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~

HUMOR ME WEDNESDAY -- MARCH 31, 2021 -- AND MY 50TH BIRTHDAY! :)

Hello friends, and happy Wednesday!  WOW, what happened to those first 3 months of the year already?  For me, they seemed to just whiz on by, although there were some days and weeks that felt never-ending!  LOL!  Anyway, it's Wednesday, which means it's Humor Me Wednesday at Bugaboo's Catch the Bug blog.  Here is what I created for Little Red Wagon Day, which happens to be today!

For my card, I chose to use this adorable Brat - Girl and Kitty Wagon image; how could I not?  They look like they have been having lots of fun in their red wagon, don't they?  I was inspired to keep this card layout pretty simple by one of the handmade birthday cards I was sent this month.  I colored the image with alcohol markers to match the Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Remix 6x6 patterned paper I had chosen.  White gel pen highlights were also added. I found some red and blue cardstock in my massive stash of Recollections cardstock that matched pretty well, and used a Martha Stewart border punch to create the edges on the blue that borders the patterned paper strip.  I cut the Tim Holtz Celebration Words:  Script "happy birthday" sentiment 3 times from the same blue cardstock, but it didn't stand out enough from the background, so I added a black offset shadow layer as well.  You can't see it in the picture, but I added clear Wink of Stella to the words.  Here's a close up of the image:

--CHALLENGES--

613 Avenue Create #3:  ATG

The Paper Funday #27:  ATG

A Place to Start:  Pick a Shape (rectangles, hearts) (2/8)

Jan's Digi Stamps:  ATG

The Creative Crafters #38:  ATG

The Corrosive Challenge #3:  ATG

Gem of a Challenge #7:  ATG (1/2)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #154:  ATG

Word Art Wednesday #485- #486:  ATG (1/5)

Double Trouble #80:  Something, Anything, Everything AND the optional twist of coloring (I used alcohol markers to color my image)

Crafting Happiness #90:  ATG option

Lemon Shortbread #142:  ATG

Aud Sentiments #271:  Animals + Sentiment

Creative Craft Cottage #138:  CAS

Simon Says Wednesday:  ATG (1/5)

Polkadoodles #13:  ATG

Digi Choosday #13:  ATG (1/2)

Penny's Paper Crafty #493:  ATG

Lil Red Wagon #595:  Happy Birthday

Passion for Markers #585:  Something Beginning with "B" (birthday word, color blue)

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  Female Birthday

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  Today is my 50th birthday, and I can hardly believe it!  I never imagined what my life would be like at this age, but it turned out to be pretty darn good.  Hubby took me to Texas Roadhouse for dinner on Sunday, and this evening we will celebrate with some ice cream cake.  Doesn't get much better than that!

Anyway, until next time,

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless!

~Marie~

SQUIRRELZ GONE NUTS -- MARCH 20, 2021 -- GREEN AND SPECIALTY PAPER

 Hello there friends!  It's that time of the month again, where some of my fabulous crafty friends and I get together and do a hop with a theme and a supply or technique in mind.  For March, we are doing green, and specialty paper.

Here is my card:

I decided to try out the mini slimline size this time, and I think it is quite cute!  I had it in mind to use the gnome dies from the Gina K/Thermoweb Gnome for the Holidays kit that I was lucky enough to snag when it was released at the end of last year.   The rolling hills were die cut using Lawn Fawn's Stitched Hillside Borders, and the plaid patterned paper is from Lawn Fawn as well.  The grass is from the Perfectly Plaid Rainbow 6x6 pad, and the sky is from the Perfectly Plaid Remix 6x6 pad that just came out.  I also busted out the MFT Tree Trio die set that I got as a free with $60.00 purchase not too long ago.  The scale may be off a bit, but I still think it looks good.   Most of the pieces were die cut from 100lb Recollections white cardstock, and colored with alcohol markers. The glitter cardstock (my specialty cardstock of choice), is from a DCWV 6x6 pad.  I think he looks quite festive in blue glitter, doesn't he?  Here are a couple more pics:

--CHALLENGES--

*added soon*

Thank you for stopping by today!  Don't forget that this is part of a hop...the lovely Natasha is before me, and the equally lovely Lounon follows.   Our hop is a short one, so I hope you will stop by all of our blogs and leave some love along the way!  Until next time,

Stay Healthy, Take Care and God Bless!  

~Marie~

CATCH THE BUG OLDIE BUT GOODIE DAY -- THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2021 --BUGABOO STAMPS

Hello friends!  It's Thursday, and that means another Oldie But Goodie day at the Catch The Bug blog! Here is my creation:

This is KIDZ - Girl and Cat.  I have had this image in my Bugaboo file since 2012, so I do believe that qualifies it as an oldie.  😀  I colored her up with alcohol markers to match the Doodlebug Hello Sunshine patterned paper from the 6x6 paper pad.  I am getting dangerously low on papers I have left from this pad...guess that means I'll have to start breaking into the many other 6x6 pads that I have.  Although, I think most of those have a Christmas or winter theme, which could present a problem for a card like this.  😆  ANYWAY, The green glitter cardstock comes from the DCWV Brights glitter cardstock 6x6 pad.  Both of these pads were sitting out on my desk, so I thought I should just continue to use them.  The Spellbinders Big Scalloped oval and Lawn Fawn Oliver's ABC's (my favorite new product!) were also cut from the glitter cardstock.  The image itself was printed onto Accent Opaque white 110lb cardstock (my new favorite!), and die cut using a Spellbinders Classic Oval from the larger set.  I kept the layout simple on this 5.5 x 5.5" square card, and just let the pretty paper and the cute image do all the work.  Here are a couple more pics:

--CHALLENGES--

*added soon*

Thanks for popping by!  Please head on over to the Catch the Bug blog to see what other creations the DT have made for today.  Until next time,

Stay Healthy, Take Care and God Bless!

~Marie~

BUGABOO ANYTHING BUT A CARD -- BOOKMARKS -- MONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021

Good Monday morning, blogging friends!  It's back to work for me today after having only yesterday off (over time sucks!), but I'm still able to share my Anything But a Card project with you for the Catch the Bug blog:

This time I decided to make some cute little bookmarks using the Raggedy Critters images -- Dog, Bunny, and Monkey.  I could not find the monkey image in the store so I don't know if maybe she is retired?  I thought these adorable critters would look perfect on bookmarks since they are taller images.  I have specific people in mind to gift these to, so they were colored with alcohol markers according to their favorite colors.  I have to say that I normally don't color with yellow very often, but I think that one is my favorite!  I designed the bookmarks in my Silhouette Studio program using elements from different cut files I have purchased.  I don't know if you can tell or not, but the hole the ribbon is threaded through is in the shape of a heart.  It's the same heart I used for my shaker card in my post here.  That just goes to show how versatile these cut files really are!  Here are some more pics:

--CHALLENGES--

Love to Craft #56:  ATG (1/5)

Animal Friends Challenge:  Rabbits (1/3)

Mix it Up #47:  ATG (1/5)

Besties International:  ATG (1/3)

613 Avenue Create #2:  ATG 

Crafty Animals #48:  ATG using animals

Classic Design #3:  ATG 

A Place to Start #3:  Pick a Shape (rectangle) (1/8)

A Perfect Time to Craft #3:  ATG 

The Creative Crafters #37:  ATG (2/3)

Gem of a Challenge #5:  ATG (1/2)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #152:  ATG 

The Sisterhood of Crafters:  ATG 

Polkadoodles #9:  ATG (1/2)

The Outlawz Festive Fridays:  ATG 

Thanks for stopping by!  I also have another post today that features my 2 Crafty Critter Crazies card, which also happens to use a Bugaboo image!  Click on over to have a look if you haven't already, and make sure you check out the rest of the Bugaboo DT creations on the Catch the Bug blog also!  Until next time my friends,

Stay Healthy, Take Care and God Bless!

~Marie~

2CCC -- BUGABOO STAMPS -- MARCH 1, 2021

Hello my friends!  How are you today?  I hope all is well, and everyone is staying healthy.  It's the start of a new month, so that means we have a new challenge beginning today at 2CCC.  This month's sponsor is  Bugaboo, which you should all know by now is my favorite digi stamp company!

Here is my card:

I chose to use one of the many images in my stash, and this one is called Mouse big balloon.  He is so ADORBS!!  Just perfect for a birthday card!  I picked out 2 patterned paper scraps from the Hopscotch 12x12 Colorbok paper pad, and built my card from there.  I also based my card composition on a Papertake Weekly sketch.  I covered the 5.5" square card base with a piece of textured card stock from the 12x12 Craft Smith Turquoise paper pad.  The die cut balloons are also cut from this card stock.  The image was colored using a combination of Copics and Prismacolor markers.  All of the balloons have lots of shimmer thanks to a  clear Wink of Stella pen.  I used some crochet thread to make strings for the die cut balloons, because hubby said they wouldn't look right without strings, LOL!  The sentiment was stamped using VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink with the help of the MISTI.  It comes from a set called Happy Everything, but I do not know the brand.  The tiny balloon stamp also comes from this set.

Here are a couple different views of my card:

--CHALLLENGES--

Love to Craft #56:  ATG (2/5)

Mix it Up #47:  ATG (2/5)

Besties International:  ATG (2/3)

Crafty Animals #48:  ATG using animals

Classic Design #3:  ATG

A Place to Start #3:  Pick a Shape (square) (2/8)

A Perfect Time to Craft #3:  ATG

The Creative Crafters #37:  ATG (3/3)

Gem of a Challenge:  ATG (2/2)

The Sisterhood of Crafters:  ATG

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Thank you all for stopping by!  Don't forget to make a pitstop over at the 2CCC blog to see what the rest of the DT have created using Bugaboo critter images!  Until next time my friends,

 

Stay Healthy, Take Care and God Bless!

~Marie~

SQUIRRELS GONE NUTZ -- FEBRUARY EDITION -- FEBRAURY 20, 2021

Hello there, blogging friends!  Welcome back!  It's that time of the month again, where my crafty Squirrel Sisters and I get together and do some hopping with a theme and supply or technique in mind.  This month, we are focusing on Friendship and Shakers.  This should be fun!  Here's my take:

Yes, it's another slimline card!  I just can't seem to get enough of making these cards.  This IS my first slimline shaker card though, and I have to say that I LOVE IT!  😀  I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do with this card as far as the layout was concerned, so I designed the layers in my Silhouette software.  I love that I don't need to have special dies to join in on this cardmaking bandwagon!  I cut the 3-heart panel from a piece of K & Company 12x12 patterned paper from the Greenhouse pad by Carolyn Gavin.  I have no idea when this pad came out, because I bought it at Goodwill for $1.97!  WHAT A BARGAIN!  There was no way I could pass that up!  

Anyway, I cut the same cut file from fun foam, and then trimmed down the sides and enlarged the heart cut out areas so the foam couldn't be seen from the outside.  I chose shaker bits from Twiddler's Nook (clay hearts), Cartwright's (moonshine confetti), and Sparkle Blends (Lovestruck) to fill my shaker wells, then glued a piece of pink glitter paper from Recollections to the back to seal it up.  While that was drying, I colored the Stamping Bella unicorns that I had stamped with Lawn Fawn's jet black ink and my MISTI, and then cut out with my Brother Scan N Cut.  I am still super glad I bought that machine!  I tried to color them like the packaging showed, but in different colors.  For the bodies, I used Cool Gray10 and 20 in Prismacolor markers, and the rest was done with Copics.  I think they turned out super cute!  There are 4 unicorns in the set, so I added the 4th one to the inside, along with a sentiment I created using the Kindness, Bless Your Heart, and Happiness stamp sets from Honey Bee Stamps.

I love that their sentiment sets allow me to customize!  Now, the way I see this card, Karen, Anna, and V are the unicorns on the front of the card, and I am the one on the inside.  They really have been such a blessing to me over these past months, one I didn't even know that I needed!  And now we have Bory, Natasha, and Lounon too!  I greatly enjoy our little group.  💗    Here are some unicorn closeups:

--CHALLENGES--

CHN Patterned Paper:  ATG using patterned paper

Love to Craft #55:  ATG (3/5)

Mix it Up #46:  ATG (3/5)

Besties International:  ATG (3/3)

Moving Along with the Times #127:  Valentine's Love (1/3)

Craft Rocket #78:  Love 

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

613 Avenue Create:  ATG

Crafty Gals Corner #216:  Add a Heart 

The Creative Crafters #37:  ATG 

Crafty Friends #149:  Animals/Birds (real or fantasy)

Gem of a Challenge #4:  ATG (1/2)

Word Art Wednesday #479 - #480:  ATG (1/5)

Double D Challenge:  Anything with a Heart

Aud Sentiments #268:  ATG with sentiment (mine is on the inside)

Creative Fingers #202: ATG

Cute Card Thursday #674:  Slimline

Polkadoodles #8:  ATG  (1/2)

Digi Choosday #7:  ATG (1/2)

Colour Crazy #7:  ATG with coloring (1/2)

CraftyCatz #539:  ATG 

The Outlawz Festive Friday:  ATG

Ok, this is a hop, so you should have come here from the lovely Natasha's blog, and when you're done here, you can hop right over to sweet Anna's blog.  I know I am excited to see what we have all created this month! Don't forget to leave us some comment love!

Thanks for stopping by, and until next time,

Stay Healthy, Take Care, and God Bless!

~Marie~

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