Wild Roses

      It's Friday morning and that means it's time for another "Anything Goes" challenge at Crafty Cats.  We always offer an OPTIONAL second theme and, this week, it is "Embossing."  Our sponsor for this challenge is SheepSki Designs and they provided images for the DT to use on their inspiration cards.  However, I happen to have a large collection of SheepSki images and I chose this one for my card:  Wild Roses.

     The roses were colored with Sanjoki alcohol markers, then hand-cut with scissors.  I chose a delightful, flowery, Cuttlebug embossing folder to do the dry embossing but first I used my very old (brand name unknown), "Linen" EF on the CS, then embossed over that with the Cuttlebug folder, which also happens to be called "Wild Roses."  :-D  

     I chose ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon and wrapped it around the card front.  I cut the sentiment with a die from Avery Elle and added it on top of the ribbon.  The bow was made from felt, folded and wrapped around the middle.

      Challenges:

Bastel-Traum

Beautiful Blossoms

Can You Handle...?

Creatalicious

Creations in Pink

I Love ProMarkers

Penny's P-C

Simon Says Stamp

Word Art Weds

Worldwide Crafters ...

     I hope you're going to come and play in our challenge this week.  I know you think we on the DT just do cards to inspire you but the truth is that we love being inspired by what you create and enter, too.  See you there and Happy Crafting.   NanaConnie

Bull Elk

      We start a new challenge over at FarmQuest today and our new theme is "Moose or Elk."  I know many people, especially in the far north of North America, use the terms moose and elk interchangeably to mean a moose.  But in the more southern part of the USA, the magnificent animal on my card is what we mean when we talk about an Elk.  

     Remember, to enter our challenges, your projects must reflect a farm or country theme each time, in addition to following our specific theme this time of "Moose or Elk."

     The image here is a photo printed onto card stock and cut with a Tonic Studios die.  I inked the edges, then matted it with a scrap of dp from the basket which was barely big enough to frame the image.  The background was made with a piece of burlap cloth, and I pulled several strands from each edge to give it that fringed look, something to add a little more country flair.  As the sentiment reflects, I used it as a Father's Day card.  Sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

2 Sisters on the ...

Ally's Angels

Crafts Galore ...

Creatalicious

Die Cut Divas

Let's Craft & Create

Park Hopping (Animal Kingdom)

Worldwide Crafters ...

YSBP

     Come play with us this fortnight.  Find a moose or an elk image, turn it into a project suitable for entry, and post it to our challenge.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

For a Baby

      I adore today's image from Conie Fong, called "Baby Buttercup."  Conie Fong is sponsoring the challenge this week at Crafty Catz.  I decided to do the kind of card we used to do back in the days before most parents knew if it was a boy or girl halfway through the pregnancy.  I used a color combo of both pink and blue, suitable for either one.

     Believe it or not, I found the background dp (Recollections stack) and that helped me decide on the overall color combo.  I colored the image with Sanjoki alcohol markers, then cut it and the two frames with Die-namics stitched dies.  Everything is inlaid so the image and both frames actually make only a single layer but look like 3 separate layers.

     I hand-tied the white bow, then printed and cut the sentiment with another Die-namics die from that same set.  I thought turning everything on an angle gave some nice visual interest to the card.

     Challenges:

CRAFT-alnica

Creative Fingers

Digi Choosday

I Love Markers

Jan's Digi Stamps

Lil Patch of ...

Pammie's IP

Paper Funday

Word Art Weds

     I hope we'll see you playing in the challenge.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Girl with Caterpillar

      I'm back with another delightful Mariola Budek image, this time of a young girl with a caterpillar on an autumn leaf.  I colored it in obvious autumn colors using a combination of Sanjoki and ProMarkers, then cut it on 2 sides with a sawtooth die from CC Designs.  I accented those two sides using a cross stitch die from Lawn Fawn (Lawn Cuts.)

     The background dp is from a textured stack by DCWV.  The sentiment was cut from a K & Co. paper pad and the butterfly gem was a Studio 8 embellishment.

     Challenges:

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Patriotism

      Our greatest National holiday in the US is undoubtedly July 4th, Independence Day, (right around the corner!) but the image I used on this card would work for Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, even Labor Day, I suppose.  The image and the sentiment come from a Jan's Digi Stamps set called "Star Spangled Wreath" and it was a delight to color.  It also happens to be on sale right now.  :-D

     I used Sanjoki markers and a gold paint pen to color a gray scale image, then cut it with a QuicKutz die.  I 'distressed' the edges with a craft knife and layered it onto a blue CS rectangle, also distressed along the edges.  The image itself was so beautifully detailed that I didn't want anything to distract from it so no embellishments of any kind.

     Challenges:

613 Ave Create

Aud Sentiments

Double Trouble (summer, red, blue, gold)

Gem of a Challenge

I Love ProMarkers

Lil Patch of ...

Pammie's IP

Passion for Markers

Penny's P-C

Word Art Weds

     Wednesday will mark the official first day of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and trips to the beach, family and friends around the BBQ, the rising heat can't be far behind.  So unpack your shorts and swimsuits, grab your flip flops, and get ready!  If you're not traveling, then head for the craft room and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie 

Cat Lady

      Those of you who have the opportunity to see the sidebar of my blog may think I'm a 'cat lady' so this card will need little explanation.  But I'm actually an animal person - cats just seem to fit my current lifestyle better.  

     I'm also a huge fan of the artist, Mariola Budek, and coloring her images never fails to make me feel like a great colorist!  I used this one for another birthday card, one which will go to a family member in the future.

     I colored the image with Sanjoki markers, then cut it with a rectangle Tonic Studio die.  I used a corner punch from Fiskars and it had three different corner options, of which I used 2.  I framed the image with a 'Linen' embossed dark pink CS piece and framed that with a scrap of light pink CS.  I used my bow maker to tie a double-loop bow, then printed and cut the sentiment with an Avery Elle die.  I used a tiny scrap of the dark pink CS to frame the sentiment.

     The background was made using a Darice EF on metallic paper for a 'hammered copper' look.

     Challenges:

Crazy for Cats

Digi Choosday

Dream Valley

Happy ... Stampers

Jan's Digi Stamps

Lil Patch of ...

Pammie's IP

Polkadoodles

Simon Says Stamp

SUYP Cats

     That's all I have for the weekend but I have a couple more images already colored up, waiting to be turned into 'masterpieces" (lol) so maybe you'll see another post tomorrow or Tuesday.  I feel a coloring binge coming on and that could mean I color rather than make cards but we'll see. 

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

2 Year Old's Birthday

      I have a great granddaughter who is turning 2 at the end of this month, and although I've not yet met her (being in different states and nearly 1,000 miles apart), she knows that her NanaConnie is the one who sends hand made cards.  This is the card I'm sending this time.

     It's another card put together with all die cuts and this time, I used some negative portions of dies, things which either fall our of the die's design or what's left behind when the original die cut piece has already been used for another project.

     On this one, I stared by using my 'Linen' EF to dry emboss the card front.  The sentiment is the 'left behind' negative which I just couldn't bear to toss out.  It's from a Sizzix - Tim Holtz set of word dies.   The 'happy' and the 'birthday' are individual dies which I laid out, cut, and used on another birthday card but the way I laid them out meant that I had a scrap which could be trimmed into an interesting shape and used for this card.

     The giraffe die is from Cuts, and I cut them from orange and pink CS, then layered them onto the card front for a double exposure look.  The little stars are bits which fell out of a Hero Arts background die and I kept them for future use instead of throwing them away.  The final touch was to add the teeny-tiny gems (Recollections) to the center of the stars.

     Pretty quick and easy but a card which will be loved by a 2 year old.   :-D

       Challenges: 

Crafter's Cafe

Creations in Pink

Creative Fingers

Digi Choosday

Happy...Stampers Birthday

Happy...Stampers Dies

Outlawz Friday

Pammie's IP

     That's it for today.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Leave a Little Sparkle ...

      It's time to share the card I made for the June challenge at Beccy's Place, and I was inspired by one of Beccy's sentiments which I merged before printing with her lovely "Hydrangea" image.  The theme this month is the usual "Anything Goes with a Beccy's image" but the optional theme she offered was "Doodling."

     I colored the flower with my ProMarkers and then added white and purple glitters to the blossom.  I doodled the stitching around the edges with a purple gel pen.  The little mulberry-paper flower came from Recollections and I used a white gel pen to accent the center.

     This is a very CAS, single-layer card with lots of white space.

     Challenges:

Addicted to CAS

Bastel-Traum

Beautiful Blossoms

Creative Fingers

Friendship

Morgan's ArtWorld

Triple B

Worldwide Crafters ...

     Be sure to check out my first post today with all the details about the latest challenge over at Crafty Catz.  Just scroll down 1 post.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnieProM

Summertime Fun

      When I think of summer (especially early summer before it gets too miserably hot!), I think of being outdoors and having fun.  Our latest OPTIONAL theme at Crafty Catz (we always have an Anything Goes theme) is "Fun" and our sponsor this week is Hetty Clare.  I'm completely mad for her art!  She generously supplied images for the DT to use on their inspiration cards and I chose to use the one called "At Play."  

     NOTE TO MY READERS:  When I went over to the store to look for the image link to put into my post, I noticed that there's a 50% off sale right now.  Go check it out (and, yes, to answer your unasked question, I DID go on a shopping spree!  lol)  Click on the name of the image or on the Sponsor name above and it'll take you right to the shop.

     I colored the sheep and cow with Sanjoki markers before cutting the image with a die from Tutti Designs.  I printed and cut the sentiment with another die from that same set.  The background paper was in the scrap basket so I'm not sure of the maker but it's probably DCWV - a very old stack.  

     I added brown lace ribbon and one of my hand-sewn, signature bows, this time with a pearl sewn on. 

     Challenges:

613 Ave Create

Crafter's Cafe

Crafty Calendar

Creative Knockouts

Creative Moments

Die Cut Divas

Paper Shelter

Polkadoodles

Simon Says Stamp

The Four Seasons

     Come play in our challenge!  We love being inspired by you.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Birthday Hippo

      It's time for Challenge #467 over at QKR Stampede and it will run until the last day of the month.   Our theme is always Anything Goes and you can enter up to 3 times in each challenge.  There's no requirement that you use a QKR Stampede (or Eureka Stamps) image but if you do, your entry goes into a completely separate draw for a prize and that increases your chance of winning by a huge amount!

     We've also posted the winners from the two challenges which took place before we had to take a break, waiting for the new online store to be completely stocked.  That's now complete (but for some minor tweaking here and there) so we've announced the Winners of three different challenges and they can all be found on the main Challenge post which went live this morning.  Check it out and see if you're one of the Winners or Top 5 for Challenges #464, #465, or #466.

     My card today is another for my birthday card stash and the QKR image is called "Birthday Gator."  Yes, I'm aware that's a hippo, not a gator, but the image was incorrectly titled "Gator" so if you go searching for it in the store (without using the link I made), you'll need the name of it the way it's actually listed so ...

     I used my Sanjoki markers to color the hippo, then cut the image with a die from Dare2BArtzy.  The dark blue CS was embossed with my 'Linen' EF.  I found a scrap of dp in my basket and added it, then stamped and cut the sentiment (also from QKR but this time a rubber stamp instead of a digi), which is  called "Happy Birthday."  That die was also from Dare2BArtzy.

I took some liberties by turning it on its side but my 

design is inspired by the sketch at My Favorite Things.

     

     Challenges:

Ally's Angels

Crafter's Cafe

Digi Choosday

Happy...Stampers

I Love Markers

Paper Funday

Penny's P-C

Simon Says Stamp

Word Art Weds

     Now that our challenges are back, we really would love to see you playing along with us.  How can you go wrong with an Anything Goes theme every time?  Come play!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Country Farm Kitchen

      Ok, we're done with the deer from the last challenge and are moving on to our newest theme at FarmQuest Challenge, "Country Kitchen."  I found this clip art image, printed it in gray scale (a technique I really love these days!), and colored it with a combo of (mostly) water colors, ProMarkers to create the 'rust,' and gel pens for white highlights on the cherries. 

     The background stripes were made using a scrap of dp.  The image and the frames were cut with Tonic Studio dies.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  I decided on a CAS design (despite the background stripes instead of just white space) so no embellishments beyond that paper.

     Challenges:

A Perfect Time ...

Classic Design

Crafts Galore ...

Happy ... Stampers

Let's Craft & ...

Mirtillamente

Morgan's ArtWorld

Not2Shabby (4 of 5 colors + country)

     We'd love to see what you create for our challenge.  Anything farm or country kitchen will do.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Birthday Roses

      Time to restock the birthday card stash and I've found a new artist (new to me) whose art I really like.  She draws under the name Maya Silvercat but I'm still searching for a website for her.  If/when I find it, I'll edit this post to add a link for all of you.

     This basket of roses was the first of her images I saw and I colored it with my Sanjoki markers.  I cut both the image and the sentiment with dies from QuicKutz.  The golden CS behind the image (which looks brown in the photo) was embossed using my 'Linen' EF.  The lace strip along the side came from my box of scrap lace bits but it fit the card perfectly.  The tiny butterflies, one pink and one white, are the negative pieces which came out of a Spellbinders die.  I saved them after doing another project and they were waiting just to embellish this card.  :-D

     Challenges:

Ally's Angels

Butterfly  (Briar Rose & Banana + butterflies)

Can You Handle ...?

Creative Fingers

Gem of a Challenge

     That's all I have for today's post but I'll be back later this week.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Time for Purple & Pink

      We have a new challenge starting over at Crafty Catz this morning and our theme is always Anything Goes but we also offer you an OPTIONAL theme if you want to use it.  This week the option is: Purple and Pink!  I love this combo and purple is my favorite color regardless of theme or season or subject matter so this worked perfectly for me.

     Our sponsor this week is Di's Digi Designs and, while they weren't able to supply the DT with images to use, I did have this one in my collection so used it to do pink and purple.  Aren't those hedgies adorable?

     I colored with my Sanjoki markers and cut the image with a QuicKutz die.  The sentiment was cut with a Die-namics die.  The diagonal strip of dp came from the scrap basket and I'm pretty sure it's made by Doodlebug.  The lace bow was hand tied and added as the primary embellishment.

     This one goes in my birthday stash!  

I chose colors from My Favorite Things.

     Challenges:

613 Ave Create

Creative Inspirations

Di's Digi Designs

Dream Valley

Happy ... Stampers

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Friday

Pammie's IP

Simon Says Stamp

     I hope you'll come and play in our challenge this week.  We love being inspired by you.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Herding Chickens

      My first born grandson is now raising three children of his own and I know he'll understand this sentiment perfectly!  lol  This is the 3rd Father's Day card I've shared in a week and it may be my favorite so far.  I'm still working on one more which I'll send to my son (who is my eldest child.)  

     The image is from a vintage, digital coloring book, reduced in size to fit an A2 card.  I started with the image in grayscale but changed it to blue with my computer software before I printed it.  I cut the image and the top sentiment with QuicKutz dies.  The lower sentiment was cut with an Avery Elle die.  The plaid paper came from that Paper Studio stack which is still on my crafting desk and which seems to have so many wonderful masculine papers in it.

     Challenges:

C.R.A.F.T.

Creative Fingers

Creative Inspiration

Cupcake Inspirations

Double Trouble (blue/mono/plaid)

Outlawz Thurs

Pammie's IP

Paperminutes

Paper Shelter

Penny's P-C

     I'll be back tomorrow with my DT card for Crafty Catz. Hope to see you then.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

See a Country Mile

      Here comes our latest challenge at FarmQuest General Store, where our theme is always "Anything Country Goes."  Just country, rural, farm, and open spaces - no cityscapes, high rises, shopping malls, nightclubs, or other 'citified' nonsense.  :-D

     The image I used today is from Anne Fenton and it's such a perfect country lane gate that it was perfect for turning into a country view of wide, open spaces.  I colored it with water colors and ProMarkers, then cut it with a square, QuicKutz die.  I use a Fiskars punch on all four corners.

     I used a scrap piece of Paper Studio dp to make the frame for the image, die cutting and corner punching it the same way as the image piece.   The background dp is from that same Paper Studio stack.  I seem to have used it a lot these past few days but it's been lying on my crafting desk so it was within reach and has some really great masculine papers in it.

     I added a wrap of black, organza ribbon and used it for the hand tied bow, too.  The sentiment was printed as part of the image.  I think the black and brown make the card very masculine.

     Challenges:

A Perfect Time ...

Carlin's Card ...

Classic Design

Digi Choosday

Do Al(l) Kreatives

Mirtillamente

Outlawz Color

Rabisco

YSBP

     Come play with us this month.  Just make something with a country flavor and enter it into our challenge.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Hat and Boots

      I made Father's Day cards for my two grandsons who are fathers and this is one of them.  I found this image on a clip art page and printed it in grayscale.  I used my Sanjoki markers to give it a sepia tone, then cut it with a QuicKutz die.  I printed the sentiment onto white CS and cut it to make the frame for the image.

     The background dp came from a Paper Studio stack.  I made the 'lariat' from twine and glued it in place with a dot of  Tacky Glue.  Another simple and relatively flat design for mailing to my grandson.  Doesn't it make you think of something from an old John Wayne movie or maybe "Centennial"?  :-D

     Challenges:

2 Sisters on the ...

Crafts Galore ...

Crafty Calendar

Creatalicious

Do Al(l) Kreatives

I Love Markers

Pattie's Creations

SheepSki Designs

Word Art Weds

YSBP

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Whoo Loves Ya?

     I've been playing in the Outlaw Progressive Challenge for more than a decade now, and I think I've only missed 1 month in all that time, and that was due to being hospitalized with Covid pneumonia for nearly 3 weeks.  This month, we've been given a fantastic owl image from Sandra and I chose to color it using both my Sanjoki markers and water color paints, along with gel pen highlights.

     After coloring it, I cut both the image and the frame with Memory Box dies.   The sentiment was cut with an Avery Elle die.  The frame was embossed using my Linen EF.   The dark blue background was made with water colors.   I added tiny, metallic brads to two of the corners and called it finished.  Nice, masculine, CAS design.

     Challenges:

Aud Sentiments

Cupcake Inspirations

Digi Choosday

Double Trouble (mono, blue, die cuts, brads)

Dream Valley

Outside the Box

Pammie's IP

Simon Says Stamp

     See you tomorrow.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

"Herd" It's Father's Day

      This silly Father's Day card is for my Son-in-Law who invented a completely ridiculous game to play while traveling a long distance by car.  He and my daughter were moving my granddaughter half way across the country to college, hauling furniture and furnishings she'd need for her first 'dorm' apartment.  At some point, he suggested they count the cows they saw along the way.  

     Of course, it became a competition with each person counting their own cows to see who got the most.  Someone, I'm not sure which person, added a new rule that if one person spotted a cemetery, they could 'collect' it and everybody else lost all their cows and had to start counting all over again.  Many versions of the game were played over a period of 3 days and nights, including wiping out everyone else's cow count by seeing just a sign for a cemetery, looking up cow related websites, games, or apps, and even counting cows on billboards, milk cartons, and other dairy products!

     A couple of months ago, I made a card for my granddaughter which featured cows on it, and I added to the game by telling her she could collect the cows on the card.  In fairness to my SIL, this is a cow he can count.  lol

      Do you know the best way to count cows when you're moving past them at 70 MPH in a car?  Count the legs and divide by 4!

     This is pre-colored clip art, and I added white highlights and gold lowlights with gel pens.  The image and the frame were both cut with QuicKutz dies.  The background dp came from The Paper Studio.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

613 Ave Create

Crafty Calendar

Creative Fingers

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Friday

Paper Dragonfly

Pattie's Creations

     That's all for today but I'll have another post tomorrow.  See you then and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Hug Your Teddy

      In our challenges over on the Conie Fong FB page, we always have an Anything Goes theme as long as you are using a Conie Fong image.  (Haven't joined the Facebook page?  Do it now.  It's quick, easy, and free.  Plus, you can find freebies there, too, so that you can join the challenge if you haven't already purchased some of Conie's images. :-D )  But this month, the DT ladies decided that we'd all do cards using some of Conie's fairies.  There are several and they're all simply darling!  I used one called "Precious" and I love how she's hugging her teddy so sweetly.  I reversed the image before printing it.

      I colored her with my Sanjoki markers, cut the image with a QuicKutz die, and then used a Uchida punch on the corners.  I found two scraps of CS in different shades of blue, both of which are reflected in the coloring, and I used my newest die from Hero Arts to cut and emboss the pieces I used for the background.  When I assembled the card, I tucked the edges of the image under some of the cut leaves and flower petals.  

     The sentiment is also from Conie Fong and I merged it with the image before printing.  My final touch was a hand-sewn bow with a pearl sewn onto it.  It was made with white ribbon, but I 'dyed' it with one of my markers.

     Challenges:

A Perfect Time ...

Classic Design

Digi Choosday

Friendship

I Love Markers

Lil Patch of ...

Mirtillamente

Pammie's IP (center column)

Passion for Markers

Simon Says Stamp

     Come play in our June challenge.  You may use any Conie Fong image - it doesn't have to be a fairy.  We love being inspired by you.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Father's Day = Fishing Day

      It's Friday and another new challenge is starting over at Crafty Catz, where our theme is always Anything Goes.  However, if you care to challenge yourself, we also offer an OPTIONAL theme each week and this week it's "Cute for a Guy."  We're sponsored by Polkadoodles and they provided image for the DT to use on their inspiration cards.  I chose "Gnome Gone Fishing" and used it for a Father's Day card since Father's Day is just around the corner.

     I used water color paints to color the image and then cut it with a QuicKutz die.  The background was made with bits of left over paper from the scrap basket.  I tied a bow with two different scraps of twine and called it finished.  

     Challenges:

2 Sisters on ...

Do Al(l) Creatives

Double Trouble (+ fishing, blue, & die cut)

Gem of a Challenge

Happy ... Stampers

Penny's P-C

Polkadoodles

Rabisco

The Four Seasons

Word Art Weds

     

     We'd love to see you playing along in our challenge this week.  Come on by!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Night Owl

      Guess what?  The QKR Stampede challenge is back!  Although the new store is not yet fully stocked, the challenge is ready for you to join in.  We've missed seeing all of you while we were on a break.

     As usual, our theme is always "Anything Goes" and our challenges begin on the 1st and 15th of each month.  We offer two prizes each challenge; one for those who use either a QKR Stampede or Eureka Stamps digital image (3 image prize) and a second for those who use any other image (2 image prize.) 

     On my card today, I used a fun image called "Night Time Owl" and I colored him with ProMarkers.  I used a die from Gina Marie to cut the image, then inked the edges with a ProMarker.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  The background dp is from a DCWV stack.  The bow is one of my hand-sewn, signature bows, 'dyed' with a marker to get the exact color I wanted.

Colors from My Favorite Things

     We're so happy to be back!  We really hope you're going to come and play in our challenge these next two weeks.  We've missed seeing your creations and visiting your blogs.  :-D

     Challenges:

Creative Fingers

Creative Inspiration

Cupcake Inspiration

Digi Choosday

Dream Valley

Lil Patch of ...

Pammie's IP (dp/image/ribbon)

There's a Stamp ...

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie