Happy Chocolate Cake Day! For The Paper Shelter

 It's National Chocolate Cake Day, and that is certainly worth celebrating!  The Paper Shelter is using it as this week's challenge theme.  Bring on those glorious chocolate confections! The Paper Shelter has many images in the store that will work for this challenge, and we'd love to see them in the challenge.  If you win the challenge, and you use a Paper Shelter image, you receive a $30 gift certificate to the Paper Shelter Store. Otherwise, you win any 3 images of your choice.  Great prizes, any way you look at it!

For today's challenge, I used Birthday Cupcake.  It's a chocolate cupcake, of course!

I colored Birthday Cupcake with Copic markers, then fussy cut it.  I created the stepper card using a deform Sizzix. The gingham and dotted papers are from We Are 3 Digital Shop. I used both Gingham Pastel and Dotted Swiss. The twine is by Tonic Studios.  I also used some Nuvo Drops to finish off the card.

I hope you join in on our Chocolate Cake Challenge this week at The Paper Shelter Challenge. I think I might be craving cake all week!

Ladybug Friend - for Bugaboo Stamps

It's Friday, and that means it's Freebie Friday at Bugaboo Stamps!   You'll find this week's freebie, and lots of great inspiration over on the Catch the Bug Blog. 

Today's freebie is Ladybug Vase.  You'll find a link to the digi at Catch the Bug that will be good for one week. 

I colored Ladybug Vase with Copic markers, then used a set of slimline dies from Tutti Designs to cut it out.  The banner stamp and die is from Crafter's Companion.

The fun dotted paper is by We Are 3 Digital Shop.   It is one of the Peonies Ballet papers. I added a few Nuvo Crystal Drops to finish off the card. 

Visit the Bugaboo Stamps Store for many wonderful images for any occasion.  Visit the Catch the Bug Blog for this week's Freebie, great inspiration, and a new challenge starting soon. 

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges:

D.L. Art -- May Linky Party

D.L. Art Thankful Thursday -- Love Earth

Passion for Markers -- Say it with Flowers

Colour Crazy Challenge -- ATG with a hand colored image

Sleigh Ride -- For JDS Challenges

Jan's Digi Stamp Challenges are now month-long, but are always anything goes.  Enter whatever you are working on: cards, crocheting, gardening, home decor -- we'd like to see it all!  Today's post is a bit of mid-month inspiration, and to let you know that Jan is having a bit of a Christmas in July sale.  All Christmas sets are 25% the entire month of July!  It's time to stock up on those cute sets you've been thinking about! There are 21 sets on sale in the Jan Mayhew Store!

I used a simple, yet beautiful set from one of the 21 sale sets.  It's called Sleigh Ride: 

I used the main image and one of the sentiments in the set of Sleigh Ride.  It comes with the main image flipped in either direction, and also has some winter-like trees, plus more sentiments. 

This double sided tree edger die had recently arrived at my house, so I thought it would work well with this Sleigh Ride image.  It took a bit to get the sizing of the image figured out with the trees, but I'm happy with the final results.   The edger die is from Crafter's Companion.

The pretty plaid background paper is by We Are 3 Digital Shop.  It is one of the papers in the Holiday Letters Collection. 

The snowbanks at the bottom of the Sleigh Ride image were created by free handing 2 rows of drifts.  The snow was made with Nuvo Glitter Drops. 

The JDS Challenge will run until Sunday, August 2.  I truly hope you join us.  There is a gift certificate for someone using a JDS image, and a random draw for a gift certificate out of all the entries, plus some designer's choice awards. 

Happy Mother's Day -- for Path of Positivity Challenge Blog

Happy May, fellow crafters!  I'm so excited to share with you about this month's challenge at the Path of Positivity Challenge blog.  It starts today and runs all month. This month's theme is "present, not perfect."  This can be interpreted a number of ways.  Ever had someone close to you get sick, or a loved one die, and you didn't know how to reach out to the sick one of the ones left behind?  Often, being present is enough.  You don't need to say the perfect thing.  Just be there for them.  Present, not perfect.  This can also apply to our art.  Afraid to try new techniques because they look too hard?  This is your chance!  Present, not perfect!  Just try, perfection is not required!  (see below)

One of our sponsors this month is Imagine That! Digistamp.  I always love working with the wide variety of images available in the Imagine That! Digistamp store.  Today, I have a card I created using the Daffodil digital stamp set.

I tried a new-to-me coloring medium on this card, watercolor pencils.  I have had a few in my possession for years, but recently branched out and bought more colors.  This was my first attempt with them.  I found it more difficult to get the contrast I'm used to.  The colors kept washing out on me.  Maybe that's why it's called watercolor?  I didn't have a light blue pencil, so used a blue from a very inexpensive watercolor set for the wash around the daffodil.  I had a lot of trouble with this 'wash' technique.  I don't know if my lack of skills, the brushes I have, or the paint I used, but I wasn't pleased with the results.  That's why this month's theme is great.  Present, not perfect!

Papers on this card are from MHKDesigns and are digital.  I used a Spellbinders card creator set, a sentiment from Close To My Heart, and tried Nuvo Crystal Drops for the first time.  I wasn't totally happy with those either, but I think there might be a learning curve with those, too. 

I hope you can join us this month at the Path of Positivity for our "Present, not Perfect" challenge.  It's the perfect opportunity to try something new!  You have until June 4 to join in the fun!

Imagine That! Digistamp's Daffodil