Cabin Renovation | And So it Began

A few weeks ago, we began remodeling our lake cabin. It all started out with it desperately needing a new roof. The contractor mentioned that if we needed a brand new roof (it already had two layers of shingles on it) that "now would be a good time to make changes inside too if you'd like to or if you were ever going to do so."  And so, we thought on it, and we decided to "do so."
Here are some pics from when it was first purchased:

 From when we had stained the deck:

From when construction first began Week 1: The slab for a garage and an extra bathroom and bedroom (1 bathroom with 8-10 people at times?? )

Pics from Week 2:

 The siding we have chosen. Love the woodgrain pattern. :)

 Old insulation

 Exposed rafters:

 Vintage hardwoods that we are trying to keep (at least in some of the cabin)

 Garage/bedroom/bathroom framing:

 Cool teener:

 Cool tweener (Amidst a cool vintage weathered and worn cabin siding backdrop -that sadly had to go-loved it for these pics though).

 The storm (mess) that has to come before the calm (new) occurs:

Week 3: Roofless!

That's our contractor, Josh, up in the cherry picker, trimming limbs! Better him than me. Will leave it at that! LOL

A bird' eye view. Isn't it a-Maze-ing? ;) Hard working Seth managed to get in the pic too!

 Trusses! Just in time! 70% chance of rain the following day! Eep!

New roof going up:

New roof going on:

 Shingled!

 Soffited:

 Wrapped:

 Eaved:

Looking forward to the rest of the journey. We are so pleased with what's been done so far and how hard working and polite the crew is! Blessed indeed. :) BBL with another update!
Suz

Elle's Studio World Card Making Day | Giveaway Winner

Hi all! Hope you had a lovely weekend! We had a busy but lovely one here. I am dropping in to announce the winner of the Elle's Studio "Everyday Greetings" digital files!!

The winner is.......

 RUTH, who commented,

"I love the card with a peek of the inside! Soooooooooo very cute!!!! And the midway paper is perfect!!"

Congratulations Ruth and thank you to all who commented and who played along! Ruth, please email me with your email addy so that I may send it along to Elle and so that she may then get your winnings on to you! My email is in contact info on my sidebar. ;)

Have a beautifully blessed fall y'all! 

Suz

Little Black Dress October Kit | Just For Today

Hi All! So much going on this weekend! Marching band contest, college football viewing, cabin remodel, World Card day celebrating and the celebration of Little Black Dress' October Kit!!

Have I mentioned how much I love this little kit club?!! Every month never disappoints with creative overload of contents in each kit. This month is packed with fun embellies and trims, tons of pretty pattern papers, and much to be inspired by.

Since we are celebrating World Card Day, my gallery this month is heavier on the cards. So far, I have made 5 cards and three layouts and have a ton of patterned papers, trims and embellies left to play with!
Sooo, without further adieu.... here is my DT gallery for October:


The Sweetest Thing line by MME? Love it. Perfect for showcasing a vintage pic of my sweet momma as a little girl with my gramps. I am a big fan of this line by Jen Allyson.  (Love me some enamel dots too. I might not have enough of them-yet!  Hoping I/we might see a few in some upcoming LBD kits. :)

 A mini starburst punch, some Mr. Huey white, die cutting, and embossing. A little 3D pop dots to help give this card some dimension and done!

Love the look of Mr Huey's Shine on this card. If you look closely, you can see the sparkle. I think it helps add to the feel of the card and show off the adorable flair/badge that's in the kit.

 I've been wanting to scrap this pic (from a series) for quite some time. My boys had the best time on this particular day, enjoying the Colorado snow sans their jackets. ;)

A trip back in time here with my boys. (Gasp! How they have grown!)
Look at my little dude's Snow White hair. Perfect for Disney, no?  ;)

This layout commemorates a trip to Disney and "Mickey's Not So Scary Parade." The boys loved the parade and they loved wearing their costumes Mimi and Papa brought back from a trip to China. I played off off the Konnichiwa pp using my Silhouette to create the cobweb, and font work titles with Chinese characters that translate to "hello". The idea was that no matter what language you speak, Mickey's "Not So Scary" at WDW translates to a whole lot of fun." I realized after I took this layout pic, I didn't get my inspiration journaling onto the layout. But no worries, I simply got out a shipping tag, journaled on it and tucked it behind the photo on the left. (One of my fav ways to get more journaling on the page!)

The vintage paper that came with the kit (the jack-o-lantern here) is awesome. I just cut this little snippet out and used my Staedtler watercolor pencils to color it up. Love the effect! :)

 And for you arachnophobes out there, beware. This little fella is all look and no bite! But boy, he sure did add a fun element to this layout!

 I don't know what the temps are near you, but fall has most definitely arrived here in the Ozarks as the temps have dropped significantly. Perfect time to head indoors for some hot java, tea, spiced cider or hot chocolate. This month's kit has been perfect for creating some cards! I think these two will find their way into the hands of a few of my local scrapping besties (and perhaps one of my "Across the Big Pond" scrapping bestie who both thrive on Starbucks and tea ;) The cards were made from some Silhouette designs and the interiors of these cards will house some gift cards nicely me thinks! ;)

 This snowflake was made with my Silhouette as well. I added the lovely blue tulle from the kit to add a light feel of sky/snow along with that Mr. Huey's Shine again. (Good ole boy-ever present front and center in my stash!) ;)

(ETA*Sorry, I inadvertently did not get this card posted here earlier. Sorry for the confusion! )

Have I mentioned I like to repurpose things? Well, I do. Here I have used some of the packaging from the Basic Grey flair at the center of this card. (Oh, and, "The Sweetest Thing"? On my layout about my mom? It was packaging too. Looooooveeeeeee to stretch my imagination and my kit! It helps me think out of the box at times. Try it sometime. It is totally fun. I promise! ;)

Well now! It's off to creating with more of the kit and some Wold Card Making Day celebrating!) Be sure to check out the LBD blog for more design inspo from other DT contributors. Check out LBD on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram too while you're at it! :)

Happy World Card Making Day y'all!

Elle's Studio World Card Day Celebration

Hello there! So very excited that it's Saturday and that it is also World Card Day! I was recently asked to play along with some of Elle's Studio fabulous digital designs in celebration of this fun papercrafting "holiday."  Of course, I couldn't decline such a lovely invitation! Thanks Elle!  :)

Here is my design:

I printed and cut out some of the lovely "Everyday Greetings" sentiments and layered them atop a Bazzill card stock base and the adorably fun October Afternoon Midway patterned paper. Using my CM circle cutter I trimmed out an opening/flap for some more sentiments to peek through. I added a bit of Stickles, some baker's twine, and mini starburst punch outs (to mimic confetti) and called it complete!

Cards that come together quickly and simply, like this one did, just makes my ever-luvin' scrappy heart happy!

Here is the awesome set of digital files:

How bright, cheery, and fun are they?  These lovely files are available for purchase and on sale today & tomorrow over at Elle's Studio. Click here to take you there:
http://www.shopellesstudio.com/Everyday-Greetings.html

Here's some more great news! I get to give a set away to one of my blog readers!

And guess, what? You can increase your chances of winning. Here's how:

• stop over to Elle's Studio and check out what's going on in celebration of World Card Day, leave a comment there and head back here to leave a comment telling me you have done so
• become a follower of mine here on my blog
• follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram 
• leave a comment here linking me up with a card you have created for World Card Day
• tweet about this blog post with @SuzMannecke @Elle'sStudio in the context of the tweet 

See? Lots of ways to win! Participate in one or all! :)

Be sure to stop by Elle's Studio and check out the activities planned for the day. It's sure to be a fun-filled day!

Happy World Card Day y'all! And a special shout out to Elle for inviting me to play along! :)



ETA: Here are a few more cards I created in celebration of World Card Day:

And I may just BBL with a few more! ;)

Social {Media} Butterflies October Winner | Melinda!

Thank you to all of you who participated in the September Social {Media} Butterflies Blog Hop and for leaving a little love along the way. :)

....using the Random Generator, the winner is Melinda who commented,

"Loved each and every one of your projects! Glad I found ya through this hop!"

Melinda, please email me with your postal addy and I will be sending you a lovely little collection of acrylic stamps! :) :) :)

Little Black Dress October Sneaks

Hello All! Hope you are enjoying fall wherever you are (and summer for my cyber friends across the world).  Here are a few sneaks of Little Black Dress' October kit. I really enjoyed playing this kit, lots of playful and fun embellies and a great mix of patterned papers that got the creative juices flowing!

These are only a few of the designs I have created and I have much more of the kit to play with yet! Several more layouts to be sure.

Back soon with some fun and exciting news, the giveaway winner from this month's Social {Media} Butterflies blog hop, and another chance to win a really fun giveaway! Details for that will post on Saturday AM, so be sure to check back here then! :)