Circle Back to This

Sorry I'm so late posting my Friday post, but I was coloring...you know how it is.

The November Challenge at Stamplorations is Stamps & Circles...I picked just the circles and stamps but not the colors...because although these are lovely, I love me some bright colors. I used the Arteza brush pens and used water with parts of it, but not all of it because I printed this digi on regular (not watercolor) paper and I didn't want it to warp too much. 

Here's my take using a free gorgeous digi from Stamplorations. I added white Uniball gel pen and sentiment stickers from Pretty Little Studio in Rose Gold. Then I mounted it on yellow cardstock and called it good.

This image is so fun to color and it covers a card front nicely. Here's a link to how I've colored it before. Definitely two different looks with just different colors.

Hope you'll join in the challenge, I have a feeling I'll do more than one, as I love my Stamplorations products and it's literally just the first of the month...29 more days to stamp it up in November!

Happy Friday!

Chark

What Flower Are You?

Over at Power Poppy Stamps, one of the challenges this month is What Flower Are You? And that was easy for me. While I love the smell of carnations, the look of hydrangeas and the Old World Rose I've got growing in the flower bed, I'd have to say I'm more of a lilac. I love lilacs, I was in a play in college where I sang about lilacs (and drew the poster design with lilacs), my mom had lilacs all over our yard, and I'm an April baby, so spring (when lilacs are in bloom) is kind of special to me.

I love the florals at Power Poppy and this is one of my favorites. I used some blues (colored pencils, watercolor markers and then glitter markers) for this one, even though the lilacs at my moms are purple because I like blue!

You can see a tiny bit of the sparkle on the top flowers in this pic, but irl, it's got lots of glitter.

The beautiful papers are Carta Bella Flower Market. I enjoyed coloring this image...and kept adding to it to get more color variation. If you want to join in the challenges this month (there's a new one each week), head to Power Poppy's blog.

Happy Saturday!

Chark

Hydrangeas and Bees

I'm joining in again with A Blog Named Hero's Challenge—Stretch Your Stamps. I decided to stretch my Daisy and Bugs Stamp and Cut set by using one of the little bees as a background for my purple Large Hydrangea Hero Arts stamp. 

I don't think I've used this bee before, I was always kind of focused on the daisy and the ladybug stamps in the set. They have matching dies, but since I used him as background paper, I didn't need to die cut him.

I looove Hydrangeas in real life and have two shrubs that pretty much just take care of themselves and give huge blooms each year. I colored this one purple, but mine are more pink, though they can get a little purple. It depends on the lime in your soil, but since I'm a lazy gardener who does more dreaming than pruning, I haven't really done anything to the soil.

I used Prismacolor pencils on the flower, with Stickles in the flower centers and on the bee wings, but it's hard to see at this angle. I also added Moonstone bling from Honeybee Stamps, which is totally appropriate for this post, doncha think? They have some great Nuvo products on sale btw. The inking on the panel and the card are Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade and Salty Ocean.

Hope you'll stretch your stamps and join me in this challenge, you have until September 10th.

Happy Friday!

Chark

Stretching My Stamps

The challenge over at A Blog Named Hero is to Stretch Your Stamps. I gave it a lot of thought and decided that meant using stamps I rarely use in a set in a way that's not the focal point.

So, for this card, I decided to use the Wonderful Stamp and Cut to make a background for my Hero Arts Daisy and Bugs Stamp and Cut flower.

I used Distress Inks in Salty Ocean and Squeezed Lemonade on watercolor paper and then stamped the daisy with Staz-On black. I used the word "you're" from the Daisy set and wonderful from the Wonderful set on the kraft background. The stars are also from the Wonderful set. I added some washi and a strip of gold paper and then, yep, Diamond Stickles to the flower center. I've never used the wonderful as a background stamp and never used the included stars, so I feel like I stretched these stamps. Thanks for the fun challenge!

Happy Wednesday!

Chark

Things With Wings

Over at Stamplorations this month, they're having a Things with Wings sale and their Cutplorations challenge uses this owl graphic for inspiration. I love this graphic look and the colors. The DT at Stamplorations have some wonderful inspiration on the blog.

I didn't have any bird Stamplorations products, but this butterfly is one of my favorites. Instead of cutting it out, I impressed the die into the watercolored cardstock. I mounted it on some floral and striped paper (like the leaves and graphic nature from the inspiration) from Altenew and added a Happy Birthday die in gold glitter paper.

Here's a close-up of the glittery goodness. 

This was a fast card since it didn't take any stamping. Hope you'll join me in the challenge, but it ends soon! Check it out here!

Happy Friday!

Chark

Hedgehogs Are The Cutest

I love the mini Hedgehugs stamp and die from Lawn Fawn because it's adorable. And I would get a hedgehog for a pet for the same reason—they are so stinkin' cute! However, in my house of allergic people, I'm almost certain one of us would find a way to be allergic to hedgehogs. So I'll stick to stamping these little guys.

I created this scene with Lawn Fawn sun, clouds, and stitched tree and hill dies and added a sentiment die from LF too. All the papers are LF as well. The butterfly die is from a girl in a butterfly dress from Gina Marie Designs.

I'm entering this card in the Pet Love Challenge at Lawn Fawnatics and you can join in by Sunday too!

My favorite pet when I was a kid was my cat, Mikhail Baryshnikov...Mickey for short. Can you tell I was a fan? Loved the movie with Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines from the 80s, White Nights, and saw it multiple times at the theater and then got the VHS. Those were the days! Had the soundtrack cassette tape too :)

Happy Saturday!
Chark

Rainbow Treats

Over at the Stamplorations blog, the current Cutplorations (die cut) challenge inspiration is this picture. I love the striped look of these eggs and though I could never pull this off in, say, jello form or egg dyeing form, I used the rainbow stripes in paper form. 

The paper is from Lawn Fawn and the dies are both from Stamplorations that I got recently during their Spring Sale (through April).

I cut the sentiment from mirrored silver cardstock and the flowers from scraps of colored cardstock in my stash. Love how festive these flowers are in multi-colors.

You have until Tuesday to join in the challenge here, using one Stamplorations product and whatever dies you have. 

If you're feeling the rainbow and want some jello treats now, here's a recipe for you.

Or if you're like me and this seems way too time-consuming, you could always color some cookie dough in rainbow colors like this.

Rainbow food is yummy food!

Happy Friday,
Chark

Sending Octopi Hugs

My last entry for the Lawn Fawnatics Fun with Food Challenge is this Octopus card.

I used the small Octopi My Heart set with the coffee and mug from the Love 'n Breakfast set to make some buddies having a snack together. The hugs die is from Lawn Fawn too, as is the blue watercolor paper behind them. I used my Prismacolor pencils to color and then fussy cut them out. I should've stamp everything separately and die cut them and then attached the cup and muffin to their tentacles, but hindsight is 20/20! 

Speaking of 20/20, just had some cataract surgery even though I'm just 50, but it wasn't bad as far as surgery (15 minutes) and recovery (you can read and watch TV soon after) and OMG, I have 20/20 vision now! I got glasses when I was 7 for nearsightedness and have used them and contacts ever since. Until now. Through the magic of science, I can read all the road signs you want me to! I've been driving my hubby a little crazy with that, but even with my contacts, I never had such clear vision. So, some things turn out better than you expected. Just sharing a little happiness in this house right now :) I hope something you are worried over turns out better than you expected too!

Happy Sunday!

Chark

Bearly Hungry

Today I have another entry to share for the Lawn Fawnatics Fun with Food Challenge. 

I pulled out the cute Love You S'more stamp set and made a little bonfire night scene. We always have s'mores outside when the weather gets cooler. I don't actually invite the wildlife, but these guys seem like buddies, so they're having s'mores themselves.

I used Prismacolor pencils and Stickles on the stars and stamped onto kraft paper.

You have another day to join in the challenge, so ink your Lawn Fawn stamps up and link up!

Happy Saturday!

Chark

May I Have More, Peas?

So, I'm loving the Be Hap-pea stamp and dies over at Lawn Fawn and have been stamping and coloring away. The challenge this month is a Fun with Food challenge, so yay! I get to use the peas for this one!

I CASed the design from the Lawn Fawn blog and the card Yainea made here. She inked a circle for the focal point and put her peas in there, so that's what I did too. I just recently realized that LF also gives you sketches for some of their stamp sets to help get you started on your card making, which is super helpful!

I used the Lawn Fawn 6x6 watercolor paper pad too, I am in love with this paper pad! Here's a close-up of the peas that I colored with Prismacolor pencils. I love all the little faces you can choose for these guys!

Hope you'll join me in this challenge for a chance to win a gift certificate to a fab store!

I know I have more Lawn Fawn stamps with food, so I'm going to have to enter again...this is a fun challenge!

Happy Wednesday!

Chark

Stamplorations and Roses

I normally don't publish a post on Mondays, but I wanted to show you what I've created for the current Stamplorations Challenge. They are so generous with their free digi stamps and have a ton of giveaways, so if you haven't visited yet, you should! You can choose to do the theme or sketch or both—I chose the theme—and you don't have to use Stamplorations products but you can print out their freebies and use those if you like.

This is a free digi that I've colored with my all-time favorite Prismacolor pencils. I used an oval die, some Lawn Fawn watercolor paper and a hugs die from LF as well. I trimmed the roses on the right, so I could slip the pink cardstock behind them, as if they are coming out of the frame. I drew in stitched lines for another little extra. The word die is cut from prisma paper that has a shine so I didn't need to add any glitter to this one.

I have one more rose card to share that's not entered into the Stamplorations contest...it's a piece of 6x6 patterned paper from Altenew and I stamped the sentiment in black. I added a silver chrome pen to the words and thin silver stickers to the sides. So fast and easy! I love this Relections pad of watercolor-look paper.

That's it for this surprise post, hope you'll join in the challenges this month at Stamplorations!

Happy Monday!

Chark

Hap-pea Challenge

The Lawnfawnatics Challenge this month is Book, Movie or Song inspiration...and I've been so inspired by all the beautiful DT projects and the entries. 

This is my third entry to this challenge and I hope to squeeze one more in before it closes tomorrow. My book for two of my cards is Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace. The other Little Pea card is on my IG account here. 

For my first card, I felt that it wasn't as polished as it could be, so I searched the Lawn Fawn blog and decided that I loved the card made by Yainea at Lawn Fawn...I loved that she made a circular background to add the peas to. I colored all my images with Prismacolor pencils and used Distress Oxides in Twisted Citron for the inking and stamping. I definitely think this card looks more professional, but still fun.

I love this set since it reminds me of one of my and my kids' favorite books when they were younger. Guess what my daughter (the librarian) said when she saw this card? "Little Pea!" so I showed her the book sitting on my work space and we said a couple favorite lines.

Thanks for the fun challenge, the DT inspiration, Yainea, and the Be Hap-pea stamp set, Lawn Fawn!

Happy Saturday!

Chark

Lawn Fawnatics Book Challenge

So, the Lawn Fawnatics current challenge is to take inspiration from a book, movie or music for your project. I love children's books and have read countless kid's books with my son and daughter over the years. 

My daughter is now an elementary school librarian, so we often share books even now...she's always been a reader and if it hadn't been for the public library, we would've had to spend her college fund to get books to satisfy her thirst for reading. One she shared with me is this one, The Day the Crayons Quit. It came out in 2013, when my kids were teens, so I wouldn't have seen it if she hadn't found it. It's stinkin' cute and it was my inspiration with this challenge.

I used alcohol inks on a glossy cardstock, just letting them drip down the page as I held it in the air. The crayons and sentiment are from this mini stamp set that Lawn Fawn has. The faces are actually from the the Be Hap-Pea stamp set but because they have such a wide variety of faces, I used them instead of the one that comes with the crayon stamp. 

I colored the crayons with Prismacolor pencils and the happy birthday die cut is from Memory Box.

I've really enjoyed this challenge at Lawn Fawn and hope you'll be inspired and join in too! I have my first entry over on Instagram (link to my IG account in the sidebar here). And I know I'm not finished yet!

Happy Saturday!

Chark

Die Cuts are Challenging

So, I got this fabulous dragonfly cover die from Stamplorations and love it. I sat down and cut like 10 of these from different colored cardstocks and papers. I had to use different shims, and cut face-up for this to cut best, and the 80 lb. paper I had worked very well. If you have some challenging dies, don't be afraid to ask the seller for help. The folks at Stamplorations had great tips. I love the classic black, especially with this watercolored background (I used my Arteza markers as paints).

I put the die cut down on the card after it dried and did a little more focused watercoloring for the dragonfly, just by swiping the marker in each open spot. I removed the die cut and spread the color around in the wings and body.

Then I glued the dragonfly cover die on top and added Stickles to the wings and a silver paper Hello die from Paper Smooches. 

You can see the shimmer a little better here.

I'm entering this card into the Cutplorations February Challenge...I was inspired by the colors in this.

You have until February 28th to join in here!

Happy Friday, 

Chark

Shimmery Butterfly

I purchased the Stamplorations Butterfly die here and use it all the time. It's not too delicate (i.e., it doesn't tear when you cut it) and it's still intricate. I used a shimmery brown paper from my stash and made this lovely butterfly. I used a foiled star paper for the background, then layered a piece of kraft painted with metallic shimmer paint. The hello die is from Paper Smooches.

There's a lot of shimmery fun here and I'm entering this card in the Stamplorations Things with Wings challenge. You can enter too if you're quick!

Happy Wednesday!

Chark

New Challenge at a2z Scrapbooking Supplies

If it's the first of the month, it's time for a new challenge at a2z Scrapbooking! We're going with "Make Something Ugly" this time around. It's a really difficult challenge for talented people like us. Here's my card.

APRIL FOOL'S! 

(It's really a card on Etsy that you can buy, but ew, Jabba is just so ugly!)

Yep, it's April first and that means you can prank anyone you can and they can't complain :)

Actually, I'm really bad at April Fool's Day jokes and the only one that ever worked was a Grilled Cheese made out of cake that the kids and I gave my hubby like this one. You use pound cake and toast in a skillet and then add frosting in just the right yellow so it looks like American cheese. You can watch this video to see exactly how they made their "soup" and "sandwich."

The REAL April Challenge at a2z is "Flower Power" and you're challenged to use flowers in some way. Any company's products will work to enter to win a digital stamp but if you use your Hero Arts, you can win an extra gift code to the store, plus the free digi of your choice

Here's my flowery card. I used alcohol inks to make a panel and then cut the panel with the Dragonfly Fancy die. I made the wings from vellum and Diamond Stickles. The Branch Wreath die doesn't come with flowers, but I found the digital flowers Pretty Blossoms from Hero Arts worked great. I printed them small and colored with colored pencils.

Click here to see more inspiration from the Design Team.

Happy April!

Chark