Sweet Shoppe Designs – The Sweetest Digital Scrapbooking Site on the Web

It’s April 16th Sweet Shoppers, and do you know what that means? That means it’s time to put the fabulous Allie Llacer in the spotlight as our Featured Designer! You guys may know her better as Lliella Designs, and she’s been making her mark on our shoppers for years now with her one of a kind whimsical characters and elements that are the signature of her design style. Her featured designer kit, Monsterific, is an absolutely adorable sample of her unique style, and it’s FREE until April 30th with your $10 purchase in the shoppe! Allie is pretty awesome, and we hope you guys enjoy getting to know a little more about her and her designs below…

Just The Basics

How tall are you?

I’m about 5’9″ tall. It is considered very tall by Philippine standards. I used to have a really hard time buying pants because the inseam is almost always not long enough. And it was pretty awkward growing up. My family are all very tall.

Do you have any tattoos?

Yes, I have a small tattoo at the back of my left shoulder. I got it during my senior year in college together with a friend. The design is a stylized bird in flight in blue and green.

Who’s your favorite author?

Stephen King. I read “It” when I was a sophomore in high school and love it. I have read most of his novels. Unfortunately, I have not read any new Stephen King novels lately.

Describe your perfect pizza toppings.

Cheese, cheese, … and did I mention cheese?!

Do you wear glasses or contacts?

Neither. I don’t need them yet and wearing even sunglasses gives me a headache.

Besides designing, do you have another job or occupation?

I help out my husband at our glass and aluminum store. I do the payroll. Before my 2nd kid, I work there full time.

What languages do you speak?

English, Chinese and Filipino. I also speak a few Philippine dialects like Ilonggo and Chavacano.

What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?

Snyder’s pretzel pieces (Jalapeno or Mustard)

What’s the weather like right now?

Very hot. It is already summer where I live. The kids are having their summer vacation. They have various activities and summer classes planned which means that I am busier than usual taking and fetching them.

Early bird or night owl?

Night owl. I rarely sleep before midnight, unless I’m sick. I usually sleep 1-2am. Doing what, you ask? Usually surfing, looking at stuff to buy online 🙂

Inside The Artist’s Studio

When and how did you get started as a digital designer?

I started making freebies for a site (I forgot the name) wherein a color swatch is posted for the month and anyone is free to make freebies using the swatch. This was during mid 2007, just a couple months after my son was born. I really enjoyed it and made more freebies for the digiscrapping blog I started. I then applied to several digistores at the time and started selling Oct. 2007 at Art ‘N Scrap.

How do you feel about how far you’ve come as a designer?

I feel that I have really come a long way since I started. I have found my niche, where I think I am really comfortable creating. I can never create a non-themed kit, as I think it will just be a kit full of flowers! I have also learned a lot using Photoshop while designing.

Describe your designing process. Take us briefly from the start to finish of making a kit.

I start with a theme. I then search the internet for ideas on what to include. I then make the vector shapes in Coreldraw, separate them and export them. I select the color scheme for it. Then in Photoshop, I cut up the pieces (exported from Coreldraw) and reassemble them with layers. Then add texture, color and efects. It really is a painstaking process and I really hope I can find a faster way to do it.

After all the themed objects are created, I add the fillers –ribbons, buttons, frames, etc. Then I do the papers. Then the alpha. I really have no idea what they would look like together until I make the preview, which is the last step!

When you scrap, do you prefer to use your products or those from another designer?

I hardly scrap nowadays, but I prefer using products from other designers. I will occasionally use my kits when the theme and color fits. That is why one of the biggest perks of being a designer at Sweet Shoppe Designs is I can have all the gorgeous kits I want! hehe I am just amazed at the amount of beautiful kits week after week!

What’s your favorite kit ever? Why?

2 kits. Backyard Cuties and Backyard Crawlies and the Laundry Packs. I just enjoyed creating them, but it took me like a month to finish it (I used very minimal CU). I would say that it was lovingly created. And it is also my first kits that sold really well. I still love looking at it after all these years.

Food For Thought

What are you most grateful for?

I am so grateful for my 2 kids. After struggling with infertility for almost 5 years and 2 miscarriages, I am just so thankful that I am blessed with 2 healthy kids.

When have you worked hard and loved every minute of it?

When designing or doing something creative. I can stay up until 3-4am finishing up a kit and not complain.

When you have a random hour of free time, what do you usually do?

I love doing crosswords on my tablet.

Are you more like your mom or your dad?  In what way?

More like my dad. I got his artistic talent, height, looks and shy nature. I think I got my mom’s procrastinating and hoarding ways. My mom is pretty awesome, I just did not get her positive traits.

What is your greatest challenge?

I am quite shy, so striking up a conversation with a stranger or acquaintance is very hard for me. I’m not good at small talk at all.

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Now that you’ve gotten to know Allie a bit better, take a peek at some of her favorite products, and don’t forget you can pick up her whimsical and fun limited edition kit, Monsterific, FREE with ANY $10 purchase made in the shoppe between now and April 30th!