WELCOME BACK TO BUGABOO'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY EVENT -- DAY 5 -- WENESDAY, JULY 22,2020

Hello my lovely friends!  Welcome back to day 5 of Bugaboo's Christmas in July event!  Today is Wednesday, which means it's Humor Me Wednesday at Catch the Bug:

And here is my funny card:

I printed the sentiment myself in the Silhouette software, using a font called Twinkle.  I thought it was PERFECT to go with this adorable Christmas Turtle.  I may just have to save this card for a last minute send out so the sentiment makes sense!  LOL

The image was colored with alcohol markers, and I added Star Dust Stickles to the white parts of his Santa hat.  I added some shine to the candy cane with Glossy Accents, and used white gel pen to add shine marks to his pretty shell, and to accent his eyes.  Spellbinders Card Creator dies were used to cut out the image panel, and the olive green panel, and they were both adhered with liquid glue.  I kept this card pretty simple, but I really like it!  😀

--CHALLENGES--

The Paper Girls #204:  Christmas in July (3/3)

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #69:  ATG (5/10)

Classic Design #7:  ATG

CHNC #499:  ATG Christmas

Merry Little Christmas #24:  ATG (5/5)

A Perfect Time to Craft #7:  ATG

My Time to Craft #436:  Christmas in July

A Bit More Time to Craft Extra:  ATG

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

Digi Choosday #29:  ATG (2/2)

Crafting Happiness #58:  ATG 

Crafty Animals #40:  ATG using animals

Daisy Chain #43:  No Design Paper

2 Crafty Critter Crazies:  ATG using critters

ABC Christmas:  N for No Fuss, O for Over the Top (N this time!)

Double Trouble #62:  Christmas in July (partnering with Heart to Heart)

Heart to Heart:  Favorite Crafting Tool (my Silhouette Cameo!)

Sweet Stampin:  Clean and Simple

Penny's Paper-Crafty #476:  ATG using paper (1/3)

I appreciate you stopping by again today, and as always, don't forget to go to the Catch the Bug blog to see what other DT creations await you (leave 'em some love, ya'll!), and to join in!  

Until tomorrow, Take Care and God Bless!

~Marie~

WELCOME BACK TO BUGABOO'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY EVENT -- DAY4 -- TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2020

Hello friends, and welcome back to my blog!  Here we are at Day 4 of the big Christmas in July event already...time flies when you're having fun!  For today, we have a BINGO card for you to play along with:

And here is my card:

I used the flash freebie made available today called Christmas Rocking Horse, and in keeping with the rocking theme, I made my first-ever rocker card!  I watched a few YouTube videos before plowing ahead, and there are definitely still some things I would do differently next time; but overall I am happy with the end result!  It's bright and fun, which I think fits well with a rocker card, especially one for Christmas.

The patterned paper comes from the Whimsy 12x12 Recollections paper pad, and I colored the horsey with alcohol markers to match.  I'm not sure why I wanted a bright pink horse, but that's what my heart was set on when I started the coloring.

I used my Silhouette software to determine the sizes of my circles for the base of the card; I figured that would be just as easy as using dies, and this way I could "layer" them and see how they would look.  The image circle and the green scalloped circle were cut using Spellbinders dies.  All layers are glued down flat with liquid glue.

--CHALLENGES--

The Paper Girls #204:  Christmas in July (2/3)

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #67:  ATG (4/10)

Classic Design #7:  ATG

CHNC #499:  ATG

Love to Craft #48:  ATG (5/5)

Mix It Up #39:  ATG (5/5)

Merry Little Christmas #24:  ATG (4/5)

613 Avenue Create #235:  ATG (5/5)

Paper Funday #19:  ATG (4/4)

A Perfect Time to Craft #7:  ATG

My Time to Craft #436:  Christmas in July

A Bit More Time to Craft Extra:  ATG

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Jingle Belles:  Colorful Christmas

Die Cut Divas:  Christmas in July (4/4)

Digi Choosday #29:  ATG (1/2)

Fezziwigs Festive Frolics:  Christmas cards with Summer Colors

Crafting Happiness #58:  ATG

C.R.A.F.T #564:  Christmas/Humorous

I appreciate you stopping by again today!  Don't forget about stopping by the Catch the Bug blog to see the rest of the DT makes, and to join in on the fun before it's too late!  Until tomorrow, my friends...

Take Care and God Bless!  

~Marie~

WELCOME BACK TO BUGABOO'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY EVENT -- DAY 3 -- MONDAY, JULY 20, 2020

Hello again, my friends!  It's day 3 of Bugaboo's Christmas in July week-long event, and today is Anything But a Card day:

I decided to make an ornament, and a shaker one to boot!

I thought it would be so cute to have this adorable Ava Ornament image actually ON an ornament for the Anything But a Card challenge.  And then after I printed out the image and started to color, a thought struck me...what if I made the ornament on the image a tiny little shaker?  😲  I LOVED the idea, so I started brainstorming how to accomplish it without too much of a headache.  LOL  So, I merged the image back into the Silhouette software, and decided that the best way to do this would be to separate Ava from the ornament.  I copied and pasted the original, then separated Ava from the ornament.  I created a circle that would fit inside the ornament, but still leave a bit of the ornament visible, as it would have been too thin otherwise.  I used the same sized offset for both Ava and the ornament, then printed them off and cut them with my Cameo.  In hindsight, I probably could have made an inner offset inside the ornament portion of the image, so I wouldn't have had to separate them.  Oh well, I think it still turned out OK!

I used Spellbinders 2012 Heirloom Ornaments (largest size) to die cut the ornament body, and I cut it from Lawn Fawn's Perfectly Plaid Christmas 6x6 paper pad, and a piece of green card stock.  I glued them back-to-back for stability.  I used a scrap of gold foil card stock to serve as the ornament topper.  As I was laying things out to see how I liked them, I thought the ornament was looking pretty plain.  I decided  that using Versamark and gold glitter embossing powder around the edges was just the thing to spruce it up a bit.  The image is colored with alcohol markers, with white gel pen accents, Star Dust Stickles on the white parts of her dress and hat, and gold gel pen for the ornament topper.  For the shaker bits, I rounded up some red, gold and green (this sounds like an 80's song lyric!) sequins, and my brand-spanking new Peppermint Stick WOW! Sparkles glitter (💗).    Oh yes, and a few iridescent sequins too.  I am always afraid to over fill shakers, but I think I could have used a bit more in this one.  I cut my Scotch foam tape very thinly, and removed the backing so I could go around the opening nicely.  I did this in a double layer.  I placed a small die cut circle on the foam tape, and then played with my shaker!  Doh, I forgot to say that I did go around the inside of the foam tape with some anti static powder and a cotton swab to try to prevent the shaker bits from sticking.  I placed my little shaker on the front of the ornament, and I was done!  I guess I probably still need to punch a hole in the top and add a piece of ribbon for hanging.  I'll get around to it!  LOL

--CHALLENGES--

The Paper Girls #204:  Christmas in July (1/3)

C.R.A.F.T #564:  Christmas/Humorous

Crimbo Crackers #211:  ATG (2/2)

Lemon Shortbread #124:  ATG (3/3)

Die Cut Divas:  Christmas in July (3/4)

Cutie Pie #149:  Delightful Digi Stamps (3/3)

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #67:  ATG (3/10)

Classic Design #7:  ATG

CHNC #499:  ATG Christmas

Love to Craft #48:  ATG (4/5)

Mix It Up #39:  ATG (4/5)

Merry Little Christmas #24:  ATG (3/5)

613 Avenue Create #235:  ATG (4/5)

Digi Doodle Studios #29:  Christmas in July (3/3)

Paper Funday #19:  ATG (3/4)

Jan's Digi Stamps:  ATG (5/5)

A Perfect Time to Craft #7:  ATG

ABC Christmas: N for NO Fuss, O for Over the Top (I think this one might be an O)

Word Art Wednesday #448 - #449:  ATG (4/5)

My Time to Craft #436:  Christmas in July 

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

A Bit More Time to Craft Extra:  ATG

Christmas Craft Creations:  Christmas Characters (3/3)

Thanks for stopping by my blog today...Don't forget to head on over to the Catch the Bug blog for today's DT inspiration (you will not be sorry you did!).  Until tomorrow my friends,

Take Care and God Bless!

~Marie~

WELCOME BACK TO BUGABOO'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY EVENT -- DAY 2 -- SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020

Hello again friends!  Today at the Catch the Bug blog for Bugaboo's Christmas in July event, the challenge is a sketch:

and here is my card!

This adorable image is Moose Ornaments, and I love it!  He is so darn CUTE!  Of course, I colored with my alcohol markers, and added some metallic Gelly Roll pens to color the small ornament he is holding, and the toppers on the large ones.  I used the clear sparkle one to color in the white parts of his hat, and the little sparkle bits drawn around him.  White gel pen was added to his eyes, and the shine marks on the large ornaments.  The largest of Spellbinders Large Labels dies was used to die cut the image panel, and the green mat behind it was measured and cut with a trimmer.  For the designer papers, I used Spellbinders largest die in the Card Creator B set to trim them nicely.  The glitter transition piece was cut from a scrap of bronze glitter paper that I had die cut some stars from for a project a few years ago.  "Cheer" comes from a Holiday Sentiments stamp and die set from Recollections.  It is layered up 3 times with the green card stock, and the top was treated with some layers of clear Wink of Stella pen, and then a coat of Glossy Accents.

--CHALLENGES--

Die Cut Divas:  Christmas in July (2/4)

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

CHNC #499:  ATG Christmas

Love to Craft #48:  ATG (3/5)

Mix it Up #39:  ATG (3/5)

Merry Little Christmas #24:  ATG Christmas (2/5)

Creative Moments #194:  ATG (3/3)

613 Avenue Create #235:  ATG (3/5)

Crafty Animals #40:  ATG using animals

Classic Design #7:  ATG

Digi Doodle Studios #29:  Christmas in July (2/3)

Paper Funday #19:  ATG (2/4)

Jan's Digi Stamps:  ATG (4/5)

A Perfect Time to Craft #7:  ATG

Stamping Sensations:  All Creatures Great and Small (2/3)

2 Crafty Critter Crazies#40:  ATG using critters (3/5)

ABC Christmas: N for No Fuss, O for Over the Top

Word Art Wednesday #448 - #449:  ATG (3/5)

My Time to Craft #436:  Christmas in July

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas 

A Bit More Time to Craft Extra:  ATG

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #67:  ATG (2/10)

Christmas Craft Creations:  Christmas Characters (2/3)

Thanks for stopping by again today!  Don't forget to stop by the Catch the Bug blog if you haven't already!  Also, don't forget to play along for several chances to win some Bugaboo goodness!  😄  YAY!

So, until tomorrow,

Take Care, and God Bless!  

~Marie~ 

WELCOME TO BUGABOO'S CHRISTMAS IN JULY EVENT -- DAY1 --SATURDAY, JULY 18, 2020

Hi friends!  It's that time of year again; that time where Bugaboo celebrates Christmas in July at the Catch the Bug blog with a week chock full of  DT inspiration, AND you can play along to win some cute Bugaboo images!  I see that as a win-win situation!  This year's theme is Santa's workshop:

And here is my card for today:

This image is called Santa and Friends, and I figured I would start the week off with this cute scene that looks like it's a group of friends getting together for a selfie before Santa rides off into the night delivering presents.  😉   They've all done a fantastic job of helping get everything ready for the trip, so why not commemorate the occasion?  😀  It kinda looks like the elf is a little shy, or maybe he snuck in at the last second, LOL!

Anyway, I used my alcohol markers to color the image, and let me tell ya; that took awhile!  I did add some colored pencil texture to Rudolph's fur after I watched someone do it in a YouTube video (I wish I could remember who it was!)  I am quite in love with the final product, I have to say!  For something different, I used the largest of the Spellbinders Curved Rectangles dies to create my card base and image panel.  There is lots of sparkle and some shine added to this card in the form of Stardust Stickles to accent the snow and the white parts of Santa's and the little birdy's hats, Xmas Red Stickles on Rudolph's nose, and then a layer of Glossy Accents on top of that.  There is also a wee little bit on the birdy's beak, and on the bells throughout the image.  White gel pen was also used to accent their eyes, to provide the illusion of shine on some things, and in Santa's beard, mustache, and hair to add texture.

Since I sized the image to cover a full-sized A2 card, I stamped a Merry Christmas sentiment from Cas-ual Fridays in Golden Glitz Delicata ink on the inside of the card.

Also, here's another photo of the card where the lighting seems to be better:

--CHALLENGES--

Die Cut Divas:  Christmas in July (1/4)

12 Months of Christmas Link Up #67:  ATG (1/10)

Merry Little Christmas #24:  ATG Christmas (1/5)

Christmas Craft Creations:  Christmas Characters (1/3)

CHNC #499:  ATG Christmas

Creative Fingers #190:  ATG (2/3)

Love to Craft #48:  ATG (2/5)

Mix it Up #39:  ATG (2/5)

Cutie Pie #149:  Digi Stamps (2/3)

Besties International:  ATG (3/3)

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

Creative Moments #194:  ATG (2/3)

613 Avenue Create #235:  ATG (2/5)

Crafts Galore Encore #77:  ATG (3/3)

Crafty Animals #40:  ATG using animals

Daisy Chain #43:  No Design Paper

Classic Design #7:  ATG

Digi Doodle Studios #29:  Christmas in July (1/3)

Paper Funday #19:  ATG (1/4)

Jan's Digi Stamps:  ATG (3/5)

A Perfect Time to Craft #7:  ATG 

Stamping Sensations:  All Creatures Great and Small (1/3)

2 Crafty Critter Crazies #40:  ATG using critters (2/5)

Gem of a Challenge #15:  ATG (1/2)

ABC Christmas:  N for No Fuss, and O for Over the Top (I'm sure mine falls into one of these 2 categories, but I'm not sure which!)

Crimbo Crackers #211:  ATG (1/2)

Word Art Wednesday #448 - #449:  ATG (2/5)

My Time to Craft #436:  Christmas in July

Lemon Shortbread #124:  ATG (2/3)

Polkadoodles #29:  ATG (2/2)

Digi Choosday #28:  ATG (2/2)

Penny's Paper-Crafty #475:  ATG (3/3)

Crafting Happiness #57:  ATG

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Christmas

A Bit More Time to Craft Extra:  ATG

So, are you ready for more Christmas in July inspiration?  Head on over to the Catch the Bug blog, where all of the DT members have created masterpieces!  Thanks for stopping by today, and until next time,

Take Care, and God Bless!

~Marie~

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A FOXICORN??? GDT FOR COLOUR CRAZY, JULY 17, 2020

Hi crafty friends!  I hope today finds you all staying well and keeping busy!  Well, it's Friday, which means we've made it through another week; YAHOO!  I know I'm always glad for the weekends, unless I have to work overtime. 👎  But anyway, I'm here to share the card I made for my July GDT spot at the Colour Crazy Challenge blog:

This week's sponsor is Knitty Kitty Digis, and the image I chose to use is the Foxicorn.  Annabel, the artist/creator/owner of Knitty Kitty Digis prefers that her images have watermarks, so I apologize if that makes my card hard to view. There is a great selection of images in their Etsy shop, so I encourage you to check it out!  With this being such a fantasy-type image, I thought, what better way to color it than to use the rainbow?  AND, why not do 6 of them and put them on the oh-so-trendy-right-now slimline card?  The idea of this card was pretty simple, but the execution was not!  Since I also wanted to try my hand at water coloring the images and background (why not do a whole bunch of new things at once, HAHA!), I needed to print them out on Bristol card stock so my Tombow markers would work well.  I figured the best way to do that was to use the laser printer.  Well, my laser printer doesn't care much for the thick Bristol!  It wouldn't grab the paper no way, no how.  So, I asked my Squirrel Sisters for advice, and they suggested cutting a smaller piece of the Bristol and taping it to a piece of regular printer paper.  The first print was a bit smeary, I think from the first attempt, so I tried again. That time it worked great, but then when I tried to cut these fellas out with my Cameo, it was off. I think I gave up at that point and went to bed.  😆

The next evening, I decided to forgo the laser printer, and use the inkjet.  I had to push the Bristol until the rollers grabbed it, but it printed just fine.  And again, when I tried to cut them with the Cameo - no good!  I figured I must have done something wrong in the designing aspect, so I brought the original image back in and redid it. I set things up again to print, and the ink smeared!  😡 At this point, I thought I really wasn't meant to do this card!  So, I gave up and went to bed.  On the next evening, I printed it again, and all went well.  Set it up to cut, and HOORAH, that worked too!  FINALLY, WE ARE GOOD TO GO!!!  HOLY COW, what a process!  So then I went along my merry way, and water colored them and the panel, assembled my card, and DONE!  *whew!*  I think it turned out super cute, if I do say so myself.  LOL  😀 Oh, and the inside says, "For fox sake, I hope your day is magical!"  Teehee!

--CHALLENGES--

Creative Fingers #190:  ATG (1/3)
Love to Craft #48:  ATG (1/5)
Mix it Up #39:  ATG (1/5)
Cutie Pie #149:  Digi Stamps (1/3)
Besties International:  ATG (1/3)
Color It, Create It, Show It Off:  ATG (1/3)
Creative Moments #194:  ATG (1/3)
613 Avenue Create #235:  ATG (1/5)
Crafts Galore Encore#77:  ATG (2/3)
Crafty Gals Corner #209:  Fantasy World (1/3)
Daisy Chain #43:  No design paper
Classic Design #7:  ATG
Jan's Digi Stamps:  ATG (2/5)
A Perfect Time to Craft:  ATG 
Word Art Wednesday #448 - #449:  ATG (1/5)
Lemon Shortbread #124:  ATG (1/3)
Polkadoodles #29:  ATG (1/2)
Digi Choosday #28:  ATG (1/2)
Penny's Paper-Crafty #475:  ATG (2/3)
Crafting Happiness #57:  ATG 
Little Red Wagon #558:  Fantasy
Papercraft Challenges #60:  Fantasy

Thanks for stopping by today!  Please do pop over to the Colour Crazy Challenge to see what the Team D Design Team has made with their image of choice.  Until next time,

Take Care and God Bless!  

~Marie~

JUST GIVING YA'LL A HEADS UP!!!

Get those Christmas Bugaboo digis ready!!!

~Marie~

SATURDAY CHALLENGE AT CATCH THE BUG -- BEAR WITH ME, 7/11/2020

Hey friends, and welcome back to my blog!  Today's challenge at Catch the Bug is called Bear With Me, and here is my card:

I chose this adorable Zoo Bobblehead Bear to use for my card because I thought he would be a great fit for any occasion.  I colored the bear using Prismacolor markers in Warm Grays, and added some black to the very darkest areas. My papers come from the My Mind's Eye Here Is Happy 6x6 paper pad. I was really trying to channel my inner Christy Gets Crafty by using these papers. How did I do?  😉 The dark red cardstock is from Recollections. It is really a darker red in real life; this picture makes it look brighter than it is.  Oh yeah, and the curved pierced edge on the bottom patterned paper layer was made using a die from the Sizzix Brackets, Bevels, and Lace set.  I took my card layout inspiration from an old Papertake Weekly Sketch.  I still love those!  The sentiment comes from Hero Arts Everyday Sayings stamp set, and was stamped in VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink.

--CHALLENGES--

Creative Fingers #190:  ATG (1/3)
CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper
Love to Craft #48:  ATG (1/5)
Mix it Up #39:  ATG (1/5)
Besties International:  ATG (1/3)
Color It, Create It, Show It Off:  ATG with coloring (1/3)
613 Avenue Create #235:  ATG (1/5)
Crafts Galore Encore #77:  ATG (1/3)
Crafty Animals #40:  ATG using an animal
Classic Design #7:  ATG
2 Crafty Critter Crazies #40:  ATG using a critter (1/5)
A Place to Start:  Flowers/Floral papers (1/8)
Gem of a Challenge #14:  ATG (1/2)
Word Art Wednesday Weeks #446 - #447:  ATG (1/5)
Cuttlebug Mania:  ATG (I used a classic circle Spellbinders die to cut the image panel, and a Sizzix die to cut the pierced, curved edge)
Lemon Shortbread #123:  ATG (1/3)
Tuesday Throwdown #461:  Polka Dots
Polkadoodles #28:  ATG (1/2)
Digi Choosday #27:  ATG (1/2)
Penny's Paper-Crafty #475:  ATG (1/3)
Crafting Happiness #56:  ATG
Jan's Digi Stamps:  ATG (1/5) 
A Perfect Time to Craft:  ATG 

Thanks for stopping by today, and don't forget to pop over to the Catch the Bug blog to see what inspiration awaits you from other DT members.  Oh and hey, enter the challenge too, so you have a chance to win some Bugaboo images!  Until next time, friends;
Take Care, and God Bless! ❤

~Marie~

CCAYR JULY, 2020 -- COOL IT!

Hello friends!  Welcome back to my blog.  Today I'm sharing my DT project for Christmas Crafts All Year Round's July prompt; Cool It!

I am quite happy with how this card turned out!  The border is Snowflake Frame from Bugaboo.  I printed it out on my laser printer with the original intention of coloring over it in light blues, but once I had it printed and die cut, I changed my mind and decided to foil it.  Boy, am I happy I did!  Check it out in this close up:

And that doesn't even really do it much justice.  The foil is holographic reactive foil from Heidi Swapp that I got on clearance at Michael's awhile back.  I only have a small roll, and I wish now that I had gotten more!  I ran it through my Scotch laminator 3 times; once right side up, then upside down, and then again right side up.  I think it covered the delicate image wonderfully...there are a few spots that were missed, but just glancing over it, you can't really tell.

The image I used is an actual wood and rubber stamp from Penny Black called Snowy.  I had drooled over this stamp for soooooo long when I would see it on others' cards.  Then maybe 2 years ago (?), I finally bought it...and this is the first time I have stamped him up.  Isn't that terrible?  Poor Snowy, just sitting there all that time, waiting to be inked up.  Well, now that I have rectified that, hopefully he can forgive me.  😊  I colored his hat and scarf using 2 Prismacolor markers, and then used my 08 white Gelly Roll pen to dot all over those areas to add texture.  I love doing that to winter hats and scarves!  Then for even MORE texture, I used white puffy paint on the white areas of the hat.  I love doing that too!  Such a fun look.  Before I forget, I gave Snowy some shadows using BG10.

I glued the panel to a piece of Recollections navy card stock, and then glued that to a 110lb. top fold card base, and called it done.  I didn't want to cover anything up with a sentiment, so that will just have to go on the inside.

--CHALLENGES--

Penny Black and More:  Favorite Stamps
12 Months of Christmas Link Up #66:  ATG
Creative Fingers #189:  ATG
Creative Moments #193:  ATG
CHNC #496:  ATG Christmas
Tuesday Throwdown #460:  ATG
Polkadoodles #26:  ATG
Digi Choosday #26:  ATG
Crafting Happiness #55:  ATG

Thanks so much for stopping by...don't forget to stop by the CCAYR blog to see what the rest of the DT has made to inspire you to COOL IT!

Until next time,

Take Care, and God Bless!

~Marie~