SQUIRELS GONE NUTZ -- APRIL 20, 2021 --FLORALS AND WATERCOLOR

 Hey there friends!  Welcome back to another edition of -- SQUIRRELS GONE NUTZ!

That's right, it's time for my crafty Squirrel friends and I to dazzle you with another project, this time using florals and watercolor.  I have to admit that I have been scared 😱😱😱of these options from the get-go.  Florals are pretty, but they intimidate me, and I feel like I will make mud with watercolors.  Here is my card:

I have been drooling over really wanting to get my hands on some Tonic shimmer powders for a good while now, and I finally got myself a small set on Amazon.  This SGN prompt was the perfect opportunity to try these out.  I refreshed my memory on how best to use them by watching some YT videos before I got started.  I made 7 backgrounds in total, using different combinations of the powders.  I chose this one to work with the florals I had picked, which come from the July 2020 Create and Inkspire kit.  I stamped them in Lawn Fawn Jet Black ink so I could color them in with a black alcohol marker to make them look like silhouette stamps.  I used my MISTI to ensure proper stamping.  The sentiment also comes from the same kit, as well as the gold shimmer paper I used to die cut the Spellbinders Lacey squares mat.  I placed my panel onto a black 5.5" square card base, made from 110lb. Recollections card stock.  Here are a couple more views of my card:

I thought it was very interesting, and pretty fantastic actually, that the shimmer from one of the powders actually shines through the black marker, and you can see that well in these pictures. 😍

OK, you know the drill...this is our hop, so your next stop is the super fabulous Lounon.  I know FOR SURE that her creation will be AWESOME!

Thanks for stopping by today, and until next time.

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless!

~Marie~

BUGABOO FREEBIE FRIDAY - SITTING CUTE - APRIL 9, 2021

 Hey friends!  It's Friday (yay!)  That means it's Freebie Friday at Bugaboo Stamps, and this one is a cutie!

This image is called Sitting Cute, and he is available all week until next Friday, so don't forget to pick him up for your collection if you haven't already.  I could NOT resist coloring this guy up, so the alcohol markers were put to good use again.  During my coloring, I discovered that I need to purchase another mocha light Prismacolor marker, as mine is drying up!  I was struggling to get nice coverage using the bullet nib, so I decided to try the chisel tip...thankfully, that worked! *whew!*  For the rest of the image, I didn't bother with much shading.  I cut the image panel with a Spellbinders square die, and then cut another in the next size larger and colored the edges with the same red marker I used on the image so it would be a perfect match.  The background was created using Deco Foil transfer gel, a dark blue Heidi Swapp Minc foil, and a Rabbit Hole Designs stencil that I think is retired.  The name isn't on the packaging, and I didn't think to label it, so if anybody knows, please tell me!  I love how it turned out, but boy is it a devil to photograph!  The "hi" sentiment die is from Recollections, and I cut it 3 times from a scrap of Recollections 110 lb. white and glued them together.  Once they were glued, I took that same red marker and colored the stacked die cuts on the top and sides.  After adhering it to the foiled panel, I added Glossy Accents to make it stand out even more from that shiny background.  Another cute all-occasion card for my stash!

--CHALLENGES--

Love to Craft #57:  ATG (3/5)

Mix It Up #48:  ATG (3/5)

Besties International:  ATG (3/3)

Moving Along with the Times #129:  Animals/Birds (2/3)

Craft Rocket #80:  Babies/Kids

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

613 Avenue Create #4:  ATG (1/8)

Crafts Galore Encore #86:  ATG (2/3)

Crafty Animals #49:  ATG using animals

Classic Design #4:  ATG 

Digi Doodle Studios #37:  Include and Animal (2/3)

The Paper Funday #28:  ATG (1/4)

Unicorn Challenge #64:  Include an Animal

Jan's Digi Stamps:  ATG (1/5)

A Perfect Time to Craft #4:  ATG 

SheepSki Designs #49:  Animal Magic (2/3)

Dragonfly Dreams:  Feature a Creature (1/3)

Word Art Wednesday #485 - #486:  ATG (4/5)

Aud Sentiments #272:  ATG + Sentiment (1/5)

Creative Craft Cottage #139:  Include an Animal (1/5)

Polkadoodles #15:  ATG (1/2)

Digi Choosday #14:  ATG (1/2)

Crafting Happiness #91:  ATG 

Colour Crazy #14:  ATG with coloring (1/2)

Crafty Catz #546:  ATG (1/3)

Passion for Markers #586:  Animal Antics

Thanks for stopping by today!  Don't forget to hop on over to the Catch the Bug blog to see what the rest of the DT has made with this cutie!  Until next time,

Stay Healthy, Take Care and God Bless!

~Marie~

NEW BUGABOO FORMAT -- ATG SATURDAY BIWEEKLY CHALLENGE -- APRIL 3, 2021

Happy Saturday, friends!  I'm back on the blog to share my card for today, which is the start of the NEW Catch the Bug challenge format.  Tammy explained the changes in this post, so make sure you go check it out.  Now here's my card:

 

Saturday challenges are now always ATG, so I chose to use this Snowman Snowflakes image to get going on my Christmas card supply.  I wanted the image to be prominent on my card, so I printed it fairly large, and kept the layout simple.  The cardstock and patterned paper come from my favorite Recollections Christmas paper pack from a few years ago called Winter Frost.  I colored the snowman using alcohol markers to match the frosty blue tones.  White gel pen details were added to the patches, and Star Dust Stickles accents the snow and the snowflakes on the string he is holding.  It didn't take me too long to put this card together, which is good, because I was running late!  Here are a couple more pics:

--CHALLENGES--

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #76:  ATG (1-10)

Merry Little Christmas #33:  ATG (1/5)

CHNC #536:  ATG Christmas

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Love to Craft #57:  ATG (2/5)

Mix it Up #48:  ATG (2/5)

Besties International:  ATG (2/3) 

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

613 Avenue Create #3:  ATG (3/8)

Crafts Galore Encore:  ATG (1/3)

Classic Design #4:  ATG

The Paper Funday #27:  ATG (3/4)

A Place to Start:  Pick a shape (rectangles) (3/8)

A Perfect Time to Craft #4:  ATG 

Word Art Wednesday #485 - #486:  ATG (3/5)

Double Trouble #80:  Something, Anything, Everything w/ optional twist - coloring (alcohol markers)

Christmas 24 #31:  Snow People

Through The Craft Room Door:  ATG (2/2)

Creative Craft Cottage #138:  CAS

Cute Card Thursday #680:  ATG

Fab 'n' Funky:  Christmas 

Simon Says Wednesday:  ATG (3/5)

Polkadoodles #14:  ATG (1/2)

Penny's Paper Crafty #493:  ATG (3/3)

Crafting Happiness #90:  ATG 

Colour Crazy #13:  ATG with coloring (1/2)

Crafty Catz #545:  ATG (1/3)

Passion for Markers #585:  Something Beginning with "B":  blue

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

Alrighty, now it's up to you, my friends!  Come on over and join in on the ATG challenge -- it will run for 2 weeks, so there is plenty of time!  I can't wait to see what you will create!

Until next time,

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless!

~Marie~

NEW CHALLENGE AT 2 CRAFTY CRITTER CRAZIES -- SPONSORED BY SHEEPSKI DESIGNS -- APRIL 1, 2021

Hello friends!  Happy April Fool's Day! I'm back on the blog today because it's time for a new monthly challenge at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies!  WOOHOO!  This month's sponsor is SheepSki Designs.

The image I chose to use is called Elsa, and she is a beautiful fox.  Here is my card:

I don't really have any decent typical fox "colors" in my marker collection, so I thought I would color her up as a gray fox.  When I looked up images of the gray foxes, I was surprised to find they have quite a bit of brown and white in their fur also, so that is the direction I took.  I used cool grays rather than the warm ones, as I thought they matched the pictures better.  Clearly, I still need to work on adding furry texture, but she doesn't look half bad. 

 I found the leafy patterned paper in a 12x12 K & Company paper pad called Wild Saffron that I picked up for $1.97 at my local Goodwill.  Can't beat that!  I used Spellbinders Card Creator sets A and B to make the thin frame, and to cut the main panel.   A Spellbinders Classic circle die was used to cut out Elsa.  I found the stark white of the Accent Opaque cardstock to be a bit glaring on top of the more natural-looking kraft card base and the leafy paper, so I used Frayed Burlap Oxide ink to soften the edges a bit.  That made me much happier! 

 I struggled for a time to figure out what sentiment to use, but then I remembered this Awesome die set from Neat and Tangled.  I cut the shadow layer from vellum, and the word from black 3 times.  Gluing those layers together was cause for some cussing on my part, and hubby thought I was losing it!  LOL  Anyway, the "you are" comes from the Honey Bee Happiness stamp set, and was heat embossed in white on black.  Here's a closer look...you may want to squint your eyes a bit...

--CHALLENGES--

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Love to Craft #57:  ATG (1/5)

Mix it Up #48:  ATG (1/5)

Besties International:  ATG (1/3)

Moving Along With The Times #29:  Animals/Birds (1/3)

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

613 Avenue Create:  ATG 

Crafty Animals #49:  ATG with animals

Classic Design #4:  ATG

Digi Doodle Studios #37:  Animal

The Paper Funday #27:  ATG w/optional twist -  Use green (2/4)

SheepSki Designs #49:  Animal Magic

Gem of a Challenge #7:  ATG (2/2)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #154:  ATG (2/3)

Word Art Wednesday #485 - #486:  ATG (2/5)

Double Trouble #80:  Something, Anything, Everything w/ optional twist - coloring (alcohol markers)

Aud Sentiments #271:  Animals + sentiment (2/5)

Through the Craft Room Door:  ATG 

Inkspirational #235:  Fur/Feathers

Cute Card Thursday #680:  ATG

Simon Says Wednesday:  ATG (2/5)

Digi Choosday #13:  ATG (2/2)

Penny's Paper Crafty #493:  ATG (2/3)

Crafting Happiness #90:  ATG 

I truly appreciate you stopping by my blog today.  I hope that you make it through today without too many jokes being pulled on you! 😆 Until next time my friends,

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless!

~Marie~