A New Chapter Begins…..

 

Life is ever changing. It never stays still. We grow older, (well some of us do lol) , we get new jobs, we face new problems that we learn to overcome with a smile, which sometime is REALLY hard, and get stronger by them.  We watch our children learn to crawl, go to playschool and ,Heaven help us, learn to drive and go on their first date! If life stayed static, we as human beings would grow depressed and not be happy. We are always needing to set goals to stretch our minds and our bodies. It is a GOOD and a POSITIVE thing to grow and to change in life!

After a fantastic year where I have met so many incredible people and done so many neat things that I have never done before in my life I now have the opportunity to design with a very amazing lady, Rhonna Farrer and her amazing new Design Team over at Rhonna Farrer Designs What a honor.

I truly love what her art, designs, and what she stands for…….too UPLIFT and INSPIRE!!!!

~Announcing The Rhonna Farrer Design Team:

~ Amy Tan

~Emily Hill

~Jamie Pate

~Kelly Lautenbach

~Jing Van Opstal

~Kirsty Wiseman

~Melissa Mortenson

~Nancy Wyatt

~Rosemary Watson

~Susan K.Weckesser

 

 

 

The Grand Opening is right away and there are going to be YUMMY give aways...……… STAY TUNED!!!

 

 

This fall is truly exciting. I am also over at Helmar this September as a GUEST DESIGNER so be sure to come on over and say hi!

                                        

So MANY announcements……...BUT, I had better leave some for tomorrows post even though I just want to keep on writing so I can tell you all my happy news!

I hope that you all take a little time for yourselves today and be a little creative! It will truly put a SMILE on your face!

HUGS,

~Susan

School Time Again!

I can't believe that it is that time again! Yes, it is 'School Time Again'! I really think that the summer seems to go by faster ever year! This is a picture of my youngest, and well….she isn't this young any more. This year she is going into grade eight! Wow! It shocks me just to just that out! I remember telling people that my kiddos where 0,2,4,&6 . It really doesn't seem that long ago. I just am so glad that I had an interest in taking pictures so that I could look at these dear pictures and remember what my kiddos looked like when they were so tiny! Now, I am the tiny one!

When my kiddos were tiny, I taught a lot of painting and art classes, but I often didn't have time to scrapbook our own photos. I often wrote dates and notes on the back of the pictures or on an envelope and placed then in it so I would forget important memories. I find it really fun to take those pictures that are a little older and scrapbook them now. The whole family like to get involved! It makes an awesome family activity! Give it a try one evening and I guarantee everyone will be laughing and smiling by the end of the evening!

Keep on Scrappin'

~Susan

Freehand Watercolor Cards

To get my creative juices flowing today I sat down with some lovely pens from Kuretake  and doodled up some wild flowers. I first used their ZIG CLEAN COLOR Real Brush to create a wonderful watercolor effect and then I used a grey ZIG Memory Writer to doodle around my illustration. The Clean Color Real Brush pens are so FUN and easy to use!

When doodling I just relax and I don't worry about going over the lines.

 

 

 

I then backed my doodle with some wonderful polka dot paper from Basic Grey and added some trim from K&Company to complete the look.

Now I have a little card to brighten someone's day, and it put a smile on my face to make it!

Guess what is hitting the stores right away!?!?

Yup…..the fall issue of the Canadian Scrapbooker is out on September 1st. ! See the article mentioned on the front cover: Scrapbooking with Wrappers,…my kiddos helped eat the candies for that article so that I could create the designs and write it. We had a blast! Who knew that recycling candy wrappers and putting them on your scrapbooking layout could be so much fun! The whole magazine is FANTASTIC!

Well, the excitement is really starting to build around here! September is going to be fun and I really hope you come share it with me!

I hope that you have a super  awesome day!

~Susan

Wishing on Falling Stars

Summer holidays are quickly coming to an end. Where, oh where did it disappear too! Yes, there were moments during the summer when I started to actually count the days until school started again… Oh, you know, when siblings start bickering over the silliest things, or kiddos keep asking you the same questions over and over again. But, those moments where were few and far between and we really did have  a fun time. 

One day I was working in my studio and my daughter, Ashley came in and presented me with a 'gift' that she had made me. It turns out that she felt bad that she had eaten all my Tic Tacs, so she punched all kinds of little gold wishing stars and filled the container for me. I was so touched by her little gift and even her silliness.  I keep it on my desk to remind me to always wish on falling stars! It is so important to keep your dreams alive no matter how old you get or what you are doing in life!

Well, right now is what I describe as the calm before the storm. A good storm though. A fantastic creative one full of wonderful inspiration. In a few short days my journey is going to include a whole bunch of new and exciting things and I sure hope that you come along for the ride, because it is going to be AMAZING!!!!

STAY TUNED……..

MORE TO COME!!!!!

~Susan

Upcrafting School Supplies

It's that time of the year again! Yes, when we start buying school supplies and dream about little ones or big ones going back to school again. However, with four kiddos I have found over the years, that every year  there is often a lot of waste. There is a lot of unwanted packaging, and often extra supplies. So as I mom, designer, artist, deal finder, and all round thrifty person,  … I found that instead of getting really frazzled about back to school shopping I would "MAKE" the best out of it! So, I have! Back to school packaging and supplies are so close to scrapbooking and crafting supplies that it is so easy to repurpose waste into reusable items that can be used as gifts that even my teens don't mind taking to school! Or, with Christmas around the corner items like this upcrafted algebra case will make a perfect little gift for someone!

So, when so you are running around like crazy over the next couple of weeks trying to get kiddos ready for school, schedule a little craft time for yourself! It will make you smile!

Have a crafty day and make sure to check out all the fantastic blogs that are part of the Fave Crafts Blog Hop Today!

Hugs,

~Susan

Topiary Fun

We had to do a little pruning in the backyard, so I saved the wood to make up some table place card holders for a family reunion. They where really easy to do and they add a little bit of color to our supper table too! I used the base and the main stick from our tree and the spherical globe I picked up from Michael's.

You can find the alphabet flowers  from Jillibean Soup. I added the yarn centres myself. 

You can really use a lot of your garden trimmings in your craft room!  Have fun exploring!

~Susan

Everything can be beautiful!

I planted lettuce this year…. A LOT  of lettuce! We haven't kept up with eating it all and some of it has started to go to seed. Who knew that lettuce could be so pretty! So I cut some stalks down and added them to some sunflowers, dill, African Daisies, and some other lovies and I ended up with a cute arrangement! I painted up an old pickle jar and put my arrange in it! Voila!

Lettuce Bouquet VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

It just shows that everything truly can be beautiful!

 

 Ok~ my kiddos and I were having some fun the other day and this is what we came up. Good for a few giggles! Enjoy!

~Susan

There's Sunshine in My Heart Today!

How wonderful is it to take a few minutes, sit outside quietly, close your eyes and enjoy the warmth of the sun shining on your face! I love to sit in my garden and to just watch the beautiful birds, the wonderful insects, and to tinker with my plants. It makes me feel connected with the beauty of the world around me. It also gives me the energy to face the world with a *smile* on my face! I get  a lot of my inspiration from the beautiful world around me! A lot of times when I am sitting in my garden I will come up with my next article, or I will doodle, or paint. I love taking ideas and colors from nature around.

I created my 'Sunshine in My Heart' painting/doodle with product from Kuretake. I used their Clean Color Real Brush pens to create my scene and then I outlined the picture with Kuretakes ZIG Memory Writers. I quickly created a frame by using some wonderful Glimmer Mist paints from Tattered Angels. 

Ok- I have my first prize give away to announce for this summer. It is some of my favourite doodling supplies. And the winner is JeanieD  from jeaniesdesigns.com . So Jeanie please contact me with your address and Congratulations!

***Remember to check out Canadian Scrapbooker's website today because it is Why Not Win Wednesday and they are giving away an awesome prize package from Bella Blvd.

Keep on Crafting and enjoy the sunshine!

~Susie