Limelight March Guest DT - Maggie Haas

Our winner of the Limelight Poem and Chocolate Project was Maggie Haas! She wow'ed us with her creation, and her poem really made us smile. :)

Here is Maggie's "zen" (hee hee) haiku:
Limelight Papercrafts
Full of cardmaking goodness
I need some more cash

And her chocolate projects:



Not only is Maggie super-sweet, but she is quite a talented cardmaker! Here are a few of her other recent creations:



Be sure to pop on over to Maggie's blog, Stamps in Hallways, and welcome her to the team! :)

Feel Better!

My dad had surgery this past Friday on his hand. He had a melanoma under his right pointer finger that was removed last year, and this was something of a follow-up surgery. He is doing pretty well, but prayers for quick healing would certainly be appreciated!

I sent this card to him along with a package of Jordan Almonds. Dad loves Jordan Almonds! Unfortunately, the nausea from the pain medicine has made it difficult for him to enjoy them yet! I ran the Dusty Durango cardstock and a sheet from my Cosmo Cricket Material Girl paper pad through the Big Shot using the Top Note die. I tied a length of simple brown twill around the focal image, and layered two loops of ribbon for a fun bow. I added a white PTI button and some Ivory Twine. The "feel better" sentiment is from Sweet Affections, the Unity Store Kit from December. It was stamped in Chocolate Chip ink.

Be SURE to check back here tomorrow for a special TUTORIAL for National Craft Month! :)

And be sure to use the code MAKEROOM at checkout at Limelight Papercrafts for 15% off of your entire order!!

SKETCH 41 WINNER!

Good evening, everyone! Hope your week is off to a great start! The winner of Sketch Challenge 41 is LYNN! Here is Lynn's WONDERFUL card:

Lynn, e-mail me with your address and choice of sentiment stamp! :)

And here are a few of my faves!
Tenia:


Liza:


Rose:

Savannah:


Be sure to visit Limelight Papercrafts this week for some great sales! :)
ON SALE NOW (through 2/24):

* NEW Cosmo Cricket Mini Deck paper pads only $5!
* Jillibean Soup Cool Beans BUTTONS only $3
* Pebbles, Inc. Easter Time papers and stickers 30% off!
* All Fun Flock $2
* All Shimmerz 30% off!

SKETCH 41: SENTIMENTS!

Welcome to another Limelight Sketch and Product Challenge! Today we are challenging you to use those fabulous sentiment stamps, stickers, etc. that you have in your collection! Cards featuring only a sentiment image, or even a prominent sentiment with another picture image have been very on trend over the past couple of years, so this card will certainly be fun and trendy! :)

OK, so can someone help me with taking pictures of this textured cardstock? I took a GAZILLION (really, I counted) pictures of this card, and none of them are as clear as the card actually looks! Any tips for photographing textured cardstock?

Anyway... The base of this 3.5" x 7.5" card is textured Soft Suede cardstock from SU. I layered on a piece of Basic Grey Nook and Pantry and punched a border with the Scallop Trim Border Punch, also from SU. The corners were also rounded. CHECK OUT THAT RIBBON! :) It's one of our new ribbons at Limelight, the Yellow Elastic/Ruffle Plaid Ribbon. The three stickers on the bottom right are actually from the Nook and Pantry Pops, 3D layered, glittered stickers. Gorgeous! I sponged them with Chocolate Chip ink to "rough 'em up" a little. The sentiment, naturally, is from the Unity Store Kit of the Month, Life is Fabulous. This is such a fresh stamp set with springy images that I just love! It's fun, when you are getting tired of the cold, to see warm-weather and Eastery things. Like the jelly beans on grocery store shelves. And the birdies in this stamp set. ;)


The Deets:
**Use the sketch above and try to incorporate your favorite SENTIMENTS!!
**Key word for SCS upload is LLPC041.
**Post a comment with a link to your card right here on the challenge post by Sunday, February 21, at midnight (or before winner is drawn Monday).
**PRIZE ~ One lucky winner will receive a single sentiment stamp of their choice!!

WINNER!

The winner of the goodie bag of new products is BANU! Banu, please email me with your address so I can get your goodies out your way! :)

Tomorrow's sketch post will be up a little later than usual...please bear with me! It'll be there as soon as possible! :)

CPS 153 - SMOOCH!

Happy Thursday! (Pssst! It's almost FRIDAY!) Just a quick cute card for you today for the Card Positioning Systems sketch 153. I used a Papertrey Ink Button and linen thread, the "smooch" sentiment from the Unity Mix Up of Cuteness stamp set, and I punched out a heart (SU) from TaDa's Festivus My Sweet Valentine paper! See that little "kiss" on the heart! Heehee!

We have LOTS of new goodies in at Limelight! Leave me a comment on this post naming at least ONE new product we received this week, and you will be entered into a drawing for a goodie bag of new products! :)

I will draw a winner Tuesday afternoon... We will be going out of town Friday, and I won't be back until Monday! (Please note, all orders placed after noon Friday will ship Tuesday, February 16!)

SKETCH 40 WINNER!

Our lucky winner of the Lily Valentine Fairy stamp set is.... daniandcole!! Congrats and send me your address (to mandy@limelightpapercrafts.com), and I'll mail out your stamp so you can use it for V-Day!!

Here's daniandcole's lovely card:


And, as always, a few of my favorites!

Ashley:


De:


Maggie:


Savannah:

Ribbon, Anyone?

ETA: The May Arts website can be viewed HERE!

So, I am ordering some new ribbon tonight from May Arts... Anything you think we should order??? ;)

We are getting this:

And this:


What else would you love in your stash??

Don't forget to check out my Cupcake Pops and your chance at a Limelight Guest DT Spot HERE!

And this week's sketch challenge HERE!

Cupcake Pops...and a Challenge for YOU!

Oh, yes, you heard me correctly, friends! Cupcake POPS! If you have never visited Bakerella, you MUST. She has the cutest little baked goods around! And you can totally do them YOURSELF! I made her Cupcake Pops for my Limelight Project for the 6th of February. Directions for making the pops can be found HERE... They are really so much FUN to make! I am so excited to share this project with you...I just LOVE the end result!

For my actual papercrafting part of the project, I decided to use my new Big Shot (yay!) to make a basket using the Blooms and Baskets die. I actually cut two baskets out, one on SU Pink Pirouette (retired) cardstock, and one on TaDa My Sweet Valentine patterned paper (from the Festivus collection). This paper is double-sided, so you get two very fun patterns per sheet. (Psst...there's a SUPER CUTE Easter one....Easter will be here before we know it!) I cut the patterned paper to fit over the top part of the basket to give a fun look to the project. I covered the center, where the two papers meet, with Double Dash Hot Pink Ribbon. This ribbon is so smooth and ties easily. I had never used it before this project, but let me just say that I was surprised at how great the quality is! On the bottom of the basket, I stamped the "hey there cupcake" sentiment from the Unity set Mix up of Cuteness. The basket is filled with Hershey's chocolate hearts. I normally use tissue or shredded paper to fill baskets and bags, but because of the weight of the cupcake pops, I wanted to be sure to add some weight with my "filler" to support everything. Plus....well, it's MORE CHOCOLATE. ;)


For my matching card, I used the reverse side of that TaDa My Sweet Valentine paper. Seriously....cute, right? I tied the same ribbon around the center, and I used the same Mix up of Cuteness stamp set for the "smooch" sentiment. To the center of the bow, I added an SU Sending Love Epoxy Brad in Real Red. I like to cut the brad prongs off when I attach these to ribbon. It helps them lie flat. I did stamp and cut out a matching cupcake (same stamp set) for the inside of the card.


Here is a photo of the cupcake pops from the top, for those of you who'd like to see.

And a close-up...


Sadly, all of the cupcake pops did not survive. The mission was not without casualties. I present to you Exhibit A:


OK....Now we have a challenge for YOU!

• Are you inspired by the chocolatey goodness you've seen hopping around our lovely Limelight Five DT blogs (see my right sidebar for links)??
• And you totally cannot wait to make your own chocolate-themed gift set?
• And you love Limelight?
  
• And you wanna join the Limelight design team for the month of March?

Well, have we got a contest for you! (to the rhythm of the beginning of the Veggie Tales theme song...)

• Create a chocolate themed card and/or project
• Write a short (4-line is great!) poem about Limelight Papercrafts. HEY, why not? It's Valentine's Day month.... And I think it will be funny. Hee.
• E-mail both to mandy@limelightpapercrafts.com by Sunday, February 14.

A winner will be chosen (I'll have help deciding!) and contacted shortly after the 14th. The winner will receive:

• A guest designer spot for the month of March with Limelight Papercrafts. The guest designer will create the "big project" for the month (in March it'll be a project featuring Handmade Flowers) and the two sketch cards for the month.
  
• A box of goodies from Limelight to use during the month of March and beyond!
• Love and praise from the owners of Limelight, the design team, and visitors to your blog. ;)
  

February Unity Store Kit!

Order your Unity store kit for February NOW! Life is Fabulous is now available from Limelight Papercrafts! As soon as the kits arrive to us, we'll ship 'em out to you!

Isn't it pretty??? ;)

SKETCH 40: HEARTS!

Happy February, and happy sketch challenge day! :) We're all about hearts this weekend here at Limelight, and we hope you'll join us for the fun! :)

My card started with a white PTI base and a mat of Basic Gray (SU). Layered onto that, of course, is none other than my favorite Basic Grey Sugar Rush patterned paper! Seriously...love this stuff! I used this striped sheet to give the effect of the strips of paper in the sketch. I certainly could have done strips of paper, too, but I like this! :) I used the heart image from the December Unity Store Kit, Sweet Affections for my heart. I love how swirly and pretty this is. :) I embossed the heart with white embossing powder, cut it out, and popped it up. The "I'll always love you" sentiment is from the January store kit. I embellished the corner with a few Hot Pink Rhinestones and a cute rhinestone heart that my friend Jessica Russell sent me a while back!

The Deets:
**Use the sketch above and try to incorporate your favorite HEARTS!! (If you don't have any hearts, we hope you'll play along anyway!)
**Key word for SCS upload is LLPC040.
**Post a comment with a link to your card right here on the challenge post by Sunday, February 7, at midnight (or before winner is drawn Monday).
**PRIZE ~ One lucky winner will receive the Pink Cat Studio Lily Valentine Fairy mini stamp set!!