CIC #39

Happy Sunday! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Today's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal features such festive cupcakes - perfect for New Year's, or, in my case, a birthday card!

I chose to feature the Flower Patch and Alleyway papers from the Bella Blvd Honey I'm Home Collection. I love all the bright colors and thought they went so well with this week's inspiration photo! I dressed up the top portion of the card a little by adding Stardust Stickles to the centers of the flowers and to the little dots scattered throughout the paper. It's tough to see in the picture, but adds some nice sparkle in real life!

This simple card was finished off with a little birthday sentiment and some clear crystal flowers from the Zva Creative Crystal Flower Wheel. I like how those tie in the flower theme from the Bella Blvd paper and add a nice finishing touch.

If you want to play along with this week's challenge, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now it's time to visit the other Sweeties for lots more inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Elena (December Guest Sweetie)
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: PTI Everyday Button Bits (for sentiment)
Ink: PTI Fresh Snow
Paper: Flower Patch and Alleyway from the Bella Blvd Honey I'm Home Collection
Other: Stardust Stickles, Zva Creative Crystal Flower Wheel

CIC #38!

Welcome to the 38th Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal!

I need to start out by apologizing for my even-worse-than-usual photo! I swear, I have got to somehow invest in proper lighting and a light tent!

Anyway, aren't these cupcakes so fun and holidayish?! I took my inspiration from the hearts, the candy canes, the holly, and the colors, right down to the black accents!

I punched hearts out of paper from the Imaginisce Polar Bear Expressions collection and the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly pack to reflect the candy cane and holly motifs on some of the cupcakes. I then traced around the edges of the hearts with some Stardust Stickles. The larger center heart is raised up with a 2mm adhesive dot from Zva Creative, while the smaller hearts are on 1mm adhesive dots. In between the hearts I put different sizes of Zva Creative Crystal Dots.

Some silver ribbon from PTI sort of sets the top portion apart, and then the sentiment is from Keep Cozy by The Greeting Farm. More crystal dots in the smallest size appear on either side of the sentiment.

I've taken photos of all of the different Christmas cards I'm sending out this year, but I don't know if I'll have time to blog about them before Christmas. So in case this is my last post this week, I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday!

If you want to play along with this week's challenge, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now it's time to visit the other Sweeties for lots more inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Elena (December Guest Sweetie)
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Keep Cozy by The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection, Imaginisce Polar Bear Expressions, PTI white
Other: Stardust Stickles, 2mm adhesive dot from Zva Creative, Zva Creative 1mm adhesive dot, Zva Creative clear crystal dots

Hope Stamps Eternal Secret Sweetie Blog Hop

Welcome to a very Sweetie Christmas Hop! The Hope Stamps Eternal Sweeties have a big reveal to share with you today. A few weeks back we were each assigned a secret sweetie who in turn made us gifts and sent them to us to ring in the holidays. During this hop you will see what each of the sweeties put together for their recipient and reveal who they made it for.

Make sure to comment on each blog because one lucky person will be the winner of blog candy! If you didn't arrive here from Kelli's blog, be sure to go back to the beginning at Rachel's blog where you will be able to see a photo of the blog candy and then just follow along to the next blog from there.

I was very excited to be assigned to the fabulous Hope Stamps Eternal owner herself, Rachel! She is one of my dearest friends, and I was thrilled to have an excuse to send her a little Christmas cheer! I know that one of her favorite candies at this time of year are the Candy Cane Kisses, so my ensemble had to include some of those! I took my color inspiration from those, choosing products from the HSE store that fit in the silver/red/white theme.

First off is the bag of Kisses. I just put those in a clear cellophane bag and tied it off with some white polka dot ribbon from May Arts. It looks like she's just run out of the white ribbon, but check out the ribbon selection in the store for a variety of other colors. I then made a little tag for the bag using some paper from the Imaginisce Polar Expressions collection and a Making Memories snowflake blossom with a Zva Creative clear crystal dot in the middle.

I also made a little 3" x 3" card to match the set, using white and silver cardstock along with more of the Polar Expressions paper, white polka dot ribbon, and Making Memories snowflake blossoms. In the center of this snowflake, I used one of the gemstone brads that comes with the snowflakes.

Next up I embellished one of the 4 oz. round clear top tins, again using the same paper, ribbon, and snowflakes. I just love making a set of things that match - it appeals to the OCD side of me I think! I was trying to figure out what to put inside the tin and decide to make some magnets using dominoes. I used the snowflake stamp from Keep Cozy by The Greeting Farm and stamped two dominoes with red ink and two with silver. I then adhered small clear gemstones from the Zva Creative crystal wheel to the center of each of the snowflakes. To turn the dominoes into magnets, I cut up some self-stick business card magnets and stuck them right on the backs of the dominoes. Sorry for the less than stellar picture of the dominoes - I was taking these photos at night and could not for the life of me get a photo that wasn't too full of flash or too dark!

I had so much fun creating this set for Rachel and I hope she liked it! Now it's time to go to the next stop, Colleen at Glitter Ink. Don't forget - you'll want to leave a comment at each stop on the hop to have a chance at winning the blog candy!

Supplies
Stamps: Keep Cozy by The Greeting Farm
Ink: PTI Pure Poppy, Encore silver
Paper: Imaginisce Polar Expressions, PTI white, SU Brushed Silver
Other: May Arts ribbon, Making Memories snowflake blossoms, Zva Creative clear crystal dot, 4 oz. round clear top tin

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #37

How sweet are the cupcakes for this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal?! Adorable!

I obviously went with a snowman theme for my card this week, and also drew my color inspiration from the photo as well. My main image is from The Greeting Farm set Keep Cozy and I colored him with Copic markers. His hat is cut out and popped up with a Zva Creative 1mm adhesive dot for a little dimension and his hat and scarf are accented with Stardust Stickles. The final finishing touches on the image are 3 Zva Creative black crystal dots.

The snowman is punched out with a Marvy mega circle punch and matted on a Marvy giga scalloped circle. On each scallop I adhered a Zva Creative white pearl using a Quickie glue pen. The circle is then adhered to the base using more Zva Creative 1mm adhesive dots.

Speaking of the background, that gorgeous paper is more from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection. I know I've been using it a lot, but there are just sooo many awesome designs in that pack! The little snowflake embellisment at the bottom was created with a small punch and finished off with a Zva Creative clear crystal dot.

If you want to play along with this week's challenge, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now it's time to visit the other Sweeties for lots more inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Elena (December Guest Sweetie)
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Keep Cozy by The Greeting Farm, sentiment from PTI
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection, PTI white, Spring Rain
Other: Stardust Stickles, Zva Creative 1mm adhesive dot, Zva Creative black crystal dots, Zva Creative clear crystal dot, Zva Creative white pearl

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #36

Hello and welcome to the 36th Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal!

With Christmas less than three weeks away, this week's inspiration photo is just perfect! Holly is one of my favorite motifs for the holidays, and I knew right away that I wanted to use some of the paper from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly pack. Both the large piece of background paper and the small strip across the center are from that collection.

My main image is from the Greeting Farm Rain, Snow, Shine set and I colored her with Copics. As you can see in the inspiration photo, the holly leaves are dusted with glitter, so I knew I needed to have some glitter on my project as well! I used Stardust Stickles on all the trim on her outfit, as well as on her earmuffs. I also used the Stickles to create a border around the image. My picture came out crummy due to the rainy/snowy weather we had yesterday, but it's really pretty and sparkly in real life! The image panel is attached to the card with 2mm adhesive dots from Zva Creative. The last little details are the snowflake embellishments from Jolee's by You adhered on either side of the image.

I hope you'll participate in this week's challenge and knock another Christmas card off your to-do list! If you play along, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now before I send you off to check out the other Sweeties, I want to introduce you to our December Guest Sweetie, Elena at The Red Haired Girl. She's insanely talented, so be sure to stop by and see her take on this week's challenge. Once you've done that, go ahead and visit the other Sweeties for lots more inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Rain, Snow, Shine by The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection, PTI white
Other: Stardust Stickles, Jolee's by You Snowflake collection, 2mm adhesive dots by Zva Creative

Cyber Monday Sale!!

Hi everyone! Getting back into the normal work and life routine after a nice long holiday weekend is never fun, but I've got something to make your Monday a little better!

Hope Stamps Eternal is having a Cyber Monday sale - EVERYTHING in the store is 30% off!! Now is the perfect time to stock up on supplies for your holiday cards - check out all the Christmas items from Cuttlebug, Basic Grey, Inkadinkado and more! This is also a great chance to cross some craft-loving family and friends off your gift list - there's sure to be lots of goodies for any stamper or scrapbooker in your life!

Don't miss out on this one day sale - shop now!

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #35

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I can't believe it, but the season for leaves and pumpkins and all things fall is over and now it's time to think winter and Christmas! I LOVE this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal. There are SO many products in the HSE store that work for this challenge, so my creative juices were immediately flowing.

As soon as I saw the little snowman perched atop those gorgeous cupcakes, I knew I wanted to use one of the adorable stamps from the Keep Cozy set by The Greeting Farm. I love this little guy and think he's a perfect match for the one in the photo. I colored him with Copics, using the hat and scarf for my color inspiration, and then accented his hat, scarf, and mittens with Stardust Stickles. My frosty image was punched out with a Marvy scallop punch and then matted on a larger scalloped oval. I added a white pearl sticker from Memory Box to each of the scallops, using a Sakura Quickie Glue Pen, to mimic the pearl ornaments and embellishments in the photo.

The patterned paper is a gorgeous sheet from the Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection. The color scheme and swirling snowflakes are absolutely perfect for this week's challenge! The sentiment, one of four included in the Keep Cozy set, was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, as was my image. That ink is still by far my favorite ink to use when coloring with Copics!

Across the top of the paper I used some ribbon from the Art Blanche Arctic Ribbon Pack. Again, the color is just perfect for this project and adds some nice detail to the card. Both the large snowflake embellishment at the top and the small one by the sentiment are from the Jolee's by You Snowflake collection - the big one is pre-glittered and both come with the gemstones already adhered to the center. Such pretty, yet simple, embellishments!

To adhere the snowman panel, I used the 1mm adhesive dots by Zva Creative and then, because I wanted it to pop up a little higher, I used a 2mm adhesive dot for the large snowflake. I love the different depths and sizes offered in those packs! I used the Sakura Quickie Glue Pen again to adhere the smaller snowflake at the bottom.

I'm so excited to have my first holiday card done for this year! In years past, I've been so efficient with my Christmas cards, and sometimes have even had them done by Thanksgiving, but clearly things have changed. I have a feeling I'll still be finishing my cards right up until Christmas Eve!

I hope you'll participate in this week's challenge and get yourself in the holiday spirit. If you play along, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties for loads of inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Keep Cozy set by The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly collection, PTI white and Aqua Mist
Other: Memory Box white pearl stickers, Stardust Stickles, Sakura Quickie Glue Pen, Art Blanche Arctic Ribbon Pack, Jolee's by You Snowflake collection, 1mm adhesive dots by Zva Creative, 2mm adhesive dot

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #34

Hello and welcome to Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #34 from Hope Stamps Eternal!

For my card today I chose to sort of pull from the colors in the inspiration photo. I swear my colors in real life are a little closer - I could not get a good photo today for the life of me!

I wanted to use one of the Blooms-a-Bella flowers from Bella Blvd. They're such a great focal point and make for a quick and easy card- gotta love that! It's tricky to tell because of the lighting, but both the green paper and the red paper it's matted on are from the Imaginisce Polar Expressions Collection. I love when paper packs like that have patterns that are specifically for Christmas, but also include reverse sides that are more neutral patterns. It really extends your stamping buck when you have that kind of flexibility.

The designer papers are matted on a brown 4.25" square base (yes, it's brown, not purple!) The sentiment is from Sentiments by The Greeting Farm, and the finishing touch on the card is the lines of Memory Box white pearl stickers.
If you would like to play along, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties for loads of inspiration!

Bonnie (out this week)
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Sentiments by The Greeting Farm
Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate
Paper: Imaginisce Polar Expressions Collection, PTI Dark Chocolate
Other: Blooms-a-Bella flowers from Bella Blvd, Memory Box white pearl stickers

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #33

Happy Sunday! Can you believe that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away?? Where has this year gone?? I think this week's cupcake inspiration photo is perfect for this time of year - it just screams fall and yumminess!

For my card, I used a sheet of Waffles paper from the Basic Grey Nook and Pantry collection. Check out that line of paper - talk about yumminess!! I then stacked three of the flowers from the Imaginisce First Class paper flowers collection. I just love the mix of shapes and sizes and colors included in that package! The embellishment was held together with Diamond Glaze and finished off with a Zva Creative clear crystal dot in the center. Emerging from under the flower embellishment is a Zva Creative crystal flourish. Once I adhered it, I realized the bling gets a little lost in the pattern of the paper, but if the light catches it right, it looks fabulous in person! The sentiment is from the Bella Blvd Plastino stamp collection.

If you would like to play along, make sure you add a direct link to your creation to Rachel's post by 9pm MST next Saturday in order to be considered for the Top 5 collage next Sunday.

Before I send you off to check out the rest of the Sweeties, I wanted to mention a few things. First, if you haven't yet, hurry up and enter to win Rachel's blog sweets - you have until 10pm MST tonight! Second, be sure to check out all the NEW stuff in the Hope Stamps Eternal store! TONS of amazing goodies from The Greeting Farm, Basic Grey, Cuttlebug, Inkadinkado and more!! And finally, if you love Martha Stewart (who doesn't??) go and scoop up some fabulous punches - all Martha Stewart items are 40% off!!

Ok, now go and visit the Sweeties!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen (out this week)
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Teresa

Supplies
Stamps: Bella Blvd Plastino stamp collection
Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate
Paper: Waffles paper from the Basic Grey Nook and Pantry collection, PTI Pure Poppy
Other: Imaginisce First Class paper flowers, Diamond Glaze, Zva Creative clear crystal dot, Zva Creative crystal flourish

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #31

Welcome to the 31st Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal!

These cupcakes are so pretty and spring-like, right? Well leave it to me to make a winter card out of it! The inspiration I took from this week's photo are the colors - the red, pale aqua, yellow, and green. I thought the Jolly by Golly paper from Cosmo Cricket pulled variations of those colors in really nicely, so that's what I used on my card today.

When trying to decide what stamp to use, I noticed the striped scarf on one of the Anyas in the Rain, Snow, Shine set from The Greeting Farm and thought it would be fun to use my Copics to color her scarf to match the paper. I like it! Sort of a faux paper piecing in a way. Anya's trim (earmuff band, buttons, etc.) are touched up with a clear Sakura Stardust pen for some nice sparkle, and to add some extra bling, I added a clear Zva Creative crystal dot to the center of my snowflake embellishment (created with two sizes of snowflake punches).

For the final touch, the edge of the cake plate in the photo made me think of dew drops, so I added a bunch of those to the border of my card using a Sakura Quickie glue pen.

If you'd like to play along, add a direct link to your project to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries linked up by 9pm MST next Saturday night will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Ok, now it's just about time to go and visit the other Sweeties, but I first wanted to mention that this is Tammy's last week with the HSE design team. She has been a great addition to our team and will be missed! But every cloud has a silver lining, so I'd like to give a big welcome to Teresa Kline, who will be taking Tammy's place as a Sweetie for the next couple of months. Check her out!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Rain, Snow, Shine set from The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Paper: Jolly by Golly from Cosmo Cricket, PTI Aqua Mist, white, and Pure Poppy
Other: clear Sakura Stardust pen, clear Zva Creative crystal dot, dew drops, Sakura Quickie glue pen