SNOW DAY!

YIPPIEEE!! Best thing ever? SNOW DAYS off work. Second best thing ever? 2hr delay (which is what we have today!)

So what does that mean for me today? Time to catch up on the ole blog and look up the artists whose work I have BEEN DROOLING OVER in the (first!) issue of Art Journaling magazine (oh yeah, Somerset Studios can't stop themselves. How many publications can they crank out? Apparently the number is A GADRILLION. And I WANT THEM ALL.)

On Sunday night I was working on my FABRIC JOURNAL PAGES for the Inspired girls swap (thanks, Stella! lovin' this project!) and I really needed a new beading needle (I had MANGLED the one my BFF Tracy had given to me earlier this month! Those skinny buggers don't take too kindly to being shoved through two layers of fabric PLUS quilt batting. whatEVER.) So....I zoom out to Jo-Anne's with my 40% off coupon....grab the pack of needles (ok, and some sequin trims - 25 cents a pack! but that was IT. Don't NEED ANOTHER THING. [not in the budget either, remember?!]) But then....

...I saw it.

Just as I approached the checkout line. The MAGAZINE RACK....and the 10% off sign. OH MY. AND THERE IT WAS. THE FIRST ISSUE OF ART JOURNALING MAGAZINE.

With a BIRD ON THE COVER. (When did I start loving hand-drawn birds? Bluebirds, especially?)

AND PAM GARRISON's name in big letters on the cover!

So, yeah. I brought it home. And am IN LOVE AGAIN with art journaling....(and by association/blog-hopping from Pam Garrison's blog links....to all things shabby chic and pink and frilly and soft and romantic and hand-stitched and hand-sewn and hand lettered and why do I have to go to WORK?)

Which means I now HAVE TO HAVE COPIC markers (because that's what Pam uses sometimes and clearly THAT is why her lettering/drawing is so much more fabulous than mine. Right? I am just NOT USING THE RIGHT MARKERS!)

See how easy it is?

Stay tuned for more obsessions with art/sewing-projects-I-don't-have-time-to-do-but-will-start-anyway....next up is my "oh I am so doing that" stitching sampler idea from Rebecca Sower on that piece of linen I bought eons ago and accidentally turned "slightly pink" in the wash somehow (just bleached it this weekend and still pink. drat.) And oh yeah, my BFF Pam Garrison's version is not too shabby, either. And lookie at the free embroidery pattern she gave me! Is she the sweetest or WHAT?

that 2 hr delay went by FAST.

WASSIMA CARD PROMPTS Weeks 28 & 32 - Catch-ups!

{PS. HEY, AIMEE...can you believe we are going to INSPIRED again?! weeee!!}

Aimee has weeks 28 and 32 posted on her blog....I will post week 31 asap!

People Are Nice.

How sa-weet is this little story?

Some of you have been on the receiving end of my emails inquiring about "where can I get that skinny word stamp Donna Downey uses on her canvases?!" And Cameron told me the one I wanted was by 7Gypsies but it is DISCONTINUED WHA? No way. No fair.

So the QUEST began (oh yeah. obsessive. remind me to tell you the one about the Red Rose Tea.....right. Again I digress...)

ANYWAY...I start looking online (remember - NO BUDGET for spending on frivolities!) and I see it on eBay - IN THE UK! (not that I am patient enough to wait for it to SHIP TO ME or anything)...yada yada ya...

...and then on Friday, I went to The Cropping Station for cropnight with Aimee and her daughter Katie. (Ohhh we had fun! Can't wait to do it again!)

So, well into the night....I wander over to the "tools" shelf and start browsing through the stamps....(you see where this is going, right?)....and it isn't a huge selection....but sure enough! There! In the stamp basket! Was! The! 7Gypsies! Stamp! NOWAYSHUTUP!

I snag it and head back to my table. Aimee and Katie are shopping so I don't even have a chance to tell her about my find right away! I immediately grab some white cardstock and start stampin away. WISHING I HAD MY CANVAS WITH ME. And then I go back to workin' my page (oh yeah. A 6hr crop and I did ONE PAGE. ONE. Just ONE. And didn't even finish the JOURNALING that night! But again....we had FUN. We chatted and Katie let me play with her colored pencils Santa brought her (that's my scribbling in the photo of all the colors in her set!) and we shopped the 65% off racks (three times!) and ate Fritos and eavesdropped on the ladies at the table behind us and Katie's mad skills were impressing the heck out of me and the store owner...I love crafty/creative kids!

OK...so back to the story....all night that stamp is sitting next to me. And as midnight is approaching, and we are packing up and getting ready to go...I say to Aimee "I WANT THIS STAMP! Do you think they have more and I just didn't see it?" No. "Do you think she will sell me this one?" (Aimee knows the store...used to teach there....) And of course, my Snow White friend says "Want me to ask for you? I will!" (seriously. Birds circle around her and I have SEEN A HALO ABOVE HER HEAD.) You know I was afraid to ask because if the answer was "NO" I'd have to PUT.IT.BACK!

So I call over to the very nice shop lady (Sandi)....

ME: "Do you have any more of these stamps?"

NSL(S):"oh, no, sorry."

ME: "Will you sell this one to me?" (I am sure my voice cracked and the fear of rejection was all over my face! Picture the "Please, sir, may I have some more?" scene in OLIVER!)

NSL(S): "Sure."

ME: "Oh goodie!!! HOW MUCH!?!!?!?" (As if it mattered? Like I wouldn't have willed her my retinas for the thing at this point?)

...and she says "oh just take it."

NOWAYSHUTUP! THANK YOU NICE SHOP LADY SANDI!

How nice are people? She also gave another lady at the crop something and said "if you are going to use it and love it that is what matters." HOW NICE IS THAT?

So, thank you, Sandi at The Cropping Station. I owe you big time. And I will SO be back!

So behind! First things first!

OK... I owe my lovely niece MIKAYLA a birthday SHOUT OUT (She turned 14 on the 16th!) So HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Mikayla! This one's for you and your birthday party peeps!

{Hi girls! Leave a comment here and you will get a special treat from Aunt Susie!} xoxo

Birthday Princess!

Tribute Wall for Miss Mikayla...14 years in photos. (Great idea, Jackie! xo)

{How much do I love this photo? xo}

BFF & Lady-in-Waiting, Olivia

BFF& Lady-in-Waiting, Curran!

BFFS & Ladies-in-Waiting Lucy and Catherine B!

BFF & Lady-in-Waiting, Candace!

Oh I could go for a big slice of this cake right now! Was as yummy as it was pretty!

Flowers for the birthday girl from her Aunt Carol!


Prince David (Mikayla's brother) & his pal Davis served as Waiters for the evening!

Proud Parents & their Princess!

{Oh...and of course every Royal Family needs a Court Jester, right? You are fun, David!}

Back to Mom's Advice: FINISH ONE BEFORE STARTING ANOTHER!

OK ladies...I am sure I have said this/promised this one before....I know my mom preached it to me often enough that it SHOULD HAVE sunk in by now (but not.)


Thanks to all who have commented and emailed about the WASSIMA ART DECK JOURNAL. I decided to go on and finish it out....(and yes, I am going to do Emily's, too!) Can't promise it will be on time each week (no change there!) but by JUNE we will have 52 prompts!


SO.....all who are playing (or following along, or saving the prompts to do later...) - this is another official request for GUEST PROMPTERS! Just comment here or email me and we will figure out a week for you. AMY did Week 30 for us.....with this timely prompt: "What Would You Like to Let Go of in 2009?" Thanks, Amy!

WINNER!

WE HAVE A WINNER!
Hello ladies! Thanks for your patience...was having trouble with internet connectivity last night so I didn't get online to do the "drawing."

OK...we had five total replies to the call:

1 dodi said...
2 Ginny said...
3 Stella said...

4 amy said...
5 jen said...

ME (calling to DH in the other room): "Honey--pick a number from 1 to 5!"

HE: "Why?"

ME: "It's for my first blog giveaway!"

HE: "Huh?"

ME: "Come on! Just give me a number!"

HE: "How does that work?"

ME: "I have a list of five names! Whichever number you pick is the winner!"

HE: "THREE."

WEEE!! And that makes STELLA!!! our winner! I will let you know when the package is en route!

Thanks for playing along, ladies!

She's Back! 52Q Art Journal with Emily Falconbridge!

Weee! That's right. Emily Falconbridge is back to the weekly art journal project this year, and I am ALL IN!

In 2007, it was the "Deck of Me" using a deck of playing cards as the base. This year Emily is using shipping tags -- which I LOVE.....but.....

.....in keeping with my USE IT UP, WEAR IT OUT, REDUCE/REUSE/RECYCLE/REPURPOSE plan...I decided to use this little batch of pages I had created last year (thinking I would make a mini art journal to tuck into my purse.)

But that didn't happen and they have just been sitting in one of my piles.

I had already coated some with a layer of GESSO. I had even tried to bind them into a little accordian book using self-stick index tabs and book binding thread, but it didn't work the way I envisioned, and yet I still couldn't part with them! (PACKRAT!)

So....I took them out last weekend and started playing around with them again. I counted out about 20 pages already prepped (Gesso'd) and I easily made up the difference (to get to 52 pages) with a quick paging-through of a few magazines on hand. (With such a HUGE amount of free SUBSTRATES (yep, still love that word, Inspired Peeps!) to chose from, you can afford to be selective and only use the ones with a pretty font (the new Creating Keepsakes ones) or wording (Somerset Studio, OPRAH) or border (MEs Home Companion) or photo (Vanity Fair, Martha Stewart Living) that you like. Or just GESSO over the whole thing. Or add patterned paper or fabric scraps. You get the idea!)

And I like it! I gave up on the crazy binding I had attempted and made a simple template for punching two holes in each card --two binder rings holds it all together.And I love, love, love the cardboard/kraft paper look of the Amy Butler scrapbooking supplies packaging - so I used that from one of her sets of fabric tags for the mini-spine (built-in jute loop for a hanger! wee!). And those typewriter key letter stickers on the cover? From my archives! Bet they are more than 10 years old. In love with all things TYPEWRITER again.

Inside front cover: (notice one coat of Gesso doesn't completely cover the text. But I am ok with that.)

QUESTION #1 was "What Do I Wish for This Year to Bring" (I am writing the question on the front, and my answer on the back.)

{Note: the MULTIPLE POSTS today are brought to you by Eagles and Steelers football games (occupying DH all day!) Here's hoping for an EAGLES/STEELERS SUPERBOWL!}

My New Year's ARTFUL Resolutions

Yes, I realize it is January 11th already. And most people are all decided about their New Year's Resolutions by the 1st. But this year is starting out for me much like last year ended....too much cluttering my mind (and desk, and living and work spaces.)

So I am easing into it all.

Loving weekends with NO.WHERE.TO.GO. (Two in a row!) Loving getting things actually CHECKED OFF my lists (rather than the lists just continuing to grow and grow...)

This blog has mainly focused on my creative endeavors--and I like it that way. Nice to have some neat parameters to work within (as the rest of life is not nearly as tidy!) So I am happy to share a few resolutions for the ART side of my life (the list is longer than this...but here is where I am starting):

1. Chose ONE LITTLE WORD to focus on in 2009, inspired by Ali Edwards. (This is the third year I've done it, and by FAR it's been the hardest year for me to pick just one word. But more on that later.) Really incorporate my word into my daily art & life.


2. INVITE my friends in more - to play/create/or just hang. I didn't do this much AT ALL last year...but this year I am taking Erma Bombeck's advice and NOT waiting 'til the carpets are clean or my dining room is back in pretty, pretty princess order. Real friends don't care about that, right?


3. Keep everlastingly at it. Whatever it is. My art journals, scrapbooks, sewing projects, home decorating/organizing/reorganizing projects. Don't give up because it's too messy or cluttery. {And hug and kiss my hubby, again, for honestly accepting the mess/piles EVERYWHERE and not being bothered by it! xo}

So Hello, 2009. Welcome. So very glad you are here!

We need to hear from the WASSIMA ART DECK JOURNALERS!

Hello all. We need some feedback, please! {No, seriously! We want to hear from you! Pretty Please? There is a GIVEAWAY* FOR THOSE WHO COMMENT HERE OR ON AIMEE's BLOG ABOUT THIS POSTING!}

Aimee and I started our "WASSIMA ART DECK JOURNAL" back in June - intending it to be a 52 week project. Today marks Week 30, and we are considering stopping for several reasons:

First: a few who have played along are willing to stop now and just go with Emily Falconbridge's weekly 52Q project she started again this year (she inspired our version when we did her "Deck of Me" in 2007.) I am doing Emily's this year either way. I am happy to stop our little version and go with the "real deal!" (hee)

Second: we don't really know how many of those of you who started/were interested originally are still playing along? If you are out there and playing and want to finish -- please speak now or forever hold your peace!

For those who commented and participated - our sincere thanks. I hope to see you in the Flickr Group for Emily's 52Q this year! (Mine is posted there already! Go me!)

*GIVEAWAY!

OK....those who post a comment about the WASSIMA ART DECK JOURNAL question here or on Aimee's blog between now and Wednesday, January 14th, will be entered in a drawing to win a little package of "Sooz's Surplus" scrappy/crafty/art journally goodies. {Except it will be a real package, mailed to your very own real home. Not just that digi-box pictured here. In case you were thinking this is some kind of cyber scam. hee}

Treats Two Days in a Row!! I'm Not Worthy!!!

OH MY.

Lookie lookie lookie what just arrived!! (thanks to Anna Maria Horner's holiday sale - 15% off studio stacks---my prezzie to me and Sirryha for stitching goodies for her room. And no worries--there is plenty extra for other prezzies through the year....watch for RAKs, my peeps!)

Seriously. Anna Maria Horner's new line- Good Folks - is due out THIS MONTH (where is it where is it where is it????) And I am still in love with the latest two (Garden Party and Drawing Room.) Planning to do lots of room and wall decor in Sirryha's room (in progress! big reveal when done!)

I can't stand it!! Opened my STUDIO SCRAPS bag and out popped a half dozen or so TRIANGLES (some already pieced together)....which I remembered from this post. And how perfectly SERENDIPITOUS is THAT because the project I plan to work on next for Little Miss's room is a fabric banner.....(inspired here and here)...and oh my let me hurry with my other projects that are OVERDUE so I can get to these, too!! xo

Thanks Tracy! xo

How cool is this? TROLLBEADS have come up with this fun marketing campaign....they distributed SMILEY BEADS around the world, and those who received them (collectors and retailers) are to place them where others will find them.

And lucky me! My BFF Tracy received a batch of them and hid one for me and one for our BFF Kelly to find yesterday at work! You can imagine the excitement that ensued!

Like Christmas all over again! Thanks, Trace! xoxoxo

Some more pics of my YELLOW SMILEY BEAD (oh yeah. already on my bracelet! First thing I did when I got home!) and the card it was attached to:

WASSIMA Art Deck Journal Prompt {Week 29} Our First Guest Prompter!

Stella!

Hey ladies! I am happy to bring you this week's prompt from our first "guest contributer"-- Stella! No card examples yet...but I will post both of ours as soon as they are done & scanned!

Happy New Year, all! I am behind in my blogging/emails--will catch up soon!

Stella's Prompt: "I was thinking about holiday traditions, old & new. Now that the rush and bustle is over, what things do you always do, what did you start as a new tradition this year?"

WASSIMA Art Deck Journal Prompt {Week 27}

[edited: Front and back of my Week 27 card. (And no, sadly, I never did make my Christmas cards! Shameful!) Prompt is about wondering about what is ahead....]

Ohhh...so sorry that I am so behind!! Watch this spot for the WEEK 27 Prompt (December 21)....will scan it asap!

New Year. New Banner...

....now I need to figure out how to jazz up the rest of the ole blogger. The banner was made on Scrapblog.com. I am still a novice on that site....not sure how to make the pages fit the banner area better....Sandy--I need you!

Enjoying the start of my FIVE.DAYS.OFF.WITH.NO.PLANS! weeee!

Here's to a creative 2009....can't wait to see how it all turns out!

Swirls!

Happy (Belated!) Birthday Lyndee!

Happy, Happy Birthday Lyndee....Love you tons....

P.S. Still lovin' WORDLE.NET for custom greetings! Be sure you have time to PLAY...it's ADDICTIVE! "Create Custom Word Clouds" - brills. xo

Too tired for words...

...I am just going to put my feet up for a few minutes and hope I get a second wind ('cause Michael's is open until 10 tonight and I really need to get silver glitter. and more felt. seriously.)

Oh my...only 4 more sleeps 'til Santa! NO WAY SHUT UP.

In the meantime....enjoy these Christmas Cookie Baking Day photos! Fun with Mikayla, Jackie and David!

hohoho!

xoxox

PS Mikayla - we didn't get enough pretty pretty princess pictures of our finished products! xoxo Gotta set up that photo shoot! hee

Nedley Update.

Well, that was a close call!! Just as we were packing up Sir Ned to send him to his next stop....we had a little mishap, which included a fall and a broken grassy knoll.

The good news is Nedley recovered nicely and though I am leaving the bandages on for his trip to Cameron (just as a precaution!), I have assured him that the scar is "hardly noticeable at all! and besides...chicks think guys with scars are sexy and mysterious!"

Godspeed, Nedley!

xo

Favorite Photo Friday {#21}

Where is that snowstorm? I am ready for a long winter's nap!

Can I Just Move in Here?

Photo from Anna Maria Horner's (Prizewinning!) Quilter's Market Booth

Oh how much do I love these BLUE WALLS? I have been daydreaming for weeks now about redoing Little Miss's room....always come back to the lovely, talented Anna Maria Horner's blog for inspiration...

I have a small can of cherry red paint that I am using to recolor picture frames and some small doll furniture...(Christmas-y--then they will find a full-time home in Sirryha's room!)

...and tonight I am putting together an inspiration board of photos and images that are yummy to me. (And THEN I will start on the holiday cards! There's still time, right? sigh.)

More pics from Anna Maria Horner's blog....seriously--how does she get it all done? She has FIVE CHILDREN AND ONE ON THE WAY! wha? Seriously! SERIOUSLY!

I miss making cards!

Whipped up 10 of these the other night for a friend -- love the shimmery cardstock. And how much do I love this Fiskars Threading Water Punch? Finally splurged on it at Joanne's (with a 40% off coupon, bien sur!)....loving POLKA DOTS and PINK AND GREEN color combinations, too.

Happy Ho Ho Ho-ing!

Favorite Photo Friday {#20}

I will miss this little guy! Thanks for the fun project, Aimee! xoxo

Cameron---you're his next stop!

Journaling My Christmas!

A slow start in sharing my pages...but loving this project again this year!

WASSIMA Art Deck Journal Prompt! {Week 25}

WOW. We are almost HALFWAY THROUGH this year-long project!

Time is flying....which is a perfect segue way for this week's prompt -- (or rather, my answer for this week's prompt!) -- which is...if you could have BUT ONE WISH FULFILLED FOR YOURSELF this holiday season---what would it be? (Go for it...the sky is the limit and it has to be just for you!)

Mine is simple: MORE TIME IN THIS MONTH!

I feel like I have been running full steam for weeks now, but I am still SO BEHIND in the "stuff" I want to do (make my holiday cards, work on my two WASSIMA projects I am late sending off (sorry, girls!), organize my workspace (home and office, again), DECK THE HALLS, catch up on correspondence, etc., etc., etc.)....how many times do we wish we could STOP THE CLOCK 'til we catch up?!?!




So, Santa, if you are listening? Can we slow this season down a bit so I can get it all done? (Or do I need to contact Father Time directly on this one?)

Ho Ho Ho....only 18 more sleeps 'til Christmas Morning!

Favorite Photo Friday {#19}

This is my dear friend AIMEE at INSPIRED 2008 in April...so so so happy we are DOING IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR!! weeeee!!!
Merry Christmas to us!!