Cross Stitch Love

     Nothing cuter than House Mousies and these three are totally adorable!  I tried something new on this card.  Since I was lucky enough to win one of the House Mouse challenges and wouldn't have to spend any money (thereby keeping with the "Just Stash January" commitment - see paragraph below), I ordered a set of their 3D card kits which I've never used before.  

     It takes the old fashioned fussy cutting and layering of images to get a great card with lots of layers and dimension, so very time consuming but wonderful fun!   Here's a perfect Valentine card.

     I'm following a great "challenge-yourself" idea being promoted by my blogging buddy, V.  It's called "Just Stash January" and it involves using nothing but things already in your stash throughout the entire month of January!  There are a few reasonable exceptions (all of which mean that no money has come out of your pocket) and you can read about those on her post.  Just click on the link above to find out all about it, then start counting those coins and bills you'll be 'stashing' in your pocket this month instead of crying about even more charges on the credit cards after the holiday season.  :-D  Everything on this card came from the stash! 

Bottom layer of image cut with Tutti Designs die

All other layers cut w scissors

     2 layers of cross stitch and stitching mouse

     1 additional layer of 2 other mice

     2 layers of scissors

     3 layers of embroidery threads

Sentiment cut w scissors

All layers put onto red card base

     Challenges:

Aud Sentiments

C.R.A.F.T.

Creative Inspirations

House that Stamps Built

Incy Wincy

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz PAM

Scrapping4Fun

Simon Says Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Date Night

     I seem to have been on a LeAnn's World 101 kick recently but this card is for the Progressive challenge this month and they provide the image.  I think this darling couple is is so sweet and since Valentine's Day is already past, I thought a Date Night card was in order.  :-D

Colored with ProMarkers and gel pens
Cut with cross stitch, Tutti Designs dies
Signature, hand-sewn bow w pearl

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Cardz TV
Colour Crazy
Creative Fingers
Outlaw Festive Fri
Pattie's Creations
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Southern Girls

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Puttin' on the Ritz

     Today we start our 5th challenge at Jan's Digi Stamps and our theme is always "Anything Goes."  With Valentine's Day right around the corner, Jan has released a darling new set called "Puttin' on the Ritz."  Although it works well for a Valentine salute, it's pretty versatile and can work for lots of occasions.  For my card, I reversed the image using MS Word before I printed it.

     I have to say that of all the penguin stamps I have in my collection, this one is among the top 5 favorites!  As new as it is, it made its way into my heart immediately. 

Colored with ProMarkers, highlights with polychromos pencils & gamsol
Cut with Unbranded cross stitch die
Edges inked with SU ink pad
Background CS embossed with "Linen" folder
Silver brads added to diagonal corners

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Angie's Digital
Brown Sugar
Crafter's Cafe
Crafty Friends
Dragonfly Dreams
Lil Patch of ...
Simon Says Stamp
Stamping Sensations
Word Art Weds.

     Jan's Digi Stamps is having a design team call.  Details can be found here.  You can use this link: 
https://jansdigistampschallenges.blogspot.com/p/dt-call.html

     Come play with us this fortnight and get your name into the draw to win a $10 gift card to Jan's shop!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

'Tis the Season

     It looks like the whole house is sleeping in this morning, including the cats who decided that my bed was the only reasonable place to stay warm.  Made me feel right at home.  lol  But with everyone sleeping, it gives me time to get a couple of posts done without any competition for computer time.

     This image came from the Progressive challenge at The Outlawz and is by LeAnn's World 101.

Colored with watercolor pencils and markers
Glitter added to lights & star on the tree
Image cut with cross stitch die
Sentiment cut with Die-Versions dies
Scraps of ribbon for both the strip and the bow

     Challenges:
Coloring in Scrapland
Creative Crafters
Dies R Us
Dream Valley
Outlawz Greetings
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Paper Girls
World Wide DT

     I may have another post in just a short while if the sleeping in continues.  :-D  Have a great weekend and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Three Blind Mice

     Welcome to yet another Friday and the start of another "Anything Goes" challenge at QKR Stampede.   I've been playing with some of the older images in my QKR collection and this one, called "Blind Mice," was perfect for a card that seems to say "I'm really missing you!"

     I made this card before I found my markers so this is colored with a combination of water color paints and colored pencils.  I cut the image and the sentiment with Unbranded, cross-stitch dies, then mounted both pieces onto a scrap of dark blue CS.

     The argyle plaid paper was in my stash of 12 x 12 scrapbooking papers which I am determined to use following the reorganization (which forced me to recognize and admit just how much paper I have in my rather overwhelming stash!)  There's no getting around the fact that I have to use up a ton of paper before I can justify purchasing any more.  lol

     I found a scrap of jute cord in a color perfect for this card and added it before layering on the image.  I wanted this to be a masculine card so I didn't embellish it any further.

     Challenges:
Cardz TV
Crafting from the Heart
Crafting with Friends
Crafty Friends
Creative Fingers
Cutie Pie
Ike's World
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Outlawz Festive Fri
Take It, Make It

     Have a great weekend and come play with us this week.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Bounty of Blessings

     Friday morning and another new "Anything Goes" challenge over at QKR Stampede.  There is no requirement that you use an image from QKR --any stamp from any company is fine.  But if you decide to use an image from QKR Stampede (or our sister company, Eureka Stamps), your entry will be put into a separate draw for QKR only and that really increases your chance of winning!  Think about it.  :-D

     I decided on a Thanksgiving card today, and I used two images plus a sentiment, all three are from Eureka Stamps:  Pilgrim Boy ES2302, PilgrimGirl ES2303, and Bounty of Blessings.  I merged the Pilgrim images and printed the sentiment separately.

I took some inspiration from this photo at Cupcake Inspirations.

     I colored with ProMarkers, then cut it with a Cross Stitch Rectangle die from Lawn Fawn.  I cut the sentiment with another die from that same set.  Because of the cross stitching on the die, I dug out the dp from my fall holiday stash and used it to make the card front.

     I added two ribbons, one is ribbed grosgrain and the other is a satin with a leaf print on it.  I layered those together and wrapped them around the card front.  I added one of my signature, hand-sewn, bows to which I had added a button.

     This card is going to be mailed so I left it CAS and flat for easy mailing.

     Challenges:
a2z Scrapbooking
Bastel-Traum
Crafts Dreamy
Crafts Galore Encore
Crafty Hazelnut's 
Dies R Us
Digi Choosday
Kreativeinkauf

     Come play along this week and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Pumpkin Wagon

     The pumpkins in the garden are getting bigger, fatter, and more orange each day.  The rest of the crops are pretty much done for the year even though my tomato plants are still looking healthy and are massive in size.  I was inspired to dig out this delightful image from Sandi Huggett which I used nearly every fall; sometimes for Halloween, sometimes for Thanksgiving.  This year it's just for a celebration of the harvest season.

     I started with water colors on the sky and ground, then colored the rest of wagons and pumpkins with ProMarkers.  I cut the image with an Unbranded, Cross Stitch Rectangle die.  I wanted dp which had fall colors but also had blue.  I found two scraps of dp in my basket, neither of which was large enough to cover the entire card front so I combined them.

     The brown strip is the back side of one of those papers.  The sentiment was printed and cut with another die from that same Cross Stitch set.  I inked the edges before adhering it to the top corner.  I added the three metal brads and the wrapped-string bow and called it finished before it got away from me.  :-D

     Challenges:
CARDZ TV
Crafty Gals Corner
Creative Inspirations
Creative Moments
I {heart} ProMarkers
Outlawz SAR
Simon Says Stamp Mon.
Simon Says Stamp Weds. (this is pumpkin pie in its raw form! :-D)
Sum More Fun
Word Art Weds.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie