Friday Special: A Sweet Guest Designer + a Giveaway!

Welcome back, crafty readers!!!

Yes, it's another special guest designer on my blog today!!!!  Help me extend a warm welcome to the sweetest, most exceptional crafter I know, Vanessa Vergara!!!!!! :D  I call her Superwoman, because this über talented lady does it all--literally!!!  Vanessa is an artist and a designer.  She recently launched her own line of hand-drawn digital stamps--a must see!!!  She also bakes and decorates beautiful cakes for every occasion--yes, even weddings!   She's also a full-time accountant, mom, wife, card maker AND don't ask me how she finds the time, but she also runs her own business--both at home and online... Oh, and did I mention she's also the founder of V's Sweet Challenge blog????!!  If you keep up with my blog you know that I design for her challenge blog!!!!  This incredible woman chose ME, a beginner card maker, to be a part of what is now my first design team ever!!!!!  For this and much more, I am deeply grateful to her!!!  During these few months of designing for her challenge blog, I have grown tremendously, not only as a crafter, but as a business woman in the making as well.   Vanessa has been my mentor... The amount of help and support that she constantly offers me would make anyone think that she was my own family.   I greatly admire Vanessa for her unselfish attitude, not just towards me, but towards anyone who reaches out to her.   I could go on and on about Vanessa and never finish.  She is just an extraordinary woman!  It is an honor and a pleasure to have her guest design on my blog today!!!!!!! Xoxoxo  Please, be sure to stop by and visit her online store, her personal blog and the challenge blog that she runs!!!  Let her know what a remarkable crafter she is!!!

Giveaway Time!!!! This is the first one ever on my blog, too!!!! Yippee!!! :D  The incredibly generous, Vanessa has allowed me to give away a $5 gift certificate to her store!!!  Woohoo!!!! :D  All you have to do is be a follower of my blog and leave a comment at the end of this post.  You will have until Monday, October 15th (my dad's birthday!!!) at 12 PM (Eastern Daylight Time) to leave a comment.  The winner will be drawn at random using random.org, and will be announced on Monday evening.  So be sure to return to the blog on Monday night to check if you've won!!!  Thank you again, Vanessa!!!! *hugs* 

And now, sit back and enjoy the special treat Vanessa has prepared for you today... You'll be inspired for sure!!! (;

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Hi there! It's Vanessa from V's Sweet Ideas. I am super excited that Grisel has invited me to be a guest on her blog. Grisel and I met through Twitter and she has been an amazing friend. She has been such an outstanding supporter of V's Sweet Ideas and I am grateful for that. 

I recently got hooked on powder embossing and I now find myself embossing everything. I just love the look and texture of it. I also love sewing on my cards. So for this card I chose a Some Odd Girls digi stamp and colored her in with copic markers. I then picked a paper pad that matched the colors I used. For this card I chose the My Minds Eye BlueBell paper pad, which by the way is really beautiful. I then added a beautiful off-white lace to the card because the flower pattern paper I used went so well with the lace. I also added a doilie and a beautiful button to give it an elegant look. The sentiment I used was powder embossed. I then finished it off by adding pearls. I forgot to mention that I also sew around the card using a mini sewing machine I purchased for $10 bucks at the dollar deal store. 

Once again I want to thank Grisel for having me as a guest on her blog.