Cupcakes Are My Jam

I don't know why or how, but I've become obsessed with cupcakes for awhile now and this free digi from Stamplorations made me so happy! They are always generous with their freebies and giveaways and challenges. They have like 4 or 5 challenges each month. These cards don't fit any of them this month but I loved the stamp and had to color it up.

This one uses Prismacolor pencils for the digi image and a watercolored panel background. I really like the soft-colored panel mounted on black.

The next one is also colored in Prismacolor pencils but I also added glossy accents to the rose and chocolate on the strawberry. The watercolor panel I had (using liquid watercolors from Hero Arts) wasn't large enough for the image, so I just cut it diagonally and added a piece of black cardstock between the pieces. I love yellow frosting on chocolate cupcakes, so that's what I went with here.

Here's a close-up of the dew drops.

My favorite bakery in the whole world is Cake, Hope and Love near me and they are starting an online shop so you can order cake toppers, sprinkles and their fab.u.lous. buttercream. Best icing ever. Their salted caramel is my all-time fave, but they have so many good ones!

So this obsession of mine started at least three years ago...what are some of your fave foods that you will eat 5 times a week if you could?

Happy Friday!

Chark

This Is Halloween and a Winner

I love The Nightmare Before Christmas with Jack and Sandy Claws, so this song is stuck in my head, even though we have a few days before it is Halloween.

But I do have two freebie Halloween images that I doodled for you today. A witch and jack-o-lantern. All you have to do is right click the images below and save to your computer. If you end up making something with them, let me know!

And I wanted to pop in to say we have a winner in the Pooh Bear giveaway and that is @nancyscraftshack from Instagram...congrats, Nancy! Contact me with your info so I can mail your goodies out.

And lastly, if you didn't win this giveaway, I hope you'll follow me on IG (top right button) so you can try to win my November Thanks and Giving Prizes. There will be one each week in November!

Happy Friday,

Chark

Power Poppy School Challenge

I love the digis over at Power Poppy and when I have a chance, I sit down and color some up. They have a new challenge each week and you can link up all month, and I was super inspired by the Back 2 School challenge. You have to raid the kids' stash and use school supplies—isn't that fun?

Here's my card, using the Power Poppy Lilac stamp. My mom had lilacs while I was growing up and I loved their strong scent and lovely purple flowers made of mini blossoms. Today I colored mine blue with my fabulous Tombow Dual Brush markers, but I can almost smell them anyway!

For my three school supplies, I used a staple for the patterned paper flags, a manila file folder that has been embossed with wood grain and a tab that says August that I sacrificed from my calendar. 

I'm not sure how many people still use file folders, but planners are definitely important to keeping the school year straight! And I sneaked in an extra supply if you count the regular copy paper I printed my digi stamp on. I don't often use fancy paper unless I'm planning some major mixed media.

Thanks for the inspiration, Power Poppy! Join in the challenge for a chance to win here.

Happy Wednesday!
Chark

Kitties in Digi

My daughter has requested a cute cat card for a friend, so I searched for some cute cat images. I found some called Meow at Isabel Cristina's etsy shop here. This whole set is just $1.92!
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I haven't made the card yet but I did color the image I plan to use. I tried a couple of different cat types that I looked up for coloring help. Which is your favorite?

I used Prismacolor pencils of course, and added the ground and hearts to the image. I think I prefer the bottom but they were both fun to color.

Happy Monday!

Chark

NSD Winner Announcement

Hi, friends, I'm here to announce the winner of my NSD giveaway...Congratulations to MARIEBEMAKSUD!

Thanks to all who entered for your support and for following me!
Marie will be getting some scrapbooking supplies from Echo Park's I'd Rather Be Crafting line.

And just for a little freebie for everyone, here are a few royalty free Teachers' Day printables if you need to thank a teacher. I found them online and since school is winding up for the year, there are lots of people to thank. What a fabulous way to thank a teacher—a personalized memory for them to keep, along with a $10 Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts card, for all that caffeine they need!

Happy Wednesday!

Chark