Rather Fish than Work

     This adorable, little bear from Imagine That! proves the point that any reasonable guy would rather fish than work.  To quote someone famous and silly (don't ask me who said it), "Give a man a fish and he'll eat one meal.  Teach a man to fish and he'll sit by the river and drink beer all day!"

Colored with ProMarkers
Cut with QuicKutz die
Burlap with distressed edges
Kraft CS for the card base

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Aud Sentiments
Crafty Calendar
Crafty Catz
Outlawz Festive Fri
Scrapper's Delights
Take It, Make It
Time Out

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

BBQ Grilling

     Welcome to another weekly challenge at QKR Stampede where our theme is always Anything Goes!  Today I've used a masculine image called "BBQ Grilling 15008" and it's perfect for the guy who always burns the steaks.  :-D  The sentiment is also from QKR and is called "Life is Grand."  Remember, most of the QKR images are available as either digis or rubber stamps.

     What I used for this card:
ProMarkers
QuicKutz large rectangle die
Fussy cutting on sentiment
CAS design

     Challenges:
Coloring in Scrapland
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Gals Corner
Cute N Crafty
Get Creative
I {heart} ProMarkers
Incy Wincy
Lemon Shortbread
Paper Funday
Scrappy Land

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Bugaboo Father's Day

     Each year I make Father's Day cards for my son, son-in-law, and grandson, all of whom are terrific fathers.  This year, I started with a Bugaboo Stamps image on my grandson's card.

I used the colors from the Catch the Bug challenge

and the sketch from Sketch Saturday.

  

     I colored the image with ProMarkers, then cut it with a die from Spellbinders.  I used pale blue CS to make the card base and the two strips are scraps of CS from my 'use it up' stash.  I printed and hand cut the sentiment.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Brown Sugar
Crafter's Castle
Crafty Friends
Di's Digi Designs
Jo's Scrap Shack
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Outlawz SAR

     Happy Memorial Day.  Say "Thanks" to a veteran and take a moment to remember the reason we have this long  weekend.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Father's Day Celebration !

Happy Father's Day to all the dads!

     Today I have another Father's Day card made with a Penny Black stamp.  I love this stamp and have used it several times for either gal or guys cards.  Today, it's on a very simple, masculine, card.

     This little hedgie just seems so content and happy sitting in his garden, communing with the bees about his daisy.  Wonderful summer fun.  :-D  

     I colored him with a combination of water colors and ProMarkers.  I wanted a really CAS design which would be easy to put in an envelope and mail so all I did was cut the colored image with a die from QuicKutz and mount it onto a turquoise card front.

     I printed and hand cut the sentiment, then added it.  A perfect masculine card.  :-D

     Challenges:

Crafty Cardmakers

Crafty Creations

Die Cuttin' Divas

Digi Choosday

Di's Digi Designs

Passion for ProMarkers

Penny Black & More

Penny Black Saturday

TTCRD

Unicorn

     Have a marvelous day and celebrate all the dads in your life!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Father's Day Dog

     I do cards for all the "Dads" in my family every year and those include my son, grandson, and SIL.  My own dad has been gone many years now but I was so close to him, I always think of him on Father's Day.

     Today's card has one of the happiest little mutts ever and would have been perfect for my dad who was a true animal lover, but mostly dogs populated his life in the years when I was growing up.  The image is a Penny Black stamp.

     I colored with watercolor paints and a brush, then cut the image and frame with dies from Amy Designs.  The die cuts were so detailed that I simply layered the image onto the yellow card front, added the sentiment, and left it without embellishment.  It's a pretty CAS design that looks more complex.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Allsorts
Cards in Envy
Crafting from the Heart
Dragonfly Dreams
Jo's Scrap Shack
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Penny Black & More
Penny Black Saturday
Pile It On

     Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be home soon and back to normal - whatever 'normal' is!  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Fishing Days

     Salute and a good Friday morning, my friends!   We have a new challenge starting over at QKR Stampede today and our theme is always Anything Goes.  It's definitely summer weather around here and I'm getting Father's Day cards done for the three dads in my family (son, SIL, and grandson.)  Anything related to fishing always reminds me of my own dad so I used "Gone Fishing 12601" from QKR for this card.

     He always said that any summer vacation had to include a place to fish and he liked it even better if the entire vacation was planned around every day spent fishing.  :-D

     I started with a simple A2 card  design.  I love A2 and it's probably my favorite card shape and size because I mail so many of my cards and that's a standard size accepted by the post office with no additional postage.  This one will be in the mail to my son.

     I colored with ProMarkers and polychromos pencils, then cut the octagon shape with a die from QuicKutz.  I added a blue, CS, mat behind the image.

     The card front is embossed, though that doesn't show very well in the photo.  I added the image piece and then wrapped baker's twine around it.  I printed and hand cut the sentiment, matted it, and then adhered it at the top of the card.  A CAS design, perfect for a masculine Father's Day card.

     Challenges:
As You Like It
Aud Sentiments
CARDZ TV
Crafty Gals Corner
Creative Moments
Cute Card Thurs
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
House That Stamps Built
Outlawz Twisted Thurs
Time Out
That's Crafty
Work It Wednesday

     Thanks for stopping by and feel free to browse around while you're here.  I hope you'll come play at QKR this week.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Catch Your Own Dinner!

     Happy Memorial Day and thanks to all our veterans!

      I dearly love Bugaboo Stamps and they had such a fun inspiration photo for their latest challenge on Catch the Bug - it brought back wonderful childhood memories of camping out and of fishing with my dad.  My mom was definitely NOT into camping but she agreed to try it if Dad would build a trailer complete with beds and kitchen.  She wasn't going anywhere without a stove for cooking.  To her, campfires were only for enjoyment and the occasional toasted marshmallow.  :-D

     But I loved time spent fishing with my dad and a majority of our camping trips included creeks, rivers, and ponds where fishing was abundant.  That meant lots of meals of trout, bass, and perch.  I wasn't crazy about eating fish but it wasn't like you could camp in the middle of nowhere and catch peanut and butter sandwiches!

   

I started with the sketch from The Outlawz.  I turned it

sideways to better fit the shape of my image.

      I colored the image with ProMarkers, then used a QuicKutz die to cut it.  The sentiment is also cut with a QuicKutz die.  The kraft side piece is cut with a stitched, border die from Spellbinders.  I dug through my stash until I found the kraft-colored jute cord, then tied it around the card front, knotting it into a small bow.  

     That seemed enough since this is not only a CAS card but a masculine one.  Wouldn't this make a great Father's Day card for a man who loves to either camp or fish?

     Challenges:

Brown Sugar

C.R.A.F.T.

Crafty Gals Corner

Creative Moments

House that Stamps Built

Scrappy Land

That's Crafty

Word Art Weds.

     Enjoy the last of the long weekend, all my fellow US Americans, and remember to thank a veteran and say prayers for our active military.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Daddy's Boots

     Each year I make Father's Day cards for all the guys in the family (son, SIL, Grandson, etc.) since I don't get to make one for my own dear papa anymore.  :-D  When I saw this pair of boots over at Beccy's Place, I knew they would make a fantastic Father's Day card for a young man to give to his father.  Yes, I also make cards for the grandkids to give to their dads.  :-D

I started by choosing one of the sketches

(#506) over at Sketch Saturday

but I flipped it top to bottom and side to side.

     I colored the boots with my ProMarkers, then die cut them with a die from the Spellbinders Romantic Roses set.  The die was actually larger than I needed for the image, so I cut once, then moved the die and cut a second time, getting the size I wanted.

     I used red CS, textured with my "Linen" embossing folder, to make the card front, and layered the image onto it.  I wrapped red and white baker's twine around and tied it into a double knot.  I wanted to keep it simple since it a card for a guy so the twine was the only embellishment.

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft
Crafts Galore Encore
Die Cuttin' Divas
Dies R Us
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Send a Smile 4 Kids

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Hangin' Out at the Pad

     Usually when asked about how he wanted to celebrate Father's Day, my dad would choose to stay home and just hang out around the "pad."  Although he's been gone for many years now, I'm going to honor him with the sentiment on this card.  Of course, the image had to fit the sentiment and we all know that frogs love (lily) pads!.  :-D

     The image came from Beccy's Place and I just adore the expression on his face!  I colored him with chalks and added shading with my ProMarkers.  I cut the image and the green mat with an inside/outside stitched die from Die-namics, and then cut the background CS with that same die so that the image was inlaid into the background except for the place where the scrap of polka dot dp was applied.

     I added the fussy cut sentiment piece and the tiny bow and left it alone.  It's a masculine card and simply didn't need anything else.  :-D

    Challenges:
Aussie Digital Artists Open
Cards in Envy
Crafty Cardmakers
Crafty Creations
Cute Card Thursday
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Twisted Thursday
Paper Nest Dolls
Scrapy Land
Simon Says Stamp

     Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Coolest Dad Ever!

     I think this "cool cat" from Eureka Stamps is the funniest thing ever!  I decided it was perfect for another Father's Day card.  My own dad having been gone for many years, I now make them for family members who are dads.  :-D  This one will go to my #1 grandson.

     Because it's going to be mailed, I kept it as simple as I could.  I colored the image with my ProMarkers, added white gel ink as reflection on the sunglasses, and fussy cut it by hand.  That was time consuming and detailed but it's a technique I love to do every now and then.  I matted it with an embossed frame ("Linen" folder) of white CS which had been die cut it with a stitched die.

     Both the multi-colored frame (cut with a die from a CUTplorations set) and the background paper are from a Recollections stack.  I added sparkly twine, tied into a knot and with the ends feathered, as a salute to embellishment.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps & More
Fab 'n' Funky
Great Impressions
Inspiration Destination
Mod Squad
Outlawz CAS
Scrapy Land
Simon Says Stamp
Simon Says Monday
STAMPlorations

     I hope you have wonderful plans for your weekend even if you are mostly staying home.  Find time for enjoyment and reflection.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Dad's Dog

     For years, my SIL said, "No!" to all requests from the kids about adding a dog to the family.  After a few years, he amended that to, "If we ever have a dog, it'll be a working dog for bird hunting or retrieving."   Finally, about 3 years ago, he brought home a darling Brittany Spaniel puppy and and she was named Samantha.  Not Sam or Sammi or any version of a nickname -- she was to be "Samantha" and he started with her training immediately.

     But kids will have their own influence and within a few weeks she had become Sammi.  SIL found he really didn't have the time to dedicate to her training for bird hunting and, once they were beyond the house breaking stage and the basics of "sit," "lie down," and "stay" (which she never did learn completely!), she was clearly a pet more than a working dog, with tons of instincts which came from generations of breeding but little sense of control when it came to chasing birds.  lol

     So, this card is for my SIL on Father's Day.  The image (from Bugaboo) is a perfect representation of Sammi's reality.  :-D  She does love her "Papa" but let's face it, she's a pet!

I used the sketch from Stella Says Sketch

and pulled my colors from the inspiration

at MarkerPOP.

   

     I colored with a combination of Shin Han Touch Twin and Copic markers, then die cut the image with a simple rectangle die from Spellbinders.  I rounded the corners and distressed all the edges, then mounted it onto a die cut diamond (also Spellbinders) from which I trimmed and rounded two of the corners, distressing the edges of that piece, too.

     I used scraps of dp from one of my Recollections stacks for the background and the strips, including the brown mats behind each of the strips.  Again, I distressed the edges of everything.  Before layering on the image piece, I used a bit of string which I had dyed that color with a Copic marker, and tied it with a simple square knot.

     There are no other embellishments on the card  because SIL just hates anything "fussy" and I usually opt for as simple as I can get.  He'll probably think this one is too fussy since it has more than just a single layer.  :-D

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Catch the Bug
Glitter n Sparkle
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz Festive Friday
Polkadoodles
Quick Quotes
Sweet Stampin'

     Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Father's Day Fishing

     My dad was a man who never expected any kind of fuss to be made over him, not even on his birthday or Father's Day.  He used both of those occasions every year as an excuse to go fishing and just have quiet time.  Since both his birthday and Father's day were in June and since I was out of school by that time, I got to go with him on many of those occasions.  It was wonderful, father-daughter, quiet time and I still love fishing and enjoying serene, quiet time.

     When I discovered our new challenge at QKR Stampede this week had a "For the Guys" theme, I immediately dug out my favorite "Going Fishing" image (Digi 13209) and paired it with the "Fishing Is" sentiment (Digi 12401) as an homage to my dad.  Today would have been his birthday.  :-D

Colors are from The Outlawz Color Challenge.

Blue isn't necessarily required but a monochrome creation is.

     I colored the image with ProMarkers, die cut it with a Cheery Lynn stitched die, and inked the edges.  I did the same with the sentiment.  The other two die cut pieces were done with dies from Spellbinders.   The ribbons were in my stash.  Can you tell I've just gone crazy over those 'bow tie' bows?  I seem to be making them for about every third card, give or take.  :-D

     Challenges:
Craft Rocket
Crafty Calendar
Crafty Sentiments Designs
Deep Ocean
Digi Choosday 
Inky Chicks
Inspiration Destination
Lemon Shortbread
Male Room
Sasayaki Glitter
Scrapy Land
Star Stampz
Sweet Stampin'
Through the Craft room Door
Tuesday Throwdown

     I have now added those "few more challenges" as promised after getting some sleep.  Thanks for your patience.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Please continue to leave comments.  The "Word Verification" really isn't on.  BLOGGER INSISTS ON SHOWING THE "CAPTCHA" ICON BUT IF YOU IGNORE IT AND JUST POST YOUR COMMENT, IT'LL BE THERE.  I WISH I COULD GET RID OF IT BUT THERE'S NO OPTION FOR THAT WHEN THE COMMENTS ARE WRITTEN IN A SEPARATE BOX.  SORRY.

A Father's Boots

     When I found this "Western Boots" image at Pattie's Creations, I knew I needed to use it for a Father's Day card.  Since the theme for our new June challenge at Pattie's is "Father's Day or Graduation," I knew it would work perfectly for my DT card this month.

     The image and the sentiment were printed at the same time.  I used my ProMarkers to color the boots and then I cut the image with a die from Spellbinders.   I added a brown CS backing and hand cut it to the outside shape of the die.  I found those pieces of gingham check dp in the scrap basket and rescued them just for this card.  I layered those onto some red CS which I first ran through my 'Linen' embossing folder.  The twine was the final touch and I frayed the ends to make it more distressed looking.  All of that went onto the card front and everything was from my stash.

     Challenges:
AAA Cards
Clear It Out
Crafting from the Heart
Loves Rubber Stamps
Love to Scrap
Mema's Crafts
Paper Girls
Paper Nest Dolls
Papertake Weekly
Quirky Crafts
Scribble & Scrap
Vintage Stamping

     You have all the rest of the month to play along with us so get going on those Father's Day or Graduation cards, then get your entry posted on the challenge blog.  See you there.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie.  

For All the Guys

     I have a few masculine/ Father's Day cards to share with you this morning and will also have another one tomorrow.  Each of these cards uses an image from Doodle Pantry, a couple of which are new and one I've had in my collection for probably 3 years, but this isn't the first time I've used it.  OK, here's the first card:

     Since my SIL is an avid fisherman, one of my granddaughters laid claim to this one as soon as she saw me making it.  I hadn't even finished it yet when she said she wanted to give it to him for Father's Day.  This one is a pre-colored image but I used ProMarkers to darken the water and his coat and to make the tackle box a bit more orangey-red.  The background is done with corrugated paper and the baker's twine is from my stash.

     Challenges for this card:
Artistic Inspirations -- All about Dad
Craft Your Passion -- For the boys/Father's Day
Crafty Boots -- Sport
Digi Makeover -- For the men
Digi Sketch -- For the men
Doodle Pantry -- Make it Manly

     Next card, also a Doodle Pantry image --

     I love these fishing lures and this time I hand colored them using Copics and gel pens.  I've used them several times before and even did another card with this same image but used a pre-colored image on that one.  Maybe I'll get time to share it tomorrow.  This one is pretty simple -- hand colored, cut with a rectangle die, edges distressed, and mounted onto another strip of that same corrugated paper.  The stars were in my stash and I thought they worked as reminders of starfish.  :-D

     Challenges for this card:
Crafty Sentiments Designs -- Father's Day
Going Grey w Scrap Creations -- Father's Day
MarkePOP -- A/G
Melonheadz Friends -- Summer fun
Ooh La La Creations -- For a man/boy
Paper Nest Dolls -- A/G
PaperTake Weekly -- For the boys
Pink Elephant -- Father's Day
Sweet Stamps -- For Dad

     OK, if I have a favorite out of these three images, it's probably this wonderful classic car.  I can't tell you if that's a Model A or a Model T, but my dad would have known.  I'm old, but I'm not old enough to have driven one of these.  But they always remind me of my dad who just loved to see one of these marvels driving down the street.  That would bring on stories from him of his younger years and learning to drive (around the family farm) about the age of 12 in one of those early Fords.  Even tho' he's been gone for many years, I still miss him.  :-D

     Pre-colored image again from Doodle Pantry.  This is another one which got claimed by a granddaughter for her dad.  She likes the blue with all the neutral beige and she's a great fan of all things vintage or classic.  I would have bet my fortune (if I had one) that she would chose this card for him.  :-D  

     Papers are from the Linen Closet stack by DCWV and the sheer ribbon was in my stash, probably from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  I know for sure that's where I got the polka dot ribbon.

     Challenges for this card:

Aud Sentiments -- Any sentiment for a man

Frilly and Funky -- Special Man  

Hobbybook -- Dad/Special Man

The Male Room -- Father's Day

MFP Simple Salutations -- Father's Day

MilkCoffee -- Father's Day

Penny's Paper-Crafty -- A/G

Rhedd & Rosie's -- Back in time, vintage style

     Well, I hope you've enjoyed this long post which salutes masculinity.  I enjoy making guy cards; always have, always will.  I know, I know, I can hear some of you groaning out there from the bottom of your toes.  lol  Ah, well, Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie