Meet Ms. June!

We're thrilled that Cheryl Valadez, one of our past Bombshell Girls, will be joining us again as Bombshell's Ms. June! Cheryl brings her incredible coloring and fabulous design skills to the table. You will most definitely be inspired by her artwork!

Cheryl was interviewed back in January, 2011, so I emailed her some new questions to answer, so you could learn more about this talented artist!

Here's her new interview!
1) Way back when, your favorite Bombshell set was 'Til Death. Has this changed? If so, what's your new favorite set and why?  
My Bombshell heart still belongs to ’Til Death.  The perfect stamp set with the perfect sentiment.

2) Let's talk favorites. What's your favorite color combination? Do you have a favorite paper company? What's your favorite embellishment?  
My favorite color combo at the moment is blue greens used in conjunction with lime greens. You’ll see this frequently show up in my projects if you scroll through my blog.  Also, I’m crazy about turquoise, red, and black together.  It has a definite Dia de los Muertos feel for me.  As for favorite paper companies, I’d have to say ALL OF THEM!  LOL!  Finally, embellishments…it seems that in every project there is always room for a little black button with a bit of twine. 

3) Now let's talk about paper crafting style! Do you have a favorite style? How has your style evolved over time? Is there a style you don't like or just can't do?  
I go back and forth between using a lot of embellishments and using very few embellishments.  I used to be big on paper flowers, but now not so much.  Clean and simple has never been in my vocabulary, so  CAS has always and continues to elude me.  I just can’t swing it no matter how hard I try.

4) Can you share some special paper crafting tips (coloring, paper layering, etc.)?  
I typically layer with patterned papers combined with solid black or kraft papers.  I rarely use colored solids.  This makes it easy to pick out papers because everything goes with black and kraft.  Plus I don’t have to spend time struggling to match colored solids with patterned paper and I don’t have to find a place in my craft space to maintain and organize a ton of different colored solids.  Plus black and kraft colored layers automatically give my projects a bit of vintage look which I like.  

5)  Do you have any tips for using Bombshell stamps?  
Bombshell Stamp images pair well with Copic markers and provide an excellent resource for practicing skin combos.

6) Do you like to combine sets of Bombshell stamps and create scenes? 
I do!  I love that most of the Bombshell Stamp images are designed to work together in numerous combinations.

7) Do you listen to music, watch tv, or prefer silence when you craft?
The past couple of years, I have been big on listening to Podcasts when I craft.  My favorites are The Nerdist, WTF, and Dinner Party Download…all extremely entertaining. 

8) Where do you find inspiration? 
It’s all around us all the time, so I might see something on TV or the Internet, or something might catch my eye when I’m driving.  Colors, images, even sounds can be very inspiring.

9) When your mojo has departed the station, how do you get it back?
I stamp an image and just start coloring.  Even if I haven’t a clue how I’m going to use it in a project.  If I get started on coloring then usually the rest of the card/project starts to take shape after that.

10) If you could give advice to a beginning paper crafter, what would it be? 
Just jump in!  I teach Copic classes and have folks tell me that they hesitate to use their Copics because they're afraid their projects will not turn out well.  Getting started is half the battle, but you’ll find that once you jump in you’re more apt discover something you really love, whether it’s coloring, playing with mixed media, collaging, etc.  The only thing that can hold you back is never giving it a try. 

Here are three of Cheryl's favorite Bombshell projects, featuring the Lucky Bride, Mermaid Treasure, Homeward Bound, Rose's Portrait, and Sacred Heart sets!

Now that you've feasted your eyes on some amazing eye candy, click on over to Cheryl's blog and become a follower!

Inspire your Heart with Art: Wacky Holiday

Greetings all! Alison here, with the latest installment of Bombshell's Wacky Holidays. I get all of my wacky holiday ideas from Holiday Insights...and this particular holiday really excited me. "Inspire Your Heart with Art" day. Here's what the website says about this day. And yeah...it's not actually today, but now you have time to prepare for it!

When : Always January 31st

Inspire Your Heart With Art Day celebrates art and the effect it can have on your heart. Art is valued and appreciated for all sorts of reasons.

Look at a piece of art and ask yourself: What is is telling me? How does it make me feel? What emotions is it evoking (if any) within me?

A sense of love and romance is one of those feelings and emotions that a piece of artwork can awaken and inspire. Looking to create a little romance with that special someone? Try setting the mood, with an appropriate piece of art.

While the title of this day suggests you inspire "your" heart, we're guessing you may use today to inspire someone else's heart...to romantic thoughts....of you. That's perfectly okay.

Here's what some of the Bombshell gals came up with.

 Alaine combined Sacred Heart and Rose's Portrait

Alison used 'Til Death

Monika using Cherry Bomb

Marnie used All My Heart

Now, go and get inspired even more by checking out some of our other amazing posts. Your heart will thank you for it!

May's Sketch Challenge!

It's that time again! May's Sketch is here to inspire you! We'd love to see your take on the sketch, so please be sure to share your Bombshell project with us using the Inlinkz below!

May's Sketch!

Here's my card using the ship from Homeward Bound.

Here's what the Bombshell Girls and Pin-ups have done with the sketch!

Bombshell Girl Rachael used Man's Ruin to create this college-themed/school spirit scrapbook layout.

Pin Up JennieWren came up with this using "Till Death" which is on sale at the moment.

Susie using "Till Death"

Alaine used Cherry Bomb, the sentiment from Rose's Portrait and a LOT of Bling

Stempelientje used: Live to Ride and Banner Sayings (reduced in price now!) 

Kelli using Rise and Shine

Bombshell Sparkly Mary used Wild Horses for her sketch

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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.