Hello Everyone!

I was checking my class lists for the next few weeks and I noticed there are lots of spaces available! It's probably due to vacations and such, but check your schedules if you are in town, there may be classes that you want to sign up for! This Thursday evening my Mastering the Basics #4 at 6:30pm is only half full. If that is one you would like to take give us a call at The Stamp Art Shoppe! (916) 773-4378 We will be working on cards using stamp kissing, layered emboss resists, water-ink stamping, and acrylic block backgrounds. As always I have a full class for you guys full of tecnique and ending with four beautiful cards. I hope to see you there!

Susan

Hellooo! Just wanted to share a Father's Day Card I made for my sweet man last weekend. He is such a good dad and wonderful husband. He has been into cooking lately and the boys got him a meat cleaver! He wanted one to chop things up with! I am not complaining as long as he wants to cook!

The other pictures are from my Embossed Canvas Cards class last week. We had a blast creating our little embossed masterpieces! I hope you join us for another class soon!

Susan

Class pics from Embossed Canvas Cards

Hello there! Just wanted to share some pics from class last week. Everyone had a blast making their embossed canvas pieces! A new world has opened up! Thanks, Ladies! It was fun!

Susan

More cards for you to see!

My trip to the Bay Area was nice. It was good to see my Aunt and Uncle. My uncle has been sick with shingles for several weeks and he is on the mend now and trying to regain his strength. Poor Guy. He had them bad! We had a nice visit with them though.

I went through old pictures with my Aunt and I learned so much about my family. I got some great pictures of my great grandparents and my grandmother when she was a child. So much history! It inspired me to make a heritage album. I don't have hardly any pictures of my mom's family. I wish I did.

Have a good evening!

Susan

Laura's Sketch #27

I am so excited to be participating in the Ultimate Card Showdown over at 2 sketches 4 you! Happy one year anniversary, Ladies!

I made some boo-boos last night on my post and I changed them, but... the permalink is still wrong. I don't know how to change it -I am no computer wiz, so I decided to try again. So, bear with me as I repost my pics from yesterday!

I used Magenta patterned paper for this card, and Hero Arts stamps. I colored my images with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol (for blending pencils), and Stickles from Ranger. I also used an American Crafts glitter pen for the brackets on the sentiment. My border punch is a Martha Stewart. The ribbon is from Michael's

I don't have anything wonderful to say tonight except that I saw my adorable grand-nephew tonight and he is such a joy! We had dinner for my brother's 49th birthday. So thankful my bro is here with the family now soaking up all the love he has missed over the years.

Here is a little more detailed photo:

Goodnight!

Susan

2sketches4you Card

Another post! Can you believe it? I had to try another sketch! This is addictive! This one is from 2sketches4you. There is a link in my blog list to the right. Enjoy and be inspired! I used My Mind's Eye paper, Autumn Leaves and Hero Arts Stamps, Adirondack and Color Box inks, Prima flowers, American Crafts buttons, and Kaiser Craft crystals.

Catch ya later!

Susan

P.S. I am so happy for Kris Allen winning American Idol last night! I feel a little bad for Adam, but not too much! He will be just fine! He has had enough exposure to make it big! I can't wait to hear what Kris does!

Make some cards!

Hello! Today was one of those days where it is noon before you know it and you are still in your jammies! A friend stopped by for a cup of coffee, and needless to say, it was noon and I hadn't even eaten breakfast! So my whole day was a little off! It was worth it to visit with a good friend though. Thanks! I don't get that kind of opportunity everyday, so I'll take it!

I have been making a lot of cards lately. It feels really good to be making them. I was holding back a little bit and trying to make stuff for Etsy and classes and gifts and things. I really missed making cards. It is always nice to have a few "just in case cards". I find I always need a "Thinking of You", a sympathy, friendship, and a few birthdays in my stash. Especially teenager birthday cards! They take a little more thought. I have been trying to challenge myself to create more and more elaborate cards, but I find that they just are not my style. I am such a simple girl. I do put a lot of detail in my cards, but the overall design is quite simple. That is what my heart creates, so I need to go with that. As my son's kindergarten teacher always used to say, "You can't get blood from a turnip!" So, I guess I will stick with turnip juice!

I was playing around with Copic markers and some grunge paper. Not together! I might try that in the future though! I went a little Stickles crazy too. They add a little dimension to the flowers and bring them to life a bit. Well, I hope you enjoy my eye-candy. More to come soon!

At the price of cards these days, it is worth it to know how to wield the mighty stamp! It is my goal to inspire others to create their own cards. I often browse down the card aisle at Target or Walmart just to see what my competition is. I have to say, there are some cute cards out there. The big card companies are even getting wise to complaints about prices and the they are offering simpler cards for 99 cents. They are also not playing fair by laser cutting beautiful patterns. Whatever. Those are the expensive ones anyway. You can't beat the love that goes into a handmade card! No one says you can't buy a card and embellish it up either! Why not? The card police are not going to come and take you away to paper jail! Have you ever seen those sets from Michael's in the $1 section? They usually have a nice paper base and you can embellish them up with sentiments, rhinestones, etc... You can even give them as a gift!

I met a sweet lady last week who said that she has all of her cards in a box! I was a bit shocked! Okay, some of my cards are in a box too, but I do use them! I just make them faster than I can use them! Come on people! We need to give them away so that we can make more! That's the fun of cards! They are not works of art, they are just cards. Let them fly and be free! Make room for the new cards on the block! If you are looking for inspiration, check out the Hero Arts blog and join the flickr group pool. So many amazing cards!

Now, go and get yourself some inspiration! Make me a card!

Susan

American Idol - Top Three

Okay. I have never really cried before when an American Idol contestant is sent home. I always figure it was their time to leave and they will be fine, right? Well tonight I actually cried when Allison was singing! Maybe it is because a friend of mine was sad about a death in her family and she is about the same age as Allison and I was sad about that. Maybe it is because I have teenagers and I know how they process things and I could see how emotional she was and I felt bad for her. But honestly, she sang so well with no holding back for that final song that I thought, "Yeah! You go Girl!" I was so proud of her! She will do well and I'm sure she will hear from her real soon. I am so glad that Kris Allen was safe. I know he is not as good a singer as Allison, but I always loved whatever he sang and I would certainly buy an album that he made. He will probably go home next week, but he is such a cutie he deserves one more week. Okay real quick. Wasn't Chris Daughtry hot?

I have no pics to post today. I have made some cute Mother's Day cards, but I can't post them yet! I'll be sure to post them next week.

I am taking a Magenta class tomorrow at The Stamp Art Shoppe. I am really excited because I love to color and they do a lot of coloring. I expect to learn some new techniques and polish up some old ones. I will have to post my projects!

Well, it is late, and I am tired. So, goodnight!

Susan

Tag Crazy!

Wow! I have been making tags like crazy for my Etsy Shoppe! I have even had some more custom orders! I have been in the cave for hours and hours everyday! So much fun! I have sent orders out to many states in the US and to Canada, Hawaii, and Australia! Pretty amazing!

I have added a new feature to my blog. I added a slide show from flickr. I hope you enjoy it! I will load more photos soon. For those of you who are blog-savvy, please be patient with my slow learning! I still can't figure out how to load my pictures on my page where I want them! Ahhh! It says"layout", but they never seem to go where I want them! They screw up my paragraphs too! If you are reading this and can help me, please comment and give me a clue!

Enjoy the new photos of some of my Etsy items and a cute photo of some conversation hearts. Check out my shop: http://www.qdesigns.etsy.com/ I try to post new things every day or two.

Well, guess what? I am tired again! I have to start posting earlier when I have not fried every brain cell!

Good Night!

Susan