Edward Elephant for St. Patrick's

     I promised you another post today if I got the card finished and I did!  This is my second or third St. Patrick's card and I make them every year for all my grandkids to remind them that they have an Irish heritage on my side of the family.  It's also a fun turn-around on birthday cards since I celebrate my birthday on St. Paddy's Day and it's fun to send out cards on my birthday.  :-D

     This image came from Bugaboo Stamps and is so adorable.

My colors came from the board at Color My Heart Color Dare

and used the sketch from Stella Says Sketch.

       

     I colored Edward with my ProMarkers, then cut the image with a Memory Box, scalloped, stitched die.  All the papers and CS were scraps and snippets from my desk, even the three little flowers were die cut from a scrap of mulberry paper (Spellbinders dies.)

     I used my Linen embossing folder on the gold CS at the top and used my Scor-Pal to score the lines on the deeper green scrap of CS at the bottom.  I added gems to the flower centers and called it finished.

     Challenges:
Catch the Bug
Colour Crazy
Crafting with Friends
Cute Card Thurs.
Cut It Up
Dare 2B Artsy
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends 
Pixie's Snippets
Scor-Pal

     OK, that's it for today.  I'll be back tomorrow.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Wizard Mouse

     Welcome to my second DT post of the day, this one for QKR Stampede where our theme is always "Anything Goes."  My card today uses a precious QKR image, called "Wizard Mouse" and it's all about 'times gone by' when magic and wizards ruled the world.  :-D

     I used ProMarkers to color and shade the image, added gold to the stars and silver to the crystal ball with paint pens, then cut it with a stitched Cottage Cutz die.  You've recently seen both of the dp I used because they were scraps left over from another project which were still lying on my craft desk.

     I printed the sentiment, and used another Cottage Cutz die to cut it.  I had to put the die at the top of the sentiment, and make a cut, then move the die so that I could cut the bottom of sentiment. If you're off searching for a CC die that exact shape, you're not going to find it.  Being able to shift dies to get the size you want is one of the versatilities in using dies.  :-D

     My final touch was hand sewing a sheer, purple bow with a purple pearl. 

     Challenges:
Crafty Sentiments
Digi Choosday
Double Trouble (1st column) (all 3)
Lemon Shortbread
Papercraft
Simon Says Stamp & Show
TTCRD
Use Your Stuff

     The next post (for SheepSki Designs) will be up in about 6 or 7 hours from the time this one goes live so come visit again, won't you?  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Spring Bird in His Garden

     This image from the Progressive Challenge at Limited Runs is so perfect for spring (which hasn't arrived at my house yet - how about yours?)  Each day with a freezing temperature makes me wish more strongly for spring. 

     Before I had decided what to do for the background, I saw that the Color challenge at The Outlawz gave us one color (green), an option to choose two other colors from the inspiration photo (see below) - I chose pink and pale blue - and the twist was to make our own background.  I sorted through the dp scraps on my desk, added a strip of washi tape, and laid them all together on the card front to make the background.  Fortunately, all the dp scraps were distressed and worked well together.

     I colored the image with ProMarkers and cut it with a stitched Unbranded die.  The glossy, pink frame was cut with a Cottage Cutz pinpoint die.  I thought they complemented each other.  The pale pink satin ribbon was a left over scrap and the deep pink ribbon for the bow was in my stash.  I added a tiny gemstone to it.

     Challenges:
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Sentiments
Digi Choosday
Lemon Shortbread
Papercraft
Passion for ProMarkers
{PIN}spirational
TTCRD

     Thanks for visiting.  Please stop by again tomorrow when I'll have my weekly post for QKR Stampede.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Loving Family

     One more progressive challenge in the bag and I love this sweet image of a big, happy family.  What better way to say "Love" this month?  The image is from Sasayaki Glitter and I think it's one of their best.

     I used ProMarkers to color the image, then cut it with a die from Gina Marie.  The purple dp was a scrap left over from a DT project which you'll see in a couple of weeks.  The dark blue CS was also a scrap and all of those things were layered together onto a 'confetti ' CS base.

     I printed and hand cut the sentiment, then inked the edges before adding it to the bottom of the card.  I used one of my signature bows, left white this time instead of 'dying' it to match a color in the card, and I added a sparkly gem to it.

     Challenges:
Brown Sugar
Crafting from the Heart
Creative Inspirations
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds
Happy Craft
I {heart} ProMarkers
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Scrappy Land
Word Art Weds.

     Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

My Happy Valentine

     I've done a few Valentine cards using recycled and vintage images since things are still not completely accessible after all the boxing up and reorganizing.  Most of the markers and colored pencils are still put away and my printer use is somewhat limited.  But I am loving the entire box of vintage Valentines which were given to me several years ago and which got set aside during the last move.  I found them a few weeks ago and they have been put to great use during this year's turmoil.

     Expect to see several vintage Valentine cards over the next couple of weeks.

     I thought this image was adorable with the little girl and her faithful dog.  I cut the old card, used a Spellbinders die to cut the image into a rectangle, then punched it with a Fiskars' corner punch.  I used scraps of red paper on a kraft card base, and layered on a scrap piece of wide, wired, sparkly, silver ribbon before adding the image piece.  That ribbon and the flowers gave the card some really great texture!

     The ribbon of embroidered daisy flowers with pink centers came from my stash.

     Challenges:
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Cardmakers
Cupcake Inspirations

Cute N Crafty
Get Creative
Incy Wincy
Outlawz Greetings
Paper Girls
Simon Says Stamp & Show

     See you later.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Thank You for Di

     I'm sharing a Thank You card today, made specifically to thank Di, who runs the Pixie's Snippets Playground, and it's important to include Parsnip and Dudley in that, too, I suppose, so that they don't feel slighted and run wild.  Di just celebrated the end of the 8th year at the Playground, and she's been running it for the last seven.  Darnell has organized a large blog hop for those of us who wanted to thank her and you can find the hop here if you're interested.

      Following the main rule of the Playground, I did this entire card using scraps of this and that, including a left over bit of CS for the card base.  The flowery background is a snippet of oriental origami paper and the size of it controlled the actual size of the card (approximately 3" X 5".)

     I found a scrap of cornflower blue CS and layered onto it the back of a left-over negative of a "thank you" die cut (Tim Holtz for Sizzix.)  Because the piece between the 't' and the 'h' was missing, I cut a tiny, thin, bit of dark burgundy CS which was hanging about on the desk and used it.  It doesn't match exactly but was the best I could do with what was available.

     The flower was cut from a scrap of white paper; I embossed the petals with a stylus and added a white sequin in the middle.

     I've been a bit absent from the Playground during the holidays (and again most of this month) due to all the time spent with family and the rather long process of sorting things to be relocated.  I have missed making 'snippets' projects during that time.  What fun to have used nothing but snippets for this entire card!  Enjoy, Di, and thank you so much for keeping things going at the Playground.  :-D

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Crafting by Designs
Crafting from the Heart
Crafts Galore Encore
Crafty Creations
Creative Fingers
Digi Choosday
DL.ART Thankful Thurs.
Scrappy Land
TTCRD

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie  

Believe in Angels

     Each year when we would put the angel on the tip of the Christmas tree, I would hear my mom whisper, "I believe in Angels."  Years later, when I had my own home and was decorating my own tree, I heard myself whispering the same thing as I put the angel on the tree.  A tradition was passed down without any of us realizing it at the time.  :-D  So this card is a salute to my mom.  I miss you, Mom.

     The image is from Bugaboo Stamps and I colored it with ProMarkers.  I added white Liquid Pearls to their little wings, then cut the image with a scalloped, Tonic Studios die.  I found a scrap piece of plaid paper from a stack by My Favorite Things and it had perfect colors in it to complement the card base and the colors in the image.

     I wanted a CAS design so I added only the bow tie bow at the bottom of the image.  That one was made from the last scrap of that ribbon that I had.

     This card was done as one of three options for a lady who wanted a card with an angel to giver to a friend of hers at Christmas.  You'll see the other two I did in the next few days, both with angels.  The other two are more Christmas-sy but this one could be left on a mantle piece all year round.  :-D

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
A Gem of a Challenge
Catch the Bug
Di's Digi Designs
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
LeAnn's World 101
Pixie's Snippets

     Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Hanging the Star

     Today starts our newest challenge at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies and we're honored to have QKR Stampede as our sponsor.  Since I'm on the QKR DT as well as the 2CCC DT, I was tickled to have an excuse to share cards that used QKR images two days in a row! 

I started with the sketch from C.R.A.F.T. but, 

because I was using up dp scraps, my horizontal

strip is wider and a bit shorter than the one in the sketch

and I put my sentiment into a circle.

     This adorable little mouse is "Hanging the Star" on the Christmas tree  and the sentiment I used is also from QKR Stampede.  

     I colored the image with ProMarkers, then cut it and the mat for it with simple, circle, dies from Spellbinders.  I used additional circle dies from QuicKutz to cut the sentiment and its mat.  The Spellbinders set just didn't have any dies that small.  

     I found my well-worn "Linen" embossing folder and used it on the front of the card base before I wrapped diamond textured ribbon around it and added the hand-tied, sheer ribbon, bow.  Both of those ribbons are from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

     I added two scraps of dp behind the image, both of which had been inked along the edges.  For a final bit of embellishment, I added the three, pale green, pearls to the lower, left corner.

     Challenges:

Craft-Dee BowZ

Crafting by Designs

Crafty Catz

Fussy and Fancy

I {heart} ProMarkers

Outlawz Festive Fri.

Scrappy Land

Word Art Weds.

Work It Weds.

     I really want to see you come and play in our "Anything Goes with a Critter" challenge this month.  It runs from now until the end of the day on December 25th so there's plenty of time.  The DT is taking a well deserved break so you may not get any comments on your entry but the challenge is up and running and we have a delightful sponsor so how can you lose?    

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

It's Merry ChrisMoose Time!

     Another Friday and another "Anything Goes" challenge at QKR Stampede!   When I was looking through the Christmas images available from QKR, I found this sweet little she-moose.  Her expression said she'd just found out Christmas is tomorrow and she only has one present ready.  lol  The image is called "Christmas Moose" and I just love her. 

     Everything on this card came from scraps, including the white CS on which the image is printed.  I colored with ProMarkers, added a few tiny highlights with a gel pen, and then used a stitched die from Cottage Cutz to cut out the image.  I used that same die on two dp scraps which I used behind the image piece.

     I sewed a tiny bow from a scrap of white ribbon, dyed it with a marker, and added it at the bottom corner of the image.  Finally, I printed the sentiment, hand cut it, and layered it onto the burgundy dp.

     Challenge:
Crafting by Designs
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Sentiments
Cute N Crafty
I {heart} ProMarkers
Mod Squad
Outlawz Greetings
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Pixie's Snippets
Simon Says Stamp

     I hope you're going to come and play along with us this week.  We love being inspired by you.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

XOXO Hugs and Kisses

     OK, we've reached the most impossible day for alphabet prompts - the dreaded "X" !!  Last year I did a card with "X Marks the Spot" but this year, I borrowed (CASEd?) an idea done by Donna at Popsicle Toes last year, Xs and Os.  What could be better than snuggling up for hugs and kisses at Christmas - with or without mistletoe?  The darling penguins are from Beccy's Place, appropriate for the 30 Days of Christmas daily challenges which have been going on there all month long.

I used the sketch at Stella Says Sketch,

flipping it side to side.

     I started with a pre-colored image, then used ProMarkers and white gel pen to add the shading and highlights.  The XOXOs and the sentiment were printed as part of the image.  The image piece was cut with a die from QuicKutz and matted with a square of green CS. 

     The plaid dp was a scrap as was the blue CS.  Everything was mounted onto a kraft card base.  I added the little snowflakes for sparkly embellishments.

     Challenges:
Crafting from the Heart
Creative Moments
Cupcake Inspirations

Digi Choosday
Double D
Outlawz Greetings
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Pile It On

     We're counting down the last few days of November and Saturday will be the beginning of December.  Once again, I have no idea how the last year scrambled by so quickly!  Why is it kids think time passes so slowly?  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Dance of the Snow People

     I'm finally getting my card for the November Outlawz Progressive Challenge posted.  The freebie this month is from Drawn by Krista and it is actually 2 separate images but called Snowman Couple.  I merged them together so they look like they're dancing in the snow.  This is another card made primarily from scraps which were already on the craft table.

I started with the sketch from the Outlawz.

     I colored with a combination of ProMarkers, Copics, and gel inks for highlights, then cut them with a stitched, scalloped die from Memory Makers.  I matted them with a hexagon (QuicKutz die) cut from a dp scrap and I inked the edges with teal ink. 

     The cityscape paper is another scrap, this one from Doodlebug, and the turquoise strip was a scrap from my Christmas stash, probably DCWV.  The narrow, sparkly ribbon was in my basket of ribbon scraps.  The final touch was to tie a bow-tie bow from long scrap of lace and die it with an alcohol marker.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Crafter's Castle
Crafty Friends
Di's Digi Designs
Hiding in My Craft Room
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Pixie's Snippets

     I'll have a second post again today for the next in the 30 Days of Holiday cards at Beccy's Place.  Check back later today to see it.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

And the Turkey Says, "Eat Beef"

     It's Friday and we have another new challenge beginning at QKR Stampede and we always have an "Anything Goes" theme.   I managed to get this one done early so it was completed before the flu symptoms hit me last week.

     I used an image from our sister company, Eureka Stamps, called "Eat Beef."  You can believe he's saying "Thanks" to all who take his advice about the menu.  :-D

     I colored with ProMarkers and cut the image with a stitched die from Lawn Fawn.  Both the dp and the golden CS were scraps on my craft desk and they worked with the colors of the image.  I used brown jute cord to make the bow and added three sets of three brads to corners of the image.

     Challenges:
Brown Sugar
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Gals Corner
Creative Fingers
Cute N Crafty
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
Fussy and Fancy
I {heart} ProMarkers
Simon Says Stamp
Work It Weds.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Gratitude in All Forms

      This is the first of four, first-of-the-month, DT posts I have and I'm sharing my DT card for the new challenge at Simply Magnolia.  This month our theme is everyone's favorite, "Anything Goes."

      We all share moments of gratitude and this sweet little Tilda by Magnolia Stamps is showing her gratitude for all things, even turnips and parsnips.  :-D  I know this looks like an A2 card but it's actually only 2 x 4.5 inches.  I did it that small to give the illusion of the stamp being larger.

I started with the colors at My Favorite Things.

     I colored with ProMarkers, then cut the image with a die from Spellbinders.  I inked the edges of it so that it would stand out from the background.  I used another Spellbinders die to cut a left over scrap of fall dp, inked the edges of it, and put it behind the image piece.  Everything is layered onto an embossed card front.

     As embellishment, I added three of my signature-style, hand-sewn bows, leaving them white this time instead of dying them.  I printed the sentiment onto a scrap of white CS, hand cut it, and matted it with a scrap piece of beige CS.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Aloha Friday
Aud Sentiments
Cardz TV
Cute Card Thurs.
Time Out

     I love fall - it's my favorite season.  The oppressive heat of summer has finally gone and the evenings are crisp and cool.  It's fun to dig out the sweaters and heavy socks, and my cats come to cuddle me in the night, seeking that body warmth they know is curled up under the covers.  It's a great time to hide in the craft room and be creative.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Joyeux Noel - all from scraps!

     I was working ahead on a card for one of my DT commitments and had some scraps on my crafting desk afterward.  I almost tossed them and then decided to see what I might be able to create in the way of another Christmas card for my stash.  This was the lovely but simple result.

     The burgundy square with the cut corners is the center negative of the frame I used on my DT project (Spellbinders die.)   I had used another Spellbinders die to cut out the snowflake and a Die-Versions die for the "Joyeux Noel" sentiment, both of which were used on the DT project.  I found a square of glittery, embossed, white CS, which I trimmed and used as a backing for the burgundy piece. 

     The decorative corner came from another Spellbinders die in the same set as the frame/center piece and I thought it made a great decorative corner for this simple card.  The ribbon was a scrap of  2 inch wide, wired ribbon which I had used to tie a large bow for a tree decoration.  Actually, I made two dozen of those as Christmas tree decorations and that's what was left over.  I folded it along the length and curled the two points up, then ran it diagonally across the card front, layering the other pieces on top.

     It took more time to write up the explanation of what I did than it did to actually make the card.  :-D

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Crafty Hazelnut's
Cute N Crafty
Jo's Scrap Shack
Kreativinkauf
Outlawz Greetings
Scribbles Designs
TTCRD

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Halloween Sewing

     Gosh, I got so busy yesterday that I never got a post written!  Sorry, but today's post should make up for it. 

     Most of us who love Halloween (and who are crafters) get into making cards with witches or ghosts, or goblins, or Frankenstein, or other creepy things that go bump in the night, to send to friends and loved ones.  But I remember the days when my kids (and then the grandkids) were wanting Halloween costumes.  I loved making them and I've probably sewn 2 dozen or more over the years, and that doesn't count the home-made-but-not-sewn costumes. 

     I decided to do a card which celebrates that kind of creativity and salutes all those moms and grandmoms who slave away at the sewing machine making all those good things the kids love to wear.  :-D

     The Penny Black image is colored with ProMarkers, cut, and then framed with a decorative cut from a Spellbinders die.  I grabbed a scrap piece of orange CS to make that frame.  I layered those together and matted them with an embossed and glittery scrap of CS. 

     I was trying to stick with Halloween colors and use up some of the scraps still on my crafting table from all the Halloween cards I did this year.  The orange ribbon with the stars was a scrap left in my ribbon basket and it seemed a good place to use it.  I added one of my signature bows, 'dyed' lavender with a ProMarker.

     I printed the sentiment, hand cut it, and added it to the bottom of the black card front.

     Challenges:
Crafting from the Heart
Di's Digi Designs
Hiding in My Craft Room
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Outlawz SAR
Paper Girls
Penny Black and More
Penny Black Saturday
Pile It On
Pixie's Snippets

     Have a great day and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Forest Witch

     It seems that even the woodland animals celebrate Halloween!   Over the weekend, I shared a card showing how the fairies disguise themselves as toadstools to avoid the witches and goblins on Halloween but today I'm sharing another delightful image from Ching-Chou Kuik showing a gentle witch of  the woodlands.  I guess not all of them are scary or dangerous.  At least, the squirrels aren't afraid.  :-D

I used colors from Outlawz Colors.

     I colored the image with ProMarkers and did the sky and ground with water colors.  I cut the image with an Unbranded oval die.  The purple piece is a CS scrap, cut into a rectangle with a simple die from Spellbinders, then framed with a Bo Bunny die cut piece, also a scrap.  Everything was layered onto a scrap of orange CS, including the sentiment, and that layered piece was put onto a kraft card base. 

     I added mesh for texture, then found a scrap of purple ribbon which I wrapped around the card front.  I tied the purple, gingham check, ribbon into a bow and added it on top of the sheer ribbon.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Crafty Sentiments Designs
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
Pile It On
{Pin}spirational
Pixie's Snippets
Stamping Sensations
Unicorn

     How can we be halfway through October already?   My daughter's birthday is just around the corner and I haven't even thought about doing a card for her.  OMGosh, I'd better get going on that one!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Apple Pie Happy !

     My dad loved apple pie more than any other dessert and it was probably the only way he ever ate apples.  My mom, on the other hand, hated making pie of any sort (cakes, cookies, sweet rolls, even candy was fine but she didn't like making pie crusts) so home-made apple pie in our house was something to celebrate.  As apple harvest season rolled around, the whole family would drive up into the foothill country for a day of picking apples at the orchards and we'd come home with bushel baskets which would be stored in the cellar for as long as they lasted under the onslaught of kids craving fresh fruit long after it had disappeared from the trees.  Usually we picked so many during the harvest that we still had apples well into the winter - certainly through Christmas and the New Year.

     When Mom broke down and made the first apple pie of the season, my dad would declare himself to be "Apple Pie Happy!" and we'd all celebrate and declare it was the best she'd ever made.  :-D

     Here's a salute to my mom and her harvest-season, apple pies. 

Both the memory and this card were inspired by the challenge photo at Catch the Bug

and I used an image from Bugaboo Stamps.

     This card is a combination of old and new things.  The childhood memories made me appreciate and reach for things from my stash which are the old.  The dies I used are my newest ones and the yellow CS is from a package I just purchased.  I was getting low on fall colors in my CS stash so had to purchase replacements. 

     I colored with ProMarkers, then cut the image and the yellow frame with my newest cross-stitch dies from Lawn Fawn.  I found a scrap of forest green CS to use on the card front, then printed, hand cut, and matted the sentiment.

     I had another scrap of that net mesh and I added it to the side of the card, tucking it under one side of the image.  I also found the leaf embellie in my autumn stash and thought it would look good tucked into the mesh.  I added three, tiny, brass, brads to the bottom corner but they're hard to see in the photo.

     Challenges:
Crafter's Cafe
Cutie Pie
Do Al(l) Creatives (Diagonal: top left to bottom right)
Double Trouble
Incy Wincy
Lawn Fawnatics
Pammie's Inky Pinkies

     I'll have another card tomorrow inspired by the same photo from the Catch the Bug challenge but completely different.  The only common thread between the two cards would be the "apple" theme.  Check it out tomorrow to see what I mean.  :-D

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Thanksgiving Maiden

     If you visit my blog regularly or are a follower, you undoubtedly know that I love progressive challenges.  I found one that's new to me although it's not a new challenge.  I popped over to the online store at Cute as a Button, bought the image for this challenge (at half off), and sat down to make this card.  I could have gotten the image free simply by sending an email and requesting it but since it was on sale at half off, I did what I could to support the artist by buying it.  After all, I'll get the next one free.  :-D

     I colored the image with ProMarkers and cut it with a die from Bo Bunny.  The delicate frame is also cut with another die from that same set and that brown CS was simply a scrap from the basket on my craft table.  I layered the image and frame pieces onto marbled-beige CS and trimmed that to fit the card base.

     I took a scrap of that trimmed off CS and printed the sentiment onto it, then die cut it (again, Bo Bunny die) but I had to cut more than once, moving the die each time to get the size I wanted since the die was much larger than the sentiment.  The brown CS behind the sentiment was the inside leftover from cutting the frame for the image but I cut that piece with the same die I used on the sentiment.  The cut piece shows you the actual size of the die, no adjustment made to the cut that time.

     As a final touch on this otherwise CAS card, I tied a simple bow using brown jute cord and added it above the sentiment piece.

     Challenges:
Crafty Gals Corner
Creates and Makes
Cute N Crafty
Dream Valley
Lemon Shortbread
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Pixie's Snippets
TTCRD
Word Art Weds.

     Last week's somewhat lower temperatures are already a thing of the past so we're still waiting on autumn here in my neck of the woods.  Weather predictors are saying we will be back to 100F either today or tomorrow and at 99F for the rest of the week, through and including the weekend.  Maybe this is just what we use to call "Indian Summer" back when I was a child.  I can hope, right?

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Birthday Balloons

     I need to add several more birthday cards to my stash and most of them need to be CAS and masculine.  Fortunately, I love doing both of those and even better when I can combine them.

     I've had this balloon image (Bugaboo Stamps) for a while and I can't remember ever using it but I love the color combo from the Catch the Bug challenge this week and knew it would work wonderfully with this image.

Color Palette from Catch the Bug and 

sketch from Stella Says Sketch.

   

     I used ProMarkers to color the image, then cut it with a pinpoint die from Memory Box.  I inked the edges of the rectangle.  Both of the papers I used were in my scrap basket and they were perfect for the color combo.  The green, polka dot, paper is from Stampin' Up and it was in the very first batch of SU papers I ever bought so it has to be among the oldest things in my paper stash, if not the oldest.  :-D

     The scalloped border piece, which I used across the middle of the card, was cut with a die from Cheery Lynn.  I printed the sentiment, hand cut it, matted it with dark green CS, and added it to the top of the card.  I found the three, blue pearls and added them to the bottom corner.  That was it - a CAS and masculine card for the birthday stash.

     Challenges:
Die Cuttin' Divas
Digi Choosday
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
Lemon Shortbread
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Pile It On
TTCRD

     The weekend is almost here and, for those of us in the US, it's a long weekend as we celebrate Labor Day.  That particular 'holiday' has always intrigued me.  We are celebrating "Labor" by doing our absolute best to not labor for the entire 3 days.  lol

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Too Cute to Spook

     OK, this weekend I've gotten inspired to make a few Halloween cards and I started with this darling little witch from Conie Fong.  Who could resist that cute face and that sweet little kitten cuddled in her arm?

I took inspiration from the sketch at The Outlawz

turning it a quarter turn and I also took a bit of a liberty with it.

     She's colored with ProMarkers, then fussy cut.  I used a set of framing dies from Spellbinders to cut the black piece behind the image.  I cut those from different pieces of scrap CS and inlaid them to make the one, large framing piece.

     The 'moon' is cut with a plain circle die from QuicKutz and the bats are cut with a Cottage Cutz die.  Those were also cut from scrap bits rescued from the trash can.

     I printed and hand cut the sentiment.  The three tiny dots are negative pieces which fell out of the Spellbinders die cut and I just used them like gem embellies.

     Challenges:
Crafter's Castle
Crafting by Designs
Double D
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Pixie's Snippet's
Scrappy Land
Send a Smile 4 Kids

     I'll have another post later this afternoon - not Halloween, but Christmas instead.  I'm still hoping our 103F weather will change and get cooler.  Throughout the summer this year, 5 out of every 6 days have been 100 degrees or higher, and even those which have been below 100, have been 98 or 99.  That started the last week of May and I'm really tired of it!  I'm trying to entice fall by doing cold weather cards.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie