APRIL GUEST: SAVANNAH O'GWYNN!

We give a big, warm thank you to Maggie Haas, our uber-talented guest designer for March! (If you didn't see Maggie's handstitching tutorial, check it out HERE!)

For the month of April, we welcome Savannah O'Gwynn with open arms!! Savannah is one of those people who is the whole package! She is super-sweet, has a faith in Christ that inspires me, and is fun to talk to. Savannah's creations ALWAYS make my jaw drop! She thinks of things in such creative ways and always creates the BEST!

About Savannah:
I have always loved crafting- ever since I watched my mom paint and draw as a kid. I started making cards in 1999 by paper piecing everything! I didn't even own a stamp!! I drew all of my designs and cut them out! I started back up with card making in 2006 when I started my business, Jelly Bean Designs. I was instantly hooked {again}. I love making custom cards or challenge cards. It always makes me think outside of my "craft style" or box! I love making someone smile--that makes me happy when they enjoy and feel special after receiving one of my cards:}

A few of Savannah's recent creations:

This Is a Happy Life

Happy Wednesday, peeps! I am getting very excited about Easter coming up; how about you? It's quite a happy day here, with warm 75-degree temperatures and lots of sunshine! This happy card seems appropriate for today. :)

I used Black Cardstock to create a 3x3 card and stamped this Happy Life sentiment from the March Unity Store Kit in the center using white ink. I colored in the sentiment using my Koh-i-noor pencils. I wrapped some Pink Burlap String around the card twice, tied a bow, and then added a black rhinestone. Very simple. This card literally took about three minutes! Love that sometimes.

I hope you'll join me back here tomorrow for our Limelight Sketch and Product Challenge! The sketch is VERY condusive to creating those last-minute Easter cards! *wink!*

And don't forget to shop at Limelight for a special embellishment sale! :)

CRAFT ALONG WITH CHRISTI!!

Be SURE you check out Christi's blog to see her fabulous PAPER PIECING tutorial! The girl SERIOUSLY makes paper piecing look seamless, and you can, too!

Leave Christi a comment on her tutorial HERE by Wednesday night, and I'll announce a winner Thursday. What can you win? A 6x6 paper pad of your choice, of course....to practice your paper piecing with! :)

ON SALE!

Here's what's on sale at Limelight Papercrafts this week! An embellishments sale!

25% off (through 4/3):

*Embossing Powders

*Glitter

*Distress Stickles

*Kaisercraft Droplets

NEW! Be sure to pick up your Unity March Store Kit, Adventures in Happiness! Also, Basic Grey Kioshi and Green at Heart now in stock!

Gummy Friendship

Just a quick post to share a card I made featuring the new Basic Grey GUMMIES! These cuties are on sale at Limelight through today for ONLY $4! Can't beat it! :) This card is based on one of the sketches in Paper Crafts magazine this month.

{Psst! The Unity Store Kit, from which the sentiment comes, is also on sale! Only $29 through today!}

I used the Kioshi papers, Kioshi Gummies, Purple Burlap String, and the "friendship" sentiment from the March Unity Store Kit, Adventures in Happiness.

We have a full day of Easter Egg Hunting ahead of us... What fun things do you have planned for your Saturday?

Easter Joy

I just love this little Stampendous Easter Chick. :) He just makes me smile! This is a little card and m&m tube I left for my husband to find this morning. Simple and bright. Note the Stickled Hope you are having a happy day!

Stamps: Chick Ears (Stampendous). Paper: White, Hawaiian Shores (PTI), Basic Grey Kioshi. Ink: Pitch Black Adirondack. Accessories: Lime Green Stickles, Aquamarine Rhinestones, Hawaiian Shores Felt (PTI), Ric Rac Die (PTI), Scallop Border Punch (SU), Trendy Tubes (PTI).

Be sure to pick up this stamp set and other Easter goodies at Limelight NOW! Here are this week's sales:

*Unity January, February, & March Store Stamp Kits $29!

*Prima Chatres Lace and Hydrangea Tins 20% off!

*Kioshi and Green at Heart Gummies $4!

*Select Easter stamps and sets 20% off:

* Funny Bunny clear set
* Bunny Fluffles
* Bunny Wagon
* Chick Ears clear set
* Chickie Hop
* Edible Easter Border
* Bitty Easter Blessings (Unity)
* Saved (Unity)
* Basket Trio
* Easter Cross
* Blessings From Him (Unity)

Sketch 43 Shout-outs!

All right! Let's give some shout-outs to some lovely ladies who created some GORGEOUS cards for this last sketch challenge!!

Laurel, our winner:


Emily Keaton:


Toni:


Cathy:


Clare:

SKETCH 43 WINNER!!

Gotta love technology.

When it works. Grrrr.....

I apologize that I am behind on two blog posts, both announcing a sketch challenge winner AND directing you to Lisa Henke's blog for this week's Craft Along Tutorial!!! So I will do both of those here. :) Our internet was down yesterday until this morning. All orders are out, but blog posting has suffered!

First, congratulations to LAUREL! You have won a Jillibean Soup ribbon pack of your choice! Please e-mail me with your address and choice of ribbon pack! :)

I have several card shout outs to do for sketch participants, and I will get to that as soon as I can today! (Including winner Laurel's FABULOUS hot air balloon card!)

Please be sure to visit Lisa's Tutorial on RIBBON PLEATING!!

Easter Eggs

Happy Sunday afternoon, everyone! I hope you are enjoying a day of worship and relaxing! :) It's been a pretty good day here, but we are getting ready for our church Easter Egg Hunt, so there is lots to be done. :)

I just love the sketch from this week's Limelight Sketch and Product Challenge, so I made a sweet purple Easter card using the sketch and some (semi-) new PTI goodies! If you haven't joined in and posted your card for the sketch challenge, there is still time! You have until I draw a winner tomorrow afternoon! Link to your card HERE!

For my card, I used the PTI stamp set called Egg Hunt. I just fell in love with this set as I LOVE Easter! I love it first for its meaning for us as a people broken by our sins! But I also adore Easter baskets, chocolate eggs, jellybeans, the WORKS! Fun bright colors, spring, everything! I began with a Lavender Moon card base and layered on a Plum Pudding rectangle. The spot that should have ribbon, according to our sketch challenge, actually has a strip of the new Basic Grey Kioshi patterned paper. I LOVE the new BG lines! But then, I knew I would. ;) If you look closely, you'll notice that there is a strip of Sticky Strip down the middle of the Kioshi, and that is glittered with Stampendous Lavender glitter. LOVE that beautiful, soft, SPARKLY color! This pastel glitter is light in color, but we also carry a darker Lavender Pearl Glitter in the store, too. The eggs are die-cut with the Egg die (also PTI), and I stamped the egg patterns in Vintage Cream. The eggs are accented with MORE Kioshi paper, Purple Burlap String (May Arts!), and Mint Green and Lilac Rhinestones. The sentiment is stamped onto a Kraft punched circle with Elegant Eggplant ink (SU).

On Sale @ Limelight (Through 3/27):
*Prima Chatres Lace and Hydrangea Tins 20% off!

*Kioshi and Green at Heart Gummies $4!

*Select Easter stamps and sets 20% off:

* Funny Bunny clear set
* Bunny Fluffles
* Bunny Wagon
* Chick Ears clear set
* Chickie Hop
* Edible Easter Border
* Bitty Easter Blessings (Unity)
* Saved (Unity)
* Basket Trio
* Easter Cross
* Blessings From Him (Unity)

Have a wonderful Sunday! What are you up to this week? Anything exciting?

SKETCH 43: RIBBON!

Wow. Can you believe it's Thursday already?!? I can't, but I'm thrilled! I need a weekend! We spent last weekend with our awesome group of students from church (husband is the youth pastor) at Fuge Winter Camp! What a WONDERFUL time of spiritual refreshment and growth, along with group building! Oh! And a TOTAL lack of SLEEP! LOL! So I'm ready for a weekend again... ;)

I created a fun, wacky card that is a little uncharacteristic for me. I created a birthday card for a student in my class, which explains the colors and all! I used Basic Grey Lime Rickey patterned paper for the base (layered onto white cardstock for strength). The ribbon, our focus this week, is a length of yellow wrinkled ribbon... I LOVE this stuff! Really! It is so easy to use, and it actually has something of a silk look to it. (For much cheaper!) The "Bday" sticker is a Pebbles, Inc. goodie from the Snapshot Birthday Stickers. These would obviously be great for a scrapbook page, too! :) The "FUN" letters are the White Chocolate Basic Grey chipboard letters. Very versatile font, I think.

Now it's your turn!

The Deets:
**Use the sketch above and try to incorporate your favorite RIBBON!!
**Key word for SCS upload is LLPC043.
**Post a comment with a link to your card right here on the challenge post by Sunday, March 21, at midnight (or before winner is drawn Monday).
**PRIZE ~ One lucky winner will receive a Jillibean Soup ribbon package of their choice!!

CRAFT ALONG with Lisa Arana!!

**Sorry, everyone! I'm not sure why this post didn't show up yesterday! I must have made a mistake in my post scheduling!!

It is time for another Craft Along tutorial! Craft Alongs are simply tutorials that we are presenting to you each Monday for the month of March. March just so happens to be National Craft Month! Cool, huh?? We would love to see your creations featuring projects taught in our tutorials, and we may even throw in a prize here and there! ;)

This week, Lisa Arana is bringing us a tutorial for how to make the uber-trendy smooshed flowers! LOVE it! I love what Lisa has come up with, and I cannot wait to see your creations, too!

CLICK HERE to view Lisa Arana's Smooshed Flower Tutorial! It is amazing!! Very clear, concise, and fabulously crafty!!

P.S... Here are this week's Limelight sales!! (Something crafty coming soon here on the blog...tomorrow, if I can get myself in gear...but certainly by Thursday for the Sketch Challenge!)

*All Pink Cat Studio stamp sets 20% off!

*TaDa Festivus Bunny Hop paper only $0.55 each!

*Select Easter Stamps and Sets 20% off!

Now is the perfect time to stock up for Easter crafting!! And PSST!! Basic Grey Kioshi and Green at Heart are AVAILABLE NOW!!

Sketch 42 WINNER!

Congratulations to Jennie, our winner for Sketch Challenge 42! Jennie, let me know which Shimmerz and Spritz you'd like, and I'll send those off to you! :) Here's Jennie's super-cute card!


And here are a few other fabulous cards!

Toni:


Emily:

Christi: (psst! Both this cutie frog and sentiment are available at Limelight!!)

Craft Along with Maggie!

Maggie brings us our second tutorial for National Craft Month! Let me tell you, she has some GORGEOUS samples up, and reading her post gives me lots of great ideas that I cannot wait to try!

CLICK HERE to see Maggie's fabulous hand-stitching tutorial!
Here is a little sneak peek of what Maggie has created:

Hope for Cystic Fibrosis

I have a friend across the street named Rebecca. Rebecca and her husband DJ have two precious children, Colin and Katelyn. Both Colin and Katelyn have Cystic Fibrosis. You may have noticed a new "button" on the top right of my blog. It has the blue and yellow Great Strides logo. On May 8, I will be participating in the Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis. I am asking for your help in donating WHATEVER you can to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's research and education.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating genetic disease that affects tens of thousands of children and young adults in the United States. Research and care supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is making a huge difference in extending the quality of life for those with CF. However, we continue to lose precious lives to CF every day. That's why your help is needed now more than ever to ensure that a cure is found sooner - rather than later. To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.

Please watch this video of Colin and Katelyn. It really shows a lot of what a family touched by CF endures on a daily basis... Plus it shows those cuties C and K! :)


To visit my Great Strides page and donate, click HERE or on the Great Strides button on the top right of my page. If you can even spare $1, I guarantee it will help!

The card and sweet little barrette at the beginning of this post is something I made for little Katelyn. I used some Yellow Plaid Elastic/Ruffle ribbon and just pulled the center into a circle and glued it around the back of a button to create these little "flowers". Super-cute and fun...and it took about 3 seconds to make. :) Avocado ribbon and all cardstocks are PTI. The cute pink patterned paper is Jillibean Soup Staples in Pink Sugar. (The back of this paper is polka-dotted! I used it in THIS CARD.) The "hope" sentiment, which I found appropriate, is actually from the Stampendous Chick Ears EASTER stamp set! :)

Thanks in advance for your generous prayers for these children, your support, and your giving!

Handmade Flowers!

Every month on the 6th, the Limelight Papercrafts Design Team takes on the challenge of creating a themed project. This month, we have focused on handmade flowers.

For my project, I have created a headband with a ribbon flower and a matching card. My tutorial for these ribbon flowers can be found HERE. I chose this fabulously girlie ribbon, the Grosgrain in Black with Fuchsia Dots. The button in the center is also accented with our Pink Burlap String (35 cents for 10 yards!!!). The card base actually is embossed with an SU Big Shot polka dot Texturz Plate. The scalloped layer behind the polka dotted ribbon is Jillibean Soup Soup Staples in Pink Sugar. The sentiment, which I adore, is from the February Unity Stampin' Store Kit, Life is Fabulous.

The headband is simply a ribbon flower that I glued onto a $1 leather headband from Wal-Mart! Easy-peasy! Wouldn't this be a cute birthday gift for a little girl this spring? I even got my 2-year-old girlie to model it for you. The modeling was short lived. I was chasing her around the backyard trying to get her to stand still long enough to snap a few pics. She was distracted by the slide and the sandbox. And she thought she was hilarious running away.



Be sure to check out the other ladies' blogs to see what they have created for this fun challenge!!

Lisa Arana
Jennifer Taylor
Lynn Miller
Lisa Henke
Christi Snow
Maggie Haas (March Guest!)

Flutter By, Butterfly...

Good morning AGAIN! How 'bout this? A post everyday since Sunday, and now THREE posts in one day! LOL!

This is just a quick card I made with some new PTI goodies... The stamps are all from the new Egg Hunt stamp set... I knew that was a must-have for me the moment I saw it! I used Spring Moss cardstock, stamped the flower background using Melon Berry ink, the sentiment in Dark Chocolate ink, and the butterfly in Color Box Aqua. The ribbon is also Melon Berry satin. The butterfly is popped up on a foam square and is accented with Star Dust Stickles.

This should be it from me for the day! Hope you have a wonderful day! Don't forget to join in the fun by creating a card for our current sketch challenge! You could be the lucky winner of some Shimmerz Paints! :)

Welcome Lynn Miller!

Today we are very excited to welcome the wonderful Lynn Miller to our Limelight Design Team! :) Lynn is super-talented and adds a fresh spin on everything she creates! Be sure to head over to LYNN'S BLOG to welcome her to Limelight!

A bit about Lynn...
i live with my husband and son near indianapolis. i love cardmaking and started my blog last may, as a way to share ideas and learn new techiques. i'm so thrilled to be on limelight's design team !

And - of course - here are a few of Lynn's recent creations for you to LOVE! ;)

Ribbon Tutorial WINNER!!

Good morning! I will have THREE posts today (whoa!), so be sure to check each one out! First, the winner of the ribbons and buttons from my TUTORIAL post is Toni (Ravengirl)!! She did make a ribbon flower, and her card is featured below! Please be sure to GO HERE and leave her a comment on her fabulous card...and ribbon flower!

Toni, I'll get your prize right out to you! :)

SKETCH 42: PAINT!

Welcome to the Limelight Papercrafts Sketch and Product Challenge! This is the first challenge for March, and we are focusing on using PAINT! Watercolor, shimmer paint, paint-by-number.... whatever you want to do! :) We're sure you'll see lots of fantastic inspiration, and you'll have a great time creating something wonderful!

My card features PTI Terracotta Tile cardstock (new PTI order came yesterday...yippee!) as the base. I actually sprayed it generously with Tuscan Sun Shimmerz Spritz. This stuff looks YELLOW in the bottle, but on top of other colored cardstock, it give a beautiful golden glow! (TIP: I do find that using the Spritz causes page curling, no matter how careful I am! A quick iron on low heat over the top takes care of that. Just layer some scrap paper OVER the spritzed paper first to protect the iron...and your card!)

I layered on a piece of Material Girl patterned paper, and then some Vintage Cream cardstock for the main image. The GORGEOUS butterfly is from the Unity Stampin' Store Kit for the month, Life is Fabulous (psst! Order this kit NOW, and get a 6x6 paper pad for FREEEEEEE!). I watercolored Really Rust ink onto the body of the butterfly, then painted on some Gold Glimmer Blingz and some Tickle Me Turquoise Shimmerz. The sentiment was created by painting some more turquoise Shimmerz over some Basic Grey chipboard letters...so much fun! :)

Now it's YOUR turn!!!


The Deets:
**Use the sketch above and try to incorporate your favorite PAINT!!
**Key word for SCS upload is LLPC042.
**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 jar of Shimmerz AND a bottle of Shimmerz Spritz of their choice!!

OTHER NOTES: -Today is the last day to submit a ribbon flower (or leave a comment!) on my tutorial to be entered in a drawing for a free ribbon and button prize! GO THERE NOW!

-Shop at Limelight Papercrafts this week, and enter the code MAKEROOM at checkout for 15% off! Plus, if you order any Unity Stampin' Store Kit, you can choose any 6x6 paper pad for FREE!

-Did you notice my Great Strides badge for the Cystic Fibrosis Walk? It's on the top right of my blog... If you feel led to, I'd love for you to donate! It is for a GREAT cause... I am supporting a friend with TWO little ones with CF! THANKS in advance!

Happy Bird-Day!

Seriously, how CUTE are these birdhouses? Perfect for coloring OR for paper-piecing, as I've done here, they make a simply adorable card! The February Unity Store Kit of the Month, Life is Fabulous, is just that... FABULOUS!

I used Regal Rose for my card base, and I layered on some Nook and Pantry patterned paper. I love how pretty and soft some of these papers are! I stamped the birdhouses in Chocolate Chip ink. I found that lining them up together on the same stamp block was very helpful in positioning the three birdhouses evenly. I paper-pieced the houses with Nook and Pantry papers from the same pad. I quickly colored the grass with a Koh-i-noor pencil and stamped the sentiment (from the same Unity kit) in Crushed Curry ink. I rounded the corners of the white cardstock and popped it up on Pop-it Squares. I tied some Pink Silk ribbon behind the white panel to continue the softness of the card. :) Love that silk ribbon.... It is just fun to TOUCH! LOL!

Bright and Happy Birthday!

These colors just make me so happy! Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, and Bermuda Bay! I cut these cute flowers out using my Big Shot and the Daisies 2 Die. I added PTI buttons and SU linen thread to the centers. The sentiment is Happy Birthday Whimsy from Odd Bird Planet and was stamped in White Craft.

This card is for a friend's birthday...her birthday is TODAY! Happy birthday, Jaime! :)

Craft Along with Mandy TUTORIAL!

Doesn't that have a fun ring to it? Hee hee! Well, happy March, friends! Did you know that March is NATIONAL CRAFT MONTH? How fun is that?? How will you celebrate? ;)

Here at Limelight, we are bringing you weekly "Craft Along" sessions with our DT members! These Craft Alongs are really simple tutorials in which we will show you how to make something using supplies you likely already have on hand! We would love to share and showcase the projects you make using our tutorials, too! Be sure to link your creations to the tutorial posts for us to see and brag on! There might be a few prizes here and there, too! :)

OK! I have the first tutorial this month, and I'll be showing you how to make Ribbon & Button Loop Flowers. These are easy, fun to make, and the perfect addition to many cards, scrapbook pages, and projects! As another note, the sketch for my card came from the Card Positioning Systems blog this week!


MATERIALS NEEDED:

• About 1 yard of Ribbon (depending on how big your flower will be) - I used Fuchsia Wrinkled Ribbon. :) Fun stuff!
  
• Glue Dots
• Button (most likely, you want it to be about an inch in diameter)
  

DIRECTIONS:
1. First, you will need to cut twelve lengths of ribbon. For the size I wanted, I measured 2.5" lengths.



2. Next, seal the two ends of each ribbon with a glue dot. This will make the "petals" for your flower. Glue dots really make this project a cinch!



3. Place a second glue dot on each ribbon loop. Position the glue dot on one side of the snipped ends (snipped when you cut your 2.5" lengths...). This glue dot will hold the petals onto your button.


Below is a picture showing the attached petals. Note that any button twine (or in my case, ribbon) added to the center of the button should be done BEFORE adding the ribbon petals!


4. Continue adding the petals until your flower is complete.




YOUR TURN! Show us YOUR ribbon flowers, and someone will win 2 yards of ribbon and a handful of buttons! Leave your comment by Thursday, March 4, to be eligible to win! If you leave a comment, you'll receive 1 entry for the prize. If you create a flower, you'll receive 3 entries! :)
*Edited to change entry deadline to Thursday! :)