Living My Dream

American Crafts Shoreline Debut!!!

American Crafts just came out with a new line called Shoreline. It is so summery and colorful and happy and I love love love it!!! I made two pages using it last night. Theme lines make scrapbooking so easy and come together so quickly! I have lots of pictures from our summer vacation to Hawaii last year I have been wanting to scrap and this line was perfect for them!

I'm not usually a one photo, one page scrapper, but I loved the simplicity and colors in this photo, so I enlarged it and used it by itself. I framed it with lots of the paper borders from the Shoreline collection. And I had to use one of those pinwheels on both layouts because I love them so much!

AC Products Used: Solana Paper (35738) - Shoreline, Carpinteria Paper (35721) - Shoreline, Boardwalk Pool (53361) - Thickers, Boardwalk Honeycomb (53364) - Thickers, 6x6 Pad (35742) - Shoreline, Die Cut Shapes (85585) - Bits, Delights (85584), Flamingo (42249) - Remarks, Pinwheels (85586)

For this next layout, I used the 6x6 paper pad to matte my photos. After making this bright layout on white cardstock, I felt like it needed a border, so I used straight machine stitching with some zig-zag stitching over it for a decorative frame. Last, I added some spots of mist. I dropped a couple of drops on my desk and then used my finger to apply it so I had better control of where it went and how much went on.

American Crafts Products Used: White 12x12 Cardstock, Sea Isle Paper (35732) - Shoreline, Carpinteria Paper (35721) - Shoreline, Boardwalk Fireberry (53365) - Thickers, 6x6 Paper Pad (35742) - Shoreline, Pelican (42248) - Stickers, Flamingo (42249) - Remarks, Die-Cut Shapes (85585) - Bits, Pinwheels (85586)

Hope you all enjoy this new line as much as I do! Happy scrapping! suzy

Big Picture Class Give-a-way!!!!!!

The Creating Keepsakes Dream Team has partnered with Big Picture Classes and created an exciting class called Scrapbook your Dreams. I'm really excited to be a part of this class and I'm giving away a spot in the class to one lucky blog reader who leaves a comment on this post.

The class is centered around the dreams we had yesterday and how they have evolved into our actual stories today. When you were little, what dreams did you have for your life? How is your life now characterized by those dreams? I know for me, the way I thought my life would turn out has been much different than the way it actually did turn out. Many of my dreams were naive and I hadn't quite realized yet that life isn't something you can perfectly plan out. But even through the evolution of my dreams coming true, I have grown and loved the life I have led. Thus the blog title "Living My Dream". I'm sure you all have stories to tell of how you have come to live the life you wanted and we want to see you scrapbook those stories!

There is information about the 20 day online class called "Living the Dream" here. You can sign up for $20 or win a spot by leaving a comment on any or all of these blogs today (if you win on more than one blog, the class will be given to the next drawn name).

Start at the Creating Keepsakes Blog and then go through this list for the maximum possible chances of winning!

• Autumn Baldwin
• Deena Boese
• Joey Manwarren
• Kim Watson
• Laura Vegas
• Linda Barber
• Maggie Holmes
• Mou Saha
• Nicole Harper
• Piradee Talvanna
• Stacy Cohen
• Suzy Plantamura

Happy Tuesday! I will announce a winner on Friday! Thanks for participating! Suzy

Queen and Co Washi Tape and Twine Cards

I made a bunch of cards for Queen and Co last week using their awesome tapes and twines, so I thought I would share them here.

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday and a happy week! Suzy

Creativity Heals: The Power of the Written Word

I am the guest blogger on the CK Blog today with my monthly post on how creativity heals. Jump on over if you are interested in reading what I have to say in my vulnerable state (no telling!). Here is a quote by ME regarding the subject I wrote about. This is my first quote that is all mine - I usually doodle quotes from pinterest, so I am very proud of this baby! Hope you enjoy! TFV and for all the nice comments on my last blog post. Suzy

Life Ain't No Bed of Roses...

I know, ain't ain't a nice word. Kind of tacky. Yes? But I love it and use it often and I ain't gonna change that. So read on...

I read a blog post on Kelly Purkey's blog last night that I loved. Read it here. She is real and I love when scrapbookers who appear to have this perfect life (jet setter, yummy food, perfect looks, lives in NY, uber creative, super sweet, ... the list goes on describing Miss Purkey) let us know that life ain't always easy. Agreed? I also think it is really common for us scrapbookers to make life look perfect with our perfect pictures and perfect pages. But it ain't so. Not for any of us. No it ain't. Am I over using that tacky word here?!?!?!

So yesterday, I had some bad news about Hugh. For anyone that wasn't reading my blog years ago...I talked about this tumor in my head and named it Hugh to stand for "huge unwanted growth in my head". I maybe should have made the U stand for ugly, so I might make that one small change. But Hugh it still remains. Here is the post where I talked about it so I don't have to get into all THAT again! 

So back to yesterday - I ain't done with that yet. My MRI results showed that Hugh has grown and Hugh needs to be surgically removed. And I'm ok with that - a little scared, but know it is for the best as I am tired of stressing about this unwanted visitor. It's time for him to DIE or at least find a new place to reside. I'm scheduling the surgery for September as it will take about six weeks to recover and I don't want it to interupt my fun summer with the girls.

As I have mentioned (several times now) I have had a bad case of shingles and am still having pain in that area where the nerves acted up in the first place. Or my bra has just gotten too tight from weight gain - not sure. But either way, my body still hurts and I am still dealing with that.

So as the title of this lovely post stated, life ain't no bed of roses. Amen Miss Purkey. For any of us. Say a little prayer for me that I will find the right surgeon that will a) remove said unwanted visitor properly b) leave as much of my hair intact as possible c) leave as much of my hearing intact as possible and d) leave as much of my facial muscle use in tact as possible. I told my doctor yesterday he better not mess with my face 'cause at my age and after much weight gain from stress, it's all I've got that I still kind of like.

So with that...hmmm...how can I brighten this conversation? Not sure I can, but I did receive an email this morning that meant the world to me. I have a dear friend and have grown very close to her seventeen year old daughter. She calls me her second mom. I adore her. (but not as much as you Emily my niece in case you are reading, but she is a close second!). She has spent a lot of time at our house recently while her mother was traveling. I let her know the MRI new last night and this is what she sent me this morning. It gave me chills from head to toe and it made EVERYTHING so worth it. To feel I had influenced a young girl in life to find and develop a relationship with God makes my heart oh so happy and that is the bright part of this conversation!

As I lay in bed

So many thoughts in my head

God it is to you I pray

Knowing I can stray 

Yet you will always stay 

Up in the skies 

Forgiving my lies

And when I need you the most

There you are.

Waiting for my prayers

And so tonight

With no light

I pray to you Father 

That you watch over my mother 

Yet I don't pray for myself 

I pray for those who my heart aches for 

Those who I have come to love even more by each passing day

And Those who have been there since I was born. 

And You God have been there through it all. 

No matter how far I strayed 

You always watched me 

You gave me Angels 

You gave me love

Yet best of all you gave me the best mom I could ask for. 

Yet you weren't done with just my mom you gave me Suzy. 

You gave me such a wonderful woman to help me in my time of need when I had lost my way. 

You gave her to me when I was so grey.

You knew I'd find new hope 

You knew I'd find you. 

But now I as lay in bed 

With all these thoughts in my head 

I just hope and pray

That Suzy will be okay. 

And as I shed a tear 

In fear 

Of the woman that so many people hold so dear. 

I pray to you that she will overcome this journey. 

Because with you anything is possible. 

And when I look into the sky 

I don't question how or why 

I just smile and think of how grateful I am. 

That you have blessed me with such wonderful people. 

You put Suzy in our lives for a reason 

And soon next season 

I will take care of my angel you sent me 

But not alone of course 

You'll be right beside me 

But more importantly right beside Suzy. 

And that is how I know that my Suzy will be okay.

Because she has our Holy Father blessing her. 

Is that not beautiful? Thank you to a very sweet young lady who made my day and made me see the light in a dark situation! I love you!

And here are a couple of quotes to end this "life ain't no bed of roses" post. And NO, I'm not hormonal. I just get deep every now and then. Tom and I actually laughed all the way home from the appointment yesterday joking about how he will be married to a fat, bald, disfigured faced woman and if he will leave me or not. He says no. Emphatically. I guess he loves me unconditionally. Today I was thinking, "I'm half the woman I used to be". I feel like I have lost my old put together self by growing in size, not dressing as nice as I refuse to buy clothes a size bigger, I'm frumpy and old and becoming defective and just plain tired half the time! And then I thought, no actually the right way to put it would be "I am twice the woman I used to be" (again focusing on my size). And THEN the lightbulb went off in my self centered mind - I was focusing on the wrong thing - the outside when on the inside I am twice the woman I used to be. Because all this shizzle I have been through in the past few years has made me oh so stronger on the INSIDE. Duh, getting bigger is a good thing...(my conclusion!). I hope you followed that. Oh yeah, I am rambling...back to the quotes ending this post. 

Thank you for reading this long post and have an oh so wonderful day!!! Suzy

It's National Scrapbook DAY!!! (come chat with me!)

Hello scrapbook friends! Today I will be chatting on Club CK from 11:00 - 12:00 pst. Please come join me at this link: Chat with Suzy Plantmura I would love to talk with some of my blog readers!

Yesterday, I was the guest blogger on the American Crafts blog. I made this page and these cards all using the new Sketchbook line by Amy Tangerine. I took apart her Day Book and used the individual pages to make all of the little cards and to matte my photos on the layout.

Hope you all have a wonderful National Scrapbook Day and I hope to chat with some of you! 

Suzy

Guest Blogger on the CK blog today

When I needed to make a scrapbook page for the Creating Keepsakes blog, I quickly turned to the 2,000 plus pictures I have taken of our new little puppy (since last Friday, so that would be in less than a week!). I can't stop taking pictures of her - she is the cutest and sweetest thing ever. Besides Mayzie of course.....

Here is the page I made:

This is my beautiful step-daughter Jordan in these pictures. She came up to meet the new family member this weekend. Hop on over to the CK blog to read about how to incorporate items from the kitchen as stamps to use on your layouts! There is lots of exciting stuff going on at CK to celebrate National Scrapbook Day this Saturday. I'll be doing a chat on Club CK on Saturday at 11:00 am pst, so please join me!!! Suzy

PS - And in case you wondered, I am still sick. I am still in pain. I am still hating having the shingles and appear to be breaking out in a second bout of them. And I'm getting grumpy. Just thought I would update you!!! Maybe some of you can cheer me, so come to the chat PLEASE!!! xoxoxox

Do I have any blog readers left?

Hello out there. Anyone still around? I have been absent for SO long. I HAVE SHINGLES!!! And they are painful. And I haven't been on my computer much AT all. So if it doesn't happen on my phone, it doesn't happen lately. Anyway, here I am with a quick update.

Update 1: I was the guest blogger on both Creating Keepsakes and American Crafts on Friday, so if you have any interest in seeing those posts - hop on over. Lots of doodles on these two posts. Here is the page I made for the AC blog:

Update 2: My toilet upstairs flooded which resulted in damage to both the girl's bathroom and the laundry room below. So I got a nice little insurance check to fix them back up. And I decided to paint them both teal - my favorite color! And I have had lots of fun with contractors here for the past two weeks while I have been sick. But you should see my laundry room - it is amazing!!!

On Saturday, while I was high on a pain killer, my friend drove me up to the antique stores in Orange Circle. I was looking for a beveled mirror to hang over the sink in my laundry room. Instead I found the most amazing painting of three girls playing at the beach. Perfect match and has this bubble texture to it. I was so excited!!! (although my husband is going to hate it because it is way too girly!).

And now for the funny part of this story. I'm not used to pain meds - no, no, no. And if you know me very well, I am already quite an obnoxious crazy person. So while we are in this store, I am trying to embarrass my girls and my friend with this ultra obnoxious laugh every two seconds. I kept laughing at everything in the same high-pitched screech. I remember seeing a lady in front of me and thinking she must think this is my real laugh and that just made me laugh harder. Until she turned around and said I looked familiar. Holy crap - I would have run out of the store right then, but my dear friend Lori says "are you a scrapbooker?". Oh yes, that was it.... and she quickly remembered me from a local store and said "you are Suzy". I can't remember her name in my drunken state, but I am hoping she decides to read the crazy ladies blog and realizes that was not really my laugh!!!!!!!

There were some other funny moments from our antique shopping day while I was high. Such as the moment when I tried to lift my leg on the fire hydrant. Luckily no scrapbook ladies in sight for that moment, but I'll share it here!

Update 3: So yesterday I decided to stay home from church (because people think shingles is like leprousy and I didn't want to scare away the congregation) and I slept the entire day away. When the girls came home with a friend that had taken them, I was asleep in the backyard enjoying the sunshine. They decided it was a fine time to take advantage of a sick sleeping woman and they started giving me a pedicure. I kept feeling this sawing motion on my feet (callus remover) and I would occassionally jerk. And then they yanked my feet into a bowl of steaming hot water, rubbed oils all over my neck, shoulders and legs, and painted my toenails. And honestly, I slept through most of it!

I'm not one for posting pictures of my ugly feet, but these toenails just had to be shown. The funniest part was they found these old massage oils from maybe my honeymoon under my counter. And as they rubbed them on my neck and legs, they were reading the bottles. And it was SOOOOO funny! I would hear comments like "to captivate your mate, turn the lights down low and breathe deeply, massage a tiny dab on your mates shoulders, pulsepoints, anywhere you dare, get ready for an amorous response". And on and on they went as they rubbed my legs. Nice. Snore..... But when they came at me with a spatula covered in peanut butter, I woke all the way up with a start and put a stop to this little spa moment. Yes, they were planning on rubbing it all over my face.

Later, I requested some water on my sick bed and this is what they brought me. A mug given to my husband for Christmas with yellow water and chocolate chips in it. No thank you. I stayed thirsty.

Update 4: I've been doodling. Doing LOTS of doodling. As I lay in bed, it is the easiest way to entertain myself. So here are a couple doodles for your viewing pleasure. Sorry, these are all phone photos, so not the best quality.

 
Update 4: We are getting a puppy (as if that wasn't obvious enough on the last post). We saw her born, we saw her almost die, we prayed for her, we have seen her every day since, and we are in love. So there was really no decision - it just kind of happened. Pooooooooor Mayzie. Lovely Annabelle:

And here is Chloe with both pups. She has a brother named BO. They are currently six weeks old, so we get her in two weeks. But we bring them both to our house almost every day for a few hours. And we are honestly in love with both of them. But mommy said no. and Bo is spoken for!

Update 5: During my very sick days, a good friend took me out on a boat with our kids to see dolphins. I was in severe pain and didn't want to take any meds or I might fall over board. The nice man that owned the boat said a prayer before we left asking for all our cares and concerns to be left on shore while we went out. I felt no pain for four hours while we saw dolphins and a whale and enjoyed nature. It was so amazing and my favorite memory from the kids spring break. Here are a couple photos.

Update 6: I'm all done - no more updates! I'm off to bed because the time it took to post this blog update took everything I've got for a while. Now I have to figure out a way to make three layouts that are due today - ahhhhhh! Please ignore any typos as I am done and don't want to proof this very long post!

Happy Spring!!! Suzy

Trend Talk on the CK Blog

Good Monday Morning blog readers! Today I am the guest blogger on the Creating Keepsakes blog talking about one of my favorite trends - pom poms. Hop on over to see all my ideas on this subject. And here is a layout I did for the post using the all new American Crafts Amy Tangerine line:

There is a tutorial linked on the CK blog that shows you how I made these pom poms using twine. Super fun to do and very easy! Thanks for visiting!

Sometimes NO words are needed....

Happy Weekend!!! Suzy <3