Laundry Day

      Today we're starting a new challenge at FarmQuest, and our theme is "Laundry or Ironing."  Remember, we always want to see an underlying theme of farm or country in addition to our chosen theme for that challenge.  I used one of my favorite ever House Mouse stamps with the adorable mice clambering over the outdoor clothes line (perhaps in a game of hide and seek?)  

     Do you remember the days when everyone hung clothes on a line?  People who lived in climes where there's lots of winter rain or snow had a problem getting clothes to dry but with the advent of indoor clothes dryers, that problem was resolved.  As dryers took over in every household, we lost the magic of the fresh smell of clothesline-dried sheets, towels, and jeans.  :-D

     I used an ice gray ink pad to stamp the image because it gives fainter lines (an illusion of  'no line'), then I colored the image with my Sanjoki markers.  I cut the image with a QuicKutz die and cut the dry-embossed (Linen EF), brown CS frame with a die one size larger.  The wood grain paper is from a Recollections stack.

     Challenges:

Addicted to CAS

Creative Fingers

Dragonfly Dreams

Gem of a Challenge

Inkspirational

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Friday

Polkadoodles

     Hope to see you playing along in our challenge this fortnight.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Fortune Cookie Birthday

      Here we are with the Crafty Catz new challenge which starts today.  As usual, our overall theme is "Anything Goes" but we offer you an OPTIONAL theme and for this challenge the option is "Masculine."  Those themes are always good for me because we have a ratio of about 3 to 1, boys over girls in our family and that's true for the last 3 generations!  So, today I've done another birthday card for a boy.

     We don't have a sponsor this week so I pulled out one of my favorite House Mouse stamps and stamped it in brown ink.  I colored it with ProMarkers and watercolors, then cut it with a small, rectangle die from QuicKutz.  I framed it with brown CS which had been dry embossed using my Linen EF.  The two papers I used to make the background were in the scrap basket and I thought they worked well together for a simple, masculine card.  They're from an old Recollections stack.

     The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

As You Like It (I love clean cards because they are easier to mail and most of my cards go to out-of-state family.)

Creative Fingers

I Love Markers

Outlawz Thursday

Paper Funday

Penny's P-C

Word Art Weds

     Come play in our challenge this week.  Make something masculine if you want, but remember you can always enter under the Anything Goes theme so no excuse for not entering.  :-D  

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Blue Princess

      This is my first time playing along in the Rabisco Progressive Challenge, which can be found on Facebook.  They have a new image from Moondrea Designs every month which you can get free if you played along the previous month.

     I loved the image for April which looked to me like a princess although it's titled "Sunflower Maiden."  To my mind, she was begging to be done in monochromatic shades of aqua.  I printed the image and used my Sanjoki markers to color both it and the square behind the image.  I added the sentiment before printing, then cut it with a Tonic Studios die just slightly larger than the image.  That gave it a white frame and kept the sentiment as a single piece with the image.  I inked the edges of that piece before putting it on the card.

     I used turquoise CS for the card base, added a narrow strip of dp (DCWV), and put a tiny, enamel dot on her forehead.  

     Challenges:

Crafter's Cafe

Cupcake Inspirations

Double Trouble

Dragonfly Dreams

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz SAR (spring & flowers)

Pammie's IP

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Milk Bath

      Today is the 14th of April (tax return deadline is tomorrow!) and we have a new challenge starting over at FarmQuest.  We always want to see something country or farm on your entries but in addition to that, we have a specific theme; this week the theme is "Baby Farm Animals."  That was such a fun theme that I had a marvelous afternoon searching through all my clip art to find a perfect image.  Any time I can find a "cute" image of anything, that's going to be the one I grab.  Besides, in this case, how can a baby calf be anything but cute?  :-D

     Those of you who follow my blog probably know that one of my granddaughters loves cows so she gets 'cow' cards from her Nana all the time.  (Nearly always cute in some way! lol)  This is another one which will get mailed to her without the need for any particular occasion.  

     I printed the image and colored it with my Sanjoki markers.  The image was cut with a Spellbinders die and I used a Fiskars punch on each of the four corners.  I printed and cut the sentiment with another Spellbinders die.  The bit of dp was found in the scrap basket and I can tell from the plaid design that it's from an old Recollections stack.

      Challenges:

As You Like It (Cute is always a favorite, and baby critters are always cute!)

Cardz 4 Galz

Creative Fingers

Creative Inspiration

Creative Knockouts

Di's Digi Designs

Outlawz Thurs

Pattie's Creations

Polkadoodles

Star Stampz

     Dig through your stamps, digis, or even dies and find one that works for the Baby Farm Animals theme, then come play in our challenge.  We love being inspired by what you create.   :-D  

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Kitchen Adventures

      Today I've done another card celebrating country kitchens and the adventures which can be found in simple, home-prepared meals.  Country kitchens always make me think of my childhood.  Even the faintest whiff of baking bread takes me right back to the childhood kitchens of not only my own home but also my Grammy's warm and wonderful kitchen.

      Among my favorite memories are those of Grammy's special French Toast breakfasts always made with slices of her home baked sourdough bread and eggs fresh from the hen house.  Many a weekend morning I enjoyed that treat.  Our house was located diagonally behind my grandparent's home and, although the properties were large compared to today's standards, it was a fairly simple trek across to the backyard corners of each yard and around the large expanse of her veggie garden, through the back door, and into the kitchen.  Sundays often found me there for an early morning breakfast!

     This card is a salute to those French Toast memories.  The image is digital clip art, printed in grayscale, and colored with Sanjoki markers.  I used a square QuicKutz die on the image, then inked the edges with a marker.  The background was made using dp scraps from the basket.  I printed and cut the sentiment with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

HomeStyle Kitchens

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Hello Butterfly !

      I absolutely adore the image on today's card!  Of course, I also love the nod to cathood.  :-D  The image is a grayscale, digital, photo which I colored with my ProMarkers and white gel pen.  I cut the image with a large Tonic Studios die.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     The background was made by using a scrap of lavender CS laid diagonally across the card front and then trimmed at the corners.  I liked it in that CAS format so added no other embellishments.

     Challenges:

Aud Sentiments

Classic Design

Digi Choosday

Dream Valley

Lil Patch of ...

Pammie's IP

Passion for Markers

SUYP Cats

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Pudding Mouse

      It's the 7th of the month and time for a new challenge over at FarmQuest Country Christmas blog.  Our theme is always Anything Country Christmas and we're mostly looking for outdoor Christmas decorations, critters, scenes, etc.  They need to be 'country or farm' rather than city streets or skylines.

     I chose this adorable little field mouse, cooking up a Christmas pudding for her family.  Can't you just see her in her country kitchen, tucked away in the roots of some great oak tree, carefully preparing a feast for her entire brood?  I adore her calico apron and cap.

     This is a pre-colored, clip art image to which I added the sentiment before printing.  (I just didn't have time to print her in grayscale and color her myself this time, but I'll do that in the future.  :-D) I cut it with a die from Spellbinders and layered it onto an icy blue dp from Doodlebug.  I used my bow maker to tie a double-loop bow, using 2 strands of 1/8" red ribbon.  Isn't she adorable?

     Challenges:

Christmas Craft

Crafty Gals Corner

Double D

Gem of a Challenge

My Favorite Things

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paper Funday

Peace on Earth

Word Art Weds

     We'd love to see you playing along with us this month.  Anything with a country Christmas feel will qualify.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Spring Birdhouse

      Today we start a new challenge at FarmQuest General Store where our theme is always "Anything Farm/Country Goes."  We are always sponsored by QKR Stampede and the images used by the DT are the images for the prize.  Today, I've made 2 different cards and used images called "Birdhouse and Vines" and "Artist Pallet."  

    I was excited to use the Birdhouse and Vines image because it combines 2 of my favorite things in stamps: cute and flowers!  I usually go for cute but this time, I love the flowery, spring image, and the fact that it's a bit on the "cutesy" side just enhances it.

     On this first one, I colored the image with watercolors and Sanjoki alcohol markers.  I cut the image with a Tonic Studios die, inked the edge and layered it onto a background with was made using water color paints.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle Die, also with inked edges.

     Challenges:

As You Like It

Colorful Options

Creative Fingers

Creative Inspirations

Outlawz Friday

Pattie's Creations

Polkadoodles

Triple B

    For my second DT card, I used water color paints on the image, cut it with a Spellbinders die, inked the edges, and layered it onto a bit of scrap dp to make a frame for it.  The sentiment was printed and cut with another Avery Elle die.  The brick background is paper from an old Recollections stack.  Very CAS but great for a masculine card, I think.

     Challenges:

Creative Knockouts

Di's Digi Designs

Dragonfly Dreams

Simon Says Stamp

     There you go, two cards for only one visit.  :-D  Come play with us this month.  The challenge runs until May 5 and you could be the winner of 3 wonderful QKR Stampede images.  Want to know what the third image is?  Visit the FQGS blog and take a look at all the DT cards.

 

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Temptations

      This week, it's my turn to host the new challenge over at Crafty Catz, where our theme is always Anything Goes but we also give you an OPTIONAL theme if you choose to use it.  This fortnight (yes, our challenges go for 2 weeks now!), the optional theme is "Any Cute Critter."  We're sponsored by the fun and fabulous QKR Stampede and all the images used by the DT are the prize.

     I chose this fun and funny image "An Apple a Day" and made a rather simple card with it.  Don't you love the look of temptation on his face?  

     When I printed the image, I placed it so that it would print on the bottom of a tent fold card, therefore becoming the front of the card.  I colored the image with my Sanjoki markers and added the red frame which was a scrap left over from cutting something I used on another project.  The die I used is from Spellbinders.  

     I printed the sentiment and cut it with an Avery Elle die.  Very CAS even though it looks rather fancy because of the die.   I've probably done three or four cards using this image over the years that I've been associated with QKR Stampede.  

     Challenges:

     Come play with us in this challenge.  It runs until April 18 and you could win the three adorable images from QKR Stampede!

  

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Spring Birthday

      We're at the mid-way point in our current challenge at FarmQuest where our theme this fortnight is "Bird Nests or Bird Houses" and, of course, every challenge entry must always feature a farm or country feel.  This time, I've done a second card using an image from Jan's Digi Stamps (now closed - sniff sniff) called Early Spring Nest.  I love this image!  I just know those are robin's eggs in the nest.  :-D

     I colored the image with Sanjoki and ProMarkers, then cut the image with a Cottage Cutz die.  I printed the sentiment and cut it with an Avery Elle die.  The background paper is a scrap from an old DCWV scrapbooking stack.  Pretty CAS overall, though it looks more complex because of the background.

     Challenges:

     Please come play with us during this upcoming week.  We love being inspired by what you create and enter.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Tulips for a Birthday

      Today I'm using an image from the Progressive Challenge at The Outlawz and I've printed three of them in adjusted sizes.  I colored the tulips with my Sanjoki markers, then fussy cut them with scissors.  I stacked them together and added a few bits of dimensional dots.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     I found two scraps of CS and embossed each of them with my Linen EF.  I loved the way the tulips took center stage and decided not to add any other embellishments because I didn't want to detract from them.

I was inspired by the sketch at My Favorite Things.

     Challenges:

Beautiful Blossoms

(The) Crafting ...

Crafts Galore Encore

Die Cut Divas

Do Al(l) Kreatives

If You Give a Crafter ...

Mirtillamente

Outlawz Tuesday

Triple B

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie