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

LIL PATCH OF CRAFTY FRIENDS SPONSORED BY MORGAN'S ARTWORLD -- DECEMBER 19, 2021

Hello friends and welcome back to my blog!  Today is the start of the new challenge at Lil Patch of Crafty Friends, where the theme is always Anything Goes. Here is the info for the challenge sponsor:

**Exclusive Sponsor**

Morgan's Artworld

Prize ~ 3 Images same as design team images

So, if you win, this pretty Winter 9 image that I used on my card would be one of your prizes!  Speaking of my card, I guess I should show it to you, huh? 😉

Isn't she pretty?  Her face kind of reminds me of me when I was a youngster, so I colored her hair and eyes my (natural) colors.  My eyes are still blue, but as of this moment, my hair is purple!  From the very first ideas of I had of this card, I knew I wanted to use this awesome Cozy Knit stencil from A Colorful Life Designs.  The knit sweater look and this image are perfect together, I think!  I also knew that I wanted this card to have as few layers as possible, so I created an oval mask for my image to stencil over.  I began inking through the stencil using Weathered Wood oxide ink, and then switched to Shaded Lilac for the outer perimeter.  I was *hoping* to have a lighter look for this panel, but I guess I really need to practice blending with a lighter hand on the brushes.  I have a lead foot while driving also; in case you were wondering! 😆

After the ink blending dried, I colored the sweet image using alcohol markers.  When I got to the eyes, I mistakenly colored the white area of her right eye (on our left) blue!  DOH!  I have no idea what I was thinking!!! I used the colorless blender on it a few times to lighten it up, and then colored over top with a white gel pen.  You can't even tell that I did it now!

As I was preparing to add my panel to the card base, I thought there was just too much white, so I inked up the edges of a larger square (5.25"x5.25") with Wilted Violet oxide ink and glued it beneath the image panel.  The die cut "Warm" comes from a Spellbinders die set which was a freebie that came with my Small Die of the Month set for December 2021.  It was so nice of Spellbinders to do that!  Anyway, I die cut that from a scrap of Accent Opaque white card stock that I inked direct-to-paper with the Wilted Violet oxide ink.  The "warmest wishes" comes from the Lawn Fawn Mice on Ice stamp set.  I stamped it in white pigment ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder on the same scrap of card stock.   As a final touch to the image, I used Gelly Roll Clear Star pen on the small dots to her left (our right!), Silver Star on the tiny stars, the buckle on the strap, and as an accent on the snowflakes.

--CHALLENGES--

Thank you stopping by today!  Don't forget to pop over to the Lil Patch of Crafty Friends blog to see what the rest of Team B created for the challenge, and to join us in the fun!  Until next time,

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless! 💗

~ Marie

CRITTER CRAZY CHALLENGE -- DECEMBER 1, 2021

Hello, and welcome back to my blog!  I hope that all of my friends here in America had a good Thanksgiving.  Hubby and I hosted again this year, and we were joined by his brother and his fiance, our 2 daughters, and the younger daughter's husband.  I can't believe I even just said that...I am a mother-in-law now!  😮 Anyway, we had a nice day, and had lots of good food. 😋

So today, I wanted to share the card I made for the new Critter Crazy Challenge starting today, where we want to see you FEATURE those CRITTERS!!  Here is my card:

Isn't this penguin from the Skating By Penguins stamp set from Time For Tea Designs just the CUTEST?!?!?  He looks like he is having the BEST TIME skating!  Now, if that were me, I'd most likely break something!  Anyway, I stamped this cutie using Lawn Fawn's alcohol marker friendly Jet Black ink, and colored him with my alcohol markers.  The snowflake is also from Lawn Fawn, and that is the Magic Iris Snowflake add-on.  I die cut it from Recollections brand holographic cardstock.  Oh btw, the stitched circle the penguin is on comes from the inside of the snowflake die cut, and I have it popped up on foam tape. The snowflake itself is adhered flat to the card base using Bearly Art glue.  The sentiment also comes from the same set as the penguin, and was stamped in Versa Fine Clair Nocturne ink.  All stamping was done using the MISTI. 

--CHALLENGES--

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #84:  ATG (1/10)

Merry Little Christmas #41:  ATG 

Love to Craft #65:  ATG 

Mix It Up #56:  ATG

Besties International:  ATG (1/3)

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

Crafts Galore Encore #94:  ATG (1/3)

Classic Design #12:  ATG

The Paper Funday #36:  ATG (1/4)

A Perfect Time to Craft #12:  ATG

The Creative Crafters #46:  ATG (3/3)

The Outlawz Festive Friday:  Winter/Snowy

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  Don't forget to head on over to the Critter Crazy Challenge blog and share your critters with us.  Also, the DT appreciates it when you leave them some comment love. 😍 Until next time, my friends...

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

~ Marie

SQUIRRELS GONE NUTZ -- HOLIDAYS AND VELLUM --NOVEMBER 22, 2021

Hello friends!  Welcome back to my blog.  It's that time of the month where the Squirrel Squad and I gather those unloved supplies and start using them while incorporating a technique or a certain theme.  This month we're focusing our attention on using some vellum and making projects for the holidays.  Here are my cards:

I dry embossed the Bristol panels with some festive snowflake 3D embossing folders, and ink blended them with oxide inks and blender brushes.  On the top card, I used Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, and Prize Ribbon.  The second card has Blueprint Sketch, Wilted Violet, and Picked Raspberry. After the ink blending, I sanded the panels to expose the white on the raised areas.  As a final touch, I spritzed them with shimmer spray.  I found this sentiment in my stash and thought it worked perfectly with my card panels so, I used "traditional" vellum on the top card, and colored vellum on the bottom card.  I used WOW metallic silver sparkle embossing powder to heat emboss the sentiment.  I trimmed the panels down a bit with my trimmer, wrapped the vellum pieces around them, and taped them to the back.  Foam tape was added to the back of the panels, and then they were adhered to the card bases.

--CHALLENGES--

CCAYR:  Something beginning with U, V, and/or W (vellum)

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #83:  ATG (3/10)

Merry Little Christmas #40:  ATG Christmas (3/5)

Love to Craft #64:  ATG (4/5)

Mix It Up #55:  ATG (4/5)

613 Avenue Create #11:  ATG

Daisy Chain #58:  Add Sparkle

Classic Design #11:  ATG

Digi Doodle Studios #44: Christmas/Winter (3/3)

The Paper Funday #35:  ATG (2/4)

Unicorn Challenge #71:  Christmas/Winter

The Creative Crafters #46:  ATG (2/3)

SheepSki Designs #56:  Tis the Season (3/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #11:  ATG (2/4)

Dragonfly Dreams:  Christmas/Winter (2/3)

Pearly Sparkles #68:  Merry Christmas

Gem of a Challenge #24:  ATG (2/2)

Aud Sentiments #288:  ATG with sentiment (2/5)

Peace on Earth #4:  ATG Christmas (2/3)

Crafting Happiness #117:  ATG

Squirreled away items used:

Both types of vellum

Jeweled Snowflakes embossing folder by Kath Breen and Sizzix (blue card)

Season's Greetings sentiment by Recollections

WOW Metallic silver embossing powder

Thanks for stopping by!  I am first this month, so please make sure you hop on to the next person, who is the fabulous Lounon!  Until next time,

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless! 💖

~ Marie

LIL PATCH OF CRAFTY FRIENDS SPONSORED BY ALL DRESSED UP -- NOVEMBER 21, 2021

Hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!  Today's I want to share with you my creation for Lil Patch of Crafty Friends, sponsored by:

**Exclusive Sponsor**

All Dressed Up

Prize ~ 2 Images

SHOP

CHALLENGE BLOG

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

I was given the adorable Magical Unicorn image to work with, and here is my card:

I decided this special unicorn deserved to be on a special card, so I created a circular shaped easel card.  Being so close to the big day, I wanted this beauty to be a Christmas unicorn, so I used red and green alcohol markers to color her mane.  Her horn was colored in using a gold metallic Sharpie.  To extend the gold theme, I used a Spellbinders petite scalloped circle to create a mat for the image panel, and used the same gold metallic paper for the top layer of the "merry" sentiment that holds up the easel.  Here's what the rest of the inside looks like:

I used the sentiments from the Lawn Fawn Winter Unicorn stamp set, because why wouldn't I, when they're perfect to go with this image!  I stamped the main part in Lady Bug ink by Memento; the green is a The Paper Company ink pad I have had for a LONG time, and the black for the lower Christmas word is VersaFine Clair Nocturne.  The merry die comes from a Recollections matching stamp and die set, and I cut it 4 times from scraps of 110lb white cardstock glued underneath the gold layer to make sure it was really elevated enough to hold the top panel.  I also stamped the little sparkles that come from the Winter Unicorn set, as well as one from the A Little Sparkle set in a gold ink from The Paper Company.  I must say, those ink pads have held up well over the years!  As a finishing touch to the unicorn image, I added clear Wink of Stella to the mane and horn, and used the clear sparkle Sakura pen for the little dots around the flowers of her crown.  I think you can see that in this photo:

--CHALLENGES--

ABC Christmas:  W for Whimsical, X for Xerox (what's more whimsical than a Christmas unicorn?)

Christmas Crafts All Year Round:  Something starting with U, V, or W

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #83:  ATG (2/10)

Merry Little Christmas #40:  ATG (2/5)

Christmas Craft Creations: Fun Fold

Love to Craft #64:  ATG (3/5)

Mix it Up #55:  ATG (3/5)

Cutie Pie #165:  Anything Cute

Besties International:  ATG (3/3)

Color It, Create It, Show it off:  ATG with coloring (3/3)

613 Avenue Create #11:  ATG

Crafts Galore Encore #93:  ATG (3/3)

Crafty Animals #56:  ATG using animals

Daisy Chain #58:  Add sparkle

Classic Design #11:  ATG 

Digi Doodle Studios #44:  Christmas/Winter (2/3)

The Paper Funday #35:  ATG (1/4)

Unicorn Challenge #71:  Christmas/Winter

A Perfect Time to Craft #11:  ATG 

The Creative Crafters #46:  ATG (1/3)

SheepSki Designs #56:  Tis the Season (2/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #11:  ATG (1/4)

Dragonfly Dreams:  Christmas/Winter(1/3)

Pearly Sparkles #68:  ATG

Gem of a Challenge #24:  ATG (1/2)

Aud Sentiments #288:  ATG with sentiment (1/5)

Peace on Earth #4:  ATG Christmas (1/3)

The Outlawz Festive Friday:  Christmas

Polkadoodles #47:  ATG (1/2)

Digi Choosday #46:  ATG (1/2)

Crafting Happiness #117:  ATG 

Little Red Wagon #628:  No Patterned Paper

Colour Crazy #46:  ATG with coloring (1/2)

Crafty Catz #573:  ATG

Passion for Markers #618:  Anything Christmas

That's all from me today!  Thanks so much for stopping by, and don't forget to pop on over to the Lil Patch of Crafty Friends challenge to see what the rest of Team B have made, and to join in on the fun!  We love to see what you create!  Until next time, friends...

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless!  💖

~ Marie