May Blog Hop --- Busy Beauties Go Burtonesque

Not only do we have some marvelously macabre new images to share with you today, but we also have some fun & funky friends joining us: The Burtonesque Dolls! Our new images are inspired by the Tim Burton classic, "THE CORPSE BRIDE", and BBB illustrator Thomas Goins has really outdone himself with these amazing images! We thought they would be right up the Dolls' alley, so we invited them along for the hop *and* are super excited to announce that Busy Beauties will be sponsoring their challenge next week!

For my card I used the BB Queen of Hearts image from the Alice in Wonderland series released last month.  It reminds me of the Queen of Hearts in the Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland.  I loved that movie!

Here is the complete list of hop stops for today, and we have prizes so fab, it's freaky! Be sure to hop along and leave lots of comment love, because there are TWO Secret Beauties or Dolls along this Burtonesque inspired hop… and TWO winners will be selected from their blog comments to receive 5 (yep, FIVE) Busy Beauties images of his/her choice! So whether you are in the mood to be beauty-ful or get funky, we've got you covered.

1. Kelly
2. Suzi
3. Michelle
4. Rachel
5. Debbie
6. Barbara (me!)
7. Betty
8. Annita
9. Lorie
10. Jackie
11. Grace
12. Nicole
13. Carolyn
14. Margie
15. Catherine
16. Kadie
17. BBCS Blog
 
At the end of the hop, the new Busy Beauties Creation Station challenge is waiting for you. It's a sketch challenge provided by PaperAddict Catherine, who is a member of both the Busy Beauties and The Burtonesque Dolls DTs. We hope you'll play along! You have until 11:59 EDT on June 2nd to link your creation at the Creation Station. In the meantime, we hope you'll have fun hopping and find lots of other-worldly inspiration! Enjoy the show!
 
 

 

Busy Beauties Creation Station Challenge: Red or Blue or Both!

With a very busy week behind me I am now catching up on my favorite challenges.  You may know that I am one of the very lucky ladies to be on the Busy Beauties Boutique DT, a group of very talented women who are also wonderful friends.

Recently Busy Beauties launched the Creation Station Challenge blog.  Last Thursday the challenge for Red or Blue or Both went up.  Very simple, really.  You can use any image you want to, especially Busy Beauty if you have them, and use any colors as long as red or blue, or both, appear somewhere on your project.  I chose to put red on my card.  In fact, that's the only color (except her hair).  Not only that, but I made an attempt at a clean and simple card sketch.  Not easy, but I think I passed the test. 

Now, this might be a clean and simple card, but the image is anything but ordinary. This little beauty is Sailor Gal.  Gotta love her hair!  She is colored with Copics and sits on die cuts from Nestibilities.  The embossed layer of swirls is Cuttlebug. 

There is still plenty of time to jump in and join us in this two week challenge which started on May 6.  All the deets and prize info is at the Busy Beauties Creation Station.  I look forward to seeing your projects.

Thanks for stopping by and have an awesome week!

Sunday Sketch and Stamp #27 --- Ger's Sketch and Busy Beauties Boutique

Happy May, everybody! It's hard to believe we are well into spring and headed for summer already!  We here at Sunday Sketch and Stamp are so excited to be starting our second year.  So many new talented friends have come our way and we couldn't be happier!

The challenge this week is a sketch by Ger which I found to be fun to work with and has limited possibilities.  I can't wait to see what you all come up with!  Extra-special for me is that the Busy Beauties Boutique is the sponsor for this fortnight.  My friend and all 'round talented lady, Carolyn Bounds, kicked off the BBB digital stamps a few months ago and it is my privilege to be part of her incredible design team, too.  She has offered up some terrific prizes for us here at SS&S so be sure to hop in with your cards!

Here is Ger's sketch:

....... and my card:

Busy Beauties recently released a very fun set of Alice In Wonderland digital stamps.  This is Alice.  Isn't she pretty?  Wait till you see the other characters:  the Caterpillar, the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Scrapper, the Rabbitt, and more!  I colored this image with Copics and used a fun selection of dp I just picked up at Michaels.  The charm says "Dream".  Here's a close-up:

Thank you for stopping by today! I am looking forward to seeing your creations with this sketch from Sunday Sketch and Stamp!

Sweet Sketch Wednesday --- Warning: Chocolate OD Possible!!

I am so proud to be part of the Busy Beauties DT.  Not only is this the most loving and supportive group of ladies, but also multi-talented!  This week we are sponsoring the Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge.  I have to admit I had not visited this challenge blog before, but now it is a favorite!  More talent and inspiration is in store when you hop over to take a look!

Here is their fun sketch for this week:

And here is my card for the sketch.  I did warn you about the chocolate, now didn't I?  I love this tower of cakes!  The image is Busy Beauties "Eat Cake" and I just had to color it in shades of chocolate.  I wonder if that has anything to do with the bag of assorted Hershey's kisses I just bought?  Hmmmm?

The cakes are colored in with all the shades of chocolate I could find in my Copics stash!!  The luscious strawberries and pretty red bow provided the accent color.  I have had some sheets of the chocolate icing scrapbook paper in my closet for years and this was the perfect time to break it out!  Yummmm!  The ribbon is a nice woven that had the perfect color combo.  I love it when a card comes together!

Inside the card is a simple Mother's Day sentiment on a nice layer of chocolate icing!

I'm so glad you stopped by today and I hope you hop over to Sweet Sketch Wednesday to check out their creations and to play along. 

Busy Beauties Welcoming Spring with a Blog Hop and a Twist and Shout!!

Busy Beauties are geared up for Spring and to show how fired up we are for the beauty of the season we have TWO EVENTS going on today!  Yep --- TWO!  First ......a blog hop!

We’ve got a “SPRING” in our step today and NEW Busy Beauties Boutique images in our hands, and are delighted to have you along for the hop! If you are just starting out, please be sure to hop back to Carolyn’s blog so you don’t miss any of the fun! If you are arriving here from my dear friend Heather's blog then you are right on track.

My card for the blog hop features the lovely "Tea Time" and "Tea and Cookies" images that I used for a Mother's Day card.  The images are colored with Copics and mounted on bright spring dp from Daisy D's.  I love to use silk flowers on the cards and a lovely charm is irresistable.  On the inside..........

........... you will find the image "Tea and Cookies".  These images are so sweet and I can think of dozens of card types to use them on.  Oh, but there are so many more new images!  In a minute I will tell you who is next on the blog hop........

But don't go away yet!!

We hope you’ll join us for a TWIST & a SHOUT! The “TWIST” being our new GO GREEN WITH A TWIST Challenge (in honor of Earth Day) at the Busy Beauties Creation Station! And the “SHOUT” being a RELEASE PARTY over on Paper Craft Planet this SATURDAY AT 8 P.M. EDT. We'll bring the Party Favors! *wink, wink*

I made a special birthday card for the GO GREEN WITH A TWIST CHALLENGE.  My lovely Grandma Browning was born on this date in 1900!  She would love that Earth Day is on her date of birth!  I don't know anyone who could grow prettier flowers or more delectable vegetables in her garden! 

This card is a recycled front with the addition of the new BB image "Spring Flowers", colored with Copics.  I know Grandma would have loved this card!

The sentiment on the inside is just what I would say to her on this, her 110th birthday.

Now, on to the rest of the hop...........

Your next stop is the always amazing Karen! When you reach the Busy Beauties Creation Station you will find more details about the hop, the challenge, and the release party!

Thanks for bopping & hopping with us, and we hope to see you for the TWIST and SHOUT!

Busy Beauties Wonderland of April Releases AND a Brand New Blog!

If you love digistamps and Alice In Wonderland as much as I do then you just have to drop through the rabbit hole and explore the new releases over at Busy Beauties Boutique!  This is really easy --- and FUN --- with a blog hop today.  At the end of the journey is a magical and beautiful new blog home for all the Busy Beauties in the blogosphere! 

For the blog hop click here to begin the journey at Catherine's magical blog.  If you just absolutely cannot wait to see the new blog --- and learn about the inaugural CHALLENGE and PRIZES then take this shortcut.  But, please hop over to the Busy Beauties' blogs for amazing inspiration and creativity.

I wasn't able to join my BB sisters in the hop, but you'll be seeing some of the Alice In Wonderland magic here soon!

Busy Beauties Blog Hop Today!

The Busy Beauties Boutique is celebrating the March release today with a blog hop of all new images and more surprises!  I would normally be in the blog hop rota, but due to a family emergency I am actually in Iowa, supporting my Busy Beauty sisters this way.  These ladies are not only amazingly talented, but are the most loving and supportive group I could ever wish for.  Ladies, I love you all! 

I am posting three cards I had ready to for the hop and encouraging you to pop on over to the incredibly talented Catherine for all the deets and where to start the hop.

For the first time, BBB is hosting a challenge along with the hop.  The challenge is "Go Green".  You will find the details on Carolyn's blog and all through the hop.  This is my "green" card in celebration of St. Patrick's Day this month.  I hope you all find your pot of gold!! 

Below is little Miss Attitude, I call her!  This image is based on one of Carolyn's nieces Savannah (could be my little niece, too), but I have a feeling a younger Carolyn is also reflected here!  (I say that with tons of love, my friend!) So I chose to color the hair dark and use lots of red and yellow, a salute to Carolyn's style.

"Braces are beautiful" so says Cheyenne, Carolyn's other niece.  She looks like a beautiful young lady, confidently flashing a very flashy smile!

So, if you like these images and haven't been over to the hop yet then git goin'!! You're missing out on the best!  Thanks for stopping by and I plan to be back on track in a couple of days.

God bless my beautiful Beauties sisters!

Inspirational Card Sketches Challenge #53

Last week the Busy Beauties Boutique had such a good time participating in the Inspirational Card Sketches challenge that we decided to do it again this week!  Dawn has provided a very interesting sketch (I love the creativity of this DT!) and, though it did take a bit to put the pieces together, I think I pulled it off!

One of my favorite Busy Beauties images is the Runway Beauty.  I've used her before and I just can't help putting a streak of aqua in her black hair!  She is colored with Copics.  The card blank is Bazzill textured card stock.  I found a scrap of mulberry paper then cut into a sheet of embossed faux leather specialty.  I've had the leather for quite awhile, waiting for just the right time to use it.  I don't know what took me so long!  This was a very fun texture for this sketch!  In keeping with the western look I strung 3 beads to a suede leather lace and added a couple of feathers.  The heart-shaped concho carries a bit of twine and also reflects the embossed pattern of the leather.  Wow, this was fun!

So, if you want to see some really great projects hop on over to ICSketches to see what the DT has in store!  More of the Beauties DT are participating, too, and I am honored to be part of that amazing team, too, so take a run through the participants projects, too.  You will find so much inspiration in just one place!

Thank you for stopping by!  Your time is so appreciated!

Sunday Sketch & Stamp #21 --- Maggie's Sketch

It is time for Challenge #21 at Sunday Sketch & Stamp.  I actually had to look at the calendar to make sure two weeks had indeed passed since our last challenge.  Time sure flies!  Maybe that's because we've had so much fun looking at all of the wonderful projects from so many readers!  What a thrill to see so much creativity from all over the world!

Maggie is our feature designer for this fortnight and has presented a very unique sketch for us.  I had a great time with it and wait till you see what the DT has come up with!  Here is Maggie's sketch:

And here is my card...........

I used two brand new digital images from Busy Beauties Boutique and made a pastel Valentine themed card.  The darling little lambs are colored in Copics and mounted on Nesties die cuts.  The papers are from my stash of scrapbook papers. 

Thank you for stopping by and please be sure to visit Sunday Sketch & Stamp ---- better yet, pop in with a card or paper project.  You never know what surprises we'll have in store!!

I Have A Secret and I'm Going to Reveal It Now!

On Thursday Busy Beauties Boutique had a Blog Hop to showcase new releases for February.  Four of the blogs were "Secret Beauties" with prizes, too!  I was one of those secret Beauties and the winner chosen from my commenters is..........................

Sprytebird!

Please contact Carolyn at BusyBeauties@nc.rr.com to chose your three free images!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our blog hop!

Busy Beauties Boutique February Release Blog Hop!!

Today is the first Thursday of the month, which can mean only one thing..... Busy Beauties Boutique has released NEW images!!   That means a BLOG HOP and PRIZES!!  If you came here from our lovely Heather's blog then you are right on track.  To start over jump on back to sweet Kadie's blog. 

GRAND Prize is FIVE free images from the Boutique!

New!  FOUR of the Beauties Design Team are SECRET BEAUTIES!  A random commenter from each of their blogs will receive THREE free images!  Since they are SECRET Beauties, it would be a good idea to comment on each blog to increase your chances of winning!

I got so carried away with these fantastic new images that Carolyn and Thomas have released that I actually have two cards showcasing these little darlings!  What they both have in common is that they bring the Luck O' the Irish to ye!

"Wish You Luck Rosey" is lovely in green and pink Copics.  The DP is from the Paper Studio that I have had on hand for quite awhile.  The shamrocks are made with Nestabilities die cut hearts. 

Here is "Wish You Luck Randy"

He is colored with Copics and sits on scrapbook papers and Kraft paper.  Again I used the Nestabilities heart die cuts for the shamrock.  I love buttons on little boy cards.  Maybe it's because I found more of my sons buttons loose in the wash than on his shirts!

If you are new to Busy Beauties, let me show you some of the January releases, too.  These are still available and perfect for Valentines Day!  I made a bunch of quick and simple cards with these fun images. 

I am so glad you stopped by and are participating in our blog hop.  Be sure to leave a comment!  You never know which of us are the Secret Beauties!!!

Here is the complete list of blogs for you to visit in this order:
1.  Kadie
2.  Rachel
3.  Heather
4.  Barbara (Me!)
5.  Grace
6.  Catherine
7.  Michelle
8.  Karen
9.  Annita
10.  Kelly
11.  Carolyn

Have a beautiful day!

Inspirational Card Sketches #52 --- Busy Beauties

Today I am posting to a new challenge blog --- well, new to me, that is.  Inspirational Card Sketches has weekly challenges and their sketches are so unique.  I found ICS by way of Busy Beauties Boutique, this week's sponsor.  All of us at BBB are happy to be posting some of the newest digistamps, which can be found here.

For my card I used Sweetheart Lolita, colored with Copics.  The paper is from my stash of scraps of DPs.  I like the red and aqua combination.  The leaves and apples embellies are plastic buttons I picked up on clearance at Walmart.  I like this image a lot.  She's so sweet and innocent!

I love Dawn's sketch, too!  Very creative with the torn top edges and tab.  This was a lot of fun and I hope you hop over to Inspirational Card Sketches and check out all the DT projects.  Don't forget to check out the participants, too.  You'll see more of the Busy Beauties there!

Thank you for stopping by!  I hope your week is off to a great start!

Busy Beauties Valentines

It's been awhile since I posted a Busy Beauties image, but you will will be seeing more soon!  That's right!  Carolyn and Thomas have been busy with new releases.  Stay tuned for more! 

In the meantime, I've been working on Valentine cards these days and BB has adorable images for the LOVE-liest day of the year.  Here is  Rosey and Randy who look like they are definitely ready to exchange Valentine cards! 

These little darlins' are colored with Copics. The card is made from shimmery red card stock. I made the card for a type 10 envelope for something different.  It also gave me a chance to show off this beautiful new deep border punch from Martha Stewart.  Have you seen all the fabulous new punches and other products from MS?  Wow!  But I digress... the little paper heart doilies that I found in the Target $1.00 bins make a romantic background, surrounded by Mulberry Street paper flowers with fun brad centers.

Thank you all for stopping by!  It's midweek already and I hope it's a good week for you.