CHRISTMAS WITH THE CUTIES -- SANTA HATS, AND CRAFTY SENTIMENTS!!

Hey all, how's it goin?  Things here are fairly OK.  My hubby and I did some straightening up around the house today in preparation for the Thanksgiving meal (we host).  He also worked on finishing getting the outside lights up and running.  My daughter is sick, so she has been quarantined in her room all day, resting and not touching things!  We stocked up on Clorox wipes and Lysol yesterday, as we are afraid that we will get sick and ruin Thanksgiving! 

 All that aside, I am here because I want to share with you the card I made for the current challenge at Christmas With The Cuties, where we are showing off our Santa hats!

This Crafty Sentiments image is called Let It Snow.  Granted this cutie's hat doesn't look much like a Santa hat, but this was the provided image that I wanted to work with.  I chose a paper from a Recollections 12x12 paper pad called Fa La La La, and colored my image to match.  The green cardstock layers are also from Recollections.  I decided to mix it up a bit this time, and use a Spellbinders scalloped square die to mat my circular image panel.  I mixed it up even more by rotating it into the diamond position.  I added some details to my alcohol coloring with a white gel pen, some White Blizzard Nuvo drops on the snow, and yellow Stickles on the star.  The sentiment comes from one of the Recollections Christmas sets I picked up at Michael's recently.

--CHALLENGES--

Christmas at Sweet Stampin':  Trees

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #59:  ATG

Merry Little Christmas #16:  ATG (3/5)

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Love to Craft #40:  ATG (3/5)

Color It, Create It, Show It Off:  ATG (3/5)

Classic Design Design Team:  ATG

Crafts Galore Encore #69:  ATG (3/3)

Daisy Chain #36:  Christmas/Winter

Gem of a Challenge Week #23:  ATG (1/2)

Crafty Creations #402:  ATG (2/2)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #118:  ATG (2/3)

Word Art Wednesday #414 -  #415:  ATG (2/5)

Cardz 4 Gals #110:  Get Ready for Christmas (2/3)

Crafty Friends #123:  Christmas (2/3)

Crafting By Designs:  ATG (2/3)

Cupcake Inspirations #483:  Snowmen

Double Trouble #43:  Bring on the Glitz, and Snowmen

Double D Challenges:  What's your Christmas Style?  mine is CUTE (1/3)

The Paper Shelter #407:  A Christmas Card (2/2)

Polkadoodles Week #47:  ATG (1/2)

Digi Choosday Week #47:  ATG (2/2)

CHNC #465:  Christmas

Cute Card Thursday #609:  Winter

The Outlawz Sunday Songs and Rhymes:  Frosty the Snowman
The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!  I wish all of my fellow Americans a Happy Thanksgiving this week.  May we all enjoy some special times with friends and family, and lots of good food too!

Take care, and God Bless!

~Marie~

IT'S THURSDAY...OLDIE BUT GOODIE DAY @BUGABOO!!

Howdy friends!  I'm back today to share my card for this week's Oldie But Goodie feature on the Catch the Bug blog.  Here it is:

This active fella is called Reindeer - Skate.  Isn't he just the sweetest?  He sure looks like he's having some fun skating, doesn't he?  I printed this guy out pretty large, and decided to back him with this panel made from a thermal laminator packet that has extra fine white glitter sandwiched between the layers.  I got this idea originally from this video by Attic Lane on YouTube, and have just now gotten around to trying it out.  Jennifer McGuire recently did this technique also in this video, and I would encourage you to check both of them out!

So, I colored this fella up using alcohol markers in traditional red and green, and I guess he must be Rudolph since his nose is red!  The sentiment comes from one of the new Recollections Christmas sentiment sets I picked up recently at Michael's.

*CHALLENGES*

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #59:  ATG or option to use red and green

CAS Christmas:  Warm and Cozy (1/3)

Merry Little Christmas #16:  ATG Christmas (2/5)

Love to Craft #40:  ATG (2/5)

Animal Friends #80:  Reindeer

Cutie Pie #141:  Add an Animal

Color It, Create It, Show It Off:  ATG (2/5)

613 Avenue Create #227:  ATG (2/5)

Crafts Galore Encore #69:  ATG (2/3)

Crafty Animals #32:  ATG

Daisy Chain #36:  Christmas/Winter

Crafty Creations #402:  ATG (1/2)

Crimbo Crackers #198:  Animals (1/2)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #118:  ATG (1/3)

Word Art Wednesday #414 - #415:  ATG (1/5)

Cardz 4 Gals #110:  Get Ready for Christmas (1/3)

My Time to Craft #410:  Christmas Animals

Crafty Friends #123:  Christmas (1/3)

The Paper Shelter #407:  A Christmas card

Polkadoodles Week #46:  ATG (1/2)

Digi Choosday Week #47:  ATG (1/2)

CHNC #464:  ATG Christmas

Cute Card Thursday #609:  Winter

The Outlawz Monday Greetings:  Winter Wonderland (1/3)

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  Don't forget to stop by the Catch the Bug blog to see what awaits you for your viewing pleasure...LOL!

Take care, and God Bless!

~Marie~

ANYTHING BUT A CARD MONDAY @ CATCH THE BUG

Hello, and happy Monday!  I know, Monday's not a super happy day usually, as a lot of us have to go back to work.  But it is nice that it's another Anything But a Card Monday at Catch the Bug, and here is my project:

Since we are coming upon the season of gift giving, I figured this little Label Treat Box from the Silhouette Store would be a perfect ABaC project.  I used the Circle Sentiments - Warm Winter Wishes image that I had printed out already, and used some cute mitten patterned paper from a 12x12 Recollections paper pad called Fa La La La.  I colored the image to match the colors in the paper, and I kept it simple by not worrying about shading.  The hearts and snowflakes are all covered in clear star gel pen for some super shimmer.

*CHALLENGES*

Merry Little Christmas #16:  ATG Christmas (1/5)

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Love to Craft #40:  ATG (1/5)

Mix it Up #31:  ATG (1/5)

Moving Along With the Times #110:  Snowflakes (1/3)

Color It, Create It, Show It Off:  ATG (1/5)

Classic Design Design Team #11:  ATG

Creative Moments #180:  ATG or optional Baby, It's Cold Outside

613 Avenue Create #227:  ATG (1/5)

Crafts Galore Encore #69:  ATG (1/3)

Daisy Chain #36:  Christmas/Winter

Gem of a Craft Challenge #22:  ATG (1/2)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #117:  ATG (1/3)

Word Art Wednesday #412 - #413:  ATG (1/5)

Tuesday Throwdown #444:  Fall/Holiday

Crafting by Designs:  ATG (1/3)

Polkadoodles Week #45:  ATG (1/2)

Digi Choosday Week #45:  ATG (1/2)

CHNC #463:  ATG Christmas

C.R.A.F.T #534:  Winter

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  I hope you found some inspiration while you were here, and for even more inspiration, head on over to the Catch the Bug blog to see the other creations by some of the DT.

Take care, and God Bless!

~Marie~

BUGABOO FREEBIE FRIDAY -- AUTUMN SIGN

Hey all!  Happy Friday, and Happy November!  Wait, what?  It's NOVEMBER ALREADY?!?!?  Holy Crap!  The race is on now to get those Christmas cards and projects started if you haven't already!  It IS still Fall though, so Bugaboo's Freebie Friday image reflects that:

Today's image is called Autumn Sign.  It's a very simple image, but still oh-so-cute!  I wondered for awhile how I was going to use this image, and then I thought it would be perfect popped up on the card base with some soft ink blending behind it.  This was my first time trying this technique, and I have to say, I am EXTREMELY HAPPY with how it turned out!  I was apprehensive about it, but the Taylored Expressions blender brushes make it so easy!  Spiced Marmalade Oxide ink was used for the blending.  The image was colored with alcohol markers.  The smaller sub sentiments are from a stamp set called Happy Everything, but I don't know the company name.

*CHALLENGES*

Cutie Pie #140:  ATG as long as it's cute (3/3)

Moving Along with the Times #109:  Rich Autumn colors

Classic Design Design Team #11:  ATG

Simon Says Wednesday:  ATG (2/5)

Polkadoodles Week #43:  ATG (3/3)

Digi Choosday Week #44:  ATG (2/2)

The Outlawz Saturday Paper A La Mode:  Autumn Colors

That's all for now...Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Be sure you stop by the Catch the Bug blog to see what the other members of the DT have created to inspire you!  

Take care, and God Bless! 

~Marie~

BUGABOO OLDIE BUT GOODIE THUIRSDAY -- EGGBERT WINTER

Howdy folks!  It's that time of the week again for some Oldie But Goodie goodness from the Bugaboo DT at Catch the Bug.  Here is mine:

I know that today is Halloween, but I need to ramp up my Christmas card production!!  LOL  I used Eggbert Winter for my card.  I love this guy!  I use him quite often for my Christmas cards.  For today's card, I colored him in greens using alcohol markers, and layered the image circle onto a dark green card stock circle.  The Winter Whimsy patterned paper from Love Nicole, was also flanked with small strips of the same card stock, and the Recollections sentiment was heat embossed on another piece of that dark green.  It's not quite as dark IRL as it appears in my picture.  Snow HAS to have some sparkle, so I added Star Dust Stickles where I thought it would look nice.

*CHALLENGES*

Gem of a challenge Week #21:  ATG (2/2)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #116:  ATG (3/3)

Word Art Wednesday Week #410- #411:  ATG (2/5)

The Holly and Ivy #59:  ATG Christmas

Cardz 4 Gals #108:  Something Beginning with "S" (snow)

Fab 'n' Funky #455:  Christmas

Simon Says Wednesday:  ATG (1/5)

Polkadoodles Week #43:  ATG (2/3)

Digi Choosday Week #44:  ATG (1/2)

CHNC #461:  ATG Christmas

Die Cuttin Divas #444:  ATG (1/3)

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #534:  Winter 

Cute Card Thursday #606:  Christmas/Holidays

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #58:  ATG

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I appreciate it so much!  Be sure you stop on by the Catch the Bug blog to see what else is there for your inspiration!

Take care, and God Bless!  

~Marie~

CHRISTMAS WITH THE CUTIES -- PERSONALIZE IT

Hello all!  The new challenge at Christmas With the Cuties starts today.  We are looking for cards that are personalized in some way, and here is mine:

Our sponsor for this month's challenge is Di's Digi Downloads, and this adorable image is called Christmas Owls.  I colored the image with alcohol markers, used some Star Dust Stickles on the falling snow, and white puffy paint on the white parts of the hats.  This is my favorite thing to do with hats at the moment!  It just adds so much to the image!  I used patterned papers from a Love Nicole 12x12 pad, and the sentiment is from the Lawn Fawn set called Winter Owl.  Perfect fit for this, I'd say!

*CHALLENGES*

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #116:  ATG (2/3)

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #58:  ATG

Merry Little Christmas #15:  ATG (5/5)

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Love to Craft #39:  ATG (5/5)

Mix it Up #30:  ATG (5/5)

 Cutie Pie #140:  ATG as long as it's cute (2/3)

613 Avenue Create #226:  ATG (4/5)

Gem of a Challenge #21:  ATG (1/2)

Crimbo Crackers #196:  ATG (1/2)

Cardz 4 Gals #108:  Something beginning with "s" 

Crafty Friends #121:  Embossing, wet or dry

Polkadoodles Week #43:  ATG (1/3)

Digi Choosday Week #43:  ATG (2/2)

CHNC #461:  ATG

Jingle Belles:  Rudolph and Friends (any animal)

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  Please also stop by the Christmas With the Cuties blog to see what the DT has made, and to join in the fun!  You know you need more Christmas cards anyway!  LOL

Take care, and God Bless!

~Marie~

BUGABOO ANYTHING BUT A CARD MONDAY

Howdy friends!  It's Monday (again!), so that means it's time for another Anything But a Card post at Catch the Bug.  Here is what I made for the occasion:

I always have such a hard time with this kind of challenge, because I really just like to concentrate on making cards.  I suppose I can glue this onto a card at a later date though...  ;)  I *almost* went with making another tag, but I didn't want to do that all the time.  It had been awhile since I made a rosette, so I thought, "Hmmm, I'll do that!"  I picked a cute snowflake paper from the Love Nicole 12x12 pad called Let It Snow, and cut 2 strips at 1.5 inches wide.  I scored both strips in 1/4" increments, then glued both strips together into a circle.  I must say, I did have some difficulty getting this rosette to come together, and it is uneven in spots, but it will have to do, won't it?

So the image is called Snowflake Penguin, and he is super cute!  I used alcohol markers in blues to match the paper (gray for the penguin of course), Star Dust Stickles on the snow and snowflakes, and puffy paint on the hat brim and pompom.

*CHALLENGES*

Merry Little Christmas #15:  ATG (4/5)

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Love to Craft #39:  ATG (4/5)

Mix it Up #30:  ATG (4/5)

The Cutie Pie challenge #140:  ATG (as long as it's cute!)

Classic Design Design Team #10:  ATG

Crafty Animals #31:  ATG using an animal

Crafty Creations #401:  ATG

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #116:  ATG (1/3)

Word Art Wednesday #410- #411:  ATG (1/5)

Sweet Stampin':  Feature a Creature

Polkadoodles Week #42:  ATG (1/2)

Digi Choosday Week #43:  ATG (1/2)

CHNC #460:  ATG Christmas

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you were inspired by the DT creations for today, and don't forget to join us in the challenges!

Take care and God Bless!

~Marie~

PINK FOR THE CURE POST #2

Hello crafty friends!  I hope you all had a good Wednesday.  Thank goodness we're on the downward slide to the weekend!  

So, I'm back again tonight to share another PINK card for the challenge at Jingle Belles:

I have been admiring the ink blending onto colored cardstock technique for some time now, and thought this would be a perfect time to try it.  I used Worn Lipstick to add my shading around the edges of my PINK panel, which I always think leaves the sweetest highlight in the middle!  The SSS sentiment was embossed in detail gold embossing powder from Recollections, and I flanked it with 2 Martha Stewart punched snowflakes that I also embossed with the gold in several layers.  Don't they look like metal embellishments?  I decided to call this card finished.  :)

*CHALLENGES*

Jingle Belles:  PINK Christmas for the cure!

Christmas at Sweet Stampin':  ATG (2/2)

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #58:  ATG

Merry Little Christmas #15:  ATG (3/5)

Love to Craft #39:  ATG

Mix it Up #30:  ATG (3/5)

Craft Rocket #64:  PINK

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

Classic Design Design Team:  ATG

Creative Moments #178:  ATG (2/3)

613 Avenue Create #226:  ATG (3/5)

Gem of a challenge #20:  ATG (2/2)

Creative Fingers #172:  ATG (3/3)

Crimbo Crackers #195:  ATG (2/2)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #115:  ATG (3/3)

Word Art Wednesday #408 - #409:  ATG (3/5)

Cute N Crafty #32:  ATG

Crafty Friends #120:  ATG  (2/3)

Polkadoodles Week #41:  ATG (2/2)

Digi Choosday Week #42:  ATG (2/2)

Penny's Paper Crafty #452:  ATG (1/3)

CHNC #459:  ATG

Winter Wonderland:  Merry and Bright

Penny Black and more:  Pretty in PINK

Simon Says Monday:  All Things PINK

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

Thanks for stopping by today, and I really hope that you'll get out some PINK and Christmas supplies (you probably have them out anyway, right?), and make a card for this great cause!  

Take care and God Bless!

~Marie~

PINK FOR THE CURE POST #1

Hey all!  It's October (halfway thru already!!), and it's that time of year to raise awareness for breast cancer research.  To help in the cause, Stef and Lauren over at the Jingle Belles blog host a challenge where they ask for predominantly PINK cards.  For every card linked up to the challenge, they will donate $2 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation!  Isn't that amazing?!  I didn't have the opportunity to participate last year, but this year, I want to help as much as I can!  So, here is card #1:

I had this embossed panel (made with a Tim Holtz Alterations embossing folder) sitting on my desk for some time, just waiting for the perfect card.  I think this is it!  I used Distress Oxide inks in Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry and blended them on the panel in an ombre fashion.  After that, I used Star Dust Stickles on all the snowflakes, but the true shine and color doesn't show in the photo.  The sentiment is from the collaboration set from SSS and Clearly Besotted called Celebrate the Season.

*CHALLENGES*

Jingle Belles:  PINK Christmas for the cure

Christmas at Sweet Stampin':  ATG or optional stars

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #58:  ATG or Sensational Santa

Merry Little Christmas #15:  ATG (2/5)

Love to Craft #39:  ATG (2/5)

Mix it Up #30:  ATG (2/5)

Craft Rocket #64:  PINK

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

Classic Design Design Team #10:  ATG

Creative Moments #178:  ATG (1/3)

613 Avenue Create #226:  ATG (2/5)

Crafts Galore Encore #68:  ATG (3/3)

Gem of a challenge #20:  ATG (1/2)

Crafty Creations #400:  ATG (2/2)

Creative Fingers #172:  ATG (2/3)

Crimbo Crackers #195:  ATG (1/2)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #115:  ATG (2/3)

Word Art Wednesday #408 - #409:  ATG (2/5)

Cute N Crafty #32:  ATG (3/5)

Crafty Friends #120:  ATG (1/3)

Simon Says Wednesday:  Christmas

Polkadoodles Week #41:  ATG (1/2)

Digi Choosday Week #42:  ATG (1/2)

CHNC #459:  ATG

Simon Says Monday:  All things PINK

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope the rest of the week goes well for you all...don't forget to get out those PINK products and make some Christmas cards to help Stef and Lauren raise some money!   

Take care and God Bless!

~Marie~

BUGABOO FREEBIE FRIDAY TIME!

Hello, crafty friends!  I'm here today to share with you my make for the current Freebie Friday at Bugaboo...but first, let me show you a picture of this visitor in my craft room:

Isn't this pretty?  After asking a friend, I discovered that it's a Buckeye butterfly.  I honestly thought it was a moth, since it was flying around at night.  I'll tell you, I have seen so many more bugs lately than I really care to!  We have been working on replacing our siding, and there are all kinds of spiders living just under our roof! *shudder*  Just this evening, I discovered an orb spider nestled on the soffit.  I made sure it stayed put!  This week, I made a trip into the local urgent care facility for several spots on my left arm and upper chest area that looked like bites of some kind that seemed to be giving me some kind of reaction that was spreading like a rash.  They didn't know what bit me, but they gave me a prescription for some cream that seems to be working very well to reduce my reaction.  I hate bugs!

Ok enough of that, now onto my card:

This week's freebie is called flspookday.  I think these monsters look pretty friendly, don't you?  I don't think they would scare me one bit!  I printed this digi out to be pretty large (4 3/16 inches), so it was very easy to color with my alcohol markers.  I did have some trouble with Frankie's face, getting the 2 greens I used to blend, but I figure it adds to his "monsterness."  LOL  I added some sparkle to the image using Gelly Roll Clear Star pen on the stars and the sentiment.  The guys' eyes were all coated with Glossy Accents for that fresh outta the coffin/laboratory look.  Hehehe.  I don't have any Halloween themed patterned papers (GASP!), so I cut into a green glitter paper to adhere to the base, a miscellaneous brand of orange striped paper, and the black is from the Hopscotch Colorbok 12x12 pad.  DONE.

*CHALLENGES*

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Love to Craft #39:  ATG (2/5)

Mix it Up #30:  ATG (2/5)

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

Classic Design Design Team:  ATG

Creative Moments #178:  ATG or optional Spooky theme

613 Avenue Create #226:  ATG (1/5)

Crafts Galore Encore #68:  ATG (2/3)

Crafty Gals Corner #200:  Halloween Colors

Fab 'n' Funky #452:  Halloween

Polkadoodles Week #40:  ATG (1/2)

Digi Choosday Week #41:  ATG (1/2)

Crafty Creations #400:  ATG (1/2)

Creative Fingers #172:  ATG (1/3)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #115:  ATG (1/3)

Word Art Wednesday #408 - #409:  ATG (1/5)

Cute N Crafty #32:  ATG (2/5)

Crafty Calendar:  Autumn Colors/Halloween (1/3)

Simon Says Monday:  Fall/Autumn

Crafty Sentiments:  Halloween

Cute Card Thursday #603:  Halloween

The Outlawz Twisted Thursday:  ATG or twist of Dream or Nightmare

Well, that's all from me!  Thanks for stopping by my blog today, and make sure you take some time to pop over to Catch the Bug to see what the rest of the DT has made with the freebie, and to grab it for yourselves!  :)

Take care, and God Bless!

~Marie~