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

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #30

Happy Sunday and welcome to the latest Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

My card this week is modeled fairly loosely after the cupcake photo - I mainly drew from the bright colors for my inspiration. I just love the colors in the Bella Blvd Plastino collection, so I wanted to really spotlight a few of those papers. The striped paper, the paper I used to punch the scalloped circle, and the main image are all from Plastino papers. I needed no stamping for that main image - cool, huh? I just used a Marvy mega circle punch and it was the perfect fit for one of the flower clusters on the patterned paper. I added some Stardust Stickles to the center of the flowers for a touch of bling on my super easy focal point! The entire main image is raised up with foam adhesive dots. Oh, and the ribbon wrapped around the large panel is May Arts sheer polka dot ribbon. You can never go wrong with polka dots, right?

I'm a little bummed about the background. When I made the card a few nights ago, I stamped the 'happy day' sentiment from The Greeting Farm set Sentiments repeatedly across the card base to create a fun little background. However, when I finally had a little bit of natural light to take a photo a few days later, the sentiments had faded so they were barely visible. I stamped the sentiment again just before I took the photo, but now it looks a little jumbled with the faint trace of the stamping I had previously done behind it. :-(

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 time to go and visit the other Sweeties!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Sentiments by The Greeting Farm
Ink: PTI Lemon Tart
Paper: Bella Blvd Plastino Collection, PTI Lemon Tart
Other: Stardust Stickles, adhesive dots, May Arts red sheer polka dot ribbon

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #29

Happy Sunday and welcome to this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge! These little witches are so sweet perched on top of those yummy looking cupcakes!

My card kind of took on a mind of its own as I was making it, and I don't know that I'm really pleased with the final result, but you win some and you lose some, right?!

My main inspiration came mainly from the colors, though the overcast weather we've been having didn't exactly allow me to get the best photo of my card to showcase the colors I used! The top panel is black cardstock embossed with the Perfectly Paisley cuttlebug folder. I then outlined the embossed shapes with a Sakura Stardust pen to really make them pop. The kraft panel on the bottom was stamped with a greeting from the Greeting Farm set called Sentiments, embellished with a Zva Creative crystal flourish, and punched along the bottom with a Martha Stewart Scallop Dot edge punch. Finally, to finish off the card, I added a strip of brown cardstock along where the black and kraft panels meet and covered that with a strip of sheer white polka dot May Arts ribbon.

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 next Saturday night will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Ok, now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Sentiments by The Greeting Farm
Ink: PTI Dark Chocolate
Paper: PTI Dark Chocolate, True Black, Kraft
Other: Scallop Dot Edger punch from Martha Stewart, Perfectly Paisley cuttlebug folder, Sakura Stardust pen, Zva Creative crystal flourish, sheer white polka dot May Arts ribbon

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #28

Happy Sunday! It's time for another Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal!

I am out of town this weekend and so did not get a chance to participate in the challenge, but I wanted to make sure I put the inspiration photo up in case you want to play along! Aren't these cupcakes pretty?!?

If you do, be sure to add a direct link to your project to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 entries will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Ok, now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties for some fabulous inspiration!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #27

Good morning! Believe it or not, it's October, so that means Halloween is just around the corner! Isn't today's cupcake inspiration photo a lot of fun?

I chose to focus on the pumpkins and used the Pumpkin Harvest cuttlebug folder on some Imaginisce Bestitched paper, showing the debossed side instead of the embossing. I kept the rest of the top of the card plain to really show off that cuttlebug folder.

The two strips of patterned paper are both from the Basic Grey Eerie paper pack. I just love how all the different papers from that collection mix and match so well together!

The sentiment is from Scary Words, one of the Inkadinkado mini clear sets. I traced over the sentiment with a black spica pen to give it some fun sparkle.

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 will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Now before I send you off to check out the other HSE Sweeties' creations, I want to extend a warm welcome to the latest Guest Sweetie, Ida from Faith Artistry. Be sure to visit her fabulous blog to see her interpretation of this week's challenge.

Ok, now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Scary Words from Imaginisce
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, black spica glitter pen
Paper: Imaginisce Bestitched, Basic Grey Eerie, PTI white, Plum Pudding, Ripe Avocado
Other: Pumpkin Harvest cuttlebug folder, paper piercing tool, foam adhesive dots (for popping up the sentiment panel)

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #26

Hello and welcome to the 26th Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal! Before I get into this week's challenge, I want to remind you about the HSE Halloween Blog Hop - if you have not yet checked out the Sweeties' blogs to comment for a chance to win blog candy and to collect the "hidden" promo code letters, check out my post here.

Now, onto today's business! This is the first CIC we've had since fall officially started, and I think the cupcakes this week are perfect for fall - just look at those gorgeous colors! The colors are what I drew my inspiration from today.

I used one of the Anyas (stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink) from the Rain Snow Shine set by The Greeting Farm. This set is no longer available, but check out the new Dressy Anya set - so cute, and so much fun to color! I can't wait to buy that one myself! I used my Copics to color Anya in and to give her some cute striped knee socks! The umbrella is paper pieced using the Bestitched paper from Imaginisce.

The punch along the side is the Scallop Dot Edger punch from Martha Stewart. I coated Anya's buttons with Stardust Stickles and then the whole main image panel is popped up with foam adhesive dots.

I stamped the background with PTI's Polka Dot Basics to match the polka dotted umbrella and added a Zva Creative pearl swirl flourish along the bottom left corner. To finish off the card, I punched an oval out of the card front, and then stamped "My Friend" from the Greeting Farm set Sentiments on a white panel layered on the inside of the card.

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 next Saturday night will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Ok, now it's time to go and visit the other Sweeties!

Bonnie
Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Rain Snow Shine and Sentiments sets by The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, PTI Ripe Avocado, Copic markers
Paper: Bestitched paper from Imaginisce, PTI's Ripe Avocado, Melon Berry, and white
Other: Scallop Dot Edger punch from Martha Stewart, Stardust Stickles, adhesive dots, Zva Creative pearl swirl flourish

HSE Halloween Blog Hop

Welcome to the Hope Stamps Eternal Halloween Blog Hop! There is a TON of fabulous Halloween stuff available in the HSE store, and the HSE Sweeties wanted to showcase these goodies for you today, giving you plenty of time to plan your own Halloween cards and gifts!

Now, if you didn't arrive here through Tammy's blog, go back to the beginning and start on Rachel's post so you don't miss out on a thing! As you travel through the blogs, be sure to comment on each one by Sunday at 11pm EST, because one of us is the Secret Sweet Stop. One of the commenters on the Secret Sweet Stop blog will be randomly selected to win some amazing blog candy (shown on Rachel's post), but you don't know which one of us has it!

And, as you travel through the blogs, take note of a special letter highLighted in each blog post. Put those letters together in order and you'll get a Promo Code for 25% off EVERYTHING in the store from now through this Sunday, September 27! This includes all new and clearance items (though does not include pre-orders). Once you have put together the Promo Code, just enter it at checkout (use ALL CAPS when you enter it) to automatically receive the 25% discount.

Ok, now on to my cards! The first one uses lots of fun stuff from the HSE store! The main image is from the Inkadinkado mini clear set called Witches Brew and is heat embossed to really make her pop. The sentiment is from another Inka mini clear set called Scary Words. I first stamped it in Plum Pudding ink and then stamped it using Memento Tuxedo Black ink to create a shadowed look. I then traced over it with a black Spica glitter pen for some sparkle. The scalloped mat for the main image is punched out of the back of the Imaginisce Bestitched paper and all of the other fabulous patterned papers featured are from the Basic Grey Eerie pad. On each of the scallops is a small black stone from the Zva Creative Mixed Rhinestones Wheel and along the side and top of the card you'll see larger black stones from the Zva Creative Jet Crystal Lines. The last thing I want to mention about this one is that the main image panel is popped up with foam adhesive dots.

Now for the second card, I started with a 4.25" square base and really wanted to showcase some of the same Basic Grey Eerie paper that I used above. I then added a little topper using Happy Halloween, yet another fabulous Inka mini clear set. This sentiment fit perfectly inside the pink Marvy circle punch, and then I matted it onto a larger black scalloped circle. On each of the scallops here, I adhered a yellowish teardrop shaped gemstone, also from the Zva Creative Mixed Rhinestones Wheel. Sorry for the glare on the embellishment toward the bottom - that's an orange button with a big clear Zva Creative Crystal Dot.

I hope you like what you've seen! To continue on your Blog Hop journey, please visit Carolina at her Creative Pad!

Supplies
Card 1
Stamps: Witches Brew, Scary Words
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, PTI Plum Pudding
Paper: Imaginisce Bestitched, Basic Grey Eerie, PTI Plum Pudding
Other: Zva Creative Mixed Rhinestones Wheel, Zva Creative Jet Crystal Lines, adhesive dots, Marvy mega oval and giga scalloped oval punches

Card 2
Stamps: Happy Halloween
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Basic Grey Eerie, PTI Ripe Avocado and Lavendar Moon
Other: Zva Creative Mixed Rhinestones Wheel, Zva Creative Crystal Dot, PTI Orange Zest button, Marvy mega circle and giga scalloped circle punches

Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #25

Welcome to Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #25 from Hope Stamps Eternal! These cupcakes are perfect for this week, as it's really starting to feel like fall. And to me, nothing says "fall is coming!" like the start of football season. So Quarterback Ian from The Greeting Farm is the star of my card today!

Ian is colored with Copics and I added some Diamond Glaze to make his helmet nice and shiny. It's too early in the season for it to be scuffed and dirty yet! The orange paper is the Imaginisce paper Bestitched from the Spooky Town line and I used the star cluster from the Inkadinkado set Angels to add a little interest. The sentiment is from The Greeting Farm set called Sentiments. To finish off the card, I add some Stitchin Button Brads from Imaginisce. The brown ones I used are sold out, but there are some adorable white and pink ones still available!

I wanted to mention the tons of NEW stuff just in at Hope Stamps Eternal. Lots of stuff from Basic Grey, Bella Blvd, Cosmo Cricket, Cuttlebug Embossing Folders...the list goes on! And one more thing...be sure to check back on Thursday for a very special Hope Stamps Eternal Blog Hop!

If you want to play along with this week's challenge, add a direct link to your creation to the Mr. Linky widget on Rachel's post. The top 5 cards entered by next Saturday night will be featured in next Sunday's collage.

Now go and check out what the rest of the Sweeties have done with today's cupcake!

Carolina
Colleen
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Sentiments and Quarterback Ian from The Greeting Farm, Angels from Inkadinkado
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers, Really Rust and Close to Cocoa from SU
Paper: Bestitched from Imaginisce, PTI white and Summer Sunrise, SU Close to Cocoa
Other: Diamond Glaze, Stitchin Button Brads from Imaginisce

Ahoy Matey! It's CIC #24!

Arrrr! It be Talk Like a Pirate Day on Saturday, September 19, so this week's Cupcake Inspiration Challenge from Hope Stamps Eternal is a nod to the celebration!

I just love these fun cupcakes with pirate motiffs, and I thought this image from the Matey set by The Greeting Farm would be the perfect image for my card. Incidentally, this set is ON SALE, so I advise you to add it to your collection right now!

I colored in my image with Copic markers, then embellished the hat with Stardust Stickles and added black gemstones from the Zva Creative Crystal Wheel to the eyes on the skull belt. The image is popped up with Zva Creative Adhesive Dots.

The papers are both from the Imaginisce Polar Expressions line. The striped paper is pre-glittered, and then I used the Herringbone Cuttlebug folder on the green paper. The really cool thing is that with the white core of the paper, it gets a sort of aged/sanded look along where the embossed lines are. I love it!

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

Now before you go off to create, be sure to check out the rest of the HSE Sweeties for more fantastic inspiration! Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!

Bonnie
Carolina
Kelli
Michelle
Natalie
Tammy

Supplies
Stamps: Matey from The Greeting Farm
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI white, Pure Poppy, Imaginisce Polar Expressions
Other: Stardust Stickles, Crystal Wheel, Adhesive Dots, Herringbone Cuttlebug folder

Not Just for Picnic Baskets

My card today, another from Texas, uses the PTI set Vintage Picnic, but rather than using the flower image with any of the baskets included in the set, I decided to think outside the box a little. I really love how this turned out, I just wish I had stamped the flowers a little lower, because there's too much white space and it's a little off balance. But I didn't realize it until I'd finished the card and it had taken me way too long to try and redo it!

It may not look like much, but the reason it took me so long is that I stamped and colored the image again on a scrap and cut out all of those little flowers. I popped them up with the smallest of the Zva Creative adhesive dots. Take a look at the small picture for a close up of the popped up flowers.

The ribbon is PTI white twill colored with a Copic marker. I swear, that's the best trick ever! With the PTI Copic color matches, I'll never need to buy colored twill again! To finish off the card, I stamped one of the sentiments from the With Sympathy set.

Supplies
Stamps: PTI's Vintage Picnic and With Sympathy
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Paper: PTI white
Other: PTI white twill, Zva Creative adhesive dots