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

Hedgehog Mama

      I hadn't planned on a second post today but it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn't done a card for the Outlawz Progressive challenge for April and this is the very last day!  No time for any coloring so I decided right away on a black and white creation and it took me less than an hour, including photographing and editing.  :-D

     This adorable hedgie was drawn by Anne Fenton (I love her art!) and I copied it 4 times, in different sizes, added the sentiment before printing, and cut it with one of my Spellbinders big dies made for the Grand Caliber cutter.  The papers are all from an old stack by DCWV which has been in my stash for more years than I can count - maybe more than 7 years?   Most of them I found in my scrap basket and the largest one for the background I cut to fit this slimline card.

     Challenges:

Snippets Playground

     Like I said, simple and sweet, and created in a flash.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Bountiful Blessings

     One more really quick post because I want to get this entered at Double D in their Orange and White challenge before it closes.  The acorn and leaves image is by Anne Fenton and the sentiment is from Eureka Stamps.

Colored with ProMarkers
Sentiment cut with Tonic Studios die
Edges inked with ProMarker
Sheer ribbon with pumpkins

     Challenges:
Cute N Crafty
Cuttlebug Mania
Digi Choosday
Dream Valley
Outlawz Greetings
Papercraft
Stamping Sensations
TTCRD

     Have a great week and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Fairy Nightsong

     I have the honor of being a Guest Designer at The Outlawz Songs and Rhymes challenge today.   Each week, they choose lyrics from a song or poem as inspiration for a crafty project.  This week, it's "Fairy Nightsongs."  Fairy NightSongs

Dancing a spiral we sing unaware
On fairy night wings our songs fill the air
Making a circle of magic and light
Watched silently by the Fey of the night

     Here's my card with an image from Anne Fenton and she's the sponsor for the entire month of August.

I started with a sketch from Die Cuttin' Divas, turned to stand vertical.

     I used ProMarkers to color her, added copper glitter to her wings, then fussy cut the image.  I adhered her to a double oval die cut (Spellbinders.)  I found a scrap of lace in my stash, cut it in two, and added the strips to the card front.  I layered on the image and added one of my hand-sewn bows to the bottom of the ovals.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Brown Sugar
CARDZ TV
Crafty Friends
Crafty Sentiments
Creative Fingers
Incy Wincy
Jo's Scrap Shack
TTCRD

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Kickin' Back Fishing Day

     While everyone else in the world was counting crocus buds as the first sign of spring, my dad always said that spring had arrived when you could grab a pole and sneak away for an afternoon of lazy fishing without freezing from sitting still.  :-D  Here's a salute to spring and my dad.

     The image is from Anne Fenton at Anne's Digital Art and is the freebie this month for the Progressive Challenge at The Outlawz.

     I colored with ProMarkers and cut the image with a pinpoint die from Memory Box.  While the die is a rectangle, it wasn't narrow enough for what I wanted so I cut twice, moving the die to narrow the original cut.

     The "quilting" is cut with a Gina Marie die, cutting two different papers and inlaying them to get the quilt look.  I printed the sentiment, matted it, and added it across the quilting.

     I used three metallic chevrons on each side.  (Secret - but don't tell anyone - those are metallic, self-stick, photo corners!  I don't mount photos anymore but I have a ton of those still in my stash and they make great embellishments for guy cards.)

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft
Crafter's Castle
Crafts Galore Encore
Crafty Friends
Dies R Us
Digistamps4Joy
Jo's Scrap Shack
Joy Clair
Sunsational Stamps

     Thanks for visiting and I hope you're having a fantastic weekend!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Potted Cat(tails)?

     I adore this darling image of a kitty in a garden pot!  It came from the Outlawz Progressive challenge and it was drawn by Anne Fenton.  You know it thrilled me to pieces.  :-D

     I colored with my ProMarkers, then used a die from Cheery Lynn to cut it.  I took the glitter idea from my dear friend, Donna, at Creative Smiles.  She gave a great tutorial on one way to accomplish adding glitter to the negative spaces in a die cut and you can see it here.  Thanks, Donna.  :-D

    I wish my glitter showed up better in the photo and I forgot to take a close up shot before sending the card off to it's final destination.  :-(

     I used a gray-green card base, added a bow made from gingham ribbon, and finally printed the sentiment and added it.

     Challenges:
Brown Sugar
Color Inspiration
Crafting from the Heart
Crafting with Friends
Crafty Catz
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Simon Says Stamp
SUYP Cats

     That's it for me today.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Using Lace with Tuesday Throwdown

     Today we start a new challenge at Tuesday Throwdown and our theme is to "Use Lace."  Our wonderful sponsor is The Ribbon Resource and they were so generous in providing lace to our DT members for use on our inspiration cards.  They will be providing the prize for this challenge as well.

     Isn't that pink lace gorgeous?   The image is by Anne Fenton and I've had it in my collection for a while.  It seemed time to use it.  Since I'm getting my stash of birthday cards and Mother's Day cards stocked up, I decided on a color combo of kraft, pink and white.

    I colored with ProMarkers, stamped the sentiment, then matted the image with dark pink CS.  Because I wanted the lace to really pop, I layered it across white CS because it showed better than against the kraft CS, and then I added the two rows of pearls.  The butterfly is die cut from burlap paper and I added two pearls for the body.  Even with those embellishments, the card design is still very CAS, showcasing the image and the lace.

     Challenges:
2 Creative Chicks
A Bit More Time to Craft
Card and Scrap
Connie Can Crop
Creative Card Crew
Just Keep on Creating
Lemon Shortbread
Paper Creator's Crafts
Petal Lu
Sisters of Craft
Sparkles Forum
Through the Craft Room Door
Unicorn Challenge
Your Scrapbook Place

     I hope you're going to dig out some lace from your stash and come play in our challenge this week.  We'd love to see how you're inspired to add lace to your projects.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie