It's a Pinkfresh Challenge

I've been enamored with Pinkfresh Studios papers lately and I just got a new 6x6 paper pack from the My Favorite Story collection and a pack of ephemera from the Some Days collection. The first thing I do when I buy a pack of die cuts is spread them all out to look at. This pack has lemons and florals and beautiful colors. After admiring them, I had to start using them. That meant I spent an evening playing around with the design and layers.

In this card, I used Newton's Nook dies for slimline cards and added the die cuts to each circle. I added pearls and called it a day.

This next one features a lot of the flower die cuts, matte enamel dot centers and silver corner stickers. The sentiment is also Pinkfresh and the paper is from the 6x6 pad.

The last one also uses a sheet of the 6x6 pad and I glued the wreath flat and adhered the die cut flowers on top with foam tape. I added the letter stickers and strip of stripes and silver line stickers. 

 

I still have ideas to use these die cuts for, and luckily you get a ton in the pack. I love 6x6 paper for the smaller patterns and the less expensive price point. I've got a million of them. What do you buy even though you have enough?

Happy Friday!

Chark

Paint the Town Red...or Pink

I got the chance to try out the brand-new Artistro Acrylic Paint 24 set and I thought I'd let you know how it went. I have to start by saying I use acrylics only occasionally, in my art journal. And I took some Life Book classes and learned to use them a little more there. I am in no way an expert but I love all the art media, so I gave these a try.

The colors in this set are vibrant and rich, with a range of colors including gold and silver and large tubes of both black and white. The set also comes with three brushes and a palette. The paint has a nice smooth body, not too thin. I used water to thin some out and the color stayed bright, though it became more transparent. 

I drew some simple flowers with a sharpie on 80 lb. paper and used just a pink, yellow, blue-green and white to paint both doodles.

You can see that the paint does cover the black lines some and if I'd wanted to, I could've gone back in with the sharpie to darken them back up, but I was okay with how it turned out.

In this doodle, I watered down the orange I made, the pink and the green. The lines show up better when the paint is thinned out like this. But the paint still has enough body to show the paint strokes. I think if I had been working on gesso, the brush strokes wouldn't have been as pronounced.

The price point for these 24 paints, the three brushes and the palette run $32.99 on Amazon. It's a good price for the amount of paint, the vibrancy of color and the quality of the brushes (no stray bristles in my work). I'd purchase these for myself or a crafter. I love that you get larger tubes of white and black as well. I know I'll be using these paints more in the future. 

Hope you have time to play around with a new medium this weekend!

Happy Friday,

Chark

Coffee Hopping

Happy Spring Coffee Lovers Hop, my caffeinated friends! Here's my first coffee card using Hero Arts digi coffee stamps, Tombow markers as watercolors and Amy Tangerine paper. The steam is cut from a printed coffee filter and the flowers are Hero Arts. 

Caffeine Fix digis
Hero Arts Paper Flowers
Amy Tangerine Paper 6x6 
Neon Blue Ink Spray
She Art Printed Coffee Filters


For my blog readers, a2z Scrapbooking offers a 15% code to the store. Just use CHARK15 on orders of $25+up before shipping to get your discount!

BLOG CANDY ALERT! Leave a comment here or any of the posts I make between now and March 25 and be entered to win five digital stamps from 2 Cute Ink of your choice. Open to all. All you need is an email address and a printer to print these out and then color as you like. I'm loving these little guys. Here are a couple you could win.

I'm also entering this one over at A Blog Named Hero for the Rainbow Challenge. You'll see the rainbow colors on the coffee sleeve made with my Tombow markers and a water pen, with just a touch of purple in the top left and green on the bottom right.

Happy Friday!
Chark

Freebies for Friends

Hiya, crafty buds, I thought it was time to get some free digi art up just in case you're looking for some fun art to dress up a card or page.

This image is of a 1940s woman driving a Dodge from their catalog. She's very chic, don't you agree?

And speaking of chic, how about a lounging woman on vacation?

Or another 1940s woman who just looks fabulous in her hat?

I can see using these images on cards like this one by Ann Taintor. You can also buy her images on mugs, magnets and more on this site.

These images are all free from Antique Images. You can also download some flower images from them that would make fabulous Easter cards or tags!

And here are two perfect for Spring that you can color yourself if you're feeling extra crafty!

Happy Monday!
Chark

Friday Reveal

The wedding project that I got picked up for the Spring issue of Craft Ideas has been published! So excited! You can purchase the issue at Jo Ann Fabrics or online here if you're interested. Lots of great projects in this issue. You can get the online edition or the paper edition, which I prefer because I love leafing through magazines during lunch.

Now that it's out there in the world, I thought I'd post the pic I took of the project. It's table decor for a wedding, I used a vase, filled it with glass pebbles and then dyed coffee filters to make a cabbage rose for the top. The favors are made of two filters and filled with candy and tied with ribbon. It's easy to make in bulk (like for a wedding) but I might make some in blue for my daughter's college grad party this year.

It looks different in the mag, just because they actually made table settings and put the favors with the vase. It looks so professional! 

For the full instructions, you can pick up the mag or read it online (and your library might carry it). I had fun making these!

Happy Friday!
Chark

Pinterest Fail or Win?

I've decided to call it a draw. I'm not sure I pulled off what I was supposed to do for these flowers, but I like them enough, so it's a draw.

Here's what they were supposed to look like. And here's where I pinned it from.

Here's what the original looked like. I also used the wrong flower die, although it had 6 petals like it was supposed to.

Then I made this with the Hero Arts paper flowers using the same tutorial.

Here they are together. I think I love the dimension and the premade flowers went quicker, so I'll use those in the future.

Thanks for stopping by!
Happy Friday!
Chark

Happy Graduation

You can see a graduation card I made for the a2z Scrapbooking Supplies blog today here. Here's a peek!

It's a little nontraditional for a grad card, but still appropriate for a girl...or a guy who likes butterflies :) I used these Hero Arts paper flowers and they are so cute—just $3.99 a pack for 24 flowers in each pack—and they come in greens, earth tones, yellows and pool colors as well. Fab!

You can hop over to the store here if you think you want these flowers for your projects...I'm already planning more and I'm thinking if you check back Friday, you'll see what I'm working on. 

Remember, if you order at a2z
1. you can use CHARK15 to get 15% off your $25+ order
2. you support charities for kids and adults with Behcet's Disease and Gluten Allergies. 
3. And you can request any Hero Arts product that isn't in the store and they will order it for you speedily. 

So...you can get great Hero Arts goodies, help people. and save money—this calls for a celebration! 

Happy Shopping!
Chark

Coloring Isn't Just For Kids

***GIVEAWAY AND THE SPRING COFFEE LOVERS BLOG HOP IS HERE***

So happy that our March challenge over at a2z Scrapbooking is coloring with Hero Arts stamps and stencils. Coloring in images is relaxing and fun and it's always interesting to see how people interpret a challenge. I'm planning to learn something along the way from the Design Team and the participants...maybe you'll be one!

Here's the card I made using the technique of stamping in white on kraft and then coloring on top of the white images with Prismacolor pencils. I'd seen other people do this technique and decided to finally give it a go. I thought it turned out great—the white ink really helps the colors pop.

If you hop over to a2z, you can see a closeup of the coloring and the little matching gift bag I made for the card, using the same technique.

Hope you join us for a chance to win $25 to the store and also to teach me your coloring tips!

Happy Wednesday,
Chark
ps if you need some crafty supplies and use the coupon code CHARK15 at a2z Scrapbooking Supplies, you'll get 15% off your total of $25 or more. I love coupons!

It's Neon! It's Purple! It's Neon Purple!

I purchased some neon ink cubes from a2z Scrapbooking Supplies and have enjoyed trying them out. I wouldn't call the purple neon so much as saturated. It's rich and deep and distinctly purple, but it doesn't have that glow-in-the-dark feel that the neon yellow has.

I used it straight to paper on this flower and then fussy cut it out. What do you think? Neon or just really good Purple? I think it's perfect with this flower from the Antique Gratitude Bouquet set from Hero Arts.

 

Here's the full card. I used the My Mind's Eye Chalk Studio card kit that I got on clearance (my favorite thing to do—save money on crafty stuff) at Jo Ann's. The background paper and sentiment came from the kit. The leaves are done in Faber-Castell's Stamper's Big Brush Chrome Green.

Public Service Announcement: Tomorrow is Peanut Butter Fudge Day, so you probs want to eat some fudge tomorrow...just to join in the celebration...and support Peanut Butter Fudge...or whatever. You're welcome.

 

Happy Wednesday,

Chark