Lacy Sunshine Guest Designer....That's ME!!

Okay, if you couldn't tell from the title of this post....

I'm a bit excited over the moon excited to enjoy the fun and honor of being Guest Designer for the next challenge over at

Lacy Sunshine!!

The theme for this new fortnightly challenge is a great one:
It's a Bling Thing!
So get out that glitter, those rhinestones, those charms....
Whatever your heart fancies and bling it up, baby!

I was given Karmi Kornpops to play with for this challenge and I'm completely in love with her.  Heather is such a talented lady!  Her digis are so original and fun to use.  I'm constantly inspired by the little cuties I find in her store.  She's just opened an Etsy shop too.  You can find loads of her images there with more to be added very soon.
Go check it out here.

I love the way the glitter paper really sparkles!
The papers were my jumping off point for the design of this card.

In this photo and the one below,
you can see the rhinestone swirls that I used.
They actually began life as one very large swirl that I cut apart
so they would fit in the small spaces available for more bling.

You can see the dimension the pop dots add to the image and mats.

Putting the glitter on the roses quickly reminded me why I very rarely
use glitter.  Not only do I make an incredible mess with it but this time
I got some in my eye too.  FYI: That is not a pleasant experience.

The ingredients used for this card were:
Cardstock:  Papertrey Ink
DSP:  Recollections "Retro" stack, DCWV
Coloring medium:  ProMarkers
Beads:  Bead Gallery, Dollar Tree
Pearl sprays:  Hobby Lobby bridal department
Ribbons:  Making Memories, Dollar Tree, my stash
Pearl stickers:  Recollections
Rhinestone swirls:  Recollections
Mulberry paper flowers:  Wild Orchid Crafts

You can find this card in the following challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge -- Gems, gems, gems
Jo's Scrap Shack -- Things with wings
Totally Papercrafts -- Use glitter
A Little Bit Crafty -- Sparkle and shine

I had a blast doing this card.
Bling is something that I'm still trying to get used to using
so this theme truly was a challenge for me!
Go get your card ready and join in the fun.  There are always 2 winners drawn so twice the chances to collect some new Lacy Sunshine images.  PLUS if you use one of Heather's images in this week's challenge, you can receive a new image next week through her Loyalty Program.  Pretty sweet deal, right?

Thanks so much for spending some time here today!

Bright and cheery Halloween

I'm not sure what possessed me to make a Halloween card in bright pink, aqua, and lime green but I like it!  I'm still pretty limited on the colors of ProMarkers that I have so that does eliminate some choices.  (Should have had more markers by now.....long, ugly story that ends with the very first negative feedback I've ever left on Ebay.)  Letraset is all the way on the opposite side of the pond and they're who I should have ordered from for this round of colors.  Lesson learned.

I knew that I wanted to use this adorable image by Lacy Sunshine.  She's called Witchy Susie and you can find her in the $1 retiring digis section of the shop.  I love $1 deals.  When I sat down to decide what colors to use, the bright ones just jumped out at me.

Here's little Susie in all her glory:

I really wanted to emboss the aqua mat but I only have the capability to emboss A2 size cards and this is 5.5"x5.5" so I had to improvise.  Instead, I just used my ScorPal and scored every half inch both vertically and horizontally.  Problem solved.

These are the items I used to complete the card:

**Cardstock: Recollections for everything but the base and that is Papertrey Ink

**Patterned paper:  Studio G from the Michaels Dollar Bin!  It comes in 6x6 packs of 15 sheets....for a buck.  Really cute patterns all in the same color family.  I now have the pink, blue, yellow, and green.  If I find more, I'll buy more.  Great value, I think.

**Stamps: "Happy" is Papertrey Ink and "Halloween" is from a dollar stamp, maker unknown.  (Did mention I love $1 deals?)

**Aqua Mulberry paper roses:  Ebay.  A good Ebay seller.  Floraworld is their name and they shipped super fast plus they added in a little pack of leaves as a free gift.

I'll be buying from them again!

**Fringe ribbon: Joann

**Beads: Mostly from the Dollar Tree....do ya' see a pattern in my shopping habits?

**Bead spray:  Michaels in the bridal section

**Hand charm:  Michaels in the jewelry supplies section

**Clasp the beads are attached to: Tim Holtz

**Rhinestones:  Recollections and, of course,

Michaels Dollar Bin...lol

**The pink rose I made using my Cricut and the Flower Shoppe cartridge.

You can find Susie in the following challenges:

Catch The Bug -- Anything goes
Totally Gorjuss -- Anything goes, challenge 200
Lacy Sunshine -- Dies and/or punches
Passion For ProMarkers -- Perfect pets
Created With Love -- Tic Tac Toe: flowers, glitter, rhinestones 
(The glitter on her bows and shoes didn't show in my photos.)
The Crazy Challenge -- Bingo: ribbon, image, flowers
RetroSketches -- Sketch #80

I Love ProMarkers -- 3 different shapes:
square, rectangle, and round rhinestones
Cute Card Tuesday -- Hip to be square
Pile It On -- Tic Tac Toe: metal, image, bling

Back to school with Lacy Sunshine and Elizabeth Dulemba

There have been so many Back to School challenges floating around the last couple of weeks but I don't think I've entered any cards so far.  I've just not been "feeling" the whole back to school season.  Last May my youngest graduated from high school.....and I still get a bit weepy just thinking of not having a son in K-12 anymore.  Hubby and I had 1, 2 or all 3 boys in the same school system for 22 consecutive years.  If we had been in the military, we would be eligible for retirement.  How's that for perspective?

My reluctance to do a school themed card faded quickly when I saw "Jillian" by  Lacy Sunshine.  Oh my gosh.  She is so cute.  That image got my mind spinning so I started looking around for a digi I could use to take Jillian into the classroom.  Along came a freebie from Elizabeth Dulemba.  I found it here.  Take a look there!  You'll find oodles of digis.  Have fun!!

My progress with ProMarkers continues to make me happy.  (I have loads to learn but I'm giving myself some slack since I've only had them for 5 days.)  Today, Jillian became an emerald-eyed ginger and I think she's gor-geous!  I have several others already printed and ready for coloring to use on Operation Write Home cards.  Isn't she just perfect for OWH cards?

You aren't gonna' believe where I came up with some of the embellies for this card!   It's almost embarrassing to tell you how cheap frugal I am....actually, no it isn't.  I'm pretty proud of my ingenuity and love hearing stories of others finding their own treasures in thrift stores, tag sales, etc.  Here are some of the unconventional sources for today's card:

*The little button was the extra button from a shirt.  You know, the one that's attached in the little plastic baggy?  Love those!
*The beads and the white cord tied to the button are from a kit of beads from the Dollar Tree.  They were in the kid's craft section.
*The heart in the upper right corner was white card stock that I covered in Glossy Accents.  (I had just gotten the stuff and had to play with it.)  It had been in my stash for months now and it was time for it to be set free.  I didn't want a super white heart on the card so I turned it over and used a couple of ProMarkers on the back side.  I'm kinda' loving the way it turned out.
*The sentiment was printed with my little label maker to emphasize the school theme.  I thought Jillian looked like she might have a sassy side to her so I added a touch of sarcasm.
And best of all:
*The little bit of pink grosgrain ribbon that's under the heart and across the bottom of the card came from.....drum roll, please......the drawstring of an old pair of pajama pants.  That sounds a little weird but I assure you it is clean and fully laundered.  I guess me saving that is hereditary.  My Mom is a phenomenal ribbon saver and I am following closely in her steps.  (If I could have gotten her cleaning gene, my house would have far fewer dust bunnies.  Oh well.  I'll take the ribbon and just live with the bunnies.)

Now, time for you to take a look at that beautiful little redhead:

The frame was cut using my Cricut Expression and the Elegant Edges cartridge.  It was the very first time I had used the Center Point key.  And, yes, I cut her out before I colored the image.  The thought of screwing up a completely colored digi makes me just a little sick.  Luckily, it was pretty successful and I love the effect of the finished product.

You can find Jillian and her books in the following challenges:


Lacy Sunshine -- Girls, girls, girls
By Lori Designs -- Back to school
Outlawz Friday Alcohol Marker Challenge -- Back to school
Perfect Sentiments Challenge -- Goodbye summer, hello school
The Sisterhood of Crafters -- Back to school
Stamp-n-Doodle -- Back to School
Going Grey with Scrap Creations -- Back to school
Tuesday Throwdown -- School colors
Craft Your Passion -- Office supplies
Love to Create -- Back to school
 

Once again I'd like to thank you for the time you've spent here.  Please leave me a comment if you have an extra minute....and I'd love to have you as a new follower!

Saturated Canary's "Boobie Love" digi with thoughts of Michele

This morning I started searching around for digis to use as practice with my new ProMarkers.  More specifically, I was looking for free digis.  My Mother very successfully raised a cheap frugal daughter.  There are loads of free images out there and I came across several that are real keepers.  A later post will be about the different sites that offer several freebies so be sure to check back for that.

As I was looking, I found a phenomenal one for a PENNY.
Yes, one red cent!
It's from Saturated Canary and is called "Boobie Love."
A kinda' racy name for a super cute image that's, of course, meant for the support of breast cancer victims and survivors.  I had to have it.  No two ways about it.  (I also paid for one of their other images....it was so hard not to buy more.  Their site is chock full of yummy images!)

While I was working on this card today, my mind kept drifting to thoughts of a gal my hubby and I graduated high school with.  Her name is Michele, her spirit is indomitable, she is breathtakingly beautiful, and she is currently battling breast cancer.  She wasn't able to make our 30th reunion a couple of weeks ago and was sadly missed.  I look forward to seeing her at our 35th...if not sooner.

Before I get myself worked up too much, here's my card.
For Michele.
Sparkle on, Chica.

This card has been used as my entry for a Design Team call at a brand-spanking new challenge blog.  I'm so excited for the activity to begin at Dreamtime Designs.  An opportunity to be on a design team is exciting enough to me...get to play with all sorts of new digis, techniques, themes, etc....sign me up!  But to be able to be the part of an initial DT is really intriguing.  To get to say that "I knew them when" would be really awesome.  Wish me luck.
(I feel like I'm jumping the gun a bit given the fact I've only been blogging for literally 4 weeks.  But then again, I do like to live by the attitude of "Sure.  Why not?")

In addition to the above mentioned DT call, this card can be found in the following challenges:

Sentimental Sundays -- Ombre hair
Color Me Creative -- Anything goes
Link Up for Pink -- Challenge #16
2 Sisters Challenge Blog -- Square cards
Crafty Sentiments -- Colorful
Pile It On -- Designer paper
Love To Scrap -- Bingo: flowers, die cuts and bling
Joanna Sheen Challenge Blog -- Pretty in Pink
Loves Rubberstamps Challenges -- Round or square cards
Crafting By Designs -- Mixed media




If you have any questions about any of the materials used, please feel free to email me!  I appreciate your visit and would love to read your comments.  So  leave some love if you have the time!