Happy New Year to the Moon and Back

Hi, friends, Happy 2018! 

Like every new year, I'm always astounded at how fast the year went and how crazy it is that we're so far into the new century! I remember in high school (circa 1986) and thinking how old I would be in the year 2000...32 years old. And that seemed insanely old! :) Now we're here in 2018 and this April will be my big ol' 50th birthday...but we'll worry about that later, lol.

For now, here's the project I have up at a2z Scrapbooking for the monthly challenge. NEW TO ME, which can mean a lot of things. Maybe you got some new goodies for the holidays, maybe you're dying to try a new technique, maybe you want to try some new media that you haven't yet tried. If it's new to you, it counts! You can use ANY COMPANY'S PRODUCTS for our challenges now and will automatically be entered to win the monthly digital stamp. If you use some Hero Arts products and your name is drawn, you will also win $20 to spend at the a2z Scrapbooking store. You have all month, so I hope you'll join in!

For this project, I arranged the digital stamps in a layout with CorelDraw and then printed it with a laser b&w printer on coated paper (not glossy like photo paper, but not like regular cardstock that soaks in the ink..the paper I have is matte and smooth). Then I used Distress Oxides in Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean and Wilted Violet as watercolor paints. I then sprayed the paper and held it sideways, so it dripped an moved on the paper. After heat setting, I adhered it to black cardstock and added star rhinestone gems. You can see my supply list on the a2z blog.

Happy Monday and Happy 2018!

Chark

Happy 2016!

Well, crafty friends, it's a brand-new year! I have a brand-new stamp I used for today's project. The stamp is a digi from 2 Cute Ink. You can purchase individual stamps from the etsy shop, but there's also a club on facebook. 

You pay $5 each month and get all that month's stamps for free plus an exclusive digi. And you can purchase stamps for $1 from the store, instead of the $3.99 price. I gave it a lot of thought and asked some questions and decided to take the plunge. (You can cancel at any time btw.)

So I got this cutie December stamp by joining and looove him! I made this card last night while watching New Year's Rocking Eve on tv. I was inspired by others at 2 Cute Ink to try white on kraft and love how it looks!

I used Prismacolor pencils on a thin kraft paper. I printed him the size I wanted him on the 8x11.5 paper and then added in the snow and trees. Love that glitter tape from American Crafts. I'm trying to decide if he needs Stickles on his clothes or the snow. We'll see, you know how I love my glitter!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!
Chark

New Year's Eve Nibbles

For New Year's Eve, my husband and I always stay home and watch the New York celebration. To make it a little special, we eat appetizers for a late dinner and toast each other at midnight. We have had parties in the past, but this year it's appetizers and family.

Here's a good one if you like potstickers. 

Mine don't look like this, they look less yellow in real life, but they are sooo good!

And this cold taco dip is a classic. Just layer 8 oz cream cheese and  8oz sour cream with a taco seasoning pack, layer it with a small bottle of taco sauce (not salsa, too watery), cheese, lettuce, tomato and other fave taco toppings and you're good to go. Serve with tortilla chips of course.

If you're having a party, I love this idea for favors from Martha Stewart magazine.

And if you want to do some fun activities, you could write down the bad luck you've had this year and then burn the in the fireplace, bake a coin in a cake and see who gets the luck for the year, write fortunes on slips of paper, slide into balloons and then blow them up, then pop at midnight to see who gets what fortune for the year or just watch some old home movies. I love seeing the kids when they were little, you forget just how cute they were!

Happy New Year's to my crafty friends, wishing you a year of all good things!
Chark