A Hootin' Happy Day!

Good afternoon again! I promised I'd be back with my finished "boy" card, didn't I? I always try and stay good on my word!

I've had just the happiest mail day today. First I got a box full of goodies (and I mean lots) from my bella sistah Cathy--over on the Bellaholics Anonymous Yahoo group for Stamping Bella we get matched up with a "sistah" for a few months and you chat and send goody boxes to each other. This week is her birthday, so I sent her a box of goodies too--but boy did I get alot--thankya, thankya, thankya Cathy!! She sent me lots of embellies, paper packs, rubons, ribbon & new Stella stamps-yippee!

I also got my huge box of goodies from All That Scraps--I spent over 1/2 of my monthly allowance on that box of goodies I tell ya (my stampin' allowance that is), but I saved some for all the new Gina K stamps coming out tomorrow--he he he! I got new Spica markers, new stickles, stamps, ribbon, buttons, inks and paper & more--yeah me!!! More to play with!

Ok, onto my "boy card" for the day. I made this card using one of my new stamp sets from PTI called "Wise Owl" and its cuter than cute--so many good sayings in it too. You can mix and match all his little parts so you're owls look different everytime (they're coming out w/ more owl belly stamps too for only $5). The sketch is for Julee's Mojo Monday sketch #47 (I flipped it around) and I also made this for the Dirty Girl challenge on SCS by Michelle that was to make a masculine card. I have to say this was out of my comfort zone--I like ribbon & flowers and such too much!!

I stamped this lil' guy on PTI's vanilla cs and stamped 1 of his bellies onto the new dp by PTI (which I thought looked very masculine, like a plaid shirt) and cut his belly out. I colored him in with Copics and then attached his paper pieced belly. I then cut him out and added diamond glaze to his eyes. I got all my brand spankin' new CB embossing folders the other day, so I had to use the "argyle" one since that seems so manly. I embossed SU's really rust cs and layered it on PTI's chocolate brown cs. I used my oval nesties to cut out 3 layers of cs & then attached the owl with dimensionals. I bent the sentiment on my acrylic block so that it would echo the curve of the oval (love to do that w/ the acrylic stamps--they bend every which way) and stamped using SU's markers. For the final touch I layered some buttons from MyMindsEye with glue dots and this lil guy was done. And for the final test--my son said it looked very "manly" and great for a guy--mission accomplished! :)

Alright, I'm on to finish up some things. We didn't get to go to the pool today because it's stormy and gray here today in VA. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. Until then...

Suzanne

Quilt Eye Candy!

Good Wednesday morning to you! I am just posting a quick post before I take my kids and their friends to the pool for the day. I am still working on my boy card and some other things--hopefully I will get that posted later today.

My card today features PTI's new "quilter's sampler" stamp set that was released this month. I love quilts--my mom and grandmother made many for our home growing up and I adore them. I wanted to participate in the Dirty Girl Challenge over on SCS (you have to be a fan club member to participate) and one of the challenges was to make most of your card white. I love how white just makes colors pop and I really wanted to use navy--one of my favorite color combos. And of course, Mr. Brown delivered my "happy mail" from PTI today which had all my new stamp sets, paper and ribbon inside---love that brown truck :)!! Make sure and check out all of PTI's new stuff this month--lovin' it (spent why too much money though-lol)!

So what could be better than a navy & white quilt. This set lets you create your own quilt blocks, so you can pretty much make whatever design your heart desires. I also bought the 3/4 punch that PTI sells that punches out the little squares perfectly. After coloring with one Copic Marker (I have never only used one marker--its a record) and punching them out, I glued each quilt block to SU's night of navy cs, then layered again on white cs and again on the navy cs. I made my card base w/ PTI's white cs (the only paper I use to stamp on & color w/ Copics) and embossed it with the CB swiss dots folder. I stamped the sentiment (this set comes with many good ones and they have a second set of sentiments that you can buy too) and layered that too. Both the quilt and sentiment are popped up with dimensionals. I just threaded some white satin ribbon under the sentiment and around the card and tied off to the side--ta da, it was done. Simple to do, but dramatic in effect I think. I'll definitely be using this set alot more!

Ok--I'll be back later to post my "boy" card for ya! Have a great day!

Suzanne

Cowgirls!

Good Tuesday afternoon everyone! I hope you're having a good one. Unfortunately, I had no "card" dreams last night to guide me today--ha ha! We did have storms here around 1 am that kept me up for awhile. I'm not really scared of storms, but my older dog Casey is and she insists on hiding out on top of my head in bed when it storms at night. Of course, I'm not the greatest sleeper anyway and her panting on top of my head did not help with my sleep issues last night. I know this is a probably funny image to you (I might laugh later) but lack of sleep keeps me from laughing right now-lol!!!

My card today is for a guest DT challenge/call for a new line of stamps by Katharina Frei whose new line will be called "Whiff of Joy". You have to use her sketch for the card. I decided to ink up my Sugar Nellie/Sweet Ebony "Giddy Up" stamp which hasn't been used yet. I love little cowgirl images--too cute (although my son is hammerin' me to make a BOY card--maybe tomorrow). The dp is Marcella by K&Co (ancestry) and the cs is SU's choc. chip & blue bayou. The kraft cs is from PTI. After coloring her with my Copics I inked all the edges with my cream and brown ColorBox chalk inks for distressing. I added a few platinum stickles to her belt buckle--cuz every cowgirl needs a rhinestone buckle!! I also added lt. pink liquid pearls to the center of all the flowers. The "Howdy" sentiment is from MFT's "Ride Em Cowgirl" stamp set and the circle stamp around it is from PTI's "borders & corners" set. I used my nesties to cut the tag and the bg scallop out. I added an eyelet to the tag and threaded twine thru and around the card and tied off then roped around the edge of the card and attached w/ glue dots. For a final touch, I added Prima flowers that I layered and attached with Basic Grey brads. I am quite happy with how it turned out and I really like the soft colors--hope you likee too!

I'm going to try and make a boy card tomorrow (to appease my ds)--I haven't made very many of them, so it should be challenging for me :) See ya tomorrow!

Suzanne

Dreamin'!!

Good Monday evening everyone! Sorry this is a late post today, but I was running around doing errands today and just couldn't get everything done--ya know how it is, right? I feel like I've been in and out of my hot car 50 million times today, and I'm still hot--feels like 100 degrees here today & humid (yucky). I just have to blab about my not sleeping again, ya know I'm an incurable insomniac & night crawler--never can get to sleep. Most nights I lay in bed thinking about card layouts and other ideas--I even keep a notepad by my bed to jot things down. I know there's others of you out there that do the same thing--come on & admit it!!! Last night I had a dream about Magnolia's at night in the moonlight and I actually remembered this morning and that is what my card is based on today--I actually made my dream into fruition--how about that! Hope you like my "dream" card!

This card uses Tilda on the pier again (I think its probably my favorite Magnolia stamp right now). If you're interested in ordering some Magnolia stamps you can get in touch with Diana Crick at magnolia.us@shaw.ca to order them. Believe it or not, but this uses no one's sketches or challenges in it at all! I used SU's night of navy cardstock for the card base and bashful blue for accents; the dp is from DCWV "summer matstack". I drew my "water scene w/ clouds" and colored everything with Copics (there was a lot of coloring & blending in this one)--I really wanted it to look like the moonlight was shining down on her and the water. I used mostly dark blues for a moody, night look and lots of pale yellow & white for the moonlight. I used my Nestabilities to cut out all of the circles and then added diamond glaze to the water. I put diamond stickles on the moon and her wings too. I cut into the side of the clouds and glued the moon in between the clouds so it would poke out from the main circle image. The bashful blue cs is embossed w/ the CB swiss dots folder (by the way I got all the new ones from CutatHome today--yippee) and then I rubbed night of navy ink over the embossing for contrast. The sentiment is from Verve Stamp's "wonderful wishes-remixed"--I tell ya they have the best sentiments (I know, what a repeater I am)! I stamped around the sentiment w/ PTI's "borders & corners" stamp set and then cut it out and mounted it onto PTI's "lemon tart" cs. I thought the navy cs looked a little plain so I stamped it with versamark ink using the same PTI stamp set but w/ the circle stamp this time. For a final touch I added some layered Primas at the top with some MM brads. I'm very pleased with how it all turned out! Hope you all like it too!

Ok--I'm outta here to go make dinner for my hubby and move my sprinklers (no rain in site for us here right now). Until tomorrow...

Suzanne

PS--I just have to tell you about a new store I found (at least new to me) that you MUST check-out called 7 Kids College Fund. The owner, Tab, has the best stuff at great prices and she has all the new things in from CHA that you can preorder--yippee!! Make sure to check her store out. Her store is listed in my links, just click on the logo anytime.

PS--Make sure and check out Artfull Ila's blog--she's giving away some great Magnolia BLOG CANDY!! Check out all her fab creations while you're over there too!

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

BLOG CANDY WINNER(s)!!!!!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE...............AND THE WINNER OF THE BLOG CANDY IS:

scrappinpeg said...

Suzanne your card is really gorgeous.... Thanks also for a chance at the blog candy..... Well, now for my time spent making a card! Most of the time it is a good 3 - 5 hours. I know that is horrible isn't it? I switched from Scrapbooking over to card making so it would be FASTER! ROFL. By the time I color with markers and then search for embellishments and assemble... time does lapse! oh well, it's all the love of the craft! LOL.I've linked you to my blog too...http://scrappingpeg.blogspot.com/My address for emailing is: rbiggs28@cox.netthanks.... Peggy
July 15, 2008 10:52 PM

Congratulations Peggy! Thanks for visiting me & leaving such a nice comment. Just email me your address and I will get this out in the mail on Monday.
************************************************************************
Now, because I'm in such a great mood and I loved reading everyone's comments (and it took me forevah' to cut out everyone's comments-lol) I'm giving out a second blog candy which will include:
-5 stamped Sarah Kay images
-5 stamped Magnolia images
-1 bottle of Diamond Stickles
-1 roll of ribbon

Next time I will figure out how to use that Random Number thingy for sure!! So the second winner of the day of BLOG CANDY #2 is:

Shannon Roberts said...
It varies cause, I really never know what I am gonna do or design.......plus finding the supplies, time, etc.........LOL.....about an hour!I so luv your blog & CONGRATS!
July 17, 2008 5:29 PM

Congrats Shannon and thanks for your post! Email me your address and I will get this second blog candy out on Monday!!
*********************************************************************

Thanks to everyone who visited and left me so many wonderful comments. It makes a person feel good to know that people are liking what you do, and I really love to do this which makes me even happier. I appreciate the time each & everyone of you takes to visit me each day and leave encouraging words for me. Cheers to you all & here's to another 5,000 hits!!
Suzanne

PS-- I will be back later with some "eye candy" for ya and a picture of all the comments cut out and in my basket (just in case you're wondering if I really did cut them all out & my paper cutter will tell u that I surely did!!)!! My camera battery is charging right now so I couldn't upload any pictures--sorry!

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

I Scream For (Ben & Jerry's) Ice Cream!

Happy TGIF everyone! Hope you all had a good week and are looking forward to the weekend--I know I am. I mentioned to you yesterday about my "obsession" with my Ben & Jerry's ice cream "One Brownie Cheesecake"--which I had last night & was yummo! So today I'm rewarding myself with a "no-calorie" treat (my butt thanks me :)) to share with you.

***BLOG CANDY ALERT***If you haven't entered for my blog candy yet you still have until 11 pm (EST) to do so. You can enter for it here.

This first card uses Pink Cat Studio's "Sweet Treats" stamp set which I love because it has lotsa desserts in it & who doesn't love a great dessert every now & then (or everyday, twice a day...)! I used a sheet of Basic Grey's dp from their "Two Scoops" line--how appropriate, eh (oh no! my Canadian friends are rubbing off on me-lol)!! All of the cs is from PTI (aqua mist, sweet blush & lemon tart). I used my most favoritest CB embossing folder evah'--swiss dots, on some of the bg paper. Of course it's colored with my Copics and I added diamond glaze to the sundae glass for a nice shine. I added liquid applique for the cool whip and heated it to puff it up and lastly I added some cotton candy stickles to the cherry--yummo-licious!! I'm entering this card in a "tool challenge" over on the Mothers and Daughters Creations blog that you can see here. Check it out when you get a chance--you have to use Nestabilities somewhere on your project--easy, peasy for me cuz' ya know how much I love 'em!!

**Enabler Alert--CutatHome has all the new CB embossing folders in; I ordered mine yesterday so if you're interested you better get a move on, cuz' they're going fast!***

The second card of the day is for the All That Scraps sketch challenge that you can see here. I flipped the sketch around to fit my needs as usual! I used my stamp set from CC Designs called "Froggie & Friends" that you can purchase at All That Scraps. This set is very versatile, allowing you to mix and match the stamps together. For instance the frog, turtle and birthday hats are all separate stamps that I used together. I wanted my froggie to leap-frog over his turtle friend! They're all colored with Copics and I added a few stickles to their hats. The dp is from SU's "spring fling" line that I paired with their certainly celery & barely banana cs. I used one of my other CB embossing folders on the background (don't know the name of it) and used twill ribbon from Taylored Expressions (this stuff is great & comes in a rainbow of colors). I added a few baubles from Stamping Bella & it's done. A fun birthday card for someone!

All right, we're going to the library and then I'm taking the kids out to lunch today for a treat--then hopefully some stampin' time. Hope you have a great Friday!

Suzanne

PS--Lots of times I type my blogs the night before and have them post at 12:01 am the next day, so if you subscribe and get this in your box very early that's why. We're on EST here--I like to stay ahead of the game sometimes if I have my chicks all in order, that way it gives me more time to stamp :) Just to explain the time stamp!

Flower Power!

Good Thursday to everyone! One more day to the weekend-yippee! We have a few things planned for this weekend but not anything major. My dd, Alexa, is taking a 5 hour babysitting/cpr course on Saturday and then we have a pool party to go to. On Sunday my dh and son are playing in a parent/child golf tournament at our Golf Club--my son is so excited about it. Afterwards they give out the prizes and have an ice cream sundae bar set up (hmm..I might have to go that part-lol)! Speaking of ice cream, I don't know if any of you like chocolate brownies & cheesecake (my two faves), but Ben & Jerry's has put the two together and it is fantabulous!! I buy 3 pints at a time---my butt is showing it, so more walking/jogging for me :) If you happen to want some it's called "One Cheesecake Brownie"--hope you can find it cuz' I might have bought them all out--LOL!! Hmmm....maybe I should have done "dessert" cards today---maybe tomorrow :)

***BLOG CANDY ALERT--If you haven't already entered to win my blog candy, you can do so here until this Friday at 11 pm (EST)***

Ok, onto my stamping projects for today. My first card I made was using this week's "new technique" spotlight over at SCS which was making a grid on your cs (they have a tutorial too). Now, I have seen it on others creations & just loved it, but had never tried it for myself--how dumb is that? It's super easy and if you have a scor-pal it will only take a minute to do (if you don't you can use a ruler & bone folder too). This stamp set was the "free with three" over on Gina K's this past month and I just loved this vase of flowers. My mom always had fresh cut flowers in the house in a milk vase similar to this, so I had to get it since it brings good memories. I used this yummo-licious paper (which I'm hoarding cuz' I love it so much) from Daisy D's called "Autumn Collection-Fall in Love" and paired it with SU's really rust cs. I scored a grid onto the cs and then added the dp to the card. The image is colored w/ Copics and I then added 2 coats of diamond glaze to the vase for a nice, glassy shine (ya know I love that stuff--wish I could buy it by the gallon). I used my square nestabilities to layer it and popped it and the sentiment up w/ dimensionals. The ribbon is some that I had gotten from Michael's $1 bin (don't ya love those $1 bins) and it paired well with all the colors. I love this color combo and I definitely will be using it again (kinda fall like which I'm not ready for yet-lol). I inked the edges of everything & the grid pattern with my cream chalk ink from ColorBox to shab it up a bit and ta-da it's done!

The second card is using my Stamping Bella "Gardenia Greenthumb" stamp that my bella Sistah Cathy sent me (thanks again). This is the first time I've inked her up, I haven't used any of my bellas in awhile, they must be lonely. Have you seen some of their new stamps--I really want that bella on a bike w/ her dog, eventually I guess I'll get it. I used dp from Basic Grey's "Sultry" pad and the cs is SU's pixie pink & purely pomegranate. She's colored with Copics and I added stickles to some of the flowers and her lil' fairy wings. The sentiment is from PTI's "flower garden sentiments" and stamped w/ SU's coordinating ink. I added a faux bow with the matching SU ribbon and placed the sentiment (which is glazed with diamond glaze for a glass pebble look) on top. All of the edges were punched with my SU ticket corner punch, which I love to use. Lastly I added 3 rhinestone flowers from Imaginisce and she's done--all pretty in pink and dressed up to garden--ha ha, like any of us evah' look like that gardening!

Hope you have a great afternoon--if the weather stays nice we are headed to the pool for awhile!

Until tomorrow...

Suzanne

Farm Animal Frenzy!

Happy Wednesday everyone-hope its a good one! We're just hanging around the house today. My dd had to babysit this morning and both of the kids have evening activities so we're not doing much this afternoon. Which means more time to stamp for me--yippee! I won't keep you long today, as I have much to finish up here.

***If you haven't entered for my blog candy you can do it here until Friday night at 11 pm (EST)***

Both of my cards today feature farm animals--gotta love 'em! Both of these stamps are from Penny Black ("for a spin" & "chic chick") and I got mine here. I've told you before about my love affair with cows--just too cute--and even though I'm only "allowed" by my dh to have a few "classy" farm animals in the house, I can make as many cards w/ them as I please!! When I saw this cow on the bike zooming down the road with his chicky friends I knew I had to have it! The dp is from DCWV (summer matstack) and I adore it--because ya know red & black are my all time favorites & I paired it up w/ SU's wild wasabi cs. My images are colored with Copics & yes the cow has some white areas in his black spots--that's not bad coloring, just how the stamp stamps the image:) I added some diamond glaze to the bike to make it shine and the flowers are all by Prima & I added button centers (I'm on a button-love craze right now)! I made this card yesterday afternoon & today when I checked out SCS's weekly sketch #185 this card fit the bill--how's that for luck! I wanted the sentiment (from MFT's Punny Farm) to be hidden so I made a slot with dimensional foam tape for it under the main image. I added ribbon & another button to it, and now the recipient can just pull it out.

The second card was just a quickie color-blocking card I was messin' around with. This Penny Black image is too funny w/ her lil' purse and cell phone in hand. She's colored w/ Copics and I added diamond glaze to her cell phone & beak (love the shine and dimension it gives). The red dp is from MAMBI (Me&My Big Ideas) and the other dp's I made. The blue dp is made with SU's bashful blue cs and then I stamped a circle image from PTI's "b&c monogram edition" with watermark ink and used my Inkssentials pen to make the white dots. The red polka dots are made with PTI's "polka dot basics" set using SU's real red ink. I used my tag trio nestabilities on both cards for the sentiments--love those things--this sentiment is from MFT's "Can Ya Dig It" set. And the ribbon is from SU--I also added some rhinestones from AMuse onto the bottom of the sentiment for some bling. Just a quick & easy notecard--fun, fun!

Don't forget to check out all of PTI's new stamp sets & accessories--love 'em! I can't wait for everyone to get back from CHA to show us all the new products that are coming out! I'd love to go to this next year--sounds like loads of fun! See ya tomorrow!

Suzanne

Real Life Grind and Blog Candy!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am back from my too short vacay! We had a good time just hangin' out in Snowshoe, WV. I love to get away, but boy do I hate coming back to the "real life grind" as I like to call it. Ya know, laundry, grocery shopping and kids activities to run and do--there's no adjustment period when you get back from a trip, its just smack dab back into the middle of it all!! Oh, well at least its still summertime and I did manage to sneak a lil' time in the craft room, although my mojo was running slow today--it needs to get back up to speed-lol! Just a few more pics of our vacation above:

-my son Riley hangin' out in the hammock (that's some real downtime)

-Alexa & Riley w/ their cousin Jenna doing their version of "Charlies Angels"

-lookout tower at Droop Mountain State Park

-picture of my blog candy (see end of post)

Ok, my card today uses Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch #46 for this week. The only change I made was to move the sentiment off-center. I used another Magnolia stamp that I got from Diana Crick whom you can contact here at magnolia.us@shaw.ca to order Magnolia stamps from--I can't wait until her new online store is up & running. I really like this stamp because it reminds me of when I was little hanging out on the pier with my feet dangling in the Chesapeake Bay either fishin' or catching crabs--good times I tell ya! The dp is from Crate Paper (Sweet Branch Collection-Cherish) and I paired it with PTI's summer sunrise & lavender moon cs--I love the bright pop of the goldish yellow in this card (Enabler alert--Paper Trey Ink released all their new stamps for the month along with their new, yummy chocolate brown color cs, dp & ribbons--I've ordered mine, have you?). I used my new Martha Stewart ribbon slot punch (that I've been looking for forevah & they finally got in stock online) and laced my ribbon from Michaels thru and tied it off. Tilda is colored with Copics and her wings have diamond stickles on them. The background I colored with my twinkling H2O's for a real light shimmer. The sentiment is from Verve Stamp's "feeling groovy" set that I had won awhile back--it has song lyric sentiments on it & is so fun! Too finish it off I added MM brads in the corners and used my Ranger Inkssentials pen to make dots around the scalloped circle to match the ribbon. Not too hard of a card to put together I think--I'm working on more projects for this week so stay tuned!!

***Blog Candy*** I'm over 5,000 hits thanks to all of you who read and leave me so much nice feedback. So to celebrate I'm giving away blog candy that I know you'll love! It includes (picture of it all above):

-1 Sweet Ebony/Sugar Nellie stamp (flowers)

-2 spools of ribbon

-1 Cropper Hopper ribbon spool drawer

-1 6x6 pad of dp by Making Memories

-1 bottle of brads from Queen&Co.

-1 travel scrapbook (that you can alter)

-10 stamped Magnolia images

All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post by Friday at 11pm (EST) telling me "how long does it take you to finish a card/project on average?" No rhyme or reason, I'm just curious for curiosity's sake!! Please make sure your comments are not anonymous so in case you win I can contact you--I will randomly pick & announce the winner on Saturday afternoon. If you link my blog candy announcement to your blog you'll get an extra entry (just let me know if you do in your comment) Thanks for playing!!

Suzanne

Magnolia stamp, nestabilities, Inkssentials pen, MM brads, dp by Crate Paper, cs by PTI, sentiment from Verve Stamps "feeling groovy", Michaels ribbon, Martha Stewart ribbon slot punch, Twinkling H2O's, Copics, dimensionals, diamond stickles

Bubbly Fun!

Hello everyone! I am still on vacay until Tuesday, but I wanted to post at least once while I was gone. We are having a great time here in Snowshoe, WV--the weather has been perfect with no humidity which is wonderful. We spent the day yesterday at the mountain for their annual Chili Cookoff which was fun--although my dh and brother had some really hot chili that was making people puke--that's not food just torture!! We took the ski lift down to the base of the mountain and went paddleboating on the lake (actually my dh took the kids while I relaxed in the shade--lol) and went on a walk on the trail! The first pic is of my dh with our kids and our niece Jenna at the top of the mountain. The views here are spectacular and yesterday was so clear. My dh and brother are taking the kids to a park in a gorge to see some Civil War battle sites today--my SIL and I are chillin' with the baby (that's my dh with my niece Taylor above--isn't she a cutie). Anyhow, I'll share more with you on Tuesday when I'm home in my craft room (which I miss, miss)!

***Blog Candy Alert*** I've gotten over 5,000 hits so that means blog candy this week when I get home. I'll let you know what's going to be in it soon, but I can tell you there will be lots of Magnolia images and a brand spankin' new Sweet Ebony/Sugar Nellie Stamp, so stay tuned!***

Ok, my card I made before I left uses the Penny Black "Bubbly" acrylic stamp set and the images in this set are super cute! I just love this kitty drinking champagne in the tubby with his mouse friend (don't we all wish for time like that, oh yeah :)) I used a different Cuttlebug embossing folder this time (shocker I know) to emboss all of the circles. I embossed a piece of acetate and placed it over the stamped image to give the illusion of a gel/water card with floating bubbles--the less messy way to do it I guess-lol! I also used more embossed circles that I popped up with dimensionals for a "bubbly" look. And this dp from Memory Box "summer" just fit the bill perfectly with all of the circles on it. I love the color scheme of this card (PTI's spring moss paired w/ SU's soft sky) it just reminds me of soapy fun for some reason--calming and soft. I will definitely use this color combo again--luv it! I love the sentiment that comes with this set too--perfecto! I finished it off with some dew drops scattered about and that's it. Hope ya like it!

Alright, I'm signing off until Tuesday. I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!

See ya--Suzanne

Penny Black "bubbly" stamp set, Memory Box dp, PTI spring moss cs & SU soft sky cs, cuttlebug embossing folder, Copics, dimensionals, stickles, nestabilities, acetate, dew drops

Lovely Lavender!

Good Friday Morning everyone! As you're reading this, I am hopefully getting ready to get out the door with my large brood (1 dh, 2 kids, 2 dogs & various luggage) to go to Snowshoe, WV. I'm looking forward to a long weekend of "nothing"--just visiting and chilling. Any activities will be of the slow kind (not like in Disney where you run around from morn' till nite) like fishing, hiking and sitting-lol!! I might actually finish a book--omg! I love to read, but I'm always otherwise occupied or just too tired and I end up reading the same paragraph over & over (dontcha' hate that)! I hope everyone has a great weekend wherever you are & whatever you do! I will have one more post for ya before I get back, otherwise it will be late Tuesday before I'm able to get back on my blog--so don't miss me too much :)

This was a fun little notecard to make--didn't take much time at all and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I used some of my new, yummy dp from Basic Grey's "Euphoria" pad--it has the best patterns & colors in it! I paired it with SU's gable green cs to really make it pop. **Enabler Alert--if you're looking for these great paper pads by Basic Grey, Gina K is now selling them along with all the matching accessories--yippee)** I know I used my Cuttlebug "swiss dots" embossing folder again--I have all of the embossing folders but this is the one I seem to pull out again & again (love it)--and I really love how it looks on white cs, just bright & clean! The stamp is from MFT's "lavender by Annie Lapointe"--I really like these stamps, they're quick & fun to color and just good all-around. I colored it w/ my Copics in under 5 mins (that's a record for me) and added some stickles to the polka dots on the pot. I just layered it up, used some dimensionals and finished it off with some ribbon from American Crafts--ta da! I will definitely be making more of these, I think they would make a lovely notecard gift set (can u say "xmas presents"--heehee). Hope you likee!

We're off so have a great relaxing weekend!

Suzanne

Good Old Countrytime!

Happy Thursday fellow stampers! Hope your week has been a good one so far! I should be upstairs packing but instead I'm still holed up in my craft room--I hate to pack & I really wait to do it. I've made all my lists, so I can just blow thru the house and round up everything--I have it down to a science now & it should only take me an hour...so in the meantime I'm finishing up some projects so you all have some "eye candy" this weekend while I'm gone. I don't want anyone missing me too much-lol!! We are headed up to Snowshoe, WV to my brother's vacation house for a few days--the weather is always cooler there which is nice. The kids run around with their cousins, we fish, sit around the fire and just visit. There's also a big chili cookoff up on the mountain this weekend & my hubby loves chili--its his favorite food & in the cooler months I make it at least once a week, so he's really looking forward to that. I'm just looking forward to no schedule and just chillin'--we all need that once and awhile!

I made my card today with the intention of using the weekly sketch over on SCS, but it took on a life of it's own & didn't end up like the sketch at all--oh well! I bought these Amish stamps from "My Heart Stamps for You" from a shop on Ebay called "The Clickit Shop" with the intention of making cards for my mom. Where I grew up in Southern MD there is a large Amish community, so seeing the buggies and kids walking to school barefoot in the morning was a normal thing for us. We always visited their local farmer's market for all of our produce and flowers (and my mom still goes every week)--they were just a part of my growing up. My mom collects Amish figurines from Jim Shore and has a few pictures around her house, so I knew these stamps would be perfect for cards for her. These stamps came on a large sheet and included quilts, hats, buggies & other Amish images. I really liked this stamp with the lil' Amish girl on it and used 2 of the quilt stamps too. The dp is from K&Co. (classic K Bailey mat pad) & I liked the worn, material look of it. I didn't want anything to detailed or fancy, as that is not the Amish way. Everything is colored with my Copics and I used my Diamond glaze on the water spray, the silo and the heart border. I added a little bit of diamond stickles on top of the diamond glazed water spray(after it had dried) so it sparkled like water in the sunshine. The sentiment is a rub-on from Cloud-9 Design that I've had forevah'! The buttons are just from an assortment that I get from AC Moore. Not too fancy, but I'm happy with the results...now just 5 more to go for the card set. So hope ya like it, Mom!!

Ok, I'm outta here to finish up my to-do list--we're leaving at 10 am so I must be in bed a decent time, no night crawlin' for me tonight :) Have a great weekend!

Suzanne

Slammin' Kinda Day!

Good evening everyone! Sorry this is a late post today, but I have been crazy busy trying to finish up some projects and preparing to go away for 4 days. Lotsa laundry & whatnot to do, plus I've been taking care of my neighbor's pets while their away so I've just been slammed today. Alexa started her first babysitting job today also. Funny lil' story for ya'--while we were in Disney this past May we met another couple on our Disney bus who lived in our neighborhood here at home (we have a large 'hood here). They had 2 lil' girls and asked if Alexa would be interested in babysitting. So long story short she started today as kind of a "mother's helper" until she's more comfortable, plus she's taking a babysitting/cpr course next week too. She'll be helping out a few days a week for about 3 hrs each--she just loves lil' kids and is really great with them so this will be good for her (and keep her from telling me how "bored" she is--lol)!

My card today is one that I submitted to a sketch challenge blog that is looking for design team members (when they announce who won I'll tell ya what blog its for). We had 2 make 2 cards each with a separate sketch. The simplest one of the two took me the longest--go figure! It was a little out of my comfort zone for sure, but I do like how it turned out (I'll share it in the future).

This was the other card I made and it came together very quickly. Of course I used my Magnolia stamps again today. Diana Crick (who will be opening the Magnolia-licious store for the US/Canada sent me this swing--you can contact her at magnolia.us@shaw.ca for ordering info) and I just love it. I have a lot of sitting Magnolia girls & boys so I can mix and match with this swing. The dp is from K&Co. (Brenda Walton's small wonders girl) and all the cs is from PTI. I used SU's "Always" stamp set to do the heart, the background leaves on the swing circle and the dp strip going horizontally. I inked the heart up with my SU markers and lightly stamped it then cut it out and layered it onto the green cs and cut it out again. The strip of dp and the leaves behind the swing I made by "stamping off" the ink to make it really light. The sentiment is also SU (Lovely Labels). I then rubbed my Colorbox chalk ink (lt. cream) over all the white cs to soften it so it wasn't so bright. My little Tilda is colored with Copics and cut and popped up for dimension. I used my nestabilities to cut out all of the circles. Finally I added diamond glaze to her hair bow and around the edge of the heart for a nice shine--there's just a few cotton candy stickles in the flower centers. So there you have it--we'll see if its good enough to win!! (cross fingers & toes)

I will be finishing up some projects tomorrow so that I can type up a few posts and have them post while I'm gone (now that I know how to do it). Hope everyone has a nice evening!

Suzanne