A Dragon's Gift

     Today I'm sharing my card for another of the progressive challenges in which I play regularly, this one at Dragon's Lair.  I'm using it for one more masculine birthday card since I use quite a few of those throughout the summer months.  Males were popular in my family from May through September.  :-D

     I wasn't sure what color combo I was going to use when I started coloring this image but I love what happened to it during the process.  Can you believe I started with pale green dragons?  They just didn't work once I decided on the purple wings.  So, I grabbed both khaki and tan ProMarkers to cover the green, blending the colors with the blender as I went along. 

     I cut the image and the frame with dies from QuicKutz.  The image was printed on a piece of scrap CS, and the frame piece was also in the scrap basket.  There was just enough of it to cut the frame.  The three purple dp strips all came from cutting a scrap and I inked the edges of them once they were cut.

     I thought three sets of three, tiny pearls would be a simple embellishment and they dressed up the card without making it feminine instead of masculine.  I printed the sentiment, hand-cut it, and again, inked the edges.  Still a simple design and flat enough to mail easily.

     Challenges:
Crafty Sentiments
Cute N Crafty
Digi Choosday
Dragonfly Dreams
Everybody Art
Pile It On
Pixie's Snippets
TTCRD
Unicorn

     I'm already thinking about some more vacation time next month and trying to make sure all my various DT projects are done and pre-scheduled.  I'll have to figure out how to get all the progressive challenges done.  Fortunately, I'll be home the early part of the month and the last part so I'm sure I can make it work out.  :-D   Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Dance from the Heart

     I love the sweet little ballerina image which is the freebie for the monthly progressive challenge at Dragon's Lair.  It brings back such wonderful childhood memories.  Strange as it may seem since I was a true tomboy in all other aspects of my childhood, I was in ballet classes from age 6 to about 12 and I loved dancing!  Our ballet school was prominent enough to put on 3 performances per year in our local municipal auditorium and I participated in all of them.  We were quite famous, locally.  :-D

     At first, I thought about a pink and girly color theme but then decided that pale lavender would work just as well and I could use dp with both lavender and pink in it.  I colored with ProMarkers, then fussy cut the image.

     I chose a lavender card base, found dp from Recollections, trimmed it to size and added it on top of the card base.  I wanted it to be a bit more feminine so I added the lace to it after weaving through the pink, satin, ribbon.

     The feather is a peacock feather from a 'white' peacock.  My granddaughter collected a huge number of feathers at one of our local parks where they have a peacock enclosure.  She only gathered the ones which have been shed naturally by the birds.  Until she brought these to me, I had no idea that the 'white' peacock feathers were so beige.  :-D

    I mounted the ballerina on Pop Dots, then put it right over the feather.  The sentiment is printed, hand cut, and inked before layering it onto the ribbon.

     Challenges:
Allsorts
Aloha Friday
Aud Sentiments
Crafting with Friends
Creative Fingers
Creative Inspirations
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
Outlawz Twisted Thurs
TTCRD

     Hey, we're halfway to the weekend!  For those of you not yet retired, that's important.  For those of us who are actually retired, weekdays often feel like weekends and vice versa.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

The Fairy Sleeps

     Another really fun image this month from Dragon's Lair for their progressive challenge on their FB page.  I love that the fairy is curled up asleep in the flower with the dragon watching over her.

     I used ProMarkers, Copics, and water color pencils to color the image.  I used dies from QuicKutz and Sizzix to cut and mat the image.  The background dp came from my scrap stash.  I added three of my signature bows and a tiny rose bud, and called it finished.

     Challenges:
Crazy Challenge
Cutie Pie
Double D
Everybody Art
Ike's World
Lemon Shortbread
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Outlawz Greetings
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
TTCRD

     Thanks so much for stopping by and enjoy your weekend.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Bunny Hugs

     This sweet bunny image came from The Dragon's Lair and is for their Progressive Challenge on FB.  I know it would make a cute Easter card but I also think it would be great for a new baby card or even for a first birthday.  With the little hearts in the image, it would even work as a Valentine.

     I colored with ProMarkers, deciding to use mostly my favorite lavenders and purples.  The image is cut with an Unbranded die.  I embossed the front of my card with my "Linen" folder, then wrapped a strip of lace around it.  I added a narrow strip of ribbon to the center of the lace and, unfortunately, it looks deep pink in the photo when it's actually lilac.

     The image oval went on next, and finally I added the embroidered dragonfly as an embellishment.

     Challenges:
Crafty Creations
Crafty Gals Corner
Cute Card Thurs.
Digi Choosday
I {heart} ProMarkers
Mod Squad
Passion for ProMarkers
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Word Art Weds.

     That's it for me today.  Be sure to come by tomorrow when I have another DT card for QKR Stampede.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

"Never Forget" Belated Birthday

     I know the title of this post is a complete contradiction but I'm using this card for a birthday which I did forget so...  The cute little elephant is an image from Dragon's Lair January Progressive challenge

     I colored with my ProMarkers, then cut the image with a square die from QuicKutz.  The two rectangular pieces of dp are cut with Chain Link dies from Gina Marie.  Both of those papers are from SU.

     The card front is dry embossed with a bamboo embossing folder.  I printed the sentiment, hand cut it, inked the edge, and mounted it onto the card front.  Because this is a masculine birthday card, I did no fru-fru embellishing.

     Challenges:
Color Inspiration Monday
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Sentiments
Digi Choosday
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Passion for ProMarkers
Simon Says Stamp
TTCRD
Tuesday Throwdown

     I'm off to get this into the mail so that it won't be any later reaching the recipient.  Bad enough that I forgot to get the card made in time for it to arrive on his birthday!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Walk in the Woods

     The best place to be on a hot summer day is walking through the shade of the woods.  We had a mild weekend but our temperatures are rising rapidly and we're in for some really hot ones so this image from the progressive challenge over at Dragon's Lair was a perfect way to think cool.

     For this one, I got out my tray of watercolor paints and a couple of brushes, then colored the entire thing in watercolor.  I managed the cloud by swirling water on the already painted and dry sky, then let it dry.  That lifted out some of the sky color and created some fabulous shadows in the cloud.

     I cut the image and the frame with dies from QuicKutz.  Everything else was done with scraps which were already on my desk; paper, ribbon, mesh, sentiment and mat for it..  The foxes and the bird are tiny die cuts (Memory Box and Die-namics) which were double layered before gluing them to the image piece.  I added a bit of ribbon and some mesh, then tied a bow of a lighter green scrap of ribbon.

     Challenges:
Allsorts
Crafting from the Heart
Hiding in My Craft Room
Incy Wincy
Jo's Scrap Shack
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Not Just Cards
Ribbon Girl
Sweet Stampin'
Sunsational Stamps

     Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Be Awesome!

     It's time for the latest Progressive challenge at Dragon's Lair and I think this image of a 1920s Flapper is marvelous!

     I had things spread all over my craft desk when I printed this image and I knew I would have to spend half an hour clearing and organizing things before I could make a real start on the image and the card.  So I set myself the task of using only what was on the desk to make this card.  When I picked up whatever the thing was, I had to use it for this project before I put it away.  Tough challenge!  Don't believe me?  Try it next time you are cleaning up your craft area.  lol

     I had three ProMarkers, one blue, another very dark green, and the third was "Almond" which I used for her skin.  All shading was done by adding more layers of the same color.  I had a rubber background stamp and a green ink pad so I inked up the stamp, stamped it a couple of times on a scrap of paper, then stamped it directly over the colored image for some visual texture.  I love that so much, I'm going to try that again on other projects.

     The two shades of CS came from scraps which were on my desk and I cut them with a die from Spellbinders which hadn't been put away from using it for another card I made over the weekend.  Since I only had that one die, both of my die cuts are the same size and I layered them together by offsetting them.

     The green strip which looks a bit like ribbon is actually another scrap of CS but I used it as ribbon, adding a small bow which had been white but I "dyed" it with the blue ProMarker.  Finally, I had a few white daisies which needed to go back into the flower embellies jar so I put one of them onto the corner.

     Finally, I had a rubber sentiment stamp so I used it for the sentiment, even though I had originally printed a sentiment when I printed the image.  What do you think?  Did my personal challenge result in something credible?  I think so.  :-D

     Challenges:
Cards in Envy
Crafting from the Heart
Glitter n Sparkle
Outlawz Colors
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Pixie's Snippits
Through the Craft Room Door
Tuesday Throwdown

     OK, that was a long read but I had such fun after challenging myself for this creation that I wanted to share it all with you.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

New Hatchling

     My Great-niece is expecting her first baby and reports are that it will be a boy.  So, I'm already thinking of quilt patterns and baby showers.  This card uses an adorable image of a new owl hatchling which I thought would make a great card for a new baby boy.  The image came from the Dragon's Lair Progressive Challenge (on their Facebook page.)

     The little owlet is colored with chalks but I did his broken egg shell with ProMarkers.  I also used ProMarkers on the background.  I cut the image with one of my Pinpoint Rectangle dies from Memory Box.

     I added two frames, one in navy blue and one in sky blue, both cut with Gina Marie dies.  Since this is a masculine card, I kept it really CAS, adding only the tiny blue hearts and a simple, hand-tied, polka dot bow.

     Challenges:
Brown Sugar
Chalk n Stock
Crafty Sentiments
Digi Choosday
Di's Digi Designs
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz Greetings
Stamping Sensations
Word Art Weds.

     Well, we're halfway to the work week and I've had a really busy three days so far.  As I glance at my calendar, it isn't going to get any quieter much before the weekend so for now, I'll just say "Happy Stamping" and be on my way.  :-D  NanaConnie

Unicorn Moon

     The spring equinox is always special, bringing a subtle change from the dark days of winter but even more magical is the first full moon of spring.  I always knew it was a time of fantastical creatures and now we have proof!  :-D

     The unicorn image is from Dragon's Lair Designs and, once again, I colored with polychromos pencils.  If I keep practicing with them, I might actually get good.  I did add a few glittery stars to the sky with a sparkle gel pen but they just don't show in the photo.  After coloring, I cut the image with a plain square die (QuicKutz) and mounted it in the center of a larger blue CS square, which I put on the front of the card base.

     All the leaves were cut from scrap CS with a die from Cheery Lynn and they are embossed, giving the card some great texture.  The orchid flowers were in my stash.  I have no idea how long I've had them but I don't think I've ever used them so it definitely was time.  They, too, added texture.

     Challenges:
Brown Sugar
Colour Crazy Craft
Come and Get It
Di's Digi Designs
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz Festive Friday
Polkadoodles
Take It, Make It

     That's all for me today.  Have a wonderful Monday and may your week be filled with creative pursuits.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Topsy Turvy Cake for a Snake

     I'm playing along in another fun, progressive challenge, this time at Dragon's Lair.  I guess if you can have Snakes on a Plane, I suppose they must have birthdays to celebrate, too.  But how would they blow out the candles on their cakes?

I used the sketch from Stella Says Sketch and

colors from House of Cards.

  

     I used  Koh-I-Noor pencils to color the image and discovered that they are significantly different from the ones I have been using so I'll have to practice more before I feel really comfortable with them but I do like the 'creaminess' of them.  It might also help if I wasn't using them on watercolor paper.

     The green stripes at the bottom were cut from scraps and the image just fit a plain square die from Spellbinders so I cut it with that die.  The ribbon is sparkly and was in my stash.  I punched the three flowers out of sparkle CS, put pearls in the centers, and then found the three golden pearls for the upper corner.  The silly sentiment about "Hiss Out the Candles" is my own, of course.

     Challenges:
Craftaholics
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Catz
Glitter n Sparkle
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Paper Nest Dolls
Simon Says Stamp

     That's it for today except to wish you Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Winter Beauty

     A quick bit of background for this card:  I played in one of the games at Dragon's Lair FB page this past week and was one of the players who won a freebie image (of my choice.)   Dragon's Lair used to be Stamping with the Dragon and I have many of their darling dragon images.  But this time I fell in love with this glorious "Winter Beauty" digi the instant I saw her.

     I got her this morning and immediately started planning a hugely fancy or vintage card with the image done in lots of sparkle and shimmer and glimmer and embellishments all over.   Then I printed her and started coloring and suddenly I knew this had to be a totally one-layer, CAS card with the image done as simply as possible.

     I colored her with ProMarkers and used chalks to burnish the edges of the card front.  The sentiment just belonged at the top (though I usually put them at the bottom of single layer cards) and the only adornment is done with the three tiny pearls, added mainly so I could enter the challenge at Dragon's Lair, "Three of a kind."  I inked the edges of the card front so that there would be some sort of 'frame.'

     Challenges:
A Snowflakes Promise
Chalk n Stock
Crafting from the Heart
Craft Your Passion
Crafty Friends
Crafty Girls Creations
Cutie Pie
Dragonfly Journeys
I {heart} ProMarkers
Inspiration Destination
Jo's Scrap Shack
Not Just Cards
Outlawz CAS
Outlawz Greetings
Outlawz Friday Coloring
Simon Says Stamp
Simply Papercraft
WordArt Weds.
   
     This is a second post today but I was just so excited about getting this beautiful image turned into another card for the Christmas stash that I couldn't wait to post it.  I may have another post for tomorrow if I get the card pieces lying on my desk finished.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie