Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Hi everyone!  Popping in to wish you all a very 

Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate it on Thursday.  

I'm not a huge fan of the holiday and will usually find a way to travel or skip it LOL. But Alexa really wanted to have it at our house this year (I haven't in 6 years) so I agreed...ugh...hehehe.  So family is coming here on Thursday and then we are doing late night shopping and seeing Thor 2 at the movies.  A full day so on Friday I can lay like a sack...oh wait I have to put up Christmas trees...but I won't have to put on makeup right? :)

I have some new Holiday Projects on my other blog HERE if you want to hop over and see those if you need some reading!

AND I have finally after all most 2 years (shhhhh) put projects on my Etsy store.  

So they are all HERE if you want to order any...I will be putting more up soon.  I reorganized my craft room and I have bins of projects to put for sale...but I can only handle doing 15 at a time LOL!  If you order any over the holiday I will have them in the mail to you on Monday!!

That's all from me....wishing you a wonderful week and hope you turn your Christmas music on and rock it out for the holiday season!

I will have a new card up next week for ya too!!

DIY SnowMen!

Happy TGIFriday everyone!  I am super busy today finishing up projects so that I can FINALLY finish painting my dining room. I hate painting and I'm a perfectionist soooo that means it takes me a long time, especially when I'm not feeling up to par.  So I do have lots of projects coming...probably a new one this weekend and then a bunch next week so stay tuned. I'm just happy I can color in short spurts again...that's a good thing :)

Anywho....on my other blog HERE I have some DIY Sock Snow People if you wanna hop over there and see.  I will lots of holiday projects on both blogs in the next week or so...I'm also putting up Christmas trees starting next week...its that time of year...yay!

Click Here to See!

Holiday Blog Hop!

Happy Monday folks!  Have you started decorating for Christmas yet?  I have, slowly but surely a little bit each day so that by Thanksgiving we can get our real 12+ ft tree for our family room.  But I LOVE this time of year so much...it just makes me happy..and keeps me busy LOL.  I won't chitter chatter much because I have lots of project photos, details and hop details to share with you!

But if you missed any of my posts on my other blog...hop on over to see some holiday crafts I've been working on over there.

***************************************

HOLIDAY BLOG HOP

My Winter Wonderland Holiday Box

Today both the 

Magnolia-licious & Scor-Pal DTs are having a super fabulous holiday hop

for you all!

We want to inspire you to get crafty with some holiday, wintry projects!!

And as always there are a FEW WAYS TO PLAY along as you hop along, so don't miss a thing!

For all the details and blog hop order in one place hop to the Challenge Blog when you are done!

PLAY ALONG 2 WAYS

The 1st way to play is to collect the letters and clues on each blog as you hop along...then when you have them all--have fun unscrambling a holiday expression and email to Suzanne (me) at sjdean0574@yahoo.com by Dec 30th.  Each blog has either letters or a clue in RED at the bottom of their post.

The 2nd way to play (and you can do both to get 2 entries) is to submit a Holiday/Winter Themed project at the Challenge Blog by Dec 31st.  See Challenge Blog for the prizes and other details.

(winners will be announced by Jan 4th)

Now let's have some fun ok?

If you have been hopping then you would have come to me from Patti Jo's Blog, if not make sure to hit all the blogs and continue on the hop at the bottom of my blog.

I made a Winter Wonderland Holiday Box for my hop project and it was so much fun to make!  For my project I decided to use one of those fab 3D Kit boxes by LaLa Land that Magnolia-licious sells. They are super easy to put together and sooo much fun to decorate.  I used the Best Glue Ever to glue mine and then put a book on top once it was all done (except the easel back piece) to make sure all the seams dried evenly.  Then I painted it white with acrylic paint and added my fave MS Glitter Snow to the decorative designs on the front.

My trees were cut out with my Silhouette Cameo in different heights (if you don't have a Cameo, use a die like this one) and then they got a 3-step process...inked with dark navy ink, then I used a Liquid Applique Pen in white to add puffy snow to the branches, then finished off with some Snow Glitter and Tinsel products applied with Tacky Glue.

TIP: Cut your background paper to size FIRST, BEFORE you put your box together to make it easier on yourself...trust me. My paper is by BoBunny.

I handcut some snowy hills out of white cardstock and added them in the background after coating them with some snow glitter & tinsel.

Here's a side view...the boxes come with an easel back piece so they stand up nicely.

I painted all sides and back of my box with the white paint.

The lamp post is a LaLa Land die that Magnolia-licious sells as well. Its such a fun accent to use.  I added vellum behind the glass areas of the lamp and colored them light yellow with a TouchTwin marker.  I also smudged white ink and added some Stickles & Snow Glitter onto the lamp post so it looked like it was coated in snow too.

At the bottom of the box I added a banner that I stamped with snowflakes and then hand-numbered with the year 2013.  The banner is from a PTI die that cuts the banner so it bends and pops up for dimension...and some Stickles along the edges for more sparkle.

I used an oldie but goodie stamp "Edwin & Tilda Skating" that is STILL my fave holiday stamp of all time from Magnolia-licious! They're just adorable!  It comes in both regular size & mini size, if its out of stock send a note that you are interested in it to Diana as she may be getting more in if they're all gone.  To make the stamped image and lamp post pop out more I just cut white cardstock the width I needed and glued it to the image in 3 places--lamp in 2 places, bent it twice and then glued to the backside of box.

I had fun coloring them with my TouchTwin Markers and then adding some extras.  The fur trim on their coats got white Doodlebug Flock, Stickles on her skates and pockets and a cute mini pom-pom added to Edwin's cap.  I love adding details like that!

On the top of my box I added some Memory Box "Frostyville" diecuts and centered it with a snowflake coated in MS Snow Glitter.

The frosty coated lamp post shining some light down on Edwin & Tilda. I love the chunky look of the MS Snow Glitter.

Hope you enjoyed my frosty project today & keep hopping along to see 

the DT's amazing projects and collect your LETTERS & CLUES!

MY LETTERS ARE:

H, i, f
And the Clue is:
A "twist" on a popular holiday expression

Now you need to hop onto

 Dena Concienne's Blog

to see what holiday fun she's created!

Happy Tree Fun!

Happy Tuesday friends!  And Happy Belated Veterans Day to those that are serving or have served...we thank you and appreciate your service to the US.  Its supposed to be cold and snowy today here in VA...eeek...I HATE WINTER and COLD...yup, I'm a SNOW HATER.  The cold weather has already put a damper on my level of energy and my joints are aching so I'm counting down until Spring is upon us again LOL.  Good for you that love it, but I just am not a fan. I simply wouldn't care if the only place I ever saw snow again was in my snowglobes ;) and that's the honest truth.

However I am getting excited about the upcoming holidays and have already started many projects, ordered my photo cards and am pulling out the decorations for my 10 trees this year...gotta start early ya' know!  You can see some other fun holiday projects I've done on my other blog HERE if you missed them.

*******************************

Holiday Tree Decorations!

Today I'm sharing some ornaments I made with the sweet Magnolia stamps from Magnolia-licious.  Today kicks off the newest Tuesday Challenge at the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog and its winter themed!  Hope you can join in with us and hop on over when you get a chance to see the gorgeous DT projects! 

I used stamps from the newest "Winter Wonderland 2013" Collection of Magnolia Stamps at Magnolia-licious...both regular and mini sized!

*****

I picked up some sweet wood holiday ornaments in different shapes at AC Moore the other day (I got 12..shhh..I'm a hoarder)!  They were only 70 cents each...DEAL!  I knew I was going to make some fun ornaments with them and couldn't wait to use some with my Magnolia stamps.  I spray painted these two in white gloss paint...2 coats...before I got started decorating!

For this first ornament I used super sweet "The Day Before Christmas Edwin" and colored him up with Copics.  Then I added both Stickles (Star Dust) and MS Snow Glitter (my fave) to the snow on the tree he's peeking thru.  I also used the snow glitter on the frame surrounding the image.  The holly swirls and pineneedles are Memory Box dies that I inked with darker green SU ink.  Then I diecut the sentiment banner (PTI) and stamped it with a holiday sentiment.  A bow and hanger finish it off.  I usually let my ornaments dry 24 hours really good before I spray them with an acrylic acid-free sealer...that way they last over the years and help prevent damage.

I cut my image out with an oval die in my Cuttlebug and glued to the back of the frame, then I cut another oval out of holiday paper to place over it in the back once I was all finished.  That way the back looks nice too because we all know ornaments have a way of "spinning" on the tree :)

On this second one I used was "Show The Way Rudolph" (I used the MINI version, it comes in regular size too here)...isn't he a cutie-patootie!?  He was colored with Copics & TouchTwin markers as well.  I cut the image out leaving room for a sentiment at the top (sentiment by PTI).  I used MS Snow Glitter on the image and around the frame as well and stamped a few snowflakes around the image too.  Another Memory Box die cut border was used to cut 2 borders and add to each side of the frame.  I also punched a few snowflakes out of aqua cardstock, cut a few in half and added them around the frame.  Then one for the bow topped with a button and twine.

Hope you enjoyed this post and maybe want to make a few ornaments of your own!

Have a wonderful week!

Entering these into the following fab Linky Parties:

The DIY Dreamer
Commona-My House
Savvy Southern Style
Domestic Superhero

Cleaning Day!

Hi folks & Happy Wednesday to you all!  I am back...back with a card...don't fall over or anything ok? LOL!  I managed to color over two days in spurts so I'm getting there..slowly but surely.  And tomorrow I will be super busy.  My lovely daughter decided to turn her "6 friends max" Halloween get together into a FULL BLOWN-over 20 teens-costume party....SAY WHAT...OMG??? Yeah she sprung that on my yesterday...nice huh?  And said "Oh mom, don't worry you won't have to do anything"...ummm yeah best joke ever told right there ladies & gents.  And no I can't say NO because this is her last Halloween at home really...next year she'll be at college {sniff, sniff} but advance warning woulda been nice eh?  Given that I'm still not even 70% up to my usual health I am ordering pizzas...we will do chips and dips and each of the teens are bringing a bag of candy or a dessert.  So I will use some of my Halloween decorations I made HERE, string some lights & cobwebs around the patio and on the bushes, pull out my light-up pumpkins and call it a day.  But that means I have to go to grocery store & party store and do some cleaning inside & outside.  Hopefully the temps stay mild so they can REMAIN on the patio under the cabana, with the fireplace on watching scary movies.  That's the plan...then they can come inside the basement if they get chilly..and need to be gone by 11 pm..on witches brooms home I say.  ahahhahahaha

So if I'm quiet for the next few days...you know why!  While kids are partying I shall be attempting to paint my dining room...at least the cut-ins around the doors & windows.  Not sure what Riley is planning on doing yet...I know they aren't going trick-or-treating as they have a Pasta Team Dinner tomorrow night.  Probably have friends over to watch a game but Halloween is on a school night...which is always a bummer...but gets them home & in bed at a good time (love that)!!

***********************************

Cleaning Day!

Today I'm sharing a card (gasp..I know its been awhile) that features a super cute Wild Rose Studios stamp from Magnolia-licious called Suzanne ummmm "Emily Vacuuming".  Hop over to the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog to see the "W"ednesday Post and the other DT gals projects too!

Diana Crick gifted her to me and when it arrived in the mail I had to giggle...why?  Because I have 8 animals (6 cats & 2 dogs) and I vacuum every day..not on Saturdays though...because I can't stand dust & fur on my hardwood floors. I actually love to vacuum..I may be a bit OCD with it but the CATS...whoa nelly they shed a lot (dogs are non-shedders). And if I see a furball I will break out the vacuum even with guests here LOL.  So when I saw this stamp it screamed "SUZANNE" :)  dontcha' think?

Check out the NEW Christmas Wild Rose Studio Stamps at Magnolia-licious!!

I love the larger shaped cards these days but I'm not willing to pay the big $$ right now for those larger dies...they are quite costly and are made for larger machines (I use my Cuttlebug still lol)...beautiful yes but not in this gal's budget.  And I have a Silhouette Cameo...best crafty purchase I've made in past 2 years..so I cut my own larger shapes out of cardstock and patterned paper with my Cameo...easy & quick.  Hundreds of fun shapes to cut and a lot more economical for me.  I went with this bright, fun paper by Doodlebug Designs "Take Note"...loved the colors and patterns. The little clip boards were cut out from one of the papers in the paper pad.  The "ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS" was also cut on my Cameo...reminds me to enjoy even the most mundane tasks..because it means we are living and there is always joy in that folks!  Some layered flowers and the swirls are a Memory Box die cut from the rainbow paper for visual interest.  I doodled a bit around the aqua card base with my white Sharpie just for a lil' more fun!!

This cutie got colored with Copics and then I accented with Stickles on the vacuum (a fancy-schmancy vacuum I must say) and on her shirt...isn't that doggie sweet?  I vacuum my cats...yes I really do...they don't really like it but they have gotten ummmm used to it you could say LOL. Gets off all that extra hair quickly...I do it once a month...so everytime I bring out the vacuum they just all hide whether I'm vacuuming them or the floors ahahahha!!  So NOT sure they'd wanna ride on it ;)

These words were cut out on my Silhouette Cameo then accented with my white Sharpie pen!

That's it for me...now I'm off to run errands and get ready for this so-called

Halloween party I'm hosting ;)

Hi There!

Hi everyone!  Just touching base with you all....I have not been well which has held me back from any coloring or crafting lately.  Although I hope to color tomorrow and have a project up on Wed for you...crossing my fingers & toes...thanks for hanging in there with me.

I thought I'd share a few things with you though to catch up, in case you don't follow my other blog here OR on facebook.  Sick or not I still try to squeeze every moment, every drop of life that I can out of each day...we get this great gift called LIFE so you can't let it waste away.  I try not to even on days I feel as though I may be dying...because I never know if its the last day...but I sure want to enjoy it while I can.

This is my daughter's Senior Year so we just had her last Homecoming Dance this past month .  I'm so thankful that she prefers classy and pretty styles over..well...you know the "other" trampy kind LOL. But she is picky so I usually order 4-5 dresses online that we both pick out and this one made the cut...we both agreed it was pretty, appropriate and looked lovely on her.

The girls did their own hair and makeup this year...I think they did a lovely job!

Alexa and her BFF Grace....they're a little goofy...as it should be ;)

No dates...most went in groups...they prefer to have fun with friends instead of the stress

of being with someone...gotta love that!!

Always a Daddy's girl!

3 Generations...me, Alexa & my mom

My son didn't go this year as his friends and him decided that it was more fun AFTER the dance.  Last year they all went to Buffalo Wild Wing so this year they ALL came here instead for yummies, Xbox wars and lordy knows what else was going on down in that basement with all of them LOL.  So they had a good time. It was his free pass...I told him he HAD to go next year ;)

***************

If you don't follow me on my other blog...well you can if you'd like HERE...but I share all kinds of projects and recipes over there as well.  This is my current post if you'd like to hop over and see...making your own Beautiful Mercury Glass items...easy & inexpensive.

*************

And my CMC Challenge is always ongoing...its open to everyone to join...and runs every 2 weeks.  This week our challenge is all about DUDES, MALES, BOYS...masculine projects...I know some struggle with them but they can be so much fun.  Our sponsor is Dr. Digi's House of Stamps and he has some super humorous images for MALE cards that are irresistable.

Below are my CMC DT's AWESOME creations they made for the challenge....lots of great ideas...if they can rock it..well I KNOW you all can.  So hop on over and join in on the fun!!  And share on our CMC Facebook Page too...we'd love to see you there!

PinWheel Fun!

Happy Sunday Friends!  I am busy painting today...my life is all about painting..and I HATE painting ugh.  And I'm not a fast painter and I have to take muscle breaks because I can only do so much at a time...real pain the bum I tell ya.  But eventually I'll be done so I can start on the basement staircase walls ay yi yi LOL.  And tonight we are having dinner with two neighbor couples we are friends with so I gotta get done, cleaned up and make some yummy dessert to take over.  Thankfully I just have to walk next door for dinner :) which means I may have a glass of wine.  I rarely drink wine...I like it but hubby doesn't drink it so its dumb to open a bottle for one glass.  So I will have one on occasion at a restaurant but ONLY if I have no work to do afterwards or am not too tired. Wine makes me realllllllly tired and I don't drink red wine because it gives me migraines.  So you could say I'm a picky drinker...maybe a glass of wine every 6-8 weeks LOL but that's ok...I like my Cherry Coke just fine!

And Friday night Riley PLAYED in his first Varsity game (he's on the JV team now) but he dressed out this Friday in the new all black uniforms.  It was a BIG game for us...Battle of the 'Burg...two big county rivals.  It was so much fun to watch him and with my NEW camera hubby bought me I was able to get some amazing shots.  We won 48-14...so we are the ONLY undefeated team in our county at 6-0...which is AMAZING!  So proud of the boys and the team.  

Thought I'd share a picture and a video with you.  The video is a pre-game ritual the boys always do...I find it hilarious...shows their goofy-lil-boy side that I know they try to hide on the field most times ;)

My 6'4 240 lb baby with his dad whom he now dwarfs LOL!

My son is the crazy maniac jumping in the red shorts LOL ;)

****************************************

Some PinWheel Fun

Scraptown Lady Guest 

Today I'm guest designing for Scraptown Lady which is a crafty online store.  I always like guest designing since it gives me a chance to use images/stamps outside of my usual repetoire :)  And this Stampavie Penny Johnson cutie "Little Tobi with Pinwheel" is no exception...isn't she a cutie?  I used new papers by BoBunny "Zip a Dee Doodle" pack...my fave color combo of aqua, black and white of course!!  Scraptown Lady has a TON of cute stamps, flowers, papers and other goodies in stock that you will may want!!  The banners around the image are made with a fabulous LaLa Land die!

She got colored with Copics:  BG78,BG18,BG13,BG11,BG10 / C7,C5,C3,C1 / E11,E00 / E29,E35,E31,YR20.  I added some black polka dots to her dress with my Copic MultiLiner pen, easy to do and adds a bit more fun to her dress.  Stickles on the center of her pinwheel...the pinwheel I colored using the "feathering technique"...love that look.  Then I inked around the image edges and embossed some white swirls on edges as well.

Stop by the Scraptown Lady blog to see my post and their OWH World Cardmaking Hop as well!

That's all for me today....enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

Monday comes bright and early :)

OWH Hop!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you to our sponsors-

 ♥ Paper Temptress ♥ Oozak ♥ Color me Creative Classroom ♥

♥ Heartfelt Creations ♥ Gilli Stamps ♥ Bugaboo stamps ♥

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

♥ Floppy Latte ♥ Sweet Pea Stamps ♥ Pizzaz Aplenty ♥

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

♥♥♥

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

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

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

Find Address to Send OWH Cards to HERE

Blog Hop list directory

Anary 

  Sandy 

Allnock 

  Patricia St Martin

Steph Ackerman

Ann Fran

Dana Joy

Anita Autore

Danni Bindel

Lynne Haston

Monica Lowrance 

  Suzanne J Dean ~ you are here thx

Linda Payne 

  Amanda Reed 

  Nancy Jensen 

  Cathy Preissing 

  Vickie Kertz 

  Holley Barnhart 

  Karen Gautier 

  Samantha Casey 

  Christine Riley 

  Melanie 

  Paper Temptress  

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

Find Address to Send OWH Cards to HERE