Fright Nite!!

Good Saturday Morning to ya! First and foremost, I hope all my stampin' pals and cohorts in the Texas area are safe and dry with big ole' Hurricane Ike hitting the area last nite. We're all praying and thinking about ya!

We're off to the Octoberfest today with some of our friends--hope the weather stays nice and it should be fun. Then I'm teaching a Copics class at Marti's (Pez-a-doodles) house--we'll see how I do, lol! And boy do I have some news for you, but its still top secret right now (3 big secrets actually)--can't wait to share with ya'll!

Don't forget to visit Jen del Muro's blog (I{heart}2stamp) today for her Saturday Sketch For You to Try and my sample I made as her guest designer this month. Let's just say it will be a "bella-riffic" sketch for ya!!

I decided to make it a theme day again--so today is "fright nite" for ya, tee hee! I love Halloween and I love to decorate for Halloween. Every year I haul out my boxes of decorations and then of course go buy some new things and decorate the front yard for the many trick-or-treaters we get. I even fire up my fog machine so the front yard "graveyard" is spooky--I just love it! So when I saw this "Fright Night" stamp set from H&M Stamps I just had to have it! I love that you can make spooky scenes with it and ya gotta love all the different gravestones. Everything was colored w/ Copics and I added some stickles to the house's windows for a sparkly glow. I cut each of the gravestones out and popped 'em up w/ dimensionals. I love the sentiment too--so fun! The fence is a Martha Stewart punch and I bent the fence outwards and adhered it w/ tacky tape at the edges for a big 3-D pop! The dp is from Reminisce, isn't it fabby, I love it!

The second card uses stamps from MFT's "Totally Witchin'" set and I used the MFT sketch #47 from this week for the layout. Make sure and check out the MFT forum next week for their week of challenges-looks like fun! I stamped each of the "secret ingredients" out and colored them and then added colored stickles. I added some cobwebs using a Martha Stewart punch and then added black stickles to them. Pretty basic card, just frighteningly fun!

Hope you all have a great weekend! Until then...
Suzanne

Gimmee Gimmee, Trick or Treaty!!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I'm posting early again today, cuz' I have tons of errands to get done. The kids need haircuts, new shoes and some more school clothes before school starts next week and my plan is to get it all done today (pray for me)!! My dd will be ok, but my son will start whining within the first 20 mins about how he hates trying on shoes, pants....etc.etc and he'd rather be playing and when are we leaving---ya know the usual stuff from a 10 yr old boy!! I will definitely return home with a migraine and exhaustion emanating from me--lol!

BTW, I finished organizing my craft room yesterday (took me 5 hrs) and I'm very happy w/ it now. I can find everything and everything has it's place--paradise for me!!

I've had this new MFT set for awhile and have been aching to ink it up. I know you all are probably tired of seeing my "gift sets", but I just love this one. I always make my kid's friends a "special card/treat" for Halloween every year and this will be the one I make for them this time. This stamp set is called "Monster Squad" by MFT and I used 3 of the images included in this set. Are these not the cutest lil' monsters you've ever seen? I based all the colors off of this fun Halloween dp by Imaginisce's "Hallowhimsy" line. I added some stickles to the trick-or-treaters and inked up the edges a little w/ some gray ink. I used my nesties to cut out the sentiment and the layers.

The little pail I got from the Target $1 spot--they were on clearance and I got 8 of them for $3; can't beat that! I just made a simple belly band w/ the dp around the pail. I stamped out the haunted house onto black cs w/ palette ink (new canvas) and then cut it out. I added a few strips of orange cs to the roof and some stickles in the windows. It's attached to the pail w/ dimensionals so that it pops a little. I made a matching tag and attached it with more Michael's ribbon. Didn't take long at all--which is good cuz I have 7 more to make, ha ha!!

Alright, I'm off to shop w/ the kids---wish me lotsa luck!! I'm working on the Copic tutorial, so hopefully it will be up on Wednesday. BTW, you can still vote for me (come on I need the votes badly!!!) over on the JustRite Stampers blog thru this evening. Even if you already voted, you can vote again today and I would soooooo appreciate it!!!!!!!

Until tomorrow...

Suzanne

Take a Break!

Good Thursday morning everyone! It's almost weekend time again--yippee! I don't know what our plans are today--just depends on the weather. It's been really stormy here the past 3 days, we need the rain, but I've had enough--I NEED the sun!! I'm getting grumpy from lack of sunlight :( Not good for Suzanne's MOJO, ya know.

Ok, enough mopin', onto the card of the day. I made this for two challenges again--how 'bout that for killin' 2 birds w/ one card (or however that goes-ha ha)!! I love combining challenges with one card, frees me up to make more! This is for the MFT sketch challenge #40 over on SCS and another Dirty Girl challenge by Texas Jody on SCS. For Jody's challenge you had to base your entire card on ribbon--I have never done this before evah!! But I gotta tell ya' I liked doing it--I've had this ribbon for awhile so I really wanted to use it with this bathtub image from MFT called "Take a Break-by Annie LaPointe". I love this striped, vintage bathtub filled with lilacs--too cute! I bought this paper a few weeks ago by ATD called "story of us"--I really like the black, cream & gray blues in the dp and it matched perfectly with this ribbon from Michaels. The image is colored with Copics and I stamped the lilacs twice. The second set I tilted and popped up w/ dimensionals to make the tub look extra filled up w/ flowahs. I added a few stickles for some sparkle too. After coloring I coated the tub w/ Diamond Glaze for shine (in my picture it's not fully dried so you'll see a couple of small bubbles--they're gone now)! I used my nesties for the circle cutouts and there is basically just alot of layering and popping w/ dimensionals. I added these small black corner brackets from ClubScrap--I liked the Victorian touch they add to the vintage tub image. I wrapped the ribbon around and tied it off & its done--didn't take long at all. I think a bunch of these would make a great gift set for someone special--don't we all need to take a break occasionally (at least I do)!!

Well, I hope you liked it and I hope you all have a great day! Talk with ya' tomorrow--
Suzanne

MFT stamp "Take a Break", ATD dp "story of us", SU cs, PTI vanilla cs, nestabilities, dimensionals, Michaels ribbon, Copics, Diamond Glaze, Club Scrap brackets

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

Bunny Slippers!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Suzanne

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

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

Wild About Apricot!

Hello Everyone! I hope everybody is having glorious weather today--its 75 degrees here w/ a breeze and all my windows are wide open, love it (cats love it too)! Today is the first official day off of school for the kids and we slept in and we're still in our jammies--lol! It's a great day here!!

I decided that I'm in love with the color Apricot. I've never really used it before, but I pulled out my SU designer 6x6 paper pack and pulled out some. Believe it or not, but I had never even opened my pack of Apricot Appeal cs (gasp)! And I just love it paired up with Bashful Blue--be-u-tiful if I do say so myself! So I decided to make 2 cards using these colors.

My first card is with one of my new Sugar Nellie-Sweet Ebony stamps called "Kitty" that I got from Funky Kits. They are the only retail store that sells them, but they're in the UK so they cost a little bit more (but I'm addicted) & they're releasing some new ones this month that I must have!! I decided to use this green floral dp from DCWV (Pocket Full of Posies), because I just loved the bright shade of green. I wanted to pull out the apricot and blue colors from the dp, so thats what led me to use SU prints pack. The image is colored with Copics of course and a little bit of stickles here and there. The sentiment is from Verve Visual's "Filigree Fantasy"--love their sentiments! I'm entering this card into a challenge over on "A Spoon Full of Sugar" which is a challenge blog for Sugar Nellie fans.

The second card is for the weekly MFT (My Favorite Things) sketch challenge over on SCS which you can find here. Once again, I had this set "Can Ya Dig It" from MFT just sitting there & not inked up so I really wanted to use it. It has so many great images to play with, but I love the main image so that's what I used along with the bird stamp,plant stamp and sentiment. I double stamped her hat and the bird and lifted them with dimensionals so they would be 3-D and leave shadows on the card. Her dress is paper pieced with the SU prints pack, apricot dp. I just love the apricot and blue together, so soft and calming. The background dp is from DCWV "Pocket Full of Posies" too. There are a few stickles and Primas thrown in and I used my Copics too. I've been using dew drops alot lately too and I really like them. I use Scotch's Quick Dry Adhesive glue when I'm crafting--it's wonderfully strong, dries quick & dries clear. I buy 3 at a time at Michael's and its the best glue I've ever used for cardmaking--it will adhere anything!

Alrighty, I'm off to finish some more projects. I'm so excited because I got my new PTI stuff today and I'm off to use it--lovey the new plum pudding color they came out with--fantabulous in person! If you haven't checked out their new stuff--giddy on over there--lol!

Don't forget Gina K is releasing new stamps on Friday night--she has sneak peaks on her blog. I cannot wait--the retro images will be coming to my house, for sure!!

Till tomorrow...Suzanne

Sugar Nellie Card--"kitty" stamp set by Sugar Nellie, sentiment by Verve Visual, dp from DCWV, dimensionals, Copics, stickles, nestabilities, ribbon from Michaels, SU cs

MFT card--MFT's "Can ya Dig it" stamp set, DCWV & SU dp, SU cs, Copics, dimensionals, dew drops, stickles, Fiskars "threading water" border punch, Prima flowers, brad

Moo Cow

Hi ladies! It's finally a beautiful day here in VA, not too hot--yippee! The dogs got to go to the creek today & play so they're not pouting anymore :) The picture above is of one of my 4 cats, Tinkerbell (aka Jigglypuff) snoozing yesterday--she sits up when she sleeps like Garfield--too funny! And since my card today is black & white, she matches--lol! Anyhow thought I'd share it with you!

My card today is another My Favorite Things challenge card--I seem to be on an MFT stamp kick this week. I loved the sketch that you can find here and I've had this set "Punny Farm" forevah & had yet to ink it up (what's wrong with me)! I love cows--in fact I have "classy" cows & roosters in my kitchen--I say classy because there's only a few and they're very French Country. My husband doesn't like any cutesy stuff and my collection is limited to a few, but I still love them. One of the first presents my hubby bought me after we got engaged in Vermont was a big, fuzzy, stuffed cow from the Ben & Jerry's store up there and I've loved them ever since. And since red & black are my fave colors, I put them all together. The paper is from Imaginisce's "Black Tie Optional" dp line which is one of my all time favorites. Other than that it's a pretty simple put together card with many layers (all cs is from SU) and some embellies. I used my Copics and oval nestabilities as usual, but notice I didn't put any bling on this one (oh my)!

Hope everyone is having a good week so far--I'll post another "interesting" project tomorrow. Don't forget tomorrow is Pink Cat Studio's release for their new stamps--check em' out cuz' they're really cute! Also, Paper Trey Ink's "June" releases come out on the 15th --you can check out the sneak peeks here.

Suzanne

My Favorite Things "Punny Farm" stamp set, Nestabilities, MM brads, Michaels ribbon, SU cs, Imaginisce "Black Tie Optional" dp, dimensionals, Copics

Hot & Hotter

Hello fellow scrappers! Is it blistering hot where you live? It's 99 degrees (feels like 115) here--I like the warm weather (yes, I know I was begging for it), but this is ridick (oh no, its so hot my brain is uttering my kids slang--ha ha)!!! My dogs desperately want to take a walk down to the creek, but I just can't do it--they'll have to wait. Speaking of animals, my Poncho cat came home last night and so far is doing well--we just pray he doesn't have another blockage or it'll be surgery for him, but I'm glad to have his grumpy self home :)

My card for today was not the original card I wanted to post, but the other one will have to wait (logistical probs on my part, must be the heat). This stamp set is from MFT (My Favorite Things) & its a mini set called "Hey There Cupcake" & I just think its so stinkin' cute. I have been wanting to do a window card with motion for awhile and I thought this image would be perfect! I love this new birthday dp from Imaginisce called "All Kinds of Happy"--I love Imaginisce paper & trust me I have tons! I used my nestabilities to make the circles,scallops & cut-outs (if you don't have some of these, they are a must have I tell ya'). The sentiment tag is a nestability too. Of course I stickled those cupcakes to death to match the glittery paper (cuz' ya know you can never have enough sparkle) and the cherries on top are pearls from Ellen Hutson's store.

Don't forget if you love Pink Cat Studio stamps as much as I do--Melissa is releasing new sets this Thursday (6/12) including a new Billy dress-up set & cutie-patootie owl set (I have to have them)!! Check out all the sneak peeks on Melissa's blog--too cute!

Okey-Dokey (oh my, the heat really has zapped my brain today-lol)--I'm outta here. My daughter has rehearsals for dance tonight and I have been running errands most of the day and finishing up card projects--I'm pooped! Now I must see to dinner so I'll see ya tomorrow--

Suzanne

My Favorite Things "Hey There Cupcake" stamp set, Copics, stickles, Imaginisce "All Kinds of Happy" dp, SU cs, MM brads, pearls, American Crafts ribbon, Fiskars threading water punch on corners, nestabilities

Thank-you sets

Happy Monday afternoon ladies! This post will be pretty short & sweet. I'm not feeling up to speed today, just tired & stressed I guess (worried about my kitty-see last post). I've been working on my thankyou cards & gifts and I'm almost done. This week we have lots of dance practices for my daughter--both of her recitals are this weekend, so I pretty much have to get my craftin' done before they get home from school. Not to mention my son's field day, end of year school picnic & teacher gifts to finish up (overwhelming when you type it out--lol)!

I got my new stamp sets from MFT and I just love them. I thought this set (Here's The Scoop) was so appropriate for my "lunch bunch" gal pals thank you cards/gifts. They were so sweet to make us dinner every night after I had surgery and sent me the most beautiful smelling flowers and a case of Cherry Coke!! We go to lunch the last Wed. of every month and most of us usually try & get some yummy dessert--we all like our sweets, so this stamp set in particular works great! I'm making 4 versions of this card with different colors, but this is the first one I finished. The dp is from Memory Box(Sugar Collection)--love the colors! I of course had to paper piece the chair--it was just calling out for it-lol! The sentiment in the set is actually straight, but that's the great thing about these clear stamps--you can bend them around for your needs. The solid cs is from PTI (lavender moon & spring moss)--they work wonderfully with this Memory Box paper which I also got from MFT. This layout is from a contest on Jen del Muro's blog--it's really cute, I love the half circle element. The little gift bag is from PTI and it's filled with Ghiradelli & Dove chocolates--fitting for the "sweets" theme dontcha think? The ribbon is from Michaels and the dp is from the same "sugar collection" and of course some of my favorite Prima flowers.

Ok--gotta go finish up some more projects and then I'm off running around for the evening. See ya tomorrow!

Suzanne

My Favorite Things "Here's The Scoop" stamp set, PTI glassine bag, solid cs (spring moss, lavender moon), Michaels ribbon, Memory Box "Sugar Collection" dp, stickles, dew drops, SU rhinestone brad, nestabilities, Copics, dimensionals

Hoarding or Saving?

Good afternoon everyone! The weather is calm today, but steamy hot (95 degrees w/ humidity)! I'm looking forward to going to our club's pool this weekend and chilling out. The only thing we have going on is my son's semi-black belt ceremony for Tae Kwon Do to go to. He's only one step away from earning his black belt, but that will be 6 more months or so. I'm going to see "Sex & The City" with a group of my girlfriends tomorrow nite. We're having dinner first and then catching the movie--I'm looking forward to a night out with the gals! My daughter is going to a slumber party so it'll just be my son & hubby home alone to do "guy" stuff (whatever that is).

I had mentioned the other day about my hoarding, but I don't really like that word so I say "saving"! I'm not really a hoarder of most things (I easily can purge thru most stuff & I'm definitely not a pack rat), but I do "save" my scrappin' supplies. You'd think they were never going to make them again by the way I buy and keep doubles of everything. I always buy 2 or 3 sheets of my patterned paper & ribbon, but then I'm afraid to use it--just doesn't make much sense--I want to make sure I have enough on hand for the next project--ha ha! I have all these wonderful papers and its like I'm saving for a rainy day or something--gotta stop that. My new motto is to use what I get and not worry about it so much--silly me!! Do any of you "save" your supplies and not use them? Hopefully I'm not the only one :) So is it really hoarding or just selectively saving? Hmmmm....

Ok, onto the project of the day. I made this 3x3 card box with matching notecards for a challenge for My Favorite Things (MFT) that you find out about here. You have to use their stamps and make a 3x3 card & matching envie--I took it one step further and made the box too. You can find a template for this 3x3 box here (scroll up to top of page). I just loved this "Ride Em Cowgirls" set by MFT when it came out & rushed to order it. Once again, this is the first time I've inked it up--surprise, surprise. (MFT released their new stamps last night & guess who ordered more!) The patterned paper is by Paper Trey Ink (PTI) called "bitty baby blessings" (small pack)--I thought the colors and pattern would work wonderful with the cowgirl theme. Her dress is paper pieced and she's colored with Copics. The kraft paper that the card bases/box base is made of is by PTI too--really a nice weight. To make the envelopes, I just deconstructed one of SU's 3x3 envies and made my own template. I made the little sheriff star badges into stickers with my Xyron sticker maker for envie seals. The box closes with a Basic Grey magnet snap. I'm happy with how it turned out & I know exactly who I'm going to gift it to!

Remember, if you haven't entered for a chance to win my Blog Candy, please do so before 11 pm tonight so I can post the winner tomorrow afternoon!! Good luck!

Suzanne

Kraft paper, dp, cs, ribbon, stamps all by Paper Trey Ink, Copics, stickles, Basic Grey snap. Xyron sticker maker, tacky tape

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)