Meet Cheryl!

Cheryl is another of our latest full-time Bombshell Girls. Cheryl's cards always feature top-notch Copic coloring skills and great multi-layered designs.

Let's get to know more about her via an interview!

1. Brief info about yourself, including your name, where you live, your family (if you want), etc.
Hola, I'm Cheryl Valadez and I live in sunny Albuquerque, New Mexico, smack dab in the middle of The Land of Enchantment with my husband, who resembles a thinner John Goodman (seriously, he gets that ALL the time) and three furry faced feline babies.

2. How long have you been stamping and/or crafting?
I've been stamping roughly 13 years, but it wasn't until the past two years that I decided to get adventurous. I set goals for myself to start a card blog, teach card classes, sell cards, and join a DT or two.

3. What are your favorite Bombshell sets and why?
'Til Death is my absolute favorite! It is just so freakin' awesome I can hardly even find the words to explain "why", but I will try. For me, there are so many subtle messages embedded in the image and the banner saying. I love the image of the skull kissing the lovely Bombshell. It gives a wink and a nudge to the delicate balance of "life and death" and how one really cannot exist without the other. On the other hand, it playfully conveys the humorous opinion that some folks feel marriage is a "death sentence" of sorts. The way it is illustrated is not fussy or whimsical, but rather bold and very straight forward, which is contradictory to how most people feel about death. They like the reality of death to be diluted and secretive to make it more palatable, because it is a subject with which most folks are not comfortable. AND finally, the cherry on the sundae is the banner that reads "Til Death do us Part" and that message perfectly captures the irony and symbolism of the image. The whole set is pure genius!

4. What kind of projects do you like to do?
I'm a cardmaker at heart. Cards provide just enough space to allow me to have fun with ideas and techniques, yet the canvas is not so large that I am overwhelmed by thinking about how I am going to fill up that space.

5. What are your favorite coloring mediums?
Copic Markers changed my cardmaking life. Coloring an image used to intimidate me, so I avoided using a lot of detailed images in my cards for many years. Now, if I create a card that I don't use my Copics on, it makes me just a little bit sad. I tell you, they are like crack...LOL!

6. Describe your crafting "style".
It varies a bit from card to card, but for the most part, I like LOTS of paper. The more layers, the better. Oh, and a pretty good number of embellishments, too. If it costs less than two bucks to mail, then I have gotten chintzy.

7. Describe your crafting process. Do you start with a stamp set? A sketch? A technique you want to use?
Yes, all of the above. The starting point is always different. It might be a new stamp, or some paper I forgot I had, or maybe I have seen a new technique online. Sometimes I have a distinct image in mind on what I want to make and other times I haven't a clue. If I'm stumped, I like to just pick an image and start coloring. Whatever happens after that is up to the crafting gods.

8. Do you have any other hobbies?
My husband and I are big time foodies. We love trying new restaurants, experimenting in the kitchen, cooking for friends and family, etc. We also love movies and I like following the work of not only certain actors, but directors. Quentin Tarantino is the movie maverick of my generation.

9. Free for all including little facts, etc. about you.
Believe it or not, I have the sensibilities of a teenage boy. I have a potty mouth and love to interject funny and crude comments into conversation, always looking for that cheap laugh. I don't care for rom coms or chick flicks, they are my least favorite movies. Instead, give me a mind bender, bloody shoot 'em film, Asian kung fu flick, or black and white classic and I am a happy camper. I drive a pick up truck and can't imagine tooling around town in a 4-door sedan. BUT, on the other hand, I have a few guilty pleasures...I love a good cry and anything can set me off, the movie Elf sends me into sobs, because it makes me so happy. I secretly watch chick flicks when I'm by myself and have seen My Fair Lady a dozen times. Along side the alternative grunge rock my husband loads on my iPod, I have more than a few Barry Manilow songs to keep them company. Ssshhhhh...don't share that last one ;D

Here are three of Cheryl's favorite Bombshell cards.







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Now that you've read Cheryl's interview and ogled her cards, do yourself a favor and go visit both Cheryl's blog and her Bombshell gallery. I guarantee you'll be happy you did.