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

A QUICK POST, JUST FOR THE HECK OF IT -- NOVEMBER 3, 2021

Hello friends!  Welcome back to my blog!  I wanted to share a card with you that I created using some adorable penguin digis and gorgeous wintry paper from Digi Doodle Studios.  The paper comes from the Suddenly Winter 8x8 digi paper set.  The set the penguins came from was called Winter Time Penguins, but I can no longer find it on the website... my apologies!   I didn't know this until after I created my card.  Here it is:

Of course I made another slimline, this time in the vertical orientation.  I designed the whole thing using my Silhouette Studio software.  I love using this to change the size of digital files, and to create my own die cut panels, which is what I did on this card.  I even added my own sentiment, as I wanted this to be a Christmas-specific card.  The cute penguins were colored with alcohol markers.  I also made this card into a shaker, and made each window into its own shaker area.  Just a bit of extra fine glitter was added in the color "snow" (Recollections).  I did do a bit of inking around the window openings with Salty Ocean oxide ink to cover the white cut edges.

--CHALLENGES--

ABC Christmas:  W for whimsical, and/or X for Xerox

CCAYR:  Starting with U, V, and/or W (white glitter, wintry paper)

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #83:  ATG (1/10)

Merry Little Christmas #40:  ATG Christmas (1/5)

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Love to Craft #64:  ATG (2/5)

Mix It Up #55:  ATG (2/5)

Besties International:  ATG (2/3)

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

613 Avenue Create #11:  ATG (5/5)

Crafts Galore Encore #93:  ATG (2/3)

Crafty Animals #56:  ATG using animals

Classic Design #11:  ATG

Digi Doodle Studios #44:  Christmas/Winter (1/3)

The Paper Funday #35:  ATG (1/4)

Unicorn Challenge #71:  Christmas/Winter

A Perfect Time to Craft #11:  ATG

SheepSki Designs #56:  'Tis the Season (1/3)

Pearly Sparkles #68:  Merry Christmas

Gem of a Challenge #22:  ATG (2/2)

Word Art Wednesday #515 - #516:  ATG (2/5)

The Holly and Ivy #104:  ATG Christmas

Inspiration Station #17:  Animal Antics

Addicted to Stamps and More #417:  Christmas

Peace on Earth #2:  ATG Christmas (1/3)

Simon Says Monday:  Any Holiday Occasion (1/5)

Fab 'n' Funky #538:  Christmas (1/3)

The Paper Shelter #490:  Christmas is Coming

Polkadoodles #44:  ATG (2/2)

Digi Choosday #44:  ATG (1/2)

Penny's Challenge #508:  ATG (2/3)

Colour Crazy #43:  ATG with coloring (2/2)

Crafty Catz #570:  ATG 

CHNC #566:  ATG Christmas

Jingle Belles:  Not a Creature was Stirring

The Outlawz Festive Friday:  Christmas

Thanks for dropping by!  Until next time,

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless!  💓

~ Marie

CRITTER CRAZY CHALLENGE -- NOVEMBER 1, 2021 -- ATG

Hello crafty friends!  It's the beginning of a new month, which means the start of a new Critter Crazy challenge!  As always, we want to see you FEATURE a critter or critters, so make sure they take pride of place on your creations!  Here is what I created for this month:

I used many images from the digital version of the Gossip Chicks set that used to be available in the Digi Doodle Studios store.  It seems that now that the images has been made into a clear set, they no longer offer the digital version.  I have linked to the clear version, which is available on Ink n Splatter.  The yellow gingham paper comes from the Clucker Clacker 6x6 digital paper pack, which is made to go perfectly with these adorable chickens.  

Anyway, I constructed this little yard scene using the Silhouette Studio software.   I colored all the images with alcohol markers, and created the cloudy sky using a stencil from Recollections (Michael's brand), Tumbled Glass oxide ink, and a blender brush.  I drew in a horizon line with a Micron pen, and added the grass the same way with another Recollections stencil.  I did also use a pointy cotton swab to add more texture to the grass using Mowed Lawn oxide ink.  I haven't added a sentiment yet, but it will probably just be "HI" or "Hello" when I do.  My slimline card measures 8.5 by 3.5 inches. 

 The story of my card is this:  Ronnie Rooster has come out to see how Henrietta Hen is doing on her nest, since she chose to keep it farther away from the coop.  She has almost as many eggs as Hester does, so Ronnie is satisfied that she is doing well out here on her own.  😀

--CHALLENGES--

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Love to Craft #64:  ATG (1/5)

Mix It Up #55:  ATG (1/5)

Besties International:  ATG (1/3)

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

613 Avenue Create #11:  ATG (4/5)

Crafts Galore Encore #93:  ATG (1/3)

Crafty Animals #56:  ATG using animals

Classic Design #11:  ATG 

A Perfect Time to Craft #11:  ATG

The Corrosive Challenge #10:  ATG (4/4)

Gem of a Challenge #22:  ATG (1/2)

Word Art Wednesday #515 - #516:  ATG (1/5)

Inspiration Station #17:  Animal Antics

Alphabet Challenge:  O for Outdoors

Simon Says Wednesday:  ATG 

Polkadoodles #44:  ATG (1/2)

Penny's Challenge #508:  ATG (1/3)

Little Red Wagon #625:  Outside

Colour Crazy #43:  ATG with coloring (1/2)

Crafty Catz #570:  ATG 

The Outlawz Festive Friday:  ATG

Well, that's it for me today!  Make sure you head on over to the Critter Crazy challenge blog to see what the rest of the DT has created for this month, and to join us!  We always love to see your critters!  Also, please leave the DT some comment love on their projects. 💗  

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and until next time...

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless!  💓

~ Marie

SQUIRRELS GONE NUTZ -- A GALAXY CELEBRATION -- OCTOBER 20, 2021

Hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!  Today's that most special day of the month, where my closest crafty friends and I, aka the Squirrel Squad,  do our little blog hop!  If you are already hopping along, you should have arrived here from the always fabulous Anna's blog.  If you just happened to stop here first, please continue to hop along; I promise it won't take long at all! 😊

So, this month's inspiration was the technique of creating a galaxy background, and the theme of celebration.  This was my first time creating this type of background, and it did fill me with some apprehension.  I always want my creations to look as awesome as possible, and I was worried that I would totally mess this up!  I watched a couple of YouTube videos, especially this one from (the one and only) Jennifer McGuire, which was very helpful and encouraging.  I used the exact same colors that she used, and created mine in the exact same way in the hopes of being able to channel some of her awesomeness!  Here are the colors:

And here is my card:

I think it turned out pretty cool, if I do say so myself. 😁    After I created the main part of the background, I gave it an extra spritz of shimmer water made with Perfect Pearls, and when that dried, I splattered the heck out of it with watered down white acrylic paint.  I wish my "stars" were more white though!  Then I die cut the Tim Holtz distress watercolor paper down with one of my Spellbinders card creator dies.   I hadn't had this particular Lawn Fawn set  (Out Of This World)  until just recently, and it is definitely perfect for this background!  I bought it from a friend who was doing a destash, and I got the dies too!  I stamped all the images using Lawn Fawn Jet Black ink for alcohol markers, and colored them with Copics.  The sentiment, which is part of the same stamp set, was heat embossed on the same 110lb Recollections black card stock as the card base using Versa Color white pigment ink and Recollections Snow detail embossing powder.

To assemble the card, I glued craft foam onto the back of my panel, and then colored the edges that could be seen underneath with a black marker.  All the images were glued down flat to the panel, after much fussing about placement.  To add more shimmer, I went over the colored stripes of the planets, the ring around the yellow planet, and the spaceship window with clear Wink of Stella.  I couldn't let the poor cute astronaut out of the fun, so his visor and tiny little panel buttons got the Glossy Accents treatment, and so did the ship's window.  Viola!

--CHALLENGES--

Love to Craft #63:  ATG (4/5)

Mix it Up #54:  ATG (4/5)

613 Avenue Create #11:  ATG (3/5)

Classic Design #10:  ATG

The Paper Funday #34:  ATG (3/4)

A Perfect Time to Craft:  ATG

The Creative Crafters #45:  ATG (3/3)

Let's Craft and Create #176:  ATG (2/3)

The Corrosive Challenge #10:  ATG (3/4)

Cute Card Thursday #693:  ATG

Digi Choosday #42:  ATG (2/2)

The Outlawz Festive Friday:  Birthday

OK, your next stop is the wonderful Bory.  Don't forget to leave us some comment love, and please subscribe if you haven't already!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Until next time,

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless! 💗

~ Marie

GOING PINK FOR THE JINGLE BELLES -- OCTOBER 19, 2021

Hello friends!  Welcome back to my blog!  It's that time of the year again where those fun ladies over at the Jingle Belles blog, Stef and Lauren, host a very special challenge!  Of course, I mean the PINK challenge to raise money for breast cancer research!  For every card made for this challenge, each of these wonderful ladies will donate $2 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  Isn't that wonderful?  I wanted to make more cards for the challenge, but I ran out of time.  I did manage to make 3 though:

The first 2 are mini slimlines made with the Jolly Christmas Tree die from Lawn Fawn.  The first one was cut from pastel pink glitter cardstock, and I inlaid the ornament shapes into it from the holographic card stock I used for the tree in card #2.  I thought it would be cute to add the tree topper as well, so I glued that on top of the pink layer.  The Tim Holtz sentiment was also cut from the pink glitter cardstock, as well as 3 layers of 110lb white cardstock that are underneath the pink.  The tree itself I popped up on foam tape.  The blue ink blended card front was done using Prize Ribbon oxide ink.  

Card #2 has a background blended with Kitsch Flamingo oxide ink, and some Picked Raspberry at the bottom for a deeper pink.  The tree and the sentiment are all done the same; 2 layers of 110lb white underneath the holographic cardstock.

For card #3, I decided to go a completely different route, and pulled out the Poinsettia stencil from Honey Bee Stamps.  I used Spun Sugar and Kitsch Flamingo oxides for my "petals", and the "leaves" were blended with Twisted Citron and either Lucky Clover or Evergreen Bough...I don't remember which one now!  I just lightly went over the circle centers so I could see to cover them with gold Stickles.  All my layers were die cut using Spellbinders card creator dies.  I created the sentiment with Lawn Fawn's Oliver's Stitched ABCs, and the same shiny gold cardstock as the layer beneath the main panel.  I added 4 layers of 110lb white cardstock underneath the letters for lots of dimension!  All of these cards look so much better IRL than in these photos! 😕

--CHALLENGES--

Sparkles Christmas:  Flora/ Fauna (third card)

ABC Christmas:  U for under the tree/ V for vocabulary (I'm doing V w/card #3)

CCAYR:  Something beginning with S or T (T for trees)

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #82:  ATG 

Merry Little Christmas #39:  ATG Christmas (2/5)

Love to Craft #63:  ATG (3/5)

Mix it Up #54:  ATG (3/5)

613 Avenue Create #11:  ATG (2/5)

Crafts Galore Encore #92:  ATG (3/3)

Classic Design #10:  ATG

The Paper Funday #34:  ATG (2/4)

A Perfect Time to Craft:  ATG

The Creative Crafters #45:  ATG (2/3)

Let's Craft and Create #176:  ATG

The Corrosive Challenge #10:  ATG (2/4)

Dragonfly Dreams:  In the PINK

Cute Card Thursday #693:  ATG 

Word Art Wednesday #513 - #514:  ATG (2/5)

The Holly and Ivy #103:  ATG (2/3)

C.R.A.F.T Challenge #615:  Non-Traditional Christmas colors (PINK!)

Polkadoodles #42:  ATG (2/2)

Digi Choosday #42:  ATG (1/2)

CHNC #564:  ATG Christmas

The Outlawz Festive Friday:  Christmas

I am a bit late getting these linked up to the challenge, as tomorrow is the last day!  If you hurry, you could probably get one done...the challenge is open until 6pm EST.  That's all for me today...thanks for stopping by, and until next time...

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless!

~ Marie