Yummy Cupcake Tower

In real life, I'm not much of a fan of cupcakes so it's kind of funny that I love them so much for crafting. For most people, I think this tower of cupcakes would be pretty yummy. I just think it's fun to color. This is from the Bugaboo line A Kids View Birthday and it's called "Cupcake Tower".

Challenges:
Crazy 4 Challenges-sketch
Create for fun-make a birthday card

How Sweet is This?

This is one of the many sweet little girl images you can get at Bugaboo. This one is from the "Wee Ones" line and it's called Balloon Girl. Remember that there is a 50% off sale extended through August 10th so you can get this and all your other favorites for half price!! Go! NOW! :)

This card was made with this week's sketch at Create 4 Fun.

How Girly Can You Get?

This week, the challenge at Paper Sundaes is "pretty princess"...make a girly card. I'm not big on loading up my cards with lots of flowers, bling, etc. so I'm not sure I pulled off a SUPER girly card but it's definitely a card for a girl.

The image is from The Stamping Boutique.
Challenges:
Paper Sundaes-pretty princess (girly card)
Eat Sleep Stamp-sketch
City Crafter-pink purple and pearls
Crafts and Me Challenge-birthday

Happy Father's Day

I made this card for Katie to give to John for Father's Day. She likes the girliness of it-especially the pink. The image is Desiree from Bugaboo stamps.

Challenges:
Tuesday Taggers: all that blooms
Paper Cutz Challenge: Father's Day
Spoonful of Sugar: floral delights
Crafts and Me Challenge: friends and family
Shirley's 2 Girls: pink
Our Creative Corner Sketch: sketch
Charisma Cardz: Spots and Stripes
DigiDoodles Shop: tie it up

Meet Mary and her Friends

This stamp is part of a set called "Mary and Friends" from Woodware stamps. I bought this set and two others at the convention in April. This is the first time I've used any of them.

Challenges:
Simply Saturday: circles
Crazy 4 Challenges: pleats
Sketch Saturday: sketch
All Sorts: strawberries, cream and chocolate
Corrosive Challenge: use die cuts
Crafty Hos: anything goes

Best Friends

You knew it wouldn't be long until I was showing you the second image I chose from Bugaboo and it's this one..."Best Friends" also from the Bugaboo Brats line.

Challenges:
Just Scraps: touch of yellow
Secret Crafter: buttons and blooms
PPC: chocolate chip, olive and blossom
Sketch Saturday: sketch
Kah Wink E Dink: use six of something
Digi Doodle Shop: buttons

Crafty Saturday Scraps

I bought this Magnolia Stamp at the convention last month. As far as I can remember, I haven't used her yet but I absolutely adore these images. They're just SO cute. I need more of them. I wish they came in digi form...that would be AWESOME!

Challenges:
Sketch Saturday: sketch
Just Scraps: chocolate chip and a splash of color
Crafty Creations: use your favorite stamp

There's a Bugaboo in the Window

I've added a few new Bugaboo images to my collection so you'll be seeing some new images in the next few days since I can hardly wait to use them. This card is made with the adorable Bugaboo Brat Desiree.

I used my oval Nesties to cut out the window. Colored the image with Copics and used a couple of flowers from the "tub-o-primas". Dew drops are from my stash and the papers are all from my scrap pile which never seems to get smaller. I used the scalloped oval Nestie and the oval Nestie for the sentiment bubble. Then I pop dotted that on to the card.
Challenges:
Charisma Cardz: 3d element on your card
Color Throwdown: light pink, melon, baja breeze
Meljens: spots
Lil Red Wagon: make a window on your card

Trying Something New

This week, the There She Goes Clear Stamps Challenge is called "make an impression". The challenge is to use line art. I had no idea what that meant so I read on and discovered that you are supposed to stamp your image in a light color, and then paper piece a portion of it, or just color a small portion of it. I thought that sounded intriguing and the DT samples were gorgeous so I decided to give it a try with one of my Anya stamps. I stamped the whole image onto the pink paper with Versamark. Then I stamped it again on some patterned paper and cut out the boots and the purse which I pop-dotted onto the image. I hope I've done this correctly. I *think* I like it but sometimes when I look at it, I think the boots and purse look like they are just floating in mid air so it looks odd. :)

Challenges:
A Spoonful of Sugar: cute and girly
Papertake Weekly: flowers
TSG: lineart
Kah Wink E Dink: make your own embellishments (I colored the flowers with Copics and added the buttons to the middles)
Just a side note here about coloring the flowers. WOW I think I'm going to buy all white flowers from now on. I mean, I have a ton of Copics and it's so easy to color the flowers to match whatever color you are using. No more searching for the exact right color flower! Yes, I do have the "tub of Primas" I got at the convention and it will probably take me five years to use them up BUT I'm happy to have found this coloring option and will definitely use it a lot.

Meet BOO

Meet Boo...she's one of the adorable images you can get from Bugaboo. Isn't she just the sweetest thing? She's currently being offered for FREE so go visit their site and get her for yourself. She's perfect for those "new baby girl" cards.

Challenges:
Just Scraps: think pink
Mami Doodles: monochrome
Stamp Something: celebrate something (new baby)
Sew Many Challenges: easel card

Eat Sleep Stamp the Flower Power

I'm loving the Catch the Bug Challenge from Bugaboo this week. It's Flower Power...use flowers, flower paper, flower image..anything having to do with flowers so I've been busy joining in their challenge this week. I used this awesome Bugaboo image called Scarlette...isn't she great?

Challenges:
Eat Sleep Stamp: sketch
Color Throwdown: baja breeze, so saffron, old olive and kraft
Copic Creations: Color on another surface (I colored those flowers...they were all white to begin with! How fun is that?)
Bugaboo: flower power
Secret Crafter: 2 papers, 3 embellies, 1 image

A Sweet Birthday Wish

Have you met Audrey? She's this sweet little girl from the Stamping Boutique. Here she is with a piece of cake to wish you a Happy Birthday!

I colored her with Copics and glittered up all the sparkles around her and the ruffles on her clothes. I also used some of my favorite cupcake paper. I think it might be the last little bit I had so I will need to restock that!
Challenges:
Papertake Weekly: make it shiny, sparkly, special
Sketch Saturday: sketch
Cute Card Thursday: make something for someone special (my neice's birthday)
Charisma Cardz: sweet treats

Designed To Delight

This is the new image from Designed to Delight. Grab it and make something by Thursday and you can get next week's image for free. I used the watercan template from Paper Popsicles.

Challenges:
Designed to Delight: watering can image
Bugaboo: flower power
Pollycraft: sketch

Flower Power

Lots of challenges out there challenging us to use flowers. That's generally not a problem for me! Here's a card I made with a free image from Clear Dollar Stamps. You can get it here. You don't have to use this image for the Clearly I Stamp challenge, you just have to use flowers somehow.

Challenges:
Papertake Weekly: sketch
Paperplay: an image, and add bling (I blinged the centers of the flowers)
Clearly I Stamp: use flowers
Copic Color Challenge: B02, B10 and R20 (or what you have that is close)
Cupcake Craft Challenge: buttons
Bugaboo: flower power

So Yummy

Today is Wednesday which means it's freebie day at StretchNBubbles. Today the freebie is an adorable little bed bug...perfect for those "get well soon" cards. It's also time for a new sketch challenge at the SNB Sketch Challenge blog. Each week there is a new sketch designed by Alison-I hope you'll go check it out.
Have you checked out Meljen's Designs yet? If you like adorable animals and people, you will absolutely love Meljens. I used this cute teddy bear and his cookie for today's card.

Challenges:
All Sorts: use an animal
Crazy for Challenges: sketch
Just Cute Bears: use a bear image and buttons and bows
Rosie Dee: something yummy
Spoonful of Sugar-furry friends
Digital Tuesday challenge- food or drink

How Sweet is This?

Meljens makes some of the cutest digi images, including this super sweet girl hugging her teddy bear. I love it! If you love Meljen's images, hop over to their store...there are still a few days left to get 25% off your whole order..you don't want to miss out!

Challenges:
Crafts and Me Challenge-brown pink and yellow
Dare you to Digi Stamp-digi image and flowers
Meljens challenge-for the little ones
I love digi-sketch and digi image
Clearly iStamp-use ribbon
Raise the Bar-your favorite color (brown and pink for me!)
Our Creative Corner-blossoms
One Stitch at at Time-flowers
Pile it On- Make it Sweet

Coloring Black Hair

That's the challenge this time around at the Copic Creations challenge. Check out their blog for links to lots of places with tutorials on how to color black hair. Keep in mind that when you are coloring black hair, you're not actually using black. You're going to be using several shades of grey so you can get the highlights in the hair. For me, the first step is deciding where I want the highlights to be. I have to have that set in my mind so I don't go over those areas with the darker colors. Then I start with my darkest shade of grey which in this case is C9. I use that sparingly in the places that I think would be the darkest on her head. I try to do all my hair coloring with a flicking/feathering motion in the direction that the hair grows. After I finish with the C9 I move to C7. I start the C7 going slightly over the edge of where the C9 ended. I follow this pattern with the last two colors, C5 and C3 with C3 being the color I use in the area I determined would be the highlight area. I look at the final product and add and blend wherever I think it needs it.

Challenges:
Die Cuts R Us: Use earth or nature related embellies
Papertake Weekly: sketch
Spoonful of Sugar:Happy Birthday
Maimi Doodles: use colors wheat/khaki, red, sky blue
Copic Creations: Color black hair

A Bashful Bear

Check out this adorable new image from Cuddly Buddly! Isn't she just the sweetest?

Challenges:
Creative Inspirations: 2 DPs, 1 ribbon, 3 flowers
Little Paper Shop: Chocolate, pink and raspberry
Crazy 4 Challenges: Sketch
Magical Crafts : Something for the Girls

Around the World-To Ireland

I'm playing along with a new challenge-The Sisterhood of Crafters and their theme this week is "Around the World" and today's stop is in Ireland. Be inspired by Ireland, the colors, St. Patrick's Day, Luck, Leprechauns...whatever you think of when you think of Ireland. I already said earlier this week that I don't "do" St. Patrick's Day cards but I love making this Anya stamp a little Irish girl with red hair. I found the quote online.

Challenges:
Sisterhood of Crafters: Ireland
Incy Wincy: Go Green
Cupcake Craft Challenge: Green
Corrosive Challenge: Luck
ABC Challenge: Q for Quotation
365 Cards: Sunday Sketch

I Made A Flower

Yep, that's right I made the flower on this card using some two-sided paper, the smallest scalloped circle Nestie I have and a brad. Pretty easy! I used Scarlette from Bugaboo stamps..LOVE her!

Challenges:
Crafty Creations: make your own flowers
Die Cuts R Us: paper flowers
Corrosive Challenge: sketch
SP Color Combo: soft suede, dusty durango and bashful blue