Winter Snow

      I'm giving you a sneak preview of the Progressive Challenge at LeAnn's World 101 which starts tomorrow on the Facebook page.  The image for the month is "Winter Friends" and, if you played last month, it will be sent to you free of charge during the day tomorrow, December 5th.  For each month that you use the chosen monthly image, you will get the following month's image free.

     If you haven't been playing along but would like to start, click on the name of the image up above and that will take you right to the image in the store.  You can purchase it, use it this month, and then start getting the free images in January.

     I actually reduced the sides of the image when I cut it into the oval shape but you can see the full image if you click on the store link above.  I colored the image with Sanjoki markers, and cut it with the Poppy Stamps snowflakes die and the center oval is cut free of the snowflakes.  Next, I used that same die to cut silver glitter paper, this time keeping the outer frame to surround the image.

     I made a background of red and metallic gold CS scraps.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  That Poppy Stamps die was so fancy and delicate that I decided the card needed no additional embellishment.

     Challenges:

Aud Sentiments

Bastel-Traum

Crafter's Cafe

Double Trouble

Dream Valley

Jan's Digi Stamps

Pammie's IP

Poppystamps

Star Stampz

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Turkey Time

     It's time for the next FarmQuest General Store challenge, and our themes are always "Anything Country Goes."  Yes, it has to have a 'country' look or feel but beyond that, it's anything goes.

     Since this is our Thanksgiving month here in the USA, I focused on the most traditional part of a family Thanksgiving feast, the turkey.  This turkey image is a gray-scale sketch but I used Sanjoki markers to change it to sepia-toned.  The sentiment was merged at the bottom of the image before printing.  I cut the image with a die from Tonic Studios and inked the edges with a coffee brown Sanjoki marker.

     The background dp came from a 'Calico' stack by DCWV and the colors and scattering of blossoms seemed perfect for a late fall card.  There's a small swipe of Stickles added to each tiny flower for just a hint of sparkle.  I die cut a bit of creamy burlap paper using a butterfly die from Poppy (Memory Box) and added a tiny seed bead to the center (old, old, OLD Stampin' Up stash which I found after cleaning out and reorganizing a desk drawer!) 

     Challenges:

Aud Sentiments

Dream Valley

Outlawz Monday

Pammie's IP

Poppy Stamps

Simon Says Stamp

Star Stampz

Triple B

     I have a second post going live in just a couple of minutes for the November FQ Country Christmas Challenge so be sure to check out that one, too.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

The Calico Cat

      This card was inspired by a wonderful and serendipitous brunch I had yesterday.  I was invited to join my daughter and her next door neighbor, Margaret, for a brunch.  Margaret and I happen to have brother and sister cats (same litter) who are now 12 years old.  Her sweet Gracie is a calico.  We spent nearly 2 hours regaling each other with cat stories about the two of them and it was amazing how much alike they are even though they've not seen each other since they were separated at about 5 weeks old after being abandoned by their feral mother.  Margaret and I were just two kindred hearts (translate:  crazy cat ladies!)

     Anyway, Margaret insisted on picking up the check for our meals and I wanted to send her a Thank You so I made this card, using a new die I got from Poppy Stamps.  I cut the cat from heavy white CS, then colored it with my Sanjoki markers.  The sentiment was printed and fussy cut with scissors.

     The background papers are from an old (old, old, OLD!) DCWV stack and the orange square was embossed with a polka dot EF.  The die cut cat had it's own embossing to enhance the 'fur' lines.  When I layered everything together, I used Pop Dots under the head of the cat so that it's raised up for a bit of dimension.

     Challenges:

Can You Handle ...?

Crafts Galore ...

Crafty Calendar

Creative Fingers

Let's Craft and ...

Outlawz Friday

Polkadoodles

Poppy Stamps

SUYP Cats

     Have yourself a wonderful weekend and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Purr-fect Love

      This is a card with no stamped or digital images, just die cuts and a sentiment.  Vey simple, really, and pretty clean, too, so CAS?  ;-D  

     The circles were cut with dies from Dare2BArtzy, the cats were done with Poppy Stamps dies, and the hearts came from Memory Box dies.  Everything except the card base came from scraps, including the small strip of dp featuring the sentiment (DCWV.)  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     I was inspired to try this by the new Outlawz "No Stamps" Challenge.  It started on the 15th of this month and runs through the 14th of next month.  

     Challenges:

Crazy for Cats

Creations in Pink

Creative Fingers

Digi Choosday

Inspiration Station

Simon Says Stamp

SUYP Cats

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Take a Peek !

      Here it is, a New Year, and I wish you health, wealth, and happiness throughout 2023!  

      At QKR Stampede, we're starting another challenge today and it will run through the 14th of the month.  We have two challenges per month and they always start on the 1st and the 15th of each month.  Our theme is always Anything Goes and we have 2 prizes each month; one for those who use a QKR Stampede (or Eureka Stamps) image and another for those using an image from another company.

     My first DT card is for a birthday, and this year I'm determined to have an entire year's worth of birthday cards completed for family and close friends before the first birthdays fall in February.  We'll see how that goes.  In any case, here's my first one using a sentiment image from QKR Stampede called "Take a Peek."

     I used ProMarkers and gel pens to color the sentiment piece then cut it with a Spellbinders rectangle die.  I think that set of rectangle dies were the very first dies I ever purchased and they certainly have cut their share of paper and card stock.  The cat was cut with a die from Poppy Stamps, and the mice were cut with a Gina Marie die.  The papers were scraps from the basket which sits on my desk, collecting left overs.

     Challenges:

     I hope you'll come and play with us in this challenge.  And, if you played with us in December, be sure to check out the new challenge post to see if  you're on of our winners or Top 5 DT favorites.  Happy Crafting.   NanaConnie

Most Magical Time of the Year

      Today is the kickoff for Most Magical Time of the Year, a new challenge blog which features any combination of Fall-o-Ween, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Christmas, Christmas in July, Creepmas, Winter, Hanukkah, Diwali - Festival of Lights, Kwanzaa, etc. throughout the year!  We are a monthly challenge and we have a series of delightful sponsors who offer prizes to the winners. 

     Today, I've done both a Halloween card and a Christmas card, featuring images from our October sponsor, LeighSB Designs.  The first image, on the Halloween card, is Witch of Furness Forest and the second is Santa Whiskers.

     I colored this image with water color paints (and a very fine brush), then fussy cut it with scissors.  I went over the face color with a ProMarker to give her skin a greenish cast.  The background was made by die cutting purple CS with an Altenew die and then layering it over paper which had been water colored to create an orange ombre.

 

     The baker's twine came from Ellen Hutson and the black cat is a Poppystamps die cut.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

This is also my Day 1 entry into the 

LeighSBDesigns 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop. 

     This one was colored with ProMarkers and glitter pen on the fur cuff and pompom on the Santa hat.  I cut the image with a scallop die from Sizzix.  The sentiment was cut with an Avery Elle die.  I hand-sewed the red satin bow.  The background dp is from a Recollections stack (and it's been in my Christmas stash for at least 10 years!)

     Challenges for Witch:

Colour Crazy

Outlawz Festive Fri

LeighSBDesigns

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Simon Says Stamp

    Challenges for Cat:

Aud Sentiments

I Love ProMarkers

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paperbabe

Winter Wonderland

Word Art Weds

     We'd love to see you playing along in our new challenges, this month and every month.  We're planning on having plenty of fun and it would be great if you'd come play along.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Best Seat in the House

      We have a new challenge starting today over at Creative Knockouts and we're sponsored by Pretty Cute.  They have some delightful stamps, both photopolymer and digital, and the prize this time is a gift certificate worth $15!  

     Our theme for this challenge is "Anything Goes" and I took advantage of that to make a card using die cuts and scraps to tell a story.  The cats were cut from black CS scraps with my newest dies from Poppy Stamps.  The sentiment was printed onto a CS scrap using a computer font.  I inked the edges of the CS, added the cats and the polka dot bowtie, then layered that piece onto scraps of lavender and lilac CS used to make the background.

     Challenges:

Dream Valley

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paperbabe

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Pixie's Snippets

Simon Says Stamp

SUYP Cats

TTCRD

Word Art Weds

     We're looking forward to seeing you play in our challenge this week, especially since it's an Anything Goes theme.  What do you have to lose?   Come play and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Pretty Calf for a Lovely Thank You

      I noticed the other day that my stash of  Thank You cards was getting pretty low and, just in time, this DOTM showed up from Imagine That!  Along with the sweet calf image, there are sentiments and one of them was perfect for adding to my stash of Thank You cards.  :-D

     I colored with ProMarkers and gel pens, then cut the image with a die from Tattered Lace.  The die is actually made for cutting a shaped card so it has a blank space at the top without any cutting, but after cutting once, I turned the piece in the die and cut a second time so that I had a complete circle.  

     The sentiment is cut with an Unbranded die and the bottom corner of the flocked paper was cut with a Poppy Stamps die.   The corner die also embosses but that doesn't show up very well on the flocked paper.   I used a craft knife to distress the edges of the flocked paper but it's very heavy paper and the distressing doesn't show up very well in the photo.  I didn't want to cover any more of that gorgeous Doodlebug paper so I let the design and the die cuts be their own embellishment.

     Challenges:

Aud Sentiments

Crafts Galore Encore

Cute Card Thurs

Lemon Shortbread

Lil Patch of ...

Mod Squad

Outlawz Twisted Thurs

Polkadoodles

Poppystamps

     Hope your week is going well and that you can find some 'down time' just for you.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Happy Halloween Cat

      A short while back, I was lucky enough to be a challenge winner and Dies R Us was the sponsor of that particular challenge.  As my prize, I chose a Poppystamps die plus one other, then I bought a couple more dies because I never get away with spending only the gift certificate amount.  I'm sure you know how that goes!  ;-O

     Anyway, the die cut cat is the one from Poppystamps and it's perfect for their "Cards for Kids" theme this month.  The other layers behind the cat, including the scalloped rectangle, were cut with Memory Box dies and the witch's hat was cut with a Cheery Lynn die.

     The bow was made on my bow maker and the ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon.

     Challenges:

Classic Designs

Crafts Galore Encore

Creative Craft Cottage

Die Cut Divas

Digi Doodle Studios

Outside the Box

Scribbles Designs

Simon Says Stamp

SUY Pussycats

     Are you tired of Halloween cards yet?  Well, you may want to skip a visit tomorrow and again on Thursday, and again... oh, never mind.  You know they're fun to make and to see.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Flannel Flowers from Beccy's Place

     Each month, Beccy's Place has an "Anything Goes" challenge and Beccy always adds an optional twist.  This time around, the twist is a TicTacToe board and I used the middle column (3 colors/ ribbon/ use a digi.)  The image is called Flannel Flowers and it's a Beccy's Place image.

Colored with ProMarkers
Image and frame cut with Sizzix dies
Plaid dp - scrap (Beccy's freebie)
Gray, satin, 1/8" ribbon
"Hello" cut w/ Poppy Stamps die

     Challenges:
2 Sisters on the Blog
A Bit More Time...
Bastel-Traum
Carlin's Card Paradise
Classic Design
Crafter's Cafe
Crafty Hazelnut's
Prika Crafts
World Wide Open...

     We're halfway through the weekend and I hope you've been able to tell the difference between the week and the weekend.  Like most of you, my days have blended together over the last (almost) 3 months!  Without my crafting, I'd be completely stir crazy by now.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Rain or Shine

     The day I got this new image from LeAnn's World 101 progressive challenge, our weather was cool, even a bit nippy in the early morning.  Three days later, as I'm publishing this, they are predicting a high temperature of 92F and we hit 90F yesterday!  I know summers are much hotter than that out here where I live but c'mon, people, it's only April !  I'd prefer rain.  :-D

Colored with ProMarkers
Glitter added to raindrops & puddle
Cut with Sizzix die
Two mats cut with Poppystamps dies
Sentiment printed, matted, and hand cut
Large bow made w/ 1 inch ribbon

     Challenges:
Artsy Stamper
Arty Divas
Colour Crazy
Craft-Dee Bowz
I {heart} ProMarkers
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Stash
Paper Girls
Poppystamps

     That's all for today.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Peony Hello

     I don't know what it is lately but I've become almost obsessed with coloring peonies.  Maybe it's because my own peonies haven't been blooming much the last couple of years and I do miss them.  I think it's time to dig them up and replace them.

     In any case, the peonies I used on today's CAS card are an image from AuroraWings and I just got it so it's brand new to me!  It colors up beautifully and I really like the finished result.  One of our local groups has put out a call for donations of hand made cards which they are going to include in bags of groceries for seniors who are house bound or who have problems otherwise getting out to shop for groceries.  This is one of the cards I'm donating but I have also gone through my stash and I have more than a dozen others ready to go.

     By the way, if you have time to stop by the AuroraWings FB page, Mitzi has a freebie Angel you can use if you want to brighten someone's lock down day.  :-D

Colored with ProMarkers
Sentiment die from Poppy Stamps
Butterfly die from Memory Box
Glitter added to Butterfly
Butterfly and sentiment were cut from small scraps headed for the trash bin

     Challenges:
Allsorts (new image)
Artsy Stamper
Colouring in Scrapland
Crafty Calendar
Crafty Friends
Dare 2B Artsy
Dragonfly Dreams
Paper Girls
Pixie's Snippets

     That's all for today.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

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