Buggy Friends!

Hello Friends & Happy Wednesday to ya!!  We are half way thru the week whoo hoo and today is my day of rest...now don't get all excited ok LOL.   I mean today is my no-workout day...I workout two days in a row and then take a day of rest.  So Thurs and Friday I will be back at it and let me tell you Jillian Michaels is KICKING MY BUTT!  No one gets me in shape or toned up faster than her videos I tell ya but man oh man getting back into it is hard.  I've been doing her Shred in 30 videos and the kickboxing vids...I already feel a difference and see my arms starting to sculpt out again.  I was in such good shape at the beginning of last year and I let it all goooooo...ugh...stupid I was.  I was traveling so much that I was just plain old tired when I was home KWIM but NO MORE.  My body feels soooo much better when its strong and lifting weights is good for me...keeps the aches away and gives me more energy.  But I HATE working out...you will NEVER hear me say "oh I love working out, it feels so good"....ummm yeah NO those words will never come outta this gal's mouth!!  I despise working out...seriously I hate it BUT I will be 39 next month and I ain't getting younger and that means I gotta be good to my body that God gave me.  So I'm yelling & cussin' at Jillian the whole entire time...if she could hear me LOL...but I do what I gotta do to get thru it hee hee!  Then after I cool down, drink a gallon of water and go about my business...I DO feel better, and stronger and just plain GOOD.  So for that its all worth it...I guess...check in with me tomorrow after I do another kickboxing routine...I might say somethin' else ;)

 Make sure to mark your calendars for the fun at CMC!!

Everyone is welcome to join in all the fun starting April 26th!!

Join the Birthday Bash Group HERE

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Buggy Friends!

Today is Wee Wednesday over at the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog...so that means a few of the DT gals have created some fabulous & fun projects using those super cute Wee Stamps.  And YES Magnolia-licious now carries the Wee Stamps by Syliva Zet for Whimsey Stamps...so go check them all out HERE!  I love, love this image called "Sympathy Bugs"...we all have a friend or relative that has helped us overcome an issue, sadness or just a bummer of a day.  So I kept the colors bright and cheery to create a thank you card for someone that has brightened my day!

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Make It Monday (anything goes)

Bearly Mine Challenges (spring flowers)

Cuttin' & Stampin' Challenges (thank yous)

Loves Rubber Stamps (colors of spring)

The papers are by Creative Imaginations "Loolah"...I loved the bright coral-pinks and greens...springy and happy!  The papers got some distressing with my Zutter Distress machine of course...there isn't a day I don't use that machine!  Then I got busy with some dies...I love me my dies as much as I love my Cameo LOL.  The green vine-leafs are a Marianne Designs die as are the leaves (all got inked with dk green ink) and the pink scroll pendants are from Memory Box "Quinn Flourish".  The flowers are from Bunny-Zoe's Store and I love those white tulips...added a few wire twirls to the mix as well.  The sentiment is from PTI.

These cutie pies got colored with Touch Twin markers!  Then I added some DoodleBug flock to the white puffs/blooms...Stickles to the wings and Diamond Glaze to the bottoms of their feetsies!

See you back here on Friday!!  Have a goodie!

New Release--Yay!!

Hello everyone and Happy Friday to ya!  Wahooo it's the weekend, this week has seemed very long and hard to me, LOL, between being sick, working too many hours and my laptop crashing!  I'm so looking forward to some down time, errr....well a little bit, hee hee since I have videos to shoot, projects to finish up and a retirement party for hubby's mom to attend!  I have a private copic class today which is always fun and then my daughter is going to the mall with her friends for a bit to shop--she's been raking in some big time babysitting bucks, I might need to borrow some $$ from her, LOL!  Are any of you watching the Olympics?  Hubby and I are HUGE Olympic junkies--we watch them ALL--we like to tivo them and then forward to what we want to watch :o) I really enjoyed seeing Lindsey Vohn win the Gold the other night in alpine skiing--I was thrilled for her!!

NewsBitz:

-I have a NEW Instructional Video up HERE that shows FUN ways to use Magic Mesh!!

-Pink Cat Studio has a fun CONTEST going on right now--you can find all the details HERE!

-Winner of the FREE IMAGE "Bye Bye" from Mo's Digital Pencil is Mary of "My Scrap Happy Life"--congrats Mary!  Email me with your email addy so I can get the image to you asap!

-Winner of the Magnolia "Dream Journey" Blog Candy is Nancy of "Another MD Crabbie!  Congrats Nancy--please email me with all your info so I can get the goods out to ya lickety-split!
(Thanks to everyone for entering--I loved reading all your sweet entries--I will have major blog candy up soon)

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Always

Today is Release Day for the NEW stamps from Elisabeth Bell for Susana's Custom Art & Card Design store--this set is called "Sampler Edition #3.  To celebrate the DT and some wonderful Guest Designers are doing a fun Blog Hop for you today to show off all the new stamps!  These stamps are all gorgeous and I love each one--you can see them all HERE (will be available before 9 am EST)!  For my projects today I've created a card using "New Friends" (isn't she just gorgeous--love her-reminds me of my daughter) and a matching Boxy-Bag.  These gorgeous papers are NEW from DCWV "Linen Closet" (I snagged this one and Mediterranean Cafe at my JoAnn's store yesterday).

You can find the entire Blog Hop List HERE in case you get lost, hee hee---but your next stop on the Hop can be found at the end of this post!

I just love this stamp "New Friends", reminds me so much of my daughter (esp. the profile) when she was younger.  I used the awesome Mojo Monday sketch #124 for my card layout--I really like it so I'll definitely be using it again!  I colored the image with copics (B01,B00,B0000/E43,E41,E53/Hair:E35,E31,YR20,YR21) and added some stickles to her pockets and hair barette.  The sentiment is a PTI set and I added some pearls and Prima Roses (the mini rosebuds you can find here) to finish it off.  That fab bow was made with my Bow Easy of course ;o)

I hadn't made one of these Boxy-Bags before, I know they were really popular for awhile and you saw them everywhere but it's been awhile, so I decided to give one a go--you can find the directions for this HERE.  It was really easy to make, I used one of my Asian Cuttlebug folders on the blue cs, a MS border punch and then spritzed the entire project with Vanilla Smooch Spritz (love the soft sparkles)-I added it to my card too :o)  Hope you liked my projects for today--you can find all the new stamps HERE and your next stop on the HOP is CAROLYN's BLOG HERE!!  Have fun hoppin'!!

Honey Bee Bear!!

Happy TGIFriday everyone!!! This is my last day in NY visiting with the family (sob) and I've had a fabulous time! We've had a ton of laughs that's for sure--last night we made homemade taffy and while we were all (me, my mom, my cousin Jarrod & my grandma & Riley) were all giggling cuz' it was everywhere!! NO lie---it was on everything, hee hee---but it sure tasted good! Had a few rowdy games of gin rummy too with my cheatin' relatives (not cheating really, but I was convinced they were, hee hee)! My doggies have had a blast here too (of course they always travel with me, lol) running around being free on the acres of vineyards. Today after it finished raining my cousin & I (Jarrod is my age & we've been best friends forever)took them for a walk down to the pond which was overfilled & Baylee fell in, LMBO--she actually swam really well & was full of muck! Just like a "country dog", hee hee! I'll be back home on Saturday evening and then home for the rest of what's left of the summer :o) Hubby & Alexa are probably missin' us by now!!

My tomato plants have gone nutso (you should see the 5 ft creatures they've become) and I have over 1,000 tomatoes right now waiting to be picked--they're coming out my ears, lol! And no I do not "can" anything--but I do have a cheese/tomato sandwich everyday & will make some salsa too! Speaking of homecooked goodies---

NewsBitz:

- Whiff of Joy is having their 1 year anniversary BLOG HOP tomorrow and showing off the new release of cute stamps by Elisabeth Bell (they're grrrrrrrrrreat)! Sadly I won't be able to participate because I won't be home in time to get something made but there is sure to be lots of fabulous projects to see!!

-Monday, the Magnolia-licious DT will have a fun challenge up on the Magnolia-licious Highlites blog too! Make sure & stop by!

I made this gift basket and card filled with homemade bread & honey for a friend of mine who watched our cats for 2 weeks while we were in South Carolina. The basket I got at Michaels for about $4 and I weaved aqua mist ribbon thru it & attached w/ scor-tape to dress it up a bit. The fun stamp set is by CC Designs "Bumble B Bear" available at All That Scraps and it's such a cutie-pop set to have on hand.

Isn't that the cutest lil' honey bear on this card? He's colored w/ copics and then I added diamond stickles to his wings and a yellow rhinestone to the flower's center. The dp is by My Mind's Eye and then PTI's cs (aqua mist/summer sunrise). I stacked some Prima flowers together and added some fun PTI buttons for the centers.

I had to make a matching label for the "bear jar" of honey using the smaller image of the bear! I just cut out oval shapes with my nestabilities and attached with scor-tape. To finish it off I wrapped some more ribbon around the top. Such a fun gift to make & to give!! (I looovvveee hot bread from the oven with butter & honey on top--can you say "lovin' from the oven", hee hee)!!

I'll see you back here on Monday with some new projects!!


hugz,

Suzanne

My Umbrella Friend!!

Happy Thursday everyone! One more day till the weekend--can I hear a Whoo-Hoo!!! Today is a special day in the Dean household cuz' my baby (Riley) turns 11 today! Oh my how the past 11 years have flown by---I had a wonderful pregnancy with Riley and ended up gaining 70 lbs with him (thankfully I lost it all in 3 mos) and he was just the cutest, fattest little guy! His nicknames were "Lil Man" & "Chunky Monkey" (he'll love that I told you that, hee hee) and he has just been the best son we could ever ask for. He's alot like his dad; patient, laid-back and think's he's Mr. Funny-Man!

He's obsessed with history and the military and loves to watch documentary's on TV(which can drive mom crazy, lol)--he can tell you any fact, from any war or anytime in history---he really just AMAZES me everyday! And he'll love this, but I ask him if he'll take care of me when he's rich & famous & he says "Yes, mom! I will buy you a house and buy you lots of shoes & purses!"--ah, my baby knows me well, lol!! I know he's on the road to growing up into an awesome, talented & wonderful young man!

We Love Ya Baby! Happy 11th Birthday to Ya!!

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I have a tutorial up today on the "Follow Your Heart" Blog about using your punches in different ways! We will be having a bi-monthly segment on "Using What You Have" so we can dig out those tools & old supplies & use them in new & fun ways. Make sure and check it out!!

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With this warm weather we've been having, I've been in a sunny, cheery mood so I had to use my new DCWV "Citrus" pack! I was naughty & ordered all of the new DCWV stacks that have come out (eek) but I love them sooooo much {If you're naughty too--you can see them HERE, lol}! This pack is just chock'full of fun & bright prints to use! I pulled out this cute Magnolia that I had gotten from the Magnolia Fall Kit---if you love her perhaps Diana will order her if she gets enuff requests :o) but you can find lots of other fun Magnolia's at Magnolia-licious too!


The sketch I used today is from this week's SCS sketch #215 (I flipped it)--great sketch to use with your Magnolia's. The sentiment is from MFT's "Rain or Shine" stamp set--perfect for this image! I added some fun MME buttons and threaded Scrapper's Floss thru and tied a bow--love that Scrapper's Floss!
Close-up shows the Diamond Stickles that I applied on her heart, raindrops & puddle. I also used Diamond Glaze on her boots & Shimmerz on her "leafy" umbrella! Isn't she just a cutie-pop!



If you haven't had a chance to enter the yummy WebCandy we have going on thru tonight at midnite(EST) on Susana's Custom Art & Card Design site on PaperCraft Planet! All the details are right HERE!!

I'm off to finish up birthday preparations and finish some work (hopefully)!



hugz,
Suzanne

Beary Happy!

Good Wednesday Mornin' to ya! It's a bright, sunny day here in VA and we are off to the pool today. We didn't get to go yesterday because it was so overcast and drizzly, but I'm getting my "sun" on today! Not too many more days left to spend at the pool with the kids getting ready to go back to school after Memorial Day, so I gotta get it in now! Hope it's sunny where you are today.

Just a quick card today that I made for a good friend of mine that I haven't seen in awhile. I know she's been going thru some tough times, so I thought this card would cheer her up a bit! This is a "Gruffie" stamp from House of Mouse called "Digging Up Dirt" (sentiment is from them too) which you can see here. I think these bears are so cute and fun and the sentiment is perfect! I colored my image with Copics, and the background is watercolored w/ SU inkers. The cheerful dp is from DCWV's "Blossoms & Butterflies" paper pack paired up with some Coredinations cs. I added some stickles to the plant, dirt and sentiment flowers for lots of sparkle and the shovel has diamond glaze on it. In the corners are some of those yummy, sparkly Glitter Dots that I got from Gina K--love them! The flowers are Prima w/ a Doodlebug brad in the center and the ribbon is from Michaels. Like I said, just a quick & easy card today. I have a more time consuming project to show ya tomorrow that I know you'll love.

Don't forget that MFT (My Favorite Things) is having their release party tonight at 8 pm EST on SCS--always a fun time and there will be 5 new "fall" stamp sets released tonite. I've seen all the sneak peeks and they are "wicked" fun!! Make sure and check them out.

Also, Pink Cat Studio released 2 new stamp sets today (mine have already been ordered-lol). Melissa really outdid herself w/ these stamp sets and packed tons of stamps into each set. You really should check them out!

Ok, enough chit-chat and enabling for ya--we're off to the pool for the afternoon. Hope ya have a great day! Until tomorrow...

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

Cherry Fun!

Happy Thursday everyone! It's almot TGIF--yeahhhh!! I don't know why I'm excited, we have my daughter's jazz recital on Saturday and her ballet recital on Sunday--which of course is Father's Day. Whadda day to have a recital, huh--I know most dad's would rather be fishin' or golfin', not watching dancing right? We'll probably celebrate Dad's Day next week by giving my dh a golf day and then dinner. The kids still have to finish their cards for him (add that to my ever mounting to-do list)! Then Tuesday is the last day of school. I'm both elated and depressed--no more projects or homework, yippee, but that also means no "alone" (aka quiet stamp time) time for me and my son & daughter fighting everyday (yuckO)!! Thank goodness for the pool and camps!

Todays project is one of my favorites so far this month because it involves cherries (ya know I love my Cherry Coke-lol) and I just love the summery colors. I picked up this cherry platter, dishtowel & coordinating spreaders in the Target $1 spot (love that place) a couple of weeks ago. I just loved the colors and vintage look of it all and knew it would make a great gift. I used the cherry stamp from SU's "Tart & Tangy" set to stamp a random background on PTI's lemon tart cardstock. The aqua cs is also from PTI (aqua mist) & the red cs is from SU (the colors all matched the platter perfectly). The sentiments are from Hero Arts "Thoughtful Messages" which I got from Stamp Desires (this set is great, so versatile). I also adore these cherry rhinestones from Heidi Swapp that I got from Ellen Hutson--they added just the right amount of bling to the card and label for the spreaders. Of course I used my nesties again (best money I've spent--I use them everyday) and the images are popped up with dimensionals. I think this will make a great thankyou gift or hostess gift this summer.

Ok, now I'm off to finish up my kid's teachers gifts so I can mark that off of my list. Hope you check out Pink Cat Studio's new stamp sets today--I'm ordering mine ASAP!! See ya tomorrow-

Suzanne

Vintage Cherry Gift Set--SU "Tart & Tangy" stamp set, Hero Arts sentiment, Heidi Swapp cherry rhinestones, nestabilities, Michaels ribbon, SU's soft sky inkpad, real red & old olive markers, PTI's lemon tart & aqua mist cs, dimensionals

Rainy Days

Good evening everyone! It's a blah, dreary, rainy Monday here in Virginia. I hate Mondays and I hate the rain--I just want spring and the sun to come! One day I will live somewhere where it's warm and sunny all of the time (dream...). After taking most of the day to finish catching up on my chores, I finally got to do some stamping. I thought this stamp set from My Favorite Things fit the bill today. I used my paper from Paper Trey Ink again--I just love the color combos, so soft and pretty. I like to paper piece my images from time to time to change things up. The rest of the image I watercolored and added some bling, umm.. I mean sparkles to the puddle with my favorite, stickles (see how much I love em'). I finally used some baubles that I have had sitting around--thought they made good raindrops. Nice big raindrops, like the ones that always seem to fall on my head from roofs and then drip down my face (see how much I love the rain):(

I hope you enjoy your evening and that it is nice and dry where you are.

Suzanne

(SU basic gray, black & soft sky, Paper Trey Ink spring moss paper & ribbon, stickles)