ELVIS WESLEY MOOSE W/SNOWMAN BY POLKADOODLES --DIGI CHOOSDAY WEEK 30 -- JULY 26, 2022

 Hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!  Today I have a card for you for Week 30 at Digi Choosday, where Team B is celebrating Christmas in July:

I used this super cute Elvis Wesley Moose w/ Snowman (pre-colored) image and this pretty green plaid paper from the Elvis Wesley Moose themed papers to make this simple card.  Both the image and the patterned paper are matted with an olive green cardstock from my huge stash of Recollections cardstock, but the greens didn't quite match the patterned paper as I had hoped.  So, I pulled out my Forest Moss oxide ink and a foam blending tool to darken the edges of the 5.25" square mat layer, and the Spellbinders Lacey Square die cut mat layer.  That created the perfect match!  For the sentiment, I grabbed the Honey Bee Stamps Bitty Buzzwords:  Holidays stamp set and found that "merry" and "wishes" would fit perfectly in the lower right corner of the image panel.  I used the same Forest Moss oxide ink and my MISTI for the stamping.  I think this card turned out super sweet!

--CHALLENGES--

Creative Moments #236:  Cute (3/3)

Love to Craft #69:  ATG (6/8)

Mix it Up #60:  ATG (6/8)

Classic Design #7:  ATG

The Paper Funday #43:  ATG (5/6)

A Place to Start #7:  ATG (5/8)

Word Art Wednesday #553 - #554:  ATG (1/5)

Aud Sentiments #295:  ATG (5/5)

The Cutie Pie Challenge #273:  Little Cuties (3/3)

613 Avenue Create #7:  ATG (6/8)

The Creative Crafters #54:  ATG (3/3)

Happy Little Stampers:  ATG w/dies

LeAnn's World 101 #52:  ATG 

CD Sunday Plus #90:  ATG (1/3)

Dream Valley Challenges #274:  Christmas (1/3)

QKR Stampede #448:  ATG (3/3)

Creatalicious #239:  ATG w/optional Christmas theme (3/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #7:  ATG (4/4)

Through the Craft Room Door:  ATG (1/4)

Creative Fingers #236:  ATG (1/3)

Penny's Paper Crafty #526:  ATG (1/3)

Cute as a Button #82:  ATG (3/3)

We Love Stamping:  ATG w/stamping (3/3)

My Time to Craft Christmas #39:  Cutesy Christmas (1/3)

Christmas with The Cuties #62:  Not Just "Rockin Robin" (use a critter)

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #90:  ATG Christmas (3/10)

Merry Little Christmas #45:  ATG Christmas (3/8)

Christmas Craft Creations:  Patterned Paper

Fab 'n' Funky #556:  ATG

The Holly and Ivy Challenge #120:  ATG (1/3)

My Time to Craft #486:  Christmas in July

Alphabet Challenge:  H for Holidays

Addicted to Stamps and More #434:  Any Occasion

Peace on Earth Christmas #20:  ATG Christmas

As You Like It:  Fur, Feathers, or Scales (Fur for me!  I don't care for things with scales, and birds are fine to watch, but I wouldn't want one for a pet)

Build Your Stash Holiday Cardmakers Linky Hop:  ATG Christmas

Unicorn Challenge #78:  Christmas in July

SheepSki Designs #64:  Christmas in July

Well, thanks for stopping by today!  Please head on over to the Digi Choosday challenge, where it is always Anything Goes.  While you're there, please visit the DT blogs and leave them some comment love, as we really do appreciate your kind words.  Until next time,

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

~ Marie

LIL PATCH OF CRAFTY FRIENDS #186 -- SPONSORED BY THE PAPER SHELTER -- JULY 17, 2022

Hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!  I apologize for the lateness of today's post...I thought I had it done, only to realize I didn't finish it.  But here it is now, today is the start of a new Anything Goes challenge at Lil Patch of Crafty Friends, and we are being sponsored by:

**Sponsor**

The Paper Shelter

Prize: 3 Images

SHOP

BLOG

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

PINTEREST

We received the pretty Ellie image to work with, and here is my card:

I love that The Paper Shelter gives you a paper, and a colored version of the image included with the black and white image.  They make it so easy to create a pretty card when you may be short on time or lacking some mojo.  I have to admit, it does kinda feel like cheating for me to use these things. 😞 I used the Silhouette Design Studio program to size the elements, then printed and cut them out, and assembled my A2 sized card.  I used olive green cardstock as a matting layer behind the patterned paper, and I also used it for die cutting the sentiment, which comes from the Hello Hobby die set from Walmart.  I cut it 5 times and stacked them up for dimension.  To add some pizzazz to this simple card, I used the clear Wink of Stella brush pen to add shimmer to the sentiment and the mat layer, as well as to the spots on the mushroom, to the butterfly, and to Ellie's wings.  This picture may show that shimmer more:

I adhered the green mat layer and the patterned paper down flat, while popping the image up with foam tape. 

--CHALLENGES--

Crafting Happiness:  ATG

Creative Moments #236:  Cute (2/3)

Love to Craft #69:  ATG (5/8)

Mix it Up #60:  ATG (5/8)

Classic Design #7:  ATG

A Perfect Time to Craft #7:  ATG

Mirtillamente #11:  ATG

The Paper Funday #43:  ATG (4/6)

A Place to Start #7:  ATG (4/8)

The Corrosive Challenge #7:  ATG (4/4)

Word Art Wednesday #551 - #552:  ATG (3/5)

Aud Sentiments #295:  ATG (4/5)

The Crafting Challenge:  A Taste of Summer (2/3)

The Cutie Pie Challenge #173:  Little Cuties (2/3)

Craft Rocket #94:  Summertime

613 Avenue Create #7:  ATG (5/8)

The Creative Crafters #54:  ATG (2/3)

Happy Little Stampers:  ATG w/dies

LeAnn's World 101 #52:  ATG

CD Sunday Plus #89:  ATG (3/3)

Dream Valley #273:  All Occasions (3/3)

QKR Stampede #448:  ATG (2/3)

Creatalicious #239:  ATG (2/3)

Crafty Catz #604:  ATG (2/3)

That's all from me today!  Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to head on over to the Lil Patch of Crafty Friends blog to enter the challenge, and to leave the DT some comment love while you're there!  We love seeing what you create! Until next time,

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

~ Marie 

DIGI DOODLE STUDIOS JULY NEW RELEASE -- SUMMERTIME -- JULY 15, 2022

Hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!  Today's card is for the July New Release at Digi Doodle Studios, and boy, is it a cute one...the release, I mean!

Everyone, meet Toby!  I love this image so much...when I first saw it, I immediately thought he looked just like my friend Kim's grandson, Ezra.  So of course, I had to color him up to look like him, as best I could.  I had lots of fun coloring Toby, and I focused a lot of my attention to detail on his hair and skin tone.  He was colored with alcohol markers, with some added detail from a white gel pen.  I also had lots of fun making the little scene he's in.  The clouds were inked using my homemade stencil made from the Lawn Fawn Puffy Cloud dies, Tumbled Glass oxide ink, and a blending brush.  The waves were created by ink blending Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, and Mermaid Lagoon oxides onto a scrap piece of 110lb. Accent Opaque white cardstock, spraying them with water to get the spotty, oxidized look, and then splattering with the white watercolor from the Kuretake Starry Colors set.  Then I die cut them with the Lawn Fawn Stitched Wave Borders.  I am in love with how they turned out!

The stitched square that the scene was created on and the scalloped layer underneath it were designed in the Silhouette Designer Edition software and cut with my Cameo.  I purchased a whole bunch of stitched cut files when Silhouette was having a sale, thinking I would get the same look as dies...NOPE!  The stitches are either too small or cut weird, so I guess I'll have to slowly build up a collection of "necessary" stitched dies. 😖 The patterned paper on the card base is called Blue Bubbles and comes from the Shades of Summer 8x8 paper pack.  

--CHALLENGES--

Crafting Happiness:  ATG 

Creative Moments #236:  Cute (1/3)

Love to Craft #69:  ATG (4/8)

Mix it Up #60:  ATG (4/8)

Classic Design #7:  ATG

A Perfect Time to Craft:  ATG

Mirtillamente #11:  ATG

The Paper Funday #43:  ATG (3/6)

A Place to Start #7:  ATG (3/8)

Let's Craft and Create #185:  ATG + fun in the sun option (3/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #7:  ATG (3/4)

Your Scrapbook Place:  ATG (3/3)

Word Art Wednesday #551 - #552:  ATG (3/5)

Aud Sentiments #295:  ATG (3/5)

Through the Craft Room Door:  ATG (3/4)

Creative Fingers #235:  ATG (3/3)

Penny's Paper Crafty #525:  ATG (2/3)

Cute as a Button #82:  ATG (2/3)

Morgan's ArtWorld #7:  ATG (3/3)

Happy Little Stampers:  ATG w/dies

The Crafting Challenge:  A Taste of Summer

We Love Stamping: ATG w/stamping (2/3)

The Cutie Pie Challenge #173:  Little Cuties (1/3)

Besties International:  ATG (3/3)

Moving Along with the Times:  Inky Background

Craft Rocket #94:  Summertime

613 Avenue Create #7:  ATG (4/8)

The Creative Crafters #54:  ATG

LeAnn's World 101 #52:  ATG 

CD Sunday Plus #89:  ATG (2/3)

Dream Valley #273:  All Occasions (2/3)

QKR Stampede #448:  ATG (1/3)

Creatalicious #239:  ATG (1/3)

Colour Crazy #28:  ATG w/coloring

Crafty Catz #604:  ATG (1/3)

Well, that's all from me today!  Don't forget to enter the current challenge over at the DDS challenge blog, where we wanna see 3 or more layers on your cards!  Thanks so much for stopping by, and until next time,

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

~ Marie

ABC CHRISTMAS -- N FOR NEW, O FOR OLD -- JULY 13, 2022

Hello friends and welcome back to my blog!  It's time for a new challenge at ABC Christmas, and this month, Lynda is our hostess.  She is offering up 2 cutie patootie prizes to the lucky random winner...I wish I could win them! 😆

For this month's challenge, we are working with the letters N for New, and O for Old.  My card counts for both this month:

N is for the Newborn King, and O is for the old, recycled Christmas card I used for the image.  That second part *may* be a bit of a stretch, but I think it counts! 😉 I had die cut the image a few years ago using the largest die in the small set of Spellbinders classic ovals and placed it on a mat that was cut from a piece of Bazzill Tropical cardstock using the corresponding Big Scalloped oval die, also from Spellbinders.  I had inked the edges of this scalloped layer, but I don't recall what I used for that.  When I came across this image while planning out this card, I thought it would be perfect for the letters N and O.  I dug out this pretty dark teal that I thought would complement the colors of the image, cut it down to leave a thin white border, and then embossed it with the Baby's Breath embossing folder by Cuttlebug.  I did go over both sides of the cardstock with a baby wipe first, just as Jennifer McGuire does.  The folder isn't a 3D one, but I thought it couldn't hurt to keep the cardstock from cracking.  My brand-new Uncharted Mariner ink pads were also sitting on my desk, so I did a test run to see if that would match well to ink around the edges of the teal panel.  I was pleasantly surprised when it DID match well, so I used a foam ink blending tool to apply the regular Distress ink. around the edges of the embossed panel, leaving a highlight in the center.  I attached the image panel with thin foam tape, leaving enough room below for a sentiment.  The Merry Christmas is from Tim Holtz/Sizzix, and I cut it 3 times from scrap white cardstock and once from the same Bazzill Tropical cardstock and layered them up for some more dimension.  And with that, the card was done!

--CHALLENGES--

Christmas with The Cuties #61:  Have Yourself a Merry LITTLE Christmas (cards for children) (2/3)

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #90:  ATG Christmas (2/10)

Merry Little Christmas #45:  ATG Christmas (2/8)

Crafting Happiness #125:  ATG

Love to Craft #69:  ATG (3/8)

Mix it Up #60:  ATG (3/8)

613 Avenue Create #7:  ATG (3/8)

Crafts Galore Encore #101:  ATG (3/3)

Classic Design #7:  ATG

A Perfect Time to Craft #7:  ATG

Mirtillamente #11:  ATG 

The Paper Funday #43:  ATG (2/6)

A Place to Start:  ATB (2/8)

Let's Craft and Create #185:  ATG (2/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #7:  ATG (2/4)

Your Scrapbook Place:  ATG (2/3)

Word Art Wednesday #551 - #552:  ATG (2/5)

Aud Senitments #295:  ATG (2/5)

Through the Craft Room Door:  ATG (2/4)

Creative Fingers #235:  ATG (2/3)

Penny's Paper Crafty #525:  ATG (1/3)

The Holly and Ivy #119:  ATG Christmas (2/3)

Double Trouble #115:  Christmas in July

As You Like It:  Favorite Warm or Cool Colors (it depends on the season and what the specific card is for, but I really love greens, blues, and purples!)

Can You Handle the Pressure:  ATG using embossing folders

Crafty Gals Corner:  Christmas in July (1/3)

Daisy Chain #65:  No Design Paper

Unicorn Challenge #78:  Christmas in July

Die Cut Divas:  Christmas in July

Crafty Friends #157:  Embossing, wet or dry

Thanks again for stopping by today!  Head on over to the ABC Christmas challenge blog to get your entries in for the N for New and O for Old challenge.  We can't wait to see what you create, and don't forget to leave the DT some comment love while you're there!  Until next time...

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

~ Marie 

SUNSHINE DELIGHT BUSY BY POLKADOODLES -- JULY 12, 2022

Hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!  Today starts a new ANYTHING GOES challenge at Digi Choosday , and for my DT creation, I have used Winnie Sunshine Delight Busy.  The DT theme for this challenge is SHOPPING, and I thought this image was just perfect to fit the theme.

I used another old Papertake Weekly sketch, #102, as the basis of my card design. I used 2 more papers from the Pretty Spring Papers collection that I thought worked well together.  To echo the polka dots on the patterned paper, I used a Sizzix embossing folder with large dots for the white panel.  I used the largest of the Spellbinders Label dies for the rectangular panel behind the image and inked it with Speckled Egg oxide ink.  For the row of "shops" on this panel, I used a cut file from my Silhouette library called Christmas House Border, which was cut from white cardstock and colored with a black alcohol marker.  I wanted it to be noticeable, but not too much.  The sweet image was sized using the Silhouette Designer Studio program and cut with my Cameo.  The sentiment comes from the Lets Hang Out sentiment bundle.  I layered the sentiment panel onto a slightly larger mat that was inked with the same Speckled Egg oxide ink.  All the elements were adhered flat using Bearly Art Glue, except for the image, which was popped up on thin foam tape.

--CHALLENGES--

Crafting Happiness:  ATG

Love to Craft #69:  ATG (2/8)

Mix it Up #60:  ATG (2/8)

Besties International:  ATG (2/3)

613 Avenue Create #7:  ATG (2/8)

Crafts Galore Encore #101:  ATG (2/3)

Classic Design #7:  ATG

A Perfect Time to Craft #7:  ATG

Mirtillamente #11:  ATG

Morgan's ArtWorld #7:  ATG (2/3)

Colour Crazy #27:  ATG with hand coloring (1/2)

Crafty Catz #603:  ATG (1/3)

The Paper Funday #43:  ATG (1/6)

A Place to Start:  ATG (1/8)

Let's Craft and Create #185:  ATG (1/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #7:  ATG (1/4)

Happy Little Stampers:  ATG w/ dies

LeAnn's World 101 #52:  ATG 

We Love Stamping:  ATG (1/3)

Your Scrapbook Place:  ATG (1/3)

Word Art Wednesday #551 - #552:  ATG (1/5)

Aud Sentiments #295:  ATG (1/5)

Through the Craft Room Door:  ATG (1/4)

Creative Fingers #235:  ATG (1/3)

CD Sunday Plus #89:  ATG (1/3)

QKR Stampede #447:  ATG (1/3)

Creatalicious #238:  ATG (1/3)

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Head on over to the Digi Choosday challenge to join in, and don't forget to leave the rest of the DT some comment love!  Until next time,

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

~ Marie

DIGI DOODLE STUDIOS DT SHARE -- 3 OR MORE LAYERS (FEATURING DDS PAPERS) -- JULY 1, 2022

Hello friends, and welcome back!  It's the first of the month (July already!), and that means it's time for a new challenge at the Digi Doodle Studios challenge blog!  This month, we want to see 3 or more layers on your projects.  OF COURSE, I made a Christmas card...it IS July after all!

 

I used the super sweet Sparkle Glitter & Joy image, and a couple of papers from the 8x8 Blizzard and Bliss paper pack.  I opted for a mini slimline card as I felt it best showed off the papers and image (and I had the card base sitting on my desk, ready to go!)  In Silhouette Studio, I used the eye dropper tool to pull the teal color from the plaid paper to make the scalloped layer, and I used scraps from that printed section to add small slivers to each side of the Snowy Pinkberry paper.  The image is popped up on thin foam tape.  I used alcohol markers to color the image to match and added lots of sparkle with Star Dust Stickles on the snowmen, and clear Wink of Stella on the letters.  You can see that better in these pics:

--CHALLENGES--

My Time to Craft Christmas #37: Christmas Music, Caroling, Hymn, or Song (1/3) 

Christmas with The Cuties #61:  Have Yourself a Merry LITTLE Christmas (cards for children) (1/3)

12 Months of Christmas #90:  ATG Christmas (1/10)

Merry Little Christmas #45:  ATG Christmas (1/8)

Crafting Happiness:  ATG

Love to Craft #69:  ATG (1/8)

Mix it Up #60:  ATG (1/8)

Besties International:  ATG (1/3)

613 Avenue Create #7:  ATG (1/8)

Crafts Galore Encore #101:  ATG (1/3)

Classic Design #7:  ATG

Die Cut Divas:  Christmas in July (1/4)

 A Perfect Time to Craft #7:  ATG

The Creative Crafters #53:  ATG (3/3)

SheepSki Designs #64:  Christmas in July (1/3)

Mirtillamente #11:  ATG

Paper Dragonfly #7:  Christmas in July (1/5)

Morgan's ArtWorld #7:  ATG (1/3)

Cute as a Button #82:  ATG (1/3)

Simon Says Wednesday:  ATG

Colour Crazy #26:  ATG with hand coloring

Crafty Catz #602:  ATG 

The Holly and Ivy #119:  ATG Christmas (1/3)

That's it from me today!  Click on over to the Digi Doodle Studios challenge blog to participate in this month's challenge.  We can't wait to see what you will create!  Oh, and don't forget to stop by the DT blogs to leave us some comment love!  Until next time,

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

~ Marie