Yippee! It's Read A New Book Month

September is Read a New Book Month and it's practically a sin not to read some new stuff this month. So, if I have to, I have to. I love to read and have for as long as I can remember. I loved the pictures, the words, the stories, the feel of the books and the way you could go far away and learn so much all from your comfy chair. 

Nancy Drew really caught my 11-year-old attention and I plowed through that series like they were going to disappear. The school library had the whole set, luckily, so I could just keep going back for more. I remember the first book I read on my own, too, though I can only guess my age. I figure I was about 5. It was Inside, Outside, Upside Down.

I was sitting on the floor of my room (that I shared with my older sister) and we had gotten this book from the library sale, so although it said New Lexington Public Library and had a card holder in the back, it was ours. Ever since then, I've loved reading and stories.

I just finished All Happy Families by Jeanne McCulloch and really enjoyed it. It was a memoir that read like fiction and I found interesting. But that was finished yesterday, so time to move on to a new book...I have to take advantage of the month and celebrate it, don't I? Even if the housework and phone calls and paperwork all have to take a backseat. It's practically a law. Might jump into some YA fiction now. I really enjoy the young adult literature out there now. There were some good authors when I was a teen in the 80s, but there are a million more today. So I may not be a young adult, but I love that genre.

Here are some adorable Mama Elephant stamps I need to get to make cards for my book-loving family. The set is called Bookworm. Love that bunny!

Look, these cute bookworm cupcakes fit right into today's post. Also, I want cupcakes now.

I'll leave you with this last image celebrating books, Altered Books by Isobelle Ouzman. Oh. My. Goodness. Her site is so beautiful.

If you're a bookworm like me, you might want to check out all the cool clothes, totes and mugs that readers will like at Out of Print.

Hope you find something good to read this month!

Happy Monday!

Chark

Tea and Cookies, Please

I'm a huge tea drinker...well, I'm not that huge, but I do like a lot of tea (rim shot to indicate how hilarious I am) and a fan of food stamps with faces...so when I saw this Mama Elephant stamp set, I had to buy it.

 And here are just two of the cutie stamps together, just like I prefer. Tea and cookies!

Here they are in close-up...now these are tiny, so they can be tricky to color, but they're so adorable, it's worth getting out the eyeglasses for.

I inked the circle and mounted it on a die cut snowflake (my winter theme) and then on a scallop oval made of Yupo paper and sprayed with inks. The card behind is embossed.

Hope you're enjoying the coffee hop...I am, but I'm just a little behind on commenting :) Can't believe how quickly this hop has grown! Don't forget to link up your winter coffee/tea/cocoa project to win!

GIVEAWAY: Just comment on this or any of my Coffee Lovers posts Friday, Monday, Wednesday or Friday to be entered to win this pair of stamps and dies from Lawn Fawn (I originally wanted to give a LF stitched rectangle die set, but I literally cannot find it, and I'm running out of places to look. But I know where these guys are!) 

If you comment on multiple days, your name goes in the draw multiple times (one per post, comments closing at noon EST Saturday, December 17).

Happy Wednesday!

Chark

Mama Elephant Coffee Love

This is my fourth entry for the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and I gotta say, I'm having a blast. 

I used the Mama Elephant Little Edibles set to make this adorable card. The whole set is adorable, and you could probably use it for planners, but I just like using it for cards. I didn't get too precise on this one, with placement or coloring (I used watercolors). 

Thanks for stopping by, coffee loving friends!

Happy Wednesday!

Chark

Coffee Hopping with Mama Elephant

This is my third Coffee Lovers Fall Blog Hop card. Hope you're playing along too! 

Okay, this is THE cutest elephant stamp in the world...I paired him and his bunny friend with a happy little coffee cup from another Mama Elephant stamp set called Little Edibles. I think they're cute together!

I added the leaf paper from some I had saved from Creative Memories from forever ago, but the fun leaves work great here I think.

Thanks for stopping by, Happy Tuesday!

Chark

Using Project Life Cards

I seem to be a collector of the Project Life cards aka pocket scrapbooking cards. They are meant to slide into page protectors that are divided for pocket scrapbooking, but I don't actually use them for that. I use them in regular layouts and for cardmaking. I love how perfectly sized they are for cards.

Here I'm using the Ella and Friends stamps and some of my birthday related pocket cards.

I think the first is my favorite, but they all came together quickly because of the pocket cards and the fact that I'd already colored the stamped panels. I need to add a little something--sequins, enamel dots, ribbon?--to the last two cards and maybe sentiments. Not sure yet, but they are almost finished, so here they are!

And a final one that uses a hip, hip hooray card and a Tim Holtz Crazy Bird stamp.

I'm not sure, but this bird might be feeling sarcastic.

Hope you have a crafty day today! Happy Wednesday!

Chark

Mama Elephant Cutie Stamps

I bought my first Mama Elephant stamps and they are so stinkin' cute. I've got the Ella and Friends set to highlight today. I was busy this weekend!

Here it is in regular black stamping.

Here it is in colored stamping.

 And here it is in no line stamping.

Any way you slice it, it's a great stamp set and adorable!

Happy Monday!
Chark