Pink Birthday Hugs

It's time again for a new 

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge!

This week our sponsor is

Craft Classes Online!

If you aren't familiar with CCO, read their sponsor blurb below:

"(CCO) brings multiple Creative Arts Instructors together on one site to provide students with the best choice in online craft workshops. Our instructors offer online workshops that are engaging, affordable, and time-saving. Students from across the globe can learn any number of techniques and creative projects from the comfort of their home and on their schedule. 

CCO has a brand new blog in 2015, Everyday Moodlings. Come join us for the theme of the week and be challenged to use all of your craft supplies during the coming year. We offer ideas, tips, tutorials, and crafty inspiration. We are excited to be sponsoring Cupcake Inspirations Challenge Blog. You can view our class list on our website at www.CraftClassesOnline.com. We continuously update our website with new workshops, so check back often. Become a subscriber to our newsletter and gain access to our FREE class, “Ink Essentials”! Come visit us on our Facebook page, too. "

Thank you for sponsoring us!

PRIZE:   One free seat to an online workshop valued at $25 or less. 

Good Luck!

This week our theme is

FLOWERS!

Stop by the Cupcake Inspirations blog and check out all my teammaters bloomin' projects!  Don't just get some extra inspiration, but snag a taste of spring while you're at it! 

Here's my card: 

This week we got to use stamps of our choice.  Before I stamped, I die cute the "hugs" sentiment, a die from Technique Tuesday.  Then, I used a flower stamp from Taylored Expressions and stamped it down one side of the white card panel using raspberry ink from Hampton Art.  Next I glued the double die cut sentiment, stamped the Birthday sentiment (Technique Tuesday too) in grey, rounded the corners and adhered the panel to a grey cardbase of which I also rounded the corners.  Lastly, I adorned with a few white irridescent sequins.  The inside "hugs" is actually the same pink color as the flowers.  The camera just picked it up more red. 

FOR FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:

Less Is More - 4th Birthday Celebration

 - Color Challenge - Pink/Grey

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes!

Sweet Cupcake Blessings!

Do All Things...

Happy Tuesday!  It's a very cold crisp one in North Carolina so I imagine it's even colder and crisper in much of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere at least.  

A perfect day (whether snowed in or not) 

to sip something warm 

and

get creative with the new challenge at 

{PIN}spirational Challenge #133

Our inspirational photo:

Our sponsor this is week none other than -

Bugaboo Stamps!

Thanks for sponsoring us!

Stop by the {PIN}spirational Challenge blog and check out the rest of the team's projects using various Bugaboo digis.

I chose Love Blocks for my card:

Stamps:  Love Block Digital Stamp (Bugaboo).

Paper: White card base (Bazzill). Red cardstock (Stash). Kraft cardstock (Recollections).

Ink: Tomato (Amuse Studio).

Extras: Postage dies (Simon Says); Lines emboss folder (Quickutz); twine; red heart gems.

FOR FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:

Love Block

Hi again!  Here with another card.  Hopefully over the next few days you will be seeing lots more of them for me.  I know, out of the norm, but I'm trying to get Valentines done for me, for the Hubs' coworkers and beyond!  Hopefully my mojo sticks along with me too!

This card was inspired by the challenge at The Card Concept and the fact that I had the perfect stencil from Heidi Swapp to use for it and I love me some ombre!  So I chose to do it CAS (Clean and Simple).

LOVE Blessings!

Flutter My Heart - Pink Elephant Challenge #284

It's a busy, busy morning here!

So many fabulous challenges I'm involved in and they're all so fun and unique and, well, challenging!

Check out this week's 

The PINK Elephant Challenge #284

This week is an Inspirational Challenge 

with a fabulous inspirational photo:

Wow -- look at all that inspiration 

ready to be 

soaked up and molded 

into something crafty!

Possibilities are endless!

Stop by Ella's blog and get some more inspiration from my fellow Design Team members.  

Lots of talent there!

Below is my card.  I decided to use one of Lori Boyd's images, Butterfly, so adorable!  That super sweet sentiment stamp from Jellibean Soup, just called out it's name so I had to pair them up! I bumped up part of the image by coloring two and popping up the top layer.  The wooden bow I found in a pack of wooden cuties at the $1 bin at Michaels.  I'm always looking for a deal and cute little embellies!  The design paper is MME, I used a stitched mat from Lil' Inkers and copics on my digi.

For Following Challenges

CAS(E)thisSketch #108

PINK Elephant Blessings!

Fun Sprinkles--The Challenge

Good morning again!  

Lots going on today here on my blog and in my house!

Next challenge up is

The Challenge!

Use the COLORS --- Use the SKETCH --- OR Use BOTH!

It's all super fun today!  Go to Lesley Croghan's blog 

for all the particulars and see what the rest of the design team has created.  Most of us used both the colors and sketch.  I have to say this week's challenge really stumped me for a bit.  I guess maybe it was all those wonderful colors and the endless possibilities for them!

I decided finally to use something new, the donut die and stamp set from Reverse Confetti.  So much fun and so adorable!  I have decided after finishing it I must invest in a small Xyron machine again.  I had one but somehow it broke and I just didn't get around to getting a new one, but it's on my list!  Would have come in handy with all those tiny little frosting sprinkles!  lol  I managed.  I pulled patterned paper from here and there and then used that fun old emboss folder with all the circles and a scallop punch to add some depth behind the sentiment panel.

Challenge Blessings!

Corny Love

Happy Groundhog Day!

Did he see his shadow?  Let's hope not!  Even though the south has had a mild winter so far, it would be nice to just bypass winter all together this year.

Either way, it's a good day to get your craft on --- it's the start of a new month and a new week!

 So first off, check out the challenge at 

2 Cute Ink:

Valentine Theme

Heidi created a super cute digi, popcorn and a salt shaker,  just for the holiday and all the team have created cards using it!  Stop by the 2 Cute Ink Challenge blog and see!  Then, ink up your own Valentine to share with us.  You don't have to use a 2 Cute Ink image, but Heidi loves it and we love it when you do!  They are just 2 cute!

I decided to go kind of soft on mine.  The orange looking frame behind the digi, is actually the same color as the peach polka dot paper banner.  I don't know why the camera picked it up darker.  Isn't that image just super adorable?  I colored my salt shaker with a gold gel pen for a metallic look.  Then added some glitter for the "salt".

FOR FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:

2 Cute Blessings!

A Trail of Glitter!

Happy Sunday 

& Happy Super Bowl!

I'm so excited!  I'm a huge New England Patriots fan so today is a wonderful day in the Salkeld abode (at least for me)!

It's New England Patriots VS Seattle Seahawks!

I had to share!  LOL

Here's one of our Riley showing his Patriot love in a Rob Gronkowski (GRONK) t-shirt!

I know some of my crafty blog friends are Seattle fans, so good luck!  They are actually my 2nd favorite team so, while the Patriots MUST win, I'll be ok with the Seahawks too.  (SSSh, though!  Can't jinx the PATS)!  LOL

And of course, it's always a sweet Sunday and today is no exception with another challenge starting at 

Cupcake Inspirations!

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #296

Our sponsor this week is

7 Kids College Fund

They are offering a prize to our randomly selected winner too!

Thank you for sponsoring us!

Here is the inspirational photo for this week:

Fabulous colors there!

Stop by the Cupcake blog and check out the rest of the design team's projects using this week's colors.  Then, link up your own project using them to share with us.  You might just be our winner!

Here is what I was inspired to create:

We were able to use whatever supplies we wanted this week so I decided I wanted to paint a little.  The sentiment is new from JelliBean Soup.  The heart banner is Penny Black and the heart border stamp is Reverse Confetti.  The tiny hearts on the banner are in a set of dies from Technique Tuesday.  As you can tell, I heat embossed the sentiment and the heart border with gold emboss powder.  Then, I painted in the hearts.  The "paint" is actually some Lagoon SEI chalk ink and some raspberry dye ink from Hampton Art.  I stamped the ink on my craft mat and added a dab of water and used a small paint brush to paint the hearts.  I used a foam brush to make the colored swipes.  The back panel is a piece of embossed design paper from a pack called "Festive Sparkle" from The Paper Studio, a Christmas paper pack.  I just love how the card came out.  I love those bright colors with the gold emboss powder. 

FOR FOLLOWING CHALLENGES:

I used the photo and the sketch from Fusion Card Challenge for my card.

Sweet Cupcake Blessings

& 

Go PATRIOTS!

The Love Jar

Happy Monday!

It's the last Monday in January and that means 

The PINK Elephant Challenge - #283!

and

our theme this week is 

ANYTHING GOES!

Yep, do anything you want and link it up to share with Ella and us!

Go check out the rest of Ella's Team projects and leave them some blog love!  Such wonderful talent in all those ladies!

I decided to do a 3D project -- a "Love Jar"

I remember long, long ago, in a land known as my childhood, making Valentine boxes out of shoe boxes at school to hold Valentines from classmates during Valentines parties.  I thought it would be fun to make the Hubs his own little Valentine jar of love notes.  Hopefully, I can make one tiny note a day everyday of February to fill it up. 

I've been wanting to make some 3D projects since I cleaned my craft room and I had forgotten I had some recycled items had cleaned and tucked away just for this purpose, in my Cropper Hopper no less!  LOL! Anyway, I used a peanut can for my jar.  I cut a slot in the plastic lid so I can slip the notes in easily.  Yeah, I could take the lid off but I was going for authenticity of yesteryear.  

I covered the can with 12x12 patterned paper, which actually was about a 1/2 inch too short.  So, I cut an extra strip to match up in the back.  Next time, I may try some wrapping paper since it's longer or even some extra wide wreath type ribbon.  The black hearts are a set of plain chalkboard chipboard hearts I got at Michaels.  I stamped them with various stamps using Versamark and white emboss powder. The envelopes and bird are all stamps fussy cut.  The circle on the XO heart, the xoxo and the red arrows are all dies.  I cut a small strip off one red arrow to place on the top of the T0/From heart to emulate the arrow going through the heart.

For Following Challenges:

That Craft Place Challenge - Love/Valentine

PINK Elephant Blessings!

Happy Day

Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #295

Happy Sunday!  The last Sunday in January too!  Sundays are my favorite day of the week.  It's almost as if it's a weekly holiday --- it has an air of reverence and peace to it unlike the rest of the week.  Probably I feel this way being raised in a preacher's home.  Sundays were somewhat busy, but also quiet and reflective.  At least as a child, no one went shopping (stores were all closed on Sundays back then).  My mom always cooked a big meal after church and then the rest of the day was devoted to quiet, partly because you didn't want to wake up the napping preacher(forget the wrath of God at that point)!  LOL 

However, even though now we don't attend church presently, Sunday still have that special feel to me.  So I guess it's no surprise I spend a good bit of Sundays in my craft room if possible and perusing challenges and crafty blogs online.  So it's fitting that a year ago I became a design team member on Cupcake Inspirations, which always starts a new challenge on Sunday!

So, grab your favorite beverage and check out this week's challenge over at Cupcake Inspirations Challenge blog and look at all the great projects my fellow teammates have designed for your inspiration!

Also, this week our sponsor is DRS Designs Rubber Stamps. 

They have sponsored our challenges a lot and I love their images!

So check them out too!

They are offering our randomly selected winner

a $10 gift certificate!

Thank you for sponsoring us!

This week we have a theme --

CHERRIES

We want to see your projects using CHERRIES!  

Is that not a fun and luscious inspirational photo?

The design team was given the image, Cherry Top Cupcake, to work with for the challenge.  It was perfect for it!

 For some reason, my photo didn't turn out so well. I've moved my craft room stuff around a bit and got a new light to use with my light box so I guess it will take some more experimenting.  I try to use natural light but Saturday was a dismal cloudy, rainy day and it didn't cooperate with my camera! (yeah, that's my excuse, hahaha)

I used the sketch at Mojo Monday for it.  I wanted to use both colors of my cherry patterned paper I've had for ages.  I believe it's Mary Engelbreit.  I so love her stuff, I wish she made more for the stamp world!

You can find my supply list at the end of this post.

For Following Challenges:

Heavenly White 100# Extended Archival Cardstock	Cherry Splash	Cherry Top Cupcake	Happy Die
Day Die	Copic Marker 72-Piece Sketch Set A	Stampin UP 2-Way Glue Pen	Recollections%u2122 Signature Chunky Glitter Set
ScraPerfect Best Glue Ever	Ranger Ink - Glossy Accents - Clear Dimensional Embellishment - 2 ounces

InLinkz.com

Sweet Cupcake Blessings!