Woodland Critters

     A second post today because I just had to share a tag I made using the mid-month freebie from Conjuror of Dreams for their Tag Challenge.  They do 2 tag challenges each month on their FB site and I didn't get one finished in time for the first challenge in November so I didn't want to be late with this one.  They offer freebies to use in the tag challenge and those alone make it totally worth playing.  :-D

     Isn't this the cutest collection of woodland critters building their winter snowman?  I used kraft CS for the tab and made the shape myself by cutting a rectangle with a die from QuicKutz and then cutting the top corners with a punch from EK Success.  The image is pre-colored and I used it "as is" instead of printing it in grayscale and coloring it myself.  I added pearls to the sides and bottom, then added a "To/From" stamp to the back.  Red twine was added through the hole on top finished it off.

     Challenges:

Ally's Angels

C.R.A.F.T.

Craft Rocket

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Creative Inspiration

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Friday

     That's it for today.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Christmas Eve Bedtime

      I've done a few Christmas cards over the last month or so but haven't gotten very many of them posted, just one which I did for the FarmQuest Country Christmas last week (click HERE to see it.)  But today, I thought it would be fun to show you another of them, and this one will be for one of the newest great-grands this year.

     This is an older image from QKR Stampede, called "Baby Bear" and I colored him in traditional Christmas colors of red and green.  I used my Sanjoki markers, then cut the image with a Tonic Studios die.  I cut a scrap of dp to make the frame around the image but I can't tell you who the maker of that dp was.  The background was made with strips of paper from an old EK Success Christmas stack.  Some of the strips have gold embossing on them.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

Creative Inspirations

Digi Choosday

Passion for Markers

Penny's P-C

Simon Says Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Smiling Snail

      I miss having the challenges at QKR Stampede and can hardly wait to put the design team back together and get them started up again.  But since the QKR and the Eureka Stamps brands (sister brands) are still up for sale, that won't happen until there's a new buyer and a new store.  QKR Stampede is still sponsoring a few challenges so we're not gone altogether but if you know anyone who might be interested in owning those brands, let us know!  :-D

     In the meantime, I simply had to keep my hand in by coloring and using a QKR Stampede image, this one called "Smiling Snail."  The sentiment is also from QKR.  I used my Sanjoki markers to color the snail, then cut it with a Spellbinders die.  I believe that set of square Spellbinders dies was the first set of dies I ever purchased and that goes back a long way!  

     The sentiment was printed and cut with a Tonic Studios die.  The background dp came from a package of scrapbooking paper by EK Success.  I tied a double loop using my bow maker and sheer blue ribbon.

I pulled colors from My Favorite Things,

(using a tiny bit of red on his eyes and spots.)

     Challenges:

Creative Fingers

Die Cut Divas

Let's Craft and ...

Outlawz Monday

Pammie's IP

Paper Shelter

Simon Says Stamp

     That's all I have for today but I'll be back in a couple of days with a new card for the FarmQuest General Store challenge.  Be sure to check back then.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Be a Dragon?

      I'll have two posts today and this is the first of them.  I have a grown granddaughter who adores dragons as much as I do and we both love the "How to Train Your Dragon" movies.  I often make cards featuring dragons just for her, without needing any particular occasion.  This is one of those and it features a clip art image of our favorite dragon.  I'm sure you'll recognize him.  Yep, that's Toothless!     :-D

     This one was pre-colored so I didn't have to do anything other than print the image, cut it with a simple rectangle die from Spellbinders, and ink the edges with an ink pad.  The background is a scrap of dp from an EK Success stack.  That was probably my favorite paper in the entire stack and I've used it on half a dozen cards in the last couple of weeks.  I think this is the last of it but there may be another small scrap or two in the basket.  I'm already missing it.  lol

     The small bow is one of my signature, hand-sewn bows which I make by the dozen and toss into my stash for future use.  I see it's about time to start making another batch because the supply is getting low.  I used to use different colored ribbons to make them but then I discovered I could use white ribbon and "dye" the bows any color I wanted with my markers.  The great advantage in that is I can match up any one of the colors I've used when coloring an image.  However, since I didn't color this image, I just used a deep blue that complemented the background paper.

     Challenges:

Creatalicious

Creative Moments

Gem of a Challenge

Happy ... Stampers

Let's Craft & Create

Outlawz Tuesday

Pammie's IP

     Be sure to stop by again in a couple of hours when my second post of the day goes live.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Monkey Business

      It's time for another weekly challenge over at Crafty Catz and this time our sponsor is Last Minute Manda.  I'm using one of the cute images they supplied to the DT, which came from a set called Monkey Birthday.  This is only one of the images in the set and all the others are just as cute.

     Our theme at Crafty Catz is always "Anything Goes" but we have an optional twist each week if you choose to use it.  Our optional theme this week is "Celebration."

     I used both Sanjoki and ProMarkers to color this image, taking special care to make the balloons as translucent as possible.  I cut the image with a Cutz die and then layered that onto dp from EK Success.  I printed and fussy cut the sentiment.  I added one of my signature style bows and called it finished.  I think this will make a great birthday card for a young boy, although I've known a lot of grown men who never outgrew their love of silly monkeys.  :-D

I used colors from Dragonfly Dreams.

     Challenges:

Ally's Angels

Bastel-Traum

Creatalicious

Creative Fingers

Happy ... Stampers

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Thurs

Pattie's Creations

Star Stampz

     Come play with us this week.  We love seeing what you create.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie