Another month has come and gone...

And here we are in DECEMBER!!!!  I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, this year has just FLOWN by!  As always, with the start of a new month comes a whole new bunch of inspiration from the design team at Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra!  Here is my contribution for December:

 

 

Our main sponsor is Bugaboo, and so we use those images for the first-of-the-month project.  I've had this little Stocking Mouse for awhile, and it was time to put him on a card!  He's colored with Prismacolor markers, and the tack holding the stocking is colored with a silver gel pen.  I used an old Papertake Weekly sketch for my card design.

 

Challenges:

 

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #24:  ATG or optional "North Pole" theme

Christmas With The Cuties #1:  ATG

Christmas Card Challenges #50:  ATG

CHNC #309:  Use a sentiment

Holly Jolly #86:  Create a Christmas card or ABC (anything but a card)

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG

Sweet Stampin':  Got The Blues

Animal Friends #45:  ATG

Card Mania #87:  ATG

Simon Says Wednesday:  ATG

HIMCR #277:  Any Holiday

Word Art Wednesday #258-259:  ATG

613 Avenue Create #191:  ATG

Digi Choosday #48:  ATG

Penny's Paper Crafty #306:  ATG

ABC Challenge:  "U" is for Unconventional (Christmas colors, no red and green)

Love To Craft Challenge Blog #5:  December ATG

 

Thanks for stopping by again today!  Take care and God Bless!

 

~Marie~

 

 

Nativity shaker card

Greetings and salutations, bloggers!  I hope all my fellow Americans have sufficiently recovered from their turkey comas by now...LOL!  It's Wednesday night here in PA, and it's chilly and rainy.  We have been in need of the rain, but I wish I had the power to send it to Tennessee instead.  :(  So much loss is hard to imagine...

 

Getting back on track, here is the shaker card mentioned in my title:

 

 

I love the end result of this card, but man was it trying to put together!!  There are 8 or 9 layers of the Nativity cut from black card stock glued together, with a layer of acetate in between the last black layer and the gold layer.  The card base was sponged with distress inks (Mustard Seed, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, and Black Soot).  All this was not the frustrating part.  When this card idea entered my head, all I thought about was making this a shaker.  What I realized as I dumped the shaker bits onto the card base and prepared to place my Nativity on top, was that I was going to have to separate the bits in order for it to work.  Well, lemme tell ya, that was no small feat!  I can't tell you HOW MANY TIMES I arranged the bits and laid the Nativity on top to make sure nothing would be caught underneath!  It's a wonder I have any hair left, LOL!  BUT, it all worked out in the end.  This card is going to a 10-year-old girl at my church who I think will enjoy it.  :)

 

Challenges:

 

Christmas at Sweet Stampin':  ATG

Christmas Card Challenges:  ATG

CHNC #309:  Use a sentiment

Holly Jolly #86:  Create a Christmas card or ABC (anything but a card)

November Rudolph Days:  ATG

Simon Says Wednesday:  ATG

Crafting with Friends #32:  ATG

Hiding in my Craft Room #277:  Any Holiday

Word Art Wednesday #258-259:  ATG

Die Cuttin Divas #294:  Make it Sparkle

Craft Your Passion #340:  ATG

Outlawz Monday Greeting:  ATG

 

Thanks for stopping by today...I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!  God Bless!

 

~Marie~

 

 

 

Happy Christmas deer

Hidey ho, bloggers!  Happy Sunday!  I just installed a Christmas countdown app on my phone, and it is so cute!  It showcases an adorable snowman picture, counts down (seconds, minutes, hours, days), and plays Christmas music!  EEEEEEE!  On that note, allow me to share my latest Christmas card with you:

 

 

The current sketch from Paper Play Sketches was perfect to showcase this adorable reindeer tag:

 The designer paper from the 6x6 Winter Whimsy pad from love Nicole is perfect for providing a sentiment without adding another element to the sketch.  I do want to use this sketch again and use a sentiment as the focal point, like some of the Paper Play Sketches DT members did.  Gorgeous samples!

 

Other Challenges:

 

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #23:  ATG or optional "BINGO"

ABC Christmas:  "W" for wishes

CHNC #308:   ATG or optional "CUTE" theme

Crimbo Crackers #120:  ATG

Holly Jolly #85:  Ribbon or lace

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper:  ATG

Card Mania #86:  Tag, You're It!

Simon Says Wednesday:  Christmas Critters

Crafting With Friends #32:  ATG

Word Art Wednesday #256-257:  ATG

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #390:  Christmas

Cute Card Thursday #452:  Christmas/Holidays

613 Avenue Create #191:  ATG

 

Thanks for joining me today.  I hope you all have some time to "get your craft on!"

 

God Bless!

 

~Marie~

 

 

NO WAY! Three days of posts in a row?!

What is going on?  I can't believe I'm actually here posting again...miracles do still happen!  LOL!  Well, here we go...

 

 

This card is made with lots of new goodies!  All the designer papers come from a love Nicole 6x6 pad called Seasons Greetings I got last weekend at A.C. Moore.  That adorable penguin is from a pack of tags purchased at our local K-Mart that is closing. I also got a pack of cutie reindeers I can't wait to get into!  Oh, and the sentiment is cut from that piece of designer paper on the bottom-most layer.  AND, the red strings around the upper panel came from the tags.  :)

 

Challenges:

 

Retro Sketches #240: 

 

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #23:  ATG or optional "BINGO"

A Snowflake's Promise #33:  ATG or optional theme, "SEASONS"

Christmas Card Challenges #48:  ATG or optional word prompt, "GLITTER"

Craftyhazelnuts Patterned Paper:  ATG

Card Mania #86:  Tag You're It!

Simon Says Wednesday:  Christmas Critters

Word Art Wednesday #256-257:  ATG

Glitter 'N' Sparkle #214:  ATG

613 Avenue Create #191:  ATG

Sweet Stampers #1:  Christmas

Digi Choosday #46:  ATG

 

Thanks for stopping by again today!  Have a blessed rest of the week!

 

~Marie~

 

 

 

 

Oooooo, Lookie! Posting 2 nights in a row!

Hello!  I am back again to share with you my mid-way DT card for Christmas Cards All Year Round:

 

November's theme is for Santa and/or Elf.  This gorgeous stamp comes from the Inkadinkado Holiday Filigree set, as does the sentiment.  The Santa image and the red mat behind it are Silhouette cut files.  The holly die is from Darice.  My designer paper comes from the 12x12 Winter Wonderland pad from K & Company.  LOVE. THIS. PAD.  That glittery diagonal stripe running down the middle is ribbon.

 

Challenges:

 

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #23:  ATG or optional "BINGO"

Sparkles Christmas:  Holly and/or Ivy

Christmas at Sweet Stampin':  ATG Christmas

Winter Wonderland:  Ribbon or lace, OR Christmas flowers

Holly Jolly Christmas #85:  Ribbons and Lace

Christmas Card Challenges #48:  ATG or word prompt- "GLITTER"

Snowflake's Promise #33:  ATG or optional "SEASONS"

Sweet Stampers #1:  Christmas

Digi Choosday #46:  ATG

Crafting from the Heart #135:  ATG

613 Avenue Create #191:  ATG

Glitter and Sparkle #214:  ATG

Craft Your Passion #338:  ATG

Word Art Wednesday #256-257:  ATG

Craftyhazelnuts Patterned Paper:  ATG

Penny Black:  Anything Christmas

 

Thanks for spending some time here tonight!  God Bless!

 

~Marie~

Stay COOL!

My blog title certainly doesn't indicate the weather we've been having here in Pennsylvania...temps in the 60's, in need of rain...the weather people say this is the 4th warmest fall in PA history...or something like that.  I was only half listening while I was doing dishes...lol!  Anyway, onto my Christmas card:

 

 

This little guy was part of my recent Lawn Fawn haul...love him!  The Stitched Hillside Borders and sentiment (Snow Cool set) are also from Lawn Fawn.  The silver pond he's skating on is from some packaging my smart hubby offered to me before throwing it away...got him trained right!  I "drew" it in my Cameo software, and it cut (mostly) like a dream.  Just needed a few slices with a craft knife to get it out...I shoulda set it up to cut twice!  Sponged the sky with Tumbled Glass, and added the cut file clouds.  Done!

 

Challenges:

 

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #23:  ATG or optional BINGO

Christmas at Sweet Stampin':  ATG Christmas

Christmas Card Challenges #48:  ATG or optional word prompt GLITTER

CHNC #307:  Color...coral...or Hazel will give some leeway with anything orange, red, pink

The Cutie Pie Challenge #105:  Cute and no designer paper

Penny Black:  Anything Christmas

Crazy 4 Challenges #362:  Stitches and/or thread

Word Art Wednesday #256-257:  ATG

C.R.A.F.T challenge #389:  Winter

Craft Your Passion #338:  ATG

Cute Card Thursday #451:  Something metallic

Outlawz Paper a la Mode:  Frost or snow

Glitter and Sparkle #214:  ATG

613 Avenue Create #191:  ATG

Crafting from the Heart #135:  ATG

Digi Choosday #45:  ATG

Penny's Challenge #303:  ATG

Sweet Stampers #1:  Christmas

 

Thanks for stopping by today!  God bless!

 

~Marie~

 

 

 

Oh no...it's NOVEMBER!!!

And that means a couple things...this year is going by WAY TOO FAST, and we are only 54 days away from Christmas 2016!  Oh, and one more thing...it's time for another great challenge over at Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra!  Here is my design team card:

 

As you all know, for our first-of-the-month submissions we are required to use a Bugaboo image.  This one is from Jodi's newest release, and is called BUGSNOWMAN004.  I have to admit, I fell in *love* with this guy as soon as I saw him.  I HAD to have him; he is just perfect!!  *SQUEEEE!!*

 

This past weekend, we went to Michael's to see if any Christmas paper was out yet...it took me awhile to find it, but find it I did!  I love how Recollections has a bunch of 8.5 x 11 cardstock packs to choose from.  Lemme tell you, the choice was difficult, but in the end I chose the Winter Frost pack.  (I may have to go back and get a few more--he he!)  It has the most gorgeous light blue snowflake patterned cardstock in it that I must hoard stock up on.  I used some of that here.  I distressed the edges with Tumbled Glass ink.  The cardstock panel running through the middle was embossed with a snowflake ef by the Paper Studio, and also inked with Tumbled Glass.  Hard to see though, since I made my image panel larger than I had intended to.  I colored this guy up with a combo of Sharpies, Copics, and Prismacolor markers.  Added some Crystal Stickles to the snow and snowflakes, and the image panel was done.

 

I followed the sketch over at Paper Play Sketches:

I thought this adorable guy would do well as center stage in this sketch.

 

Other Challenges:

 

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #22:  ATG

ABC Christmas : "V" for Vertical

Christmas Card Challenges #46:  ATG

CHNC #305:  ATG Christmas

Jingle Belles:  Animals

October Rudolph Days:  ATG

The Merry Christmas Challenge #5:  ATG

Winter Wonderland:  Frosty or All Wrapped Up

Simon Says Wednesday:  ATG

Crafting with Friends#30:  ATG

Hiding in my Craft Room #273:  Freestyle

Word Art Wednesday #254-255:  ATG

Outlawz Twisted Thursday:  ATG

Digi Choosday #43:  ATG

Penny's Challenge #301:  ATG

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Don't forget to stop by my CHNC Extra design teamies' blogs to give them some lovin' for their creations, and I hope to see YOUR creations on the blog!

 

God Bless!

 

~Marie~

 

 

Is it really the middle of October already?

Well here I am, behind the 8-ball for getting my card done for the CCAYR mid-month inspiration challenge reminder...all this bedroom renovation is cutting into my crafting time!  BUT, everything is done now, except for a few minor details...Leandra can move right in!

 

Ok, back to my CCAYR DT card:

 

 

Deanne asked for orange this month, a little or a lot.  I went with a little, as I really couldn't picture a Christmas card with a lot of orange on it.  I recently got some Lawn Fawn goodies to add to my stash, and this adorable Winter Bunny was one of them!  I figured his scarf blowing in the wind was the perfect way to add some orange.  I sponged the sky background using a scalloped oval as a mask, and added a couple of Silhouette cut file clouds that I added a dashed line into to match the Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Border dies I used for the snowy hills.  The fun sentiment is stamped using a ombre ink pad from Recollections (in orange!), and is actually 2 sentiments .  The "snow" comes from Lawn Fawn's "Snow Cool" stamp set, and "much fun" comes from Winter Activities from The Paper Company.  I added some Frosted Lace Stickles to the snowy hills, and that's it!

 

Challenges:

 

12 Months of Christmas Link Up#22:  ATG

Word Art Wednesday #252-253:  ATG

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by, and God Bless!

 

 

 

~Marie~

 

The Nature of Christmas

Happy Thursday bloggers!  Have you heard that there are less than 100 days until Christmas?  How has this happened?  Wasn't it just January 1, 2016??  I hope all of you crafters are in the midst of preparing...on that note, here is another Christmas card for my 2016 stash:

 

I have been "working" on this card for some time now.  I've had the Fred, She Said Pine Trees file imported into my Silhouette program for FOREVER, waffling back and forth about what to do with it.  I finally settled on making a pyramid with it, but I didn't want just a square or rectangle, so I went with ovals!  I did all the shapes in the Silhouette program, painstakingly making sure they were layered over the images just right.  I'm sure it should have been easy...LOL!  I also created the silver oval layer and the navy scalloped oval layer to perfectly match my image.  I dry embossed the upper part of the square card base with the Darice Snowflake Trim folder to add some more texture, and stamped The Paper Company Christmas Glamour sentiment on the flat lower area.  To better distinguish between the 2 areas, I added a strip of the sliver glitter paper, and this was done!  Well, with the exception of some Wink of Stella on selected parts of the image, of course!

 

Challenges:

 

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #21:  Nature of Christmas

CHNC #299:  Cute or ATG for Christmas

Holly Jolly #81:  Technique-Embossing, wet or dry (mine is dry)

Winter Wonderland:  Use at least 2 dies OR add some Sparkle

Snowflakes Promise #29:  ATG or optional seasons theme

Christmas Card Challenges #41:  ATG or optional color challenge

Word Art Wednesday #248-249:  ATG

Craft Your Passion #330:  ATG

Outlawz Paper ala Mode:  Fall/Winter Holidays

Glitter and Sparkle #206:  ATG

613 Avenue Create #189:  ATG or optional colors of fall

Broken Fairy Designs #11:  ATG or optional girlie twist

Crafting from the Heart #128:  ATG

Digi Choosday #38:  ATG

Penny's Paper Crafty #296:  ATG

 

 

Well, that's all I could find...thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend, and God Bless!

 

~Marie~

 

CCAYR Christmas Belles time!

Happy middle of the month everybody!  I'm here today to share my CCAYR Christmas Belles DT card:

 

 

I decided to go monochromatic for my card, building it based on the musical "Joy To The World" piece.  I used an old Papertake sketch, #84, for my design.  Kraft card base, layered with cream card and papers from Pink Paislee's Snow Village 12x12 pad, which is also where the topper came from.  Musical stamp used on the horizontal kraft strip is from Recollections.  I had the bottom layers all glued together, but it seemed to be lacking something...enter the gold glitter strips to save the day!  Then I added a gold glitter layer under the already kraft-backed topper to tie it all together.  And what card these days is complete without sequins?  ;)

 

Challenges:

 

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #21:  The Nature of Christmas

Snowflakes Promise #28:  ATG

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG

CMC #84:  Earth Tones

Create and Inspire #51:  ATG

Word Art Wednesday #248-249:  ATG

Fussy and Fancy #172:  Music

CRAFT challenge #381:  Christmas

Craft Your Passion #329:  ATG

DIGI Choosday #37:  ATG

Penny's Challenge #295:  ATG

 

 

Thanks for stopping by this evening, and God Bless!

 

~Marie~

 

What month is it again???

SEPTEMBER, you say?  I can hardly believe it!  My older DD will be 18 (!!!) on the 11th, and we are *that much closer* to Christmas!  On that note, I'm here to share my DT inspiration piece for Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra for September:

 

 

I have been wanting to make a toilet paper roll ornament for a good while now, and I thought now was the perfect time.  Next time I do one though, I will make my pieces thicker.  I sprayed them last night with pearl white shimmer mist, and then today, dipped one side in glue and glass glitter.  In keeping with the silver look, I used silver glitter card stock for my scalloped oval layers (there is one in the back too).  This adorable mouse lives at the Bugaboo store, here. 

 

Please go and check out the other makes from the rest of the DT for this month...you won't be disappointed!  Don't forget that YOU could win $21 worth of Bugaboo goodness, just for joining us!  I can't wait to see what you will create.

 

Challenges:

 

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #21:  ATG or optional Nature of Christmas theme

CHNC #297:  ATG or Vintage

Winter Wonderland:  Cute Christmas characters or an easel card

Crimbo Crackers #114:  ATG

Christmas Card Challenges #39:  ATG or photo inspiration

Animal Friends #42:  Animals with Fur

Simon Says Wednesday:  ATG

Digi Choosday #35:  ATG

ABC Challenge:  "O" is for OPEN (anything goes)

 

 

Thanks for stopping by, and God bless!

 

~Marie~