Moving Day

     I really dislike moving and I've done it several times in my life, the latest major move from one city to another 300 miles away, having been some 6 years ago.   I still haven't recovered from that one!  lol  But this adorable image by Hetty Clare is the free image for the Progressive Challenge at the Outlawz.

Colors came from the challenge pallette #368

at Color My Heart Color Dare.

Colored with ProMarkers
Cut with Poppy Stamps die
Matted with Spellbinders die cut rectangle
Brown, diamond-texture ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon
Embossed card base

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
Crafty Calendar
Crafty Gals Corner
I {heart} ProMarkers
Paperminutes
Scrappy Land
Take It, Make It
Work It Weds

     We finally have some rain today!  That may not be a big deal to those of you who are suffering under a pile of snowdrifts already but we haven't had rain in my part of the country for more than 8 months.  This is the second latest start of our annual rains since they started recording rainfall stats.  They are predicting we could get as much as 1/2 an inch this morning and we are braced for the possibility of some minor flooding in the underpasses and near the street drains which may not have had all the leaves and clutter cleared out.  That's OK.  We'll take it.  The rain is more important.  :-D

     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

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

Bandaid for the Bullfrog

     Today is the start of another "Anything Goes" challenge at QKR Stampede and I had fun making a 'Get Well' card for my stash using "Frog 24148."

I chose Willow, Clover, and Peach 

from the colors at Color My Heart challenge.

Colored with ProMarkers
Fussy cut with scissors
Gingham panel cut with Poppy Stamps die
Sentiment printed and fussy cut
Set of 3 pearls - top and bottom
All scrap papers

     Challenges:
Crafting from the Heart
Creative Inspirations
Digi Choosday
I {heart} ProMarkers
Ike's World
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz PAM
TTCRD
Tuesday Throwdown

Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Easter Hatchlings?

     Here we are on the fist Thursday of a new month and that means a new challenge is starting over at Crafting with an Attitude.  As always, our theme is "Anything goes" and this month our sponsor is Bugaboo Stamps.

     Did you ever think when you were hunting for all the eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny that some of them might hatch?  I think that's what happened to this little gal as she was putting all her eggs into her garden wagon.  Now she has a garden blooming with chicks and eggs!  :-D  You can find her by clicking HERE.

     I grabbed my ProMarkers to color the image, adding grass and sky to make it a scene, then cut it with a stitched die from Die-namics (My Favorite Things.)  I printed the sentiment and cut that with a Die-namics die also.  I matted both the image and the sentiment with cross stitch, die cut, papers (Unbranded dies.)

     I used pink CS to make the gate fold card base, leaving one flap very long and the other one narrower but just long enough to tuck in behind the long side.  I embossed the long side with a folder from Couture Creations.  The borders of the long side, both pink and white, were cut with a Poppy Stamps die.  I simply layered everything together onto the long side of the gate fold, playing with the layout until it all looked 'finished.'

     Challenges:
Catch the Bug
Coloring in Scrapland
Crafty Sentiments
Cute and Crafty
Cupcake Inspirations

Double Trouble (Taking Suzanne's suggestion - the cart is wooden!)
Ike's World
Incy Wincy
Paper Girls
Passion for ProMarkers
Poppystamps

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Friendly Hello

     I've been on the DT at QKR Stampede for 5 years, give or take, and I can't believe that after doing that many cards for our weekly challenges, I had overlooked this image!  It's called "Sante Fe Mouse."  Another new challenge is starting today (Always Anything Goes) and I'm really tickled with this simple, southwestern flavored, greeting card with it's very simple sentiment.

     I colored the image with ProMarkers and cut him with a die from Tonic Studios.  I mounted him onto a yellow card base which had been embossed with my 'Linen' embossing folder.  The "hello" sentiment was cut from a tiny scrap of dp with a Poppy Stamps die.  I want to use this as a masculine card so I did no additional embellishment.

     Challenges:
Coloring in Scrapland
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Sentiments
Cute Card Thurs.
Digi Choosday
Dream Valley
Ike's World
Lemon Shortbread
Papercraft
TTCRD
   
     It's Friday and I hope you have lots of wonderful plans for your weekend.  Be sure to include some play time for yourself.  Think of it as charging your batteries.  If your battery is dead, you'll have nothing to give to your kids, family, or anyone else, and you know how they all rely on you.  Play time for yourself is critical and actually benefits everyone!   :-D  Happy Crafting.   NanaConnie

White Christmas?

     This is the third post of the day and I'll have a total of 4 so be sure to check them all. :-D

     It's the first Thursday of the month (and the first of the month!) so we have a new challenge at Crafting with an Attitude!  Our theme is always "Anything Goes"and this month our sponsor is Lacy Sunshine.  I used a darling LS image called "Christmas Snowflake" from their Strayz collection.  Unfortunately, I can't find it in the current online shop so it may have been retired.  If so, it's a great shame because this is one of Heather's most precious Christmas images.

    I colored with ProMarkers and sparkle gel ink.  I cut one side of the image with a border die from Poppy Stamps.  After adding the sentiment piece, I found both red and shimmery green CS and cut layers of those with that same border die.  I layered those onto one side of the image piece, then added red ink to the shaped outside border.  The card front is shorter than the card width so a bit of the inside show when the card is closed.

     The large, embellishment snowflake was cut with a die from Spellbinders and I added loose silver glitter to it.  Not exactly CAS but not overwhelmed with embellishments, either.

     Challenges:
C.R.A.F.T.
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Hazelnut's
Outlawz Greetings
Passion for ProMarkers
Polkadoodles
SUYP Cats
TSOT Technique
TTCRD

     We always appreciate seeing you enter out monthly challenges at Crafting with an Attitude and I hope you'll be playing along this month.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie   

Autumn Leaves

     Well, it's definitely that time of year - the leaves are falling and covering the yard, and we must now rake them into piles and haul them off in bushel baskets.  Of course, the kids will have to jump into one or more of the piles before any such project can be finished.  Sorry, but it's one of the immutable laws of autumn.  :-D

     I'm celebrating that with a lovely image from the Autumn Beauty set by Sparkle N Sprinkle.  I wanted to give you a link to the image but I can't locate the set in the store, in either rubber or digital.  :-(

     I colored with my ProMarkers and polychromos pencils, then cut the image with a stitched, scalloped die from Memory Box.  I used another die from that same set to cut the harvest gold mat for the image.  The sentiment is from that same set, printed onto a scrap, then I cut it with the die and trimmed it into a pie shape since the scrap was too small to be a full circle.

     I used a border die from Poppy Stamps to cut the curved line in a piece of antique yellow CS.  I added a scrap of polka dot dp (SU) which had also been cut with that same border die only this time it wasn't punched along the border.

     Everything was layered onto a burgundy card base.  My final touch was to embellish it with a hand-tied bow made from sheer ribbon and 'dyed' with a ProMarker.  I added the button to the middle of the bow and called the project finished.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
Cardz TV
Crafty Calendar
Crafty Friends
Creative Fingers
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Outlawz SAR
Polkadoodles
Stamping Sensations

     I'm heading back to the craft room to see what other damage I can do to my stash of supplies.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Potted Roses

     Today I'm sharing another of my 'all die cuts' cards.  I love doing these when I travel and don't have all my coloring tools with me.  It's easy to do a bunch of die cuts of varied subjects and colors ahead of time, then pack them away carefully between 2 pieces of cardboard.  Pop those into a plastic bag, add a glue pen, and you have everything ready for card making on the run.  :-D

     For this one, I cut the roses twice, one green and one yellow, using a die from Cottage Cutz.  The plant pot was cut with a Cheery Lynn die, and the butterfly (both layers) is Impression Obsession.  The "Hello" sentiment was done with a Poppy Stamps die.  I had a scrap of pale green, checked, dp which I used for the background.

     For the roses, I cut the flowers off the yellow die cut and layered them onto the green die cut.  I used white gel ink to highlight them and added tiny gems for a touch of sparkle.  I used the gel  pen on the pot as well.  The butterfly was highlighted with pencil and gel ink before adding gold pearls to the body.

     The sentiment was added last.  I wanted the die cuts to be the focus so no ribbons, no 3D flowers, no embellies, just the dp and the die cuts for something CAS.

     Challenges:
Addicted to CAS
CARDZ TV
Crafting from the Heart
Crafting with Friends
Crafty Creations
Crazy for CAS
Incy Wincy (1 word senti/creature/checks)
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz Greetings
Star Stampz

     That's all I have for this hot summer day.  We've already had more 100F+ days in a row than we normally have all summer long so I'm done with summer!  I'm ready for rain, cool days, falling leaves, and something better than the weathermen saying, "105 again today."  Yuck.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Bridge Club

     For many years, I played regularly in a pinochle group and my daughter's MIL plays in a Bridge Club.  I'm giving her a couple dozen greeting cards because she's one of the people I know who faithfully still sends real cards as opposed to email or text greetings.  I'll make sure this card is in the collection I give to her.  I know she'll love it.

I started with the color palette at House of Cards.

     This is my first card using new goodies from the Holiday season!  I did the coloring on this House Mouse stamp with my newest set of polychromos pencils, then cut it with a rectangle die from QuicKutz.  The "Hello" sentiment was done with a Poppy Stamps die (also new as a Christmas gift but for DIL, not me.)  I matted the image with another simple die cut (also QuicKutz.)

     I used a pink CS background, wrapped with black, grosgrain, ribbon (another new goodie) and cut the sentiment from black CS.  Simple design but easily mailed.

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft
Crafts Galore Encore
Crafty Girls Creations
Digi Choosday
Digistamps4Joy
House Mouse
Lemon Shortbread
Simon Says Stamp
TTCRD

     I should be back in my homey, normal routine by tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Jingle Bells Jammies

     Do you remember being a kid and having Christmas break roll around?  For me, that meant getting to stay in my jammies all day long if I chose.  No need to get dressed for school or for going outside - just lazy days playing indoors in my jammies.

     Well, the alphabet challenge at Beccy's Place is all about the letter "J" today so I'm celebrating Jammies.  This cute little image is called Holly Fairy but I think she looks like she's still in her Jammies with the Jingle Bells.  What do you think?

Inspiration from House of Cards and their colors.

     As you can guess, I colored her with my ProMarkers (always my 'go to' markers), added silver paint to the Jingle bells, and then I used a border die from Poppy Stamps to cut the sides.  I trimmed both top and bottom with my Fiskars paper cutter.

     The green polka dot dp came from one of my Recollections pads.  I added glittered silver ribbon and a line of gems to sparkle like ice and snow.

     Challenges:
Beccy's Place
Colour Crazy
Crafting with Friends
Crafty Friends
Delicious Doodles
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz Festive Friday
Ribbon Girl
Victorine Originals

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Card Chain Challenge Exchange

     As some of you know, each month I've been participating in the card exchange at Card Chain Challenge.  It's such fun to get envelopes from others around the world with handmade cards in the mailbox!  I love sending them out, too, and generally I try to tuck in a few little embellishment or die cut surprises for the recipient.

     Here's the one I sent last month, with delightful fall colors in mind for the changing of the seasons.

     On this card, I used 3 of the options for the challenge - the sketch, the colors, and 2 of the theme options, Autumn (colors) and Cats.

 Color Palette   Sketch
or Theme Options: Autumn/ Cats / Friendship

     Everything was done with die cuts this time - the cats (Impressions Obsession), the sentiment (Poppy Stamps), and the diamonds (Spellbinders.)  All the different papers (not including the deep brown for the cats) are embossed with my Linen folder before cutting.  I also embossed the card front so there's lots of texture on the card.

     Challenges:

A Bit More Time to Craft

A Perfect Time to Craft

Crafty Gals Corner

Dies R Us

Inky Chicks

Scrappy Land

Simon Says Stamp

SUYP Cats

Word Art Weds.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Pumpkin Stack

     It's Friday and a new challenge has begun at QKR Stampede.  As usual, our theme is "Anything Goes" but we also have our optional theme for you if you want to use it and this week we'd love to see "Leaves."  My leaves are part of this fun "Pumpkin Stack" image.  The sentiment is also a QKR image called "Halloween High."

     I colored the image with ProMarkers, then cut it along one side with a curved border die from Poppy Stamps and used a corner punch from Fiskars on the other side.  I did the same with the scrap of candy corn dp.  I added the sentiment and then layered everything onto another patterned dp which I found in my stash of autumn papers. 

     I wrapped the entire card front with orange and white baker's twine and called it finished.

     Challenges:
Colour Crazy
Crafting from the Heart
Crafting with Friends
Di's Digi Designs
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz Greetings
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Polkadoodles
Stamping Sensations
Take It, Make It

     Come play along with us, won't you?  We'd love to see your creations and be inspired by them.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Friendship Card for September Card Chain

     Each month, I participate in the Card Chain Challenge and this is the one I mailed off to my recipient in September.

     No coloring this time, just die cuts.  The butterfly cut was done with a die from Die-namites and the "Hello" sentiment came from a Poppy Stamps die.  The two corner flourishes were cut from the outer edges of the butterfly die cut.

     The card base is actually white but I covered the card front with metallic purple paper which looks great in real life but gives a terrible (and impossible to avoid) glare when trying to photograph it.  :-D

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps & More
Butterfly Challenge (purple quartz)
Hiding in My Craft Room
Inspiration Destination
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Sisterhood of Crafters

     Short post today but it's  been a really busy weekend and the upcoming week isn't going to be much better.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie