Guess What???

Ooohh, I've been so excited to share this news with you!! I'm a member of Crissy Armstong's brand new DT, "Crissy's Crew"!!! (If you are a regular here then you may remember that a couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of being a guest designer on Crissy's new challenge blog, Sundays With Crissy.) Crissy has put together an amazingly talented group of ladies for Crissy's Crew. I feel so very honoured to be a part of this team and to work alongside these sweet ladies....be prepared for some jaw-dropping gorgeous creations from them!! I want to thank Crissy for this amazing opportunity! The members of Crissy's Crew are:

Crissy Armstrong

Debbie Eastman

Jodi-Ann Lee

Lisa Cook

Maria Cossa-Rossi

Mary Giemza

Melanie Holtz (c'est moi!!)

Patricia Garcia

Sarah Litterick

Zoe McGrath

Crissy Armstrong is a well-known and very talented artist in the stamping community. She is currently designing digital stamps for Squigglefly and Whimsy Stamps. Wags 'n Whiskers has just recently released some of the images she illustrated for them as digital stamps too. If you have not tried using digital images yet, then I urge you to jump right in! There are so many advantages to digital stamps...ie. shopping from home, no need for bulky storage and fantastic prices. My favourite aspect of digital stamps is their versatility! You can flip them and resize them to suit your project! How many times has an image been too big or too small for your needs??

A brand new challenge will be posted at Sundays With Crissy every two weeks, and a fantastic prize will be awarded to one randomly drawn participant at the end of each month. To be eligible for the prize, you MUST use one of Crissy's digital images available from Squigglefly, Whimsy or Wags 'n Whiskers.

Crissy's challenge this week is "Favourite Things". There are so many ways to interpret this challenge! You could use your favourite papers, image, embellishment, layout...the possibilities are limited only to your imagination!

I have used one of Crissy's brand new images released this week for Whimsy Stamps. This is "Gracie's Roses". Isn't she absolutely gorgeous? I fell in love with her as soon as Crissy showed her to us! I used some new-to-me papers from K&Company. My "favourite" paper changes from day to day, but I'm really loving the colours in this collection. (blues, greens and teals are some of my all-time faves!) I just bought some of these beautiful new roses by Prima, which are now included in my "favourites". I'm also a big bargain shopper, so I keep my eyes open for dollar store treasures! Can you spot them here? Both the pearls and the crochet trim were $1 items...love them. Hmmm...other favourites on this project?? Spellbinders and machine stitching! As you can see, I really went to town with this challenge topic!


"Gracie" was printed on Neenah and coloured with my Copics...which of course, are my favourite colouring medium (I also "flipped" the image before printing). I love all the folds in her pretty dress. Her features are just so delicate. This image was an absolute joy to colour...then again, all of Crissy's image are! I also tried out a new-to-me product called Smooch Illuminate. I brushed it over Gracie's skirt to try and make it look like an iridescent tulle. Unfortunately, it's tricky to capture the shimmer in a photograph. I used some Distress Inks in Antique Linen and Bundled Sage to sponge on the edges of the paper. I also toned down the white roses by touching them with a little Antique Linen. What would I do without Distress Inks?? (you're probably getting tired of hearing me say "favourite", huh?? lol)

Time for you visit the rest of Crissy's Crew over at Sundays With Crissy to see what gorgeous projects they have made for you! Remember, you will have two weeks to complete your project and link it up at Sundays With Crissy! If you do not already own some of Crissy's lovely images then you can hop on over to Squigglefly, Whimsy or Wags 'n Whiskers to go shopping!

Before you go, I would like to wish you all a Happy Mother's Day!!

Blessings friends!

Melanie

Stamps: Crissy Armstrong's "Gracie's Roses" available at Whimsy Stamps

Paper: Neenah, Bazzill, K&Company Wild Raspberry

Ink: Copic markers, Distress Inks

Embellishments: Prima Fairy Tale roses, Dollar store crochet trim and pearls, machine stitching

Tools: Spellbinders