Flashback: My first post

Hello blog buds! Am I busy this week! This Saturday is our anniversary so I have a card to make. This Saturday is also a friends birthday, so I have a card to make. This Saturday is also a shower for my friend Lu, which I am helping to host, so I have a card to make. And a banner. And a sign. And party decorations. All I can say is thank God I have a Cricut! I'll be posting these projects as I go but for now I thought I would use this chance to repost my very first post on my blog. This was also the first card I ever entered into a challenge, at FCCB, and actually won top 5 designer with this card! I was hooked after that. Here's my card along with my very first post. Thanks for stopping by and I will catch up with you all later!

Dress Card

Hello all! My name is Susan and I've have been creating cards/scrapping for a liitle over a year now. My friend Laurie, aka Teacher, had introduced me to this wonderful world of papercrafts and as a result I have become her "Grasshopper".  I am also a bonafide member of the Paper Dolls scrapping group, a group of five creative and crazy gals that meet up once a month. I am very new at this blog stuff but my New Years resolution was to get with the program and figure the blog world out. It's easier than trying to lose weight, right? Okay, on to my very first published card.

I have been reading this great blog called Fantabulous Cricut, which Laurie had again introduced me to. Well, they have a wonderful challenge every Monday and I have been wanting to enter it for a while. This time I'm doing it. Below is the card I created using the "Summer in Paris" cartridge. I started by cutting out 2 images of the french maid to fit the 12x12 white cardstock paper. I then lopped off the poor gals head, arms and legs leaving just the dress on two cut images. I then took a piece of pink scrap paper and outlined just the bottom part of the dress, which creates the skirt, and attached it to one of the white images. I then stamped the other image "Just Fabulous" which is the inside of the card. Using a very small brad I connected the two images together at the middle of the waist. I then created the belt which is actually there to hide the brad. By using two pop dots on the back of the belt it raises the belt high enough that the brad doesn't show and the card can move without the belt having to move. Then of course my favorite part... bling it out with gems, gel pens, Stickles and feathers!

Challenge, Win and 2 Fun Hops!!!!

Today I want to let you know about a great blog for challenges and also recommend 2 wonderful Blog Hops. First some good news then on to the fun links! ........................................................................


Remember my bookmarks I posted about? The ones I entered into the challenge at Stamps, Scrap and Doodle Saturdays? I just found out I won! Whooo hooo! I'm doing the cabbage patch dance!I am so excited because what I won is SEVEN digi stamps of my choice from Bugaboo Stamps! I have been wanting to try digi stamps for a while now and this win will be the kick in the rear I need to do it! And I have noticed many of you have used Bugaboo so I know how cute these are! You gals should really check out this SSDS site, here's the link:

http://ssdschallenge.blogspot.com/

They are having another great challenge this week and you simply must check out the stamp set they are giving away to the winner. It's called the Hostess with the Mostess by AmberInc. Here's a picture- isn't this fun?

I also want to thank Linda at http://cardsbylinda.blogspot.com/  for her inspiration and encouragement, thank you Linda.

Now, if it is just too dawg gone hot outside and you feel like doing some hopping today I am going to recommend 2 wonderful hops going on. The first one is called Operation Owl. You can find all the info and begin the hop at http://createbyburffrau.blogspot.com/. If you need to cool off more check out the Christmas in July hop starting at http://expressionsbyelaine.blogspot.com/ .  Yesterday I did the Christmas Hop and there is some amazing projects on it that gave me ideas for when Christmas rolls around. Today I will be hopping with Operation Owl, which I know I will love because it involves the wonderful followers of Kristal at Getting Cricky with K. Andrews. Many of us love how inspirational she is and I do too!

Well, that wraps up my post today. I have to hurry up now and get a few Saturday chores done so I can get to hopping! I hope you all are having a great Saturday!

Susan

Bookmarks for buddies

A few months back I was given a challenge by my friend Lu to use a certain paper to do a project with. It could be anything and after much thought I decided it would be fun to make each one of my scrap sisters a bookmarker. I used the paper for the back of the bookmark but the front of it was more personal. You see, we have nicknames for each other, Lulu is Laurie, Rae is Rachel and Lola is Sarah. (I am Sisi, pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name, whoo hoo, whoo hoo... sorry The Rolling Stones just popped in my head). Ok, back on track...I thought it would be nice to use their favorite color on the front along with their nickname but what I had the most fun with is using these cute little stamps I picked up at a garage sale back in May. I stamped and colored each one to not only look like my friends but also what they do. For example, Lola is our shopper, Rae likes to talk on the phone and Lulu is a legal assistant. These stamps fit each one perfect!

I used my Storybook cartridge to cut the names and the flourish was made from a punch I have and I used the same paper from the back to kind of "bring it around". I added little dots of Stickles to give it a little sparkle, then had them laminated before I punched the whole and put the cord on. Oh, I also added the little flower on top just because I thought it was cute. The laminated part didn't turn out as nice as I would have liked, but I can be a perfectionist at times. They still turned out cute. Here's the back where you will see the paper used in the challenge.



As you see I brought the color of the front around and added a little embossed circle. You will see four little gems on the circle, which I added after they were laminated, and what these little gems represent is us! Green for Lulu, blue for Lola, light pink for Rae and dark pink for me! Isn't that fun?

I just finished these up last Saturday then on Monday I was visiting some favorite blogs I follow when I noticed Linda at http://www.cardsbylinda.blogspot.com/ had posted about a fun challenge at Stamp, Scrap and Doodle Saturdays. http://ssdschallenge.blogspot.com/.  The challenge? Make a bookmark! So I'm going to enter these! The prize is that you win 7 digi stamps of your choice from Bug A Boo and I have been wanting to try digi stamps for a while now and the Bug A Boo stamps look like they are right up my alley! Oh my, this is a long post! If you are still reading this, thank you! If you are sleeping I am so sorry! lol! Ok, I'm out but thanks for stopping by! Keep your fingers crossed for me! Have a wonderful day!

Susan ;)

Is anyone else getting weird comments on blog?

Hey everyone! The last few days I have been getting comments coming up from "Annonymous" which have been kind of weird. You all haven't seen them as they have been going right into my spam box. I'm wondering if anyone else is getting this and if so any thoughts on what could be going on? I looked to see what URL is being used and noticed Bing.com listed and I have my settings as no search allowed, if that makes sense. If this is a case of someone trying to mess with my blog I have a stern warning for you...."Don't mess with the bull, you'll get the horns!" (Thx Farris Bueller)

Anyone have anything to help?

Susan

The coolest thing since sliced bread!

Do I have something really cool to share with you all! I found these really fun magnetic memo boards by a company called Embellish Your Story by Roeda. Have any of you seen these yet? These fun boards can be purchased online or select gift stores. I found the one in the picture below at a little gift shop in Red Wing Minnesota, but they also have a website, http://www.demdaco.com/.  When I saw these boards I thought it would be a perfect birthday gift for my friend Laurie. They sold the boards as a kit that included magnetic sentiments and embellishments, but they also sell the boards alone so you can decorate it the way you want. I decided to make my own embellishments and sentiments and added a picture of one of our friends, Rachel. Is this not fabulous?

What is fun about this is that I added little magnets behind all the embellishments so the look of this can be changed. I've also seen little chains added behind them so they can be hung up on the wall. I just love this idea and I am planning on doing more of these. Perhaps some Christmas ones?

I also made this birthday card for Laurie.

This was the first tri fold card I've done. It was a challenge but it also was alot of fun. I used a little of everything to make this card. You know, I never give instruction on how to make cards I've done but to be honest, if anyone ever wanted to know what I used I would be happy to give you a play by play on how I did it. To me it's just an accomplishment to get a project done!
Well, I hate to cut it short here but I have my world famous ribs to get on the table. When I say world famous I mean in my world, lol! I'm quite the A list celebrity in my world! :)

Hope you all are doing well and having a lot of laughs!

Susan

A Mermaid's blogaversary!

Many of us bloggers know and love Lisa over at http://indymermaid.blogspot.com/. Well to celebrate hitting 500 followers, in 4 months at that, she is giving away a Cricut Cartridge!

That's right, the Picturesque cartridge! Stop on over and send Lisa a congrats! Even if you don't win the cartridge you will win a wonderful blogging buddy and be in awe of her wonderful work! So it's a win-win situation!

Be good!
Susan

It's 7-11!

Now you all might think big deal, 7-11, ha ha I get it, the store and the date match. Well I'm glad you have them because did you know Minnesota doesn't have any 7-11 stores? No big gulp slurpee for me today or any day for that matter! And I miss them! For goodness sake, I hear they have 7-11 stores in Thailand but not one in Minnesota! But it isn't just 7-11 stores we don't have here in the land of frozen tundra, we don't have Dunkin Donuts either. ( My favorite coffee ever....) And if you are looking for a Krispy Kreme donut, forget it. Yep, they closed those all down here about three years ago and it still hurts as if it were just yesterday. But I'm not here to snivel, ( I love that word), but next time you drive by a 7-11, Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme please appreciate just how fortunate you are!

On to a more upbeat note, as you may know a few weeks ago I won a challange with my Fun Sun card at FCCB.  Look <----- my winning blinky on the left! Well on Saturday my winning prize arrived and I thought I'd show you the goodies.

This beautiful June kit came from Leanne at Artful Delight, http://www.artfuldelight.blogspot.com/. I can't wait to start crafting with these beautiful papers and embellishments! Thank you Leanne!

I also want to send out a thank you Lisa at indymermaid.blogspot.com, for the nomination and awards she sent my way! You are awesome Lisa!

I have so many projects to do I don't know where to start. I guess getting my behind off my laptop and into my craftroom would be a big step huh?  I hope you all had a great Monday!

Be good!
Susan

I have to say that with all the negativity in the world these days it's so nice to have a place where people are so thoughtful and kind. I found out this morning that Terri over at http://twopinkpeas.blogspot.com/ passed on this really darling award to me. Thank you very much Terri! I love to follow her blog and I highly recommend it for those who are looking for creative inspiration and a huge helping of positivity! Look how cute this award is..............

It is Stinkin Cute isn't it? I'm going to pass this along to the following blogs:

Laurie at http://craftingwithlu.blogspot.com 

Faye at http://fayescrafticorner.blogspot.com/

Karen at http://thebusybug.blogspot.com/

Kim at http://crazyaboutscrapin.blogspot.com/

Lisa at http://indymermaid.blogspot.com/

Cindy at http://cindysantics.blogspot.com/

Debican at http://debican01.blogspot.com

Ronni Sue at http://sweetpainsforevercherishedcreations.blogspot.com/


These are some blogs I like to follow and I think you may like to also, check them out and say hi! Thank you again Terri at http://twopinkpeas.blogspot.com/!

On a side note, I have been very busy making a few things this week but I can't share them as they have something to do with a birthday I mentioned above. (Don't forget to wish Lu happy birthday!) I will share them at another time, they are really cool! I also need to confess something. I am a Big Brother addict and last night the new season of Big Brother began! There may a little bit of discussion of Big Brother on my blog if I find out any of my blog buddies share in this second addiction of mine, crafting being the first addiction of course. I'll be stopping over at some blogs this evening to see what you all have been working on! Till then, have a funtastic day everyone!

Susan :)

What's in a name? Oh, a whole lot!

A few years ago, when I started my addiction to papercrafting, one of the first layouts I did was one dedicated to our beloved boat, the Pug. Now some people may think Pug is a weird name for a boat but once I let you in on the secret you will get a kick out of it. If you follow my blog you are well aware of my sense of humor and here is yet another example of how warped it can be. Our boat is a 24 ft. Cuddy Cruiser that is 20 years old that we purchased for a very good price four years ago. As any boat owner knows it is bad luck for a boat to not have a name so we had to come up with one. Of course the first name my husband came up with was the Susan Marie. I shot that down right away. Over the following days we went through so many names but not one that actually seemed right. Then one day we were at the Marina, where the boat is kept ,and after going through yet another list of names it hit me! As I sat there looking at so many huge boats at the Marina I thought it would be funny to name the boat Pug MaHone! You see Pug Mahone is actually how you pronounce an Irish (Gaelic) phrase Pog Mo Thoin which translates to 'Kiss my arse". Yep, that is what we named our boat! With a majority of people in Minnesota being of Scandinavian decent most people don't know what that means, but for those that do know, omg, the laughs are non stop! Here's my layout that I decided to enter at the Sunday challenge over at K. Andrews blog http://www.gettingcricky.com/

Oh the fun we have had on the Pug! A few years ago my husband and I, along with my little dog (as the witch in The Wizard of Oz would say) went on a 6 day trip down the Mighty Mississippi river. I would love to go from St. Paul all the way to New Orleans. Maybe someday when we get Pug Mahone the houseboat! I hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend and still have all your fingers attached!

Be good!
Susan