Candy and see Sneak Peeks at the store blog HERE!

-I have Blog Candy on my last post (below this one) if you’d like to enter---you have until Friday to do so!!

-The current CMC Challenge will be ending on Friday—the challenge is to color BRUNETTES (see slideshow of my DT’s gorgeous work below) and we’d love to have you enter---lots of fun prizes!!  Everyone is welcome!  New Challenge will go up on Friday and run for 2 weeks---Tiddly Inks is our fabulous sponsor!

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Field of Flowers

Today I’m sharing a project with you that I did for the new 7 Kids Challenge!  Wendy is our lovely hostess and she has challenged us to use “FLUFF & STUFF”—which means to use soft things on our cards like fluff, flock, fabric, flower soft and more!  Fun huh?  Make sure to stop by the 7 Kids Challenge Blog to see the gorgeous DT projects and play along with us!!

I’m entering this card into the following other challenges:

Cupcake Craft Challenges (sketch)

Spoonful of Sugar (ribbons & bows)

Anything Goes Challenge (summertime)

Deep Ocean Challenge (flowers)

Make It Monday (anything goes)

I used a Stampavie stamp by Sarah Kay called “Juliet in a field of Nastutiums”— isn’t she a lil beauty?  I used soft papers by Kaisercraft called “English Rose”—I loved the soft mauves and greens in the patterns.  The layout is the current sketch at Cupcake Craft Challenges, see link above. The leaf dies are from Marianne Designs and then I added small seed pearls with Viva Décor Pearl Pen in Ice White.  The edges of my  papers got distressed with my fave Zutter Distress Tool (love it)!  The border was done with a MS border punch.



Yes she was colored with Copics of course and I’ll add the pink colors I used later—I cannot remember in my sleepy head right now, LOL.  But the Greens were G99,G82,G20 and Hair was E35,YR20 & E50.  I used Flower Soft for the grassy areas and then more Viva Décor Pearl Pen on the flower centers for more texture.



That’s all for me today, I hope you have a joyful Wednesday!  See you back here on Friday!!

Retro Kitty---Meooooow!

Hello everyone & a very Happy Wednesday to you all!  Slowly but surely I am getting out of this "accident" fog I seem to have been in---not fun at all!  But I will continue blame any weirdness on my concussion for awhile longer okay, LOL!   I just finished planning out our Spring Break trip for next week and I'm super-excited about it.  I get home Monday morning at 3 am from CT and then we leave on Tuesday morning at 4 am for 10 days in MAUI---whoooo hooooooo!  It is a NON-WORKING vacation for me so other than checking emails I am off duty for 10 days.  There will be some posts on my blog while I'm gone so keep checking in but for the main part I will be ALOHA for a bit, hee hee.  I have wanted to go to Maui since I found out "what" it was in elementary school so this is a huge DREAM come true for me and I get to share it with my family.  We have a luau, some snorkeling, surf school, some zip-lining, beach walking, waterfall hiking and singing fun planned while we are away.  I will post on Facebook regularly with pics if you want to keep up with me over there.  We have a flight to Dallas and we all sit together, then a 3 hour layover (whoo hoo sing-a-long time) and then the flight to Maui.  LOTS of time for Suzanne to embarrass her family but then again they know me well so they'll just walk sloooooooooowly away from me!  Alexa already warned me that I better NOT have any "wipe-outs" in the airport.  She'll be celebrating her 15th birthday while we are away so I TOLD her that if she "deserted me" that there would be NO PRESENTS, LOL!  Riley is ready though--he said he'd do some singing with me, hee hee! (trained him well, huh?)  If any of you have been to Maui, I'm taking suggestions on things I MUST do while I'm there---so email or comment if you have any!  I'd love to hear what we need to see!

NewsBitz:

-If you haven't checked out the NEW Elisabeth Bell for SCACD "Peekers" yet than you need to get over HERE and see these cuties!  You will definitely want one, or two or ALL! LOL!

-New NC location is up for my CMC Copic Classes on the Road including a NEW Card Class---see the details at www.cmcroad.com.

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Retro Kitty----Meoooooow!

Today is another fun 7 Kids Challenge and our hostess this week is Marlena Peduzzi and she has challenged us to create an Easter/Spring project!  Well I really, really wanted to use this image so I used spring colors instead!  When I was in Phoenix I was lucky enough to be able to go in Tab's (7 Kids owner) stock room and get some goodies, raid her supplies, bug her, dance around, you know the routine, lol---like I needed more right? But YES I did and I had to have all these cool new Stampavie Sarah Kay grown up girls with dogs & cats stamps--I LOVE them!  So I scooped up one of each, LOL!  You can find out all the details for the challenge at the 7 Kids Challenge Blog!

I used some gorgeous new papers by SEI "Sunny Days"--I loved the bright cheerful colors, they just make me HAPPY!  I love to skew my layers a bit for a touch of whimsy--I find I do it a lot lately--does that mean I'm a bit SKEWED, LMBO!  I added some layered Prima flowers and pearls---the circle elements were done with my Spellbinders Nestabilities.  The scrolly leaves are by my fave Marianne Designs dies (shhh they may be coming soon here) cross your fingers.

Isn't she just a cutie-patootie with her retro clothes and cute kitty?  Her name is "Josephine Cuddling her pet cat Kiki" (that's a mouthful huh?).  She's colored with copics RV17,RV13,RV10/Y15,Y11,Y00/YR18,YR12,YR00/E11,E00.  I added some stardust Stickles to her shoes and sweater for some blingety-bling! 

Make sure to stop by the 7 Kids Challenge Blog to join in on the challenge with us and see the gorgeous DT projects!  I'll see you back here on Friday!

Pinkalicious Fun!!

Well hello all my lovely friends and Happy Wednesday to ya!  Yesterday was CRAZY at the CMC Classroom as we kicked off a week of fun contests, challenges & prizes for the 1 Year Birthday Celebration.  At one point I got a note from NING letting me know they had to add more "storage-power" to my site so it didn't crash, LOL!  If you haven't yet headed over there, the challenge from yesterday runs thru the 24th so you have time to play.  I am so awed, honored, wowed and touched by all your beautiful comments you left me at the site---it really touched me and I so appreciate the beautiful notes/comments you all left!  Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.  It makes me feel good to know my hard work is appreciated AND that it has helped each of you in a special way too!

Also make sure to check how to enter (many ways) for the Grand Prize which is $50 of Copic Goodies (your choice) AND a NEW 2011 Ltd Edition Cricut Expression---wahooooooooooooooo!  And I'm thrilled to say that just yesterday alone we have raised over $300 for World Vision benefiting the Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami Efforts---yay and thanks to all that so generously donated! With every donation I say a little prayer for all those who have been horribly impacted and who continue to be impacted by the on-going devastation there.  My heart goes out to each person & family affected.

Tonight we are having a super-fun Scavenger Hunt/Chat on the CMC Classroom's main page (scroll down the main page until you see the chat box) at 7:30 pm EST!  Get your fingers ready to fly and thinking caps on!  Always a fun time and lots of great prizes too---you won't want to miss out on it!  Everyone is welcome!

Check out what my CMC DT did with the Birthday Sketch Challenge---they did an awesome job! 

You can join in on the fun too--this challenge expires March 24th!  See the CMC Classroom for all the details!

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Pinkalicious Fun!!

Today is the 7 Kids Challenge for 7 Kids College Fund and our hostess this time is Lisa Cook! She has challenged us to use Pinks & Flowers!  I cheated a bit and added reds but that's a dark version of pink right? LOL--I started out coloring this Sarah Kay image in red when I realized the challenge was PINK, duh!! LMBO--oh my so I just ran with it and added lots of pink too and I really like how it turned out.  You never know when a mistake may be a GOOD thing :)!!  Make sure to stop by the 7 Kids Challenge Blog to see all the DT projects and how to play along with us too!

My image is a cute Sarah Kay called "Time for Apple Pie" and I just adore all of these images.  A simple reminder of innocence, childhood and sweet summertime fun!  My dp is a mix from PTI and the flowers are all layered Primas.  The white mat behind the main image is from Spellbinders "Labels 16" and then I ran it thru a CB embossing folder for more texture.  The swirl die is from Marianne Designs die :)

The layout is this month's SFYTT (sketch for you to try) at Jen del Muro's blog--I loved all the layers!

She's colored up with Copics: R29,R24,R22,R20/C7,C5,C3,C1/E11,E00/YG67,YG03/G20.  I added Diamond Glaze to her apples and shoes for shine.  And of course some Stickles to her bonnet and apron trim & bow.  If you ONLY invest in one Stickles--make it "stardust" for lots of sparkle and lets your colors shine thru!

Hope this post got you thinking of warm weather and outdoor fun today! Make sure to stop by the 7 Kids Challenge Blog to see more projects and to play along with us!


Don't forget to stop by the CMC Classroom tonight at 7:30 pm EST for the Birthday Scavenger Hunt/Chat too!!  It will be loads of fun!

Winter Bunny Hugz!

Hello friends and Happy Wednesday to you!  What's everyone up to this week??  I really need to clean out and organize my craft room before it literally eats me ALIVE!  No lie--it is ridiculously messy and I've had no time to put things away.  I have about 7 or 8 boxes filled with new goodies that I have yet to go thru and find a new home for. I have the last 2 PTI releases still sitting in their boxes--the HORROR I tell you!  Part of the problem is that I've just run out of room and I've had NO time the past 2 months to really clean it all out.  I have ADVISED my hubby that I need a bigger room and we need to blow out the side of the house, but he didn't think that was such a great idea, LOL!  So I plan on doing that within the next week or so because it is making me CRAZY--I hate clutter and my room is nothing but MESS, it's messin' with my mojo!  I need to go to Target and get some more bins and just have at it for a day KWIM!  Anyone wanna help me??? LOL---I'll pay you in free craft goodies and then we can sit and have some hot cocoa on my patio, ok!!  :) 

NewsBitz:

-Winner of my "Dreaming in Fall Colors" Blog Candy is  Sharon F of Arizona!! Congrats & Email me with your address so I can get your goodies to you!

-Have you seen the new Grand Spellbinder's Dies yet?  7 Kids College Fund has them for pre-order HERE!!

-Blog Candy hidden somewhere in this post today :)

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Winter Bunny Hugz!!

Today is another fun challenge for the 7 Kids College Fund Challenge Blog!  This time our hostess is Manuela and the challenge is "Layers & Flowers"--two of my most favorite things, hee hee!  I used one of the absolutely BEAUTIFUL new Sarah Kay Fall & Winter stamps called "Rose Cuddling Winter Bunny"--see the whole collection HERE!  They are just stunning and so sweetly drawn, and yes I got one of each, lol!  Make sure to stop by the Challenge Blog to see all the DT's beautiful projects and see how you can join in to win something FUN!!

I decided to use one of my fave color combos of blues, cream and browns--great for winter and soothing too!  My dp is by TaDa Designs (from last year) and I distressed all my edges with my Zutter Distress Tool--if you don't have one you NEED this tool!  I love it--run your paper one way and it gets lightly distressed and run it the opposite way for heavier distressing.  I love, love the new Spellbinders dies as well---I used "Beaded Oval Nesties" for my matting behind the image.  (see all the new dies here-scroll down towards the bottom).  I added some small pale blue pearls to each bead around the die-cut.  I also cut my image out by tracing it with the die first and cutting by hand so I could have her boot stick out the edge and then I matted it with the entire die cut.  The scrolls are by Marianne Designs and the sentiment is from PTI.

And yes she got colored with Copics--I colored her pants in brown and then actually used a Colorless Blender technique to make them look like suede by adding some blender to a pc of velvet and dabbing it on top of my coloring.  I used E27,E25,E34,E31/B97,B95,B91 and to get the pale blue on her boots I used my Colorless Blender pen to pick up color from my B91.  Then I topped her wellies off some diamond glaze for shine.  The snow is Martha Stewart Snow Glitter (I LOVE this stuff for snow) and I also added some stickles to her hat, scarf trim and some snowflakes behind her.

The flowers were done by taking a snowflake punch (Martha Stewart) and some blue Prima roses and in between I punched cream flowers with my Nellie Snellen punches (love these).  I inked the edges of the cream flowers with brown ink to match the overall look of the card and then attached them all together and added to the card.

Now for some Blog Candy to start off the soon-to-be Holiday Season!  I've got a Stampavie Sarah Kay (same one I used but a new one, lol), Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather paper pad and a Martha Stewart snowflake punch and pack of Prima roses!  Just tell me "What is your FAVORITE Wintertime activity?" by Friday to win!!

Make sure to stop by the 7 Kids Challenge Blog to join in the fun!!!

Denim--1 Sketch, 2 Ways!!

Hello everyone & Happy Thursday to ya! Wahh--it's not Friday yet? I'm sooo ready for the weekend I tell ya! Tomorrow I'm off to lunch with some girlfriends so that will be fun & get me outta the house for a bit w/o kiddos! And then me & the fam have movie nite planned for tomorrow night. We're ordering Bertucci's pizza (my ultimate favorite--with prosciutto, carmelized onions & mushrooms--YUM) and watching the "Wizards of Waverly Place" movie that's premiering on Nickolodeon Friday nite. Yes, I admit I do love that show--that & George Lopez reruns make me laugh I tell ya, hee hee! And I LOVE animated movies too--can't help meself--all that innocent fun!! We all need some good laughs--I love to laugh & if you ask my dear daughter, I laugh WAY too loud for her liking, hee hee---that makes me laugh LOUDER, lol!

NewsBitz: I still have some SU stamps available HERE if you're interested!!

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2 Cards & 1 Sketch

So today I've done 2 cards using different images but all the same elements & same sketch--I love to do that! Since you already have the supplies out, you might as well make another project right?LOL! The layout for both was yesterday's SCS Sketch #243 & all the papers are from Stampin Up! (the tan cs is Coredinations)

This first card uses a fabulous Sarah Kay image called "Elodie in her Garden"--available here! I LOVE Sarah Kay images & I haven't inked one up in forevah'-isn't she a cutie!! I colored her with Copics and then added some stickles for sparkle! The doily border was done w/ a Martha Stewart punch and the charm was from a gift pack I got--but find similar ones HERE! And that FABULOUS BOW?? Done with a wonderful new tool called "Bow Easy"--you can get yours at Susana's store HERE & it is super easy to use (you can even make double & triple bows, and different sizes). I'm doing a up-close YouTube video to show how to do it for ya tomorrow--you will lovee it & it's only $5!

Up close shows the diamond stickles on the water & bees and some "new paint" on the watering can that is (soon-to-come to Susana's store, stay tuned for details--you will lovee it)! I just love her cute lil' self!!

Second card has all the same elements except this time I used the fabulous Lockhart Stamp Co. image "Delphiniums & Peony" available HERE! (I love this image--it's one of my faves that Karen drew) The image was colored w/ copics & the watering can has a coat of diamond glaze on it, the flowers have diamond stickles (my 2 fave products, hee hee)! The buttons are all from Paper Trey Ink and the bow was made w/ the Bow Easy too! So the next time you have your supplies out, make 2 different cards that are similar--it's fun!


See ya tomorrow!
hugz,
Suzanne

Girls with Flowers!

Happy Monday everyone! I'm typing this up the night before and its just starting to snow here, so I'm not sure if I'll wake up to the 6+ inches they're calling for or not. Kids are hoping for a day off of school---eekkkk, for mom, lol! Anywhoo, I'm pretty tired so I'll keep this kinda short for ya today :o)

Above is a sketch I created for the Magnolia-licious DT March sketch---each DT member comes up with a sketch for everyone once a month and it was my turn. This sketch might be familiar because I have used it before and I just really love it--showcases the Magnolia stamps very nicely. This is a new Magnolia from the Love Collection called "Loving Tilda w/ Hat"--she's just a doll and I adore her lil' hat!! The dp is from SU and I used another hatpin that I made (love them) along with the beaded flower that came in the Love Bundle from Magnolia-licious. Her rose was colored twice, cut out & popped up, paper-tole style (and glittered up w/ stickles)! Hope you get a chance to try out my sketch!!

Here's a second card that I had done a few weeks ago for my Flower Soft tutorial (on sidebar) using my sketch again--see I told ya I lovee it! This is my favorite Sarah Kay image called "Roses Garden" and its available along with the flower soft and dp right HERE. The dp is Basic Grey's "Urban Prairie". I used my Labels 1 Nestability die to create my frames and those are Bella Baubles in pomegranate.
If you click on this pic to make it larger you'll see the mult-colored flower soft I used. While the glue was still wet I sprinkled ultra-fine glitter by Martha Stewart over the top of it for a subtle sparkle---nice effect!

Alright, I'm outta here! Hope you enjoy your Monday--looks like mine will be a snowy mess! Do you hear me Spring---I NEED YOU!!! LOL

hugz,

Suzanne

PS--if you're reading this Jacque the pics of the zebra goodies on my head are coming---LOL!

Christmas in November!

Happy Sunday everyone! Sorry I didn't get to post this yesterday, but Halloween was a mad rush (we had a ton of kiddos) & then after the kids trick-or-treated we left for the 2 hr drive to my parents to drop off the kids until Monday afternoon. Right now hubby and I are celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary and RELAXING!! Yesterday we walked around Alexandria,VA in the beautiful 70 degree weather and shopped & went on a boat ride on the Potomac--fabulous. Ended the day with a fabulous dinner and then a movie (Tropic Thunder--hilarious) & dessert in bed! Dontcha' wish everyday could be like that--I sure do :) Anywho, I'll keep this short and to the point for ya since I'm taking time away from my "RELAXING" to do this, lol! I will share Halloween pictures and a fun story for ya when I get back on Tuesday. And Wednesday my blog candy will be up, so check back for that--it will blow your socks off when you see it!!!

Before we left I had recieved my new Sarah Kay Christmas images I had pre-ordered from 7 Kids College Fund along with the new yummy Basic Grey "Wassail" dp that I used here. I lovee this image so much--their old fashioned clothing and of course the doggies (ya know how I love my animals). I think this image and this new BG dp were meant for each other--love the patterns & colors in the dp. I paired it with SU cs and PTI's "poppy" ribbon--the image was colored with my Copics too. If you click for a closer look, there are a few stickles on her hairbow, dog tag & Xmas tree too. Whatcha' think?


My second card uses some more of the new releases NOW AVAILABLE at Clear Dollar Stamps. This set is called "Holly Builder" and one of our DT challenges was to create our own dp which was so easy to do w/ this set. I wanted this to be a simply elegant card that could easily be reproduced many times--super quick to do! I used my oval nesties to cut out the layers for the sentiment and wrapped Offray's satin ribbon around & tied off. The holly leaves on this card & the one above are by Prima (love them)! You can't tell from the photo, but each of the holly berries were colored with my clear Copic Atyou Spica pens & they really shimmer IRL.

The new releases from Storage Units, Ink and More are now available to purchase also--so head over there and check out the sets in their entirety. Not to mention the great holiday deals they are having right now--click on their holiday stocking link on my sidebar to visit anytime this month--deals include free shipping off of $30 or more!!

Also check out the Projects of the Month for Whiff of Joy done by the Design Team--all fabulous & beautiful--candles were the theme! Mine isn't up yet (that's another story for ya)--it was finished but it got ruined by one of my favorite animals, hee hee, so I have to make another & post it when I get back next week.

And one last bit of news, The Stampin' Place is having a great sale on their site from Monday (Nov. 3-Nov. 9). 25% off of all rubber stamp designs (mounted or unmounted) & 15% off of all stamping supplies--so now's the time to stock up!!

Have a fabulous weekend & I'll see ya back here on Tuesday!

Hugz,
Suzanne

Puppy Love!

Happy Sunday everybody! Yes, it is still nasty weather here and we're not going to the zoo. We'll have to try again another weekend, oh well! I'm still feeling a little sick so I probably wouldn't enjoy it much anyway.

I'm gonna make my post short for you today since I was soooo long-winded yesterday, ha ha! I made this card using one of my fabby Sarah Kay images that I hadn't inked up yet (gasp)! This one is called Fanny's Cuddle, isn't she darling with that cute lil' puppy. She's colored w/ Copics (I use Sketch only for those who wanted to know--my reasons are in my tutorials on sidebar if you're interested). The lovely dp is from the "Tres Jolie" line by My Minds Eye--lovee the colors together. The sketch layout is this past week's challenge on SCS #195--fun, fun! The sentiment is from Heidi Grace---I found a sheet of clear sentiments by her on sale at Michaels for $7.99 and they all are beautiful! The ribbon is from PTI and I distressed the white stitching with my Copics (did ya know you can use Copics on just about everything), buttons are SEI and I distressed the cs with my ColorBox chalk ink in wheat (love that stuff). Hope you likee!

Today, my DT sistahs Debbie and Leigh from Storage Units, Ink & More (SUINK) have some more sneak peeks for ya of the new stamps to be released on the 1st--so get on over there and check 'em out!

And don't forget starting tomorrow me and my Whiff of Joy DT sistahs (their links are in my sidebar) will have sneak peeks for ya of the new yummy stamps---you won't wanna miss it! The stamps will be released for purchase on October 4th. And a big Congrats to the 2 new Guest Designers for Whiff of Joy, Aija and Suzy--we look forward to seeing your work real soon!

The Clear Dollar Stamps DT has sneak peeks also of all the new stamps for release Oct. 1st--check out Laurie's blog for peeks and a run-down of DT members who have peeks this week. Loving that Charlie Horse--he's a keeper!! I won't have any samples for ya until the sneak peek week at the end of October, so stay tuned...

Have a great Sunday! See ya back here tomorrow!

Suzanne

Sweet Summertime!

Happy Saturday everyone! I hope your weekend has started off good. We had a wonderful time at dinner last night w/ our friends and it was nice to have adult talk and no kiddos at the table!! Lots of good food (including dessert) and lots of laughs--a great time. I have had quite a bit of time in my craft room today and it's been wonderful--lovin' it!

My first card today incorporates 3 challenges if you can believe it--told ya I'm a multi-tasker!! I'll name them real quick for you-- 2 of these challenges are from the Dirty Girl**challenges over on SCS (one by Julia to sew on your card, the other by Christine to watercolor) and the other is for the challenge blog Caardvarks --this is a sketch by Kazan. This card uses my newest Sarah Kay stamp called "Picnics of Daisies" that I ordered from 7 Kids College Fund and to me it just personifies summer! I watercolored her with my aquapainter and SU reinkers/pads--I haven't done this in awhile & I forgot how much I enjoy it, such a softer look. The larger patterned dp is from DCWV "Pocket of Posies" stack mat and the smaller, red dp is from SU paired with SU cs. I punched the corners of the main dp then I actually stitched it to the card w/ red thread in all the corners. Now if you know me well, you'll know I hate to sew (I know how, but I don't like to do it)!! I also sewed 2 Prima flowers along with an SEI button to the card. The sentiment I stamped directly on my main image and it's from PTI's "Mailbox Greetings" set. Everything is layered and popped up with dimensionals. The scalloped border is made w/ my Fiskars "threading water" border punch. It doesn't show up well in the picture, but I added a lil' sparkle to the flowers, hat bow and picnic basket cover w/ my clear Spica pen. Ta-Da, she's all done and I love it!

If you haven't checked out Gina K's new stamps, get on over there. There's a super cute one by Melanie Muenchinger that I love (and ordered).

I have lots more to share with you and I'll be back tomorrow to share another project. Until then have a great Saturday evening!

Suzanne

** You can only participate in the Dirty Girl Challenges on SCS if you are a fan club member. You can join at any time over there.

Inspiration Everywhere!!

Good Saturday afternoon everyone! Hope you're all having a splendid day! It is hotter than hot here today--and we have a pool party to go to in an hour, lovely! Hopefully it will start cooling off a bit, we'll see. I just wanted to thank everyone again for participating in my blog candy--it was fun seeing what everyone's answers to the question were. Although I'm a bit embarassed to say how long it can take me to make just 1 card after reading all of your answers. But I'm an honest kinda gal and & I won't lie to ya'--it can take me anywhere from 30 mins (simple cards) to up to 3 1/2 hrs (most of my cards lie in between). Of course that's with interruptions like potty breaks, taking the dogs out and attending to my kids needs (or whines :)). I almost never leave a card for the next day, once I have my idea I like to run w/ it. I always pick out my stamp first and then move on to the dp, after that it's all up in the air as far as what I do next. If I really like a sketch challenge I'll try that out, but sometimes my cards take on a life of their own, ya know? I never glue down anything until I have all my elements in place, which can take me awhile because I like to fidget w/ it & try different things (not to mention my perfectionism butting in)! Anyhoo...

My card for today started with some inspiration I got from the cover of this catalog. If you've heard me blab before, you know how much I love French Country and toile fabric (even my craft room curtains are b&w toile)--love it! So when I saw this cover, I remembered that I had some BoBunny toile dp that would match (I have just about every toile dp there is on the market-lol). I also wanted to participate in 2 challenges again, the first one being the Sarah Kay Weekly Challenge and the Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge #8. The Sarah Kay challenge is using a sketch and Spoon Full of Sugar is to make a card for girls using Sugar Nellie stamps. I really liked the chairs tied with ribbon/fabric in the inspiration piece so I tried to incorporate that into the card-I didn't have gingham ribbon to match so I just used white satin instead. This stamp is called "My Sweet Lil" from Sarah Kay that I got from Sweet 'n Sassy. If you're looking to get some of these stamps(becuz Sweet 'n Sassy is sold out right now) try http://www.7kidscollegefund.com/ because they are getting a whole bunch in on July 20th. I colored her with Copics and added Diamond Glaze to the hair bows and ball for shine. The cs and polka dot dp are from PTI and the ribbon is from American Crafts. The sentiment is from Verve Stamp's "Petals & Stems" set--they have the best sentiments & I just love them all. Lastly I added some colored buttons to finish it all off. Alright, I'm off to the pool--yippee me!! Hope you like the card.

The pictures above are of the basket of Blog Candy entries and the #1 winning entry from Peggy. Somewhere in my mess of a craft table I have Shannon's entry too, but I can't seem to find it...not surprising if you saw my desk :) Ladies, in case you are looking for my email its on the sidebar or here at sjdean@smartneighborhood.net.

Till then...

Suzanne

Good Mistakes!

Hi again everyone! Yes, it's a double-posting day I guess (doesn't happen often) but I was really pleased with how this creation turned out and wanted to share, since I have something else planned for tomorrow.

This card started off as a triangular-fold card from Beate that you can see here. I wanted mine to be much larger but after cutting & scoring I realized that my measurements were off--not surprising. But I liked the look of having my triangles not reaching the end of the paper so that you can see more of whats behind it. In case you want to try it, my measurements were 5 3/4 x 12 ", after scoring and folding you will have to trim the sides of the triangles a bit. I'm calling mine the "off center triangle fold" card--lol! I make lotsa "good mistakes" that turn into something different from what I planned but sometimes I like it even better!

I used one of my new Sarah Kay stamps called "Rose's Garden" that you can get from Sweet 'n Sassy. I based all my colors off of this yummy paper from K&Co. (Marcella) and used my Copics to color her. I colored the background w/ a soft cream to mimic fabric which is why you can see some lines, it supposed to be that way--everything else is blended. I used my oval nesties to cut and emboss the image. I added some new flowers I bought by Prima which I love--I just layered 2 together and added a jewel to the center (from Doodlebug Designs)--I also colored/blended the edges of the flowers w/ my Copics for some contrast. I pretty much change up most of my embellishments with ink, like brads and flowers--makes what you have go farther. I've had these great metal sentiments hanging around in my embellies drawer for awhile and forgot about them and came across them while digging for my jewels (obviously I need to organize this drawer-lol). These sentiments are from Making Memories and I believe I had bought them at Michaels, the ribbon is from them too. I just shabbed the metal tag up with some ink so it wasn't such a bright white.

I also added a lacelike trim to the edges and inside with my Fiskars border punch (don't know the name of it) but I got most of these Fiskar punches at Target. To finish the inside off, I stamped the side panels with Verve Stamp's "filigree fantasy" set w/ SU's river rock ink. I made my card so it uses the ribbon as a belly band but instead of tying the ribbon I added Scotch's velcro circles to the ribbon to make it easier to get off. I made this card for the Limited Supply Challenge #177 on SCS (although I didn't limit my supplies, ha ha) but I did do a folding card. I also made this for Ismaki's Challenge #28 that you can find here.

All right, I'm outta here. I'm taking a field trip to AC Moore's and Borders tonight, so hopefully I'll come home w/ some goodies. My PTI package should be here tomorrow--yippee!! Until then...

Suzanne

Down On The Farm!

Happy Monday scrappers! I don't like Monday's very much myself but you gotta start your week off positive, righto? I wanted to start off by saying a big "THANK YOU" to everyone who has sent me such lovely comments or emails the past few months on my creations. Nothing pleases me more than knowing that what I do is appreciated and well-taken by everyone and if I help you out along the way too, then great (or enable you in any way :)! I don't always get to respond to everyone all the time, but if I haven't personally thanked you, do know that I read every email and comment sent to me and appreciate them all. So thanks again & hope you continue reading my lil' ole blog!

Ok, onward scrappers-- My card today is with one of my new Sarah Kay stamps that I got from Sweet 'n Sassy (I got them all because I couldn't just pick a couple--lol). I am in love with these stamps--totally adore them! They are clear acrylic and stamp beautifully & so very detailed--lotsa fun to color too! I had a Holly Hobby room, bookbag and lunch box when I was little--my room was blue and white and soooo cute. Boy, do these stamps take me back (a long, long time ago--ha ha-really I'm not THAT old). I put this card together with the new Caardvark's challenge in mind, which this week is a "farm" theme. Do you think this is "farmy" enough? This image reminds me of a picture my mom has of me at my grandparents farm in NY when I was 3--I had on my fave overalls and had baby chickies all around me (wish I could scan the pic in). I loved spending the summer up there and getting to play with all the animals and run around barefoot all summer (course I still run around barefoot)! This was so much fun to color, I'll definitely be inking up the rest of these stamps this week! I used Julee's Mojo Monday sketch #44 from last week (I must say I switched it up just a bit) because I thought it would showcase both the stamp and yummy dp. The dp is from Basic Grey's "Lily Kate" 6x6 paper pad--are those not the best papers to use--and the yellow cs is PTI's lemon tart, green & blue cs is SU's certainly celery & bashful blue. The flowers are all Primas with various brads and buttons are from an assortment I got at AC Moore. The little sentiment is from Verve Stamp's "floral whimsy" set--they have the most awesomest (is that a word--if not, I'm usin' it anyway) sentiments for sure. I only added a few stickles to her hat bow (gotta have a lil' bling in the country, right) and she's colored w/ my Copics. Around the white cs on the image & sentiment I rubbed Colorbox's Chalk CatsEye ink in light cream just to shabby it up a bit--love the chalk ink for that because you can layer it to get it the tint you want & it's small enough to get in small places.

Alright, I am off to blurf (you know, blog surfing) and catch up on everyone. Yes, I typed this at midnite again--you should know me by now & my night-crawling :) Have a great day!

Suzanne