Scrap Bitz

Checking In...

2014-10-23T14:43:00.000-04:00

I've heard from a lot of you over the past few months checking in on me and just wanted to pop in and say HI! I AM ALIVE LOL! And thank you all for worrying about me enough to send such sweet notes. Its been a rough & crazy year and I'm hanging in there best I can. I'm not coloring right now because my hands aren't steady enough...so I do miss it but the break has been good for me to concentrate on other things I enjoy!

You can always follow along with me on Facebook, Instagram and my other blog here as well if you'd like....I'm pretty good about checking in daily!

On my other blog today I do have a crafty project that uses scraps and items from around your house

if you'd like to hop over HERE & see!

Hope you are having a wonderful fall!!

Hoppety Hellos!

2014-03-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Saturday everyone! Spring is in the air, I swear I can feel it...and we spring the clocks forward this weekend whoohoo! My fave time of the year and I saw some flowers pushing up in the soil in my flowerbeds so its coming soon and this gal cannot wait. Because as the picture shows below...I'm SICK of winter...sick of snow every week..sick of the bitter cold. Mother Nature better get with the show, yes ma'am!

Yeah the snow from last week, in front of my patio door...its melting but not fast enough for this gal ugh! blech!

So to kick off some Spring fun I'm sharing a project today with NEW Reverse Confetti Release...whoot!!

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Hoppety Hello!

Today I get to share a new addition to the Quirky Cuties Line....."BeBe Bunny" with you...she's part of the new release from Reverse Confetti that is available starting today. She's Freida Fox's new BFF, yes'm!! LOL! Of course there are other stamps being released today so make sure to check those out too at the STORE!

If you are hopping to my blog from Amy Kolling, then please make sure you hop all the way thru and back to the beginning to see lots of fabulous inspiration today!

I used new MME papers by Rhonna Farrer...she makes one of my fave picture apps for my iPhone so I had to have her papers too :) I loved the bright & cheery spring colors...just what this gal needed! And all those pretty trims and flowers are from Lavish Laces on Etsy. The die is from Memory Box I think (I'm not 100% sure so don't shoot me) but its one of my faves for Spring/Summer.

BeBe Bunny was colored with TouchTwin Markers. Then I added some Stickles to her shirt for some pretty sparkle. Her skirt was paper-pieced and then I added some shading with my markers.

That's all from me today....now you need to keep on hippety-hoppin'

to Leigh Penner's Blog!!

Feelin' Green?

2014-02-26T04:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday folks! I am out all day doing things I don't like to do...doctors appts and testing so I'm pretending its Friday and the weekend is here and I'm in a sunny, warm location near the beach. Hey I always said I veered towards the slightly crazy side of living LOL...and that's how I gotta think about things right now or I will go for-realzers-go-cray-cray-crazy!!!!

So I was feeling a little Irish yesterday...it totally inspired my card today...my Irish Grandma is smiling down on me I think. And I needed a bit of clean-and-simple and the happiness of kelly green :)

This card is for the Magnolia-licious "W"ednesday Posts over at the challenge blog!

I used this sweet Wild Rose Studio stamp called "Teddy with Gerbera Daisy"...yup Magnolia-licious carries this sweet line of stamps (along with Wee Stamps, Penny Black & CandiBeans)!! Isn't he darling?

PS---check out the adorable NEW Magnolia Zodiak Collection which is in store for pre-orders!!

This card makes me smile...so I had to use this PTI sentiment (Handwritten Sentiments). The papers are by and then I lightly distressed them. I used some green/white Bakers Twine, a button and some rhinestones to finish it off. The swirls are a Memory Box die.

Soooo cute he is...or she...whichever LOL! I colored with Copics and then added some fun by double-stamping the daisy, cutting one out and popping it up for dimension. A few Stickles add some fun sparkle.

That's all for me today....hope this card brought a smile to your face today!

Have a wonderful week & hop over to the Challenge Blog to see what else the DT

has posted this week....prizes given for commenters each week ;)

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Seaside Vintage!

2014-02-18T19:28:00.001-05:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! Hope you had a good 3 day weekend if you had off for President's Day here in the States. My kids had 5 days off due to the 18" of YUCKY snow we got and we got another inch last night. However it will be in the high 50's and low 60's this week so I'm praying most of this snow melts away. And melting snow means a muddy yard which translates to muddy paws for my dogs LOL...I have to keep towels by the patio door and wipe their paws when they come in (which they hate). I'm soooooo ready for Spring..this winter has been BRUTAL and I cannot wait to see green grass, flowers in bloom and warm breezes coming through the window.

We had a great Valentine's Day...you can see what Cupid brought my hubby and the teens here. I got tickets to see Billy Joel this summer with the hubs...it will be my 4th time seeing him live and I just love him. Little bit of fun trivia for you: Alexa my daughter was named after Billy Joel & Christie Brinkley's daughter Alexa Ray :) And Riley had a great 16th birthday....you can read all about him through the years on my other blog HERE. He opted for a big present instead of a trip (I took Alexa to Cali for her 16th) so he got an Alienware Gaming Laptop to play all his battle/strategy games and a Team USA Hockey jersey...so he was a very happy boy!!

Ok onto my project for the day......

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Seaside Vintage!

I'm in such a Spring state of mind...there may be snow on the ground but I'm looking so forward to the colors of Spring and the oncoming heat of Summer lemme tell ya :) So I pulled out this cutie "Playing on Beach Tilda" from the Sea Breeze Collection at Magnolia-licious (she's available in both reg size & mini)...she was unopened & ready to come out to play. This project is for the current Tues Challenge "Pretty In Pink" over at the Challenge Blog so I did a shabby chic, vintage, pink beachy scene.

My papers are a mix of My Minds Eye and Prima that I inked and distressed. I love the weathered board paper (MME) and it reminded me of the old boardwalks & piers found along the beaches on the East Coast. The swirl die is a Magnolia die and the sentiment says "Sending my love to you" from PTI. A mix of flowers from Lavish Laces and Prima along with some pearls and cream colored cheesecloth to add to the vintage look.

Tilda is colored in Copics and I added Diamond Glaze to her little floatie. I have had Frantage since it came out...a friend gave me 6 bottles at CHA the year it debuted and it has sat, and sat and sat on my shelf in my studio LOL. I finally decided it was time to put it to good use. So around the image and the circle mat I added "Aged Rose" Embossing Enamel...you just shake on what you want & where you want it and then heat it from underneath till it melts.

Flowers, cheesecloth & a tag finish off the corner of the card.

Have a fabulous & crafty week!

Bike Party!

2014-02-04T04:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Happy Tuesday & February 4th to you all! Did anyone watch the Superbowl on Sunday? We watched...thought it was kind of a snooze-fest unless you were a Seahawks fan. We were rooting for the Broncos because we like Peyton but I like Russell Wilson too :) I like a closer and more competitive game like last year's SB personally...makes it more fun and exciting! And the food I made was yummy...in fact we had leftovers last night...some of the recipes are at my other blog here if you are interested.

However I love Bruno Mars and I thought he knocked it out of the park...wish he'd played longer. He's just a talented dancer, choreographer, musician and singer. Would love to see him in concert but looks like we will be over in Europe when he's hear near DC...maybe next year!

Now I'm getting excited for baseball season...only 59 more days till opening day! We have season tix for the Washington Nationals..our home team. Hubby and I will be at Opening Day in DC...the teens will be in school hahaha and they can't miss for it (shhhh they don't know yet hehehe). I just love baseball and there is nothing better than hanging out at the ballpark on a beautiful day...one of our favorite things to do as a family.

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Bike Party!

Today I'm sharing a special birthday card for my mom...shhhhhh...her birthday is on the 13th this year. So my son's birthday is the 12th, my mom's the 13th and Valentine's Day the 14th... a very busy week! She will be 71 and my Gram is 92 and they BOTH can still run circles around me...its craziness ..I always feel like I'm lagging behind them :) But growing up one of the things my mom and I always did after dinner was go on long bike rides. We'd bike everywhere and I miss that...we all have bikes here but I definitely don't ride it as much as I should...gonna try to do that more this year! And since February's birthstone is the amethyst and violet is one of my mom's favorite colors...that decided my color palette for this card. Hope she likes it!!

This card is for the Magnolia-licious Tuesday Challenge "Anything Goes"...hop on over to the Challenge Blog to see all the DT gal's beautiful projects and join in on the fun too!

I used this super sweet "On the Road Tilda"(mini version here) because I think she's adorable and I loved the flowers in her bike basket. I'm so ready for spring so I think I'm craving spring colors and flowers in my projects lately. All my papers are by MemoryBox "Viola" that I've had for awhile but was waiting for the right project. The first thing I choose after my image is my papers...the papers have to move and inspire me..otherwise I don't feel it...its just the way I operate ;) I used some dies from Spellbinders, PTI and MemoryBox for the image mat, the middle border and the small tag. I used my MS butterfly punch on some of the papers and inked them...always need some beautiful butterflies on a gorgeous spring day.

The lined paper was scrap paper that I had and then I stamped some script from PTI in violet ink.

A few bits of burlap that I inked under the flowers and behind the image.

I like a vintage, distressed look so I inked and distressed all the papers and accents..and my fingers are lovely shades of brown and violet..hehe..the issues of a stamper/papercrafter yes?

This cutie was colored with Copics: BV17,BV11,BV02,BV00 / C9,C5,C3,C1 / E11,E00 / E43,E42,E40 / YG67,YG03,G20 / background: YG93,YG91,E41,W0

I added some Stickles dotted around the image too...always have to have a little sparkle ;)

I haven't used Flower Soft in AGES...OMGosh...and I have every color ever made LOL...crafter's prerogative ya know! So I used two different mixes on the flowers in her basket. I didn't want it to overwhelm the image so after it dried I picked off some of it so you could see the leaves and space in between.

I like to layer different elements together with flowers...here I used some burlap, a punched butterfly, pearls, a tag and different flowers. I add my embellies with Scor-Tape in either 1/2" or 1/4"...my fave thing to use on my cards.

Hope you enjoyed & have a fabulous week!

Folk Art Fun!

2014-01-31T04:00:00.000-05:00

Happy TGIFriday folks! Its the weekend whoot whoot..its been a long week! We have a busy Saturday picking out new carpet for the basement (due to the flood) and paint for the walls so we can get that underway. And of course its SuperBowl Sunday. This is the first time in years we haven't had a party or gone somewhere fun for that day...but I'm tired LOL. Sitting at home with a few friends and eating some nomnoms is about all the effort I feel like making this year. Plus I don't care who wins although I am leaning towards the Broncos...last year the Ravens played so we had a bit more vested interest ;)

Anywho, hope you have a great weekend and stay warm. I have some new posts on my other blog here in case you missed those...including concert pics from last weekend!

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SCACD RELEASE DAY

Earlier this month SCACD released the Montage collection of rubber stamps, a total of 26 rubber stamps with a contemporary yet classic look that will make them a fantastic addition to your stamping toolbox for years to come.

They are available now for purchase HERE both in full sheets and as smaller sets.

SCACD has also unleashed 12 fun and fresh SCACD Digital images for purchase HERE.

The SCACD Design Team along with some very cool guests have created a truly fun filled hop showcasing the new SCACD digital and rubber stamps. If you missed part of the hop list then check out all the details at the Store Blog today!

International Customers:

The digital images can be purchased HERE.

The new rubber stamps can be purchased at QUIXOTIC PAPERIE for our International Friends.

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Today I'm using this beautiful digi "Folk Art Bird" from Carmen Medlin for SCACD. You gotta check out all these beautiful digis (oh the cats & whale are more of my faves)...so fun to color and use on all kinds of projects. I wanted mine to look a bit like a Delft China piece so I kept the colors monochrome in blue and white.

If you came to my blog via Alaine then you are on the right track...scroll to bottom of post to see who to hop along to next!

My project was inspired by the beauty of Delft China

My papers are from Bazzill Basics...love these monochromatic color paper pads! The window frame die and small scroll is from Spellbinders/HeartFelt. I distressed most of my papers and image a bit. I layered some flowers and white cheesecloth in each corner. And some pretty pearls finish everything off nicely.

Little Birdie is colored with Copics: B39,B37,B34 and B21.

Then I added some Stickles, pearls and white Sharpie poster paint marker.

I lightly stamped a text stamp around the image in baby blue as well.

That's all from me today...now you need to hop on over to

Kathi's Blog!

Have a great weekend!

Kitty Love!

2014-01-22T04:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday everyone...are you warm wherever you are? Its cold, cold, cold here...temps in the teens in Virginia...not so much fun. And the hubs is in NYC so I'm praying that we have NO incidents with frozen pipes tonight..because I may lose my head if they do...I'm so over it all ugh. Spring...ohhhh spring where art thou Spring???????

But not everyone in my family hates the weather...my one cairn terrier Casey LOVES it! She loves to frolick and play and snuffle in the snow...she just cracks me up!

Then you have Baylee my other cairn (on right) who HATES the snow...she's my outside dog that wants to be out all the time UNLESS its snowing. And Casey never wants to spend time outside unless it IS snowing! Ay yi yi they try and make me crazy me thinks. Baylee was staring at me with her ears back cuz she'd had ENOUGH of my picture taking and wanted to come in LOL!

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Kitty Love!

This is my card for today's Magnolia-licious' "W"ednesday Post...you can check out the other designers projects on the Challenge Blog here! I used these sweet Wee Stamp "Playful Kittens" (4 stamps in set) from Magnolia-licous...isn't this kitty the cutest and perfect for the upcoming Valentines Day too!

Papers are from DoCrafts Papermania and were distressed, LaLa Land Corner die, Spellbinder Heart dies, Dollar Store heart doily and PTI sentiment, ribbon & buttons.

Colored with TouchTwin Markers and Stickles added to heart for pretty sparkle! Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Sunny Days Will Soon Be Here!

2014-01-21T04:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! It is a SNOWY & COLD Tuesday here in Virginia. We are being hit with another cold blast this week and supposedly 8 inches of snow...can you tell I'm so thrilled. I told Winter I was breaking up with him but he didn't get the message ;) So it took a whole week for me to get over the flu...I am not wishing it on anyone that's for sure, so hope everyone is doing well. And my pipe mess is cleaned up but we still have to drywall the walls and paint and redo the carpet so that will take a few weekends to get it all done. No fun that's for sure...doing that work delays all the OTHER work I gotta do LOL..oy vey!

So I needed some SUN and WARMTH in my life...if Mother Nature won't give it to me...well I have to take matters in my own hands right? LOL so that's what I was thinking while I created my project below and was belting out songs along with iTunes yesterday ;) Hope it makes your day a wee bit sunny too!

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Sunny Cheer!

This card was made for the current Magnolia-licious Tuesday Challenge "Celebrations"...make a project for any celebration! So mine is for two things: 1) Birthdays and 2) Celebration of the Sun LOL...because I need sun and warmth in my life and Spring is still a bit away sadly.

This super cutie is from the Little Moscow Collection and she's "Matryoshka Tilda"...I just love her adorable self so much! I used new papers from Authentique "Beyoutiful"..I loved the fun patterns and cheery colors...so pretty! I used a lot of dies on this card..love me my dies..a mix of older Spellbinders and Memory Box dies. I distressed all the papers with my Zutter Distress machine and inked them in yellow ink. The sentiment is from PTI and the flowers from Lavish Laces Etsy shop. A few pearl swirls from Prima finish off the corners...I just snipped the pieces off that fit the best.

I colored this cutie "Matryoshka Tilda" with a mix of Copics & TouchTwin markers.

Then added some sparkle with Stickles...I also stamped around the edges with a small scrolly stamp from PTI in yellow ink.

That's all from me today...but stop by tomorrow because I have another

project up my sleeve :) Stay warm & Keep Crafty!

Fluish????

2014-01-15T17:09:00.003-05:00

I have the flu.

So I feel like a truck hit me and left me for dead.

I am on Day #4 so far...apparently it takes a week to go away.

oy vey

I also had a frozen pipe burst due to that lovely polar vortex we experienced.

It flooded my laundry, kitchen and basement guest room.

So we have a lot of work to do to get it back to "normal".

Hence why no new posts from me.

This is how I like to ring in the New Year.....not!

But I did color today...in my chair..which is central command when I'm sick.

So I hope to have a project up by Friday.

Hope you are well and have rung in the New Year in a much better way than I!

Reverse Confetti Release Day!

2014-01-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

It’s a new year, and what could be better than to start it off with a brand new shiny release from REVERSE CONFETTI?!

Love is definitely in the air with the 6 new stamp sets (including our new QuirkyCuties line) and 3 new Confetti Cuts Dies.

We invite you to hop along with the Confetti Crew, Challenge Crew, and a few other friends today as we share our cards and projects using the new products.

We think you’ll fall in love over and over with this release!

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The hop started over on the Reverse Confetti blog, and you should have made it here from Heather Pulvirenti’s blog. It would be worth your while to start at the beginning of the hop, so you don’t miss a thing. We have tons of inspiration for you to see using all the new Reverse Confetti stamp sets!

Isn't Freida Fox the cutest...yes she's a girl in the set but I have made "her" a "boy" for this project lol! So I'm naming him FRED FOX for my project today bwahahaha! This stamp set is from Reverse Confetti's new line of "Quirky Cuties" that are being released today...hop over to the store to check them ALL out! I am looking ahead towards Valentine's Day so I decided to make a fun V-Day card boy style. My last project with this set HERE was girly themed so I decided to switch it up a bit.

The papers are a mix of Docrafts Papermania (b&w) and Bazzill Basics (red). I used a few of my Spellbinders dies to make the pinking circle element and the hearts...and a CB folder to emboss the white cardstock. The arrow I made myself because I lack any arrow dies (need the Confetti die here) and stamped the "Hey Foxy!" in white palette ink on it. HINT: she/he would be cute flocked.

So YES Freida Fox can be turned into Fred Fox heehee...love to make my stamps versatile in many ways so by cropping off the bottom of "her" it eliminated the dress. I paperpieced his sweater and scarf to match the papers I used. TIP: always shade your paper pieces when you have a colored image or else the paper piecing looks flat next to your lovely shaded and colored image. I shaded mine with C7 & C5 to add in some dimension. And I colored the image with Copics...the C Grays and then added Diamond Glaze to his "optional" glasses you can add on. I also decided to cut him out and pop him up with dimensionals on my embossed circle...I love lots of layers and textures on my cards!

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper: Docrafts PaperMania and Bazzill Basics

Copics, Diamond Glaze, button, bakers twine

Stickles, Zutter Distress Tool, Spellbinders dies, Scor-Tape

Cuttlebug folder, dimensionals, heart rhinestones

I hope you’ve enjoyed hopping with us today. Be sure and hop with us on the 8th of EVERY MONTH for more REVERSE CONFETTI inspiration!

Now it’s time to hop on over to Stacey Schafer's blog.

If you get lost along the way, you can find the hop order and list of all the participating designers over on the Reverse Confetti blog.

A few things before you hop along though, just to keep you “in the know”…

January’s SKETCH FOR YOU TO TRY is open for you to play along.

AND, be on the lookout for a NEW COLOR challenge we will be introducing on January 16th and another way to win!

Celebrate the creative side of you!

See What the Fox Says!

2014-01-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! You all holiday-ed out and ready to start a wonderful New Year? We are in NYC for a few days and are on our way home today...a nice getaway to start the New Year off in a fantastic way! I hope 2014 is everything you wish for, full of love, laughter, happiness and health!

My word for this year is RENEW....a renewal of relationships, spirit, my work, my experiences, my soul, my health and a strengthening of everything going forward!

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I'm here today with a SNEAKY PEEKY of a brand new line of stamps from my friend

Jen del Muro's company "Reverse Confetti"!

Ummm what...you haven't seen their AWESOME stamps yet...well hop on over to check them out!

The NEWEST releases will be out January 8th so hop on over to my blog again to see my next project and the rest of the release hop designers that will posting that day too.
And thank you Jen for asking me to be a Guest Designer for this release...I was honored to be a part of this & so enjoyed it!

Isn't Freida Fox the cutest? She's from Reverse Confetti's new line of "Quirky Cuties" that are being released on the 8th! I was excited to use papers that weren't Christmas themed LOL...as much as I love the winter holidays I was ready for more spring-like colors and patterns. This car would be perfect for Valentines Day, Birthdays or any friend-event you might have. I distressed all my paper edges, layered some flowers and die cuts and added the cute sentiment to the side of the image. The image was colored with a mix of Copics & Touch Twin markers and then I added some Stickles on her dress for pretty sparkle. I added white polka-dots to her scarf to match the patterned paper.

And yes I had that silly "what the fox says" song going thru my head

while working on my project heehee!

Supplies Used:

Patterned Paper:

Copics & Touch Twin Markers, Sharpie Poster Paint Pen in white

Stickles, Zutter Distress Tool, Memory Box die, Scor-Tape

Flowers: Lavish Laces

So make sure to stop by all the designers today
that are sneak peeking for TWO chances to win!

Click HERE to see who else is showing peeks today and how to win!

And stop back on the 8th for the hop & my next project for the release!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Years!!

2013-12-26T16:29:00.001-05:00

Holiday News!

2013-12-09T23:26:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! Are you shivering from the cold arctic blast yet? We've had snow and ice and expecting more snow today....shoot me now because I HATE all winter ick. But wanted to share a few links & highlites for you! Will be back this week with a new project too!

See my Holiday House tour of my trees and decorations on my other blog HERE! Its Part 1 of 2 I will be sharing. Love this time of year so much!

The Annual CMC Holiday Bash is ongoing now thru Jan 2nd! Everyone is welcome to join in the fun and lots of fun games and prizes too! Make sure to hop over HERE and check it all out!

And lastly we have the CMC Class Sale that is still ongoing....makes great gifts for crafty friends too!

Have a wonderful week & stay warm!

Deck Your Halls.....

2013-12-03T04:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Tuesday everyone! Did you have a wonderful Thanksgiving/Holiday weekend? We sure did...we had my family over on Thursday, did a little midnight Black Friday shopping, some house decorating and watched Hallmark and holiday movies :) There was also a lot of eating and drinking a lot of hot cocoa LOL.

On Sunday we got our real tree from our fave Christmas tree farm and it was a beautiful day out. I will share more pics over at my other blog here tomorrow! We got that tree up (only 11 ft this year instead of 13 which was too big for this gal)...although we are decorating it tonight. So that means I got 6 trees done & one more to go...just 7 this year I think. I can't put any in the basement since its under renovation right now...too much trouble to move it while we're working. But the house is looking pretty, holiday lights give such a warm glow and the house smells yummy too. I'm hoping to get all the outside decorations up on Wednesday and then I will be mostly done with the decorating. I promise to share the pics this weekend when everything is all done & photos have been taken.

Here are a few photos from our Holiday Tree Hunting at Snickers Gap Farm in VA :)

You can hop over to my other blog to see my dining room makeover

which is almost 95% complete..still working on it & its now dressed for Christmas.

Me & the teens..it was a beautiful day to get a tree!

Alexa

James doing his thing....TIMBER ;)

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Deck The Halls

Today the Magnolia-licious Team B has their projects up for inspiration for the current Tuesday Challenge "Doilies & Frilly Cut-Outs" (that runs till Jan 12th). So happy to be coloring & crafting again and not be in so much pain..great feeling! You can find all the details for this challenge & the Holiday Challenge at the Challenge Blog HERE...we'd love to have you join in & you have lots of time too!

**Pre-Order the NEW "Little Moscow Collection" Here **

I used this new cutie "The Day Before Xmas Noel Tilda" from the Winter Wonderland Collection...love her lil' footie jammies! I went with non-traditional colors along with a hefty does of white to ground it...I love bright, fun colors this time of year. I used a lot of dies for my frilly-doily accents but I went with more of a snowflake doily effect...non-traditional right? LOL!

The trees are a die here as well and then I added some MS Glitter Snow & glitter to them to make them pop. The background was embossed with a CB folder and then added some La La Land corners (made with their die) in green. The sentiment and buttons are from Paper Trey Ink and so are the lil' star stamps I did around the image in hot pink & green. Some ribbon, pom-pom trim and bakers twine finish it all off.

She was colored with Copics and then I added some Stickles to her sweet NOEL banner and in the corners for some fun sparkle. I love the sentiment...perfect with this image :)

That's all for me today, hope you have a wonderful week!

I'll be decorating...and decorating some more ;)

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

2013-11-26T21:28:00.001-05:00

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!

2013-11-21T03:00:00.000-05:00

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!

2013-11-18T03:50:00.000-05:00

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.

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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!

2013-11-12T04:00:00.000-05:00

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.

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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!

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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!

2013-10-30T04:00:00.000-04:00

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)!!

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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!

2013-10-28T14:33:00.001-04:00

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 ;)

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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.

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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!

2013-10-06T05:00:00.000-04:00

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 ;)

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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!!

2013-10-02T00:01:00.000-04:00

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

A Ghoulish Caribbean Party!

2013-09-27T03:30:00.000-04:00

Happy TGIFriday! I am so happy to see the weekend arrive, the past 10 days have been rough with being sick and deadlines and meetings. I feel that I may be able to breathe a little again LOL. But we are painting and putting in floors in the basement this weekend so no rest for the weary. For anyone who is impressed with what I get done...please don't be...I'm no superwoman or energizer bunny trust me. I simply am someone with an overactive brain and a never-ending to-do list LOL..ask my hubby. He is NOT always on board with my projects but he know's I will take matters into my own hands and he will admit he likes to be "involved"...so I gotta keep him rolling when I can ;) Anyone who has a creative mind or just likes to be busy understands me...if you prefer to NOT be busy all the time, well then I can't help you . I think the universe's way of slowing me down is giving me sickie germs...gets me to take at least 1 day off. So I had my one day off and now its back to business for the next month or so :)

I have sooooo much to share with you today! A HUGE photo shoot, party set up I did featuring SCACD stamps and other goodies. So after you are done reading thru this post, hop over to my OTHER BLOG HERE and see the details and photos of the rest of the party stuff ok? I promise it will be a good time ;)....and no sadly I'm not serving any alcoholic drinks !

Hope you have a wonderful weekend & I'll see you back here next week...that's right I'm posting and crafting again folks. So you gotta put up with me and my monologues for a few more years hahahaha!

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Ghoulish Caribbean Halloween Party!

I love Halloween...every bit of it...the creepy, the cute, the elegant, the scary...I've always loved it.

That being said I have two teenagers now who aren't real "into" it anymore...so that means I don't decorate the outside in haunted house fashion much anymore. But I'm dying to have an Adult Ghoulish Party at some point...ahem...so I dreamed up these things for the future party I will have...ya feelin' me? LOL!

And I've combined it with the awesome NEW SCACD Releases today!

I'm only sharing details and pics of the SCACD release items today on this blog..but no worries...

hop over to my other blog when you are DONE here to see the rest of the goodies & photos

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SCACD RELEASE & BLOG HOP

Today Susana Loves Stamps is releasing another new round of these unique, fresh and edgy rubber stamps due to the response we got to the premier MechAnimals stamps. Along with the new MechAnimals there are some fabulous new Far East and floral inspired rubber stamps being released today as well. So go check them all out!!

SCACD Digital is also releasing today a fun little gaggle of digital ghoulies that scream fun and sweetness! You can check them out HERE!

For those overseas you can purchase all the rubber stamps at Quixotic Paperie

A few of the items I made for the "party"!

When you are DONE hopping & reading this post pop over to my

other BLOG HERE to see the rest of the party setup and details :)

If you want of course..I'm not forcing your hand..but yeah go check it out LOL!

For the party I created a Halloween Bash Invite (more on that below), hand stamped matching paper napkins and two luminaries.

I used the new Jellyfish Dreams from the "MechAnimals" Collection and embossed it on vellum with black Stewart Superior Detail embossing powder (that stuff is great for real detailed stamps like this) To this stamp spoke of Pirates of the Caribbean. It's my favorite Disney World ride and one of my fave movie series (let's all think of Johnny Depp for a brief moment yesssss...ahhh much better now)...so I totally went with elegant, ghoulish, creepy, grungy party theme all mixed in one...and I think it worked. Papers are by Authentique "Irresistible" (15% off now, I need more). I distressed all the papers and inked them well.

And yes those pearls are supposed to be crooked, they actually are pearl brads to hold vellum on and I wanted it to be a bit haphazard to go with the grunge/antique theme. Then some twine on the top to tie it off.

This envelope invite is actually a Silhouette Cut file for the Cameo...real easy to cut and put together especially if you had to do a ton of them. I used Scor-Tape to hold it all together. The inside got more distressed papers and then I typed up my invite info on my computer and printed it on vellum. Then stamped some spider & cobwebs over it after distressing.

I love luminaries...they are fun and easy to make and so many varieties you can create.

I went with simple and easy but graphic so it makes a huge impact. I used two of the new SCACD Susana Loves Stamps "Sugar Skull" and "Zen Skull" stamps, embossed in black again right on sheets of 8.5x11" vellum.

These stamps are a great size...they'd be great on cards, scrapbooks, make pictures, door hangers, t-shirts...all kinds of fun things..don't limit to using them just on paper!

The skulls come with accessory stamps that can go in their ole' eyeballs to make them more fun too :)

And if you buy both skulls you get the sentiment free!!

I grunged them up a bit and then added some fun details...the bottom trim I made by using a Memory Box border die to cut the middle of strips of black card stock so you get one solid piece of trim to attach. Then tied twine around the middle. Now do NOT USE CANDLES in these...I use battery operated tea lights or battery pillar candles...you do not want a fire people..so use caution!

Then I bought simple white paper napkins, chose a soft gray ink and stamped the "Jellyfish Dreams" stamp again on each one. Simple and easy to do and personalizes your napkins for your party.

An evening view!

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And my last project is from the Far East & Floral Release by Susana Loves Stamps. This dragon is called "Creative Sparks".

I based my project on Oriental hand painted art...bright, brilliant colors and lots of pretty shine.

I embossed the stamp with black embossing powder (Stewart Superior Fine Detail).

After embossing I painted it with different colors of Smooch...smooch bottles have those tiny, pointy brushes that are perfect for fine detail work like this. And its metallic so it really POPS! I matted it on black cardstock and royal blue foil card stock...then popped it in a black frame (left off the glass insert for photographing purposes).

Ok everyone, I'm last on the hop today...but if you missed anyone or would like to start from the beginning of the hop, go on over to

Alex's Blog Here!!

Vintage Witchy!

2013-09-25T04:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Wednesday...or in my house we repeat it the Geico commercial way.... Hhhhuuuuuummmmpppp DAY...if you have no idea what I'm talking about...check it out HERE! LOL! My son can do a spot on impersonation of this that kills me every time ;)

Anywho this is a crazy busy week and I've been very sick with a fever, head cold, ear infections...and the blahs. But I'm working madly on a bunch of projects to share on this blog and my other blog HERE. And I have back to school nights, football games, doctor's appts, errands...you name it and its probably eating up my productive hours LOL. If you feel me...say Ohhhh Yeahhhh...cuz its weeks like this that make us stronger, better, more capable people right? Yeahhhh I don't know about all that!

We are sad to see the MLB baseball season ending and of course my Redskins, not so good . Seems a lot of the capable NFL teams are struggling this year... Giants, 49ers, Packers...weird, sloppy season. But I'm also happy that NHL season begins this weekend...my Caps...rockin' the red. I'm a DC sports fan...always faithful to all my teams...but some years are GREAT and some not so much. But I keep hopin' and rootin' :)

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Vintage Witchy

Isn't this Wee Stamp "Hazel" adorable...so cute! Today is "W"ednesday at the Magnolia-licious Challenge Blog!

Magnolia-licious now carries Wee Stamps, Wild Rose Studio, Penny Black and CandiBeans by Little Darlings. Go check them out...so cute!

I've always had a fascination with witches, I love to read books about them, watch movies...just the stories about them, the whole deal I find intriguing. Pagan practices have a huge history in our world and no not the devil worshipping stuff...pagan beliefs are actually rooted in astrology and very fascinating if you take the time to learn about it. One of my fave book series is "All Souls Trilogy" by Deborah Harkness..the final book comes out this winter and I cannot wait!

I used papers by Authentique and kept the colors to warm blacks, creams and browns for a more vintage feel.

All the papers got distressed and inked with both dark brown and gray inks.

You know me, I love vintage and distressed and the more TEXTURE the better.

Some burlap, creepy clock die, tulle, dew drops, diamond glaze all work well for me.

The sentiment is from PTI along with the spiderweb stamps.

The beautiful black tulle flower I love...they come in rolls but I clip them apart.

(links at end of post)

She was colored with TouchTwin Markers.
Marker List will be posted later today...sorry!

Then I added a Gold Liquid Pen on her buckles, clock and necklace.

Diamond Glaze on her shoes, hat band and clock.

Hop on over to the Challenge Blog to see what my DT friends made today as well!

Have a wonderful week everyone! I'm back on Friday with an SCACD Release!!

Links & Embellishments List:

Tulle flower trim from "Lavish Laces"...for unique & beautiful trims and flowers!!

SCACD Die - "Alice's Clock Statement Corner

Burlap and burlap flower by 7Gypsies

Paper by Authentique "Irresistible" (15% off)

Bella Baubles in Gold

I'm entering this into the following Linky Parties/Challenges:

Savvy Southern Style

Candy Monsters!

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Cute right? Easy as a blink to make and cheap to make...a win/win!

I've made these in the past for the kids and their friends. I never made 100's to give away on Halloween just because where we live its NUTS with how many kids come by. That's wayyy too much work LOL! But I would make these for a few of the kids besties or for sleepovers.

Supplies Needed:

-long, thin candy bars like Hershey bars

-a great craft glue (I like Best Glue Ever)

-Googly eyes

-Scotch Tape

-crepe streamers in colors (black, white, orange, green, etc)

-optional ink pads

I usually would buy my candy bars in huge packs at Costco..if you have lots to make its more economical.

However our grocery store had a Buy 2-Get 1 Free Deal last week...so that worked for this project well. Only thing I bought was google eyes (.89 cents) and candy bars ($3), the rest I had on hand.

Pick a candy bar and a colored crepe streamer to start with.

Obviously you can do this in many colors...use orange streamer for a pumpkin face...hot pink for a fun girly monster..whatever your mind dreams up!!

Tape the streamer onto the candy bar..doesn't really matter where...and then just wrap the candy bar as much as you'd like but make sure to wrap in different directions for a fun look.

I like to ink the edges of the crepe streamers to add a bit of dimension to them.

Easy Peasy..take an ink pad in your color of choice and rub around the edges as much as you'd like.

Dirty 'em up a bit!

Glue their eyeballs wherever you'd like...more than one pair if you want to go crazy with it :)

I like to tuck some of the eyes a bit under the streamer wrap too. My green & black bar is my version of Frankenstein ahahaha, the black one is a Ninja and then some ghosties..but let your imagination SOARRRR and have fun with it!

But remember to KISS...keep it simple so its fun and easy..and get your kids to help. Mine "used" to help when they were younger...as teens, well...not so much anymore LOL!