Snow Anyone?

Plenty of snow in my yard and driveway—free to anyone who hauls it away! I know, it's January, in Ohio, stop complaining, right? It's really the bitter cold that's the problem...I'd rather do anything than errands right now. I know! I'll do a blog post!

Here's a card I made for a friend for New Year's. I'd like to be more organized and get my Christmas cards out before Christmas, but since that rarely happens, I have to send New Year's cards. I used my all-time favorite Hero Arts Triangle Die.

It covers the card front and is so versatile for masculine and feminine cards, plus I've used it to emboss and for stenciling too—just search my blog for "triangle die" and see how many times I've used this baby. It even got me published in Papercrafts magazine!

I used triangles from past die cutting to fill in some spots and found black, pink, aqua and silver pieces to insert. Then I added a little banner with silver mini alphabet letters. 

 

Inside, I used banners from and drew in the numbers and string with a sharpie. I'd like to do more with the inside of my cards this year. That's as close to a resolution as I'll make on New Year's. Now it's time to delay those frigid errands some more with cleaning out the craft closet. I mean, c'mon, it needs it! Please don't make me go outside! Cleaning is always good, right?! I knew you'd understand.

Have a Happy Wednesday!
Chark
p.s. if you want your own Triangle Die, go to the a2z Scrapbooking Supplies link here and use CHARK15 on your order to receive 15% off any $25 or more purchase!

Christmas with Hero Arts

I have a Hero Arts die that I absolutely love...it's a full card-size die, called the Frame Cuts Triangle Background and I have used it a ton in the past. It's not a new release, but you can still purchase it at Ellen Hutson and I still love it.

I love putting some of the triangle pieces back into the die in different ways. I made this card a little larger than a 4.25 x 5.5 card so I could do some fancy tilting and still use the whole die.

I watercolored the panel in a green ombre fashion and then die cut. Then I kept those green triangles for some other project and filled in with triangles of past die cutting. If you use a quick stick tool, it's so easy to place the little triangles. You can see what else I made with this die here and here too.

Another Christmas card I made that uses the Hero Arts Stamp & Cut Merry and Bright die. I love the ornament dies. You can use them on cards, scrapbook pages, as tags and even make ornaments out of them. 

If you look closely, you'll see I backed the die with red glitter paper (hard to believe I chose glitter paper I know) and the word is a red glitter sticker from some I got on sale last year. I added a silver glitter sticker as a string after I took this pic...can't believe I forgot the ornament string!

Happy Thursday!

Chark

Snowmen on Parade

Hi, friends, I have some more snowmen cards to share with you today. I got this fab paper from The Plaid Daisy and by cutting it up, was able to make a lot of cards with these guys. Here are some of the parade of snowmen cards I made.

I used four different images and added a punched snowflake center and a sticker. Didn't do another thing to this one...these little guys are just so cute, they don't need a lot of fuss.

For this one, I chose one snowman for this glittery die cut background. I used a favorite Triangle Die from Hero Arts and cut both purple glitter paper and aqua cardstock and then offset them so you could see both papers. I adhered them to the yellow cardstock and it looks much more complicated than it is. The die is older but it is so fun to use and this store has one in stock! It was new in 2014 and if you click this link, you'll find a lot of my projects with this die from over the years. And you'll see I really do love it!

For this guy, I used a yellow ink dauber to color the white card, then added some Bo Bunny blue dot paper and some rainbow dot paper from Doodlebug Designs. The little dots are matte (not shiny) enamel dots from Doodlebug in shades of pink.

The last card in this batch includes a heart that was already embossed with the word. I just watercolored it with my Tombow markers. The snowflakes are from a variety of Hero Arts stamp sets (similar to this digi stamp) and stamped in pinks and blues. I added some Ice Blue Stickles to add a little sparkle. 

You can click this post to see two more snowmen cards with this paper (and a little more work with stencils). I'm telling you, this sheet of paper was my best purchase yet—useful, cute and on sale! 

Happy Friday,

Chark

Bunnies Make Me Happy

********If you're looking for the Hero Arts/a2z Scrapbooking Blog Hop and a chance to win prizes, click on this post!***********

This bunny die cut from Pretty Little Studio comes in a packet of small ones like this for $1.99 and a larger version for just 99¢. One of the tiny ones runs just 25¢ and that is hard to resist! 

For this card, I used my fave Hero Arts triangle die from a2z Scrapbooking Supplies to emboss on green metallic paper. I used the sketch from Pretty Little Studio's August Challenge. The sticker sentiment is from SRM stickers. The papers and the woodgrain stars are from Pretty Little Studio.

This card uses the same sketch and more Pretty Little Studio products, including the printed vellum in gold stars and mint woodgrain. Love this vellum, I don't work for them or anything, but I love their product and site—if you love vintage, cute die cuts, printed vellum or fun sequins, you'll love them! 

Happy Wednesday and join me in the challenge this week!
Chark

43 Days Til Halloween!

I admit, I like Halloween. I like the decorations, the candy, the costumes and the trick-or-treaters. I especially like Halloween scrappy goodies. I have so much cute, scary, gothic and elegant Halloween stash that I will never be able to use it. My kids are growing up too, so this may be the last year I get actual pics to scrapbook. Ah well, I'll just have to make cards for the nieces and nephews.

I won some Halloween things from Imaginisce and I gotta tell you, it's so stinkin' cute! Here's a card I made with a vampire and a candy die cut and sentiment from the prize. The background is the triangle die I love so much from Hero Arts. I die cut once from yellow and once from orange and then layered them on white, so it kinda looks like candy corn.

Happy Halloween a little early!
Chark

Hey Girl

So if you've seen these posted, they can be kinda funny. This particular Hey Girl is my favorite because, well, I'm a champion dining table crafter.

 

And now, an actual craft created at the actual dining table.

 

This uses my favorite triangle die from Hero Arts and available at a2z Scrapbooking Supplies. The sentiment is from the Be Happy set here. I watercolored the background with markers, added a die cut from black and made the rose by twisting a wide satin yellow ribbon adhering it to a cardstock circle (starting at the flower center). I tucked the end behind it and adhered the whole thing to the card. I added some judicial Diamond Stickles to some of the colored triangle parts and called it a day.

Happy Weekend!
Chark

CSI Investigation And Inspiration

The folks over at CSI: Color...Stories...Inspiration have a fun challenge up. And you'll have to put on your deerstalker or pick up a magnifying glass to get started. If you enter the challenge, you can win gift certificates!

I get to be a Guest Detective this month at the site, since a2z Scrapbooking Supplies is sponsoring their giveaway and I'm on their DT. It was the first time I played along at CSI, but it was really fun. You pick from the evidence and testimony to create the page, include the (color) scheme and the let the sketch inspire you. Then you get to work cracking the case.

For my page, I used the colors as instructed and then added triangles, cupcake, sprinkles and doodles form the evidence. I added testimony in the form of handwritten journaling with the word grumpy in there and made the title of the page like a Grumpy Cat meme. Fun!

The title is No Really...thanks for the stupid cupcake. My daughter wouldn't pose for me with the cupcake unless she was making a weird face, so it looks to me like she hates the cupcake she's eating. Actually, she enjoyed it, especially since her friends got it for her and it had an octopus ring on it. I used triangle pieces from my favorite triangle die and sequins to make sprinkles, I drew a grumpy cupcake at the top and tried to make my sprinkles fall down the page. I also tried to make the word cupcake look like the fun Thickers stickers (Amy Tangerine Plus One) so I didn't use up all my stickers :)

I used some Hero Arts stamps for the background papers (Talk Bubble stamped on the pink paper and Thanks from Be Happy on the ivory). You can get both of these stamps for $10 over at a2z Scrapbooking right now! 

And, if you use CHARK15 for your coupon code, you'll get 15% any orders of $25 or more! So, you could add in a stencil, some ink and maybe even some flowers and you're practically making money! Ok, you're not, but it does feel good to save money and you'll be doing that...I love a good sale.

Happy Monday! and Happy 79th Birthday to my mom, Mary!! Best. Mom. Ever.
Chark

Can You Say Obsessed?

It's my latest obsession—the Triangle Background Die from Hero Arts that I got from a2z Scrapbooking Supplies. I just keep making triangle backgrounds! Here's the lastest. I used the die cut with my Big Shot with a bright blue cardstock and then mounted it on silver glitter paper. I added some red glitter triangles for fun and a sentiment from this Hero Arts stamp set that I won from Tone at Small T Creations.

 

Thanks, Tone! I also used the feather set here from Hero Arts, using their White Unicorn Ink on vellum. The sentiment is stamped with Staz On ink on vellum. p.s. I cannot get a clear picture when glitter is involved. Must figure this out, as my glitter usage is legen...wait for it...dary.

Happiest of Wednesdays to you,

Chark

You Wanna Pizza Me?

I recently got the My Favorite Things Pizza Maker die and stamp set I've been eyeing for awhile. I started my obsessive pizza card making session with my first slim-line (long) card. Once you start die cutting these pizza pieces, you'll be like me and finding it hard to stop!

I ran the pizza dies through with a variety of colored cardstock and made piles of ingredients. There are pepperoni, onion, olives, mushrooms, cheese, sauce, crust and green pepper dies. There were two die cuts I guessed on, a small triangle shape that I think is pineapple and then a larger one that might be ham or tomato. I used a lot of my scrap cardstock, so the mushrooms were different colors of green and the pepperoni was a bright red and a darker red. But I just grouped the same color on each pizza.

For each crust (a variety of browns/tans), I intermittingly inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink so it looked like it came from a wood fired pizza oven. Then I started assembling the pizzas, and ended up with almost a dozen little pizzas with some leftover bits. For these cards, I used a shimmery silver paper for a pan on the right card and I trimmed a piece of wood paper into a pizza peel/paddle.

For this one, I put the pizza on a square of cardboard (kraft paper) like our local pizza joint serves theirs in the restaurant and made it into a pocket for a gift card.

The patterned papers are single sheets of picnic patterned paper I got from Scrapbook.com. The pizza paper is a single sheet from Michael's. I had a blast mixing and matching the pizzas and then the papers.

I typed out the Delivering Lots of Hugs sentiment, even though the sentiments from the stamp set are really cute. I hope my friends and family are all ready to get pizza cards this year!

Happy Friday!

Chark

Celebrating Junk Food

So, it's Junk Food Day here in the U.S. and I'm thinking we probably don't need an actual day to indulge ourselves with junk food...but, hey! who am I to argue with a holiday? I guess I'm having chips for lunch. I don't want to, I have to.

Here's a birthday card I made with the Triangle Die from Hero Arts. You can get it at a2z Scrapbooking Supplies and use CHARK15 to get 15% off your order. Yay! I used silver paper for some of the triangles and the stripe below the sentiment. I also popped in aqua and white triangles for some more variation.

Happy Monday and Happy Junk Food Day!
Chark

Wintery Wednesday

The temperature decided to dip back into the 30s today, which means it feels more like December...brrrr! All the better to get me in the mood to finish up my cards (yes, I know it's getting ridiculously close to Christmas). 

Today I'm over at the a2z Scrapbooking Supplies blog with my trusty triangle die from Hero Arts that I love so much. It's so fun and versatile and can make any card a statement card.

Here's a peek at my post and cards today, which involve gelatos and watercolor and in which Santa guest stars. 

If you're looking for crafty gift ideas, head over to the a2z Scrapbooking shop for some goodies. If you use the code CHARK15, you can get 15% off your order of $25 or more. Because my blog readers rock...and cuz they told me you could use me as a coupon. 

Happy Wednesday!
Chark

Creative Blog Hop

My talented friend and fellow DT Member at a2z Scrapbooking Supplies, Barb G, asked me to join in a Creative Blog Hop, where you answer a few questions about your creative process and then tag others to do the same the next Monday. I think it's cool to read how people create, so I was happy to join in. You can read Barb's post here.

What am I working on now?—I'm playing around with some new goodies from a2z including neon inks that seem a little out of my comfort zone. And I can't seem to stop trying things with my new triangle die from a2z.

How does my work differ from others in my genre—I like to create cards and scrapbook pages, but I also like to make gift packaging and gifts with paper. I just made a necklace for my sister from a comic book page that I'm hoping she'll enjoy. I guess I'd better make a matching card!

Why do I create what I do?—It makes me happy. I started with scrapping to get some memories down from vacations and then my kids' childhoods and then I took a class from Jennifer McGuire (who is fabulous) and she got me hooked on Hero Arts stamps. I found card making was sooo much faster for me than making a scrapbook page, so I made a lot of those. Making crafts of all sorts just satisfies a creative itch I have.

How does my creative process work?—For a scrapbook page, I almost always start with a photo that I love and then the rest has to support that. For cards, I usually find a challenge online to motivate me, or I need a card for a birthday! And sometimes, I just love a product, buy it, and then play around to see if I can make something that makes me happy. And there are times when it doesn't, so I put it away and try another day. I was trying to make placecards with my new felt leaves and came up with these. But I didn't love them, so I'll rethink it and try again another time. I did, however, come up with a project I love with the leaves and you'll find it at the a2z blog today.

Not at all what I was trying to make.

Looks just like what I wanted.

Here are my creative picks for the Blog Hop...check out their blogs next Monday to get their answers too!

Janet, aka swanlady21, is my Hero Arts flickr buddy and is she talented! She hosted a card challenge there this weekend and made four amazing examples. Most hosts do one or two examples, so she must be an overachiever as well! :) Here's a little more about Janet in her own words. Don't forget to check out Janet's blog, Swanlady Impressions to see those cards and more of her lovely work.

I was born in Zimbabwe, grew up in South Africa, but have been living in Mauritius (tiny island in Indian Ocean) for the last 23 years. I started stamping 20 years ago as there were no cards here, and my mother bought me some stamps and ink in South Africa. When my friends saw what fun it was, I had to bring more and more supplies in. So now I have a small stamping & scrapbooking shop attached to the garage, and I love to give courses.
I am a dreamer who enters another world when playing with stamps, inks and paper, sometimes getting lost in that world until the wee hours of the morning!.
The Hero Arts flickr group took my stamping to another level, and the many blogs out there helped me identify and develop my style. I love CAS design, but I also love techniques.

Zoey, is on the DT for a2z Scrapbooking Supplies with me and I love her personality along with her style...she introduced herself to us as our "Italian BFF" right away. You have to check out this post on the Faber-Castell blog to see Zoey's gorgeous hand-drawn feathers. Check out her blog to see more of Zoey's beautiful work. And now, in her own words:

My name is Emanuela Zoey but everyone just call me Zoey because it is way shorter! I have 30 years old but me and my inner child still hang out together, so I still feel like im 18 LOL! I am mixed media artist but I also like to experiment with other techniques or other styles...and when I do not succeed in trying other styles, my rescue remedy is my so well loved gesso! LOL! I love life, I smile a lot and I am happy about most everything. My grandmother always taught me that when in doubt...just be kind and smile at people! Sometimes people think you are weird, but most of the time they just smile back at you! To me being creative is truly a medicine, a relief that is why I try to create something everyday.

Huge thank you hugs to Janet and Zoey for joining in!! You guys rock and inspire me!
Happy Creative Monday,
Chark

 

It's A Blustery Day Here

If you're a Winnie-the-Pooh fan, you know that means it's windy and rainy and basically the kind of day you want to spend indoors...doing crafts...all day. Hmmmm. Sounds good to me! 

Here's a card I made with my new Triangle Background die from Hero Arts and a2z Scrapbooking Supplies. I have tons of different papers that I cut out the other day, so expect to see a lot of cards with this die. It's easy and fun to use and I love how it looks.

 

Tigger and Piglet are stickers that are appliques that someone gave me. You can sew them onto clothes, but they aren't terribly thick so I thought they'd work for a birthday card. I used Bazzill Swiss Dotted cardstock for the background piece and just a bright blue for the die cut piece. 

Oh, and Pretty Little Studio is having a one-day (today!) sale on printed vellum. Each sheet is just 50¢ on sale. I previously bought the stars and woodgrain in aqua—love! I'm buying more today.

Marie Capistran over at the blog made a layout with the rainbow vellum here. Lovely, isn't it? The flair and butterflies, as well as the labels are PLS too. I don't work for them, just like them.

Have a great Wednesday!
Chark

Happy Dance!

Just got an email acceptance from Papercrafts Magazine—my first ever. I did, in fact, do a little happy dance at the computer when I read the acceptance. Luckily the family understands me. So exciting! It's for the February issue, so I'll share that later.

So I entered three items this time and I never would've guessed they'd pick the one they did. Isn't that weird? Lesson #1—Sometimes simpler is better, because it was the easiest one I made. Lesson #2—Just go ahead and submit. I liked that project, obviously, and did my best, but I might not have sent that off by itself if that was all I had. But that was the right one for the right time. Lesson #3—If you're hesitating, don't! Send in your work and send it in more than once. I've entered lots of times over the years. 

I used different black and ivory papers from a pack from Canvas Corp for the background. And the watercolor triangle background is actually a die, but I embossed it instead by following this technique by Kelly Rasmussen.

I used Prismacolor pencils to color the Alice in Wonderland digi stamp from Hannah Lynn Design. How talented is Hannah Lynn? Her images are so fun to color. Then I used a white uniball to add dots. The black resin star was a gift from my Hero Arts pal, Barb, who gave me a whole package. Thanks, Barb! The black pearls are Doodlebug Design.

The die is from Hero Arts and I got mine at a2z Scrapbooking Supplies. If you want your own, you can use my discount code CHARK15 to receive 15% off your order of $25 or more in the store!

Wishing you a fun weekend,
Chark