Nativity Cards

      I have two more Christmas cards to share with you this morning.  I hadn't really intended to make any more Christmas cards this month but I happened to get a new, Crafter's Companion, double die I had ordered and, since I've never had one of those before, I had to try it out right away.

     The die is made to cut two layers of CS at the same time, which then can be used on one card.  I used two shades of brown CS for the cuts, then layered them together.  I had already run them through my Cuttlebug using my Linen EF before cutting.  

     I chose some blue, glitter CS for the background, and I think it made a delightful night sky.  The 'star' is also part of the die (as you'll see on the second card.)  I used a gold paint pen on the star before adding it to the sky, and also used it on the cut outs of Mary and Joseph.  I saved the cut out pieces for yet another project.  The sentiment is from QKR Stampede and I fussy cut it.

     Being a frugal crafter, I simply couldn't bear to toss out the leftover negatives from the original die cutting, so I made a second card, layering the two pieces together after reversing the one which had the 'negative' star.  This time I used the two shades of brown CS, plus a bottom layer of cream CS. 

     I found a scrap of lavender CS for the background.  I added some sparkle to the star by coloring the space with a Sakura glitter pen.  The "Merry Christmas" sentiment is from Eureka Stamps, printed and fussy cut.

     Challenges:

12 Months Christmas

Christmas Crafts ... (7 palm trees)

Crafter's Cafe

Happy ... Stampers

Peace on Earth

Sparkles Christmas

     Happy Stamping (and die cutting!)  NanaConnie  

Nativity in Kraft

     My sweet daughter bought me another new die this year, also from DIY Scrapbooking, and I wanted to test it right away, right out of the package.  I was siting at my craft desk and the closest paper to me was a scrap of kraft CS so I grabbed it and ran it through the Big Shot.  I really had no intention of using the cut but when I tossed it aside, it landed on some black CS and the design just popped!

     Next thing I knew, I was trimming the black CS to size, gluing down the Nativity, and coloring the star with gold paint pen.  I made a square card from kraft CS and cut the sentiment from cream colored, sparkly CS, using a die from Die-Versions.  This made a really CAS card which looks far more complex than it is.

     Not exactly traditional Christmas colors but I love the end result !

     Challenges:

AAA Cards

Creative Fingers

Dare2BArtzy

Digi Choosday

Outlawz Mon

Paperbabe

Peace on Earth

Polkadoodles

Simon Says Stamp

Winter Wonderland

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

K is for Kite Fold

      This is a fold I've never tried before and I found it on the Beccy's Place blog in the list of tutorials she's done.  There are so many fancy fold cards in that list and the one I used for this card is called a Kite Fold.  What better fold to use for the Letter "K"?   I also used Kings and Kraft.

     If you haven't looked at the tutorial, the top fold is angled to make the top of the kite by folding in the corners on each side.  The shape at the bottom of the kite is made by cutting away the corners on a diagonal.  The card opens at the top the same way a tent fold card opens.

     The three kings are from one of Beccy's Christmas sets, but they are from an older set, not her most recent Kings.  They are pre-colored and, when I printed them, I sized them to about 1 1/4 inches tall.  The Nativity figures came from another set completely and are also pre-colored.  I sized them to about 1 1/2 inches, then printed everything.  I fussy cut each image and placed them on the kite shape card front.  The crossed pieces which substitute for the kite frame are thin strips cut from a scrap of dp.

     Challenges:

AAA Cards

A Perfect Time

As You Like It (Blue or Purple + Kraft, and I love them simply because they're non-traditional)

Classic Design

C.R.A.F.T.

Creative Knockouts

Digi Choosday

     I'm heading back to the craft room to work on cards from "L" through "P" and I hope to be able to post those on the same day the respective letters come up for the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place.  I'm sure Beccy will be throwing in another 'Theme' instead of a letter any time now but if I have these other days already complete, I can just take a pause, make one with the next non-alphabet theme, and have the next letter ready and waiting.  :-D

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Nativity Cards

      Today I'm sharing two more of the 'all die cut' cards I made last month.  These were all donated to a local Senior Center so that seniors who use that center but who have transportation limitations could choose card to give to family and friends.  Not everyone can just run down to the Hallmark store to buy Christmas cards for their grandkids,  :-D

     The two cards feature both the positive and the negative of the same die cut Nativity scene (die from Die-namics), which is why I wanted to share them in the same post.  

     Please take notice of the two sentiments - they are my favorite Christmas sentiments because they both proclaim the basis of Christmas celebrations.  We all love the fun Santa and Elf themes, and woodland critters in the snow are a joy, but Christmas and the birth of the Christ Child is what I celebrate, personally, so these are my favorite sentiments.  :-D

First, the positive:

The Nativity was cut from embossed, glittered CS and

I cut and arranged the pieces so that they would look staggered.

The star shape (which you'll see below) was cut off and used 

on a completely different card.  In fact, this was cut originally 

because I wanted just the star for that other project, 

but I didn't want to waste the rest of the cut.

The sentiment on this one is also done with a Die-namics die

and the two background papers are from the scrap pile.

Now, here's the negative:

All I did was to mount the negative onto a piece of

black CS to make it a silhouette, then trimmed it to fit, 

and layered it onto a background of patterned dp from DCWV.  

Sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

I added one of my signature bows.

     Challenges:

As You Like It

C.R.A.F.T.

Creative Inspirations

House...Stamp Built

Mod Squad

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paperbabe

Word Art Weds

     That's all for today.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Merry Christmas To All

 Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

Let's not forget the reason for the season.

"L" is for Lamb of God

      Another alphabet prompt at Beccy' Place 30 Days of Christmas today and it's the Letter "L."  This manger scene is one of Beccy's sweet Christmas images and works as a great trio with my "J" and "K" cards earlier this week.  However much I adore cutesy Christmas animals, and love using them on cards, the best Christmas animals are always the Little Lambs, donkeys, and camels we see sharing their Love of the Little Lord Jesus in all the Nativity scenes.  

     On this card, I used Layers of ribbon, and did Lettering for the sentiment, plus I colored His halo with Lemon peel colored pencil.

Colored w ProMarkers & pencils

Gray CS front embossed w "Linen" folder

Wide ribbon is embossed with gold

Sheer ribbon for bow is triple layered

Sentiment printed onto image

     Challenges:

ABC Christmas  (X-tra Special)

Aud Sentiments

Colour Crazy

Colouring in Scrapland

Crafty Hazelnut's

I {heart} ProMarkers

Paper Shelter

Time Out

Word Art Weds.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Sparkling Christmas

      Here's the third of those 4 Christmas cards I made using the Nativity die from Cheapo Dies.  This one I did cutting silver glitter paper and using embossed backgrounds in classic red and green.  The sentiment die is from Die-Versions and the red CS is also punched on the corners with a Fiskars punch.  Once the cutting/embossing was done, it took less than 5 minutes to put it together.

     Challenges:

All Fun

Allsorts

Crafter's Castle

Crafty Friends

Crafty Hazelnut's

Creative Knockouts

Cardz TV

Lil Patch of...

Outlawz Festive Fri

Polkadoodles

     Short post but the card was fast and simple so the post should be also.  :-D  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 8, Letter "G" - Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas

     Today we're doing projects prompted by the Letter "G" for Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas.  I went with Garland, made with Beccy's Green holly and berries image which I printed twice and fussy cut, plus Glory to the Newborn King, a sentiment which came with the Baby Jesus image, also fussy cut.

Manger colored with ProMarkers
Holly is pre-colored - ProMarkers used for darker shading
Golden halo is fringed around the edge
White Gel ink for highlights
Glossy Accents added to the berries
Hand sewn bow w/ pearl
Fussy cutting
Kraft card base

     Challenges:
12 Months of Christmas
A Bit More Time ...
A Perfect Time ...
CCC Digi Creation
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafty Hazelnut's (holly)
Creative Craft Cottage
Friendship
Pearly Sparkles

    I'll have one more post today for QKR Stampede so stop back a bit later.  Thanks and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Feline Nativity

  This is the last day of the 2019 Cat Lovers Hop.

 Haven't played before but interested?

Click HERE.

     Feeling that I nearly cheated on yesterday's post because it only had one tiny cat in a die cut, I went a little crazy with die cut cats for this Christmas card.  For those of you who know me and the kinds of cards I enjoy making, you'll see right away that this is outside my "normal" creation.  Still, I do occasionally do cards that are filled with only die cuts so it's not a completely new venture.

Background is dry embossed with "Linen" folder

Manger & star cut with Die-versions die

Cats are cut with Poppy Stamps and Impression Obsession dies

Sentiment cut with Cheery Lynn die

Sparkle paper for manger is from Recollections

     Challenges:

Art Impressions

Cute Card Thurs

Dragonfly Dreams

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends

Outlawz Festive Fri

Pammie's Inky Pinkies

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Polkadoodles

Winter Wonderland

     That wraps up the Cat Lovers Hop for this year but I'm sure we'll all be hopping along next year at this same time.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Nativity Night

     Today Beccy's Place is using "N" as the inspiration prompt for the 30 Days of Christmas cards and I used various parts of the Nativity set, part of which I used for "Kings" a few days ago.  I couldn't use all the parts - it would have been too large for the card.  So this time, I used a different one of the kings and added a shepherd and lamb (reversed in Word so that he was facing the manger.) 

     I love using Nativity scenes at Christmas - it reminds me of the Reason for the Season.

     I remember, as a child, being completely fascinated by a Nativity set my Grammy had.  Her father had hand carved it from blocks of soap her mother made.  She told me that when the set was new, it was sparkling white (a huge feat for home made soaps in those days) but by the time I was seeing it, it was yellowed with age.  I thought that made it all the more spectacular.  :-D  It was passed on to my mother but I have no idea what became of it after that.  If it was still around, I'd be setting it out each Christmas.

I used colors from the Tic Tac Toe Color Dare at Color My Heart,

3rd column plus Saffron for the gold shades and neutrals of beige & brown.

     Once again, I started with a pre-colored image (printed with the Nativity Night sentiment) but I used ProMarkers to add highlights and even to change some colors on the clothing.  I used white gel pen on the lamb and on the beards of the shepherd and wise man.  I cut the image with a rectangle die from QuicKutz, inked the edges with gold ProMarker, and matted it with Natural Earth CS - CS which is made completely from recycled products.

     I layered additional papers behind the image onto the card front, all of which were scraps left on the crafting desk.  I swear, most of the time the only way the craft desk gets cleared off is because I'm using up things left over from other projects!

     I dug through my bag of spangles and sequins to find the two stars, one gold and one silver.  I layered those together with craft glue (not easy to do with things that tiny) and added them above the image.  I used the gold ProMarker to draw the lines of light downward.

     Finally, I found my Noel sentiment die (by Die-versions) and cut white CS, then added Neptune Green glitter to it.  Once that dried, I put it on the upper corner and called the card finished.

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft
Bastel-Traum
C.R.A.F.T.
Crafts Dreamy
Creative Craft Cottages
Cute Card Thurs.
Paper Nest Dolls
Winter Wonderland

     There will be one more post today but not until 3 a.m. my time.  I'll be sharing my DT card with you for the challenge at QKR Stampede so feel free to check back.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

"K" is for King, Kraft, and Khaki

     I'll bet the title of this post will tell you all you need to know about today's prompt at Beccy's Place in the 30 Days of Christmas cards.  I actually combined Beccy's images to add the King to the nativity scene.

I used the colors again from Ike's World

but this time I did include the purple.  :-D

     Really fast details:  Image cut with stitched, CUTplorations die and Khaki green mat cut with Gina Marie die.  Ribbon is wired and wrapped around card front, and the bow is one of my signature, hand-sewn, bows dyed purple with a marker.

     Challenges:
ABC Christmas
Crafty Sentiments
Digi Choosday
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
Lemon Shortbread
Scrappy Land
TTCRD
Word Art Weds.

     Quick and short post but duty calls today so Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Mother and Child

     It's the letter "M" for today's challenge in the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place.  We're half way through the alphabet and I've played every day!  Having missed out on it completely last year, I'm really proud of myself for accomplishing that much this year.

     I decided on Mary for my "M" but it could also be Mother and Child or Madonna and Child, and of course, there's always the Manger.  Clearly this is a Nativity image from Beccy's Place and I added one of the shepherds from the set.  The sentiment is also from the set.

     I printed the image on some scrap CS, colored it with watercolor pencils and ProMarkers, then cut it to size on my paper cutter.  I used a Fiskars corner punch on all 4 corners, then did a black Mat for it (also a scrap saved from the trash can) the same way.  I printed and hand cut the sentiment, matted it with yet another tiny scrap, and hand cut again.

     The silver ribbons were in my stash and both are left over pieces from other projects.  Not a bad CAS card made entirely from saved snippets.  :-D

     Challenges:
Angie's Digital Stamps
Beccy's Place
Crafty Addicts
Glitter n Sparkle
Outlawz CAS
Outlawz Festive Friday
Pixie's Snippets
Sisterhood of Crafters

     A new week has started and we're just 6 weeks now until Christmas.  For those in the USA, Thanksgiving is next week - Yikes!  Too much still to do in that more or less 10 days, not the least of which is my youngest granddaughter's Sweet 16 Birthday to be celebrated this coming Friday.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie