Vintage Halloween

      I'm so proud to announce that I am now a DT member of the This is Halloween challenge blog !  We do Halloween or Gothic themes all year around with a monthly challenge each month.  We are sponsored by Lilli Rains Designs and this month I've used lovely vintage Halloween images from the "Cute Vintage Halloween Collage 2" set.  

     I'm only showing you one image from that set today, but I will post two more during October just as reminders of the monthly challenge.  This is a pre-colored image, cut with a QuicKutz rectangle die.  The background was done with a scrap piece of burlap fabric mounted onto a square, white card base.  The ribbon was hand-tied using ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

     Challenges:

CRAFT-alnica

Creative Fingers

Gem of a Challenge

LeighSB31Days

Mirtillamente

Pammie's ...

Paperbabe

Simon Says Stamp

     Here's what's in the full set: 

     Come play with us this month!  It's Halloween month and this challenge will be a great excuse for you to get cards done for family and friends.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Merry UnBirthday!

     Many years ago, I had a dear friend who celebrated "Not My Birthday" exactly 6 months after her birthday.  That was my first introduction to what today is called an "UnBirthday."  But now I have a friend who says birthdays stopped being fun when she was too old for childhood birthday parties and she simply refuses to celebrate (or even tell anyone) when it's her birthday.

     So, this card is for her and may she have many more "Not My Birthdays."

     The image is by Rick St. Dennis and I colored it with ProMarkers.  The two side cuts were done with a border die from Spellbinders and I had to carefully line up the top corner where the cuts meet in order to get the scallop.  I did that by lining up the hole in the middle of the scallop.

     I used shiny purple paper for the card front and then found charcoal CS to use as the background for the image piece.  I layered those together, wrapped with sparkly, silver ribbon and added the image on top.  The little silver bow was the only added embellishment.

     Challenges:
Color Inspiration Monday
Crafty Creations
Crafty Sentiments
Inspiration Destination
Lemon Shortbread
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Simon Says Stamp
Sparkle n Glitter
Unicorn

     I hope your week is going well and that a mild sun is shining in your part of the world.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Clowning Around

     I decided to try something I haven't done in many, many months and used this darling little clown which I got for playing in the Progressive challenge at Sweet Pea Stamps on their FB page.

I took my colors from Color Throwdown.

     Instead of my usual ProMarkers or chalk markers, I used a brush and watercolor paints.  Not as much shading detail but then that isn't what watercolors are meant to do.  Once the clown was painted, I cut it with a rectangle die from Spellbinders and adhered it to the card front.

     Then, I dug out one of my Cheery Lynn border dies and used it to cut border pieces from two different papers, both of which came from my scrap stash.  I had to trim some of the inside parts of the border because they overlapped the image far too much, making it look cluttered instead of bordered.

     I haven't decided if this is going to be a birthday card or something else but it was a fun image and I had fun digging out the watercolors.

     Challenges:
Inspiration Destination
Julia Spiri
Simon Says Stamp
Sisterhood of Crafters
Sweet Stamps
Through the Craft Room Door
Vintage Stamping/Flonz
WordArt Weds.

     Hey, it's a Saturday and we should all be sleeping in!  OK, for those of you who are like me and you awake early no matter what, sneak into the craft room and have some time just for you while everyone else is snoozing.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie