Birthday Fold-Out!!

Thank GOODNESS its Friday, yes!!!! This has seemed like the longest week evah'!! I'm slowly checking things off my long to-do list that got longer while I was sick, lol---yay me! Now if the weather would get warmer I'd be set! Actually if the US economy could get back on track--we'd all be good, right! I'm hopeful that the times are a changin' for us all---yeah that was totally random but it popped into my head & I had to share :o) LOL

Warning--lots of photos ahead, lol!!!
So I've had this idea floating in my head for a few weeks but between travel, life, sickness, life & blah it was put on the back burner! As soon as I had recieved these cute lil Party Animal images from Whiff of Joy, I knew I wanted to use them together in an accordian fold-out card cuz' they go so well together! If you want to purchase some of these fun images and you're in the US/Canada you can get them HERE!

Not hard to make at all, just time consuming---I used my Nestabilities for all the shapes and stamped out 4 images (cake, mouse, flowers, presents & sentiment). The cs is from PTI & the patterned paper (on backside) is from Memory Box's "Sugar"collection. Basically it all is held together by strips of (PTI) ribbon with a loop at the very top so it can easily be opened or hung up!

These are just close-ups of the cute lil WOJ images---so much fun to color! I also added Shimmerz in pink poinsettia for lots of pretty shimmer.

I left the last block plain so I could fill in a message---the sentiment is WOJ too.

This is the backside of the fold-out card---so it looks pretty from both sides! Just a fun alternative to a regular card--I know I'd like to recieve somethin' like this in the mail :o)

Hope you enjoyed the project today---

Suzanne

Hearts and Candy!!

Hello everyone! Are you dreamin' of the weekend like me? I actually have a busy, busy weekend & I'm thankful that everyone in my house (including me) is on the mend from the nasty flu bug--blech! The only good thing about being sick and running around at CHA so much is that I've lost 8 lbs! Now I just have 12 more lbs to go---I'd like to lose it by May, but we'll see...I need to get my butt moving & exercise (stop procrastinating as I'm famous for), lol!

Anywhoo, are you tired of Valentine's projects yet? Sorry but I've got another for ya today---love making projects at this time of year cuz' I get to use my favorite color, red!!

I had to ink up this cutie-pie Tilda with Hearts that Diana from Magnolia-licious sent me! I know she's holding hearts but I have lots of ideas for this cutie for different occassions (can u say fill her skirt with other things, hmmm...)! So this gift set includes a card and a box of Sweethearts candy that I made a cover for (would also work on a box of Nerds candy too). That dp is so fun and its by Doodlebug Designs---you can't tell but the red hearts on it are velvety, love it!

This card uses this week's SCS sketch #214 which is a fun one to use (already made 2 cards w/ it)! The cute sentiment is from StudioG $1 stamp that I got from Joann's and I added some fun stickles to the sentiment & hearts. Those glitter hearts came in a large bag for like $3 from Michaels in the kids craft section--great find! (Copic colors at bottom of post)

So this is just a simple cover for a box of candy that closes with a ribbon bow--dimensions are 9.25"x 2.75" (scored at 4.25 & 5"). Quick and easy to make for your kids Valentines or just a sweet person :o) I left the heart (made with my heart nestabilities) blank so I can write a message in it! Do you likee? I likee---such a sweet & fun gift!

Thought I'd share a picture of my son at the Superbowl Party at my friend Alex's house. He's been asking for one of these drink helmets for ages, and my hubby finally relented. And yes, that is 2 cans of Coke (takes after his mom, lol) so he was on a sugar-high that nite for sure! Can't believe he'll be 11 years old next week---my baby is gettin' big :o(

See ya tomorrow,

Suzanne

Copics Used: R46, R29, R27, R22, R20, R81, R83, RV13, RV14, RV21, Y21, E99, E11, E00

Wedding Bells are Ringing!!

Happy Wednesday Stampers!! How's the week goin' for ya so far? I can't complain, I'm feeling better, the kids are better and we hardly got any snow---yay!!! Not to mention I'm getting lots of crafting done now that my mojo has returned to me, lol! Well hold on to your horsies cuz' I've got a LONG post for ya today---two sketch challenges!!

Today is Whatchadoin' Wednesday over at Storage Units, Ink & More---this is challenge #26 and it was a sketch challenge (head over to the store blog to see sketch). I rarely make long cards cuz' I find them quite challenging for some reason--definitely outside of my comfort zone, lol! I really loved how this turned out though & it actually wasn't too hard to put together, amazingingly!

The yummy brocade dp is by Basic Grey (Blush) & the fun polka-dots is by MME (Tres Jolie)--love the red tones. I wanted to make a Valentine-like wedding card with the new wedding set "Goin' to the Chapel". So many fun images in this set for weddings and anniversaries. I used the cute wedding cake for my card--I added some fun Diamond Glaze to the flowers, cake topper & cake stand.

To pop out the square from the front of the card I just used my square nestability on one layer. I also tried something new that I've been wanting to try (but scared, hee hee)--I melted the edges of my sheer ribbon so it curls using my heat gun, so fun & I love the way it looks!

This just shows a close up of the cake with Diamond glaze & the pearls I added around my circle. The far right shows how I decorated the inside of the card---I stamped the bride & groom sentiment & then added a box around it by tracing a smaller square nestability with my SU marker. In the bottom right corner I stamped the wedding ring image--so cute! Make sure and hop over to the SUINK blog to see the rest of the DT's gorgeous projects! If you'd like to join in, upload your projects to SCS using keyword "suinkwwc26"!

This is this month's Magnolia-licious DT sketch designed by the fabulous Cheryl Rowley! It was a fun sketch to work with! I used this cutie pie Tilda from this past fall called "Tilda with Sunflower" and she's in stock over at Magnolia-licious if you really love her :o)

While I was at CHA I got some wonderful samples of all the new My Minds Eye (my fave) collections--lucky me! This dp is from their new collection called "Bloom & Grow"--love the vibrant colors & patterns (but all of the new paper is yummy-scrummy I must say)! Of course I colored Tilda to match and used a fun sentiment from Verve Stamps "Feeling Groovy" set (which is on sale right now too).

Close up to show you the Flower Soft (in brown) that I used for the sunflower's center. I love this stuff and will have more samples to show you with all the new colors over the next week or so. My friend Marti has it coming in & you can pre-order from her store right here! I also added some Diamond Glaze to her shoes for shine! Make sure and visit the DT's blogs(Claudia, Cheryl & Suzy) to see their projects & you can email your project to Diana so she can put them in her gallery (ladydian@shaw.ca)

Make sure and check out the "Love Bundle" over on Magnolia-licious too! Diana has put together a wonderful grouping of 9 new Love stamps, ribbon & a surprise gift too for $89.45! A great value and all the stamps are versatile so they can be used for many occasions & projects!

Hope you enjoyed my projects today!

Suzanne

Make it Versatile!!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am typing this up the nite before so my kiddo's might be home with me today due to the snow that was predicted----ack! I am SO ready for spring & flowers and warm weather, it's killin' me, lol! I guess it doesn't help that I'm still a bit under the weather, behind on all my chores & projects too :o) I have my son's 11th birthday, my Mom's birthday & Valentine's Day all looming in the next 10 days & have yet to get anything done for them, arghhhhh. Busy, busy....

Today's card was made for this week's Try It Out Tuesday Challenge #4 for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design. This week's challenge is to take a stamp that isn't necessarily made/used for Valentine's Day & use it! I love to challenge myself with the stamps I have on hand and use them in different ways, so this is always fun---makes what you have more versatile of course!

I chose Karen Lockhart's "Flowers in Chintz" stamp to use for my card & paired it up with this beautiful print from Basic Grey's "Bittersweet" dp. The sentiment & the heart image that I stamped over top of it are from SUINK's "Will You Be My Valentine" set. This sketch is this week's Mojo Monday #72--great for this image me thinks! I used a Blue Moon heart charm and white pearls for embellies.

Just a quick close-up that shows the Diamond Glaze I used on top of the vase & Stickles on some of the flower images. So I challenge you to pick out a stamp and make it work for a Valentine's Day card & upload it to SCS using the keyword "TIOT4". Make sure and stop by the store blog, Follow Your Heart to see the rest of the DT's lovely creations!

Until tomorrow....
Suzanne

Happy Heart Day!

Happy Monday everyone! Ugh, I am STILL sickie-poo with the flu bug! I spent most of the weekend laying around being sick, hope it passes soon cuz' I've got lots to do & catch up on :o) Did you stay up late watching the Superbowl? Our friends had a party (I hosted last year) but I didn't get to go since I was sick, but hubby & kids went over for a bit. I was sooo rooting for the Cardinals (I love a great underdog)! Anywhoo....

Since its February already (how time flies) its Project of the Month time for Whiff of Joy. This month we were to make a Valentine's Day gift/package which is easy peasy with all these beautiful stamps. I decided to make a fun candy pouch using my heart Nestabilities and "Melinda Hugging Heart Angel". (If you live here in the US you can order this beautiful stamp right HERE). I simply cut out 2 large scallopped hearts and adhered together on the sides with my Scor-Tape (love this stuff, strong like red-line tape but so much easier to use, just tear & peel). This pouch will hold 1 Ghiradellia chocolate or another small treat of your liking.

The yummy-scrummy dp is from K&Co's "Smitten" and I also added a ribbon hanger to my pouch so it can be hung on a hook or doorknob if you choose. Super easy & quick to make--you could whip up bunches in no time! Make sure and visit the Whiff of Joy homepage to see the rest of the DT's beautiful Valentine Projects!

Don't forget that the two new sets from SUINK are NOW AVAILABLE right here! Also, if you haven't entered in our fun WebCandy head over to Susana's PCP site to enter for some great goodies including a $25 gift card to her store.

I will have my Web Candy up this week (I promise) so keep checkin' back!

hugz,

Suzanne

Sea Birds!

Hello again & Happy Saturday friends!! My kids are STILL sick and I'm still not feeling so hot myself, so I'm keeping it short & sweet for ya today! I will have lots of new projects, my 100,000+ Blog Candy & more CHA pics for ya starting on Monday---so make sure & check back with me 'kay?

My card today uses a great stamp set from Storage Units, Ink & More called "Look What I Caught"---the images I used from this set are not the main images you would think to use from this set! But I wanted to show you the versatility that the SUINK sets have and how many options there are to create so many different scenes with one set!

I stamped half of the pier from the set (the boy sits on the other end) and then stamped on the pelican. I drew in my water with my Copic multi-liner pen (0.3) and stamped out fish, colored them & cut them out too along with the cattails. After cutting the circle out with my nesties I sponged the edges w/ blue ink for my sky and added stickles to the water for shimmer.

The fun dp is from Paper Trey Ink--I love me my polka-dots & they have lots of good paper with 'em! The ribbon & cs is PTI too. This card reminds me of my dad---he loves the water (like me) and loves to sail! So this will probably be put away for his Father's Day card---I'll actually be early with it this year, lol! A quick and easy card to put together and fun too!

BTW, before I leave ya---Susana's Custom Art & Card Design is having a great Web Candy giveaway over on her PCP group site. Up for grabs is a $25 gift card to her store and some yummy Rubber Romance stamps signed by Robyn Ireland(illustrator/owner) herself! Stop by and enter to win---you can find out all the details & enter right HERE!

Have a great weekend and see ya back here on Monday!

Suzanne

Back to Workie!!

Happy Friday everyone! Did ya miss me at all, lol? I'm home safe & sound thankfully and so, so glad to have went out to CHA (Craft & Hobby Association). If you get a chance to go (next one is this July in Florida) you really should go--so many great things to see, people to meet and lots of great make & takes! I enjoyed each and every minute I was there and am already planning to go this summer too :o) I will share pics with you over the next week (don't wanna overwhelm ya with them, hee hee)!

Of course I get home and both of my kids are sick (really bad) with the flu and I'm so exhausted between the time changes and all the walking I did---now I think I'm getting sickie-poo too! And we have snow & ice on the ground---a big change from the 70 degree weather in California, lol!

Me, Marti & Catherine (my CHA roomies) at Joe's Crab Shack the first nite in California! Don't we look cute in our awesome bibs? Bwahhhhahhah! We called ourselves the 3 goofy musketeers--I haven't laughed so much in years! I miss 'em already!!!

Okay, long story short (well kinda, hee hee)! I always have a celebratory drink after flying to celebrate my making it there safe (not a big drinker by the way so don't worry). Catherine & I decided to have these humongous pomegranate margarita's with Pop-Rocks. Well the waiter did not inform us that the Pop-Rocks would literally explode into the air & all over us---I laughed so hard--oh my gosh too funny. Walking back to the hotel that nite we found them in our hair, stuck to our bottoms & everywhere else!

This is me, Marti & Amy Sheffer at the SCS Cupcake Reception! All 3 of us live here in Loudoun County, VA---and believe it or not, but I had to fly to California to actually meet Amy cuz' we're both always super busy, lol!

Above are some of the new paper packs from DCWV (which you know I adore)---the kitchen & whimsy packs are my favorite! There is also 2 called Taj Mahal & Tahiti which were also very pretty. These 4 will definitely be on my very, very LONG "want list"!

Okay, anyone that knows me well knows how much I LOVE zebra print anything. Notice my zebra shoes above, lol---I got this cute lil' zebra & zebra print necklace from a very nice sales guy at MIMI(great totes & bags) who adored my shoes, LOL! And with my new zebra IPhone cover I was set---hee hee! That's my lovely crown all my friends made me wear (for some reason they called me queen the entire time, hee hee)!

Some flashy, cool paper from Rusty Pickle!

I wish I had gotten a picture of these stacked for you but they are AWESOME. They are new FLAT punches from EK Success--they have a button on the back that releases them into a punch and they punch as easy as a stapler! They stack in these cool storage bins on top of each other so they take up no room---FABULOUS!! They have tons of punches & border punches--so keep an eye out for these babies!

Me & Marianne (Copic Guru lady) at the Copic booth. Super talented & super nice lady! She convinced me I need a compressor and airbrush tool (ok, she didn't have to twist my arm very hard hee hee)!

This is me & Kimberly Crawford--she's fabulously talented & super nice and also one of my H&M Design Team sistahs!

Okay, the first 2 days in California were cool & rainy (blech) but on Sunday I woke up to this view out my hotel window and SURPRISE there were mountains (Santa Anna Mts) that I hadn't noticed cuz' of the dreary weather! Cool!

I will be back tomorrow with more pictures for ya! Please make sure and check out my DT sistah's for SUINK--they have lots of sneak peeks for ya and the new stamps will be available on Feb.1st! Today is Kristen & Amber's turn (check out the SUINK blog for all the projects you might have missed this week)!!

hugz,

Suzanne

Sneak Peeks!

Happy, happy Wednesday! Hopefully I am flying home when you are reading this (although we're getting nasty, icy weather so I hope I'm not delayed). I had an AWESOME time in CA, an absolute BLAST & I really enjoyed every minute. I have never laughed so much, spazzed out with my awesome friends (Marti & Catherine) and just had an all around great time. I went to Disney last nite with Catherine & had so much fun---we ran around like we were 5 years old on a sugar high (if you can imagine that, hee hee)! I have so many pictures to share over the next few days with you of things I saw, did and crazy stuff to share! But I'm exhausted and worn out & getting sick so it will have to wait (sorry)!!

Alrighty, I am going to try and keep this short and sweet cuz' I'm so tired I can't see straight right now (giggle)! Today starts off the Sneak Peeks for the 2 New stamp sets from Storage Units, Ink & More & you will LOVE them! My sneak peek today uses the stamp set "Blarney Stone " which I totally adore cuz' I'm part Irish ya know & this set has all kinds of good St. Patricks Day images :o) This set has so many mix and match images & sentiments to use, I love it! I covered a small tin ($1 each at Michaels) with my matching dp and then one of the cute sentiments from this set. The gold accents are Bella Baubles (goldilocks)!

Isn't this Irish Dancer girl the cutest? All my dp, cs and ribbon is from Stampin Up (green wasabi) which is great for St. Patty's Day me thinks. The scrolls are from punches from Gina K if you're interested in them!

On her skirt I used a gold Spica pen and angel wingz Shimmerz--nice and sparkly. I stamped the sentiment out on cs and then cut it out, bent it a few times in soft folds and then attached it so it looks like she's holding a banner (too cute)! And of course I had to make her Irish hair red!!

Make sure and head over to my DT sistah's blogs today and thru Feb.1st to see sneak peeks of this set and another one called "Goin' To the Chapel"! Today Mary Jo & Janna are up with projects too so stop by & see!

hugz & will post tons more for ya on Thursday!

Suzanne

CHA Day 2!!

Happy Monday to ya all! It was sunny & warm in California yesterday---yay, so nice! Marti had me up at 4 am again (argghhhhh) and we were over at CHA by 9 am & I was exhausted by 5 pm! So much to see and do and so much still left to see--I'll share some with you today. And oh yeah, if you haven't heard by now, Paris Hilton has her own scrapbooking line out and was at CHA yesterday (see below photos)--I didn't know she knew what a scrapbook or scissors were, bwahhahhahahh!! :o)

This is me and Jenni Bowlin--she does great vintage products and I just love 'em--if you haven't checked them out you really should. The funny thing is we went to school together from 6th thru 11th grade back in Maryland---so it was so funny to meet up together here at CHA. She still looks the same and is as sweet as ever.

The pictures above are of Paris Hilton. Now I'm not a fan but I felt it my blogger duty to show you her in case you are a big fan (giggle). She's surrounded by her posse, hee hee!

If you know me well, you know I LOVE animal prints (see my above picture hee hee) and there is alot of it coming out--including these fun papers from Dream Streeet. Love 'em!

Some cute new papers and embellies from BoBunny (show ya more tomorrow).

My favorite line so far is by Anna Griffin (she's one of my favorite lines next to MME) and this line is FABULOUS---it is so coming into my craft room ASAP !
My friend Marti (Smurfette) fooling around at the Doodlebug Booth! Did you know she's not even 4'9--hee hee---I could squish her!!

I will have a slideshow up tomorrow of some of the other new goodies for you including all the new DCWV papers, Doodlebug and My Minds Eye yummies!

Back to CHA early morning---till then...

Suzanne

CHA!!

Happy Sunday everyone! Hope you've had a great weekend so far! I had a fabulous day walking around Anaheim & shopping. Bought myself a cool zebra cover for my IPhone and got some nice blisters to boot! I got to go the SCS Cupcake Reception last night which was so much fun! It was so nice to meet my cyber friends & blogging idols in person---I met up with Tosh (StampTalk w/ Tosh), Carole Burrage (Mother's Little Helper), Amy Sheffer (my VA neighbor) & lots of others. Diana Crick was sooo gracious to bring me along and she is even sweeter and kinder in person---love her!



This is me, Diana Crick & my Magnolia-licious DT sistah' Suzy!!

This is me and my H&M DT sistah' Debbie Corbari! She is super sweet & tall--she was squatting next to me here, lol!

Debbie, me and our other H&M Stamp DT sistah' Cindy Lawrence---see they're both taller than me so I had to be in the middle!

It was super fun but I was sooo tired because I'm still on East Coast time---hopeful to catch up soon on sleep but Marti has been waking at 3 am cuz she is CRAZY---arghhhhhhh! I'll share some more pictures with ya tomorrow from CHA!

hugz,

Suzanne

California Dreamin'

Happy Saturday everyone! Well, I made it safe & sound to California---the flight was smooth and Marti & I gabbed the whole way which made time pass quicker! Of course I travel across country to see sun & feel warmth and its raining---just my luck, lol! Oh, well! Marti has 2 classes today so I'm heading out to Newport Beach to take some pictures & do a little sight-seeing--see how much trouble I can get into, hee hee! And tonight I'm going to the SCS Cupcake Reception with Diana Crick which I'm really looking forward to---alot of people I am hoping to catch up with will be there! I'll share pictures with ya'll tomorrow for sure!

Well on Thursday the rest of my Whiff of Joy "Party Animals" arrived (the first batch got lost in the mail somewhere) so I had to ink one up before I left! I think this donkey is so stinkin' cute and I just had to make a baby card with it. If you live here in the states you can get this cutie-pie stamp from 7 Kids College Fund. All the dp, cs & ribbon are from Paper Trey Ink--love that polka-dot paper! Very simple card to make, just lots of layers--but I just love how it turned out! The sentiment is from PTI's "Limitless Labels" set.

This close up shows the stickles on her lil' bow & the diamond glaze on the balloons that I added.
I love that these Whiff of Joy stamps can be used for many occasions too--very versatile! Remember if you want to get the Spring Kit from WOJ you have until January 26th to do so---the images by Elisabeth Bell are fabulous, you will not be disappointed trust me :o)

Alrighty I'm off to do my sightseeing & maybe some shopping---well ok, maybe alot of shopping---hee hee! Have a great weekend!

See ya tomorrow,
Suzanne

Welcome Home Tilda!!

Happy Friday all! As you are reading this, I am probably in the air flying to California for CHA and nervous as all get out!! I will be more excited when the plane touches down safely that's for sure. This is my first trip in 13 years w/o my kids or hubby, so this is a HUGE deal for me and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it (minus the plane trips)--lol! Remember to check back in everyday cuz' I will be sharing projects and lots of news/pics from CHA for ya!


Today I'm sharing one of my most favorite Tilda's evah' (I think I've used her bunches already) but I just love her lil coat & tilted head! You can buy "Decarlia Coat Tilda" at Magnolia-licious if you really love her as much as me :o) When I got this stamp set "Old English" from H&M Stamps, I just knew the lil' cottages would go perfectly with Tilda & friends! It's like they were made for each other---(if you love this set, it is in stock)! And now I'm gonna have to buy the "Old English Accessories" to go with them all, lol!

The yummy dp is by Scenic Route "Sonoma"--love the colors in this dp, a keeper for sure! The flower in the corner is a Petaloo with 2 crochet flowers on top (by Laundry Line). And those are the Nestability Labels 1 that I used--and have you seen all the new Nesties that are coming out! Woohooo, boy do I love 'em and of course will have to order some, a few, ok--lots!! :o)

Alrighty, that's all for me today. Next time you hear from me, hopefully I will safely be in California soaking up some rays!!

hugz,
Suzanne

Copics Used: R29, R24, R22, R20, E11, E00, E99, Y23, E53, YG97, YG95, YG91, G20