Friday, September 23, 2022

SQUIRRELZ STASH BASH -- SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

Hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!  Today, The Squirrel Squad is back for our monthly(ish) hop where we bust out those old forgotten supplies that we just HAD to have and give them the love they deserve...or at least some of it.  This month we are using our mascot, the SQUIRREL with the addition of RAINBOW.


This card makes absolutely no sense, right?  Two squirrels, sitting on a rainbow made from different colors than the norm, gift giving an acorn, in the middle of the sky.  How did they even get up there?  Well, that is the magic of card making, where you can take your supplies and make what you want!  Speaking of supplies, let me share what mine were for this card:

Cloud Stencil - Recollections
Ink - Speckled Egg oxide, blended with a blending brush
Black ink - Versa Fine Nocturne
Squirrels/ acorn - Festive Tails die set by Lisa Jones & Sizzix
Rainbow - Happy Swish die by MFT
Sentiment - Thermo Web & Gina K Gnome for the Holidays card kit
Colored Cardstock - Recollections
Card Base - Accent Opaque

So, the unloved supply this time were the die sets.  I'm pretty sure I got the Sizzix dies at Hobby Lobby on clearance after Christmas last year, while the MFT die is more recent.  Hmmm, I guess you could include the stamp into the unloved category as well, as I don't think I ever used it until now.  It does seem to be a perfect fit for what I created though. 😊



Ok friends, here is the full hop list for you:

Marie (Hey, you're already here!)
Boryana - skipping this month

I hope that you will take a short break from your busy day to hop along and see what the rest of the Squirrel Squad has created with our somewhat unusual prompts this month.  I am sure they knocked it out of the park, as they always do!  I know I can't wait to see!  Until next time,

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

~ Marie


Tuesday, September 20, 2022

CAT NAPS - HONEYPIE BY POLKADOODLES -- DIGI CHOOSDAY WEEK 38 -- SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

Hello friends and welcome back to my blog! 😊 I hope you are all doing well on this third Tuesday in September.  Things here are trucking right along as usual.  It being a Tuesday means that it's time for another new challenge at Digi Choosday!  The DT theme for this challenge is FRIENDSHIP, and here is my card:


Now I ask you, what better way to spend a day than with a sweet kitty (or your favorite pet) friend on your lap and a nice beverage, and probably a good book, or binging your favorite crafty YouTube channels?  I know it sounds like a fab day to me!  I used the super sweet Cat Naps - Honeypie from the Honeypie Just Lovely collection, and I created a shaker card!  I am SOOOOOO in the mood for Fall, so I used fall colors.  I started by choosing papers from the 12x12 Fall Orchard paper pad from Recollections that I think I bought last year.  I wanted my mug shaker element to be pretty large, so I opted to use a 5.5" square kraft card base.  The mug shape is a Silhouette cut file that I modified a bit to make it into a shaker.  I cut it 8 times from Accent Opaque 80lb card stock so there would be lots of room for the shaker bits to move.   The top layer was inked with Fired Brick oxide ink, which I thought matched pretty closely to the red on the plaid paper.  My shaker bits consist of different pieces from some Sparkle Blends that I have in my stash:  Eggnog with Nutmeg, Hot Cocoa, and Frosted Gingerbread, plus some miscellaneous sequins also.  I colored the Honeypie image to match using Copic markers, and a gold gel pen to make her little mug special.  I added glue and foam tape behind the image, as she is adhered onto the shaker and needed added support in some places.  To finish it off, I added some Cafe Au Lait half back pearls from Twiddler's Nook.

--CHALLENGES--

Creative Moments #238:  Autumn Colors
Moving Along with the Times #146:  Trees and/or leaves (there are leaves on the black patterned paper)
613 Avenue Create #9:  ATG w/optional twist - leaves (5/8)
Crafty Animals #65:  ATG w/animals
Stamping Sensations:  Feminine (2/3)
Colorful Options:  Beautiful Brown
Four Seasons:  ATG Fall
My Time to Craft #491:  Pick 3 Autumn Colors (red, kraft, black)
CD Sunday Plus:  ATG (2/3)
Dream Valley #278:  Autumn Colors
QKR Stampede #452:  ATG (2/3)




Well, that's all for today, friends!  Thanks for stopping by today, and don't forget to head on over to the Digi Choosday blog to enter into the challenge.  We love to see what you create!  Until next time,

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

~ Marie

Sunday, September 18, 2022

LIL PATCH OF CRAFTY FRIENDS #190 -- SPONSORED BY ALL DRESSED UP -- SEPTEMBER 18, 2022

 Hello friends, welcome back to my blog!  It's the 3rd Sunday of the month, which means a brand new Anything Goes challenge over at the Lil Patch of Crafty Friends blog.  This challenge is being sponsored by:

**SPONSOR**

All Dressed Up 


Prize 2 Images

All Dressed Up Shop

Challenge Blog

Facebook

Instagram

I was lucky enough to choose an image to use for this challenge, and I chose the absolutely ADORABLE Sledging Pup image for my card:


I have been eyeing this cute fella up for a while now, and I am so happy to finally have him in my collection!  I think his sweater is just too sweet, and he looks like he is having the most fun!  I wonder if he got on the sled and is going down the hill all by himself, or did he have some help? 😊 To assemble my card, I first dug through my 6x6 paper pads looking for inspiration when I found this gorgeous snowflake paper that comes from the Craft Smith Ice Crystals paper pad.  I got it at Michael's a few years ago, so it probably isn't still available, but if you happen to have this one, here's how you could use it!  The snowy hill is made from a piece of Recollections ink jet printable glitter paper die cut with a die from the Stitched Hillside Borders from Lawn Fawn.  I'm so glad I got that paper pad (actually I got 2!) a few years ago, as it makes the perfect snow, and it's a nice weight.
Now, the sweet image was colored with Copics, and I added some shimmer and shine using a red gel pen for the little berries on his sweater, a clear pen over the hearts, and a silver one on the runners of the sled.  The sentiment is also from Lawn Fawn and is part of the Winter Big Scripty Words stamp and die sets.  I stamped the sentiment with Fired Brick oxide ink using my MISTI.  The pup is adhered with foam tape and everything else is adhered down flat.  And that's it!

--CHALLENGES--

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #92:  ATG w/optional twist - Fur, Fluff, Feather or fins (4/10)
Pearly Sparkles #77:  Traci's Recipe - Pink, Pearls and/or Sparkle (I have sparkle)
Happy Little Stampers:  ATG Christmas
Sweet Stampers #72:  Add a Sentiment (2/5)
Aud Sentiments #297:  Christmas + Sentiment (2/5)
Crafty Animals #65:  ATG w/ animals
Critter Crazy #66:  ATG w/ a featured critter
SheepSki Designs #66:  Feature a Creature
QKR Stampede #452:  ATG (1/3)
The Outlawz Festive Friday:  Christmas (1/3)

Thanks for stopping by today.  Head on over to the Lil Patch of Crafty Friends blog to enter the Anything Goes challenge.  It runs for 2 weeks, so there is plenty of time for you to join in!  We sure do love to see what you create!  Until next time...

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

~ Marie



Wednesday, September 14, 2022

ABC CHRISTMAS -- S FOR SNOW, T FOR TREES -- SEPTEMBER 14, 2022

 Hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!  I hope you are doing well on this fine September Wednesday.  Speaking of Wednesday, it's the second Wednesday of the month, which means it's time for another challenge at the ABC Christmas blog.  For this month's challenge we are on the letters S for SNOW and T for TREES.  I only had time to create one card this month, and here it is:


Obviously, I chose S for snow, because who could resist these adorable snow people??  I recently acquired this Penny Black rubber stamp as well as the die, and I couldn't be more in love with it!  I have had the original(?) Snowy stamp for some time now, and when I found out that there was a die to cut him out, I hopped on Amazon to find it.  In doing so, I came upon the Snowy Family stamp, so I knew it was fated to come home to live here too.

I decided to step out of my comfort zone a bit with this one by doing some paper piecing of the hats and scarves.  It really wasn't TOO bad to do, and boy was I impressed with myself when it was all done! 😆 For the paper piecing, I used red, pink, and green papers from the Knit Picky Winter 6x6 paper pad from Lawn Fawn.  I colored in the rest of the hats with matching Copic markers.  I also used a C1 marker to add some shading to the paper pieced areas.  The snowmen were colored with a B0000 marker and the colorless blender to soften the edges.

To add some contrast behind the snow family, I blended Tumbled Glass oxide ink onto the card base with a blending brush.  I then added some texture by sprinkling water on top and blotting it off.  The snowy ground beneath them was a leftover piece I had from a previous card that was die cut with the Stitched Hillside Borders, also from Lawn Fawn.  I adhered it flat to the card base after I stamped the warm winter wishes sentiment from Lawn Fawn's Winter Scripty Sentiments set in Versa Fine Clair Nocturne ink using my MISTI.  The snow family is popped up on foam tape.

To add even more interest to this card, I used a #8 white Gelly Roll pen on the all the pom poms, doing dots on the smaller ones, and small lines on the big one for something different.  I really like how that came out!  The smaller pom poms also have clear glitter gel pen dots mixed in with the white dots.  I also added more details to the brims of the smaller hats...the red one has streaks of clear glitter gel pen going from left to right, and the pink one has stripes of white and clear glitter going up and down.  To finish the card off, I added Star Dust Stickles to the snowy ground and on the snow people in strategic places.  And that's it!




--CHALLENGES--

Sparkles Christmas:  Clean and Simple
CAS Christmas:  Sparkle and/or Shine
Crafty Calendar:  ATG (3/3)
Daisy Chain #67:  Clean and Simple
Pearly Sparkles:  Traci's Recipe - Pink, Pearls and/or Sparkle (I have pink and sparkle on this card)
Happy Little Stampers:  ATG Christmas
Sweet Stampers:  Add a Sentiment (1/5)
We Love Stamping:  ATG w/Stamping (3/3)
Ally's Angels #62:  ATG (2/3)
Aud Sentiments #297:  Christmas + sentiment (1/5)

I thank you so much for stopping by today!  We're getting closer to the holidays every day now, so if you need to bump up your Christmas card stash, head on over to the ABC Christmas challenge and join in!  We love to see what you create. 😊 Until next time,

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

~ Marie


Friday, September 9, 2022

DIGI DOODLE STUDIOS NEW RELEASE -- BUMBLE BECCA HALLOWEEN -- SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

 Hey there friends!  It's time for me to share my card for the LAST New Release from Digi Doodle Studios. That's right, this is the final new release from Digi Doodle Studios, as the shop is closing at the end of October.  Dina will still have her physical stamp company, Ink n' Splatter, and I do believe that some of the images left on the DSS site will be reborn as actual stamps.  The DT members are all saddened by this news, but we totally understand Dina's reasons for doing so.  I know that I will for sure miss being on this awesome team!


So, my card features the super cute Bumble BeccaIsn't she adorable sitting on that huge pumpkin with her equally huge lollipop?  Man, I don't know if I could even eat that size of lollipop!  I paired this cute image with 2 papers from the Bumble Buzz 6x6 paper pack and colored her with alcohol markers to match.  I *tried* to make her hair look curly...not sure if I succeeded or not, but hey I gave it a shot!  I die cut my image with a Spellbinders circle die and popped it up with thin foam tape.  The adorable die cut bees are from 2 different Momenta sets and I adhered the larger ones to the image circle with glue and added a thicker foam tape underneath their heads.  The little guys are glued down flat.  I used my Wink of Stella clear glitter pen to add LOTS of shimmer onto the wings, the lollipop, her "antennae," and to all the bees.  My card measures 5.5" square.


--CHALLENGES--

Crafty Calendar:  ATG (2/3)

613 Avenue Create #9:  ATG (2/8)

Classic Design #9:  ATG

The Paper Funday #45:  ATG (1/6)

A Place to Start #9:  ATG (2/8)

A Perfect Time to Craft #9:  ATG 

The Corrosive Challenge #9:  ATG (2/4)

Pearly Sparkles #77:  Traci's recipe (pink, pearls, sparkle) lots of sparkle on this card!

Stamping Sensations: Feminine (1/3)

Happy Little Stampers:  ATG w/dies

Mirtillamente #13:  ATG 

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

Fourseasons: ATG FALL

Ellibelle's Corner:  ATG (1/3)

Ally's Angels #62:  ATG (1/3)

Word Art Wednesday #559 - #560:  ATG (4/5)

Creative Fingers #238:  ATG (1/3)

CD Sunday Plus #93:  ATG (2/3)

Colour Crazy #36:  ATG w/coloring (1/2)

The Outlawz Twisted Thursday:  ATG (1/3)

The Outlawz September Linky:  ATG

Well, that's all for today! Make sure you head on over to the DDS challenge blog where we want to see lots of Metal/Sparkle!  AND don't forget to make your way to the store to grab up some cute images -- there is a 25% off retirement sale going on until Sunday, so don't miss out!  Until next time, my friends...

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

~ Marie


Tuesday, September 6, 2022

TOO CUTE CHRISTMAS FISHES BUNDLE - HOLIDAY BY POLKADOODLES -- SEPTEMBER 6, 2022

 Hello and welcome back to my blog!  It's Tuesday, which means the start of a new challenge at Digi Choosday!  The DT theme this week is MAGICAL/FANTASY, and I chose to make a card using the mermaid from the Too Cute Christmas Fishes Colour Bundle:

I endeavored to make a fantastical scene for this pretty pre-colored mermaid, so I found a digital paper that reminded me of the ocean for my background.  Then I die cut two Stitched Hillside Borders from Lawn Fawn from white scraps and blended Antique Linen oxide ink all over both pieces with a blending brush.  Then I came in with Brushed Corduroy around the edges.  I smooshed each ink onto a stamp block and added water, then splattered both hills with a small paint brush.  I felt I needed more contrast, so I brought in Ground Espresso also.  While they dried for a bit, I adhered the blue patterned paper to the card base with glue, leaving a nice white border.  The back hill was also adhered down flat to the patterned paper, while the front hill was popped up on foam tape.  All of the colored pieces of sea vegetation come from the Silhouette Store.  All of those were glued down flat except for the green one on the left, where I added foam tape behind the top part of it to keep it even.  The mermaid and her attached bits of scenery were attached with foam tape also.  The sentiment comes from the MFT Mermazing stamp set and was stamped with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink using my MISTI.

--CHALLENGES--

Crafty Calendar:  ATG (1/3)
Die Cut Divas:  ATG (3/4)
A Place to Start #9:  ATG w/optional twist - Fantasy
We Love Stamping:  ATG (1/3)
My Time to Craft #489:  Fantasy/Whimsical (2/3)
QKR Stampede #451:  ATG (3/3)
Crafting Happiness #131:  Add a Sentiment 
Allsorts #692:  ATG (1/3)
Krafty Chicks #627:  Week 1 Stamp Act

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Make sure you head on over to the Digi Choosday blog to enter the ATG challenge for your chance to win some great Polkadoodles images.  I look forward to seeing what you create and share with us!  Until next time, my friends...

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

~ Marie

Thursday, September 1, 2022

I'VE JOINED ANOTHER DESIGN TEAM!

 Hello friends!  It's September 1st (already!), and I have some news to share!  I am now a DT member for the Merry Little Christmas Challenge!  Honestly, this is right up my alley, as my blog description states:  I love to make Christmas cards, and I have the stash of supplies to prove it!  I appreciate any opportunity I can get to make more cards for my Christmas card stash.  Speaking of that stash, here is the one I made for this challenge to add to it:


I did some rearranging in my craft room recently, where I rediscovered the Gina K Gnome for the Holidays Kit that she did in collaboration with Therm-O-Web a few years ago.  I just love these little guys and all the different products that were made to coordinate with them.  When the Festive Fall Bundle came around later on, I grabbed it also.  I couldn't resist those tiny little coffee cup dies, and the fact that the gnomes now had hands to hold things!
So, for my card, I die cut all the pieces needed to assemble 2 gnomes from scraps of cardstock.  The bodies, hats, and shoes were cut from colored cardstock.  I used the coordinating stencil to ink blend some detail to the hats using the ink left on my green and blue blending brushes.  The hands and noses were cut from white and colored with an E11 Copic marker.  I die cut the beards from some heavyweight white felt I had bought a few years ago for another project.  I think this adds some fun texture to my card!  The coffee cups were also cut from white cardstock scraps and given a bit of shading with C3 and C1 Copics.  The lids were cut from black cardstock.
The card base is a mini slimline that I covered with a paper from Lawn Fawn's Spring Fling 6x6 paper pad to act as the sky.  Next, I die cut some white cardstock with the Stitched Hillside Borders also from Lawn Fawn.  The hill in the back is glued down flat, while I added foam tape to the hill in the front. Star Dust Stickles was added to the tops of both hills.  The trees are from the Gnome for the Holidays kit; the 2 in the back are glued down flat, and foam tape was added to the top of the frontmost tree, for just the slightest bit of dimension.  I covered all 3 trees in Star Dust Stickles.  I wish it showed better in my photo, instead of looking more like a clear glitter! 😞 I haven't added a sentiment yet, but it will most likely be "cheers."  
Assembly of the gnomes took place on the card front, starting at the bottom and working my way up from there.  A combination of glue and foam tape was used in this process, depending on where the different pieces would lay on the card.  And that's it!

--CHALLENGES--

CCAYR:  Christmas/Winter Hot Drink
Christmas Craft Creations:  Winter Activities (they're walking in the snowy woods with some hot beverages)
Thanks for stopping by today!  Many thanks to Leslie for giving me this opportunity to be on her MLCCB team!  I look forward to spending some fun times creating more Christmas cards, and hopefully digging into some of my stash that is sorely under-utilized!  Have a great day, and until next time,

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

~ Marie



DIGI DOODLE STUDIOS DT SHARE -- ADD METAL/SPARKLE --SEPTEMBER 1, 2022

Hey there friends!  Here we are on the 1st of September already.  That means it's time for a new challenge at Digi Doodle Studios!  This month we are adding Metal/Sparkle to our creations AND using this sketch, 


And here is my card:


I used DDS patterned paper (can't find on the site) and colored the adorable Snowman Surprise to match using alcohol markers. For my metal I added a panel of rose gold foil cardstock behind the image panel.  The sparkle comes from 3 sources:  Wink of Stella pen on the "tissue paper" in the image, clear sparkle gel pen on all the little circles on the image, and the 3 gems in the upper right corner that I colored with an alcohol marker to match.  I embossed the circle with a snowflake folder from The Paper Studio to echo the snowflake patterned paper.  Oh yes, and the MFT Fine Finish Edge die made another appearance on this card on the small strip going across the lower part of the card.

--CHALLENGES--

Christmas with The Cuties #63:  Frosty the Snowman
Die Cut Divas:  ATG (1/4)
Pearly Sparkles #77:  Traci's Recipe (Pink, Pearls, and/or Sparkle) my card has lots of sparkle!
The Holly and Ivy #122: ATG Christmas (1/3)
As You Like It:  Favorite Card Base Shape...I seem to be favoring a 5.5" square card lately.  It makes it easier for me to measure out sketch elements. :)
CD Sunday Plus #92:  ATG digital (3/3)
QKR Stampede #451:  ATG (1/3)


Well, that's all for today!  Head on over to the Digi Doodle Studios challenge blog to join in!  We always love to see what you create!  Until next time,

💗 Stay Healthy, Take Care, 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 ...