Walking the Pug

      My "third" granddaughter, more or less adopted by the entire family when she became a room mate to my eldest granddaughter, has the cutest "ugly" pug dog in the whole world, named Eva.  When I ran across this image at Wink Wink Ink (I was lucky enough to win a challenge they sponsored), I grabbed it immediately and here's what I did with it.

     I had just finished my first "Hat" easel card (see this post) and I guess my mind was still on doing easels because before I realized it, I was doing a second easel card this morning.

Colored w pencils and ProMarkers

Image is fussy cut w scissors

Brown doily cut w QuicKutz die

Circle cut w QuicKutz die

Image mounted on dimensional dots

Paper from Recollections stack

Sentiment mounted on dimensional dots

Easel is an A2 card folded lengthwise

     Challenges:

Cardz TV

Colour Crazy

Crafty Sentiments

Creative Creases

Digi Choosday

Ike's World

Lemon Shortbread

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paperbabe

TTCRD

     Thanks for stopping by and I hope you've enjoyed your visit.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Dancing in Your Mind

     I remember 6 years of childhood ballet classes (and more than a few performances) and, all these years later, my mind tells me I could still do it.  My body, however, rebels at the idea so the dancing is only in my mind.  Today's sentiment was inspired by that.  :-D

     The card features an image from Fabrika Fantasy - I think it's called Fire Fairy.  I colored it with a combination of polychromos pencils and ProMarkers, trying to keep an underlying 'sepia' tone, highlighted with bright yellow.  I cut the image with one of my newer stitched dies from Cheapo Dies.

     I matted it with black CS and shaped the corners with a Fiskars' punch.  The card itself was shaped with one of my extra large dies from Spellbinders, then folded in half.  I added the glittered ribbon and laid down a row of bronze pearls to accent the sepia look. 

     I put one, tiny, bronze, pearl on the opposite side and then added the sentiment.

     Challenges:
Crafting by Designs
Crafty Creations
Crafty Gals Corner
Di's Digi Designs
Fabrika Fantasy
I {heart} ProMarkers
Jo's Scrap Shack
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Unicorn

     Thanks for stopping by and I appreciate all your comments.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Hoppy Bunnies

     I'm sure every child believes that an Easter celebration must be filled with hopping bunnies so I'm doing my best to give them that. 
:-D

I started with the sketch from Stella Says Sketch

but I had to eliminate the half-circle 

because I just couldn't get it to work.

I used the purple crocuses instead.

     That darling image is from Bugaboo Stamps and I colored it with my polychromos pencils and ProMarkers.  I cut the image with a die from Sue Wilson and then cut the backing for it with another die from that same set.

     I had already decided that I wanted to do a monochromatic theme so I chose my favorite color, purple.  The background CS is hand bleached with a Q-tip, a long process but I take an entire weekend to do several sheets of different colors all at once and then keep them for future use.

     I added lilac ribbon to the white lace and wrapped it around the card front before adding the image and sentiment.  I tied a tiny bow using purple baker's twine and then added the flower embellies, plus pearl gems at the top of the image.  The flowers are sparkly with glitter for a tiny bit more bling.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Allsorts
Angie's Digital Stamps
Catch the Bug (gems/mono/twine)
Crafter's Castle
Crafting from the Heart
Hiding in My Craft Room (top row & middle column)
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Pammie's Inky Pinkies

     Check back in a few more hours when the QKR Stampede challenge will go live (midnight Eastern time or 3:00 a.m. Pacific time) and you'll see the DT card I did for this week.  In the meantime, those of you on the other side of the world who are awake when I'm sleeping, good morning to all of you and thanks for visiting.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Home Sweet (Fairy) Home

     I have new neighbors moving in down the street and did a card to welcome them to the neighborhood.  This sweet, little, mushroom-fairy-house is from Sasayaki Glitter.

     I colored this one with my Lyra polychromos pencils (practice, practice, practice!) and cut it with a stitched scalloped circle die from Memory Box.  I cut another circle with the same die and off set it behind the image.  I had a small scrap of that dp left after the circle was cut so I added it below the circles.  The only embellishment I added was the pewter gray bow with the pearl.

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft
Colour Crazy
Come and Get It
Fussy and Fancy
Not Just Cards
Polkadoodles
Stempelsonnen
Sweet Stampin'
World Wide DT Open

     The week marches on and time is getting away from me already!  My list grows longer and the number of things accomplished each day gets shorter.  Sigh... ah, well, Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Life is Ducky

     No, this isn't a "rubber ducky" kind of post but the "Life is Ducky" title still works.  :-D  It's Friday again so this post must be for the newest challenge over at QKR Stampede.  Of course, we have our usual "Anything Goes" theme but our optional twist this week is "Feathered Friends."   I used this darling little ducky image called "Sitting on a Log."

     As long as I've served on the QKR DT and as many images as I had purchased before I became part of the DT, somehow I had missed this image until they got the new store up and running a couple of months ago.  As soon as I saw the "Feathered Friends" option for this week, I knew I had to use this image.

     This time I colored with my Lyra pencils and then added some tones and highlights with my ProMarkers.  I'm getting to really like how combining polychromos pencils and alcohol markers gives a more intense look than either of those mediums alone.

     I cut the image with a Gina Marie die and cut both the frame and background pieces with stitched dies from Die-namics.  I added twine and one of my tiny, hand-sewn bows for embellishments.  The sentiment is stamped, hand cut, matted, and hand cut again.  The end result for this card is a CAS, masculine card which is versatile enough for any occasion.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Crafting from the Heart
Incy Wincy
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Outlawz CAS
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Quirky Crafts
Ribbon Girl
Stamping Sensations
Take It, Make It

     I do hope you're going to come and play in our challenge this week.  We get as inspired by you as you do by us.  See you over on the QKR Stampede challenge blog.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie  

Windmill for Spring

     We're starting a new challenge at Ike's World today and, as usual, we have an Anything Goes theme.  However, our optional theme this fortnight is "Easter or Spring Flowers."   The one time I got to visit friends in the Netherlands, all the tulips were in bloom and I have never forgotten the sight of windmills and tulips so Ike's glorious image of "Windmill" was the one I definitely had to use.

    I used my polychromos pencils to color the image, then die cut it and the dp/CS frames with stitched dies from Die-namics and pinpoint dies from Memory Box.  The dp I chose were all scrap pieces, as were two of the ribbons I used.

     The ribbon for the bow doesn't count as a scrap since I make up those bows by the dozens, toss them into my stash and then pull them out as needed.  The bow was white but I "dyed" it with a ProMarker.

     I used as many different geometric patterns as I could find in both the papers and the ribbons for some visual texture, keeping everything within the same color family so that it wouldn't be too "busy."

     Challenges:
Crafty Catz
Colour Crazy
Creates and Makes
Creative Inspiration
Double D
Outlawz Twisted Thurs
Quick Quotes
Scrapy Land
Sugar Pea
Work It Wednesday

     I hope you'll come and join our challenge this week.  You can use any image from any company but we tap out our happy dance whenever you use images from Ike's Art.  :-D  No requirement to use the optional theme, either, so feel free to enter anything you've created.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie     

Hatched Just in Time

     I've been working on Easter cards since it does arrive in  April this year and I want to make sure I have enough done to get them in the mail on time.  Here's another one for today's post, using a stamp from Angie's Digital Stamps.  Doesn't he look like he hatched out just in time to be an Easter chick?

I used the sketch from Crafter's Cafe.

     The image is colored with a combination of polychromos pencils and ProMarkers, and I cut it with stitched circle dies from Die-namics.  The dp for the background strips all came from scraps and I matted them with dark green CS.

     The flowers are some of those I made up a few weeks ago by pulling up a running stitch I had sewn through one side of sheer ribbon.  There are beaded pearls in the centers. I also added three pearls beside the sentiment piece.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
Color Sisters (center column)
Crafting When We Can
House of Cards
Path of Positivity
Pixie's Snippets
Ribbon Girl
Stamping Sensations

     I hope your weekend so far has been filled with good weather and creativity, and that you find plenty of time to rest and recharge.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie  

It's Your Day !

     This is a card which celebrates anything and everything, but mostly lets the recipient know that I'm thinking of them.  I suppose it could be used as a birthday card but is has so much more potential with the sentiment written that way!  :-D

I found the sketch over at Cheerful Sketches.

     I used a combo of ProMarkers and my polychromos pencils to color this fun image which happens to be the freebie from the Progressive challenge at Sasayaki Glitter.  I used stitched dies from Die-namics to cut all the pieces.

     The blue ribbon was in my stash and the bow is one of those I make by the dozens and toss in my stash for future use.  This one was white until I dyed it with a ProMarker.  I wanted this to be as CAS as possible, given the layered look of the sketch.

     Challenges:
Animal Friends
Aussie Digital Artists
CCC Digi
Crafter's Cafe
Crafty Awesomeness
Creative Sketchy Girls
Sasayaki Glitter Blog
Sasayaki Glitter Progressive
Tuesday Throwdown

     We're halfway through the week and the weekend will be here before you know it!  I'm thinking about running away this weekend -- taking some time away from the computer, away from blogging, away from crafting, away from the fur babies -- ooops, I may have to rethink that.  They both glared at me as soon as they read that last part.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Old World Santa for Holiday Chaos Day 1

     I said they were being posted out of order but this is my card for the Holiday Chaos Day 1 challenge at Catch the Bug, "All that Sparkles."  I've already shared the card for Day 2.

     I used one of the sweet 'Old World Santas' from Bugaboo Stamps for this really CAS card.  I printed the santa and the sentiment onto the same piece of scrap CS, then I colored it with ProMarkers, colored pencils, and lots of glitter on the tree and fur on Santa's coat.  Pretty simple with just three colors; red, green, and white.  I cut it into a simple rectangle, added ribbon, and put it on the front of a red card base.

     I found two, glittery candy canes in my stash and used those for embellishment.  I told you it was a really CAS design, one of my favorite techniques.  :-D

     Challenges:
Aloha Friday
Christmas Cards
Crafting with an Attitude
Crafty Calendar
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas
Creative Inspirations
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
Polkadoodles

     I won't be able to do Day 3 but with any luck I might be able to squeeze in the ones for Day 4 and Day 5.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie    

Christmas Tags

     Friday always means that a new challenge is starting over at QKR Stampede and our theme this week will help you get your "Christmas Tags" done.  I don't know why these are always the last things I get done each year when they are so simple and fast!  But here are a couple I managed and more will follow, I'm sure.

       

Colors came from MarkerPOP.

      The first one is done with Digi 15702 Pine Sprig and the second uses the sentiment Digi 14804 Peace and Love.

     The Pine Sprig is colored with Shin Han Touch markers, enhanced by Lyra colored pencils, then I added glitter to everything but the pine cones.  The sentiment is printed onto a scrap of white CS and both of the tag shapes are cut and punched.  I added the sparkly jute cord and called the project finished.

     Challenges:
613 Avenue Create
Addicted to Stamps
Crafting From the Heart
Craft Your Passion
Crafty Sentiments
Crazy Challenge
Die Cuttin' Divas
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Pixie's Snippets

     I hope we're going to see you play along this week and get a few of those gift tags done.  You know you're going to need them before the season ends.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Thankful for Family

     This is the most adorable pair of owls!  The image is called Oliver and Olivia and I've used it as my DT card for the November challenge at Sheepski Designs.  The theme is "Anything Goes."  When you check it out on the Facebook page, just look for the album under "Photos" with the November/December challenge.

     I colored the owls with a combination of Lyra pencils and ProMarkers, then distressed the edges of the image after cutting it with a square die (Spellbinders.)   I matted the image and distressed the edges of the mat also.  I used an embossing folder on the background, added the lace bow and the sentiment, and left it very CAS since this one has to be mailed.

     Challenges:
Crafting from the Heart
Craft Your Passion
Crafty Creations
Creative Moments
Cutie Pie
Die Cuttin' Diva
Digi Choosday
I {heart} ProMarkers
One Stitch at a Time
Pile It On
Scrapy Land
Sisterhood of Crafters

     If you played in our challenge last month, be sure to stop by and see if you're a winner.  Then get something made and enter it for this newest challenge.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

The Dragon Queen

     Our newest challenge starts today over at Morgan's ArtWorld and this time we want you to "Use Something from Your Stash."   I used the image "Dragon" to make this card and I'll give you a running total of all the stash items I used.

     I colored the dragon with my Polychromos pencils and cut it with a simple rectangle die from Spellbinders (item 1 from my stash.)  I used an old embossing folder from Darice (item 2 from the stash) to emboss a scrap of vellum (item 3), then found two strips of ribbon to wrap around the card front (irtem 4.)

     The bow is one of those I sew together and toss into the stash (item 5) so that I have them when I need them.  This one was originally white but I 'dyed' it with a ProMarker to get the shade of coral/ orange I wanted.

     Challenges:
Catch the Bug
Color Crazy Craft
Creative Fingers
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz PAM
Pencil Case
Polkadoodles
Southern Girls
Take It, Make It

     Dig out goodies from your stash and come play with us during this next fortnight.   Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

New DT Spot with Ike's Art!

     I'm thrilled and excited to announce that I'm going to be working with the DT at Ike's Art!  This is my card for the Ike's World Challenge which starts today with a theme of "Girl Power" and with this theme, we are also honoring all the women who have fought Breast Cancer.  I used "Fashionista."

I based this on the October sketch from Kraftin' Kimmie.

     I colored the image with my Lyra Polychromos pencils, sticking with a color combo of pinks, and doing my best to improve on my shading and highlighting techniques.  I'm learning slowly but shading with pencils is so very different than doing it with alcohol markers!

     I cut the image with one of my Stitched Rectangle dies from Die-namics.  I also pieced together two different bits of dp, then used another, larger, stitched rectangle die on those and used them as the background for the image.  All the other papers and CS were scraps left on my desk from another project (I'll post that project in a few days) and the ribbon was also a scrap left in my stash.  The white bow was the only embellishment this needed.

     I did sentiments which I knew would be encouraging to any cancer survivor.  I remember the cards and prayers I got when I was undergoing my own battle with breast cancer (15 year survivor now!) and how much the love and encouragement meant to me.

     Challenges;
Brown Sugar
Catch the Bug
Cut It Up
Di's Digi Designs
Pencil Case
Scrapper's Delights
Scrapy Land
Southern Girls
Time Out
Unicorn

     I would love to see you playing along in our challenge at Ike's.  No requirement to use one of her images in order to enter but we love seeing them if you have them.  Check out the blog or the FB page.  There are freebies available there.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie