My Blog Award!

Oh what fun & what an honor! My "blog world" friend Jackie gave me this award--isn't that the sweetest, she always leaves me the best comments. Thank you, thank you, thank u! I trully appreciate it! Now I'm supposed to give it to 7 (I only have 4 right now--I know there are many others that are deserving) others who blog that I feel are very deserving! So I'm giving it out to:

- Julee (owner of Verve Stamps & master of Monday Mojo sketches)

- Susan Dube (who always leaves me the nicest comments & is so sweet)

-Joanne B. (who always inspires me w/ her elegant creations)

-Deb of Itty Bitty Inkspots (always fun & creative)

The rules for this award are..

1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.

2. Link the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you've nominated.

Thanks again! Suzanne

It's A Circus!

Good afternoon everyone! Hope you all are enjoying summer so far--can you believe its July already? Sadly, the summer always seems to fly by--it's my favorite time of year! We're spending the day at the pool so I'm posting this early--I figured out how to delay my posts so that I can type them the day before and have them posted when I'm not here--yippee--it only took me like 4 months to figure that out--lol! Little by little I'm getting the hang of it!

Just a quick post today--I made this cute circus card for 2 challenges. One of the challenges is hosted by Melanie Muenchinger who is a stamp designer for Gina K. Her challenge was to make a card using her stamps but also you had to make it for another challenge too--dual challenges--I like it! I like nothing better than a good challenge to get the ole' mojo flowing! So the second challenge is for Julee's Mojo Monday Madness Contest in which you have to use her sketch to participate.

The stamp set I picked to use is called "Jumping For Joy" and I love the way you can use all the stamps together in different ways--remember this card--I used the same set. The dp and ribbon are from American Crafts and I loved the bright, circus like colors of it. I always pick out my dp first and then go from there as far as my creative process goes--everything is laid out from there. Everything was stamped, colored w/ Copics and then cut out. I put Diamond Glaze on the seal to make him wet & shiny and there are lots of stickles everywhere, & of course they're all popped up w/ dimensionals!! One thing I'd like to say about the diamond glaze--after it's dried on your cut-out image, you can bend it and it will stay, really cool to do with your stamped images (I bent the seals flippers out). To get the scalloped border I used my Fiskar's "threading water" border punch which I really like alot. (Enabler Alert--SU is coming out with a scallop border punch in their new catalog if you're interested) I added red brads to where the holes would be in the scalloped edge and the sentiment was cut out with my tag nestabilities. (You should see all the new nesties coming out--oh boy am I in trouble cuz' I love them all)!! I also used my Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder on the bg cs to match the polka dots in the dp. I also cut out an extra star from the dp and popped it up on dimensionals & added some stickles--I thought that area of the card needed a lil' somethin' extra!

The little treat/favor box I made to match was done with my Cricut (Tags, Bags,Boxes & More cartridge). I just added some of the dp to it and punched some stars out w/ my SU star punches. I added some curly ribbon and stickles and tadaaaaaaa it was done. Just a fun, easy project for a kids party or treat before the circus perhaps. Hope you likee!

Ok I'm outta here--have a great day!!

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

Bunny Slippers!

Hello Sunday Scrappers! Hope you're enjoying the last day of the weekend. We had wanted to get to the pool today but it looks like it's going to rain--yucko. We had a wonderful evening last night having dinner outside at our club and watching the fireworks on the lawn--the weather was perfect, food was good & catching up with friends is always fun. The kids ran around the lawn with friends and ate way too many popsicles--can you say "sugar high"-lol!! I hope everyone's holiday weekend was great too!

I get to spend time in my scraproom today--yippee--my dh is putting up organizers in our garage finally! We've been in our house 2 years and the garage is finally getting organized! I'm not helping because I designated that my hubby's job since I was the one who had unpacked & organized the rest of the house when we moved in. Gotta have him do at least one room, right? So I don't feel at all guilty about not helping--I've got my own stuff to do, like finishing my projects(with my new Sarah Kay stamps) and doing laundry!

My card for today encompasses 2 challenges/sketches that I've wanted to do. I got my new MFT stamps yesterday and couldn't wait another day to use them, so this set is called "Bunny Slippers" & I love it. Those that know me well, know how much I love my jammies and slippers. Most of my neighbors have seen me in both (outside with the dogs, getting mail, watering my flower pots)--I wear slippers all year round and I love comfy jammies, so I just had to have this set. The sketch is from the Ismaki Challenge Sketch #26 and it worked well for what I wanted to do w/ this set. All the cs & dp is from PTI--I adore their dp so much, especially this color set. I paper pieced pretty much all of the stamp except her skin--I love to paper piece because I think it adds so much to your card/design. (If you're not sure how to do it, SCS has a great tutorial on it here) I'm entering this into the contest for the July MFT Ambassador Challenge #2 which was to make a card with paper piercing (not to be confused w/ paper piecing :)). I paper pierced around the sentiment and the inside of the card. I don't always decorate the inside of my cards, unless I know I'm going to send them and I have someone in mind who might be getting this soon :). I just added 2 strips of the PTI cs & dp and the paper pieced bunny slipper image--so cute! I like the look of monochromatic cards so much, hope you do too!

**I didn't win the Caardvarks Challenge this past week, but was a favorite honorable mention :) I'll try again this week--you can see the new challenge here. **

I also have to add a #11 to my top ten--I can't believe I forgot to add my Scor-Pal to the list--I use it everyday and love it! Oopssee! The website has awesome projects and templates too, so check it out!

I'm working on about 5 different projects right now (cuz' I'm ADD like that--lol), so I need to get going. Have a wonderful afternoon!

Suzanne

**PS--I'm almost at 5,000 hits and you will want this blog candy for sure (maybe a Magnolia stamp & a Sweet Ebony stamp plus some other of my fave things)**

Additional products used: Nestabilities, SEI buttons, embroidery floss, dimensionals, glue dots, Copics

My Top 10!

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope everyone had a safe & fun 4th of July! I am feeling better today, but still moving a little slower than normal. Tonight we're going to dinner and to see fireworks at our Club so hopefully the weather holds out. We went to see Wall-E last night, and if you haven't seen it--GO--its so cute and fun, I really liked it and so did my dh and kids. I am having quite a happy mail day today. I got all my new Magnolia stamps from Diana (thanks Diana), my Magnolia summer stamp club stamps, my new MFT stamps and last but not least I got all my new "Sarah Kay" stamps. Doesn't get better than that!! If you're interested in the Sarah Kay stamps you can check them out at Sweet 'n Sassy. If you want to order some Magnolias and can't wait for Diana's (from Scor-Pal) webshop to open, you can email her at magnolia.us@shaw.ca and she will tell you what she has in her inventory (she will also be carrying Copics--yippee).

I finally finished my card that I've been working on for the past 2 days--I won't even tell you how long it took me :) All stamped images (girl, clouds, house) are from Magnolia and the sentiment is from Verve Visual's "Wonderful Wishes Remixed". The lovely dp is from Heidi Grace called "daydream believer" and I lovee it, chocolate brown is my "new" black--lol! I paired it up with SU's choc. chip and ballet blue cs. Of course there are many layers in this one--I cut and stamped the girl, clouds & house separately and then restamped the stairs and door, cut them out & colored all w/ my Copics. The stairs, 1 cloud, girl and the house are popped up with dimensionals. The second door image( the cut-out one) I glued 2 paper door "hinges" to it and then glued it to the door on the house image--I then cut a piece of choc. chip cs to size and glued it over the hinges for the inside of the door so you don't see the inner workings-lol. If you have or have seen this house stamp you will know that over the door is a house number--I wanted my sentiment to be there instead so I stamped it out separately and popped it up there. The windows and door handle have Diamond Glaze on them for a nice glassy shine. There are stardust stickles on her wings, flowers and clouds for lots of sparkle! I added some design dots to the girls dress and highlights to her shoes, cheeks and windows with my Ranger Inkssentials pen. I am pleased as pie on how it turned out, hopefully you think so too!

Now for my Top 10 List--I have a lot of people email with questions concerning my favorite, can't live without products--so here goes (in no particular order):

1. my Carl RT-200 paper cutter from Staples

2. stickles (easy to use and under $2 a bottle)

3. Ranger Inkssentials white pen (the best)

4. Copics (love 'em-expensive but worth it)

5. Nestabilities by Spellbinders (use 'em everyday)

6. Cuttlebug (can't do w/o it)

7. Diamond Glaze (great for shine and as a clear adhesive)

8. Scotch's Quick-Dry Adhesive Glue (the only glue I use-I get mine at Michaels)

9. Ranger's Adirondack inkpads in Espresso & Pitch Black (quick dry & great w/ Copics)

10. Paper Trey Ink's White Cardstock (the best quality for stamping & coloring w/ Copics)

Of course I have other products I use regularly, but these are my most beloved and recommended!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my "long" post and have a great weekend!

Suzanne

Magnolia stamps (girl, house, clouds), Basic Grey brads, Heidi Grace dp (daydream believer), stardust stickles, Diamond Glaze, dimensionals, scalloped square nestabilities, Fiskars threading water border punch, Verve Visual "Wonderful Wishes Remixed" sentiment, SU cs in ballet blue & choc. chip, Ranger Inkssentials pen, Copics

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th of July everyone!! I'm sure you're all out at parties and picnics today & having lotsa fun. I, on the other hand am not:( I slipped and fell in the kitchen last night and put my back out and I'm in PAIN!! So we're not going to picnics today, but we're taking the kids out to dinner at Fuddruckers (our favorite place) for burgers and shakes and then seeing "Wall-E" at the movies. My hubby and son our out golfing right now and my daughter is chatting w/ friends on our other computer (her favorite pasttime these days)! Hopefully, tomorrow I will feel better as we have our Club's picnic and fireworks to go to (hope the weather is nice). We wanted to go to the pool today, but it's pretty overcast and is supposed to storm so that's out too. Oh well, I get some extra time in the craft room (nothing, not even pain, can keep me away--lol)!!

I made just a simple (at least for me) card for today to share. I always see other stamper's "simple" cards and they are so elegant, but I always have to have at least a couple of layers, some sparkle and such. I just can't do it :( The stamp I used on this card is from Ellen Hutson and it's a Lockhart Stamp--so appropriate for today. I used my Cuttlebug swiss dots (I love it so much) embossing folder on the white bg and layered w/ SU cs. The image is colored with my Copics and just a few stickles in the flowers--the blueberry pie and watermelon are coated with Diamond Glaze for shine and dimension. The sentiment is from PTI's "mixed messages" and the circle stamp around it is from their "borders & corners monogram edition"--I love how you can mix and match their stamps together. And because they're clear it's so easy to line them up. I punched it out with my SU circle punch and popped it on dimensionals along with the other image. The ribbon is also from SU. So there you have it, and it was put together in 30 mins. which is a record for me-lol!

By the way, my most loving, supportive and wonderful husband (gush, gush) bought me 15 more Copic markers yesterday as a present for getting on the Design Team for Magnolia-licious. Is he the best or what? He knew I was wanting some more and told me to go ahead and order them--lovey him so much :)!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I only need about 30 more to complete my collection and I'll have them all--yipppeee!! They are the best and I highly recommend them for sure. If you have them and aren't sure how to use them, Marianne from Copic has the best blog about using them and tips & such--check it out when you get a chance. I get all my Copics from Dick Blick's online store (great price & selection) and I use the sketch markers just so ya know, in case you need enabling-ha ha!

Ok, back to stamping--I hope you all have a fun & safe holiday this weekend! I'll see ya around!Suzanne

Birthday Bunny!

Good Thursday Morning everyone! (yes the date says Wed. but I'm posting this for Thursday) I wanted to post this because we're going to the pool tomorrow and I don't know when I'll be able to get back in my craft room (sob)! I got to stamp in my jammies most of yesterday so I can't complain :)

I didn't see any of you last night at the MFT release party--what's the matter withcha? Just kiddin'--all the stamps are up on Kim's store website for sale now and my order has been placed (not a surprise right)! There's a cute set with bunny slippers that is my fave!!

Just as a sidenote--as I'm typing this my darling husband is watching Deadliest Catch (ice fishing) on TV and before that was watching some rodent show (EWWW)!! This is why I have so many nightmares, too many yucky images before bed--lol!!! But I love him dearly and he puts up with all my "laptop" time and "stamping" stuff--:D

Onto my card of the day--this is another stamp from House of Mouse (It's Party Time) that I got from Stamp Desires. I love these bunnies and mice--too cute for words. The layout is from this weeks sketch #183 over on SCS that you can find here. I flipped the sketch around to work for me. This paper from Imaginisce called "All Kinds Of Happy" is just wonderful and I have used it in lots of my projects. I thought the dp spoke for itself so I did not put a sentiment on the front of the card. The cardstock is lavender moon and plum pudding from PTI. I added Diamond Glaze to the bday cake and candles for a nice shine and his bday hat has stickles on it. The embellies are buttons from SEI and on top I added these Glitter Dots from Gina K. You know I had to get my sparkle and shine "ON"!!

I will be working late tonight in my craft room to finish up some projects so I can post a couple of things this weekend. I know most of you, like myself will be pretty busy this weekend. We're going to 2 picnics and the pool on Friday and dinner & fireworks at our Club on Saturday--wheww. Nothin' on Sunday thankfully except some rest-ha ha!! My dogs do not like this holiday--they are scared to death of the fireworks so I will be babying them while we're home :(

See ya!! Happy Scrappin'!

Suzanne

Magnolia-licious Day

Happy Wednesday everyone! It's another beautiful day here in VA--hope it stays thru the weekend for the Fourth of July holiday! I am so happy to share some wonderful news with you--in fact I'm still twirling around the floor with glee (lol)!! Diana Crick from Scor-Pal, asked me to be on the Design Team for her new Magnolia-licious webstore--Yippee!! You know how much I adore these stamps and I look forward to sharing them with you both here on my blog and at the webstore. As you know, right now you can only get the Magnolia stamps overseas and Diana will be the first & only (as of right now) store here in the US to carry them!! Isn't that exciting--I'm over the moon :) So you'll be seeing more work on my blog with these cutie-pies! If you're interested in ordering from Diana she is shipping orders right now, please email her at magnolia.us@shaw.ca for info on her inventory.

I didn't have a Magnolia card finished today to share, it's not finished yet, but I wanted to share a card/gift set I made with my new MFT stamps. Tonight, as you've heard me say a bagillion times, is the release party over on SCS for all of MFT's new July stamps. Come on over tonight (9-11 EST) and I'll see ya there--lots of contests and prizes to be won! This particular card is made with one of last month's stamps by Annie LaPointe "Chamomile". The layout on the card is with this week's MFT sketch #37 on SCS. There are 3 of these stamps by Annie and more to be released tonight--I think they're all quite elegant myself. I have a "ton" of Anna Griffin paper that I hoard (cuz' I love it so much) and I really wanted to use some with this stamp. I liked the combination of sunny yellow and sage green paired with PTI's new vintage cream cs. The corners are punched with my retired SU corner punch and then the damask dp is tucked into them. I used yellow pearls from Ellen Hutson (love these because they have adhesive on the back already--you just pop them on) and the silk flower is from Prima called "Belle Fleur". The sentiment is from another MFT stamp set called "Can Ya Dig It" and I added only a few stickles to the flower centers.

The little gift is a flower seed packet (mine doesn't have a seed packet inside yet cuz' I still have to get one). This template/idea came from over at Lisa Johnson's Poppy Paperie (you can find all the details here). Really simple and quick to make--I used my Scor-Pal (if you don't have one of these--it is a must have--I use it everyday) to score the fold lines and punched a hole in top panel for ribbon. I used the same papers, but the stamps are from Verve Visual's "Filigree Fantasy". I stamped the smaller filigree on the cs with Brilliance "moonlight white" ink and the main image is stamped with the larger filigree with SU's certainly celery. I added more stickles and pearls to the front image and popped it on dimensionals so the ribbon could slide behind it. On the inside I stamped the same "Chamomile" image lightly with PTI's "lemon tart" inkpad and this is where I'll attach the seed packet. You could also enclose tea or some other drink mix inside if you wanted. I think these would be cute party favors at a tea party or even a kid's party invite with kool-aid mix in it--lots of things you could do with it!!

Thanks to Lisa for the template and cool idea!! :)

Ok, I have other things to finish up today because we are going out to dinner at 6 pm with friends tonight and I still need a shower (last of my priorities today :)). You'll see me over at the MFT release party tonight too--so don't forget to visit and say "hi"!!

See ya tomorrow--

Suzanne

Pink It Is!

Hi everybody! It is such a beautiful day here--it's only 77 degrees with no humidity & my windows are wide open (love it)!! I like nothing better than being able to turn off the A/C and have fresh air in the house-its the best. I'm posting a little late because I had a ton of stuff to do. Don't ya hate it when "real life" stuff gets in the way of stamping? I had to finish 3 loads of laundry, strip all the sheets off of beds, unload dishwasher, walk doggies, and vacuum up pet hair, not to mention shuttling the kids to their friend's houses--fun fun (not)!! Anyhow, I am now settled in my craft room working, which is what I like best!!

My card today is another Magnolia card--I just love this little girl sitting, looking lost in thought. I had ordered this stone wall last month but hadn't used it yet and wanted to use it w/ this girl. I made this card for a challenge over on Caardvarks which is a card challenge blog and this challenge was to make your card w/ the color "pink"! If you're interested in entering you have to do it by tomorrow--so get goin' :) I lovee this new paper I got from Crate Paper called the "Kaitlyn Collection-daydream", the colors and designs are fan-tab-u-lous--(Enabler alert--I get all my Crate Paper from Eclectic Paperie if you're interested)! The sentiment is from SU's "For a Friend" set which I believe was a Sell-a-bration set this past year. All the flowers are Primas (don'tcha just love them). The brads are from Hot Off the Press and they were actually plain, but I like to dress them up. I added polka dots w/ my Ranger Inkssentials white pen and some stickles to one of them too. You can always add designs or bling to your plain brads to change them up instead of buying them--makes what you have more versatile. Of course I cut everything out (can't help myself) and the girl, wall and sentiment are all popped up with dimensionals and colored w/ Copics (u know my usual fave stuff)!!

**If you're interested in the Magnolia stamps, Diana from Scor-Pal will have a US website up & running real soon. It will be the only place that you can get them here in the US--you can email her at magnolia.us@shaw.ca and she will email you a catalog with her inventory. She is shipping out orders now and the website will be up soon.***

Just another bit of news, I won the Bellaholics Anonymous Home Page (a Yahoo group for those of us who love Stamping Bella's) contest this month, so my card that you can see here, will be on the front Home Page for the month of July--yippee!! Thanks to everyone who voted for me--you rock!!

Alrighty, now don't forget that MFT is having their release party tomorrow night over on SCS from 9-11 pm (EST). It's always fun & fast moving and Kim always has fun challenges to play & win! Maybe I'll see you over there!!

**Help me get to 5,000 blog hits so I can give out some more blog candy!! Almost there...!!**

Till tomorrow....

Suzanne

Magnolia card-Magnolia girl & stone wall, SU sentiment "For a Friend", Prima flowers, HOTP brads, stickles, nestabilities, Crate Paper dp, SU cs, Copics dimensionals, Inkssentials pen

Bee Happy!!

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a good, restful weekend (like me)!! I had a relaxing weekend at my mom's just hanging out and chilling--felt good, but doing nothing tires me out--lol!! I'm used to doing something every minute it seems. I got to eat my yum-o crabs w/ lots of Old Bay on them too and we celebrated my "older" brother's birthday (he's 43) & I'm a much younger (34)-lol!! I couldn't wait to get in my craft room today and work, I really missed it. I'm like a strange addict ya know--when I've been away too long it eats at me until I can get back in there and work/stamp :) Anyhoo....

The first card up today is just a fun little card I made with one of my Stampendous bee's from their "Bee Happy Collection". I thought this was a great summer stamp especially this week when everyone is gearing up for Fourth of July picnics and barbecues. I think it's a great image of summertime cuz' most people love watermelon at their summer picnics (except me--I hate all melons, weird, I know)!! The cs is from Bazzill and the dp is from DCWV's "summer matstack" which I thought had just the right "watermelon-ee" colors in it. The tag sentiment is from Sweet 'n Sassy's "Bee Happy" stamp set and the tag is from my new nestabilities tag set that I got from Cut@Home. I cut and popped the watermelon and added Diamond Glaze to it for lots of wet shine and their are some stickles on the bee (of course). The actual sketch layout is from Lauren Meader's Saturday sketch which I usually try to do cuz' they're always fun!

The second card is made with PTI's "Boards and Beams" stamp set--which I LOVE!! You probably remember the pop-up card I made with this set before but with the farmhouse instead. This is the "city" house which reminds me of homes in Old Town Alexandria, VA--historic row homes that are so elegant & quaint. I really wanted to use this new dp from Basic Grey called "Lily Kate" that I just got. I'm posting this card over on the OCC blog (Our Creative Corner) whose challenge this week was to use Basic Grey paper. The cs is Groovy Guava from SU. The images are colored with my Copics and I stamped the topiary trees and dormer twice, colored them and then cut one set out & popped it with dimensionals. The trees have some stickles on them and the windows are coated with Diamond Glaze again. The sentiment (which I adore) is another one I got from Rosie's Roadshow. If you haven't checked out all her great stamps, especially sentiments, you definitely need to. I used my Nestabilities tag dies again to cut the sentiment out and the satin ribbon is from Offray. These two cards didn't take too long to put together--which is good because I'm working on some other things I want to share this week.

Don't forget that Wednesday night is the release party for My Favorite Things--you can check out the forum on SCS for sneak peeks. I love the "gotta have it all" package you can get that includes all the new stamps--I'll be getting that on Wed. nite!!

See ya tomorrow!

Suzanne

Bee Happy card--Stampendous bee stamp, Sweet 'n Sassy sentiment (Bee Happy), DCWV dp, Bazzill cs, Copics, Diamond Glaze, Michaels ribbon, Nestabilities tag die, nestabilities circles, stickles, dimensionals, Ranger Inkssentials pen

City Home card--PTI "Boards & Beams" stamp set, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment, Nestabilities tag die, Offray ribbon, dimensionals, Copics, stickles, Diamond Glaze, Basic Grey "Lily Kate" dp, SU cs, MM brads

The Queen of "Cut & Pops"

Happy Friday everyone! I know ya'll love the weekends as much as I do! Yes, once again it is after midnight and I am typing this (crazy, you're thinking, uhhuh...come on & admit it)!! I knew I wouldn't have time in the morning to get it done and then I'd stress because I really wanted to get it done--lol!

I have 2 cards for ya today, both of which I made yesterday. I actually made 4 cards yesterday, that's a record for me! It usually takes me between 2 & 4 hours to complete 1 card--I'm pretty slow I guess, how about you? But that includes figuring out what I want to do, products I want to use and playing around with the layout until I like it--I'm pretty meticulous and somewhat of a perfectionist so that always makes it more difficult. If I have to make multiples, the others always go much faster of course.

The first card I made is for the Ismaki Challenge #25 that you can see here. I really like the sketch they came up with this time, really different. I also love the fun colors in this dp from Memory Box (summer)--fun & bright. My stamp is from Magnolia (yes, again)--this is another one that I'd forgotten about. Love the cake she's holding. I used Diamond Glaze (next to stickles, its my fave) on the icing, candle and her shoes (so they look like patent leather)--love that shiny look. I cut her out after coloring her w/ my Copics--I feel like the "Queen of Cuts" because I cut and pop-up everything. I love to have depth & dimension on the card--layers give cards so much for interest and I just love it! The flowers are from Prima and most of the ribbon is Offray. The sentiment is from Hero Arts--I like that pop of black mixed in with all the other brights. Just a cute, fun birthday card!

The second card I think I'll give my brother this weekend for his birthday (maybe)--I have such a hard time letting my "babies" (creations) go! Does anyone else have this problem? In my last post I told ya'll how much I love eating my Maryland crabs (gonna have some this weekend) so I just had to break out this set from Gina K called "Just Be-Claws" (even the name is cute)! This set is not one of her new ones, but new to me because I just ordered it. I know most people color their crabs red, but live blue crabs from this area are actually a bluish-gray and don't get red until ya cook em' (just some local tidbits for those not in the know) and I wanted mine to be "alive" not cooked--lol!! The dp is from Fiskars (Kimberly Poloson) that I've had for awhile, but hadn't used yet & cs is from SU (blue bayou & river rock). I stamped my crab twice and colored him w/ Copics. I cut out both claws and popped them w/ dimensionals (see, told ya I like to cut & pop) on top of the second colored image. Crabs are always wet and shiny, so I had to apply Diamond Glaze to him (he was askin' for it, I swear)!! I used my circle & scalloped circle nestabilities and just layered. I wrapped 2 pieces of raffia around the bottom of the card and attached the circle w/ sentiment on it w/ glue dots. I love it but I might have to keep it for myself & find something else for my brother, cuz' he'll probably just toss it--OH NO, a crafter's worst nightmare--the HORRORS!!!! Maybe I'll just pick him up a card from Target instead--lol!!

Alright, scrappers--hope you all have a wonderful, sunny weekend! I'll be back on Monday with some new stuff!!

Suzanne

Retro Dressing!

Good afternoon everyone! It's almost Friday & the weekend--yippee! We are going to my Mom's house for the weekend tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it, but I won't be in my craft room for 3 WHOLE days (boo hoo)! I have yet to pack, because I like to do everything last minute (as is my way in life-hehe), but I'll get it done before everyone goes to bed.

My card for today uses the weekly sketch from SCS that you can find here. I don't always get to do the sketches over there but I really liked this one. I also got my brand spankin' new stamps from Gina K (finally, the mailman was tired of me stalking him-lol)!! If you haven't had a chance to check them out, take my word, they're really cute! When I saw the sneak peeks for this set "Retro Boutique", I knew it would be in my cart first and foremost! Love all the images (and there are lots--shoes, purses, etc) in it. I paper pieced this entire dress and purse w/ dp from Basic Grey(sultry) and cs from PTI. I stamped the shoe and perfume bottle (parts of a larger image)and then colored them with my Copics, cut them out & popped em' up w/ dimensionals--the purse is also popped up w/ dimensionals. If you look closely, the shoe and purse have small rhinestones (a muse) and there's some stickles thrown in too! I really like how these 3 colors play off of each other--very retro looking. The sentiment is from the same set and I added more rhinestones to the ends. Hope you likee!

I will try and post once more before I leave at noon tomorrow--depends on how fast I can get my brood (including dogs) out the door--lol! My doggies love going to grama's house-they get to run around with her 2 dogs and tire themselves out--its a mini vacay for dogs I think!!

See ya tomorrow--

Suzanne

Retro dress--all stamps by Gina K, a muse rhinestones, stickles in cotton candy, dp by Basic Grey (sultry pad), cs by PTI, nestabilities, circle punch, Copics, dimensionals

Doggone It!

Hi everyone! I'm posting late today I know. I went to lunch with my "lunch bunch" girlfriends today and when I got home I had the worst migraine (not from my friends--hehe). I think its sinus related again, so hopefully I'm not getting another sinus infection. Anyway it seriously dampened my creative mojo!! It was nice to get away today w/o children and have "big girl" talk--lol!! I love my kids, but I'm still not used to having them home all day--and my daughter is constantly following me around pronouncing that she's "bored"(arrrgggh)! I'm glad she has lots of ballet classes to keep her somewhat occupied and we're going to my mom's house for the weekend, so that will be fun! Can't wait to get my hands on some Maryland Blue Crabs--my absolute favorite food in the whole world. I grew up very close to the Chesapeake Bay and my mom has pictures of me cracking open a crab in my high chair--lol--I've loved em' my whole life I guess! I'll eat anything w/ crab in it, in fact today at lunch I had a soft-shell crab sandwich (yum-o)!

I also had a bit of good news this morning--I actually WON something (first time evah')!!! I won a new set from Verve Visual that I really, really wanted--I'm so excited about it. You can see my winning entry here (I had to name my favorite song lyric for a stamp) because the new stamp set has sentiments with popular song lyrics on it--LOVE IT--Can't wait to get it!! Check out their new sets when you get a chance.

Speaking of Verve Visual, my card for today features the Mojo Monday sketch from the owner Julee over on her blog. Loved the layout again this week. I hadn't used my dog stamp set from MFT yet (Friends Furever) and hadn't broken out my Pet Stack dp from DCWV--so I thought I'd combine the two for the sketch. My doggies aren't this big, but I just love the image--so cute--and ya know I love all furry creatures (except maybe rats-ugh)!! Pretty simple card to figure out--cs is from SU (except the lemon tart from PTI), brads are from Basic Grey, some stickles just on the collar and I colored with Copics. I also used my Fiskars "threading water" border punch--love that thing--to make the scalloped border and my cuttlebug "swiss dots" folder on the bg paper.

Alrighty, I have lots of blurfing to catch up on--lol! I'll see ya'll tomorrow!

Suzanne

Black Rocks!!

Good morning ladies! Hope your week is gearing up well--my morning has been much better than yesterday (at least so far--lol)! I am only posting 1 "eye candy" today, because I'm out of the house for most of the day with the kids, so I won't get to be in my craftin' zone till tonight :(

I had pulled out my stash of Magnolias the other day, seeing that I had forgot how many I had-lol and found this little cutie in there and not inked up yet! I wanted to go w/ a different color palette for her than the softer colors I usually use w/ the Magnolia stamps. Ya know I love my DCWV paper pads--I think I have them all (and the 2 new ones are on order-hehe). This paper is from the "All Dressed Up Stack" (love it) & it has lots of black and bold prints in it. My most favorite color in the whole world is black--I just love it. I've been using it more lately, because I really love the drama and contrast of it with other colors--of course black goes w/ everything!This one is colored w/ my Copics and I added stickles and some highlights w/ my Inkssentials pen (by Ranger). The sentiment is from Gina K's "Kindred Greetings for Him"--I picked "You Rock" cuz' I thought she had a little bit of rocker edge goin' on w/ her colors--lol! The layout I used is from Taylor's blog "Taylored Expressions" & its from last Friday's Cupcake Challenge (I'm a little late w/ my entry-haha)! The brads are from Making Memories and their circle backs are from Club Scrap, & the flowers are from Prima. Hope you likee it! Me likee it--lol!

The second picture is of my son, Riley--he is now a semi-high red belt, just one step away from getting his black belt! He was so proud to have passed his last test--it was 2 1/2 hrs long! His black belt test will be in about 6-7 months and its 5 hrs long w/ an essay test too--but he really loves it! Pretty soon my baby will be taller than me (he's 10 now) and won't wanna hang w/ his momma, but for right now he still thinks I'm cool-lol!

Hope ya have a good one!

Suzanne

One of Those Days...

Happy Monday (I guess)! Another Monday, another week--I'm not a fan of Mondays I must say! Mondays always start with an impossibly, long to-do list for the week & seems overwhelming at times, ya know. And its been one of "those" mornings, if ya know what I mean--the kind where you probably should never have gotten outta bed! I woke up to kitty puke on my floors (yuck) and then went outside with the dogs and stepped in doggy doo with my new slippers (not a good start). Then I dropped an egg on my kitchen floor which proceeded to splat all under the fridge and then burned myself on the pan--this is when I should've just sat my bottom down-lol! After all that, I decided I'd go in my craft room and get some things done. I had finished my beach card yesterday so I wanted to take a picture of it to post. Somehow it got lost--yep that's right, I lost my new card in my craft room. You know how Jeff Foxworthy says "you know you might be...", well mine would be "you know you might need to clean & organize your craft room" and then you wouldn't lose things--lol! After a wasted 20 mins of looking, my son found it out on our kitchen desk--go figure! Guess I need to organize some tonight!

Ok, the first card is with the new Pink Cat Studio stamps called QT Hooty Owl--they are so cute, all of them. I stamped my owl twice and his ballons 2 more times because I knew I wanted him to hold a bunch of balloons (he only holds one on the stamp) and I wanted to pop up his wings and one of the balloons. He's colored with Copics and the balloons have stickles on them. I tried paper piercing for the 1st time--can ya believe it? I had bought my paper piercer and some templates awhile ago, because I like seeing what everyone does with it on their cards, but had yet to try it. My templates I bought at Michaels and they are just the plastic canvas grids found in the needlepoint section (square & circle shapes for $0.49)--I read about this tip from someone's blog (can't remember who)--definitely makes it easier to line up! The cutie patootie dp is from DCWV "Nana's Kids-glitter" and cs is from PTI (lavender moon, plum pudding & lemon tart) and those wonderfully sparkly, glitter brads are from Making Memories--lovey them.

The second card (this is the one I lost-lol) is my beachy keen card as I call it. So wish I was there! This stamp set (You Are My Sunshine) was the "free w/ three" set at Gina K's last month (buy 3 stamp sets get this one free--although this month's free set is different)--now you can buy this set at her site. I like the stamps that came in this set & the sentiments are great too. I really wanted to use soft, beachy colors for this card. I used my Copics again to color and then went over everything with my C1 copic (cool gray) to tone everything down evenly. I put Diamond Glaze on the water (2 coats) to make it glassy and then added a little bit of diamond stickles to it with my finger when it had dried for some extra shimmer. The dp is from Cosmo Cricket (I think--I only had some scraps of it left) but I thought it looked like cabana stripes, so I colored the beach umbrella to match. The cs is from PTI (aqua mist,berry sorbet & lemon tart). The berry sorbet cs I embossed w/ my cuttlebug folder and then rubbed over it w/ a cream ink from Colorbox chalk ink (Cats Eye). I added a little shell to the beach and a starfish to the sentiment (both I got in a pack of shells from AC Moore). The beads I thought looked like sea glass and just add a little "somethin" to finish it off. Hope you likee them all!

Hopefully the rest of my day will go smoother & hopefully you all are having a great day! I'm off to craft some more...

Suzanne