Anything Goes at Catch the Bug

This month the challenge theme at Catch the Bug is ANYTHING GOES! I'm still working on my Christmas cards, so my project features two holiday-themed images from Bugaboo: FURBAC Front Steps & BUGCAT Christmas Topper.
To give my card dimension, I printed my image three times. After coloring my front door scene, I used dimensional tap to add two extra Copic-colored images of the cats. I also colored and cut out an extra door's ribbon.
Once the card had all its layers, I added papers to frame and embellish it. I added a few sparkly snowflakes and a row of jewels, with a sentiment sticker on the door to finish off my holiday card. I can't believe I'm so close to reaching my holiday card stash goal! A special thanks to Bugaboo Stamps for offering a Christmas in July daily challenge last week. I won some awesome digis from the store!

Challenges I am Entering:

 Catch the Bug - Anything Goes

12 Months of Christmas - Sparkle, Glitter & Bling

Crafter's Castle - AG w/optional Any Occasion (Christmas)

My Time  to Craft -  Christmas in July

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Critter Goes

Crafty Animals - Anything Animal Goes

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

Sheepski Designs - Animal Madness

Christmas in July at Bugaboo Stamps

It's Day 3 of the Christmas in July Bugaboo Stamps challenge, offering an ABC challenge (as in Anything But a Card) and the Christmas movie "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town."

Today I created a Holiday Card Folder for keeping track of mailing out my cards. In the folder will go my address list, with a check box for when I send out my cards. Altogether, I've made a set of four folders so that I can share them with my mom and sisters.
Do you still mail out cards, or do you give your handmade cards out in person to family and friends? Here in the US, a single stamp for an A2 sized card is 50 cents, which the Post Office is planning to increase soon. I do mail out holiday cards, but my list is much shorter, saved for family and friends living out of state (or country).

Anyway, I found a tutorial for creating my folders on YouTube. The folder uses a double-sided 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper/cardstock. I colored up a digi image from Bugaboo called Candy Cane Charlie, and printed up a Christmas sentiment as well as a heading for the folder.

Inside I've put a few cards and my mailing list. Oops, I see I forgot to add stamps and envelopes! That way they are all in one place so I can get the cards out by Thanksgiving. I've even started shopping for presents, which is easy this year. I got a new credit card that offered a ton of bonus points. I'm using them to purchase gift cards for everyone on my list!
I hope you'll join in the fun at Bugaboo Stamps' Christmas in July celebration. There are a lot of cool prizes offered:

PRIZES:

1st Place - 7 Free per month for 6 months ($126 value) Must Participate in all Challenges

Free Bugaboo Christmas in July images

4 month Guest Designer Term

2nd Place - Must Participate in all Challenges

$50 Gift Certificate

Free Bugaboo Christmas in July images

3 month Guest Designer Term

3rd Place – Must Participate in all Challenges

$25 Gift Certificate

Free Bugaboo Christmas in July images

2 month Guest Designer Term

Daily Challenge Winners-

Our Normal 10, 7, 4 image winners daily!

Christmas in July Image Freebies—Daily Winner 

**Exclusive Christmas in July Freebie Set**
(will be in store for sale July 23rd)

Good luck and happy crafting!

Challenges I am Entering:

Crafty Creations - Anything Goes

Little Red Wagon - Dog Days of Summer (Christmas in July)

Shopping Our Stash - Christmas in July

Animal Friends - dir Hunde (Dogs)

Christmas Crafts All Year 'round - Gifts NOT Cards (card Mail Out Folders)

Crafter's Cafe - Animal or ATC (Dog)

A Plaid Christmas at the 12 Months of Christmas blog

Hello, crafters! My DT make today is for the 12 Months of Christmas. Their challenge twist this month (which is optional) is Christmas Plaids. I used some lovely papers from Decosse's Dynamite doodles for my card, and an paw-some, I mean awesome, digi image from this month's sponsor, Ike's Art. It's called Waiting for Santa, which I thought made the perfect sentiment for my card.

I printed the uncolored image onto a Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' paper from the set below to create an outdoor scene for my cats to look out on.

Once it was printed, I colored the image with Copics and gel pens. How do you think my carpet turned out? I used 4 different markers for that! Once I was finished coloring, I framed it with red cardstock (not really-I'm out of red! so I colored white cardstock with my red Copic marker) and popped it onto my Christmas plaid paper, also from Decosse's Dynamite Doodles. This is from the set below. 

I hand lettered my sentiment since my printer decided to run out of ink, and wouldn't you know it, I bought the wrong cartridge series, so I got to practice my calligraphy. A little bit of lace, some jewels and a bow complete my card.

Although the Twist is Christmas Plaids, you don't need to follow the twist to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month, or for a chance to win a gift certificate from Ike's Art. You do, however, have to remember to link your card up with the 12 Months of Christmas blog to get your chance of winning prizes. Challenge ends the end of the month, so good luck and have fun!

Challenges I am Entering:

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - Anything Critter Goes

Crafty Animals - Anything Animal Goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Papers - Anything PP Goes

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

Double Trouble - Christmas in July & Make It Square
Sheepski Designs - Early Christmas

Shadow Boxing, Holiday Style

Getting ready for a Holiday craft workshop at the end of this week. Here's my Christmas Shadow Box, to be used as a sample. My craft bag is packed and I'm lucky the store supplies the scissors and glue guns. I had fun shopping antique and thrift stores for holiday tchotchke and figurines. I got some great deals as you can see from my box above.
The pocket backgrounds are from leftover patterned papers. I first used Ranger Inks Stain to give my natural wood box some holiday color. The white "dots" you see on the joints of my box's pockets are from the felt ribbon I used to go around the outside of my box.

I love how the altered shadow box turned out and look forward to  Christmas day when my guests will come for dinner and see it. You can check out my Facebook page for all the unique creations made at the workshop: https://www.facebook.com/PatacakesPaperPlay/

Challenges I am Entering:

Love2Create -Anything Mixed Media Goes

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - W is for Winter

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas - Anything Christmas Goes

A Inky Mess - Anything Mixed Media Goes

Altered Eclectics -Anything Mixed Media/Altered Goes

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything w/patterned paper Goe

Eclectic Elapu - Anything Festive Goes

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - ANything Altered Art Goes

It's Christmas at the Outlawz Monday Greetings Challenge

Okay, crafters, it's time to start those handmade Christmas cards, and just in time for the new challenge at the Outlawz Greetings challenge!! Anything Christmas Goes this week, and DT got to play with images from Rick St Dennis.
I love his images, and my goal is to collect all his Santa Claus images. This one is called Naptime Santa, and he inspired my sentiment. Santa does a whole years' worth of work in just one very long night, one very Hard Days' Night. The song kept buzzing around my brain (and out my mouth) until I realized I had to put it on my card!

You'd best start making those Christmas cards unless YOU want to spend a Hard Day's Night catching up on your stash. And don't forget to link up your card this week for a chance to win free digis from Rick St Dennis!!

Christmas in Two Colors! New Challenge at the Outlawz Monday Greetings!

Time for a new challenge at the Outlawz Mondays Greetings blog, and the theme this week is Christmas in 2 Colors. I went with the traditional colors of the holiday, Red & Green. My image is called Stardust Enchantress. After coloring her with Copics, I added some shimmer with metallic gel pens and framed her. This pretty little Winter image is from this week's sponsor, LACY SUNSHINE.

My card base is from a pack of plain Christmas cards from the local thrift store for 50 cents. The only thing good about them is the greeting inside, so they make a great base for my handmade cards. To give it more color, I inked the edges before popping on a festive paint strip in shades of green. I hid the unpainted strips with pieces of leftover Christmas ribbon.
I embellished simply with glittered snowflakes that look enough like stars to me; a small ribbon bow, and a mid-sized flower just because!
You have one week to create and link up with the Outlawz Monday Greetings challenge. Let's see what you can create for Christmas in just two colors!! And as always, crafters, have fun!!

Challenges I am Entering:

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas challenges - Things with Wings

Brown Sugar challenges - Anything Goes

Creative Fingers challenges - Anything Goes

Simply Papercrafts - Anything Goes