Monday, December 30, 2024

Holiday Party Time !

      A couple of days ago I did a post in which I mentioned a FB site where certain artistic people create AI clipart, often from specific requests made by members of the site.  It's called Free Printable Clipart and if you're interested, you can get there by clicking on the name above.

     I joined and have had a wonderful time browsing around and downloading clipart images I'll be using on my cards.  Today, I'm sharing two different cards which were made for neighbors who open their hearts and homes to the neighborhood for holiday parties each year.  

     Because I was making these cards more or less at the last minute (party is tomorrow night!), I chose to use the pre-colored version, exactly as I downloaded it.  But I've also used these clipart images printed in gray scale and hand colored by either my sis-in-law or me.

     I used scraps of dp for the background on this first card, carefully pieced together and the image was placed on an angle to cover a bare spot where one scrap was too small.  The image was cut with a Spellbinders die and I added silver and blue snowflakes.  The angel was in my stash of Christmas decorations, the only one I had left and it gave a bright spot of white to the card.  The sentiment was printed and cut with a small die from QuicKutz.


     The second card was also cut with a Spellbinders die and was framed with a scrap of deep blue CS.  The background dp came from an old K & Co stack and it has embossed holly leaves on it.  I added a die cut snowflake (Cottage Cuts), plus a wooden snowflake (Recollections) placed on top of it.  This sentiment was also printed and cut with a die from QuicKutz.

     Challenges: 



     Challenges:

     That's it for today.  Happy New Year to you and yours and may yours be safe and same.  NanaConnie

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Paths, Trails, or Walkways

      Oh, my gosh!  The year is nearly over and today we start our last challenge of 2024 over at FarmQuest.  As usual, we have a theme - a specific one in addition to the "Farm or Country" which is part of every challenge we have - and today that theme is "Paths, Trails, or Walkways."  I suppose I could have searched for a winter pathway but they all seemed to be buried under snow.  :-D  also,  you should know that, starting with this challenge, we are going to a monthly challenge instead of the 7th and the 28th.  So, this challenge will run through January 27, 2025!

     This image is clip art, printed in grayscale, then colored with water colors and pencil.  I cut the image piece with a QuicKutz die, and inked the edges.  The background dp came from my scrap basket.  I used jute cord to wrap the card front and tie a bow.  


     Challenges:

     That's all I have for today.  I'm off for the final Christmas family dinner which we delayed until my granddaughter could get home from college in Texas.  I hope all of your holiday celebrations went well and that you're resting from all the hustle and bustle.  
   
     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Cuddles with Santa

      It's Christmas Day and, in case you haven't seen my Christmas Greeting to all, just scroll down one post. 

     I'm also sharing this card today because I'm way too far behind on posting the cards I've made over the last 2 weeks!  This one is another collaboration with my SIL, Lainy, where she's done the coloring and I've turned it into a card.  She was still coloring images for Christmas cards yesterday!  Of course, we both put off a good share of our gift wrapping efforts until yesterday so last minute cards were almost to be expected.  :-D

     This is another clip art image and this one was AI generated.  I've joined a FB group of very talented people who create AI images based on requests from people all over the internet.  They are free for personal use.  I'll share more about that group (including a link to the site) in my next post.  Today, time is short and I need to get this post finished before the dinner bell rings at my house.  :-D

     Lainy colored this image with colored pencils and, once finished, I cut it with a Tonic Studios die.  I inked the edges using a red marker.  The sentiment was printed and cut with a QuicKutz die, and I used the same marker to ink the edges of it.  The background dp came from an old (very, very old!) K & Co. stack.  The red and the green candy cane embellishments were cut with a hand punch but it has no company name on it so I can't tell you who made it.  I've had it for a good many years and it's a favorite of mine during the Christmas season.  I added a single wrap of green ribbon around the bottom of the front flap.


     Challenges:
Rudolph Days

     Make your Christmas as merry as possible!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Blessed Christmas Day

 Blessed Christmas Day



Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Christmas Hug

      I adore this image and as soon as I printed it for coloring, my sweet (and very talented!) sis-in-law laid claim to it for coloring.  It's a clip art image and I don't even remember where I got it but she colored it with a mix of Ohuhu and ProMarkers.  Isn't her coloring fabulous?

     Once colored, she gave it back to me because making the actual cards seems to be my portion of the collaborations we do.  I haven't gotten her into that side of the creative process but it works out well when she colors and I turn those images into cards.  

     I cut the image with a QuicKutz die, then used a Fiskars punch on the four corners.  I framed that with a piece of scrap, gray CS, and I inked the edges of the frame.  For the background, I found bits of dp in the Christmas scrap basket, layered them one above another and thought they worked really well together.  I wrapped a snippet of very narrow ribbon around the card front and also tied another scrap of it into a simple bow.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.


     Challenges:
Outlawz Tues (bottom left to top right)
Snippets Playground (background papers, gray image frame, & ribbon scraps)
Tues Morning

     It's Christmas Eve and I wish each  and every one of you a very Merry Christmas!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Monday, December 23, 2024

Christmas Girl

      For all my promises last week about having posts each day for the past 7 days, the "To Do" list just got the best of me and, even though I've been very busy creating in the midst of the Christmas preparations, I didn't have time to sit down and write posts.  But today, I finally finished the Progressive Challenge image from Moondrea Designs and I want to get her posted to the Challenge.

     I colored with my Ohuhu markers, then added Stickles to the holly leaves, the berries, and the candle flame in the lantern.  After it all dried, I cut the image with a Tonic Studios die, and decorated the corners with Fiskars and Uchida punches.  I framed the image with a die cut rectangle of green CS (Spellbinders die.)  The background dp is a scrap from the Christmas stash (probably DCWV) and the sentiment was printed and cut with another Tonic Studios die.


     Challenges:

     Hopefully, I'll have additional posts this week.  We aren't celebrating our Christmas holiday until Saturday when my college-attending, granddaughter gets home for her Christmas holidays.  Maybe I'll have posts all week long of Christmas cards I've made even though Christmas will be on Wednesday.  You won't mind, will you?  The Christmas holidays don't really end until the New Year, right?

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Sunday, December 15, 2024

A Steampunk-y Christmas

      It's been ages since I did anything steampunk but my sis-in-law has a grandson who adores steampunk and when she saw this steampunk rabbit image in my collection of images from SheepSki Designs, she wanted to turn it into a Christmas image, even though it wasn't drawn as one.  I think she did a fantastic job by using traditional Christmas colors to get the effect she wanted.

     I took her colored image (pencils), cut it and the red frame with QuicKutz dies, and decorated the corners of each with Fiskars punches.  I found a scrap of dp for the background in my Christmas papers stash and thought it worked well with the steampunk aspect.  The sentiment was printed and cut with a Tonic Studios die.

     For embellishment that heightened the steampunk, I dug through my drawer full of charms and found a little baggie filled with tiny gears and cogs and other metal bits, many of them actual old watch parts.  I bought those more than a dozen years ago at a Michael's store and haven't used them in longer than I can remember.  But they were perfect for this card!


     Challenges:

     I may have an additional post today if I can find the time to sit down and write it.  My list of things still be be done before Christmas arrives grows longer and the number of hours I have to accomplish all of them grows shorter, and desperation is setting in!

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Saturday, December 14, 2024

A Farm Country Birthday

      When I think of farms and country living, horses always come to mind.  So when I saw the theme for our latest FarmQuest challenge, "Things Found in a Barn," I started looking through my collection of images for a horse.

     This gorgeous clip art image was colored with pencils, blended with gamsol, then cut with a die from Spellbinders.  The kraft CS frame was also cut with a die from that same set.  The plaid dp came from a DCWV stack.  I printed the sentiment, cut it with scissors to get that particular shape, and matted it with a scrap of kraft CS.  I used jute cord for the hand-tied bow.


     Challenges:

     I hope you're going to take some time in the midst of the crazy holiday rush to have some personal play time and we'd love it if you came and joined in our challenge.  Just find an image of anything you might find in a barn (animals, tools, vehicles, feed or hay, etc.), make a card or other project, and enter it into our challenge.  

     FYI, you MUST check out the FQ challenge post this time.  There are some incredible AI images available for you to use if you choose.  Becca did a great job of putting those together for all the readers.  :-D

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Friday, December 13, 2024

Season for Hot Chocolate

      When it's time for hot chocolate, everyone gets into the act, even sweet little foxes!  This delightful image came from a set by Pixel Art Foundry and I'm totally in love with it.  It comes in a pre-colored version but this time it was printed in a light grayscale, no line version.  Don't they look like they're taking a break from the holiday rush before they head into the final stretch of Christmas Eve madness?  lol  Kind of like me doing fairly CAS cards for the last dozen I have to get finished before this week ends.

     My sis-in-law pulled out her water color pencils to color the foxes, then added highlights with gel pens.  She used sparkle pens on the cocoa mugs.  Once colored, I cut the image with a Tonic Studios rectangle die and cut the corners with a Fiskars punch.  I found a large scrap of  green dp for the card front and layered on the image piece.  The sentiment was printed and cut with a QuicKutz die.


     Challenges:
C.R.A.F.T.
Digi Choosday
DL Art TT

     That's it for today.  Hopefully, I'll get at least 2 more cards done and posted tomorrow or over the weekend.  I should have cards to post every day next week but my plate is so full, I honestly don't know if I'll get them all posted even if they are finished and ready to give away on Christmas.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Tree Topper Angel

     I'm so excited to share this beautiful angel tree topper which was made completely from things in our crafting stash, no cash outlay at all.  I say "our" stash because this this is yet another collaboration with my sis-in-law, Lainy.  

     She did the majority of the hands-on work on this doll, painting it completely including the face, designing and arranging the hair, and adding all the little embellishment bits.  My stash supplied all the 'fabrics', including laces, tassels, ribbon, trims, and even the cardboard used to make a cone shape under the skirt.  The wings were made from lace which was painted and glittered after it was shaped into wings.  The paint helped to hold the shape after it dried.

     Just so you can appreciate the amount of time it took to complete the angel, a good week was spent on the project, working every day and letting things dry completely between steps.  I wanted you to see a close up of it and photographing it on the tree just became impossible due to the height of the tree this year.


     Challenges:

     Back to the craft room for me.  I still have a dozen or so cards I have to finish before this week ends and that end is very close at hand.  But let me leave you with a quick pic of the angel in her proper place on the tree. 
    

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Wednesday, December 11, 2024

Snowflake Santa

      I have to share a card with a spectacular image which was colored by my sis-in-law using pastel Ohuhu markers and white gel pens.  Didn't she do an incredible job?  The image is clip art and I think originally it was a digital coloring book page but I sized it for a card before printing it.  

     After she colored it, I cut it with a QuicKutz die, then used a Fiskars punch on the corners.  The sentiment was printed and cut with a Tonic Studios die.  I decided to use blue glitter paper on the card front to enhance the soft blues in the image.  The two snowflake embellies are die cut foam and the dies were from Cottage Cuts.


     Challenges:
Crafty Gals Corner
Creative Inspirations
Penny's P-C

     Christmas is less than 2 weeks away and I'm still making cards!  Yikes!  Have you finished all of yours?  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Monday, December 9, 2024

"Santa" on Vacation?

      This adorable little "Santa" cat has no intention of staying up all night on Christmas Eve, delivering presents to children all around the world.  In fact, if he is assigned that particular Santa chore, he's heading off on vacation the day before!

     The image is from Conjuror of Dreams and their challenge theme this month is, as always, Anything Goes but the optional theme is "Santa on Vacation."  This is my take on the vacation option.  :-D  

     The image is pre-colored, and I cut both it and the mat with dies from QuicKutz.   The sentiment was printed and cut with my Fiskars paper cutter.  I chose the glittery, red, card stock for background because I wanted a monochromatic look for this particular card.


I was inspired by the sketch at AAA Cards.

     Challenges:
Outlawz SAR  (St. Nick & 'won't stay awake')

     I may have a second post today but if not, I'll post tomorrow.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Saturday, December 7, 2024

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:

     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

The Village Crier

     It's another fortnight and that means a new challenge at FarmQuest General Store, where our theme is always "Anything Farm or Country Goes" and, for one more month, we are sponsored by QKR Stampede.  Since we're well into the Christmas Season, I decided it would be fun to celebrate an old English, country Christmas where the Crier went through the country streets of the village, sharing news and stories.

     The QKR image is called "Hear ye, Hear ye."  I printed the image and colored it with ProMarkers.  I cut it with a QuicKutz square die and then I inked the edges.  I thought that cute gingerbread dp made a great background with the added benefit of the kraft and red country colors.  It's from the Christmas scrap basket and I truly don't remember who made it.  I printed the sentiment, cut each piece with an Avery Elle die and then layered it onto the Crier's banner.


     Challenges:

     Happy Crafting and come play in our challenge.  You could win the 3 QKR Stampede images used by the DT in this challenge.  Be sure to check out the FQGS challenge blog to see all three of them.

     NanaConnie

Sunday, December 1, 2024

Gingerbread and Mittens

      Signs of Christmas, that's what gingerbread men and mittens are and today we have a a new challenge starting at Inspiration Station.  Each month on the first Monday, we give you an inspiration photo and ask you to create a project based on what inspires you from the photo.  Let your imagination run as you look at the photo and see what might inspire your creativity!

     Here's the photo.

And here's my DT inspiration card.  I was inspired by Christmas, the traditional colors, and the gingerbread man cookie.

     I immediately thought about this image, which came from Beccy's Place, and I used Sanjoki and ProMarkers to color it.  Rather than die cut the image, I decided to fussy cut it with scissors, leaving a white border just outside of the gray shadow surrounding the image.  The sentiment is also from Beccy's and I printed it, then cut it with an Avery Elle die.  I hand-tied the tiny bow using 1/8" ribbon which has a sparkly gold border along each edge.  Fast card and very CAS.

     Challenges:

     Come play in our challenge this month, won't you?  We love seeing what you create.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie