Flying In

     Today is another double post day and all because of the Cat Lovers Hop.  It's the last day and I've had so much fun visiting all the other folks who've been doing feline related projects.  Lots of wonderful inspiration!

     I've tried to do cards for varied occasions and this one is for a birthday, though I think it could pass for Halloween as well with a different sentiment.  I used to have a friend in Arizona whose birthday was on Halloween, and I loved making cards for her each year.

 I started with the sketch from Sketch Saturday

reversed with sentiment on top.

My colors came from the 3rd column of the tic tac toe

challenge at Color My Heart's Color Dare

along with Mink and a neutral, beige.

 

     I used ProMarkers and gel pens to do the coloring, then cut the image piece and wrapped it with lemon yellow ribbon.  I used one of my lace bow tie bows to set off the ribbon.

     After I had those steps complete, I added the layer of mulberry paper.  The card front itself sparkles with glitter and embossing, but it's a bit difficult to see in the photo.

     Challenges:
Aloha Friday
Cardz TV
Cute Card Thurs
If You Give a Crafter...
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz Festive Fri
Outlawz PAM

     Stop back later for my second post of the day.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Warming Up

     New "Anything Goes" challenge starts today over at QKR Stampede and I'm sharing my DT inspiration for it. 

     When the snow is flying and you're stuck outside, it's tempting to build a fire and stand close to it.  Sometimes, that might have unexpected consequences - especially if you're a snowman!  QKR image:  "Warming Up."

I used colors from the middle column of the tic tac toe 

challenge at Color My Heart Color Dare.

     I colored the image with ProMarkers and chalks, then cut it with a die from Gina Marie.  The plaid paper came from my Christmas stash and who knows how long I've had it.  It was a scrap, just big enough for the card front.

     I also added a strip of ribbon and a red bow with a pearl. 

     Challenges:
Art Impressions
Christmas with the Cuties
Crafter's Castle
Cute N Crafty
Hiding in My Craft Room
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Outlawz Festive Fri.
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
TTCRD

     I'll have a second post today - for the Cat Lovers hop - so stop by again later.  In the meantime, Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Bounty for Body and Soul

     This lovely image is from Digistamps4Joy and it's a freebie for their challenge for the next week or so.  I thought it made a perfect autumn bounty card so I pulled together a bunch of scraps bits and pieces which were on my craft desk and this is the result.

I was influenced by the colors in the middle column (willow, gold, apple) of the TicTacToe Color Dare challenge at Color My Heart and I also used lemon and nectarine from the board plus the neutrals black, white, and brown.

     I colored with ProMarkers, then cut the image with an Unbranded oval die.  I had a scrap of dp left which had been cut with a stitched die from Memory Box.  I tucked it behind the image.  The gold ribbon scrap with the checkerboard pattern (Really Reasonable Ribbon) was just long enough to wrap around the card front and then I began putting on the other layers.  The sentiment was printed and cut with the smallest die from the Unbranded die set.

     My final embellishment was to tie a triple loop bow using my bow maker and I added it on top of the other RRR ribbon.

     Challenges:
Cardz TV
Catch the Bug (bottom row)
Crafty Calendar
Creative Fingers
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Outlawz Festive Fri
Outlawz SAR
Pattie's Creations

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Autumn Fox

     This darling little fox is an image from MMedal Illustrations and he's the freebie image for the Outlawz Progressive challenge this month.  I considered treating him as an Arctic Fox but decided that he'd be perfect for a card done in autumn colors.  I may use him again in icy colors for a winter card.

I decided to use colors from the 3rd column of Color My Heart's

Tic Tac Toe color challenge, plus neutrals of brown and gray.

     I love the expression on his face - he seems so happy!  I colored with ProMarkers and polychromos pencils.  I cut him with an octagon die from QuicKutz and matted him with another, larger octagon cut.

     The polka dot paper is a scrap which I chose because it has the three colors in the column perfectly matched.  I chose CS as close to the "nectarine" color as I could get and made the card base.  My two ribbons look much more orange than they are IRL; they really are just deeper hues of the nectarine color but I have photographed this card 4 different times in different light each time and they continue to look orange.  Sigh....

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
A Gem of a Challenge
Cardz TV
Crafty Calendar
DL.ART
Dragonfly Dreams
Polkadoodles
Southern Girls

     Well, the weekend has officially started and I'm on a coloring binge.  That means I'll have plenty I can do tomorrow to put cards together and get them ready to post.  In the meantime, a few hours of sleep is in order.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Birthday Freesias

     We are starting the October challenge at Crafting with an Attitude where our theme is always "Anything Goes."  This month, we're sponsored by SheepSki Designs (and I'm honored to be part of that DT also!)  I chose to use this beautiful "Freesia Vase" image.

I decided to use colors from the Tic Tac Toe challenge

at Color My Heart's Color Dare.

I chose the bottom row.

     I colored with ProMarkers, then fussy cut the image.  The background pink and white 'mat' is cut with dies from Spellbinders and they are inset into each other.  I mounted the image onto dimensional tape and added it to the mat.

     All of that went onto peacock CS which was trimmed to fit the card base. The only embellishment I added were the two sets of three tiny pearls on the two diagonal corners.  I wanted it as simple as possible to showcase that gorgeous flower image.

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft
Country View 
Crafting with Friends
Dream Valley
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz Festive Friday
Outlawz Greetings
Pammie's Inky Pinkies

     We hope to see you playing along in our challenge this month.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A "Git 'er Done" Birthday

     I unexpectedly needed a birthday card and had almost no time to make it so I dipped into my quick and easy ideas, decided on die cuts, and put this together in about 15 minutes.  I'm on my way to deliver it to my neighbor who needs it for a coffee get-together this morning.  :-D

I took my color inspiration from the Color Dare

challenge at Color My Heart.

I'm really trying to support their challenge

and I encourage others to do the same.

You just have to use all and only the 3 designated colors.

     The background circle with the leaves was cut with an Unbranded die and the sentiment came from a Memory Box die.  I cut them from CS I had on hand and put them onto a kraft card base, thereby using all three colors and only those three.

    Challenges:

Cardz TV

Crafting from the Heart

Crafting with Friends

House of Colors

Jo's Scrap Shack

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends

Not Just Cards

Pammie's Inky Pinkies

Pile It On

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Miss Mummy Beauty Contest

     I had so much fun making this card !  Each mummy is the exact same image but I flipped some of them and adjusted the size to get the row of beauties participating in the contest.  It's amazing what can be done with digital images.  :-D  Of course, I'm going to use this as a Halloween card.

Colors are from Color My Heart

and the sketch is from Kraftin' Kimmie.

    

     I used my ProMarkers to color the image (freebie from Scrapper's Delights for their FB Progressive Challenge) and the background.  The sentiment was printed at the same time I printed the image.  I added the ribbon (which is actually deep, apricot gold, not orange!  It matches the sand color in the image) before I matted it with black CS.   That entire piece is adhered with Pop Dots.

     I added the polka dot bow (also not orange!) and slipped a piece of torn cheesecloth behind the upper corner, then added the three embellie dots to the top corner.  Those are teeny pom poms so they give the card some great texture, as well as visual interest.

     Challenges:
Art Impressions
Cards in Envy
Colour Crazy Craft
Crafty Catz
Creative Corner
Creative Moments
Cutie Pie
Lemon Shortbread
Scrapper's Delights FB

     I do love fun Halloween cards.  Not too crazy about the dark and truly spooky ones.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Please continue to leave comments.  The "Word Verification" really isn't on.  BLOGGER INSISTS ON SHOWING THE "CAPTCHA" ICON BUT IF YOU IGNORE IT AND JUST PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT, IT WILL POST JUST FINE.  I WISH I COULD GET RID OF IT BUT THERE'S NO OPTION FOR THAT WHEN THE COMMENTS ARE WRITTEN IN A SEPARATE BOX. SORRY.

Birthday Snowman

     I'm still working on getting my stash of birthday cards restocked so here's another fun winter card.  The snowman image is from Melonheadz.

I used the colors from the challenge at Color My Heart.

     I used my ProMarkers to color the image and added a bit of sparkle with gel ink.  This time, I did something a bit different when it came to cutting out the image.  I took two of my new border dies (Spellbinders), placed one on each side of the image and used them to die cut it, trimming it top and bottom with my paper trimmer.

     The background polka dot paper is embossed and glittered, and the ribbon came from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  The snowflake is a die cut, too.

     Challenges:
Craft for the Craic
Creative Moments
Double D
Inky Impressions
Kitty Bee Designs
Southern Girls
Star Stampz
Through the Purple Haze

     I hope those of you back East are managing to dig out from under the many inches of snow which piled onto you last weekend and that power is back on at your house.  If you're still snowed in, what a great excuse to craft all day.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Santa's Cookies - House Mouse Style

     A really fast post this because I've been crafting and at the computer since 5:00 this morning and it's nearly midnight now.  I dug through my House Mouse collection and found this adorable stamp.  I'm sure this is what happens to lots of Santa's cookies.  :-D

I used the colors in the challenge at Color My Heart.

     I stamped with stone gray distress ink and colored with ProMarkers, then die cut with dies from Spellbinders.  I actually used the frames from the outside of the die cuts instead of cutting the image piece itself.  It gives some great texture and dimension.  The bow is made with satin ribbon from my stash.

     Challenges:
613 Avenue Create
Christmas Card
Crafting with Dragonflies
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas
Fussy and Fancy
Glitter n Sparkle
Graph'It
Gruffies & Guests
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
Lacy Sunshine
One Stitch at a Time
Outlawz Coloring
Outlawz PAM
Pile It On (waving to my former teamies!)

     I'll have to finish this post a bit later.  Right now, it's late enough that I'm about to fall asleep right here and now.  The bed is calling me and I'm going to answer by strolling down the hallway and taking advantage of the fact the the felines have been sleeping there for long enough to warm the covers with their little bodies.  Good night and Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Old Gobbler

     

Happy Veteran's Day!

Take some time to Salute a Veteran today.

     As I was cleaning and re-organizing the craft room over the weekend, I ran across this turkey image in my stash of Thanksgiving things.  I have no idea when I printed it (it could have been 2 or even 3 years ago) or who should get credit for drawing it, but I decided to get it colored up and use it for one of my cards this year.

My colors came from the challenge at 

Color My Heart.

(Chocolate and Gold Rush plus kraft)

     Interestingly, I had adjusted the printing so that the outline on the image was printed in dark brown instead of  black.   Looked really nice.  The image was printed on kraft paper and I used ProMarkers to color it.  The kraft paper made some of my browns turn more red than brown but I actually like it that way.  It was a nice contrast to the chocolate brown outline on the image.

     The polka dot paper for the background is heat embossed so IRL that paper has some shine and sparkle.  The striped paper is from DCWV.  I tied a double bow from deep chocolate ribbon using my bow maker and added two bits of yellow ribbon for contrast.  The final touch is the three metal brads I added.  Very simple design even with the patterned paper.

     Challenges:
613 Avenue Create
AAA Cards
Allsorts
ArtbyMiran
Catch the Bug
Crafting-with-Friends
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper
Crazy for Challenges
Creative Fingers
Dragonfly Dreams
Dragonfly Journeys
Just Us Girls
Ribbon Girl
Scrapper's Delights
Your Scrapbook Place

      Hey, we're halfway through the week already and it's getting too close to the holidays for the days to be flying by that quickly!  Come to think of it, I feel that way about how fast time flies even when it's not the holiday season.  Maybe my age is showing.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Christmas Cuddles

     My third week as a Guest Designer on the Sunday CAS challenge at The Outlawz and I'm truly enjoying it.  I've done a couple of very simple cards so far, and this week is also CAS but with some layers and dimension used in the design.  We have a new theme this week and it's one everybody loves - Anything Goes!   I used an image from Sweet Pea Stamps called "Sugar and Snowball" and took the opportunity to add one more card to my Christmas stash.

I started with a sketch from Pals Paper Arts

and colors taken from Color My Heart.

   

     I used my ProMarkers to color the image and then cut it into a square.   The red CS I used for the die cut frame has been hiding in my Christmas stash for nearly 3 years.  It's very heavy duty and one side is polished so that it shines.  This time, I chose to use the matte side because it worked better with the image colors and was much easier to photograph.

     Once matted, I added the entire piece to the card front, giving me layers but without a lot to distract the eye.  Afterall, I was after a CAS design but I wanted some layers and texture.  The sentiment is printed, hand-cut and matted, and adhered with dimensional dots.

     Challenges:
ArtbyMiran
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long
Crafting for all Seasons
Crafty Catz
Crafty Creations
Crafty Gals Corner
Fan-Tastic Tuesday
Hanna & Friends
Incy Wincy 
Jingle Belles
Morgan's ArtWorld
Outlawz Greetings
Paper Minutes

     It's been fun Guesting at the CAS challenge and I'm looking forward to one more week before it's over.  Any time I can work on mastering the magic of CAS, I grab it.  I'm just honored that they asked me to be Guest Designer this month.   :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie  

Aloha (and I wish I was in Hawaii)

     Fair warning to those of you who've gotten used to my doing CAS lately -- this one is NOT clean and simple!  Although I'm becoming very fond of my CAS designs, I reverted to something more in line with frilly, fancy, and over-the-top.  :-D

    I used this image which came from the Rick St. Dennis Progressive Challenge.

I chose to use the colors from Color My Heart

although I admit that my "juniper" feather looks more emerald green

but IRL it is that blue-green of a juniper bush.

     I used ProMarkers to color my image, then die cut it and the mat with dies from Spellbinders.  I used one of my favorite embossing folders (SU) to emboss the pink CS.  I added Flower Soft to her arm and neck leis, and glitter to the stamen of the flowers in her hair.  I used lace ribbon to make the wrapped bow and found three perfect feathers in my stash.  The rose embellies are from Recollections.

     Challenges:

4 Crafty Chicks

Allsorts (middle row)

ArtbyMiran

Card Mania

Crafting with an Attitude

Crafts 4 Eternity

Die Cut Divas

Emerald Faeries

Graph'It

Our Creative Corner

Paper Creator's Crafts

Ribbon Girl

Sentimental Sundays

     Is it OK if I tell you that I'm very pleased with this card?  It's been a while since I did that much embellishing and it felt good to just let things go with no worries about having to be minimalist this time around.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Spring Mouse

     It's time for spring to be here and I'm doing all I can for you folks still buried under the snow, including getting a garden started, praying for sunshine, and doing cheerful, flowery, spring cards!  This one uses an adorable little mouse, clearly ready for spring with all those flowers, from Rick St. Dennis. I think I may use it for an Easter card.

I chose colors from the challenge at Color My Heart.

     The image is printed right onto the card front for a single layer card, then colored with my ProMarkers.  While I wanted this to be a CAS design, I also wanted a bit of embellishment so I used Cheery Lynn dies to cut the blue leaves and the butterfly.  Both were cut from a scrap bit of dp.  I used another larger scrap of it for the inside of the card.

     The little flowers were hand punched (again, a scrap piece of CS) and colored, then I added glitter and a bead to each one.  I put one flower in the bouquet the mouse is carrying and another one on his hat.   Finally, I added a bit of glitter to the butterfly.  I also added dp and a pocket to the inside for a gift card.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Brown Sugar
Card Mania
Clear It Out
Crafty Catz
Deep Ocean
Digitally Sweet
DRS Designs
Friends of Speedy TV
Glitter n Sparkle
Jo's Scrap Shack
Love's Rubber Stamps
My Sheri Crafts
Papertake Weekly
Party Time Tuesday
Perfectly Rustics
Sister Act
Stamp and Create
Sweet Stampin

     I know I was MIA all weekend as far as posting went but I was having back problems and just couldn't sit at the computer or craft desk for long enough to get anything accomplished.  Today, I'm feeling much better, though I still have limits on how long I can sit in one position.  Still, it beats how I felt on Saturday so I'm thankful.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie