Humor Me at Catch the Bug Critter Chaos

     Another fun Bugaboo Stamps image for today's Critter Chaos challenge at Catch the Bug where the theme this time is "Humor."  I love, love, LOVE stitched dies (because they make the faux stitching so much neater than anything I can do by hand!)

I used one of the sketches from Sweet Sketch Weds.2

but turned a quarter turn.

Colored with ProMarkers
Cut with Die-namics stitched dies
Aleene's Snow
Papers from Doodlebug
Sparkle red ribbon and red satin ribbon for bow

     Challenges:
As You Like It
C.R.A.F.T.
Creative Knockouts
Cute Card Thurs
Mod Squad
Outlawz Festive Fri
Scrappy Land
Time Out

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Gift of Love

     This darling angel is from AuroraWings and I thought she made a perfect, traditional Christmas card, bringing her beautiful gift of Yuletide love. 

Colored with ProMarkers & Copics
Loose glitter applied to wings
Cut with stitched, rectangle dies from Die-namics
Red card base
Golden sparkle ribbon

     Challenges:
ABC Christmas
Aud Sentiments
Crafting by Designs
Creative Inspirations
Outlawz Twisted Thurs
Paper Funday
Scrappy Land
Simon Says Stamp
Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Gnome for Christmas

     Our newest monthly challenge has begun today over at SheepSki Designs.  Our theme this month is "Favorite Things" and Gnomes falls right into that category for me.  The image I used is called "Gnome for Christmas."

Colored with pencils and ProMarkers
Aleene's Snow on beard
Stickles added to ornaments
Frame cut with Die-namics stitched die
Stitches enhanced with ProMarker
Signature, hand-sewn bow
Sentiment done with white gel ink

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time ...
Aud Sentiments
Christmas w the Cuties
Classic DT
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafts Galore Encore
Crafty Friends
Creatalicious
Die Cut Divas
Outlawz PAM

     I really want to see you playing along in our challenge this month.  Sadly, this is my last month on the DT at SheepSki Designs and I'm going to miss being there.  My blogging life is taking me down a slightly different path which includes more responsibilities starting in the new year and I'm having to cut back on the number of teams I currently serve.  To those of you still on the SheepSki team, I'm waving a sad goodbye but I'll come by as often as possible and play in the upcoming challenges.
 
     Hugs and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Final Day at Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas

     Here we are on Day 30 of the Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas and we get to do whatever we love best - a classic Anything Goes theme.  I opted for this vase of holly branches, one of my favorite Beccy's images.  In Beccy's colored version, the vase is purple, my favorite color.  In my version, I opted for a red-violet vase so that I could use more traditional embellishments for Christmas.  Other than the red-violet, I pulled my colors from Paperbabe Stamps, including the papers I used (see below.)

I used the sketch from The Outlawz, turned 1/4 turn,

and the color palette found at Paperbabe Stamps.

  

Colored with ProMarker
Image cut with Die-namics stitched die
Snowflakes cut with AI dies
Sentiment cut with Die-versions die
Scrap pieces from Graphic 45

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Crafty Catz
Crafty Creations
House that Stamps Built
Outlawz Twisted Thurs
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Simon Says Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Day 29, Letter "Z" - Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas

      Last letter of the alphabet and tomorrow is the last day of Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas.  "Z" is another one of those difficult prompts because very few Z words relate easily to Christmas (Zoo, Zebra, Zany, Zipper - see what I mean?)  So, I used the tutorial at Beccy's and made a Double Z Fold Card.

     The candy cane image is from Beccy's Place and everything was done using up scraps, including the piece of CS on which the image was printed.

 

Here's a shot from the top showing the Z folds.

Colors came from the inspiration at 

Color My Heart Color Dare #371

We had to use only 2 of the colors and neutrals didn't count.

I chose red and green.

Colored with ProMarkers
   (I used 'Vanilla' instead of white on the candy canes so it would better match the beige in the papers)
Image cut with Die-namics stitched die
Paper scraps from Graphic 45
Folds were scored on Scor-Pal board

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Cardz TV
Colour Crazy
Creative Fingers
Creative Knockouts
Outlawz Festive Fri
Passion for ProMarkers
Pixie's Snippets

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

The Dreaded "X" Day at 30 Days of Christmas

     Well, it's finally here - Day "X" at Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas.  I've been dreading this prompt all month long.  Having faced this prompt before in earlier years, I was pretty much stumped but still not wanting to do anything I've done before.  Then, day before yesterday, the idea of making the entire card an X shape popped into my head.  How to make that happen?  I chewed on that one for nearly 30 hours and this was the result.

The X was made by using one corner of a square die (Spellbinders) on the top and bottom of a tent fold card, and one point of a hexagon die (QuicKutz) on both sides of the card.  

Rocking chair image from Beccy's Place, colored with ProMarkers
Image cut with Die-namics die
Stitching is fauX, done w/ green gel ink (another "X"?)
Paper from Graphic 45

     There's a story behind the sentiment.  All during my growing up years, the last few evenings before Christmas and especially Christmas Eve were spent listening to Christmas stories read by my mom (or sometimes my Grammy) as we sat curled in blankets, attentive and awed by the magic of her voice reading the story.  On Christmas Eve, we had two great favorites which had been reserved for that night alone - The Night Before Christmas and the Christmas story from the Bible.  Over the years, those evenings became known as "The Christmas Read" and they went on through the early years of my children's lives.

     I do love traditional Christmas!

     Challenges:
ABC Christmas
Crafty Creations
Double D  (traditional)
House that Stamps Built
I {heart} ProMarkers
Simon Says Stamp
Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Day 21 at Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas - Use Scraps

     Much as I love the alphabet prompts for the 30 Days of Christmas at Beccy's Place, when Beccy said to "Use Scraps," that was right up my alley!  I love using scraps.  It means I buy fewer papers overall but at the same time, it makes me feel justified in buying new paper stacks when supplies get low.  No, of course that's not a justification!  lol

     This card is made entirely from scraps, including the piece of CS on which I printed the image and the one from which I cut the sentiment.

     After I shared in my previous post that it doesn't snow where I live, here I am doing another of my typical Christmas cards featuring snow and snow people.  Maybe it's because we don't have snow on the ground that I feel so drawn to it for Christmas cards.

Colored with ProMarkers and gel inks
Cut with QuicKutz dies
Matted with scalloped die from Memory Box
Faux stitching done with white gel pen
Background scrap papers from DCWV (I think)
Sentiment die cut with Die-namics die

    Challenges:
ABC Christmas
Crafty Sentiments
Creative Inspirations
Cupcake Inspirations
Double D (My style is "snowy")
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Colors
Paper Shelter
Scrappy Land
TTCRD

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Day 18, Letter "P" - 30 Days of Christmas

     Today we're using the letter "P" as our prompt in Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas and I chose one of Beccy's lovely Poinsettia images.  I made another gift card holder made from embossed, Pine Green CS.  The image is cut with a Pin Point die and I also used a die to cut Pine needles for the background.  The folder is tied with Peppermint Candy, red and white twine.  This one is done in my favorite Christmas color combo of red and green.  It's also another of my favorite traditional Christmas images which work better (I think) for adult gifts than cute-sy, childish images.

Just to show you how the inside of the folder looks, although this photo is of another folder I made.

Here's a link to the YouTube video I used to make these.

Colored with Polychromos Pencils, blended with gamsol
Pin Point die from Poppy Stamps
Embossed CS
Pine Needle die from Die-namics
Baker's Twine in Peppermint candy colors

     Challenges:
As You Like It
Colour Crazy
Dream Valley
Get Creative
Outlawz Festive Fri
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Polkadoodles
Southern Girls

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Challenge #2 at Jan's Digi Stamps

     Our second challenge has started at Jan's Digi Stamps today and once again we have an "Anything Goes" theme for you.  I'm sharing two cards I've done using pre-colored images from the "Holiday Candy Deluxe 947" set.  I've been doing Christmas cards for the last couple of months but when time runs short or when you need a last minute card for an unexpected guest the in-laws brought along (!), pre-colored images can save the day.  Nearly every set from Jan's has both black and white outline images and pre-colored versions included in the same set.

Cut w/ Sizzix scalloped circle die

Snowflakes cut with Art Impressions dies

Sentiment (from this set) was hand cut

Wide ribbon with glittered edges

Red CS base

     Challenges:

C.R.A.F.T.

Creative Knockouts

Cute Card Thurs

Penny's Paper Crafty

Time Out

Die-namics dies for image and frame, inlaid dies
Sentiment hand cut
Doodlebug dp
Lavender ribbon w/ hand tied bow

     Challenges:
Cardz TV
Crafty Catz
Creative Fingers
Outlawz Festive Fri
Winter Wonderland

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Letter "N" - Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas

    This is Day 16 of the 30 Days of Christmas at Beccy's Place and we are using the letter "N" as our prompt.  My card uses Nativity, one of Beccy's beautiful images.

Colored with ProMarkers
Image is fussy cut
Octagon cut with QuicKutz die & embossed with "Linen" folder
Sentiment cut with Die-namics die
Background strip of dp - DCWV
Signature bow with faceted gem

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
C.R.A.F.T.
Crafty Creations
Crafty Friends
Crafty Hazelnut's
Get Creative
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Paper Girls
Time Out

     Enjoy the rest of your weekend.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Day 14, Letter "L" - Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas

     Day 14 and today we get to use the letter "L" on our cards for the 30 Days of Christmas at Beccy's Place.    I've used a sweet image with Lambs around the manger which holds the Lamb of God.  I also did Lots of Layers and used a Beccy's sentiment - "Let us adore Him."

Colored with ProMarkers
Glitter added to halo
Die cut with stitched die (Die-namics)
Gold sparkle paper from Recollections (Unbranded die)
Blue CS cut with pinpoint die from Memory Box
Stitched ribbon from Crafty Ribbons
White card base
3 layers on the sentiment (unbranded dies)
A total of 8 layers including the card base

     Challenges:
Cardz TV
Colour Crazy
C.R.A.F.T.
Cute Card Thurs
Outlawz Twisted Thurs.
Paperbabe Stamps
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Take It, Make It
Time Out

     Have a great day and find some crafting time.  It'll strengthen your spirit.  :-)  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Christmas Skates

     THIS IS IT !  A new challenge blog, Jan's Digi Stamps, starts today and I'm so happy to be part of the DT!  Our theme is always Anything Goes and there is no requirement to use Jan's Digi Stamps, although they are the exclusive sponsor.  However, if you do use images from one of Jan's sets, there will be an extra reward for you if you are the random winner.

     The challenges will begin on the First and Third Mondays of each month and will run until 3 p.m. (Pacific time) the Sunday before the next challenge begins.  Winners and Top 3 will be posted on the Wednesday following the start of the new challenge.

     My card today features an image from Jan's set called "Christmas Skates" and I reversed the black and white image before printing it.

Colored with ProMarkers and gel inks
Image & red frame cut with die from Die-namics
White frame cut with Memory Box die
Hand tied bow with silver snowflake
Sentiment rubber stamp (unknown maker)

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Cardz TV
Colour Crazy
Crafty Catz
Cute Card Thurs
Outlawz Festive Fri
Simon Says Stamp
Southern Girls
Word Art Weds.

     Please come and play with us these next 2 weeks.  Our challenge is not limited to just cards.  You can enter anything you have hand-crafted so it truly is an "Anything Goes" challenge.  The winner is going to walk away with a gift certificate to Jan's Digi Stamps store and we already know you're going to fall in love with Jan's digital artwork so that prize to the random winner is something really special!  Hoping to see you at the challenge.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Day 3 - 30 Days of Christmas at Beccy's Place

     OK, is everybody ready for the "C" prompt?  You should know by now that the next letter in the alphabet will be the theme for the day in the 30 Days of Christmas at Beccy's Place this month.  However, since there are a total of 30 days in the month and only 26 letters in the alphabet, Beccy will be tossing in a few 'curve ball' themes during the month to cover those extra days.

     I used the 4 Calling Birds (Calling?  Where are their Cell phones?) from Beccy's very old 12 Days of Christmas set.  And look -- 2 of them are Cardinals!  I Colored with both ProMarkers and Copics because I have more reds among my Copics, including lovely shades of Cerise and Crimson.

Colored with Copics (reds) and ProMarkers (all the others)
Cut with Die-namics stitched dies
DCWV dp
Stitched ribbon
Snowflake on the bow (This came from an old pair of earrings but since I lost one, I up-cycled the other one into an embellie for this card)

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
C.R.A.F.T.
Cute Card Thurs
Paperminutes
Passion for ProMarkers
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Simon Says Stamp
Stamping Sensations
Word Art Weds.

     Tomorrow I'll have 2 posts again; one for the next Beccy's Place holiday card but the other one will be for the brand new Jan's Digi Stamps challenge blog!  It's always Anything Goes and you're going to have so much fun playing there.  :-D

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Happy Halloween!

My card today is my greeting to all of you on this Halloween day.

     I've used an image that's been in my Halloween collection 
for so long I have no idea which company made it.

Moon & witch legs colored with ProMarkers

Image cut with MFT Die-namics die

Yellow frame was a scrap cut with Sue Wilson die

Embossed card front - Birch Trees

     Challenges:

Color My Heart

Crafty Creations
Crafty Gals Corner
Digi Choosday
Double Trouble (orange, yellow, purple + bats flying)
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Twisted Thurs
Passion for ProMarker
Pattie's Creations
TTCRD

     Enjoy your Halloween day, and be safe tonight when the witches and goblins fly!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Creepy Graveyard

     I got inspired by the "Silhouettes" theme at Double D this fortnight and dug through old stamps and digi images I have which either were silhouettes or could be used as silhouettes with a little help from a black ProMarker or paint brush.  This was a rubber stamp (maker unknown due to its age) but not a silhouette stamp.  I had to make it a silhouette by coloring the open parts of the stamp with black.

Colored with ProMarkers and gel inks
Sentiment backing is 3 layers cut with a Spellbinders die
"Creepy" cut with Die-namics die
Eyelets used on sentiment layers
Bottom edge cut with Cheery Lynn die

     Challenges:
Crafter's Cafe
Creative Inspirations
Creative Moments
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
I {heart} ProMarkers
Paper Shelter
Scrappy Land
Simon Says Stamp
Words to Craft By

     I have a few more Halloween cards coming over the next 3 or 4 days because I discovered that one of my friends, who is a social worker, has a need for several more to give to some of her clients.  What a great excuse for me to make another dozen Halloween cards!  Yippee.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Christmas Reindeer in Blue

     My second post for the day and this one features a Bugaboo Stamps reindeer.  There's a back story to this which I want to share.  A friend and fellow DT member used the prettiest quilting die on a card last week and I fell in love with the die.  I emailed her and, being a good enabler, she shared with me a link to the online shop where she had gotten hers.

     When I visited, my plan was to mind my budget and buy only that one die.  But... well, if you're a true crafter, you already know what happened.  I saw another quilt die that I liked, couldn't decide between them so they both went into my cart.  Then I noticed that if I purchased additional products, I could get free shipping and the shipping cost was pretty much the same as another die (ok, maybe  two), so when all was said and done, I had 5 new die sets in the cart!

     I used one of them as the background on this card, turned as they say in quilting, 'on point.'

Colored with ProMarkers & sequins added for sparkle
Image cut with double stitched die from CUTplorations
Quilted die from Gina Marie
Sentiment die from Die-Namics
Flocked star from Deja Views
Glitter added to some of the quilting pieces

     Challenges:
Catch the Bug
Crafty Hazelnut's ("S"= sparkle, sequins)
Crafty Sentiments
Cute N Crafty Christmas
Double D
House that Stamps Built  (Brrrrr, Bird, Blue, Blocks)
I {heart} ProMarkers
Ike's World
Lemon Shortbread
Scrappy Land
TTCRD

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Golden Libra

     One of my grandsons was born under the sign of Libra and, while I don't usually care much for the Zodiac images I've seen, the set recently released at AuroraWings appealed to me.  I grabbed images for the family birthdays (and there are a lot of them, many duplicated) and this is the first one I've used.  Grandson's birthday is only a couple of months away so...

I was inspired by the "Gold or Silver + 2 Accent colors"

(#356) at Color My Heart's Color Dare.

I chose Gold, plus olive green and kraft.

Colored with ProMarkers
Cut with double stitched die from Die-namics by MFT
Inlaid into gold foil also cut with the same die
Sentiment cut with stitched die, adjusted to get proper shape
Gold jute cord

     Challenges:
AuroraWings
Cardz TV
Colour Crazy
Creative Knockouts
Outlawz Festive Fri
Paperbabe Stamps
Polkadoodles

     That's all for today.  Enjoy your weekend.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Floating By

     It's a lazy kind of weekend at our house.  I've been hiding in the craft room while grandson has a baseball game and the younger granddaughter is working.  Older granddaughter lives in her own house now so who knows what she might be doing.  Sleeping in, probably, if her fur babies allow.   I was working with this sweet image from Limited Runs Progressive Challenge and it seems to perfectly reflect how lazy the day is.

     The coloring on this one is a mix of ProMarkers, watercolor paints, and bleached dp (the pink half circle.)  The image and the sentiment are cut with oval dies from QuicKutz.  The blue rectangle with the cross-stitching was cut with an Unbranded die. 

     The pink circle had been cut with a die from My Favorite Things Die-namics.  I cut it in half for use on another project and this half was left over. 

     The bow was made with a bit of Baker's twine.  Everything (except the image piece) started out as a scrap and I cut them to suit based on how large or small they were.  Even the card base was a left over piece of 12" x 12" CS which had  been used in scrapbooking.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
Crafty Sentiments
Digi Choosday
Dragonfly Dreams
Ike's World
Lemon Shortbread
Passion for ProMarkers
Pile It On
TTCRD

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Beware of ...

     Welcome to the start of another weekly challenge at QKR Stampede.  Our theme is always "Anything Goes" and it's open to any player using any products they choose.  I decided on more silliness because that's what I love best.  :-D

     The image is from QKR and is called "All Tied Up" and the sentiment is from our sister company, Eureka Stamps, called "Beware of Children."

     I colored with my ProMarkers, distressed them lightly with extra fine sandpaper, then used a stitched die from Die-namics (My Favorite Things) to cut the image.  The background is embossed with a folder by Couture Creations. 

     I had that textured red ribbon in my stash and it seemed to match up with his shirt so I wrapped it around the card front.  I have to admit that I much prefer using ribbon over flowers because not only is it flatter for mailing but it's easily used on masculine or feminine cards and flowers seem limited to feminine cards only. 

     The single 'gem' I added to the ribbon was made by adding loose glitter to a tiny circle of metallic foil.

     Challenges:
As You Like It
Colour Crazy
C.R.A.F.T.
Creative Fingers
Cute Card Thurs.
Cute N Crafty
Scrappy Land
Simon Says Stamp
Time Out

     Thanks for coming by to visit and come play with us!  We love being inspired by you.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Best Friend Mermaids

     Tiddly Inks has a freebie this month and it's perfect for a summery, best friend, kind of card.

     I colored with ProMarkers, then cut the image with a stitched Die-namics die by My Favorite Things.  I printed and cut the sentiment with another die from that set.  Both of those circles are inlaid into the circles cut in the background dp and, although it's hard to see, there is stitching on the dp from the Die-namics dies used to cut it.

     I found stitched ribbon in my Crafty Ribbons stash and added it to the background.  The final touch was the mermaid charm at the top.  I added glitter to her for a bit of sparkle. 

     Challenges:
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Creations
Crafty Friends
Cute N Crafty
House that Stamps Built
Jo's Scrap Shack
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Simon Says Stamp
Simon Says Stamp & Show
Word Art Weds

     OK, tomorrow is another DT day, this time at QKR Stampede so be sure to come by and visit.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie