Puddle Jumping

      A new challenge is starting over at FarmQuest and our theme this time is "Rain Gear."  Of course, it must always have that farm/country feel to it.  As soon as I read the theme, I knew it was time to dig out one of my House Mouse stamps.  I adore this stamp and will find any excuse to use it, including "Don't rain on my parade" days.  :-D

     This time, I used my ProMarkers to color the image, then cut it with a stitched die from Cuts.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  The sky blue CS I used for the background was embossed with my Linen folder before attaching it to the card front, just for a touch of texture.   I grabbed one of my white, hand-sewn, signature bows from the stash, 'dyed' it with a marker, and added a sequin before gluing it to the card.

     Pretty CAS, plus nice and flat for mailing.

     Challenges:

Aud Sentiments

Can You Handle ...

Cutie Pie

Digi Choosday

House Mouse

I Love Markers

Pammie's IP

Paper Shelter

Polkadoodles

Simon Says (Rainy Days and Mondays)

     That's it for FarmQuest this fortnight.  Come play with us, won't you?  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Ice Fishing

     Most of you who follow my blog regularly already know that I'm having some vision problems which affect my ability to color images and, while I'm figuring out ways to color successfully - enlarging images so that I can see them well enough to color, then photographing and reducing them with my photo editing software - I've also found that using die cuts to make the entire card is another way to continue with my love of card making.

     Today's card uses a die set from Cuts to create this fun ice fishing card.  The glitter paper (for the hole in the ice, the frozen fish, and the strip under the bears) is from Recollections, and dp for the sky came from a DCWV stack.  I used my Linen embossing folder on the blue CS.  Everything was done using scraps.  The sentiment was made with another Cuts die.

I used the Tic Tac Toe board at Outlawz Color challenge

to do blue sky, white, and snow from the right hand column.

(Sorry, I can't seem to copy and paste their board)

     Challenges:

Can You Handle ...

Christmas Kickstart

Di's Digi Designs

Dream Valley

Gem of a Challenge

Tues Morning Sketches

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Father Christmas

      The image I used today came from Gecko Galz as the image to use for their monthly Christmas  challenge for December.  I adjusted it to print it in gray scale and then hand-colored it with ProMarkers and gel pens.  I cut the image with a Tonic Studios die.  The Merry Christmas sentiment was cut from a scrap of Recollections glitter paper using a die from Cuts.  The background was made from scraps of red and black CS.

     Challenges:

A Perfect Time ...

Carlin's Card ...

Colour Crazy

Country View

Die Cut Divas

Friendship

Kerst Christmas

LeighSBDesigns

Mirtillamente

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Ghostly Halloween

      Over at the Outlawz Progressive Challenge this month, we were given a Ghost image from Oddball Art and, at first, I envisioned a very CAS card featuring just the ghost against a dark background.  But, as you can see, my creative muse led me off that path onto something completely different.  :-D

     I used ProMarkers to color the cute ghost, then fussy cut it with scissors.  I pulled paper scraps from the Halloween box, cut strips from 3 of them, and used those for the background.  I also gathered up all my scraps of black CS to start cutting the various bits and pieces which make up the overall Halloween scene.

     The tree was cut with a die from Die-Versions.  The haunted house was cut with a Cuts die, and the large bat above the tree was cut with an Impression Obsession die.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  The ghost was popped up on dimensional dots and tucked into the house to look like he was rising from one of the upstairs rooms.

     Finally, I added one of my hand-sewn, signature bows with a pearl.

This is also my Day 7 entry into the 

LeighSBDesigns 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop. 

     Challenges:

Crafty Catz

Creative Knockouts

Double D

LeighSB 31 Days

Paperbabe

Paper Funday

Paper Shelter

Snippets Playground

Your Next Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Gypsy Flower

      Our April 1st challenge is starting at Your Scrapbook Place and our fabulous sponsor is Moon Flower Digi Stamps.  They generously provided images to the DT and I've used one called "Gypsy Flower."  Our theme is always "Anything Goes."

     Colored with ProMarkers, then cut with an Unbranded die.  The butterfly background was made with a Cuts die.  The polka dot paper is from Recollections.   I printed the sentiment and cut it with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

Butterfly (lettuce, lt pink)

Colour Crazy

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paperbabe

Paper Shelter

Simon Says Stamp

     We'd love to see you play in our challenge!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Some Bunny ...

      I've finally managed to get the card done for the Progressive challenge at Stamper's Delights this month which features this adorable bunny girl image.

     Colored with my ProMarkers, then cut with a Cuts die.  The sentiment was printed and I used another Cuts die from that same set.  I used my Linen embossing folder on the CS background.  I found ribbon in the basket and used it for both the wrap around the card front and to hand tie the double loop bow.  Fun but simple.

     Challenges:

Allsorts

Can You Handle ...?

Crafty Calendar

Di's Digi Designs

Dragonfly Dreams

Gem of a Challenge

Outlawz Greetings

Simon Says Stamp

Stamping Sensations

     That's it for today.  I'm going back to the craft room for a coloring binge.  I have so many images printed and waiting, some of which are for looming DT commitments (!), and I feel the need to color them before they get discouraged about ever being used.  :-D

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Working from Home

      It's the 1st of another month and that means I'll have 2 posts today; one for the challenge at QKR Stampede and another for Your Scrapbook Place.  I also posted my GDT card for Ike's World late last night because their challenge goes live on the First Tuesday of the month but that's Monday night in my time zone.

     This is the one for YSP and our challenge theme is always Anything Goes.  Our wonderful sponsor this month is Hetty Clare (I love her images!) and she provided images to the DT.  I used this fun one called "Handbag Gonk."  It reminded me of the days when I dragged home a huge briefcase of things from the office which had to be completed at home.  Then came the pandemic and everyone was working from home so it all became "Home" work!

     I used my ProMarkers to color the image, then cut it with a Cuts die.  I used another Cuts die from that set to cut the image frame which I embossed with my Linen EF before adding the image piece.  I printed and cut the sentiment with an Avery Elle die.  That background dp is from K & Co.

     Challenges:

Allsorts

Can You Handle ...

Colour Crazy

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Gem of  Challenge

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paperbabe

Polkadoodles

Simon Says Stamp

     It would be fun to see you playing along in our YSP challenge this month.  How can you beat an Anything Goes theme?  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Magical Birthday

      A new challenge begins over at Pammie's Inky Pinkies where our theme is always Anything Goes, except on the occasional 5th Monday in a month when we have a theme you must follow.   This being a third Monday, we don't have to worry about that.

     Our sponsor for this challenge is CAS-ual Fridays and you should check out their wonderful products. 

    I've made another card with all die cuts.  The butterfly die is from Cuts; the wheat die from Die-namites.  I dearly love butterflies!  They have to be my favorite insects.  Their colors are so varied and marvelous that we crafty people can do almost anything with them.       :-D

     The sentiment die (Cut & Make) is really special to me because it was sent to my by my friend, Faith, and I love the look of it!  Thank you, Faith.  :-D  The background dp is a scrap from an old (very old !) DCWV stack.

     Challenges:

Allsorts

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Lil Patch of ...

Mod Squad

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paperbabe

Polkadoodles

Word Art Weds

     Come play with us this week.  How can you beat an Anything Goes theme?  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Sweetheart Bella Twins

      Today, I'm sharing another of my DT cards for Conie Fong, on which I've used two images from the Sweetheart Bella set.  There are 3 different image options in the set; one has Bella holding a heart that says 'love,' another with a blank heart, and the third with a heart that says 'hugs.'  I know you're going to think I used the Hugs and Love heart images, but actually, I used Love and the blank heart.

     I knew before I printed the images that I wanted to reverse one of them so that I could position them a bit apart but they would seemingly be facing different directions.  I wanted them to look more like twins than duplicates.  However, if I reversed either the Love or the Hugs image, then the word would print out backwards!   So, I reversed the blank heart image, then wrote in the word "hugs" myself.  I think I did a pretty good job of matching the handwriting on the word "love."  :-D

     I used ProMarkers to color the images, then cut them both with a single die from Cuts.  I mounted the image piece onto mirrored, red CS and trimmed the ends to fit.  That was mounted onto a pink card base and I sewed one of my tiny butterfly bows which I placed just above the image.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  I left it rather CAS, with lots of open space.

     Challenges:

Butterfly  (Tickle me pink, Tan)

Colour Crazy

C.R.A.F.T.

Creative Fingers

Creative Inspirations

Let's Craft & Create

Mod Squad

Paperbabe

Simon Says Stamp

Word Art Weds

     If you haven't joined the Conie Fong FB page yet, you really should do it now.  There are 2 challenges there every month.  All you have to do is use a Conie Fong image and you can enter either the "Coloring Only" challenge or the one for finished projects, like cards or paper crafts.  You can win fabulously cute images.  Come play!  

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Snowflakes

      Today I'm sharing a pre-scheduled post while I'm off doing other things that are not nearly as much fun as crafting and making Christmas cards.  But in the last 24 hours, I've made no fewer than 15 all die-cuts cards which will be donated (along with about 60 others) to my local senior center to be used by the seniors who are otherwise limited by transportation issues and can't just run down to the local card store to get Christmas cards for their family and friends.

     This one is a simple, monochromatic red with white card on which I used a Cuts die for the snowflakes and a die from Die-Versions for the "Noel" sentiment.  I used a red card base and tore a piece of white CS for the bottom/right side of the card front.  Despite how fussy and fancy it looks, this card took less than 15 minutes to make and most of that time was spent gluing down the various snowflakes using a glue pen.

     Challenges:

Country View

C.R.A.F.T.

Creatalicious

Creative Inspirations

Creative Moments

Dies R Us

Friendship

Mod Squad

Simon Says Stamp

The Four Seasons

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Grateful Bunny

     Creatures of all sorts and sizes are grateful for food and love and comfort.  They may not all celebrate it with a Thanksgiving feast but I thought this delightful bunny image from Kinda Cute could easily be turned into a gratitude/Thanksgiving card with the use of autumn colors and a proper sentiment.  :-D

     I colored the image with ProMarkers and then cut it with a Cuts die.  I used a large scrap of kraft CS for the card front, and layered on a scrap piece of dp which had been cut with a lattice die from Tonic Studio.  I found a strip of olive green burlap, pulled a few threads from the sides, and put it on top of the lattice piece.  Everything was put on angles for a bit of visual interest.

     I inked the edge of the image and used the threads of burlap to tie the bow, then added the image to everything else.

     Challenges:

Colour Crazy

Crafty Catz

Crafty Gals Corner

Creatalicious

Outlawz SAR

Passion for Markers

Penny's Paper Crafty

Scrapping4fun

Simon Says Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Playing in the Puddles

      I feel like I've been running behind all month long and when I discovered that I hadn't posted my card for Imagine That ! DOTM yet, I confirmed that feeling.  Sigh...  But here it is and the month isn't over so I'm  good.  :-D

     I loved the whole idea of playing in puddles after the storm, especially because where I live we've had nothing be severe drought and a serious lack of rain for more than 2 years no.  Weather forecasters say we're due for heavy rain this upcoming Monday, and I can only hope that's true.  

     I colored this precious image (called "Lizzy's Umbrella") with ProMarkers and cut it with a Cuts die.  The sentiment is part of the set and I printed it and cut it with a corner punch from Uchida.  I added one of my signature bows with a pearl and mounted everything onto a mango-orange card base.  Very CAS.

     I love coloring critters and use far more critter images then people images but I'm trying to improve my coloring on people so I've begun looking for and using images which combine critters and people.  :-D  To me, coloring fur or feathers is easier than coloring human faces and hair.

      Challenges:

As You Like It

Cardz TV

Colour Crazy

Crafty Catz

Cute Card Thurs

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paperbabe

Polkadoodles

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Broom Ride

      I'm still doing Halloween cards, even though I seem to be balancing each one with a Christmas card for the stash.  The image I used today is a digital image from Mo's Digital Pencil and I don't think I've ever used it in all the time it's been in my collection.  But it's adorable, was fun to color, and made a delightful card.  :-D

     I merged the sentiment before printing, then used my ProMarkers to color the image.  I cut it with  pinpoint, circle die from Dare 2B Artzy, which I also used to cut the circle in each of the two blck and orange CS pieces.  I inlaid the image into the background.

     I added other die cuts for embellishment; bats cut with an Impression Obsession die, and the house cut with a die from Cuts.  All of those were cut from small bits and pieces of scrap papers.  Finally, I used one of my signature, hand-sewn bows which was white ribbon before I 'dyed' it with a ProMarker.

     Challenges:

Crafty Calendar

Dare 2B Artzy (used a die)

Gem of a Challenge

Ike's World

Lil Patch of ...

Pixie's Snippets

Stamping Sensations

Taylormadecards...

Two Old Bats

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Confirmation

      This lovely little image is from LeAnn's World and is for their Progressive Challenge.  I'm sure she was meant to be a bride but since I needed a confirmation card, and since she can easily pass for a young girl, she graces the front of this very CAS card.

     Colored with my ProMarkers, then cut with a Cuts stitched die.  Sentiment printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  Edges of both die cuts inked with gold inkpad.

     Challenges:

Crafty Calendar

Crafty Sentiments

Cutie Pie

Gem of a Challenge

Lil Patch of ...

Taylormade ...

TTCRD

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Don't Over-Shop!

      Doing anything for too long without taking a break can be harmful to your health and that includes "Retail Therapy!"  It's time for the start of a new weekly challenge over at Creative Knockouts and this week our theme is "All Stitched Up."  Add stitches; they can be real or faux.  Our fantastic sponsor is the most beloved Hetty Clare and she supplied images for the DT.  I chose "Ladies on a Seesaw" and this card is going to remind me (through an eye-level placement on the craft room door) that taking breaks is a wonderful thing.

     This image was such a perfect opportunity to make the entire card into a scene buy choosing papers which worked for both sky and ground.  I started by coloring the image with my ProMarkers, then cutting it with a die from Cuts.  The die has stitching marks and I enhanced them by using a black gel pen on each stitch.

     Once colored, I chose papers from Recollections (green) and Lawn Fawn (blue) stacks which complimented the colors I used on the sky and ground in the image.  I added a wrap of aqua ribbon and tied a double-loop bow for the top of the card.  I printed and fussy cut the sentiment, and the card was done!

     Challenges:

4 Season

Art Impressions

Crafter's Castle

Creative Inspirations

Cutie Pie

Di's Digi Designs

Dragonfly Dreams

Incy Wincy

Inspiration Station

Outlawz PAM

     Come play with us this week!  You could win a prize from Hetty Clare and we'd love to be inspired by what you make.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie 

Moonflower Lullaby

      I love the name of this fabulous Conie Fong image almost as much as I love the image itself!  It's called "Moonflower Lullaby" and that makes your tongue happy just to say it.  :-D  In the store, the sample is colored in a pink pallet, but for my DT card I've done her in purples, lavenders, and magenta with a tiny bit of quince green in the leaves.

     I used my ProMarkers to color her, then cut the image with an Unbranded die.  The background die with the butterflies and flowers is from Cuts dies.  The sentiment was printed and cut with another Unbranded die.  I added quartz gems to the butterfly heads for just the tiniest bit of sparkle.

     Challenges:

Addicted to Stamps ...

Butterfly (Quinacridone, Quartz, Quince)

Colouring in Scrapland

Dream Valley

I {heart} ProMarkers

Outlawz Greetings

Paper Shelter

Passion for Markers

TTCRD

Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting and I hope you'll come and play in one of the challenges at Conie Fong this month.  We have 2 each month; one for just coloring of a Conie Fong image and the other for completed projects, like card, with a Conie Fong image.   

NanaConnie

Little Bit Batty

      It's time for the monthly Halloween challenge over at Two Old Bats, where the theme is always Anything Halloween but there's a mood board for inspiration, if needed.  Here's the mood board for this month:

     I was inspired by the cat and the witch's hat.  This is another of the images sent to me by my friend when I lost all my digital images due to a flash drive crash.  I colored with ProMarkers and pencils, then cut the image with a stitched die from Cuts.  I scored 3 lines along the left border and inked the scores with orange ProMarker.  The dp and the CS are scraps, and I added one of my signature bows with sewn-on pearl.

     Challenges:

A Bit More Time ...

Crafter's Cafe

Crafts Galore Encore

Dies R Us

Scor-Pal

Scribbles Designs

     Come play with an early Halloween card!  If there are 50 entries, there will be a prize!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Favorite Elf

      I've gotten back to doing easel cards the last month or so and I'd forgotten how many different styles of easels there are.  I think this tent-style, A2 easel was the first I ever tried.  Then I got hooked on twisted easels and did many of those.  Eventually, I did a horizontal A2 easel and that has a very different look, more like a step card but without the steps.  :-D  So, I've come full circle and am back to a tent-style A2 easel.

     The image is from the progressive challenge at Stamper's Delights.  Colored with ProMarkers and gel pens, then cut with a die from Cuts.  The frame was also cut from a scrap of Recollections dp with a die from that same Cuts set.  Sentiment printed and cut with a smaller Cuts die.  I actually cut 3 layers of CS for the sentiment to make it thick enough to act as the 'stopper' for the easel.  I inked the edges with a ProMarker.  I kept the design very CAS because I'm going to use this as a masculine card.

     Challenges:

Crafty Gals Corner

Creative Creases

Mod Squad

Outlawz PAM

Paperminutes

Paper Shelter

ScorPal

Stamplorations CAS

TTCRD

     Happy Crafting, everyone.  NanaConnie

Happy News!

      This is my first card for Your Scrapbook Place, a fun monthly challenge where I've played fairly regularly for the last year or more.  Now I'm part of the DT - can you believe it?  My card features a sweet image from Hetty Claire called "Wildflower."  If you're not familiar with Hetty Claire, you have to check out her store!   Her images are just so darling.  If you haven't had a chance to fall in love with images for a while, click on the Hetty Claire name up above and go look at the Etsy shop.  You're in for a treat.  :-D

     This card goes in my stash of Birthday cards and one of my granddaughters will get it.  :-D

Colored w ProMarkers & gel pens

Image and sentiment cut w Cuts dies

Papers cut w QuicKutz dies

DCWV dp

Signature bow w pearl (hand sewn)

     Challenges:

A Bit More Time ...

A Perfect Time ...

Classic Design

Crafts Galore ...

Creatalicious

Die Cut Divas

Dies R Us

     We'd love to see you entering our challenge this month.  Just pop over to Your Scrapbook Place, read the guidelines for entering, and create something delightful.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Liliana Mermaid

      Today I'm sharing the first of my #Conie Fong DT cards for the month of May.  It features Liliana Mermaid as well as some fancy die cut work.  Don't forget that each month we have two challenges running; one is for colored images only and the other is for completed projects.  You do have to use Conie Fong images but there are so many of those and you're sure to fall in love with several once you go and explore the Etsy store.  :-D

     The image set includes Liliana both with and without a water lily and my original plan was to merge both images for use on one card.  However, I had forgotten I was working with jpg images, not a png images, and the plan went awry.  So I used one of the printed images and will save the other one for a future project.  The sentiment is also from Conie Fong but not from the Liliana Mermaid set and I honestly don't remember which set has that sentiment.  Sorry

     The best part about this card is that it's made with scraps and bits, both paper and CS.  Even the burlap ribbon for the bow was a left over scrap which I found in my scrap basket.  There was just enough of it to tie that bow and trim the dove-tail ends.

Colored w ProMarkers

Cut w Unbranded die

Sentiment cut w Unbranded die

Pattern paper from K & Co.

Lime green CS cut w Cuts die

Tallest flower created w 'negative' pieces from the die cut

Burlap bow hand-tied and dyed w ink pad

     Challenges:

Addicted to Stamps

Crafty Creations

Dream Valley

I {heart} ProMarkers

Outlawz Greetings

Paper Funday

Pixie's Snippets

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Stamping Sensations

Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie