DIGI DOODLE STUDIOS CARD SHARE -- JANUARY 21, 2022

Hello crafty friends! Welcome back to my little section of blog land. While I have a bit of free time, I wanted to share this card that I made for Digi Doodle Studios using the adorable Party Birds image.

Aren't they sweet?  To create this card, I chose papers from a 12x12 paper pad from DCWV called Confetti., which was a HOT BUY from Michaels.  Here is a similar one.  I colored the birds using alcohol markers to match the strip of confetti paper on the left.  The party hats and the balloon were all colored with Sakura gel pens while the party favor, and dots/stars surrounding the birds were all colored with Pentel metallic gel pens in gold and silver.  I had used Silhouette Design Studio to size the image to fit nicely on a 5.5" x5.5" square card base.  I also used the design program to create the scalloped circle layer behind the birds, and the sentiment.  So that everything would match, the scalloped circle was colored around the edge with an alcohol marker.  I think this card turned out super cute!  Of course, all the shiny and metallic markers do not show up well in pictures. 😀

--CHALLENGES--

Crafting Happiness #119:  ATG

Creative Moments #230:   ATG (3/3) 

Crafty Calendar #1:  ATG (3/3)

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Love to Craft #66:  ATG (3/8)

Mix it Up #57:  ATG (4/8)

Besties International:  ATG (3/3)

Moving Along With The Times:  Lady/Girl (3/5)

Color It, Create It, Show It Off:  ATG (2/3)

613 Avenue Create #1:  ATG (3/8)

Crafty Animals #57:  ATG using animals

Classic Design:  ATG 

Critter Crazy:  ATG featuring critters

The Paper Funday #37:  ATG (3/4)

Unicorn Challenge #72:  Layer it Up

A Place to Start #1:  ATG (3/8)

A Perfect Time to Craft #1:  ATG

The Creative Crafters #48:  ATG (3/3)

Let's Craft and Create #179:  ATG (2/3)

SheepSki Designs #58:  Square (1/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #1:  ATG (3/4)

LeAnn's World 101 #46:  ATG

Fab 'n' Funky #543:  2 or more patterned papers

Word Art Wednesday #527 - #528:  ATG (1/5)

Aud Sentiments #290:  ATG + sentiment (3/5)

Through the Craft Room Door:  ATG (1/2)

Addicted to Stamps and More #421:  Make Your Mark

C.R.A.F.T #624:  ATG (1/2)

The Paper Shelter #495:  New Beginnings (1/3)

Polkadoodles #4:  ATG (1/2)

Digi Choosday #3:  ATG (1/2)

Penny's Paper Crafty #513:  ATG (1/3)

Colour Crazy #3:  ATG with coloring (1/2)

Crafty Catz #579:  ATG (1/3)

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Birthday

The Outlawz Twisted Thursday:  ATG, optional twist: Feminine

As You Like It:  Favorite Coloring Medium and why (alcohol markers are my coloring medium of choice because I have the most experience with them!)

Well, that's all for me today friends!  Thanks again for stopping by...oh, and don't forget to join us at the Digi Doodle Studios challenge blog for this month's challenge BE HAPPY and/or YOUR FAVORITE THING.  There's still time left to play along!  Until next time,

💗 Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless! 💗

~ Marie

LIL PATCH OF CRAFTY FRIENDS, SPONSORED BY THE PAPER SHELTER --JANUARY 16, 2022

Hello, and welcome back to my blog!  Today I am sharing with you my card for Lil Patch of Crafty Friends, where the theme is always ANYTHING GOES, and our sponsor is The Paper Shelter.

**Exclusive Sponsor**

The Paper Shelter

Prize:  3 Images

Where you can find The Paper Shelter:

SHOP

BLOG

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

PINTEREST

We were given the adorable Little Butterfly digital stamp to work with and here is my card:

I had it in mind that I wanted to use this lovely paper from the Summer Blooms kit from Trinity Stamps, so I adjusted the colors of the pre-colored image just a bit to match the paper better.  I created a frame using the 2 largest dies from the Scalloped Labels One set from Spellbinders and cut it several times from scraps of Accent Opaque 110lb cardstock and once from white glitter cardstock.  Oh, and of course once form acetate!  I used sequins from 3 different mixes in my shaker:  Clear Iris mix and Petal Peach mix from Honey Bee Stamps, and the Clearly in Love mix from Sparkle Blends. I thought that the colors matched the colored stripes really well.  The love die is from Honey Bee Stamps Bitty Buzzwords Honey Cuts set and is cut a few times from cardstock scraps and another paper from the Trinity kit.  Here's a couple more pics:

--CHALLENGES--

Crafting Happiness #119:  ATG 

Creative Moments #230:  ATG (2/3)

Crafty Calendar #1:  ATG (2/3)

Love to Craft #66:  ATG (2/8)

Mix it Up #57:  ATG (3/8)

Craft Rocket #88:  Use Dies

Moving Along With The Times #138:  Lady/girl

Besties International:  ATG (2/3)

613 Avenue Create #1:  ATG (2/8)

Crafts Galore Encore #95:  ATG (3/3)

Classic Design #1:  ATG

The Paper Funday #37:  ATG (2/4)

A Place to Start #1:  ATG (2/8)

A Perfect Time to Craft #1:  ATG

The Creative Crafters#48:  ATG (2/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #1:  ATG (2/4) 

Gem of a Challenge #2:  ATG (2/2)

Word Art Wednesday #525 - #526:  ATG (2/5)

Aud Sentiments #290:  ATG + a sentiment (2/5)

Through the Craft Room Door:  ATG (2/2)

Creative Fingers #222:  ATG (2/3)

Polkadoodles #3:  ATG (2/2)

Digi Choosday #2:  ATG (2/2)

Penny's Paper Crafty #512:  ATG (2/3)

Crafty Catz #578:  ATG

The Outlawz Monday Greetings:  For the Girls

The Outlawz Twisted Thursday:  ATG

Ok, that's it from me today!  Don't forget to join us for the challenge at Lil Patch of Crafty Friends for your chance at some fabulous images from The Paper Shelter!  Also, check out the rest of the DT blogs, and leave us all some comment love!  Until next time,

💗 Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless! 💗

~ Marie

THE SQUIRREL SQUAD'S GOT A BRAND-NEW NAME...BUT ARE WE PLAYING THE SAME GAME?

Hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!  Today is the day where my Squirrely friends and I get together and have some fun, but we decided to shake it up a *tiny* bit by changing our name to...

SQUIRRELZ STASH BASH!

Anna also provided us with a new logo, which is just too stinkin' CUTE! 😀 We're still keeping the premise of our monthly hop, which is to use those supplies that we have "squirreled away," and to try out a new technique.  This year, we have added in using sketches also.  I think this year is gonna be a fun one!

So for this first hop of 2022, we are focusing on a sketch right off the bat, and it comes from Paper Play Sketches.  The challenge is currently inactive, but they don't mind that the sketches still get used.  We all chose a favorite sketch, and then they were entered into a random pick tool, which resulted in this one being the winner:

This wasn't my choice, but I made do. 😉 Here is my card:

I took this sketch at face value, mostly because I was very limited on time!  I did emboss resist on the 3 little panels using Gina K's Holiday Tapestry stamp set, and some of her inks, which I had never used before.  The ones I used (in rainbow order) are:  Tangerine Twist, Wild Dandelion, Lucky Clover, Turquoise Sea, Wild Lilac, and Passionate Pink.  Boy, do I like her inks!  I may have to see if I can get my hands on more of them!  Shhh, don't tell my hubby!  I used blending brushes to apply the ink to the panels, and then wiped any extra ink off the embossed images with a paper towel.  Occasionally, I had to add a bit of moisture to really get it off, but not too much, as I didn't want the ink to react.  In true Gina K style, I adhered the panels on a black strip so the colors would really POP.   I added foam tape to the panels to add dimension.  The die cut "hello" comes from Honey Bee Stamps Bitty Buzzwords Honey Cuts, and the "sweet friend" comes from the coordinating Bitty Buzzwords stamp set.  I love these so much!  There are SO MANY ways to use them!  I die cut the hello 5 times from black cardstock and layered them together for dimension and used VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink to stamp the sentiment.  The 3 rainbowy gems in the top right corner are unknown.  As a final touch, I grabbed my clear Wink of Stella pen and added several layers to the hello, and to the visible parts of the black strip.  Here are a couple more pics:

SQUIRRELED AWAY SUPPLIES USED:

Gina K stamp set -- I've had this for a little while now, and have been DYING to use it
unknown gems

Hmm, I guess I didn't do *too* well on using the ole stash, but there's always next month! 😁

You know the drill...if you've been hopping along, then you came from the wonderful Lounon, and your next stop is the fabulous V.  Don't forget to leave us some precious comment love!

--CHALLENGES--

Crafty Calendar Jan '22:  ATG (1/3)

Love to Craft #66:  ATG (2/8)

Mix it Up #57:  ATG (2/8)

Besties International: ATG (1/3)

Moving Along with the Times:  Lady/Girl (1/5)

Craft Rocket #88:  Use dies

613 Avenue Create:  ATG (1/8)

Crafts Galore Encore #95:  ATG (2/3)

Classic Design #1:  ATG

The Paper Funday #37:  ATG (1/4)

A Place to Start #1:  ATG (1/8)

A Perfect Time to Craft #1:  ATG

The Creative Crafters #48:  ATG (1/3)

Let's Craft and Create #179:  ATG (1/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #1:  ATG (1/4)

Stamping Sensations #1:  ATG w/stamping and optional Add a die

Fab 'n' Funky:  Keep it Simple

Gem of a Challenge #2: ATG (1/2) 

Word Art Wednesday #525 - #526:  ATG (1/5)

Aud Sentiments #290:  ATG + a sentiment (1/5)

Through the Craft Room Door:  ATG

Creative Fingers #222:  ATG (1/3)

Creative Moments #230:  ATG (1/3)

Polkadoodles #3:  ATG (1/2)

Digi Choosday #2:  ATG (1/2)

Penny's Paper Crafty #512:  ATG (1/3)

Crafting Happiness #119:  ATG

Crafty Catz #578:  ATG 

The Outlawz Monday Greetings:  For the Girls

The Outlawz Twisted Thursday:  ATG

That's all for today, friends!  Thanks for stopping by, and until next time...

 💗Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless! 💗

~ Marie

I GET TO SHARE SOME EXCITING NEWS!

Hello friends, and welcome back to my blog! My exciting news that I get to share with you today is that I am now a DT member at Digi Doodle Studios!  I am super excited about this new opportunity...I get to work alongside some of the most AMAZING designers, AND I will be creating with the SUPER CUTE images by Dina!  This month's blog challenge is BE HAPPY and/or FAVORITE THINGS, and the DT twist is to ADD A HEART.  Today is my first post as an actual DT member, and here is my project:

I chose to use Antoni Coffee Gnomie because he is just the CUTEST fella with that coffee mug in his hands, and because coffee makes me happy, specifically iced coffee from Dunkin!  I actually think he is enjoying some hot chocolate...I guess that's what he was in the mood for today!  I used my Silhouette Designer Edition software to size my image the way I wanted him to look for my card, then I cut him out with my Cameo. He is colored with mostly alcohol markers, but I colored his beard using Arteza colored pencils in smoke gray and cloudy gray.  That was my first time using those pencils, and I really enjoyed them.  

For the background, I ink blended Ground Espresso oxide ink through the FABULOUS Coffee Beans stencil from A Colorful Life Designs.  I started with a 5.5 x 5.5" piece of cardstock and used my Taylored Expressions brown blender brush to blend darkest in the center and lighter as I worked toward the edges.  When I got the look I wanted, I removed the stencil and blended over the whole panel with the remaining ink on the brush to get rid of the stark white between the beans.  Once that was dry, I added water to some Walnut Stain distress ink and splattered away!  The coffee bean panel was cut down using the largest Spellbinders card creator die from set B and adhered to some kraft cardstock that is adhered directly to my 4.25 x 5.5" card base, all with Bearly Art glue.  Antoni was adhered with foam squares.  

The sentiment dies come from the Bitty Buzzwords die set from Honeybee Stamps, and they were cut 3 times each and layered for dimension.  For a final sparkly touch to my card, I added Mint Ice Stickles to certain areas of the image, and also to the bottom of the die cut heart (Hug in a Mug die set from Honeybee Stamps), and to the bottom of the words.  Also, his little pompoms have white gel pen details added to make them look fluffy.  Here are a couple more pics:

--CHALLENGES--

Love to Craft #66:  ATG (1/8)

Mix It Up #57:   ATG (1/8)

Classic Design 2022 #1:  ATG

The Paper Funday #36:  ATG (2/4)

Color It, Create It, Show it Off:  ATG (1/3)

Crafts Galore Encore #95:  ATG

A Perfect Time to Craft 2022 #1:  ATG

The Creative Crafters #47:  ATG (1/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #12:  ATG (1/4)

Gem of a Challenge 2022 #1:  ATG (1/2)

Crafting Happiness #119:  ATG

Passion for Markers #621:  ATG Mega challenge (1/3)

Polkadoodles 2022 #1:  ATG (1/2)

Digi Choosday:  ATG (1/2)

Word Art Wednesday #523 - #524:  ATG

Penny's Paper Crafty #511:  ATG 

The Outlawz Monday Greetings:  ATG with a greeting on the outside

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  ATG

Thanks so much for dropping by today!  Don't forget to join us over on the challenge blog and share your BE HAPPY and/or FAVORITE THINGS creations!  Happy New Year to us all, and I hope it will be a blessed one.  Until next time,

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless! 💖

~ Marie