Books, Bears and Birds...and Bunnies

I got the cutest little stamp set featuring books and critters in order to make some cards my librarian daughter could give out. And the set comes with tea and coffee sentiments for those who like our books with a cuppa. It's called Books and Coffee and it's from Waffle Flower. 

For this first card, I just picked some favorites and started stamping. I added sun and cloud die cuts from Lawn Fawn.

I decided to try a white bear for this one. I added steam to the cup and glossy accents to his glasses.

Same stamping, different coloring. I used Prismacolor pencils on all of these.

I removed some of the stamps and added the sentiment. I feel like he needs some background, but my daughter snagged it before I could add anything.

This card features more books and added bunnies.

And this one is the peeking bunnies only. I just wrote thank you on the book, though I'm guessing I have a little sentiment stamp somewhere that would fit.

And my last card featuring this set is just the birdie and a bunch of books.

Sometimes when you get a new stamp set, you just gotta stamp!

Happy Friday!

Chark

Bunnies from Santa

Yeah, I know the holidays are over and it's back to school and work and all that, but I have one last Christmas card to share. It uses an adorable stamp from Lily of the Valley Stamps that I got for free from Kit and Clowder on Facebook. It's a great group with coloring classes and lots of support and freebies. 

I just love the lines for this digi stamp...they make the bunnies so elegant looking and still adorable.

I used glitter paper cut in half diagonally just for fun. I could've put a different color paper in the center, but I went with white. I used Prismacolor pencils as usual. 

Next Up: No more Christmas cards! 

Happy Monday!

Chark

Saying Goodbye

Sad to say that Craft Ideas magazine has ceased publication...I loved that magazine and read it (and was published in it) way back when it was known as Crafts n' Things. I decided to do a little farewell with some of my favorite projects on their blog. Who knows how long the content will last, but some projects are mine and some are from other designers.

This was one of the most recent that was published in the magazine and on the blog. It featured embroidery hoops used in different ways. This one is mine.

This is also one of mine, and the editor said she was planning to use the idea for her sister's bridal shower. That made me feel pretty good...and making these large flowers from coffee filters was a blast...I loved experimenting with ink and markers and seeing how they dried and turned out.

This project isn't mine, but I wish it were. I tried it, but I'm not great with a felted needle, so it didn't turn out as well as I wanted...but it doesn't mean I won't try it again!

This project is an early publication of mine and based it on The Scrambled States of America kid's book by one of our (me and the kids) favorite authors, Laurie Keller.

So, a fond farewell to Craft Ideas mag and here's a link to Somerset Studio, a favorite craft magazine of mine right now. It's put out by Stampington and Company and their family of magazines is just so inspiring. I'll be happy if I ever get published in one of these!

Happy Monday!

Chark

Cute and Fluffy Bunnies

Ok, I admit, I like bunnies. And my son has always like bunnies and chicks, so I tend to gravitate toward them even more. Which is why I love a cute bunny or chickie craft. I saw these Art Impressions stamps and fought the urge for awhile.

I watched a bunch of videos from Art Impressions on their technique for watercoloring with their stamps. I kept checking on that bunny stamp in the shop...and one day, huzzah! They went on sale over at Ai. So, this little set came home with me, along with the flowers, the stump set and more. 

Here's what I made the other day.

 

It was a fun afternoon and I learned some things. I wanted to use more colors than I have in Tombow marker colors, so I used some Distress Inks also to stamp. It's a little more tricky when you're doing the flowers so I did use the markers for those. But the stump/crate, bunnies and the sky are all Distress Inks.

I used three different types of paper. For this guy, I used actual watercolor paper with a pretty rough texture. This paper will suck the paint right in and there's little time after stamping to manipulate the paint. You can add water, but again, that gets sucked in pretty fast. This was actually a plus when it came to the crate, I love the textured look that came out of the brush and paint drying so fast. but it meant the sky and bunny were darker than I expected. 

For this bunny, I used the Bristol paper pad I had. I love Bristol for a lot of different media, it seems smooth and not too hard to use with anything I've tried. Watercolors, markers and colored pencil all do well. Basically, the stamping comes out more defined with the watercolor paper above because the water doesn't react too much with the paint.

This paper and the watercolors were pretty good friends and it all went together fine. When I tried some mixed media paper (below), however, I ended up preferring the mixed media paper. I think with the Bristol paper on the brown bunny, I used a little too much water or it reacted a little quicker and spread out more.

For the mixed media paper, the watercolors/Distress Inks went on smoothly and I was able to manipulate it easily, just like the Bristol paper. But for whatever reason, I just prefer this paper for this project. Maybe because it was a middle ground. It didn't let the water react as much as with the Bristol and wasn't as quick to dry as the one on watercolor paper.

If you'd like to try this style of stamping/watercolor, I highly suggest that you buy these little corner stamp positioners, I had to jerry-rig my own and it wasn't always perfect placement of the bunny with the stump.  

Check out the Ai video here and their channel to see how easy it is to make these little paintings.

Happy Wednesday!

Chark

One Bunny or Two?

I love these Bunny Teatime stamps from Memory Box. When I saw them in the local scrap store, I didn't buy them immediately, mostly because I didn't need them. But then I got them the next visit, anyway. After all, there's always another Coffee Lovers Blog Hop around the corner! 

I made them into a birthday card with a Memory Box birthday sentiment die and a frame die from Lawn Fawn.

Giveaway: Leave a comment on any or all of my Coffee Hop posts this week here on my blog (you can leave one comment per post for more chances to win) and you'll be entered to win either two Hero Arts stencils (for overseas friends) or this Lawn Fawn Large Stitched Rectangle die set (for U.S. buds). 

Commenting closes July 1 at 11:59 pm EST.

Happy Hopping!

Chark

Coffee, Tea or Bunnies?

I got this adorable stamp set from Memory Box in preparation for the Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop but never got them inked up in time.

I did, however, recently stamp a million and then painted and colored them one night. I spent the next night trimming them out. The following week, I found the matching dies on sale for half off. So, I bought them...after hand trimming this bunch.

 

It was lots of work but I do love these little guys. I adhered one of them to a panel I had embossed with the Hero Arts Nesting Ovals and then inked up with Distress Inks followed by some Distress Oxide Inks. 

He's so cute! I know I'm going to be using this set lots. And I'll use the matching dies next go-round.

Here's a card from Monday that was over at the a2z Scrapbooking Blog. I was forgetful and didn't post on Monday. I used one of the watercolor panels that I made and blogged about here. I love this Floral Border Die at a2z. So pretty and makes such a big statement with little time or effort. You have until the end of the month to join in our card challenge using your favorite Hero Arts inks, stamps, dies or digis. You could win $25 to the store, so hop over and link up!

Don't forget, my readers get a 15% discount on their $25+cart at a2z Scrapbooking just by using CHARK15 as their coupon code, on clearance or brand-new items!

Happy Wednesday!

Chark

Doodlebug Bunnies

I love Doodlebug Design for its cuteness—they consistently do cute very well. I know it's not up everyone's alley, but I think I buy something from each new line they come out with. From the Easter Parade line, I got two sheets of paper and stickers. For this project, I used the stickers only.
 

I used a little 4x6 canvas board I had, rubbed some Distress inks (Picked Raspberry, Lemonade and Peacock Blue) on it directly and then moved the ink with my finger. Then I added some of the cutest washi tape ever from Artsyville and the Doodlebug stickers, including the fence, and then added sequins. It came together really fast and made me happy.

Here it is in close-up and extreme close-up...or as Wayne from Wayne's World would say, unnecessary zoom.

 

The flower sequins are Teresa Collins.

Hope you have a great Monday, it's all sunny here in Ohio, so I'm going to enjoy that!

Chark

Free Bunnies To A Good Home

Saturday is International Rabbit Day and since I like bunnies, I've collected some free digi images for you to print and color to celebrate. 

This adorable girl bunny is from Free Dearie Dolls Digi Stamps You can find all sorts of great stamps for crafting here, including some holiday ones if you're already working on that. Thanks to Mary Ellen Smith for making these adorable stamps available.

Here's a Mother's Day Bunny stamp that is stinkin' cute from Free Dearie Dolls too.

And, of course, the White Rabbit classic illustration is available as a freebie too.

And, while these bunnies aren't free, I super love them. You can check them out here.

Happy International Rabbit Day (a day early)!
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