Old Time Santa

      This CAS card is my DT sample for the FarmQuest General Store challenge which starts today.  Our theme is always "Anything Goes" and we are always sponsored by QKR Stampede.  The DT use three images from QKR and those are the prize for the challenge winner.

     I chose to use the Old Time Santa image and I colored him with Sanjoki markers, then cut the image and the two mats with Tonic Studios dies.  I used a Uchida punch of each of the corners and then layered them all together.  The card font was dry embossed with my Linen EF.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  A delightfully CAS card and very masculine.

     Challenges:

Colorful Options

Holly & Ivy

Outlawz Sketch

Paper Shelter

Word Art Weds

     Come play with us this month.  We love being inspired by you and what you make.  Who knows, you might even end up the winner of the three QKR Stampede images.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Letter "G" at 30 Days of Holidays

      My next card in the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place is for the letter "G" and I have a Thanksgiving card to share.  The image is pre-colored clip art, printed in gray scale, and colored in my own chosen colors using pencils and alcohol markers.  I added Glossy Accents to the hot chocolate cup for a bit of shine.  Fortunately, it photographed really well.  I also added glitter to the steam coming off the cocoa.

     Once colored, I cut the image with a Tonic Studios die, then matted it with a scrap of dp, also cut with a die (QuicKutz, I think.  I forgot to write it down.)  I decided to make a gate fold card and went searching through the scrap basket for papers to put on both sides of the gate.  On the left side (mostly covered by the image piece) I put Glossy Accents on the flowers.  For the right hand side, I used small rectangles of CS and put them onto the flap one above the other.

     I put glitter EP on each of those small rectangle snippets and heat embossed them.  I love the sparkle.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die, then placed at the top of the image piece. 

     Challenges:

     That's all I have for today.   So far, I'm doing pretty well at playing every day at Beccy's Place and I hope to be able to keep going for the entire month.  We'll see.  In the meantime, Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

30 Days of Holidays - "F"

      Back to Halloween for this card but on it, I used all Beccy's Place images and sentiment.  The 3 images and the sentiment are all from different sets but they merged perfectly together for a fun card for the letter "F."  The witch is a silhouette, the potion bottles were sized to hang on the wall (I drew in the shelf myself, that's not part of the image) behind the witch, and the frog was colored with pencils.  Of course, we reference the flying monkeys for one extra "F".  

     Once merged and colored, I cut the image piece with a Spellbinders die, and cut the corners with a Fiskars punch.  The mat behind the image piece was cut on my paper cutter and the corners were rounded with another Fiskars punch.  The card front is a piece of orange CS and I added the snippet bits of dp, all of which came from the scrap basket.  The tiny flying bats add yet another "F." 

     I love this card!!  It came together so perfectly and I hate that I have to wait almost a full year to use it but that's what I get for making Halloween cards in November.  :-D

     Challenges:

A Cut Above

A Perfect Time ...

Critter Crazy

Do Al(l) Kreatives

Let's Craft & Create

Make My Monday  (Do frogs & flying monkeys count? lol)

Polkadoodles

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Winter Mice for the Letter "E"

     Today's card is going to be entered for Day 5 in the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place so we're using the letter "E" as the theme.  My "E"s are: Embossing, Ecru (the stars), & Embellishments. (and a little Eeek for all of you who are afraid of mice!)

     I'm also playing again in the challenge over at Conjuror of Dreams and this month their optional theme is "Winter Critters."  The image I used is from Conjuror of Dreams and I adore these little mice.  I just know they are perched on that log, singing Christmas Carols from their tiny hearts.

     The image and its white frame were die cut with dies from QuicKutz and Tonic Studios.  The sentiment was cut with an Avery Elle die. I embossed the gray CS background, using my 'Linen' EF.   I found a strip of red dp in the scrap basket and added it to the left side, then put the angels and snowflake embellishments along the left side.

     Challenges:

4 Season

Digi Choosday

Make My Monday

Peace on Earth

Penny's P-C

Polkadoodles

Simon Says Stamp

Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Wheel in the Blessings

      Here it is, the first Monday of November and Thanksgiving is only a couple of weeks away, at least here in the USA.  Once again, Inspiration Station has a new challenge and a new inspiration photo for you.  Find something in the photo which inspires your creative juices and enter a creation into our challenge before the end of the month.

     Here's the inspiration photo for this month: 

Here's my card.  I was inspired by the autumn colors, the pumpkin in the background, the leaves, and the overall harvest season feel.

     The image is from Jan's Digi Stamps and it was colored with a combination of Ohuhu and ProMarkers.  I cut the image using a Spellbinders rectangle die, then rounded the corners with a Fiskars punch.  The sentiment was also from Jan's Digi Stamps and is part of the set for this image.  I cut it with another die, this one from QuicKutz, then inked the edges before adding it to the image piece (which also has inked edges.)  

     The plaid paper is from a fabulous stack by DCWV, called very simply "Stack 9."  I can't even tell you how long I've had that stack but I found it when I was going through my stash of 12" x  12" papers.  It was in an overlooked plastic storage container, along with at least 4 other stacks, none of which had been touched in at least 3 years!  This one was in pristine condition with none of the papers ever having been used!   Sigh... yes, I do hoard and forget to use things.

     Note about Double Trouble  We're partnering with Double Trouble this challenge and if you do layers - at least 3 - and are inspired by our photo, you can enter both challenges!  I did 3 layers and was inspired by the photo, obviously.

     Challenges:

613 Ave Create

Di's Digi Designs

Gem of a Challenge

Inkspirational

Love Those ... Papers

Outlawz Monday

Outlawz Color

Pammie's IP

     Hope we see you playing long this month.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Day 4 - "D"

     Here we are, already four days into the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place and, so far, I've managed to make and post a card for each day.  Today we have to use things beginning with the letter "D" and I managed to compile 4 or 5 things.

     I started with two autumn themed digital images from Beccy's Place, along with a sentiment about 'pumpkin days...', and I merged all three of them into a single image for this Thanksgiving card.  I loved the warm, latte drink; lattes always make me think of fall (the only time I ever drink them.)  Fall makes me think of pumpkins, pumpkin spice, pumpkin pie, and all those things are perfect for a Thanksgiving greeting.

     The images are both pre-colored, so it was a matter of printing them, and die cutting the image with a QuicKutz die.  I found two embossing folders and dry embossed both card stock and a scrap of metallic foil.  Those became the background for the image piece.  The 'Thanksgiving ...' sentiment was printed and cut with another die, this one from Avery Elle.  I added a jute cord bow for a little dimension.

     Challenges:

613 Ave Create

Can You Handle ...?

Crafty Calendar

Di's Digi Design

Lil Patch of ...

Polkadoodles

Triple B

    Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Letter "C" for Third Day

      We're on Day 3 of the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place and the theme is all about using things with the letter "C."  I've managed to compile quite a list of Cs but you'll have to read through my description of how the card was made to find them all.  Fortunately, I've done those words in bold face to make it easier.

     I started by choosing this cold cardinal image from Beccy's Place who's clearly celebrating Christmas.  The sentiment of Christmas Cheer is also from Beccy's Place.  I colored the image with ProMarkers and Copics, choosing crimson and cranberry as the reds for the bird.  

 

     After coloring, I cut the image with a Cottage Cuts die, and used a Uchida corner punch to round the corners.  I did the sentiment the same way.  I also decided on a very CAS card design because that gave me one more C!  :-D

     Challenges:

     Now I need to go find an image for my "D" card tomorrow.  I'll also have 2 posts tomorrow, one for Beccy's Place and the other one featuring my DT card for the newest Inspiration Station challenge which begins tomorrow.  In the meantime, Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

30 Days of Holidays - "B"

      This is my second post for the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place, and although I posted my card for "A" early this morning, Beccy's Place is on Australia time so they have already started the second day of the challenges.  The theme is to use things starting with "B."

     I love Birds on my Christmas cards and this time I even chose a Baby bird.  I colored him with markers using mostly Burgundy and Bayberry (green) on the bird and holly leaves & Berries.  After coloring, I cut the image with a QuicKutz die.  The sentiment was merged into the image before printing so it came out as part of the image when I die cut it.

     The Background paper was a scrap from an old DCWV stack.  I found some red ribbon, wrapped it around the card front, and tied a Bow.

      Challenges:

12 Months Christmas

Crafts Galore Encore

Kerst Christmas

Morgan's ArtWorld

MTTCC

Outlawz Friday

SheepSki Designs

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place - Day 1

      Today begins the 30 Days of Holidays over at Beccy's Place and most of us will be making Christmas (or even Thanksgiving) cards but I'm not quite done with Halloween so you may see 2 or 3 of those in the collection of cards this month.  Fortunately, Beccy allows us to make cards for any holiday as long as we follow the alphabetical theme.  Since the first theme is the Letter "A,"  I used my Ohuhu Alcohol markers to color the pumpkin, an image from Beccy's Place.  I also made it an A2 card.

     I cut the image using a QuicKutz die, and cut the kraft frame for it with another die from that same set.  The CS I chose for the card front is a simple, beige, CS from my stash but I used a 'leather' embossing folder to add some texture to it before applying it to the card front.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  The bow is brown gingham, hand-tied, and I added it below the pumpkin's 'chin' so that it looked like a bow tie.  :-D.

     Challenges:

Color Dare

C.R.A.F.T.

Creative Fingers

Creative Knockouts

Krafty Chicks

Outlawz Thursday

Pattie's Creations

Simon Says Stamp

     I hope to be able to get a card made for each of the days this month but I'm not sure that will happen.  I have a few days when I'll be out of town and I have no idea if I'll manage to pre-schedule posts for each day I'll be gone but we'll see,

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Witching You Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

Spider, Spider in the Pot

      I couldn't resist this spider who clearly fears for his life!  Spiders are my most unfavorite creatures on earth - just looking at pictures of most spiders makes my stomach shudder and turn over.  I don't even take down cobwebs until there are so filled with dust and grime that I'm sure no self-respecting spider would live there any more.  So, seeing a spider about to be boiled bothers me not at all !  lol

     This image is from a collection by Zigi Design Studio which I bought recently and many were used this Halloween, including this one on another card which I posted earlier.  All the images come pre-colored but they can easily be printed in grayscale and colored with Ohuhu markers &/or colored pencils.  Printing in grayscale means that you already have all the shadows and highlights and that allows you to shade in exactly the right spots.

     The image was cut with a QuicKutz die, the edges were inked, and I matted it with a scrap of orange CS.  The striped paper is from a Recollections stack.  The sentiment was printed and then cut with an Avery Elle die.  Simple, quick, and easy to mail.

     Challenges:

Creative Inspirations

Digi Choosday

Halloween AYR

If You Give a Crafter ...

Penny's P-C

Simon Says Stamp

     I should have two more Halloween cards between now and the start of November.  I made so many cards this year, I had to mail Halloween greetings to everyone in my family and a few friends besides.  :-D  

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Besties

      I absolutely adore the image I used on this card today!  I also love the idea of a cat and a mouse being besties.  :-D   The sentiment was printed along with the image, then the image was colored with Ohuhu alcohol markers.  After coloring, I cut it using my Fiskars paper cutter.  (Reminder to self - it's time to replace the blade.  lol)  I rounded the corners with a Uchida punch from Marvy.  

     I found a dark green CS in my stash and cut it to size for the card front, then added a wide strip of dp to the left hand side (scrap from a DCWV stack.)  The bow is one of my hand sewn, butterfly-shape bows with a pearl.  I spend an entire afternoon hand sewing those by the dozen and tossing them into my stash for future use, sometimes with a pearl, sometimes without.  Over the years, I've learned to buy only white ribbon to make those because it's so easy to 'dye' them with markers to get the exact color I want,  matching up one of the colors used on the image.  This time, I kept the bow white.

     Challenges:

613 Avenue Create

Creative Fingers

Double Trouble

Gem of a Challenge

Pammie's IP

SUYP Cats

Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Pheasant Flight

      We have a new theme starting today for our latest FarmQuest challenge and the theme is "Turkeys, Pheasants, Peacocks, &/or Feathers."  Obviously, I opted for a pheasant.  :-D

     This clip art image was printed in grayscale onto pale blue CS, then colored with water color paints and pencils.  Once dry, I ironed the image flat (it curled a bit with the water color paints), then cut it with a QuicKutz die.  The plaid dp for the background came from a digital paper file which I sized to an A2 card size, then printed.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  I left it without embellishments because it's such a perfect masculine card.

     Challenges:

Classic Design

Coloring w Pencils

Crafty Calendar

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz SAR (pheasant in the sky?)

Polkadoodles

     Come play with us this fortnight.  We love seeing what you create and being inspired by it.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Christmas Sparkle

      Today I'm sharing a Christmas card, maybe the first one I've done since my few "Christmas in July" cards.  This one is  little different in that only three markers were used (yellow ProMarker on the glow of the candle flame, green ProMarker on the fir foliage, and light gray ProMarker for the shadow behind the swag), then the rest of the coloring was done by layering on sparkle gel pens over the greenery and the flame.  It gives a very soft, sparkly, glow to the image.  White gel pen was used for adding highlights to the ornaments, too.

     Once colored, I cut the image with a Tonic Studios die, then inked the edges with a green ProMarker.  The sentiment came from a scrap of Christmas CS, probably from K & Co., and I cut it with the smallest die from that same set of Tonic Studios rectangle dies, & again inked the edges with a ProMarker.  The background dp is from a Recollections stack.  I found the strip of holly & berries dp in the scrap basket. applied it across the top of the card, and trimmed it to size.

     Challenges:

Gem of a Challenge

I Love ProMarkers

Penny's P-C

Polkadoodles

Simon Says Stamp

Word Art Weds

     That's it for today.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Great (Hair) Day

      My granddaughter, the one who's away at college in Texas and who has a thing about cows - especially highland heifers, is having a birthday soon.  I haven't been able to decide which cow image I wanted to use for her card so I've done a couple of collaboration cards with my sis-in-law in which she colors and I turn her colored images into cards.  This is one of them and it's definitely in the running to be the birthday card!

     After Lainy colored the image with Ohuhu markers and colored pencils, I cut it with a large QuicKutz die.  I rounded the corners with a Fiskars punch.   I dug through the scrap basket and found the bits I used for the background; a dp strip from a Recollections stack, some orange CS, and a rectangle of beige which had been run through an embossing folder making a leather-look embossed pattern.

     I hand-sewed a small bow, 'dyed' orange with a marker.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Double Trouble (green, blue, orange, brown, yellow)

Night Owls

Pammie's IP

Passion for Makers

Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

All About Halloween

      I'm playing catch-up today because I haven't posted in nearly a week and because Halloween is only a week away.  I have three Halloween witches to share with you and one scared dragoon!  lol  Can dragons actually be scared of anything?  Let's see.

     This is another collaboration card (in fact, all the ones in this post are collaboration cards), with coloring by my sis-in-law, Lainy, and card making by yours truly. We found this silly image of a dragon hiding in a trunk on a clip art site and printed it for coloring.  Unfortunately, it was a very small image and when we enlarged it to color it, the image got a bit blurry.  We corrected as much as we could before printing but it's not really sharp.

     Lainy colored it using Ohuhu markers, then hand drew the spider and colored it with Ohuhus.  There is a string of web from which the spider is hanging but it's hard to see in the photo.  I cut the image with a Spellbinders die, inked the edges and layered it onto the embossed CS I selected for the background (Recollections.)  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  I added a wrap of glitter ribbon for a touch of sparkle.

     Challenges:

C.R.A.F.T.

Digi Choosday

DL Art

     This next card (our first witch for the day) has an image that's actually from a digital coloring book, reduced in size to fit an A2 card.  Again, colored with Ohuhu markers but a few details & highlights were added with gel pens.  Image was cut with a QuicKutz die, and matted with orange CS.  The spiderweb dp is from a Recollections stack and the bow was hand sewn, then 'dyed' with a marker, and a pearl was added to the center of it.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

Krafty Chicks

Outlawz Thursday

Try It on Tuesday

     Second witch card, an adorable mouse witch, and this time the image came from a friend who printed it for Lainy and asked her to color it, so we have no info on the artist.  If anyone knows, please leave a comment and let us know because we love giving proper credit.  The image had been printed in grayscale and Lainy used colored pencils on it.  I cut the image and the black mat with Tonic Studios dies.  Sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die, then I added a mat of orange, hand trimmed to size.  The background was made with CS and a strip of dp from the scrap basket.  I tied the bow with a scrap of ribbon lying on the desk from another project.

     Challenges:

Craft Rocket

Creative Knockouts

Penny's P-C

     This last witch is from my AuroraWings collection of images, and Lainy fell in love with her and her cat the instant she saw her so I printed it for her to color.  The black background is actually part of the image.  Lainy used Ohuhu markers to color this one, adding white gel pen to the whites of the eyes.  Once she finished, I cut the image on my Fiskars paper cutter, and matted it with white CS.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  The background dp came from a Recollections stack and I added ribbon and a triple loop bow to the top of the card.  I love using ribbon because it allows me to make fancy bows with a shiny glow from the satin, unlike twine or cord which always seems flat or dull (but that works well on masculine cards, I guess.)

     Challenges:

As You Like It

Cardz 4 Galz

Double D

Paper Shelter

     OK, now I feel like I'm getting caught up on posting and I'll try to have another post tomorrow,  

Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Lady of the Roses

     No Halloween cards today, no Thanksgiving, & no Christmas, just a birthday card for a young princess.  :-)  The image came from Moondrea Designs and she's called "Lady of the Roses."  

     I used Ohuhu alcohol markers to color her, then cut her with one of my first dies from QuicKutz.  I inked the edges, then printed and cut the sentiment with a die from Avery Elle.  I wanted a very CAS card so added only a hand-sewn bow for embellishment.  The ribbon for the bow was originally white but I 'dyed' it with a marker, then added the tiny half-pearl.  

     While I use both on my cards, I find myself reaching for ribbon much more often than I reach for and use twine or cord.  I think it's because I can tie so many different kinds of bows with ribbon and I have the advantage of being able to make white ribbon any color I like to more closely match a color in the image or on the card.  Either way, ribbon is my "go to" for feminine cards!

     Challenges:

As You Like It

Beautiful Blossoms

Digi Choosday

Krafty Chicks

Outlawz Monday

Pammie's I-P

Triple B

Word Art Weds.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Boiled Spider w Peas & Carrots

      I just had to share this card today which features another of the silly spiders (creatures I despise IRL) from Zigi Designs and which is going to the dietician at our local senior center.  She's the one in charge of menu planning and she supervises the entire kitchen staff.  Fortunately, she has a tremendous sense of humor and I know she'll love it!

     The sentiment came out of my head when I wads thinking about a card for her and this spider dipping himself in the boiling cauldron lent itself well to the spirit of this card.  The image was cut with a Cottage Cutz die and I put the background together with paper scraps left over from a Recollections Halloween stack.  I printed and cut the sentiment with a small Tonic Studios die.

     Challenges:

Crafter's Cafe

Crafty Gals Corner

Creatalicious

Creative Inspirations

Just Us Girls

Lil Red Wagon

Simon Says Stamp

Star Stampz

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

If the Shoe Fits ...

      One more Halloween card which is another collaboration between my sis-in-law's coloring and my card making.  Everything I used on the card today came from my stash - no new products, not even the image!  I think this is an old Bugaboo Stamps image but I printed it so long ago that I can't really remember.  I found it in a file folder of things waiting to be colored.  I miss Bugboo!  :-(

     Colored with Ohuhu markers (with a salute to Pink for October Breast Cancer Awareness), cut with a Tonic Studios die, and inked on the edges with a black stamp pad.  I used black glitter CS on the card front and layered on the image, adhering it with double stick tape and a bit of craft glue to make sure it was secure.  I find that even the stickiest of double sided tapes doesn't always hold on glitter paper.

      I decided that the glitter was spectacular enough so went without any embellishments, just a CAS style card.

     Challenges:

CRAFT-alnica

Crafty Gals Corner

Digi Choosday

I Spy w My ... Eye

Paper Shelter

Penny's P-C

Shopping Our Stash

Simon Says Stamp

Try It on Tuesday

     That's it for today.  Maybe another post tomorrow depending on how much I get done today.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Hansel & Gretel's Fat Old Witch

      I found a whole coloring book of ridiculous witches, called "Fat Old Witches" and I was laughing so hard as I went through them, I simply had to buy the entire book of them.  When I saw the expression on the face of this particular witch, I immediately thought of the double sentiment about Hansel and Gretel.  The company selling the set is called LovelyJPG.

     This one is pre-colored.  I was so excited about using it right away, I didn't even take the time to print it in grayscale to color it myself.  I will do that with some of the others but for now, I wanted to post this as soon as possible.  lol

     I cut the image with a QuicKutz die and rounded the corners with a Fiskars punch.  I inked the edges with a black ink pad.  I found scraps of two Halloween papers from a Recollections stack and used them for the background.  The sentiments were printed and cut with an Avery Elle die, then matted with black glitter CS scraps.

     Challenges:

4 Season

Classic Design

Crafter's Cafe

Creataliciou

Creative...Uncles

Dream Valley

Outlawz Monday

Pammie's IP

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie