Saturday, December 31, 2016

CHNC Extra January 2017 DT Inspiration Post

Can you believe it?  It's 2017 already!  I know I am having a hard time believing it...another year behind us, and hopefully many, many more to go!  Well, back to the reason I'm here...to share my DT make for Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra blog:
 
 
Of course, this has an adorable Bugaboo image on it; Chibi Reindeer, to be specific.  This cutie has been sitting on the desk, all colored up and waiting patiently for his turn to be added to a card.  He was very quiet for most of the wait, I have to give him that!  I need a starting point for my card, so I went searching through my favorite blogs for a sketch and found this one from Freshly Made Sketches:
I loved the simplicity of this one.  I decided to widen the gap between the upper and lower panels to add my sentiment, and popped both panels up on fun foam.  Chibi is also popped up using fun foam.  Baby blue Stickles was added to all the snow, and ColorBox Robin's Egg ink was used to stamp the Hero Arts sentiment.
 
Please be sure to check out my teamies' creations for our month-long challenge, and join us as often as you like...who knows, you could be the random winner of 4 great digis at the end of the month :)
 
 
 
Challenges:
 
12 Months of Christmas Link Up #25:  ATG or optional "Out with the old, in with the New" theme 
Christmas Card Challenges #3:  ATG or optional color challenge
CHNC #314:  ATG Christmas
Cutie Pie Challenge #106:  A Day in the Snow
CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper
The Outlawz Sunday CAS:  Add some sparkle
LTCCB #6:  ATG
 
 
 Thanks for joining me this evening.  I wish you all the best for 2017, and God Bless!
 
~Marie~
 
 

Saturday, December 17, 2016

This post is a little bit late,

...But as the saying goes:  Better late than never, right?  I hope so anyway!  At any rate, I am here now to share with you my DT inspiration for the December CCAYR mid-month post:
 
 
I had a total of 4 of these heat embossed sentiment panels sitting on my desk for some time, waiting for a good time to put them to use.  I figured now was as a good a time as any, when I needed more Christmas cards I could send in the mail, AND something for the Christmas Cards All Year Round "Anything Christmas/Holiday" theme for December.  Went pretty CAS with these, using the same layout and process for them all.  I heat embossed all the colored layers using the same powder as the sentiment, then glued all the layers together with Tombow and put them under a stamping block to dry flat.  I only had the time to complete the green and silver ones before the deadline, but later on, I completed the red and gold ones as well.
 
Challenges:
 
12 Months of Christmas Link Up #24:  ATG or optional Welcome to the North Pole theme
Christmas at Sweet Stampin':  Inspired by a song or singing image (I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas)
Crafty Calendar:  Christmas Time
The Outlawz Festive Friday:  Go Caroling Day
613 Avenue Create #192:  ATG or optional Holiday Happiness twist
Come and Get It:  Christmas
LTCCB #5:  ATG
 
Thanks for stopping by today!  May God bless you this Christmas season, and all throughout the coming year!
 
~Marie~
 

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Another month has come and gone...

And here we are in DECEMBER!!!!  I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, this year has just FLOWN by!  As always, with the start of a new month comes a whole new bunch of inspiration from the design team at Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra!  Here is my contribution for December:
 
 
Our main sponsor is Bugaboo, and so we use those images for the first-of-the-month project.  I've had this little Stocking Mouse for awhile, and it was time to put him on a card!  He's colored with Prismacolor markers, and the tack holding the stocking is colored with a silver gel pen.  I used an old Papertake Weekly sketch for my card design.
 
Challenges:
 
12 Months of Christmas Link Up #24:  ATG or optional "North Pole" theme
CHNC #309:  Use a sentiment
Holly Jolly #86:  Create a Christmas card or ABC (anything but a card)
Sweet Stampin':  Got The Blues
HIMCR #277:  Any Holiday
ABC Challenge:  "U" is for Unconventional (Christmas colors, no red and green)
 
Thanks for stopping by again today!  Take care and God Bless!
 
~Marie~
 
 

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Nativity shaker card

Greetings and salutations, bloggers!  I hope all my fellow Americans have sufficiently recovered from their turkey comas by now...LOL!  It's Wednesday night here in PA, and it's chilly and rainy.  We have been in need of the rain, but I wish I had the power to send it to Tennessee instead.  :(  So much loss is hard to imagine...
 
Getting back on track, here is the shaker card mentioned in my title:
 
 
I love the end result of this card, but man was it trying to put together!!  There are 8 or 9 layers of the Nativity cut from black card stock glued together, with a layer of acetate in between the last black layer and the gold layer.  The card base was sponged with distress inks (Mustard Seed, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, and Black Soot).  All this was not the frustrating part.  When this card idea entered my head, all I thought about was making this a shaker.  What I realized as I dumped the shaker bits onto the card base and prepared to place my Nativity on top, was that I was going to have to separate the bits in order for it to work.  Well, lemme tell ya, that was no small feat!  I can't tell you HOW MANY TIMES I arranged the bits and laid the Nativity on top to make sure nothing would be caught underneath!  It's a wonder I have any hair left, LOL!  BUT, it all worked out in the end.  This card is going to a 10-year-old girl at my church who I think will enjoy it.  :)
 
Challenges:
 
CHNC #309:  Use a sentiment
Holly Jolly #86:  Create a Christmas card or ABC (anything but a card)
Die Cuttin Divas #294:  Make it Sparkle
 
Thanks for stopping by today...I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!  God Bless!
 
~Marie~
 
 
 

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Happy Christmas deer

Hidey ho, bloggers!  Happy Sunday!  I just installed a Christmas countdown app on my phone, and it is so cute!  It showcases an adorable snowman picture, counts down (seconds, minutes, hours, days), and plays Christmas music!  EEEEEEE!  On that note, allow me to share my latest Christmas card with you:
 
 
The current sketch from Paper Play Sketches was perfect to showcase this adorable reindeer tag:
 The designer paper from the 6x6 Winter Whimsy pad from love Nicole is perfect for providing a sentiment without adding another element to the sketch.  I do want to use this sketch again and use a sentiment as the focal point, like some of the Paper Play Sketches DT members did.  Gorgeous samples!
 
Other Challenges:
 
12 Months of Christmas Link Up #23:  ATG or optional "BINGO"
ABC Christmas:  "W" for wishes
CHNC #308:   ATG or optional "CUTE" theme
Holly Jolly #85:  Ribbon or lace
Card Mania #86:  Tag, You're It!
Simon Says Wednesday:  Christmas Critters
Cute Card Thursday #452:  Christmas/Holidays
 
Thanks for joining me today.  I hope you all have some time to "get your craft on!"
 
God Bless!
 
~Marie~
 
 

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

NO WAY! Three days of posts in a row?!

What is going on?  I can't believe I'm actually here posting again...miracles do still happen!  LOL!  Well, here we go...
 
 
This card is made with lots of new goodies!  All the designer papers come from a love Nicole 6x6 pad called Seasons Greetings I got last weekend at A.C. Moore.  That adorable penguin is from a pack of tags purchased at our local K-Mart that is closing. I also got a pack of cutie reindeers I can't wait to get into!  Oh, and the sentiment is cut from that piece of designer paper on the bottom-most layer.  AND, the red strings around the upper panel came from the tags.  :)
 
Challenges:
 
 
12 Months of Christmas Link Up #23:  ATG or optional "BINGO"
A Snowflake's Promise #33:  ATG or optional theme, "SEASONS"
Christmas Card Challenges #48:  ATG or optional word prompt, "GLITTER"
Card Mania #86:  Tag You're It!
Simon Says Wednesday:  Christmas Critters
Sweet Stampers #1:  Christmas
 
Thanks for stopping by again today!  Have a blessed rest of the week!
 
~Marie~
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Oooooo, Lookie! Posting 2 nights in a row!

Hello!  I am back again to share with you my mid-way DT card for Christmas Cards All Year Round:

 
November's theme is for Santa and/or Elf.  This gorgeous stamp comes from the Inkadinkado Holiday Filigree set, as does the sentiment.  The Santa image and the red mat behind it are Silhouette cut files.  The holly die is from Darice.  My designer paper comes from the 12x12 Winter Wonderland pad from K & Company.  LOVE. THIS. PAD.  That glittery diagonal stripe running down the middle is ribbon.
 
Challenges:
 
12 Months of Christmas Link Up #23:  ATG or optional "BINGO"
Sparkles Christmas:  Holly and/or Ivy
Christmas at Sweet Stampin':  ATG Christmas
Winter Wonderland:  Ribbon or lace, OR Christmas flowers
Holly Jolly Christmas #85:  Ribbons and Lace
Christmas Card Challenges #48:  ATG or word prompt- "GLITTER"
Snowflake's Promise #33:  ATG or optional "SEASONS"
Sweet Stampers #1:  Christmas
Penny Black:  Anything Christmas
 
Thanks for spending some time here tonight!  God Bless!
 
~Marie~

Monday, November 14, 2016

Stay COOL!

My blog title certainly doesn't indicate the weather we've been having here in Pennsylvania...temps in the 60's, in need of rain...the weather people say this is the 4th warmest fall in PA history...or something like that.  I was only half listening while I was doing dishes...lol!  Anyway, onto my Christmas card:
 
 
This little guy was part of my recent Lawn Fawn haul...love him!  The Stitched Hillside Borders and sentiment (Snow Cool set) are also from Lawn Fawn.  The silver pond he's skating on is from some packaging my smart hubby offered to me before throwing it away...got him trained right!  I "drew" it in my Cameo software, and it cut (mostly) like a dream.  Just needed a few slices with a craft knife to get it out...I shoulda set it up to cut twice!  Sponged the sky with Tumbled Glass, and added the cut file clouds.  Done!
 
Challenges:
 
12 Months of Christmas Link Up #23:  ATG or optional BINGO
Christmas at Sweet Stampin':  ATG Christmas
Christmas Card Challenges #48:  ATG or optional word prompt GLITTER
CHNC #307:  Color...coral...or Hazel will give some leeway with anything orange, red, pink
The Cutie Pie Challenge #105:  Cute and no designer paper
Penny Black:  Anything Christmas
Crazy 4 Challenges #362:  Stitches and/or thread
Cute Card Thursday #451:  Something metallic
Outlawz Paper a la Mode:  Frost or snow
Sweet Stampers #1:  Christmas
 
Thanks for stopping by today!  God bless!
 
~Marie~
 
 
 

Monday, October 31, 2016

Oh no...it's NOVEMBER!!!

And that means a couple things...this year is going by WAY TOO FAST, and we are only 54 days away from Christmas 2016!  Oh, and one more thing...it's time for another great challenge over at Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra!  Here is my design team card:

 
As you all know, for our first-of-the-month submissions we are required to use a Bugaboo image.  This one is from Jodi's newest release, and is called BUGSNOWMAN004.  I have to admit, I fell in *love* with this guy as soon as I saw him.  I HAD to have him; he is just perfect!!  *SQUEEEE!!*
 
This past weekend, we went to Michael's to see if any Christmas paper was out yet...it took me awhile to find it, but find it I did!  I love how Recollections has a bunch of 8.5 x 11 cardstock packs to choose from.  Lemme tell you, the choice was difficult, but in the end I chose the Winter Frost pack.  (I may have to go back and get a few more--he he!)  It has the most gorgeous light blue snowflake patterned cardstock in it that I must hoard stock up on.  I used some of that here.  I distressed the edges with Tumbled Glass ink.  The cardstock panel running through the middle was embossed with a snowflake ef by the Paper Studio, and also inked with Tumbled Glass.  Hard to see though, since I made my image panel larger than I had intended to.  I colored this guy up with a combo of Sharpies, Copics, and Prismacolor markers.  Added some Crystal Stickles to the snow and snowflakes, and the image panel was done.
 
I followed the sketch over at Paper Play Sketches:
I thought this adorable guy would do well as center stage in this sketch.
 
Other Challenges:
 
ABC Christmas : "V" for Vertical
CHNC #305:  ATG Christmas
Jingle Belles:  Animals
Winter Wonderland:  Frosty or All Wrapped Up
 
Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Don't forget to stop by my CHNC Extra design teamies' blogs to give them some lovin' for their creations, and I hope to see YOUR creations on the blog!
 
God Bless!
 
~Marie~
 
 

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Is it really the middle of October already?

Well here I am, behind the 8-ball for getting my card done for the CCAYR mid-month inspiration challenge reminder...all this bedroom renovation is cutting into my crafting time!  BUT, everything is done now, except for a few minor details...Leandra can move right in!
 
Ok, back to my CCAYR DT card:
 
 
Deanne asked for orange this month, a little or a lot.  I went with a little, as I really couldn't picture a Christmas card with a lot of orange on it.  I recently got some Lawn Fawn goodies to add to my stash, and this adorable Winter Bunny was one of them!  I figured his scarf blowing in the wind was the perfect way to add some orange.  I sponged the sky background using a scalloped oval as a mask, and added a couple of Silhouette cut file clouds that I added a dashed line into to match the Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Border dies I used for the snowy hills.  The fun sentiment is stamped using a ombre ink pad from Recollections (in orange!), and is actually 2 sentiments .  The "snow" comes from Lawn Fawn's "Snow Cool" stamp set, and "much fun" comes from Winter Activities from The Paper Company.  I added some Frosted Lace Stickles to the snowy hills, and that's it!
 
Challenges:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thanks for stopping by, and God Bless!
 
 
 
~Marie~
 

ABC CHRISTMAS -- E IS FOR EMBOSSING, F IS FOR FAUX, G IS FOR GINGERBREAD

 Hello crafty friends!  I'm dropping by really quickly to share what I created for this month's ABC Christmas challenge , which is ...