Grateful Elf

     I love this Harvest Elf image from AuroraWings and I plan to use this as a Thanksgiving card.

I used the sketch from Cheerful Sketches.

Colored with ProMarkers
Cut with Sue Wilson dies
Papers and CS from the scrap basket
Hand tied bow made with satin polka dot ribbon

     Challenges:
2 Sisters on  the Blog
a2z Scrapbooking
A Perfect Time to Craft
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafty Hazelnut's
Die Cut Divas
Dies R Us
Morgan's ArtWorld

     Enjoy your weekend and I'll see you tomorrow.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Unicorn in Autumn

     We all know about unicorns, though some will tell you they are only a mythical creature.  I am of a different persuasion.  I believe unicorns are like pocket dragons - just because you don't see them doesn't mean they are only a fantasy.

     I've been told by a lovely garden fairy that unicorns change the colors of their manes and tales seasonally, like the leaves of a tree.  Hmmm, that would give them an advantage when it comes to hiding in plain sight, wouldn't it?  Let me give you an example of what might happen.

     Fabrika Fantasy has one of the most magnificent unicorn images which I chose for this card.  Notice how his mane, tail, and hooves blend in perfectly with the fall foliage, and his body takes on the pale shadows of the low-light dawn?

I used the sketch from Cheerful Sketches.

Colored with ProMarkers and gel inks plus sparkle on the horn
Die cut with Spellbinders and distressed on the edges
Polka dot washi tape
Doily colored dark brown
Hand made bow with polka dots
Kraft card base

     Challenges:
a2z Scrapbooking
Crafter's Cafe
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafts Galore Encore
Creative Moments
Friendship
Morgan's ArtWorld
Scrappy Land

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Welcome Gnome

     Yes, the title is a deliberate pun and this card is going to new neighbors who just moved into the neighborhood.  They have a cute garden gnome in their yard so I thought this image would work well to welcome them.  Image is from Mo's Digital Pencil.  I did a CAS card with a masculine feel since I have no idea about their tastes or preferences and simple always works.

Sketch from Cheerful Sketches.

     I used:
ProMarkers
QuicKutz dies
Kraft CS
Linen embossing folder (yellow CS) (scrap)
Bleached CS (green) (scrap)

     Challenges:
Crafts Galore Encore
Creative Craft Cottage
Creative Moments
Morgan's ArtWorld
Paper Funday
Your Scrapbook Place

     Update:  My shoulder is healing slowly and is better than it was even a week ago.  Most activities are still being done by using my left hand/arm but I'm able to piece together a CAS card or two as long as I don't overdo it.  Typing is still forbidden, except the occasional, one-handed, left hand, hunt-and-peck, 10 minute foray, and not much gets done in that short span of time.  But the healing process is ongoing and I hope to be back to normal (an odd word to describe me! lol) within the month.  I figure I can give up brushing my hair with my right hand if it means I can have a crafting session for half an hour.  Thanks for your prayers.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

The Felines Made Me Post This!

     I had no idea when I did the previous post that I'd be posting twice today.  But the feline fur babies simply wouldn't let me do a salute to the world of canines without a balancing post featuring a cat.   Sigh.  If you want to see what upset them, check out this post (or scroll down one post.)

     I found this image in my collection of Di's Digi Designs and decided that I would color it with my polychromos pencils.   When it was finished, I cut it with one of my newest dies, an Unbranded cross stitch rectangle, and I used the smallest one from that set to cut the sentiment.

     I needed to get this one done quickly (since the fur babies were glaring at me) and I had already spent a good 45 minutes coloring, so I looked through various sketches and settled on the one from Cheerful Sketches.  Without a sketch, I can spend an hour or more fiddling with design ideas, laying things out, re-arranging them, and re-arranging again.  No time for that this morning!

     Everything on the card came from scraps in my stash.  The bit of red ribbon and the polka dot dp worked well together so I grabbed them, trimmed the dp squares to a suitable size, distressed the edges a bit,  and layered them onto a card base made from a leftover piece of confetti CS.  

     I dug out one of those white bows I sew up by the dozens, used a marker to 'dye' it red, and added it as the one embellishment on the card.  I called it finished and rushed around to get it photographed and ready to post.  

     Sorry the ribbon is crooked in the photo but I didn't take time to adjust it and re-photograph.  At that point, the felines were pacing and making threatening noises so I just sat down and began typing up the post.  (If you don't see a post from me tomorrow, call the FBI!  The cats have probably done something horrible with my remains, like hiding the shredded pieces under the ribbon stash in the craft room.  lol)

     Challenges:

A Bit More Time to Craft

Digi Doodle Studios

Digistamps4Joy

Joy Clair

Lemon Shortbread

Not Just Cards

SUYP Cats

TTCRD

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Daisy Kind of Day

     Before I show you my card for today, I want to tell you the back story as I heard it.  A neighbor of mine asked me to make an anniversary card for friends of hers and it had to have daisies on it.  Why daisies instead of romantic roses wrapped in diamonds?

     This couple went to see a movie on their first date and she said she decided he was "The One" that very evening because he chose the movie and it was a chick flick just for her!  He took her to see "You've Got Mail" and she loved the line in the movie about 'daisies being her favorite flower because they are so friendly.'    She had two little daisies tucked into her wedding bouquet and every year on their anniversary, hubby gets her daisies - even if he has to pick them from their own garden.  :-D  What a sweetheart of a man.

     So, here's my card done for their anniversary.  The image is from Di's Digi Designs.  I wasn't really sure about a woodland mouse as the main character on an anniversary card but, while I haven't had a report from the couple yet, my neighbor who commissioned it absolutely loved it.

I started with the sketch from Cheerful Sketches.

     I used watercolor paints and polychromos pencils to color the image, then die cut it with a die from Sizzix.  The two main dp pieces are scraps from my basket and were cut with rectangle dies from Spellbinders and QuicKutz.  The yellow strip is hand-bleached CS.  All of those pieces and the sentiment pieces were inked with a distressed ink pad from Tim Holtz.

     In my stash, I found three white daisies for embellishment and added them to the lower corner.  Everything is put onto textured, gold CS which I used for the card front.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Cute N Crafty
Crafting from the Heart
Get Creative
Mod Squad
Outlawz Greetings
Outlawz Songs & Rhymes
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Paper Girls

     That's all I have for today but I have yet another post pre-scheduled for tomorrow and a twofer for Friday.  Hope you'll be checking each day.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

First Valentine of 2018

     When I saw this darling little bear buried in a pile of hearts, I just had to get my first Valentine of the year done.  The image is from the monthly progressive challenge at Gerda Steiner Designs.

I used the sketch from Cheerful Sketches.

     Those two triangular strips are harder to plan than I first imagined when I looked at the sketch.  I ended up using two different types of dp, one glittered and the other with polka dots. 

     After I had already colored him with my ProMarkers, I realized he would have made a perfect little Panda but I was staying with the colors for the February Card Chain Challenge so I'll leave him as is.  Next time, I'll try him as a Panda Bear.

     After coloring, I cut the image with a die from Spellbinders, inked the edges, and added the triangles.  The sentiment was stamped and hand-cut, then layered onto the red CS strip along the bottom.  Since this one is going to get mailed halfway across the world, I left it pretty flat and CAS - no additional, bulky, embellies.

     Challenges:
A Perfect Time to Craft
Card Mania
Dream Valley
Stempelsonnen
World Wide Open

     Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

It's Your Day !

     This is a card which celebrates anything and everything, but mostly lets the recipient know that I'm thinking of them.  I suppose it could be used as a birthday card but is has so much more potential with the sentiment written that way!  :-D

I found the sketch over at Cheerful Sketches.

     I used a combo of ProMarkers and my polychromos pencils to color this fun image which happens to be the freebie from the Progressive challenge at Sasayaki Glitter.  I used stitched dies from Die-namics to cut all the pieces.

     The blue ribbon was in my stash and the bow is one of those I make by the dozens and toss in my stash for future use.  This one was white until I dyed it with a ProMarker.  I wanted this to be as CAS as possible, given the layered look of the sketch.

     Challenges:
Animal Friends
Aussie Digital Artists
CCC Digi
Crafter's Cafe
Crafty Awesomeness
Creative Sketchy Girls
Sasayaki Glitter Blog
Sasayaki Glitter Progressive
Tuesday Throwdown

     We're halfway through the week and the weekend will be here before you know it!  I'm thinking about running away this weekend -- taking some time away from the computer, away from blogging, away from crafting, away from the fur babies -- ooops, I may have to rethink that.  They both glared at me as soon as they read that last part.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

New Glasses

     A very happy Easter morning to all of you.  Have you ever seen the Easter Bunny wearing his glasses?  He only puts them on after a long night of hiding eggs and goodies for children to find on Easter morning.   Working in the dark creates such eye strain!  :-D  This card will be going to a young lady who just got her first pair of glasses and whose favorite color is red.

     The image is the Progressive Challenge Freebie from The Outlawz and is by Gerda Steiner Designs.

     I started with the sketch from Cheerful Sketches.

        The image is colored with ProMarkers and die cut with one of my Stitched Rectangle dies from Die-Namics, as is the red frame.  Other CS pieces are cut with stitched or pin point dies from Lawn Fawn and Memory Box.  The ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon and the tiny bee is embossed with gold and white EPs (on clear sticker paper) and fussy cut.  Everything is layered onto kraft CS.  The dots in the corner and the curly cue below the bee are done with a glue pen and gold glitter.

     Challenges:

2 Creative Chicks

A Bit More Time to Craft

CCC Digi

Connie Can Crop

Craft and Smash

Digistamps 4 Joy

Petal Lu

Scrap N'

Sisters of Craft

Sunsational Stamps

Your Scrapbook Place

     I hope your day is filled with the Blessing of Easter and that you have time for lots of Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

A Leafy Thanks

     Today we start a new challenge at Tuesday Throwdown and the theme is "Thanks." Our wonderful sponsor is Deedee's Digis.  I just happen to be on both of those DTs so this was a really happy card for me.  I used the fun bear from Deedee's "Leave me Smiling" set and chose the pre-colored image which made it a much faster card to make.

     This theme fit perfectly because I needed one more Thank You card for a local non-profit group and, since they raise funds for Juvenile Diabetes education, awareness, and for scholarships to the summer camps for diabetic kids they put on, it's an agency near and dear to my heart.  My grandson is now 9 years old and was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes 18 months ago.  One of the Board Members had to resign from the organization because he and his family were moving out of town and the Board Chairman needed a card to say thanks for his service on the Board.  Since the name of the organization is "Smiles for Diabetics," I thought this would be a great sentiment.

I used the sketch I found at Cheerful Sketches.

     I embossed the orange CS with one of my newer folders before adding the image piece to it.  I used a Fiskars corner punch on the image, the orange mat, and the gray background CS.  I added one small metal brad as an embellishment and found the yellow leaf sticker in my stash so added it.  The top sentiment is part of Deedee's set and the bottom one I printed with a computer font.  Each one is hand cut and inked on the edges.

     Challenges:
Crafts Galore Encore
Creatalicious
CCC Digi
Digistamps 4 Joy
Dragonfly Journey
Lunagirl Moonbeam
Nordsalten Hobbyklubb
Petal Lu
Sisters of Craft
Sweet Stampin'
Tinker Dream

     I hope we're going to see you playing along in our "Thank You" challenge at Tuesday Throwdown this week.  Remember, November is the month for "Thanks."  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie