Goodbye my Teamies! ='(

Ohh! It is another sad day for Redonkulous Designs! I have to say goodbye to the rest of my very talented teamies Kate, Tracy, and Sharon (visit them to view their final project).  You three are just so wonderful and talented, I am so lucky to have had you on my team.  What a wonderful team ALL 6 of you are, and I can't thank you all enough for the wonderful beginnings we shared here at Redonkulous Designs.  You were all with me when I launched my new online store on  June 23rd, 2012.  You all cheered me up through tough times in my everyday life, and celebrated with me through the good times.  You followed me through my pregnancy and the birth of my baby girl Serina. You watched me have my first ever challenge (thank you Kim, you made it happen).  And you all watched me create my first ever handmade card! Wow, now that's a lot of firsts!!!  I wholeheartedly mean it when I say I couldn't have made it this far without you all showcasing my art, bringing it to life, and being an inspiration.  There is still a long journey ahead my lovely ladies, and I am so humbled and grateful to have had you join me for this very important chapter in my life.  There is still a lot of work to get Redonkulous Designs where I would like it to be, but just be so very proud of yourselves for what it is today.  So go ahead, pat yourselves on the back - do it, don't feel silly....there you go!  ;)  Thanks so much from the bottom of my heart!

♥

I will be taking a short break before my next search for a design team, as I so desperately want to snuggle and enjoy my babies and hubby before he returns back to work next month.  I will of course be continuing with my art, and tackling the wish lists some of my lovely fans have requested.  I have plans to start an official challenge blog, YEAH YEAH!  So stay tuned for that.....AND

.......Stay tuned for the next DT call!!!

Today I leave you with my latest creations - Hippy Trip Digital Scrapbook Papers.  They are so beautiful and vibrant and can only be purchased in my online store - not Etsy!  They go nicely with my Hippie Chick digital stamp too!  Happy crafting!

This past week, I chose a winner for my first time ever challenge.  This was such a special moment for me, so I wanted to make it a special moment for the winner, Sassy.  I chose to put Sassy in the spotlight this week, and found out that she not only creates beautiful cards, but she has a wonderful heart too, from helping people in her daily life, to putting a lot of thought and TLC into her cards.  You will also see Sassy's cards throughout blogland.  In fact, I just stumbled upon her work on the Crafty Catz Blog, and once again my eye was drawn to her beautiful creations!  I was pleasantly surprised it was Sassy's card!  I will be sponsoring the Crafty Catz in March and July of 2013!  It's a small blog world isn't it!?!?  :)

Here is Sassy's winning card, followed by her story:

I'd love it if you can tell us a little bit about yourself:
I'm a 59 year old mum and nan to 7 grandchildren.  I live and work in a historic midland town in Warwickshire looking after older people.  I have been in this job for 13 years and live on site with my Hubby and our beautiful cat Marvina, who escorts me whilst doing my calls, and who is still waiting for me if i have had to go into their homes.  No matter how long I have been, she is still there waiting for me outside...ready to follow me when I carry on with my daily routine.  The residents think she behaves more like a dog than a cat, and she is well loved.

When did you start creating cards?
I started crafting 10 years ago as a hobby.

What/who inspired you to create cards?
I have always been interested in arty stuff and joined a local art shop in learning different techniques and it has progressed from there.

Do you sell your handmade cards or do you do it for fun?
I sell quite a few commissions, which I love and see it as a challenge.  I just feel so happy when the recipient is happy with their card.  I do try and incorporate something about the person the card is for... like a favourite colour, girly or not, flouncy or frilly, vintage or modern etc.  I feel then, it makes it extra special just for them. No two are ever the same although I struggle with mens cards but will always have a try. 

What is your favourite occasion to create cards for?
I haven't a favourite occasion, but like to make sure the embellishments are taken into account always with the person or occasion in mind.  I'm quite a choccy box kinda gal, but not everyone likes loads of flowers or ribbon.  I try and tailor and personalise each card with every order I receive...

How long do you typically spend on a card?
Each card can take hours, especially if colouring is needed.  I always lay out my design before I glue, and try to balance the card. I'm also a matchy girl; making sure my papers, colours, and embellishments all work together.

 

What handy tips would you like to share with someone who is just starting to craft?

Just be yourself, let out the inner you, go with the flow - but whatever you do, be proud that you made it.  Looking back, my crafting has got me through many a bad times, and the best thing I ever did was get a blog...and give thanks for all the very special people it has lead me to find.

 Please visit Sassy's blog and become a follower. 

Goodbye my Teamies/ Card #2

ARE YOU A WINNER? Click here to find out.

Oh dear. Today is a sad day, *snivel* and we all knew it would come to an end at some point. It is the last day for my teamies Deb, Shell and Stacey to show us some Redonkulous Inspiration. After watching week after week the exceptional work these talented ladies created, they not only made me proud, but inspired me to create my own cards. I personally would like to Thank my “fearsome threesome” for helping my shop grow to where it is today! I certainly could not have done it without you all! You will be missed very very much! I would love it if everyone could take the time to visit these sweethearts in the links above, and check out their final projects “sniff, sniff”.

On a positive note, I want to give a shout out to Kim from Just Wordz and thank her for all of the goodies that came in the mail yesterday afternoon! Woooohooo! My Mum was visiting when it arrived and I was excited to show her all of the things that were in the box. It was like Christmas!!! Kim, you spoiled me rotten! Not only that, now my Mum is starting to show some interest in creating some cards too. This could be dangerous my Friends!!! She even went and ordered some ProMarkers! I guess we will be busy exploring this hobby and colouring together! We may need an intervention here - LOL! So after the package arrived, I was so excited to get a card created yesterday, and I immediately started working on some new papers to go with the hippie theme since I coloured up my digital Stamp Hippie Chic last week. The papers will be available in my store sometime this week. I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out - I still have a ways to go, but I love this colour combination of the greens and purples together (the pic doesn't do it justice). Some elements are not glued down such as the sentiment and the jewel near the top. I really wanted to get my hands on a peace sign embellishment. And I would also like to distress the edges where the sentiment is - I have to watch some videos on how to do this I think. I am going to have a blast playing with all of these new goodies! :)

 

WINNERS WINNERS WINNERS!!!

The End… yes that is right, Redonkulous Designs has now closed…its first Challenge! Bahahaha!  :)  Thank you very much to Just Wordz, aka Kimberly Brown, for providing prizes for the hop and hosting a fabulous challenge and showcasing beautiful cards/handmade projects!  I really couldn't have done all of this without Kim's help, and of course all of you who submitted your gorgeous "Celebration" creations!  Thank you everyone for making my first challenge a success!  Gnaw - I feel like I'm growing up!  I may have to start an official Redonkulous Designs challenge blog after all!  :) Shhh!  Maybe it is already in the works... ;)

 So lets get down to what you came here for...

The Random draw was made for 8000 Redonkulous Reward points and a cool badge for bragging rights!  And the winner is............

 

 

10. Croms

HOLD ON! HOLD ON!  We're not done here!   I have another draw to do, plus another surprise!  :)

First before I begin, I would especially like to thank, and shake my fist at all of you talented ladies for making my Redonkulous images spectacular and so very difficult to judge!!!  Haha, what was I thinking?!?!  I literally messaged Kim in a bit of a panic b/c this was such a hard decision.  They are all really good - couldn't you tell by how long it has taken me to announce the winner?!?!  I'm such a rookie!

So without further adieu..."The Chosen One" is..........drum roll please....... the winner of the 16000 Redonkulous Reward Points goes to……..”

1.Sassy

Sassy, please contact me to receive a personalised badge and your prize!  From there I can give you instructions on how to claim your prize!  :)

But wait, just like any good movie, there is more! I have decided to acknowledge/award a Top Three for the Redonkulous Designs Challenge!  My choice for the Top Three are:

1. (26) Fabiola
2. (24) Kym Yeoman

3. (16) Krafty Karen

Congratulations ladies, please contact me for your awesome personalised badge, and to receive an in store credit of 50% off of any $4 digital stamp!!!  You will need to register if you haven't already!

 

Well that concludes a successful challenge!  Thanks again to everyone who participated.  If you love my designs and want to see more, please grab my new badge at the top right, and wear it proudly on your blog so I know who my fans and supporters are when visiting!  Love you all!!!  :)

My First Handmade Card!!!

So, it is Redonkulous Designs DT Day so be sure to check out what my teamies (Kim, Tracy, Sharon, & Kate) have done today with my digis.  Also be sure to enter my Redonkulous Designs Challenge this week to win some free digital stamps!

I decided to get my hands dirty this week and start my post with my first handmade card.  This was quite a challenge for me, and I have to be honest, I literally stared at the papers and embellishments for hours and hours.  I made papers to match my marker colours, so of course this took some time too.  I played with my new cuttlebug and die cuts.  After cutting and embossing and throwing away some things, I realized what a mess I made of my poor living room...I really need another office for this kind of work! 

So here is my card!  Sorry about the paper choices - they really slap you in the face don't they?  But I have to say, I love bright and colourful cards.  I Know, I definitely need more practice.  On the plus side, I am getting better at colouring thanks to Kim and her tutorials.  I am struggling with layout and my lack of embellishments though...as you can see!

Did I mention that I had a terrible crafting accident!?!?!  Not too sure if I am cut out for this - BAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 Here's what happened - I purchased some Pearl Pens and they were not working and dried up.  I was so angry and thought 'well this is just perfect...and just my luck again!'  First dried up pro markers, and now 6 dried up glitter & pearl pens at $6 a piece!!!  Well, it wasn't long for me to realize what a dummy I am, and noticed it was just the first little bit in the tip that was dried up.  So to get it unclogged, I squeezed REAL hard, and suddenly there was a terrible explosion!!!  Well, lets just say I looked like the Tin Man from the Wizard of OZ with my silver pearl pen splattered all over my clothes, my face, my table, the floor, and of course the practice page I was colouring on!!!  Thank goodness it was my practice page!  My husband and Kolby's faces were priceless, and the room was absolute silence after the incident...but suddenly a burst of laughter!  I was wearing my good clothes too; note to self - where rags, goggles and a helmet while crafting, AND don't stick your face too close to the project!  I managed to salvage some of the mess...phew!

I leave today's post with a  picture of my newest digital stamp "SEXY SAM" "Fifty Shades of Sexy" (thanks for the name Kim).  This hunk will be hitting my online store later today...for now, it's back to bed for me!   My little monkey has me on the night shift - LOL!

 

Oh dear...what have I got myself into?!?!

REDONKULOUS DESIGNS CHALLENGE IS STILL ON...CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILS...OR HERE FOR COUPON CODE!

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Well, now I've done it *shakes head at self*.  I'm gonna have to sell more digis to recoup from this loss - or maybe my house - LOL!  I took the plunge and I spent a whole lot of money on this stash...and now I feel sick b/c I am enjoying it and have to go out and get more stuff because I NEEEEEED it!   But, seriously - HOLY EXPENSIVE!!!  I got all 25 fine tip nibs for free because I spent so much money - GULP.  I'm not proud of this (again I do feel rather nauseous), but I do know that these nibs cost money...so I suppose I saved a little - oh yeah, I also received 4 free black baggies for my markers!  Did I mention the markers were on sale for $2.97 each (which is pretty good for Canada).  Yes - this is me trying to make myself feel better about this purchase.  My husband says I better not purchase another greeting card in my lifetime hehehe!  It is going to take me a little while to get the hang of all of these foreign gadgets and tools - baby steps right?  ;)  I still need to get a ATG gun....umm...special paper to colour my images on...some die cuts...but for now my dollar store embellishments will have to do and my Canon Matte Photo quality paper will also have to do (has anyone ever tried this paper with the pro markers?).  Some of the markers I wanted to buy were not available :( and some of the ones  I purchased were dried up when I got home..that's just my luck - HA!   Thankfully today the man at the store was nice enough to exchange the dried out ones (he wasn't suppose to b/c it is final sale), and I picked up the missing markers. Yay for me!  =)

So ladies, I just have to ask: what is the one crafty tool you cannot live without?

Don't forget today is DT day!  Check out what my Redonkulous Teamies have done this week with my images!    Kim, Deb, Shell, Stacey