Rrrroarrrrr it's Friday!

Hello everyone & Happy TGIFriday!  Yay its the weekend again LOL..how can you not love the weekends right?  I have a friend coming for a private Copic class tomorrow, and I haven't seen her in AGES so it will be fun!  Then our friend Marti is going to come over for a bit to hang & chat.  James is taking Riley & a friend to DC for a Capitals hockey game that starts at noon tomorrow.  And Alexa has so many plans for tonight & tomorrow that I'm slightly confused as to what & where she will be doing LOL.  One of her BFFs is moving to Atlanta on Sunday so they are all trying to cram in as many activities before then as they can.  They've all been buddies since the 5th grade so its kinda hard on them all, especially since its right before their senior year...no fun!  And that's pretty much the gist of our plans for the weekend...nuttin' too exciting!

I also want to note that my friend Jami Bova is doing a MS Bike Ride (150 miles in 2 days, wow) with her husband to help raise money for the MS Society.  Most of you know this is a cause that affects me directly & is near and dear to my own heart...so I won't blab on about my own story.  BUT I would love if each one of you could CLICK HERE to visit Jami's blog and read her story and make a donation of ANY size to the MS Society, every dollar counts for something, someone's health, someone's mobility due to research that it will help fund.   

**If you do you get entered to WIN A NEW KINDLE FIRE...whoot...I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Kindle Fire and highly recommend them to anyone I talk to LOL!   

AND if you donate come back and leave a comment on any of my blog posts and let me know you pledged for Jami or her husband's bike ride and you will also be entered to win a $25 GC to Amazon.com so you can fill up that new Fire with games, movies & books ok :) Because I appreciate anyone's effort for this cause...no its not always life threatening but it is life limiting, very painful and nothing I would wish on anyone to deal with in their lifetime!! Thanks in advance!!

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Rrrroarrrrr, its a Wild Birthday!

Let's get a little wild up in here today...it is Friday ya know ;)!!!  I have a son...no surprise there right LOL..but I rarely make guy cards.  I actually like making guy cards...its fun to pull out different elements and challenge myself to something that isn't all girly & frilly!  So this was a fun one for me to do!  I used a NEW SCACD from the Oddly Sweet Curiosities Set #4 "Me & My Lil' Buddy"...see his lil' buddy riding on his tail LOL!  Well if a T-Rex can be cute, then I think this guy is a cute....especially his fat belly heehee!  If you have any lil OR big guys in your life this set is awesome to have cuz' who doesn't love a dinosaur (lil' note of curiosity: I was OBSESSED with dinos when I was in elementary & middle school, loved, loved them...then I got to love them again when Riley was young too).

**NEW GOODIES AT SCACD:  New 6x6 paper pads,  Art Anthology Mists & Velvets, and awesome Make It Crafty laser-chipboard elements.

 

So I used papers by Heidi Swapp "Vintage Chic" (they are 8x8 papers)...I liked the mix of patterns, worked well for a masculine theme.  I distressed all my edges and inked them and just ripped a few corners.  The ticket underneath is a Tim Holtz ticket, wrapped the center panel with twine and added a few buttons for fun.  The sentiment is from Gina K Designs set...the SCACD dino comes with its own sentiment but I wanted a birthday sentiment so that's why I switched it up!

T-Rex got colored with Copics:  E47,E44,E43,E42,E40 / YR24,Y15,E50.  Then I added Diamond Glaze to his lil friend, his claws and teeth for shine.

That's all for me today...see you back here on Sunday!!

Puttin’ Fires Out!!

Hi there my friends!  Sorry for no post yesterday---I was having a “goober kinda” day and just kind unmotivated and non-creative feeling.  Just some stuff I had to deal with and trying to clear it all out.  I call ‘em goober days cuz’ when the kids were young and they were having a bad day or off day I would tell them they were having a “goober day” LOL.  That would usually make them laugh---in fact Riley asked me yesterday if I was having one hee hee and yep I was.  And the weather was a tad gloomy too which never helps---I’m a sunny day kinda gal

But I have a TON of stuff to do and its homecoming week for Alexa.  She has spirit days this week and then a pep rally that I have to go to on Friday to see her cheer dance, then hubby and I have to be ticket takers along with some friends of us for the football game (pray to god for no rain lol).  Then Saturday is the actual homecoming dance so we’ve got nail & hair appts to get her to, I do her makeup and get her dressed and to the waterfall for pics with her friends.  She has a “date” this year—oh my LOL—he’s a friend although me and “her friends” agree he likes her more than a friend. She just cracks me up though cuz she DOES take after me A LOT which is a TAD scary!  So she tells him (after they agree to go to the dance together) that he SHOULD ASK HER TO THE DANCE in a VERY ORIGINAL WAY!!  So below is what he did for her yesterday---he put a question on her locker and then had a rose inside saying he was happy to be going with her.



Awww isn’t that sweet?  See, some guys still have it in them hee hee!  He’s a good kid so even if they don’t date, I’m glad he’ll be looking after her and they have a HUGE group of friends so they all go as a group too which is fun. They are all bringing a dish to a friend’s house to eat before and then onto the dance, then one of her friends is having everyone over afterwards for a bonfire!  Nope she still can’t officially date until she’s 16 so Mom & Dad will drop them off at the dance—bummer hee hee! Oh Well!  I’m just happy we have a dress we BOTH like, she got her shoes (too high in my opinion but apparently they all take them off to dance, who knew) and jewelry.  Now for her to decide on her hair—first she wanted it half up, now she wants it all up—OMG teens are soooo much fun I tell ya! LOL!  But they will have fun, hopefully everyone stays safe and that they come away with a lot of great memories.  And DUH of course I’ll share pics with y’all on Monday or on Facebook if you follow me on there

NewsBitz:


-Wanna take a Copic class with me?  I have classes next weekend in San Jose, CA and then in Chicago in November (Saturday is full but Sunday has spots open for Chicago)  These are the last classes of the year for me! Then I will start up again in the new year!

-My new Copic Videos (there are 3) are up on YouTube showing how I colored the Wee Stamps fairy from this post HERE!

Fairy #1 Folds - http://youtu.be/1I-p82LtEcc
Fairy #2 Wings - http://youtu.be/RvXKWjTxgvE
Fairy #3 Hair - http://youtu.be/jrac7RHkbLc

-Swimming for Katie!!  From October 10-12 some of the best stampers are joining together to support and encourage our friend and fellow stamper, Katie Renz, who is currently battling inoperable gastric cancer.  If you're not familiar with her, Katie’s cancer story started just before Christmas last year.  Katie & I were on some of our very first DTs together years ago and she is super talented, married and has young kids of her own. She got the bad news about her incurable stomach cancer and has been fighting it as hard as she can since! Her first post about it is here.  The idea of “Swimming for Katie” came from her recent post here.  You can read more about how to help, buy stamps or just donate for a chance to win some awesome prize HERE!!!!  Let’s help support one of our fellow crafters ok!!

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Fire, Fire!!!

Ok,ok I hear ya! LOL—I get a ton of requests to create more boy/masculine cards and projects.  I have no problem with making them, they are always fun but I have tons more girly-girl stuff in my possession LOL!  But La La Land makes such cutie-pie boy images and they are sooooo much fun to color!  This is an older image called “Fireman Luka” and he’s just so cute!  I used all my son’s fave colors on this—he loved primary colors when he was little and he LOVED fire trucks too!  You can all the NEW La La Land stamps for pre-order right HERE!

I used some fun papers from my scrap pile on this (I'm trying my darndest to use them scraps up lol).  I embossed the goldish/yellow cs with a fun CB domino embossing folder.  I used some star punches from SU and then added a fun sentiment—perfect for a young birthday boy.  I distressed all the papers with my Zutter Distress Tool—love that darn machine!

I'm entering this cutie into the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly 

(use 3 shapes on card--mine are square, triangle & circle)

Heart Song Inspirations (die cuts or sponging)

Karen's Doodles Challenge (distressing)

Make It Monday (anything goes)

Pollycraft Challenge (Boys)

He got colored with Copics:  R29,R24,R22,R20 / YR24,YR23,Y15 / E11,E00 / B28,B24,B21 / E25,E31,E50.  I added some Diamond Glaze to his hat’s badge, eyes and the hose for some fun shine and sparkle.  The corners were done with triangles of Magic Mesh I cut out---just some fun boyish-texture.

Hope you enjoyed that today and I’ll see you back here soon!

Monkey'n Around!!

Hello Everyone & Welcome to Suzanne's Whacko World!!  I tell ya I am LOSING it lately--it must be all this snow (and yes we're supposed to get over 20+ inches starting Friday)--I think I need a vacay to a tropical island for 2 weeks!  I have lost sooo many things this week that I'm starting to question my brain power, LOL!  I lost my camera battery charger, can't find it anywhere & yes my camera is dead so I've had to borrow my son's and it cost me $25 to replace the charger--ugh!  Then I lost my Scor-Pal tool so I ordered 2 replacements and lo' and behold I found it today in my stamp drawer, LOL!  And today I couldn't find my memento ink pad anywhere (thankfully I have 2 backups)--couldn't figure out what I did with it because it never leaves my desk ya know!  Well guess where it was.................under my butt pillow in my chair, LMBO (yes I sit on a pillow on top of my chair---I need the extra cushioning, hee hee)!  I HAVE NO IDEA how it got there I tell ya--it's an obvious sign of me losing it that's what, LOL!  I think I'm gonna take the snowed in weekend to just sleep and maybe find my brain along the way!

NewsBitz:

-Susana's Custom Art & Card Design has some new stuff in the store for ya!  New Magic Mesh in different textures & lots of pretty colors (I'll be doing a fun video on ways to use it real soon).  Also the Brand New Smooch Colors are in---both paints and spritz and the new Smooch Illuminate which is a must have!!

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Pink Cat Studio Digi Stamp Release

Today Pink Cat Studio releases some fabulously cute and fun digi stamps!  I had so much fun with these that it's almost a crime I tell ya, LOL!  You can find all of these cuties right HERE!  For this card I used "Monkey Hanging from Tree" and I just love him.  I used some DCWV "Nana's Kids" papers (see the lil monkey in the train, hee hee) and distressed all of my layers very heavily.  I painted some Basic Grey chipboard letters with my acrylic paints and added them with dimensionals--I think they add some whimsy & fun to the card.  Monkey was colored with copics and a few stickles added along with some PTI buttons.  I think this would be cute as a wall hanging too after it was given as a card!

This lil' guy is called "Frog in Love" and I just love him!  I made my card so that it was appropriate for many occasions not just Valentine's Day.  The papers are "Lilac Avenue" by Kaisercraft--I love the plum and green color combo.  The borders were done with a MS punch and the bow was made with my best buddy the Bow Easy!

Froggie was colored with copics and then I added diamond glaze to his eyes and the balloons (I colored the polka-dot balloon with my Copic Spica pens).  The outside of the circle got a think coat of stickles for sparkle and the sentiment is from PTI's "Tiny Valentine's" set.  Now make sure and visit the Pink Cat Studio blog to see all the great projects by the DT and don't forget to stop by the store HERE to shop :o)

See ya back here tomorrow!

I'm Robot-ically Yours!

Happy TGIFriday Folks!  Hopefully I'm California bound by the time you start reading this--I'm crossing my fingers the flight is not delayed cuz' right now it's sleeting outside, blech!  And I'm praying the weather is much better in CA than it has been this week--according to the weather report it's supposed to be sunny & in the high 60's (sounds alrighty to me)! 

I'll be posting regularly with fun pictures, new products and all the going's on at CHA, so stop back by!!

NewsBitz:

If you didn't see my Explosion Gift Card Box yesterday--make sure & scroll down to see it!!  It's under this post and I'm looking for some input on it, 'kay!!

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Robot-ically Yours

Here are my other Pink Cat Studio projects I promised you--these cute LuvBots are from the new digi stamp release yesterday that you can see & buy HERE!  Aren't these just the sweetest lil' robots? I love them, and the boy is sooo perfect for all those young men in your life (and no not a cougar kinda like, LMBO)!  I decided to make a couple of fun Valentines (or they could be birthday cards as well).  I used My Mind's Eye's fun papers called "Love Me Do"--they're so cheerful & happy!

For the Boy RoBot card I kept the design pretty simple, not fussy since it is a BOY card, hee hee!  The yellow cs was embossed with my NEW Cuttlebug Asian folders--they are FABULOUS!  I got mine HERE (cheapest I could find) if you're interested!

This is a fun shaped Valentine that would be so sweet for your kids to give out for Valentines!  I used my scalloped Nestabilities and added some fun paper & the cute lil' Girly LuvBot (love those names).  Both her and the boy robots got diamond glaze on parts of them for dimension and shine!  And when you flip this over, you get.............

This!!  I used a one of my fave Hero Arts sentiment sets (find HERE) and stamped some flowers, then slit the cs in 2 places so I can insert a lollipop!  Fun huh?!!

Alrighty I'm outta here!  Have a fabulous weekend!

Gettin' Krafty!!

Hello friends & Happy Thursday to ya! Got the kids off to grandma's house yesterday so I'm going to enjoy the quietness of the house for a few days, hee hee! No arguin' between kids, no slamming doors, & no saying "I'm bored" for the 5,000th time!! After I get my work done, I'm going to go sit outside (in the 90 degree heat, yes) and read my novel & play ball with the doggies & maybe take a late nite walk with hubby---ahhhhhhh! Is it bad to be a lil' giddy that your kids are off for a bit? LOL--nah, I know they're being spoiled & having fun & we ALL need a break now & then from each other!! Anywho, I've got some KRAFTY projects & BOY ones at that for ya today!!

NewsBitz:

-Susana's Store has the BRAND NEW Flower Soft in Autumn & Polar White in the store right now! So run & be first to get yours HERE--mine comes today hopefully, so you will see me use it real soon!

-If you haven't had a chance to play the Lockhart Scavenger Hunt, there is still time! Go HERE for all the details!
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So I did two boy projects for ya today both involving Paper Trey Ink's Kraft cs (the best I tell ya)! I got my new Pet & Animal Collection Magnolia's from the super sweet Diana of Magnolia-licious & I couldn't wait to ink some up. This lil' "Jungle Edwin" reminds me soooo much of my son when he was younger & totally idolized Steve Irwin the "Crocodile Hunter"--and he still loves to watch animal shows (even the gross ones--ewww)!! I got all this fabby dp in my package too & I'm not sure who it's by but I do love it (the orange animal dp is glittery)!

I used this week's SCS sketch #240 for my layout and colored my image with Copics--I added some diamond glaze to his helmet & some spica pens to his machete knife & belt buckle. I love to use twine on masculine cards--takes the place of more feminine ribbon ya know. The button is from PTI & the sentiment is from PTI's "Around & About Sentiments" set! I think he's such a cutie! All of these Pet & Animal Collection stamps are available at Magnolia-licious HERE.

My next two cards feature the fabulous Lockhart Stamp Co. board game stamps "Parcheesi" & "Checkers". Always need some cards for the men in your life ya know & I tried to keep these colorful & manly at the same time--they would be great for birthdays or any other occasion. I stamped my images on PTI's kraft cs again--it's such a different effect when you color on kraft with your copics--more muted colors. (when doing this you have to use more vibrant colors for them to show up on kraft) The dp is from DCWV & I just loved the retro pattern & cool colors--perfect for these notecards.

Both of my projects today are up for sale on my Etsy shop if you're interested in them!! Hope you like them both--they sure were fun to make!


See ya tomorrow!

hugz,
Suzanne

Friday Fun!!

Hello everyone & Yay--Happy Friday too!! Dontcha' just love the weekends? I leave tomorrow for NY for a week but will be posting everyday so please make sure & visit--got alot of projects to share with ya while I'm gone!! I'll keep this monologue short for ya today since I've got alot going on here in craft land & at home. My mom comes today and then we all leave for NY tomorow so I've got lots to finish up including projects, laundry & packing. Riley is doing okay but still struggling so that is taking up alot of my time just making sure he's okay & resting--thanks for your sweet thoughts, it means alot to us!! (Make sure and scroll down to see both projects today including for the Magnolia-licious Blog Hop today!!)

So today is the big day--yay---you can now purchase the NEW Elisabeth Bell for SCACD today at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design & they are ALL gorgeous--right HERE! Today I'm featuring "Susan" and isn't she just a sweetheart & named after our sweetie DT sistah' Susan Dube (lovee her so much)!! I paired her up with this yummy dp from K&Co. for a vintage look--love all these colors together! The corner punch is from Stampin' Up and I added some goldilocks "Bella Baubles" too-her shirt also got diamond stickles & some gold Smooch paint on her buttons. I think she's fabulously beautiful--perfect for any occasion which is why I left off a sentiment so this card can be sent for any sweet reason! So if ya love them, head over to SCACD to order yours now!!

Next up is a fun project for the Magnolia-licious Blog Hop by the DT today!! If you're headed here from Suzy's blog make sure & start at the beginning at Jacque's blog to see everyone's fun projects! The DT decided to create only "Edwin" (boy) cards/projects for you today since most of us struggle to create manly/boy cards most of the time. I apologize for not finishing my entire project--I had wanted to create a gift box to go along with this card but due to my son being ill I just wasn't able to finish in time (sorry, sorry--I feel awful about it)!

But I really love this "Loving Edwin" from Magnolia-licious because he is so very versatile for so many celebrations! I decided to create a friend birthday card for my son's friend that would be appropriate but not baby-ish! My dp is from my very favorite Basic Grey "Cupcake" stack paired with SU cs. I actually cut the balloon out of his hand then re-attached with embroidery floss for a more realistic look. I added diamond glaze to the balloon & his buttons for shine and then buttons with glitterdots on top to embellish. I didn't want to gussy up the card too much since it's for a young boy & wanted the dp to really shine. I embossed the red panel with a Cuttlebug folder & then spritzed the entire card with Shimmerz Spritz in "baby's breath"! The sentiment is from PTI's "Mega Mixed Messages".

So to continue on the blog hop, now head to JACQUE's BLOG to see her fabulous Edwin card!! Now if you'd like to play along with us there are 2 fabulous gift certificates up for grabs on the Magnolia-licious Highlites blog--go HERE for details!!

I'll see you back here on Monday--until then I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

hugz,
Suzanne

Rough & Tumble Friday!!

Hi everyone & Happy, Happy Friday--wahoooo! It's 75 degrees here today & sunny and I am lovin' life!! :o) Nothing better than being able to have your windows open, nice breeze & sunrays coming in--LOVE it! Do you have some awesome plans for your weekend? We're putting in our veggie garden tomorrow & then off to do some clothes shopping on Sunday (I like that, but hubby is not so thrilled, LOL)!

Gotta get ready for my birthday(hee hee--I like to pick out my own presents) & my daughter's birthday. My daughter is having 3 girls for a bday sleepover next Friday (ackk..she'll be 13--am I really old enuff to have a teenager, hee hee) & they want to go to the movies & raise alot of heck probably--and then we'll take her to the Baltimore Zoo/Inner Harbor on Sunday (her bday is April 25th) like she wanted. She wants a laptop (hee hee, not sure about that, maybe) and gift cards--easy peasy.


For my birthday (May 3) I am going to VEGAS baby (wahooooo) with 3 of my girlfriends and I CANNOT wait! We leave on May 1st and come back 4 days later---good times for sure! We're staying at the Bellagio & I'm hoping to get a spa treatment in (cuz' I never get to do that it seems) but no gambling--I don't like to lose my hard earned dollars so gambling does not appeal to me at all! I will be 35 (egads, that's gettin' closer to 40--eeekkkk) and this will be my first trip to Vegas! Does that "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas" still work? LOL--just joshin' ya--we're not THAT CRAZY, hee hee! Anywhoo....I've got a few rough'n'tumble boy projects for ya today!!

So my first project is a Kids Get Well set--I adore this lil' dinosaur (Denny Dinosaur) from Whipper Snapper (I've had him for awhile now) and he's perfect for a get well card. I wanted to make some more get well sets cuz' they always come in handy & are quick-n-easy to make. I got this idea originally from my blogger pal Sandy(see her site for dimensions) and you can see my original one here. I just left out the throat lozenger on this one and replaced the regular chapstick with some LipSmackers fruit flavored chapstick---much kid friendlier!
The dp is from DCWV "Nana's Kids" and lil' dino was colored with Copics & then I added some Shimmerz to him too. Isn't he a cutie-pop--I love him! The sentiment is from PTI's "Mega Mixed Messages" set (a must-have set in my opinion--use it everday it seems) !

Inside view-- travel pack of tissues and LipSmacker chapstick! Great lil' set to give to someone that is sick, recovering or not feeling well! These sets are for sale on my Etsy site (on sidebar) if you're interested! Hope you like it!

Second card uses this cute lil' Eat Cake Graphics stamp that I have been dying to use forevah'! He so reminds me of my son--always tearing into my boxes in the recycling bin & creating something out of them! This lil' guy's name is "Casey" & there are lots of other cuties in this line of stamps too---right HERE at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design Store--(Casey is only $3--can't beat it). I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch #82 for the layout--perfect for this image! The dp is from DCWV "Nana's Kids" again--love this dp, so bright & cheery! I added a Basic Grey button to the center of my ribbon bow & tied it off with yellow Scrappers Floss.

Those stars are lil' brads I had and I cut the back shanks off with my Tonic scissors (cut thru anything) and attached w/ gluedots! I, of course had to add some diamond glaze to his lil' plane for some more texture--I just love how it turned out! This would make a wonderful birthday card for someone special!!

Last but not least, I get asked alot about how I take my pictures so here ya go. I bought this light box off of Ebay last year (it came w/ 2 lights but I don't use them cuz' they make my pics more pink than I like). I laid down some white cs inside & I set it up on my kitchen table along with my Ott Lite (love, love it)! The Ott light simulates natural daylight so I can take pics at anytime of the day. One tip: the light SHOULD NOT be directly over or shining directly on your card or else your pictures will look washed out!!! Put the light in front of your card/project pointing down so the light is indirect!

I use a Panasonic Lumix camera with a 10x zoom--I have a Canon Rebel XT too, but I mostly use my little Lumix--it takes wonderful pics (if you saw my slideshow below of my vacation pics--they were all taken with my Lumix). Then I just upload them to my Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 & adjust the colors/contrast if I need to, crop the pictures & add my watermark. Hope that helps you some :o)

EDITED TO ADD: MY 2 new Copic Video Tutorials are now up on my sidebar--video 6 shows how I color images/objects black & video 7 shows how I color white images/objects!!

Alrighty, I'm done now--hee, hee! Have a great Friday!

hugz,

Suzanne

Stamping Crazy!!

Hello Stamping Friends! I'll keep my monologue here kinda short for you today since I have lots to share with you! Fun projects today and some new video tutorials too! Thank you all for your wonderful support, encouragement and kind comments concerning my videos--I hope that they are helpful to you all!

Today is "Try It Out Tuesday" over at Susana's Custom Art & Card Design store blog, Follow Your Heart! Today I challenged the DT to make a 2+2 card---2 layers not including base and 2 embellishments. And no I did not cheat, hee hee--my image, sentiment & ribbon are all attached to one layer!! This cutie-patootie stamp is from Anki's Sweethearts called "Isac with Skateboard"--so cute! I'm always on the lookout for cute boy stamps! My second layer is this fun Basic Grey dp from their "Cupcake" stack, twill ribbon is from PTI and sentiment is from Gina K. I also embossed my red layer for some more texture. Make sure and stop by the Store blog today to see the rest of the DT's fun creations!

My next project I'm just giddy with excitement about, hee hee! I absolutely love how this all turned out & was conceived in my head (when I should have been sleeping) last week. It all started with these little tea towels I had picked up at the Target $1 Spot--I got some white ones and pink ones to play with and knew I wanted to try and stamp on them!

Appropriately enough, I used the Lockhart stamp "Teapot" for my projects which include a decorative tea towel, notecard and tea box (of my own design). The lovely dp is new from Stampin' Up!

I stamped my tea towel with my Lockhart stamp using Memento Black Ink & then colored it in with Copics--yes I colored on fabric with Copics!! Love it! I was even able to shade on the fabric--how cool is that! I then heat set it with my heat gun---you could wash this a few times before the ink fades, but is mostly decorative!

For my notecard I stamped the same image, colored with Copics and then added Diamond Glaze to my teapot & cup. The lil' cupcakes/muffins have a topping of Liquid Pearls in pink for dimension--so cute! The pearls are actually Bella Baubles in Oyster!

The above picture and the one at the top shows my lil' accordian Tea Box that I created and made a template for a few months ago. (NOTE: if you make/use my Tea Box please give credit where credit is due and do not use it for submissions or publications please!) You can find my tutorial for this HERE and it's also on my sidebar under Tutorials/Templates. Super easy to make and it holds 4 tea bags inside--so such a cute gift presentation. I used a pearl brad to attach my Bazzill flowers to the top---it also sticks to my small Basic Grey magnet on the front for closure.

I hope you enjoyed my projects today--leave me a comment (I love 'em) and let me know how you liked them all!

Here are 3 more links to some Video Tutorials I've made for you (also linked in my sidebar):

Copic Coloring Tutorial--coloring Lockhart flowers (Delphinium & Peony):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRX2q3-52s0

Flower Soft Tutorial--how to incorporate it into your stamped images :

Find Flower Soft products HERE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oigb1ayGU5M

Copic Coloring Tutorial--coloring of Lockhart Apples in Chintz (realistic images):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTCjhF-Z9lg

Let me know how you like them all! Have a great Tuesday!

hugz,

Suzanne

Hang 10!

Good morning fellow stampin' addicts!! Hopin' your having a good summer weekend so far. I'm not sure what we're up to today, because we're supposed to have storms and torrential rain all day--yucko! Guess that leaves the pool out, huh? We might go check out the 3-D "Journey to the Center of the Earth" movie, see if its any good. If not I'll be hangin' 10 (lol) in my craft room!

I made this card yesterday (along w/ a few others) for 2 more Dirty Girl challenges on SCS. One was a sketch and the other was to make a "scene" with your stamps. I really liked the sketch and I wanted to use another CC Designs stamp--this lil' surfer doggy is from the Itzie Inkies "Summertime Fun" set. All of the stamps in this set are super-cute!! The dp is from Autumn Leaves and I liked the softer tropical colors in it, not like the usual bright colors. I paper pieced his lil' swimmin' trunks w/ the dp and the rest of the image is colored w/ my Copics. I cut the image out and mounted it on dimensionals and created a "scene" by making an ocean w/ my Copics on another sheet of white cs. I coated his "wave" and the ocean with diamond glaze, and then once dried I added diamond stickles on top with my finger for a nice sheen. The dk organge cs is by Bazzill and the other cs I used is SU's soft sky, which I embossed with my CB embossing folder. I like this CB emboss. folder (D'vine Swirls) because it reminds me of waves. The sentiment is from Eclectic Paperie's Sushi's Favorite Words stamp set (check it out, they're cute)--I just put 3 together to make the phrase I wanted, punched it out and mounted it w/ dimensionals and added orange stickles around the circle layer. I wanted to add some fish to my "scene" so I stamped 2 different fishies from PTI's "Pond Life" stamp set in SU's pumpkin pie ink and then added orange stickles to their bodies for more shimmer. For a final touch I looped some ribbon from Michaels around the center and tied off. My doggy friend is "hangin' 10" for sure! I think this would be a "cool" birthday card for a young boy (have to check w/ my son on that--he he). Hope you like it!

All right, I'm off to enjoy the day, rain or no rain. See ya tomorrow!

Suzanne

Survival

Good evening everyone! Well, I survived the 6th grade dance and slumber party--although the girls are probably feeling pretty rough right about now since they were up to almost 4 am. Early to bed for my daughter tonight (and me too-lol)!! But they had fun and that's what birthdays are all about.

I got my new stamps from High Hopes Stamps (yeh, yeh I hear ya', I'm always getting new stuff--it's an addiction I say)!! I discovered these stamps on a blog that features Magnolia stamps and had to check them out--well lo' & behold I wanted them all! I will continue to add on to my collection because they are so stinkin' cute! You must check them out!! Anyhow, some of the boy stamps I ordered reminded me so much of my son, Riley. Some of the stamps are even named "Riley"--co-inky-dink--don't think so :) I ordered a bunch of the boy stamps (fishin', cowboy, farm and these 2) because I seem to be lacking in the "boy" stamp dept.

My son should've been born on a farm--he is a true country boy at heart. He loves to play in the woods, get dirty and find various animals & present them to me (ewww). He has loved Crocodile Hunter since he was very small (and cried buckets when he died), so I knew I had to get this safari stamp. He also loves frogs, lizards & turtles (I prefer furry animals, myself). This card I added some dirt (ink) because you can't have a boy w/o dirt & grime--lol. I also faded (w/my Copic blender pen) his overalls and added a knee patch, because my son always has holes in the knees of his jeans!!

He also has had a tremendous passion for the Civil War since he was 5 too--his room is "civil war" and we have visited various battlefields over the years. If I could only find a cute civil war stamp--let me know if you ever see one!! I always say he was born to love the Civil War because he was born on Lincoln's Bday (another co-inky-dink)!

Getting on with it, I just love these stamps and hope you like the cards I made with them. I'm sure I will have more with these stamps, real soon...

Hope you are all having a "fan-tab-u-lous" weekend!

Suzanne

Safari card- SU solid paper, High Hopes stamps, Copics, brads

Froggy card-SU solid paper, SU east coast prep pp, Copics, Adirondack espresso ink