Monday, February 2, 2015

Moon Lake & Creative Blog Hop

Hello and Welcome to my Blog...  Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Lee Conrey, my friend and fabulous upline, asked if I wanted to join this Creative Blog Hop and I thought it was such a unique idea that I couldn't say no.  Lee is an extremely talented stamper so be sure to check out her blog.  This blog hop is a little different than most and I will explain that later.  First, I want to share my card with you.  

I love to color and this cute little bird in the Moon Lake stamp set by Stampin' Up! was calling my name.  Do you hear it too?  LOL   

I stamped the image on watercolor paper and then colored with my ink pads and a waterbrush.  I created my background mat by stamping Lost Lagoon ink on the inside of the Spring Flowers Embossing Folder, inserting Whisper White cardstock and then running it thru the Big Shot.  That technique can give you an endless supply of your own designer paper using various embossing folders and any of the beautiful Stampin' Up! ink colors.  What more could you ask for?  Your only decision is which combination to try first.  

                             
Now to let you know what makes this Blog Hop a little different....I have to answer the following questions:

1)  What are you working on?  I've actually got several things in various stages right now.  I have a class to teach on Thursday morning and I'm in the middle of cutting all the setups for that.  On Feb. 7th I'm participating in a Charity Stamping Event that I've designed a card for so I'm also in the middle of cutting for that.  I also have three other classes on the calendar for this month and those card ideas are still rolling around in my head.  LOL  It's going to be a crazy busy February.

2)  How does your work differ from others in your genre?  I don't know if my work really does differ from others.  We all use stamp, paper and ink.  It's simply a matter of how you choose to put it all together. 

3)  Why do you create what you do?  A lot of time I create a project based on a customer request, whether it is to use a particular stamp set, color combo, 3D item, etc.  I love papercrafting and teaching others how to do what I do.  There is nothing better than seeing the excitement on someone's face when they have completed their project. 

4)  How does your creative process work?  Most times I start the process by choosing a stamp set and then deciding what colors I'm in the mood to use.   Sometimes I'll see a photo in a magazine with beautiful colors that inspire me to create something using that color combo.  Inspiration can be found in the most amazing places if you just open yourself up to it.

The final step to complete this blog hop is for me to nominate two people who will be posting to the Creative Blog Hop on Monday, February 9th.

The first nominee is my downline,  Cari Verschueren from Jacksonville, Florida.  I have known Cari for quite some time and she is an amazing papercrafter.  She is particularly talented in the 3D department.  I can't wait to see what she is going to share next Monday morning.

The second nominee is Lisa Tyndall from Ponte Vedra, Florida.  Lisa and I just returned from Leadership in Orlando, Florida and we had a great time there.  Lisa is another talented papercrafter who, I'm sure, will share something wonderful with all of you next Monday.

Thanks so much for visiting with me today and don't forget to check in with Cari and Lisa next Monday, February 9th.

Please let me know if I can help in any way with your stamping needs.  If you don't have a demonstrator and would like to receive a Stampin' Up! catalog please leave me a message and I'll get one out to you.

Posted by Susan at 7:00 AM
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Saturday, January 3, 2015

Wood You Be Mine?

Happy New Year and welcome to the January 2015 Jacksonville Starz Blog Hop!  You should have arrived here from Monique Zimmer's blog.

 
 
The theme for this month is Valentine's Day and I decided to make a card with one of the cute new stamp sets from the Stampin' Up! 2015 Occasions Catalog that goes live on January 6th.  I combined Wood You Be Mine? with Lovely as a Tree to create my card.
Don't you just love this ruggedly handsome lumberjack.  LOL
 
Directions for my card:
  • Old Olive cut 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 for card base
  • Rich Razzleberry cut 5 1/4 x 4
  • Whisper White cut 5 1/8 x 3 7/8
  • Whisper White 2 x 1 1/2 for sentiment
  • Rich Razzleberry 2 1/8 x 1 5/8
  • Old Olive 2 1/4 x 1 3/4
  • Whisper White 3 x 2 1/2 for lumberjack
  • Whisper White 3 3/4 x 2 for tree
  • Use Old Olive ink and stamp a row of tree tops onto the bottom of the Whisper White cardstock.  Use Rich Razzleberry to mat this piece and then glue it to the Old Olive card base.
  • Using Memento Black ink stamp the sentiment and the lumberjack on the appropriate Whisper White cardstock pieces.  Use Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive cardstock to mat the sentiment.
  • Color the lumberjack using Blendabilities and cut him out.
  • Use Old Olive ink and stamp the tree on Whisper White.  Sketch in the tree trunk with a Crumb Cake Blendabilities marker and cut the tree out.
  • Use Stampin' Dimensionals to attach the sentiment, the tree and the lumberjack.
  • Using the Heart punch from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack, punch out a Rich Razzleberry heart and attach it to the sentiment with a Stampin' Dimensional.
Supplies Needed to Recreate this Card:
Your next stop on the Blog Hop is Amanda Sevall...just click the "Next" button to get there, but if you get lost anywhere along the way I'm also adding links to all the participating stampers.
http://www.amandasevall.com
 
Cari Verschueren - http://papercraftingwithcari.blogspot.com/
Sheilah Stamper - http://www.stampwithus.com
Lee Conrey - http://www.stampingleeyours.blogspot.com/
Maria Willis - http://www.cardbomb.blogspot.com/
Monique Zimmer - http://moniquezimmer.blogspot.com/
Susan Best - http://www.stampinginferno.blogspot.com/
Amanda Sevall - http://www.amandasevall.com
 
 
As I mentioned above, the Wood You Be Mine? stamp set from the 2015 Occasions Catalog is available for purchase on Tuesday, January 6th.  If you don't have a copy of this catalog yet please contact me and I will be happy to get one right out to you.   

 
Thank you so much for stopping by to visit.  I hope you enjoyed your time here and that you will return again real soon.
Posted by Susan at 7:00 AM
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Saturday, December 6, 2014

Blended Bloom for JAX STARZ December Blog Hop

Welcome to the JAX Starz December Blog Hop.  You should have arrived here from Sheilah Stampers' blog.  The challenge this month was to use the sketch shown below.

 I decided I wanted to use a much larger stamped image and chose Blended Bloom.  I love this Stampin' Up! stamp and haven't used it nearly enough.  I stamped the image onto Coastal Cabana cardstock and used the Coastal Cabana Blendabilities to color it.  Any guesses on what color Blendabilities I used for the center portion?  Nope, it's not Rich Razzleberry.  I actually used Melon Mambo!!!!!  Using the Melon Mambo on top of the Coastal Cabana cardstock caused it to look exactly like Rich Razzleberry.  That is what I call a happy accident!  LOL


Direction for this card:
  • Coastal Cabana cut 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 for card base
  • White Whisper cut 5 1/4 x 4
  • Rich Razzleberry cut 3 7/8 x 3 3/4
  • Coastal Cabana cut 3 7/8 x 1/4
  • Coastal Cabana cut 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 for stamped image
  • Using Memento Black Ink stamp Blended Bloom image onto Coastal Cabana cardstock and color with Coastal Cabana and Melon Mambo Blendabilities.  Add white dots with the Signo White Gel Pen.  Cut out.
  • Adhere Whisper White & Rich Razzleberry cardstocks together and dry emboss using the Large Polka Dot Embossing Folder.  Glue Coastal Cabana strip over seam.  Glue onto card base.
  • Stamp Hello from A Dozen Thoughts onto a scrap piece of Whisper White and die cut using Bitty Banners framelit.  Also die cut scraps of Coastal Cabana & Rich Razzleberry using the same framelit.  Glue pieces together.
  • Adhere the Blended Bloom and the sentiment using Stampin' Dimensionals.
Supplies needed:

Blended Bloom #135906
A Dozen Thoughts #131059
Coastal Cabana cardstock #131297
Rich Razzleberry cardstock #115316
Whisper White cardstock #100730
Memento Black Ink Pad #132708
Coastal Cabana Blendabilities #131000
Melon Mambo Blendabilities #130994
White Signo Gel Pen #105021
Large Polka Dot Embossing Folder #133739
Bitty Banners Framelits #129267

Your next stop along the way is the fabulously talented Lee Conrey...just click the "Next" button to get there, but if you get lost anywhere along the way following are all the participating stampers.

www.stampingleeyours.blogspot.com

 
Thank you so much for stopping by to visit.  I hope you enjoyed your time here and that you will return again real soon.



Posted by Susan at 7:00 AM
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Saturday, October 4, 2014

Happy Halloween Jacksonville Starz Blog Hop


     


Welcome to the Happy Halloween Blog Hop with the Jacksonville Starz.  You should have arrived here from Lee Conrey's blog. 

It's that time of year when the ghosts, witches and goblins are beginning to prowl and the skeletons are rattling their bones.  Listen closely and you will hear all their moans and groans (oh wait, that's just me!!!!!)  But seriously, don't you just love the Fall/Halloween season?  Finally a reprieve from summer heat, the leaves are changing and Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

My share for the Blog Hop is a trio of very happy Jack-o-Lanterns using the Stampin' Up! Fall Fest stamp set.  All my middle pumpkin needs is a Smokey the Bear hat just like Pharrell and they could all sing Happy.  I know they make me happy, happy, happy! 

 


If you would like to recreate this card I used the following supplies:
That cute little Trick or Treat greeting is from the Good Greetings Stampin' Up! stamp set that you can get for FREE with a $300 workshop or a "book party".  Contact me if you would like to get this wonderful FREE set for your very own.  I would love to help you with your Stampin' Up! needs.
 
To continue on the Blog Hop just click below to go to Lisa Tyndall's blog.
 
                              http://lisatstamps.blogspot.com/2014/10/jax-starz-halloween-blog-hop.html
 
Just in case you get lost along the way, following are all participants in the Jacksonville Starz blog hop:
Susan Best (you are here)

Thanks for stopping in to visit today.  I hope you come back again soon.

Posted by Susan at 7:00 AM
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Friday, October 3, 2014

Stampin' Up! Washington DC Getaway Incentive Trip (Installment 3)

I loved earning this Stampin' Up! Getaway Incentive Trip.  Today is going to be the final installment of photos (unless I find a few later on that I just have to share)

We had other plans for Sunday, but we put those on hold when fellow demo, Susan Rodgers, gave us tickets to Newseum.  I believe Newseum opened in 2007 so it is among the newest kids on the DC block.  

Newseum covers the history of "news" from printed papers to radio to TV to computer.  So many interesting displays are housed here.  We spent the whole day and could have spent a lot more time but they closed down at 5 PM.

Here is the outside of the building where they have displays of 50 newspaper front pages from around the country.  These are changed on a daily basis so if you are lucky enough to have your local paper displayed there you won't miss the front page news of the day.


This next picture was taken in the FBI section of the building.  Couldn't resist having our photo taken with Machine Gun Kelly, J Edgar Hoover and John Dillinger.
 
These are original sections from the Berlin Wall and are the only ones outside of Germany.
 

The section dedicated to 9/11 was as gut wrenching to see now as it was the day it all happened.  This photo is the mangled broadcast antenna from atop one of the Twin Towers and those frames in the background are front pages from various newspapers the day of and day after the attacks. 
 
Again, thanks for stopping by my blog.  Come back again soon.



Posted by Susan at 6:00 AM
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