Gnome for Christmas

      It's the day for a new challenge over at FarmQuest Country Christmas where our theme is always "Anything Country Christmas Goes."  We want to see outdoor Christmas scenes or decorations on the farmhouse, or nearly anything that is both Christmas and outdoorsy, but not big city streets or shopping malls or cityscapes.  

     I chose this clip art image with three gnomes on the Christmas Tree Farm.  I don't know the artist but if you do, please let me know.  I love to give proper credit where possible.  I colored the image with my Sanjoki markers, added highlights to their beards with a white gel pen, and cut the image with an old QuicKutz die.  I love the shape of it.  I inked the edges in red, then layered it onto a background of glittery, golden holly leaves.  That CS came from Paper Studios and the dp strip along the right hand side is a scrap from a DCWV stack.

     The glittery golden bow is from K & Co. and I thought it added exactly the proper amount of sparkle and glitz.  I admit, when it's Christmas, glitter is my absolute favorite and when it's combined with gold, that takes it over the top!  The sparkle adds so much to the festive feel of the holiday.  :-D

     Challenges:

As You Like It

Aloha Friday

Colorful Options

Crafty Catz

Creative Inspiration

Digi Choosday

Kerst / Christmas

Outlawz Friday

     I hope we're going to see you playing along in this challenge.  Just create something that celebrates both country and Christmas and you're in!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Ice Cream Summer

      This fun image is the one given to us for the Progressive Challenge at The Outlawz.  I admit that when I first saw the plain outline image, I wasn't all that enamored with it but as I began to color it, giving it strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla scoops, it suddenly looked really cute (and refreshing!)  

     I used Sanjoki alcohol markers to color it, then fussy cut the cone with scissors.  I looked through a box of long-stored, paper stacks and found two papers I thought really worked well together and which set off the image.  The polka dot paper from Paper Studio I cut with a Tonic Studios die.  The argyle paper is from Authentique and I cut it to size for an A2 card with my largest rectangle die from QuicKutz.

     I printed and cut the sentiment with the smallest QuicKitz die from that same rectangle set.  I inked the edges of the sentiment and the polka dot paper using an ink pad.  I hand-tied a very simple bow, using white satin ribbon, and I 'dyed' the bow using a Sanjoki marker so that I had the exact color I wanted.

I based the card design on the sketch from Tuesday Morning.

     Challenges:

Crafty Gals Corner

Creations in Pink

Creative Knockouts

Cupcake Inspirations

Digi Choosday

Handstamped Sentiments

PaperCraft

Passion for Markers

     Enjoy your day and 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

"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

Bald Eagle

      It's Friday once again and that means another new challenge over at Crafty Catz, where our theme is always "Anything Goes," with the added benefit of an OPTIONAL twist if you want to use it, and this time it's "Wings."  We don't have a sponsor this week so everyone on the DT has chosen whatever they want to use for their inspiration cards.

     I chose this magnificent (clip art) Bald Eagle image, printed out in gray scale, and hand colored with my Sanjoki markers and white gel pens, plus water colors on the sky and water.  I cut the image with a Tonic Studios die.  The sentiment was cut with an Avery Elle die.  The dark background is actually dp from Paper Studio and I hand-tied the little satin bow.

     Challenges:

Creative Fingers

Creative Moments

Digi Choosday

Double D

Happy...Stampers

I Love Markers

Outlawz Thurs

Penny's P-C

Simon Says Stamp

Word Art Weds

     Come play in our challenge this week, won't you?  We love seeing what you've created and, even though we don't have a sponsor this week, you could take a Top Pick spot with your entry.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Bunny in a Basket

      This card was so fast and easy!  I started with a pre-colored, clip art image which I cut with a fancy die from QuicKutz.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  I used dp from Paper Studio for the background and added one of my signature, hand-sewn bows, this time with a pearl on it.  Finished in less than 20 minutes!

     Challenges:

     That's it for today.  I did quite well at the craft fair, better than I expected given my previous experience with vendor booths.  :-D  I'm very pleased.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Mid-Winter

      I made today's card to help celebrate a college exchange-student's first ever look at snow!  He's from Nigeria and is studying at a college in Texas, and late last month there was an unexpected snow storm which shut down the entire campus.  All of the students were excited about the event to one degree or another, but he perhaps most of all.  :-D

     I found this image online, reversed it, and printed it in grayscale.  Then I colored the buildings, trees and fence with polychromos pencils and used ProMarkers to color the sky and snow.  I cut the image with a Tonic Studios die, cut the sentiment with an Avery Elle die, and inked the edges of both of those before layering them onto the dp from Paper Studio.

     Challenges:

Coloring w Pencils

Country View ...

CRAFT-alnica

C.R.A.F.T.

Creative Fingers

Digi Choosday

Lil Patch of ...

Pammie's IP

Penny's P-C

Polkadoodles

     Enjoy your own mid-winter day, even if there's no snow at all.  For those of you in the southern hemisphere, winter is closer than you think and then you can begin celebrating your own Mid-Winter Deep with piles of snow.  lol  

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Lamb of God

      It's time for the Letter "L" at Beccy's Place 30 Days of Holidays.  I used this beautiful image from Beccy's showing the manger with the Lamb of God surrounded by Lambs.  I did a Latch card, following the TUTORIAL from Beccy's Place.  I also did the Lettering on the sentiment and used Lemon yellow on the halo.

     The image is pre-colored but I changed the color of the blankets and the hay using ProMarkers.  I also added blue sky, and I used white gel pen on the lambs for a little visual texture in their wool.  The halo was also colored with ProMarkers and gel pen.  I cut the image and the sentiment with Cutz dies.  The background papers came from Paper Studio, and the latch circle was cut with a Dare 2B Artzy die.  The latch was mounted on a dimensional dot for a bit more flexibility when opening and closing the card.

     Challenges:

Crafty Catz

Crafty Friends

Crafty Hazelnut's

Cutie Pie

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Festive Fri

Polkadoodles

Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Letter "I" at Beccy's Place

     GOD BLESS OUR VETERANS
Thank you all for your service to your country.

      I'm up to the Letter "I" on the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place and maybe, by the end of the weekend, I'll be up to date.  :-D  For the letter "I," I've incorporated Ice, Ice skating, Image, Inking (on the edges of the cut image and sentiment), and Iridescent (the snowflake dots ribbon.)

     The Beccy's image was colored using ProMarkers and white gel pen, then cut with a Tonic Studios die.  I inked the edges using a ProMarker.  The background dp is from a "Stonewashed" stack by Paper Studio.  I thought it looked a bit like snow swirling in the air.  The glittered ribbon with the dots (snowflakes?) is iridescent but that doesn't show very well in the photo.  The sparkly red ribbon I used for the bow came from my stash.

     Challenges:

Colour Crazy

Crafty Catz

Creative Inspirations

Creative Knockouts

I Love ProMarkers

Outlawz Festive Fri

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Polkadoodles

Word Art Weds

     Have a wonderful start to your weekend and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Multi-Panel Accordion Card

      I love trying new card styles and I find some of the best tutorials at Beccy's Place, including  this one for a multi-panel, accordion card.  I'd never tried one of these before but I loved the way Beccy's card looked when finished, and Beccy always gives very clear step-by-step instructions, so I jumped in and tried it.  Here's the result.  Fair warning, I took 14 different photographs of this card but managed to trim it down to just these 4 for my post.  :-D

     I colored the cat images (all from Beccy's Place) with ProMarkers and fussy cut each one.  The sentiments (front and inside) are also from Beccy's Place.  The papers came from a Paper Studio stack and I just had to use them since the color combo of purple and aqua is one of my favorites. I used dies from Spellbinders for cutting the openings and the rectangles of aqua dp.

     Here's the front of the card when folded but without the belly band which keeps it closed.

Here's what it looks like when completely unfolded.

These last 2 photos just give you a closer look 

at the cats and the inside sentiment.

     Challenges:

Angie's Digis 

Crafty Hazelnut's

Creatalicious

Creative Creases

Dies R Us

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz PAM

Scor-Pal

Simon Says Stamp

     Happy 4th of July to my fellow Americans and no hard feelings to my British 'cousins.'  :-D

  

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Luck o' the Irish

     It's the second Monday of the month and that means a new challenge is starting at Jan's Digi Stamps!  Our theme is always Anything Goes and you may use any image from any company.

     Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day (also my birthday!) and since my heritage is Irish on both sides of the family tree, I'm using an image & a sentiment from the JDS set called "Lucky Charm 776J."

     I celebrate my heritage each year by sending St. Paddy's cards to my grandkids, reminding them that they are Irish.  As my father used to say, "Irishmen never father anything but Irishmen, regardless what's on the other side!"  lol

Colored with ProMarkers & gel inks
Cut with Memory Box die
Sentiment printed and hand cut
Shamrock ribbon by Paper Studio
Everything mounted onto kraft card base

     Challenges:
Arty Divas
Coloring in Scrapland
Cutie Pie
Digi Choosday
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Colors
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Path of Positivity
TTCRD
Tues Throwdown

     I want to share with you another card which uses this beautiful Lucky Charm image (combined with one of her birthday cake images), made by the artist herself, who sent it to me to celebrate my birthday!  Isn't this gorgeous?

     Come play with us before April 5 when the JDS Challenge #10 closes.  We love being inspired by you!   Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Up, Up and Away at QKR Stampede

     Friday once again and a new challenge is starting at QKR Stampede.   Our theme is always "Anything Goes" but we offer an optional twist if you choose to use it and today it's "Up, Up & Away" - so, anything that rises up into the sky.

     I chose to use one of the sweet angels which can be found in the QKR store and it's called "Bird Feeding Angel."  Remember, you can get any of the images at QKR either as digital images or in rubber, which ever is your personal preference.

     I'm sending this to a dear friend who always does the kindest things for no particular reason other than it makes her feel good to be kind to others.  I love her attitude and outlook on how to make life wonderful for everyone.  :-D

I took my colors from the challenge at Kitty Bee Designs Aloha Friday.

   
     I colored this image with my ProMarkers, then cut it with a Spellbinders die.  I layered that onto a piece of blue CS, and cut the corners with a punch from Fiskars.  The dp came from the "Stone Washed" stack by The Paper Studio.  My one embellishment was a double bowtie bow.

     Challenges:
Crafting with an Attitude
DL.ART
Fab'n'Funky
I {heart} ProMarkers
Polkadoodles
Scrapy Land
Simon Says Stamp
Word Art Weds.

     Stop back later in the day to see my final card for the Christmas-in-July week long, daily challenges at Catch the Bug.  I'm so tickled that I managed to get a card done for each day!  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Life as a Grown Up

     My eldest granddaughter (the one I hoped and prayed would be a girl after having only grandsons prior to her birth) turns 18 next month!  How is that even possible?  I'm not that far from 18 myself, am I?  :-D  Well, whatever, she's also the one who adores dragons and even though 18 means being an adult, it doesn't mean we have to leave childhood entirely behind so this dragon (from A Day for Daisies) seemed perfect for a birthday card.

     I colored the dragon with my ProMarkers, die cut him with a die from Spellbinders, and matted it with dark blue CS, trimmed to fit.  The diagonal orange strip is actually patterned paper and both it and the argyle diamond paper came from a pad by Paper Studio.  The roses were in my stash and I simply twisted them together and curled their stems.  The bow is one I made weeks ago and tossed in my stash for future use.  This time, I left it white.

     Challenges:
Glitter n Sparkle
Inky Chicks
Inspiration Destination
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Outlawz Twisted Thurs.
Paper Girls
Path of Positivity
Ribbon Girl
Unicorn
WordArt Weds.

     Someone peeking over my shoulder just asked, "Is that about 'How to Train Your Dragon'?"  Having raised my share of kids and grandkids, I know it's all about the training - - dragons or otherwise.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Happy Little Cat

     I discovered a new artist (new to me, that is) the other day and fell in love with some of her felines (of course!)   She publishes her images under the name "Drawn by Krista."  This is just the happiest cat I've seen in ages.  :-D

Before I even colored the fur baby,

I decided on the sketch from The Outlawz.

Can you believe how faithful I was to the design?

I usually go off on a tangent.  :-D

     I grabbed my ProMarkers, colored the image, and cut it with a circle die from QuickKutz.  I dug into my storage of alcohol inks, chose three and brayered them across a stamped background scrap, then die cut a hexagon shape and used it for the frame around the image circle.

     I cut strips of CS and Paper Studio dp, layered them onto a card front and added the borders of flowers above and below the strips.  For embellishment, I added sequins (my one diversion from the sketch which had buttons) and a burlap ribbon bow.  No sentiment on this one yet because I haven't decided how I'm going to use it.

     Challenges:
Catch the Bug (center row)
Crafting with an Attitude
Crafty Addicts
Crafty Ribbons
Create and Inspire
Creative Fingers
Penny's Paper Crafty
Simon Says Stamp
SUYP Cats Only
Take It Make It

     I'm here for a short while and then will be leaving the end of the week for more travels until after 4th of July.  I have a few posts scheduled during my absence but I may be out of touch for commenting.  Whether or not I can access the internet whenever I want is always a question.  :-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 PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT, IT WILL POST JUST FINE.  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.