Happy Book Lovers Day!

Today is National Book Lovers Day and if you had to pick one favorite book from your youth, what would it be? I'd pick the Nancy Drew series because it got me into reading as a hobby and not just when I had time. A friend pointed them out in the school library when we were in 5th or 6th grade and I remember my first one—Mystery At The Ski Jump. Then I basically just devoured the rest of the series.

I found Nancy to be brave and sassy and smart and completely capable, which is all I wanted to be. She handled adults, dangers and friends with ease. She had friends, family and a boyfriend, as well as many admirers in the community. She also had her detractors, but Nancy never let them bother her.

When I started reading the series, my mom told me she had read them too, in the earlier versions, like this one below. I loved that we shared these stories as girls. So, when I had a daughter, I introduced her to the ones I'd read, and then she found the newer versions, both anime style below and the first-person narrative novels. I read those too, just for fun! And both she and my son enjoy the Nancy Drew online games, though she is more obsessed by them and he'll just play for fun...I think she owns all of them.

I think the real charm and staying power of this character is simply a capable and fun heroine who has help but will always be the brains behind the investigations and who is pragmatic and determined to get to the bottom of things. I like that she's constantly upgrading to a better character too. 

My daughter (now nearly 25) and I had a movie date last month where we watched the newest Nancy Drew movie. It has a plucky heroine who is a little younger than in the books but just as sassy and who goes her own way. And, of course, she solves the mystery! I also bought us matching Nancy Drew tote bags just because they were on sale!

 

I have a stack of books from the library right now and I think today's the perfect day to start a new one with a cup of tea and a cookie...don't you?

WINNER OF MY CRAFTY GIVEAWAY: @creativecarmen61 from Instagram

Happy Friday!

Chark

Giveaway Winners

Thanks to everyone who entered here on the blog and on Instagram for my four Freebie Friday prizes—I love hearing from people who create, it's a wonderful community! I'm a huge fan of entering contests, so it's always fun to give away stuff too and share the love!

Without further ado, CONGRATULATIONS to:

1. cyc.crafts (from IG) who won the rainbow foil and stencils

2. lunalayercakemall (from IG) who won the Pretty Little Studio and other Christmas goodies

3. d.ann.c (from IG) who won the $25 gift card to Butterfly Reflections

and 4. rightbrainart (from IG) who won the Unity stamps

I'm sensing a pattern here, so I may have to do a blog-only giveaway sometime.

And I wanted to get up one last post for the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, which is always a good time—I'm amazed by how many different coffee/tea/cocoa projects there are each time! This one features paper and die cuts from Doodlebug Designs and my favorite drink, tea!

Thanks to Amy and the whole team at CLBH for another fun one!

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

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

Time for a Baby Shower and a Winner

Hi, friends, I have two baby shower cards to share...the first one uses with the shower theme and Lawn Fawn paper and dies. I also used a tiny heart die from Hero Arts Hearts Infinity Dies. I love the infinity dies by HA, they have tons of shapes and tons of dies in each set for a really good price point. We have some in the a2z Scrapbooking store and you can special order any of them from Hero Arts.

I used alcohol inks on glossy paper in rainbow colors and then die cut lots of tiny hearts. The clouds are stacked three high and I used a glitter pen on them.

For this card, I used the Hero Arts Ornaments Infinity Dies for the carriage and smaller Circles Infinity dies for the wheels. You can see more about this one on the a2z Scrapbooking blog here.

Baby showers are so fun...and babies are too! 

And now it's time for the winner of my National Sticker Day giveaway...I put my followers/commenters in a random generator and Miranda Smith was the winner! Thanks so much for following me to each of you...I appreciate your comments and your time!

You can email me by Feb. 28, 2018, (click on my blogger profile), Miranda, and I'll send out your stickers asap!

Happy Monday!

Chark

Coffee Hop Winner

Hi, all, just popping in to announce my winner from the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop...and the random winner is 

MONICA TAYLOR!!

Congrats, Monica, I'll be emailing you soon so you can get your Oolong Stamp set!

Thanks to all my caffeinated hopping friends for commenting and being so cool! 

Happy Sunday!
Chark

Lawn Fawn Stamp and Die Winner

Hi, my Coffee Lovers Bloghop friends...here to announce the winner of the LF Fairy Stamps and matching Dies from the hop....

Random Generator picked

Kleri F. from Day One comments! Congrats, Kleri!! 

Please contact me at luvreadnbooks at gmail to claim your prize. I need your address and full name and will send them asap! You'll need to email me by the end of the year, December 31, 2016, to claim the prize. After that, I will choose another winner.

Thanks to everyone for the fab comments, they are perhaps the best part of this hop. Seeing all the projects and getting great feedback from fellow crafters really make this one a fun place to be for a week!

Happy Holidays!!
Chark

Winner of the Summer Coffee Loving Blog Hop

It's official, I have a winner for the Neat & Tangled Clear Stamp Set from the CLBH and it's

Rebecca Yahrling!!

Congrats, Rebecca! Email me your address so I can send these out soon! 

Thanks to everyone for your wonderful comments!!

Happy Saturday!
Chark

Easter Kangaroo

Or, technically, it's an After-Easter Kangaroo, don't you love him? I went with purple on kraft paper for fun. It's a 2 Cute Ink image, where I'm part of the club and get 6 images a month for $5...great deal and cute images!

I just got the Paper Smooches hello dies and love them. The heart is from the Hero Arts So Sorry Stamp and Cut set and you can special order it over at a2z Scrapbooking at no extra charge!

And, finally, congrats to Shelly Kurth for winning here on my blog 5 digi stamps from 2 Cute Ink during the Coffee Lovers Spring Blog Hop. 

Happy Monday!
Chark

Cheers to My Winner

The Coffee Loving Winter Blog Hop is finished (sadness) but it was all fun and amazing to see again, just how many coffee, tea and cocoa designs there are! Thanks to all who gave out freebies and thanks for your sweet comments here on the blog and on my flickr account!

The winner of the coffee outline stickers and some fun bling is...Shelly Kurth from the flickr comment on the photo "You're my cup of tea."

Thanks again for the supportive comments on my projects and my freebie tea cup here.

I wanted to share the very first project someone else has created with my doodles. It's from the talented Carrie Sheridan. Isn't this the cutest? I love that snowman bg paper!

You guys are the best! 
Chark

Hold Your Cards, We Have A Bingo

Ok, we don't have a Bingo, but we do have a winner! I promised a commenter a $15 gift card to Pretty Little Studios during the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and the random generator picked MICHELE HENDERSON! Congrats, Michele! Send me your email (see my profile for my email) and I'll have PLS send that code out to you by the end of the week. Enjoy shopping—I know you'll get a lot of goodies for that $15.

Here's the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop link for all the winners from the hop, just in case you're interested. That was a fun one and I want to say THANKS to all who commented and followed me during the hop...the comments are the real fun and the inspiration is always amazing!

Today's card was one I made at the Fort Wayne Rubber Stamp and Scrapbook Getaway this weekend. We received the dragonfly acetate and could use glitter and stickers to decorate the shaker card. I love the little pearls inside the shaker because they are different colors and sizes in one jar. 

I bought some of the gold line stickers because I think they are so cool looking and really finish the card. Ok, I bought six packets of these stickers, including Merry Christmas in red, copper frames and gold lines. Love! If you're anywhere near Ft. Wayne, I highly recommend the show and maybe an extra class or two. I took this class from Mary at Stamp On It. Here's their online store link. I haven't ordered from them, but they have the beautiful acetates I've not seen elsewhere.

Here's the acetate sheet like the one we used. This one is winter, but there are tons of them. They look best on white or backed with white so you can see the lovely colors.

That's it for me today, and thanks again for your comments!

Happy Monday,
Chark

Winner, Winner, Coffee Dinner!

Ok, it's not as catchy as "Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner" but my winner is from the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, so that's what I went with! Congrats to:

Terri Burson (Waving My Wand)! You're the random winner of the coffee cup stencil from Stamplorations!! 

Email me your address and I'll send it to you asap and don't be surprised if there's a little something else in there too!

Thanks so much for the kind comments and all the inspiration during the hop, friends!!

Thought I'd do a book cover of the week, even though it's been a couple of weeks since we had one. I love this cover and I kinda love the synopsis (Dr. Who meets Sherlock Holmes) so I may have to read this one soon!

Happy Monday!
Chark

Watercolor Winner

Popping in to announce the Pretty Pink Posh Watercolor Blog Hop winner of a stencil of her choice, along with some gold outline stickers....

Karen L K June 6, 2015 at 12:00 AM

Thanks for sharing a layout. Very nice how you did that background and then tied the flowers to that. Nice.

Congratulations, Karen!! Email me your mailing info and hop over to a2z Scrapbooking Supplies to choose your stencil. Let me know which you want and I'll order your choice asap!

Thanks to all for the sweet comments! For my blog readers, a2z Scrapbooking offers a discount of 15% off your $25 or more total...and they have the new ombre inks from Hero Arts, as well as some great clearance prices on items. Just type in CHARK15 and you're all set!

Hope you'll join in our June New Beginnings challenge with your fave Hero Arts products to try to win the monthly $25 gift certificate to the store!

AND You still have time to enter THIS GIVEAWAY if you haven't yet!

Happy Wednesday!
Chark

Spring Coffee Lovers Bloghop Winner

Yay!! Let's hear it for the winner of the $10 Starbucks Gift Card...

Teresa Godines!!

Thank you to everyone who commented on my cards!!

Hope everyone had fun, I know I did. If you want some inspiration for any cardmaking—and coffee, tea or cocoa related cardmaking specifically, check out the fabulous Pinterest page! Thank you, Amy, for pinning everyone's projects so they were easy to access, comment and pin. You rock!

And here's a freebie for everyone who didn't win the Starbucks card. This comes from Free Vintage Digistamps and they have many images to choose from.

And, while this image isn't free, it's on sale for $2.00 (isn't it adorable?) and you can get free digi stamps from this talented artist on her blog, A Day For Daisies. They change sometimes, but I've gotten some lovely work for free (and purchased some that I had to have). She asks that you don't share the freebie on your blog, but I feel okay sharing her amazing site and work and telling you that you must check it out.

Since I'm addicted to the cupcakes from our local bake shop called Cake, Hope, and Love, I thought I'd share this freebie digital stamp—love it! And it looks like fun to color. Thank you, Angelica, for this fun freebie.

Happy Monday,
Chark

Popping By With a Winner!

Just popping in to announce my blog winner from the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop. 

First, THANK YOU for all the nice comments—it was a cool hop and I had fun creating some coffee cups for the holidays and reading your comments. Second, put your hands together for the winner of the Hero Arts stencil from a2z Scrapbooking Supplies.

MARLA!!!

Check your email, Marla, and send me your info so I can order your stencil and get it out to you soon!

Doncha love winning? Hope you guys won something during the blog from one of the participants! If you didn't, but still want some fun products, you can zip over to a2z, load your cart with $25 of goodies and then use CHARK15 to receive 15% off the entire order! Now, aren't you happy you stopped by?

If you're looking for inspiration, I hope you'll check out the a2z Scrapbooking Blog, I'll be posting tomorrow, but you'll find someone with a fun project everyday on the blog.

Happy Tuesday! See you tomorrow for a crafty post!

Chark

Blog Hop Winner and Can It, Alice!

 

First, congratulations to Amante del Papel, who won the digital stamp or stencil of her choice from a2z Scrapbooking Supplies! Let me know your address and your choice of item and I'll get it to you soon!

Thanks to everyone who commented and is a follower of my blog—I appreciate you!

Second, here's my Alice in Wonderland project that was a reject from a mag submission call, but that I like a lot. The can was purchased at Michael's and I slipped in KaiserCraft Alice acetate. I backed the acetate with white cardstock so that the images popped a little more and a gift can go inside. I made the felt roses for the top with this oh-so-easy basic tutorial here.

I also made a name tag to resemble a tea bag with a letter sticker and white cardstock and an image of a teapot from the acetate, again backed by white to see it better. I even added a tiny staple.

I think you could put treats and a gift card in this, or even a t-shirt rolled up. Anything that's hard to wrap would work in this.

Happy Monday!

Chark