Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Introducing Sarah Martina!!!

We are teary-eyed to say goodbye to Ann Cox, our guest designer for the month of September! THANK YOU so much, Ann, for inspiring us with your creative antics. ;) Be sure to check out what Ann is up to, everyone! She has a fun new challenge for everyone! :)

For October, we are welcoming the lovely, the talented SARAH MARTINA!! Sarah, welcome to Limelight! We are so excited to have you! :)


A bit about Sarah:
Hi everyone! I am so excited to be joining the Limelight team this month! I guess you could say that crafting is my first passion, but only if you don't count my incredible family! I am married to my hero and best friend, Sie. Together, we have a beautiful daughter, Sydney, and a fun-loving son, Sie, II. We are a busy bunch, but what more could a girl ask for?! I am so thrilled to share with and be inspired by you all as we play along in the fun fall festivities that Limelight has in store this month! Hugs & Love!

Here are a few of Sarah's recent FABULOUS creations!




Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Grateful Fruit Stripes



Funny title, huh? The name of this new paper from TaDa Creative Studios is Fruit Stripes (from the Abode a la Mode line), and I think it's so cute that I HAD to include it in the title!! This is just a little 3x3 card I whipped up today with some papers, a stamp, a short length of ribbon, and a few buttons! Hope you like it! I hope to be able to post tomorrow, but DEFINITELY check back Thursday for two fun posts! Of course, I'll be posting the next Limelight Sketch and Product challenge, and I'll also be posting some fun (personal, not store) news! :) See you then!

Stamps: Simple Blessings (Unity). Paper: SU Kraft, Abode a la Mode - Fruit Stripes (heehee!). Ink: Melon Mambo. Accessories: Orange Textured Ribbon, PTI buttons.

Monday, September 28, 2009

World Card Making Day


Don't you just love card making? There is something about a stash of paper, ribbons, inks, glitter, and STAMPS that just makes me happy! This Saturday is a day celebrating the wonderful art of paper crafting! I hope that you will join us here on Saturday, October 3, to celebrate WCMD with games, activities, beautiful creations, and (best of all!) PRIZES! Great prizes! Like, some stuff you can't get yet prizes!

Check back here to be directed to a list of bloggers (DT members and friends of Limelight!) that have games and prizes up for grabs! And here on my blog, I'll be hosting the much-loved photo scavenger hunt!!! Can't wait to see you here...and give away freebies!

Card Details:
Stamps: Unity September Store Kit - Everything Extraordinary. Paper: PTI White. Ink: Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzleberry, Adirondack Pitch Black. Accessories: Glue Dots, Kaisercraft Rhinestones - Wine and Island Lagoon.

Want FREE Stampin' Stuff??


This week, in celebration of World Card Making Day, it's all about giving you FREE stuff!! :)

*All patterned paper BUY 3, GET 1 FREE!

*All Stampendous stamps BUY 3, GET 1 FREE!

*Shimmerz & Shimmerz Blingz BUY 1, GET 1 FREE! (excludes Spritz)
Simply enter your choices of free products in the Comments section at checkout! (Free items should be of equal or lesser value, please.)

CLICK HERE TO SHOP!!!

Friday, September 25, 2009

TaDa E-I-E-I-O is HERE!!!

We have received LOTS of inquiries about the new E-I-E-I-O line from TaDa Creative Studios! Be sure to pick up your papers NOW! :) Click HERE to view the new TaDa lines, also including Abode a la Mode (my personal favorite!!) and Festivus.

Place an order of ANY amount this weekend, through Sunday, and we will send you a free sheet of patterned paper! Enter your choice of paper in the Comments section of your order! Order one of the new TaDa items and choose TWO free sheets of patterned paper with your order!





Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Grateful For You


Happy First Day of Fall!!!

This is the card that I created for this week's Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge. The challenge is simply to create a card using fall colors! LOVE IT! The verse inspiring the challenge is Ecclesiastes 3:1, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." The purple and copper are good fall colors to me. Very simple, very Fall.

I also HAVE to share the recipes for two new pumpkin foods I tried (and made LOTS of this past week!!! Pumpkin muffins and pumpkin butter... both from SmittenKitchen.com. Of course. ;) Try them... you will LOVE them! Guaranteed!

Pumpkin Butter
Adapted from AllRecipes

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree, approx. 3 1/2 cups
3/4 cup apple juice
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Juice of half a lemon

1. Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently. Adjust spices to taste. Stir in lemon juice, or more to taste.
2. Once cool, pumpkin butter can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge.

To preserve: Spoon hot pumpkin mixture into hot jars, filling to within 1/4 inch from top. Remove air bubbles; wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids, and screw on bands. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

*I omitted the ground cloves due to cost... I found a good price on it, though, so I'll add it in next time!!

Pumpkin Muffins
Adapted from the American club, in Kohler, Wisconsin via Gourmet Magazine

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15 ounce can)
1/3 cup vegetable oil*
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar**
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Put oven in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about three-fourths full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Sketch Challenge 30 WINNER!!!

The winner of the Hauntingly Stamp set, as chosen by Random.org, is none other than Becky Sorenson!! We were SO thrilled to have so many people leave comments and play along this round! THANK YOU ALL! Here is Becky's beautiful card:


And, as always, here are some of my picks for the week...

SMK:


Linda:


Steph:


Kristen:


I will be back later or tomorrow with a card I created for the Sisters in Christ challenge as well as recipes for pumpkin muffins and pumpkin butter.... YUM!!

Limelight Sales!!! Woohoo!!

New Basic Grey Eerie, Eskimo Kisses, and Indian Summer are HERE!
The Unity Store Kit is HERE!!!
NEW Shimmerz and Shimmerz Spritz are releasing TODAY!!! :) CLICK HERE!!

*Prima Hydrangeas, Whispers, and Bitty Bags 25% off!
*All October Afternoon 8x8 Paper Pads 25% off!

*NEW Stampendous Cider Spider Cling Stamp only $1.79!

*Kaisercraft Clear Droplets ONLY $1
*Pink Cat Studio Halloween Stamp Set & NEW Itty Bitty Halloween ONLY $12!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Etsy Inspired #54


I am so excited that I got some good stamping time in this afternoon! It is so much of a relaxing thing to just let the creative juices flow and NOT worry about anything else for a while! ;) I created this card for the Etsy Inspired Challenge #54. The featured shop is I Heart Flowers...totally gorgeous, inspiring stuff!!

I knew I wanted to use my new Basic Grey Indian Summer papers... I didn't think I would really like this line at first, but now I'm totally in love! LOL! Isn't that just the way it works? The card base is SU Chocolate Chip, and the patterned paper is layered on Crushed Curry. I used a large Jillibean Soup Harvest Bean Seed felt flower...this was the main thing I pulled from the inspiration...the big, soft, velvety flowers in rich colors! The center of the flower is a Build a Brad (SU) with the same Indian Summer paper. The "hey" sentiment was created with Pink Paislee Chocolate Alpha Stickers, and a few Wine Rhinestones were added to the top of the patterned paper for a little balance and bling!

On another note, I thought I'd share a cute (sad, though!) picture of Katy... She got her finger slammed (and I mean SLAMMED!) in the storm door at her preschool on Friday, and Drew took her for her first x-ray! Luckily, her bones are still soft and pliable, so there was no broken bone! She's still swollen and bruised, but she's using that finger normally now! Look at her cute sticker:

Tomorrow will be a big day! Check back here on my blog for the winner of the Unity Hauntingly Sweet stamp set! There is still time to enter! Submit your card for the Limelight Sketch and Product challenge before I draw a winner tomorrow afternoon to be eligible! Be sure to check the DT blogs to find the EXTRA PRIZE that's hidden out there, too! You could win the new Indian Summer Pops!!! And check the store for the NEW Shimmerz and Shimmerz Spritz products!! There are some fabulous new colors and a GREAT new thing, too! :)

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Limelight Sketch 30: Patterned Paper!


Happy Thursday, everyone! Welcome to another round of the Limelight Sketch and Product Challenge! Limelight Papercrafts is the home of SEVERAL new patterned paper lines, so we thought it would only be fitting that we use patterned paper as the focus for our sketch this week! :) This week, we have a little something SNEAKY up our sleeves for you! An extra HIDDEN prize!! Be sure to check out each of my wonderful DT members' blogs because ONE of them contains an additional prize that you can be entered to win JUST by leaving a comment! What's the prize, you ask? Great question, my friends. ;) One lucky commenter will win the new Basic Grey Indian Summer Pops! Just surf around the following blogs...you'll know it when you get to the blog with the prize!

For my card, I chose to use the NEW Basic Grey Indian Summer papers. Boy, are they gorgeous! Trust me, if you love fall, this captures the feelings inspired by fall perfectly!! For my card base, I used the new SU In Color Soft Suede (the textured cardstock). I layered on the Indian Summer for both of my patterned paper pieces. I also sprayed on a little Tuscan Sun Shimmerz Spritz to the large background piece of patterned paper to give a subtle gold shimmer to my card. You cannot tell because the strips are so thin, but the paper that the sentiment is on is actually a fall leaf pattern! Like this:

There are several colors of that beautiful pattern in the 6x6 paper pad! Love that. For the focal image, I used my *favorite* thing from this Basic Grey release (okay, ONE of my favorites!! LOL!)... The felt tree from the Indian Summer Woolies! Isn't it totally gorgeous? Even Drew (my husband) was wowed by it! The sentiment, which I embossed with Gold EP, comes from the Unity Store Kit, Everything Extraordinary. What a fabulous set! One thing Angela really know how to do well (although she does seem to do EVERYTHING well!) is find the best quotes for her stamps! This one is so perfect... "In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary"! Next to each part of the sentiment, I added a single Bronze Rhinestone to complete the sketch and add more warmth.

Okay, now it's your turn...


The Details:
**Use the sketch above and dress it up with your favorite PATTERNED PAPER!!

**Key word for SCS upload is LLPC030
**Post a comment with a link to your card right here on this post by Sunday, September 20, at midnight (or before winner is drawn Monday a.m.).

**PRIZE ~ One lucky winner will receive the Unity Stamp Co. Hauntingly Sweet Stamp Set!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

EERIE WINNER! And New STUFF!

All right, you ladies love your Basic Grey!! LOL! We only have one winner, but we have PLENTY of the new Eerie, Eskimo Kisses, and Indian Summer lines at Limelight Papercrafts! So who is that one lucky winner? Number 26... EMILY!! You win!

What all is NEW at Limelight? (What ISN'T?!?) **Look to the end for a special offer!**















Seriously, this is a TON of new stuff! Did you SEE that first stamp set? It is the new Itty Bitty Halloween set from Pink Cat Studio! It's new in the Limelight, it's adorable, and it's ready to make its way to you!

Place a Limelight order TODAY and mention my blog in the Comments section, and I'll include 2 sheets of 12x12 patterned paper in your order for FREE!!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Basic Grey EERIE Blog Candy!

Today is the day! The new Indian Summer, Eerie, and Eskimo Kisses collections from Basic Grey will be up in the store, as they are arriving to us today! We cannot wait to see what you create with these fabulous new lines!!



WANT TO WIN AN EERIE PAPER PAD???

Leave a comment on this post by midnight tonight (EST) telling me your favorite thing about Autumn!! That's it! Refer someone to this giveaway, and you can leave another entry! :) I will draw a winner on Wednesday!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Limelight Sales :)

*Crate Paper Sweet Branch and Blue Hill collection kits ONLY $5

*Basic Grey Bittersweet collection 30% off

*Pebbles, Inc. Spooky Stickers and Spooky Words Stickers ONLY $1

*Kaisercraft Bauble Album ONLY $3

Don't forget that we now have the Unity Stores-Only Kits! And LOTS of new Jillibean Soup, Stampendous, Unity, Pink Paislee, and more! And guess what arrives on Tuesday? NEW Basic Grey!!! See ya in the Limelight!

All For One


Happy Sunday, everyone! Sundays are great days here in the Cheshire household, but they are very busy!! Awana Club starts back up tonight at church, so we'll be leaving in a bit for that! Cameron is old enough for Awana this year, so this is his first night! :) Anyway... this won't be a long post for that reason!

I just love this new cling Fluffles stamp from Stampendous, Fluffles Musketeer! So adorable!! :) And do you see the stitching around my card? That's a stamp, too! I really love my Zigzag Stitch stamp from Odd Bird Planet. I HAVE finally figured out the sewing machine, but it's so cool to be able to stamp on a stitched border! The sword (and a few other accents) are actually painted with Gold Glimmer Shimmerz, and the paper is NEW from Pink Paislee. It's the Twilight collection!

Stamps: Fluffles Musketeer, OBP Noel's Zigzag Stitch. Paper: SU Kraft, Pink Paislee Twilight - Dusk. Accessories: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Gold Glimmer Blingz Shimmerz, Pop-it Circles, Pink Paislee Twilight - Bella Brads.

*Oh, and I AM working on a tutorial for my pumpkin basket! I'll get it up as SOON as I possibly can!*

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Unity Store Kit is HERE!!!


Oh, yes, it's here! It's bigger than I thought! And it's FABULOUS!!!! (Oh, and only $35!) Get your kit NOW!!!

What else is here? Great question... ;) We have some things not yet available through the Unity site!!! :)








I've got my new stamps... Do you? (Had to taunt ya!!) Don't forget to enter LABORDAY at checkout for 10% savings on your entire order!!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Sketch 29 WINNER! And COUPON CODE!

Happy Monday, everyone! We are in the NC mountains for the Hendersonville Apple Festival today! Fun stuff! I'll be posting some pictures from that in the next day or so. We will also be taking the kiddos gem mining, so it should be a fun day for all! Cameron thinks he is really gonna find some good stuff. ;)

Without any further ado, our (random) winner of the package of Jillibean Soup Cool Beans Buttons is.... MAGGIE!!!


If you didn't win, don't worry! We have PLENTY of Cool Beans in stock, along with lots of other great new things! Think Jillibean Soup, Cosmo Cricket, Stampendous, and Unity Stamp Company! (Psssst! We have the NEW Unity September Store Kit arriving to us TOMORROW!!) And enter the code LABORDAY at checkout to receive 10% off of your entire order!

Please e-mail me with your address and color choice (red, brown, or green), and I'll pop those right in the mail for you. :) Congrats! And thanks to everyone who submitted their fabulous cards!! Here are a FEW of my favorites!

SueB:


Rose:


Lorelie:



Kim:


Cassie: