Teen Guy Card

Not sure which is harder—a masculine card or teen card. Luckily, I had a friend's son turn 13, so I got to stretch my creativity :) I had all the pieces for this, it just took me putting them together. I did have to fix the seven into a one because I ran out of 1s. The die cut numbers are from a pack from about a hundred years ago...here are some from Pretty Little Studio that are similar in size but colored and wood grain if you want some.

The paper is older, and the watercolor panel is from when I was playing around with Color Bursts...love them! The little stripe under the 13 is gold paper to jazz it up a bit without glitter!

Here are 3 cool products for masculine cards (since Father's Day is on the horizon).

1. A Beautiful Day collection from Pretty Little Studios (I've ordered from them and they are great...plus you're supporting a woman-owned business and they have printed vellum and metallic papers to die for). Vellum Tape and Printed Paper.

2. Dad/Masculine Stamp sets from Your Next Stamp. I love their cute stamps and they have fisherman, handyman and golfing stamps, as well as this cute tool set you could use for anyone and lots of different occasions.

3. This set isn't for Dad's day, but who doesn't think of Dad and his chair? This would be great for a card featuring that memory. It's from Hero Arts and it's in the a2z Scrapbooking store where I'm the DT Coordinator. 

Happy Wednesday!

Chark

Warm Winter Wishes

The weather has been crazy lately, 30s one day and nearly 70 two days later. I never know what coat to wear because it might start out cold but turn warm and rainy. Ah well, lucky to have multiple coats to choose from! I am worried that the daffodils are peeking out a bit early, but I guess we'll see!

This card features the Phoebe Hot Cocoa stamp set from Your Next Stamp. I used Prismacolor pencils, white Uniball pen and some Arteza markers. I think this set is so adorable!

I added some snow and clouds and some holographic flat circle stickers for snow. You can see the stickers a little better here. 

Every time I use this set, I want a cup of hot cocoa! Hope you have a crafty weekend...am planning to try out my first-ever Ken Oliver Color Bursts!

Happy Friday!

Chark

Can't Stop Coloring

I joined about midway through the current 30 Day Coloring Challenge at The Daily Marker and here are some things I haven't yet posted. I love watching/listening to the tv and coloring at night with a cup of decaf tea. It's kinda become a thing now.

Here's a page from this Adornit mini coloring book. The images are printed on heavy textured cardstock (suitable for watercoloring or markers) and I used my new Arteza brush markers on this one. I've noticed the markers are hard to move around once they're on the paper versus the Tombow dual tip markers, but the colors are lovely and you get a ton. These little books are 4"x 6" and they have a ton of designs. I have some images from other books up on Instagram @chark99.

I love the Arteza markers for lettering, I can actually pull off some kind legible script with them, perhaps because they are true brushes and not felt tips. In this card I wrote the sentiment with an Arteza marker and then fussy cut it out. I wouldn't attempt to write directly on a card, I barely pull off stamping directly on a card!

I won this adorable stamp set from the Your Next Stamp blog during the Coffee Lovers Hop. I used Prismacolor pencils on the images and the marker just for the sentiment. I stamped her in light brown ink.

Here's a close-up. It's a pretty simple design, but I wasn't sure what else to do with it, so I'm leaving it as is until some inspiration strikes...or I need a thank you card!

Happy Friday!
Chark

Your Next Stamp Cuties

I was lucky enough to win the Your Next Stamp blog prize during the last Coffee Lover's Blog Hop and it was a good one! 

Here's just one of the little one layer cards I've made with the snowman stamp from Phoebe Hot Cocoa. I used Arteza watercolor markers and some Prismacolor pencils for the sky. I'm sure I'll be sharing more from this prize pack...thanks, YNS!

You should definitely check them out, they do a lot of blog giveaways and challenges and they have the cutest stamps and a great DT.

I found the Arteza markers on sale on their site and got them for Christmas from my husband...after I ordered them and said, "hey, you just got me a present!"

I had a masculine card up on the a2z Scrapbooking blog over the weekend...you can see the post here.

Happy Monday!
Chark

Sometimes You Need The Big Cup

Happy Coffee Lovers Hop! Don't forget to link up your coffee/tea/cocoa project to try to win some awesome prizes!

For my second coffee card, I paired a little elf from Hero Arts (a kit stamp from last year) with a cup stamp from Your Next Stamp. And what I got was an elf who needs to be extremely caffeinated during this busy season—sometimes you need the big cup!

The cover plate is from Reverse Confetti and the Christmas lights paper and Christmas tree papers are from two different paper stacks from Michael's. And, yep, I stickled the cup and hat and shoes.

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).

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Monday!
Chark

Overdue To Say Happy Birthday Card

I love this Overdue Library stamp set from Your Next Stamp and I actually won this one from their blog (thanks, YNS!) Their products are so cute, and I love the inspiration on the blog. They have a sketch and color challenge each month and I picked the sketch this month to try.

I made my own pocket from ivory cardstock and added books to the front of it with another stamp set from YNS  called Tea-rrific and then used Inktense pencils to watercolor them. I see after posting that my pearl got knocked out of place, but I'm going to have to be okay with that for now...photos are so telling!

I admit this card isn't for anyone in particular, but I know I'll use it because I am notorious for late cards...me, maker of cards! Wha?! It's not the card part, it's the gift inside or the message or the trip to the post office.

At any rate, maybe you'll join in this challenge with me..you don't even have to use YNS stamps to play along!

And speaking of books, I loved this one, and am so jazzed to see the upcoming movie. Here's the original book cover and the movie book cover. I love the original one...the whole book was written around weird faked historical photos that the author had seen. How cool is that?

Happy Wednesday!
Chark

Love Your Next Stamp

I won some goodies from Your Next Stamp and am so happy to share what I picked out. If you love these stamps, stop by and comment on the blog when they're doing a giveaway, maybe you'll be the next winner! They have a sketch and color challenge up right now, here, and I'm thinking I need to enter it, love the colors!

I picked out this cool stamp set, and you'll know why if you're my family...I am constantly late with birthday cards! I like to think I'm extending the birthday celebration by being late :)

I also got these cute items, that I can't wait to use! The notebook die and Tea-rific stamp set.

Thanks so much, YNS! And if you wanna see the incomparable Jennifer McGuire use their stamps, check out this post!

Happy Weekend!
Chark