A Big Announcement for me and New Friends

First off, Happy Halloween to everyone!  I know I should have a witch or haunted house or something up, but I've got a little cutie pie and some great news to share if that helps.

Here's a glimpse of her:

Everyone who knows me or knows my stamping knows that there's two genres I totally love - the sass and the sweet. I'm so excited to now be able to share that I have been blessed to be asked to join the design team family of Elphine House and am so excited to be designing with Miss Elisabeth Bell's gorgeous, stunning images again!  As if that's not sweet enough, I get to design with two of my favorite past designing sisters again!  Lynda and Vicki, just can't wait to see where this journey takes us.  I am so excited to work with the other outstandingly talented artists on the design team and can't wait to begin presenting with them for all of you.  And to Helen and Lew, thanks so much for having faith in me and my crafting ability.  It means the world to me.  Stamping is just so sweet, fun, and exciting for me right now because I get to work with sweetness at Elphine House and with the sass over at Sassy Studio Designs!  Two great teams and two fabulous, exciting, fun stamping families!  It just doesn't get any better!  This is one dream I don't want to ever wake up from!

My mother asked me to do a card for the office at the hearing center where she got her hearing aids.  Mom has a huge picture window in the living room with bird feeders outside that attracts every bird that is around. She loves to sit and watch them come, eat, and then fly off.  After getting her aids, she now can hear them chirp with happiness as they fill up on her premium bird feed!  When I saw this cutie pie New Friends from Elisabeth Bell for Susana's Custom Art and Card Design, I knew she's be perfect for this card!

Isn't she just the most precious thing?  She's colored with copics and I added just a little bit of stickles to her barrette and patch (it was really hard not to throw them everywhere!).  The paper is from Basic Grey and I used my nestabilities for the circle and ovals.  The pearls are from Studio 112 and the lace is from my stash.  Here's the layout I used:

This sketch is from Sweet Sketch Wednesday and I just love it!  I'm entering her in their challenge and I think I may have to use it again!

Here's just a glimpse of the inside:

Now from the other side:

Judy, here's the inside just for you!

Mom wrote a sweet personal note on the inside and it was very heartfelt and gracious.

I hope everyone has a safe time out tonight if they get to go trick or treating.  My sweet Lainie Loo is going as a Lady bug, Allie is a bunny rabbit, and Emma, she's the Princess Ariel!  I miss seeing them on Halloween and hope they get lots and lots of candy!  Stay safe and beware of the witches and ghouls!

Beach Resort Sassy - My Favorite Place!

Family is so important to me and having been living away from everyone for so long, when they show up in town, I want to be there! Over the last couple of weeks, I've had the greatest time spending time with four of my cousins that I haven't seen in forever!  Larry and Brenda stopped by from Kentucky on their way to their camp in Canada, Robert and his family were here from Long Island, NY, Sean, Alice, and their two sweet boys from Seattle, WA, and my sweet Jerry was on leave from the navy and is on his way back to Hawaii.  It was so much fun travelling down memory lane with them and talking over our times growing up.  Man, were holidays hard on our parents when we all were together!  I have been away from home for over 30 years so for me, any time spent with family is precious and priceless.

But I'm back and have a fun, Sassy Studio Designs image to share with you. I am loving me some Sassy Studio Designs!  This is Beach Resort Sassy and I absolutely love her" in your face" attitude!  If there is one place I can be and never get tired, it's the beach, baby!  Love the water, the salt air, sand, heat, the sounds, fragrances, you name it and all things beachy are me.  Somewhere in a former life, I totally believe I was a mermaid!  Here she is:

She's worked up in some of my favorite colors - aqua and peach!  When I saw this paper pack from Basic Grey, I had to have it!  Love the clouds, banners and colors in these papers.  She's colored with copics and has some Diamond Glaze on her pouty lips and glasses and yep, some Stickles on that sassy suit!  I used a Spellbinders die around her and edged the oval with distressed inks.  I used a sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday.  It was great fun!

Here she is close up:

I am also going to enter her in the following challenges:

The Crazy Challenge
Tuesday Throwdown


She was such fun to color up and now I'm back to my crafting table.  Love my family and I love me some crafting!  Have a great day!

Katniss Girl of Fire Sizzles

I love to read.  I can't imagine not having a love for reading and experiencing all the wonderful adventures that are laid in front of you between the cover of a book.  One of my aunts always encouraged me to read and told me that if I had a book, there wasn't anywhere I couldn't go or nothing that I couldn't do while sitting in a chair or laying in bed with a book.  I've lived and traveled on the prairie with the Ingalls family, watched my father practice law in a powerful trial in To Kill A Mockingbird (my absolutely all time favorite book ever, right beside my beloved Potters!)

My girls can get me to read just about anything.  We started this reading game about the time Harry Potter came out.  I challenged them to read one Harry Potter book and they enticed me into reading the Twilight series.  I still have a series to read for Nichole, but she kept at me to read the Hunger Games series.  I finally gave in while I was spending time with her before our beloved Lainie Loo was born.  Once I started, I was so hooked!  So to pay tribute to my daughter for having great taste in books and having become a reader who truly enjoys the entire reading process and loves to support her local library, I give you Katniss Girl of Fire Sassy from Sassy Studio Designs.   Nichole, honey, this one is for you.

  

I just love their images!  Katniss Girl of Fire Sassy was colored with Koh-I-Noor colored pencils with odorless mineral spirits.  I had such a great time using them.  I followed the monthly sketch from the Sassy Studio Design blog and had so much fun working with someone else's design.  I used me some stickles on her gown where I think flames would be, gave her lips a bit of shine with some Diamond Glaze, added some Studio One glass beads, my Martha Stewart border punch and the paper is from Basic Grey.  Here is a close up of her gorgeous face:

I think she's just beautiful.  And a glimpse of the inside:

I hope all of you will go pick up a great read.  Leave me a comment and let me know what you're reading now.  I'm always up for a new book and author!  Have a great day.

Susan