IT'S A GIVEAWAY!!!!

I love a giveaway as much as the next crafter.  The chance to win some crafting goodies always perks me up.  So with that in mind. . .I decided to do a spring time Shimmerz Paints giveaway.  Since Shimmerz Paints are always my go to product. . . I'd thought I'd share the fun of these products.

This is an Instagram Giveaway.  TO WIN: You can click on my Instagram link (above).  Follow ME. . . . Follow SHIMMERZ PAINTS. . . and leave a comment by tagging a friend in MY post.  A winner will be chosen and announced on Monday, April 17th.

Good Luck!!!!

**If you would like to see more about these products and more. . .. you can click HERE

** If you place a Shimmerz Paints order. . . .be sure to mention my name in the ORDER COMMENTS section and I will make sure you receive a FREE jar of Shimmerz Inklingz or Creameez

Hoppin' To Get Ready!!!

Can you believe we have less than 2 weeks until Easter?  YIKES!  Well, with that in mind, I've been hoppin' to get a few little Easter cards ready to give out.  These super quick, super easy little beauties are perfect enclosure cards to include with flowers to a friend.  Or give with a chocolatey Easter Bunny to your favorite bunny.  No matter the reason, these are the kind of little cards that make some-bunny feel special.

I'm so in love with the spring stamp sets from Penny Black.  They are just one of my all time favorite stamp companies.  

This adorable little chick is a favorite of mine.  I actually painted his body with Shimmerz Paints Hold the Mustard Paste-Eez because I wanted him to really stand out and have some texture.  On the back flap of the card, I added a tiny bit of washi tape in that same color so the inside would pop too.

Don't you just love this bunny and hedgehog?  UGH!  So cute!!!  I jazzed them up with Shimmerz Paints Creameez.  Just that tiny bit of shimmer in Creameez gave the life I was looking for.

For my little feathered friend, I used a circle sticker to make her stand out, then added a combination of Shimmerz Paints Inklingz to make those flowers shimmer and shine, and Creameez to her and the basket.  Finally a spritz or two followed by a splatter or two of Jeni B Bleu Vibez from Shimmerz Paints to give the background some pizzaz and shimmer.  A cute sentiment and a few sequins finished it off.

Here are the supplies I used.  There were a few little things like pop dots, or twine that I didn't mention, but you get the idea. . . .I'm sure.

Happy Spring!!!

I will be doing a giveaway very soon.  So be sure to follow me on Instagram (link at the top of the page) and on Facebook.  You could WIN!!!

One final note:  If you would like more information about Shimmerz Paints, or choose to place your order. . . . .be sure to mention my name in the ORDER COMMENTS section, and I'll send you a FREE jar of Creameez or Inklingz with your order, and you can see more from Shimmerz Paints here.

Springing Forward

OMGosh. . . so much time has gone by.  I try to stay up with this blog, and then go off, live life and neglect the poor thing.  So instead of making all kinds of excuses. . . I'm just going to "Spring Forward" and share with you some fun things.

I have reconnected with my first love of crafting. . . . stamping.  It's been years, and although I cleaned out a lot of my stash, I've been able to use some of those vintage stamp designs that I fell in love with years ago.  Of course, like any stamper, if I see something new and super cute. . . it must be added to the collection.  This Easter card is one of my new finds.  I have always loved Penny Black.  I used to stock their stamps in my store (a very, very long time ago).  Over the years, they never seem to loose their flare for beautiful stamps.

I cannot create a card without Shimmerz Paints!  I just can't imagine not including Shimmerz in any creation.

Easter to me, is a time to celebrate our risen Lord, and celebrate new life.  We reach for pastel colors, and have the itch for those sunny, warm days, that haven't quite arrived.  We think of Easter eggs, and candies, those new Easter outfits, and time spent with family.

This adorable bunny inspired me to dust off those pastel colors, and celebrate all that spring is.

My color medium of choice was Shimmerz Creameez.  They are highly pigmented, but have a hint of shimmer to them.  Just enough shimmer to catch the light and make any project pop a little more.

I hand painted the striped background with Ride the Tide, Piggy Pink, and Freshly Minted Creameez, and painted the bottom portion of the background with Ride the Tide.  Once dry, I used a polka-dot stencil and Salt of the Earth Paste-eez to add my textured little dots to complete my background.

Here are the products I used on my little Easter card.  It was super fast, and oh so easy.  Who has time for complicated?  Not me!

If you are inspired by my little bunny card, and want to place a Shimmerz Paints order. . . .you can order HERE.  Mention my name in the ORDER COMMENTS when you order, and I will include a FREE jar of Inklingz or Creameez paint with your order.

Be sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook. . . . because. . . I will be doing regular GIVE AWAYS!!!!!

In the meantime. . . . Get hoppin' on all those cute spring time cards.  Happy Easter!!!

BLOWING THE DUST OFF

I have been staring at this blog for an entire year now.  Wanting to post. . . but just not doing it.  Not sure what was holding me back. . . .other than work, family, and day to day life.  I feel for this blog like I do my craft room.  The desire is strong, but time is just not on my side.  Or maybe it's fear.  Fear of starting again, and then not following through.  Hmmm. . . .maybe a little of both.
BUT. . . . . . . . . . . .  Today is the day to blow off the dust and begin again.  I make no promises.  I may post and then fall away.  I hope not. . . but let's be honest. . . . .my track record of keep this blog going is not stellar.
I also blew some dust from my craft room.  I had to take a few steps back and chill out so I could recover from a bout of walking pneumonia.  I'm also not good at being sick.  I'm especially not good at the doctors idea of "resting".  HaHaHa!  I failed at that BIG time!  After my family got my attention, I decided the best way to "rest" was in my craft room.  OH MY STARS!!!. . . . my stamping skills are rusty at best.  I had to resort to Pinterest for ideas, and thank goodness for Kristina Werner and her blog (http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog ). . .  .otherwise I would have just sat there and thumbed through all my papers and stared at all my stamping / scrapping goodies. . . .especially my own products. . . .SHEESH!
I started slow. . . but start I did.  I gathered ideas from here and there, changed them a bit to fit my needs and the products I had. . . .but you know. . . . it was fun.  It was really FUN!  I felt my stress melt, I was distracted from work, I wanted to do more cards.  I really enjoyed that time.  So I'm going to be brave and share what I did those few days.
These are all cards I made for friends.  We gather once a month to have lunch, share our lives, and love on each other.  So since it was our holiday lunch. . . .holiday cards is what I made. . .+ one birthday card.

My weapon of choice for this card was Shimmerz Paints Inklingz in Blue My Mind.  This color is so surprising.  It looks green when you first open it, but once you add water. . . the magic happens.  It turns this glorious turquoise blue with gold shimmer.  I just used watercolor paper and Blue My Mind Inkz to create my background.  Add some Miner Miner 49er to some die cut snowflakes and BAM!. . . . . .a card was being born.

This happy little snowman is full of Creameez, Spun Sugar Dazzlerz on his body, and a splash of glitter around the window.  I love this stamp.  He makes me smile!

This card is totally the genius of Kristina Werner.  The only change I made was to use Shimmerz Inklingz in Green Pastures, The Holly & The Ivy, and Miner Miner 49er.  The only other change I made was to use gold washi tape instead of gold paper for the border.  Kristina has a wonderful blog. . .go check it out.  I'm sure she will inspire you as well.

Lastly the Birthday card.  Anyone who knows me. . . knows that I LOVE my doxie's.  Daisy and Lily both bring me so much joy.  So what could be more perfect than to use this adorable doxie stamp (stamp and inspiration came from Newtons Nook).  I colored it with my Copic markers, but added some Shimmerz Inklingz in Me & Blue, Naughty & Nice, and Greener Pastures to add some hi-lights to that adorable little sweater.  THEN. . . . I added a handwritten message inside that said, "I HOPE YOUR DAY IS A WIENER".  Hahaha! I cracked myself up on that one.  

I had such a great time.  I'm glad my family made me stop and "rest".  I hope to "rest" again really soon. . . .and . . . I really hope to keep blogging. . . . keep creating. .. and not just working.  Life really is more than work. 

Be sure to see all the fabulous work on the Shimmerz Blog (www.shimmerzpaints.blogspot.com) What an incredibly talented group of ladies we have on our design teams.  They are sure to inspire you!!!  

AND. . . you can get all the products and colors I used on my cards at www.shimmerzpaints.com

                       

Hello *** Is This Thing On?

Hello. . . . My name is Stacey, and I am a lazy blogger. :) 

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Admitting it is the first step to recovery. . . right? 
This blog has been on my mind for many, many months. 
I'm not sure why, but I feel like the Lord is telling me to start blogging again. 
You know. . . you pray about things. . . then get this gentle tug from the Lord to do something, and it's on your mind. . . A LOT. 
Then you ignore it and go on with life. 
As time goes by, you feel that tug almost turn into a smack upside the head to do that "something". 
Well, I've been getting smacked for weeks now, and think that finally. . . maybe. . . it's time to do "something" about it. 
So here I sit at my computer wondering why on earth. . . of all things. . . . I feel as though I should start blogging again. 
I mean. . . it's been so long! 
Really?!!! 
I'm busy. 
I have no time for this is what I kept telling Him and myself, but the smacking continued. 
So I am going to be blogging again. 
I'm curious what the Lord will do with it. 
Maybe it's for my kids. 
Maybe I can minister to someone. 
Maybe, just maybe, it's for me. 
I'm really not sure. . . but. . . I'm going to be blogging again because I want to be obedient, and darn it all my head hurts from getting smacked on. 

 Welcome back to my crazy, but very blessed life.

Please Tell Me That Your'e FINE!

You know, this has been such a long winter for the McElyea's. The last two winters we may have had a sniffle here or there, but nothing to really stop us. This year. . . Holy Smokin Rockets!!!. . .we've had it all. . . and more than once! The flu, several colds, bronchitis twice, allergies, etc. It's been a winter of non-stop ICK at our house. Heaven forbid we run out of tissues!!!
I've learned something while wading through our sea of cough syrup and Vicks Vapor Rub. . .
When we see or talk to someone and ask how they are, most generally the answer is good or fine. We take that for granted and so quickly say it. I, like most, take it for granted that the day is fine. I forget to be thankful for those "fine" type of days. Fine is often boring. Fine is like being in a rut. But is that a bad thing?
After being so sick this last week, I've decided to try hard to remember to be thankful for "fine". I need rejoice in "fine". "Fine" is something I know well. It's comforting and safe. When things are "fine" I know my kids sleep well. "Fine" tells me that there is no strife or conflict. "Fine" is reassuring. It dawned on me that that is a good thing. Then, because I had a lot of time on my hands while in bed, I looked up the definition of "fine". I found. . .

adjective, fin·er, fin·est, adverb, verb, fined, fin·ing, noun
–adjective
1. of superior or best quality; of high or highest grade: fine wine.
2. choice, excellent, or admirable: a fine painting.

"Fine" is sooooo much more than we give it credit. I can't really change that, but I can change my attitude toward it.
I'm sure many of you think that I'm now sick in the head. Well. . . maybe. . .but I think that we need to be grateful for our "fine" type of days, because when things aren't "fine". . . . is when we long for it.
So. . .I hope things are "FINE" for you today.

It's TIME!!! They're HERE!!!

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