Summertime Fun

      When I think of summer (especially early summer before it gets too miserably hot!), I think of being outdoors and having fun.  Our latest OPTIONAL theme at Crafty Catz (we always have an Anything Goes theme) is "Fun" and our sponsor this week is Hetty Clare.  I'm completely mad for her art!  She generously supplied images for the DT to use on their inspiration cards and I chose to use the one called "At Play."  

     NOTE TO MY READERS:  When I went over to the store to look for the image link to put into my post, I noticed that there's a 50% off sale right now.  Go check it out (and, yes, to answer your unasked question, I DID go on a shopping spree!  lol)  Click on the name of the image or on the Sponsor name above and it'll take you right to the shop.

     I colored the sheep and cow with Sanjoki markers before cutting the image with a die from Tutti Designs.  I printed and cut the sentiment with another die from that same set.  The background paper was in the scrap basket so I'm not sure of the maker but it's probably DCWV - a very old stack.  

     I added brown lace ribbon and one of my hand-sewn, signature bows, this time with a pearl sewn on. 

     Challenges:

613 Ave Create

Crafter's Cafe

Crafty Calendar

Creative Knockouts

Creative Moments

Die Cut Divas

Paper Shelter

Polkadoodles

Simon Says Stamp

The Four Seasons

     Come play in our challenge!  We love being inspired by you.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Blowing Bubble Hearts

      One more Penny Black stamp from those given to me by my neighbor and, happily, it's another hedgie!  What could be cuter for Valentine's Day than a little hedgie blowing bubble hearts?

     Water colored and then cut with stitched, circle die from Tutti Designs.  The background papers were saved from the scrap pile and the sentiment was cut with an Avery Elle die.  The hand tied bow was made with sparkly, metallic ribbon.

     Challenges:

2 Sisters ... Blog (red/lavender/blue)

Ally's Angels

Classic Design

Country View Craft

Crafty Friends

Heart's Quest

LeAnne's World

Papercraft

Penny Black Sat.

Your Scrapbook Place

    Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Thanksgiving Owl

      The second non-alphabet theme at Beccy's 30 Days of Holidays is "Humor."  Well, that's right up my alley!  Just in case you're not a regular follower of my blog, perhaps I should warn you that often my humor gets a bit off; not off color, just off the beaten track.  lol  

     I went looking for an image in my collection of Beccy's Place images and found this owl, which I've had for a short while but haven't yet used.  It struck me immediately that I could add a fun Thanksgiving sentiment and have a card in a jiffy and a flash.  I chose the pre-colored image, merged the sentiment before printing, then added all the highlights using ProMarkers and gel pens.  Once finished, I cut it with a die from Tutti Designs.

     I dug through the scrap basket and came up with the dp and brown CS scraps for the background.  I layered on the image piece and found one of my hand-sewn, signature bows which I 'dyed' with a ProMarker.  I added a tiny, flower sequin. 

    

      After I had finished the card completely, it dawned on me that I could have used "Where's the Fried Mice" for a much shorter sentiment.  Oh, well, the one I have on the card works for the same kind of humor.  :-D

     Challenges:

2 Sisters ... Blog

Crafty Catz

Di's Digi Designs

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paperminutes

Polkadoodles

Rabisco

Your Scrapbook ...

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Mummy Wants Candy

      I've been digging through an old set of manila folders I found stashed in a box and one of them held Halloween images which were waiting to be colored.  The one I used for this card had a notation on the back which said "Meljen's" so I'm assuming she was the artist.  I know her store closed a few years back and, unfortunately, that's one of the artists whose images I lost when my thumb drive crashed 2 years ago.  I'm heartbroken over losing her images.

     I love this mummy with his jack-o-lantern candy bucket, trotting off for a night of Trick or Treat.  Every kid knows that's the best way to celebrate the night on Halloween!

     I colored him with ProMarkers, then cut him with a Tutti Designs stitched circle die.  The spider webs were cut with a die from Memory Box.  I hate to admit how many years I had that die and never used it, but it's been used now.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die and the bat in the top corner was cut with an Impression Obsession die.

This is also my Day 4 entry into the 

LeighSBDesigns 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop. 

     Challenges:

Colour Crazy

Country View Craft

Crafty Friends

LeighSB 31 Days

Mirtillamente

Morgan's ArtWorld

Outside the Box

Simon Says Stamp

Taylormadecards ...

The Four Seasons

     That's all I have for today but since I'm playing in a 31 Days of Halloween challenge or two, I think I may have a post each day this month.  Feels like old times when I regularly posted every day.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Butterfly Birthday

      Here's my first September DT card for Conie Fong.  Once again, I'm using my favorite card base, a large, square card shape; my fav because it allows so much more room for design and embellishment.  It features a delightful image called "Butterfly Princess" and the sentiment is also from that same set.  I colored the image in rich, autumn, colors using water color paints, then cut the image with a Tutti Designs die.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Unbranded die.

     The image and the sentiment pieces are backed with sparkly, holographic paper from Lawn Fawn, which I trimmed to the exact size of the die cut shapes.  For the background, I chose paper from a Recollections stack.  Both the metallic, sparkle ribbon and satin ribbon for the bow are from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  I used my bow maker to tie the double loop bow.

     Challenges:

As You Like It

CRAFT-alnica

Digi Choosday

Paper Funday

Paperminutes

Penny's Paper-Crafty

TTCRD

Word Art Weds

     Remember, Conie Fong has challenges each month into which you may submit either just coloring or completed projects using Conie Fong images.  The August and September challenges have been combined into one album on the Facebook page.  Because the challenges are run on the Facebook site, you'll have to join but that's a quick and easy procedure.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Flower Moon

      It's time for a new challenge at Creative Knockouts!  Our theme this week is "Anything Goes" and we're sponsored by the fun and fanciful Mirtillamente.  They kindly supplied the DT with images to use and my choice was this delightful "FlowerMoon."  

     Colored with ProMarkers, then cut with a die from Tutti Designs.  The 'chain' on the left was cut with a die from Your Next Stamp.  The card front was dry embossed with my 'Linen' EF.

This card was inspired by Sketch #225 at Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2.

     Challenges:

Creative Fingers

Creative Inspirations

Digi Choosday

Outlawz Festive Fri

Passion for Markers

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Simon Says Stamp

TTCRD 

Word Art Weds

     We really would love to see you playing along in our challenge this time and, since it's Anything Goes, how can you resist?  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Last Day of 30 Days of Holidays

      It's the last day of the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place and Beccy always lets us do whatever we love on the last day, so an "Anything Goes" theme.  I chose to use this beautiful candle by Beccy and to use the last I have of a Graphic 45 Christmas paper.

     I colored with ProMarkers and gel pens, then used a Sue Wilson die to cut the image piece.  I used another die from that same set to cut the white glitter CS from Doodlebug and layer it over the image with the center open to let the candle 'shine' as the star of the card!  :-D

     The Graphic 45 paper has lovely candles on it and I added a bit of Stickles to each candle flame on that dp.  The sentiment is also from Beccy's Place and I cut it with a Tutti Designs die.

     Challenges:

Digi Choosday

Polkadoodles

Simon Says Stamp

TTCRD

Uniko

Word Art Weds

Your Next Stamp

     It's sad to see the end of the 30 Days of Holidays but I have so many cards added to my stash this year!  As in other years, I always make lots of extra cards to give to my local senior center because so many of those seniors have transportation complications and they simply can't get out to buy Christmas cards for their children and grandchildren.  Each year the cards I leave with them are welcomed happily and I get such sweet "thank you"s from those who pick out something they consider special for a family member or friend.  :-D

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Cross Stitch Love

     Nothing cuter than House Mousies and these three are totally adorable!  I tried something new on this card.  Since I was lucky enough to win one of the House Mouse challenges and wouldn't have to spend any money (thereby keeping with the "Just Stash January" commitment - see paragraph below), I ordered a set of their 3D card kits which I've never used before.  

     It takes the old fashioned fussy cutting and layering of images to get a great card with lots of layers and dimension, so very time consuming but wonderful fun!   Here's a perfect Valentine card.

     I'm following a great "challenge-yourself" idea being promoted by my blogging buddy, V.  It's called "Just Stash January" and it involves using nothing but things already in your stash throughout the entire month of January!  There are a few reasonable exceptions (all of which mean that no money has come out of your pocket) and you can read about those on her post.  Just click on the link above to find out all about it, then start counting those coins and bills you'll be 'stashing' in your pocket this month instead of crying about even more charges on the credit cards after the holiday season.  :-D  Everything on this card came from the stash! 

Bottom layer of image cut with Tutti Designs die

All other layers cut w scissors

     2 layers of cross stitch and stitching mouse

     1 additional layer of 2 other mice

     2 layers of scissors

     3 layers of embroidery threads

Sentiment cut w scissors

All layers put onto red card base

     Challenges:

Aud Sentiments

C.R.A.F.T.

Creative Inspirations

House that Stamps Built

Incy Wincy

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz PAM

Scrapping4Fun

Simon Says Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Tic Tac Toe at Holiday Chaos

      We're at Day 4 of the Holiday Chaos at Catch the Bug daily challenges and today we have a Tic Tac Toe board.   I'm having problems with Blogger letting me copy and paste a photo of the board into this post but you can check it out by visiting the Day 4 post on the Catch the Bug blog.  The important point here is that I managed to get everything but 'twine' so I have 8 out of 9 of the blocks and 6 of the 8 lines, including both diagonals.

Colored w ProMarkers

Cut w Tutti Designs stitched circle die

Silver glitter paper cut w QuicKutz

Sentiment printed & cut w Avery Elle die

Red bow w pearl

Snowflake circles dp = Doodlebug

Distressed dp w stars = DCWV

     Challenges:

Cardz TV

Colour Crazy

Crafty Catz

Cute Card Thurs

I {heart} ProMarkers

Paperbabe Stamps

Pattie's Creations

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Scrapping4Fun

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Christmas Reindeer

      There's a new challenge starting today over at Pammie's Inky Pinkies and our theme is "Anything Goes."  Our sponsor is Newton's Nook and they have some of the cutest stamps anywhere!  However, today I created a classic Christmas animal using my newest Tutti Designs dies.  Can you recognize it?

     Did you know that despite their names, Santa's reindeer all have to be females?  No, it's true.  You can tell just by looking at any picture of them because only female reindeer keep their antlers all year round.  The males shed their antlers and start growing a new and larger set in the spring.  

     And that explains the sweep of curled hair, the fancy glasses, and the sparkly bow!  lol

Sentiment cut w Die-Versions die

Each color is a different scrap

     Challenges:

12 Months of Christmas

A Bit More Time...

Bastel-Traum

CCC Digi

Crafty Hazelnut's

Creative Moments

Dragonfly Dreams

LeAnn's World

Lil Patch of ...

Pixie's Snippets

     That's all I have for now but there will be another post later today so be sure to check back.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Haunted !

      It's the day we start a new monthly challenge at Jan's Digi Stamps and our theme is always "Anything Goes."  It's October and time for Halloween!  Jan's Digi Stamps has two new releases this month (both on sale so check out the store), one of which is a new Halloween set, but I wanted to use on of the older set called "Haunted!"

     The Haunted! set has so many secondary images that it's great for merging to get an entire scene.  For this card, I combined the tree, the tombstone, and the ghost, plus one of the sentiments using the merge tool available in MS Word.  If you go to the store (see link above which is the name of the set) and compare the thumbnail with the image on my card, you'll see how easy it was; nothing fancy, nothing complicated, just simple merging using the png images.

Colored w ProMarkers & gel pens

  (tombstone is pre-colored image)

Cut w Tutti Designs die

Satin ribbon scraps

Hand-tied bow

Spiderweb embossed w sparkle EP

Black card base

     Challenges:

Art Impressions

Aud Sentiments

Coloring in Scrapland

Colour Crazy

C.R.A.F.T.

Crafty Calendar

Creative Fingers

I {heart} ProMarkers

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Simon Says Stamp

     Come play with us and be sure to check out the sales at Jan's Digi Stamps.  We'd love to see what you create.  Remember, you may use any images from any company but if you choose to use an image from JDS, your entry will go into a separate draw just for JDS projects and that increases your chances of winning by a huge margin!  

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Swing It, Baby

     I have a really quick & easy card to share with you today.  This funny little monkey is from Bugaboo Stamps and I think this is the first time I've ever used him.  It took me all of 5 minutes to color the image and cut it out.  The fussiest part was layering the scrap pieces of satin and mesh ribbon, and hand tying the bow.

     Bows are my favorite way to add ribbon to any card because they are easy to grab from the stash - no measuring or wrapping, just pop it on and it's done!  I do tie lots of bows at one sitting so that I have a good stash of them when I need them.  I also tend to use white ribbon for the bows and that way I can 'dye' them any color I  need.  I do that with a marker, usually one I've used in coloring the image, so that the bow color matches the image.

Colored w/ ProMarkers
Cut w/ Tutti Designs die
Ribbon scraps from Really Reasonable Ribbon
Background dp from scrap basket

     Challenges:
As You Like It
Catch the Bug
Creative Fingers
Cutie Pie
Dragonfly Dreams
House that Stamps Built
Outlawz SAR
Passion for ProMarkers
Simon Says Stamp

     Have a great weekend and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Why They Call it Fall !

     I know we're only a third of the way through August but I get tired of the miserably hot weather some time in early July each summer and I begin pining for fall leaves and changing colors that come with the cooler evenings of autumn.  Here's my salute to the end of summer this year!  :-D

     I have this adorable kitten from Mo's Digital Pencil which I don't think I've used before (shame on me!) and it seemed a perfect time to dig it out and color it.  Since we're talking fall colors, I made the kitten a calico, patterned after my own sweet Queenie (see the right-hand sidebar.)

Inspired by the sketch at Sketch Saturday,

turned 1/4 turn.

Colored w ProMarkers
Image and both frames cut w/ Tonic Studios dies
Sentiment printed & cut w/ Tutti Designs die
Mesh ribbon was a scrap on the table
Jute cord used for the triple loop bow

     Challenges:
Catch the Bug
Crafty Friends
Crafty Sentiments
I {heart} ProMarkers
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz PAM
Penny's Paper-Crafty
SUYP Cats

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Cup of Tea

     This cute image is the freebie at The Outlawz Progressive Challenge this month and it's from the Paper Shelter.  It's been a long time since I did anything steam punk so this was a bit of fun.  I also wanted to see what I could do with larger scraps of paper, card stock, and ribbons.  The background dp had been used before.  The larger piece had a circle cut out of it which I covered with the image and there was a narrow strip which I laid next to the larger piece, then covered the seam with the ribbon.  The image was printed onto a scrap of white CS, as was the sentiment.

Colored w/ ProMarkers
Image & sentiment cut w/ Spellbinders
Sentiment from Beccy's Place (scrap CS)
Tea cup stack cut from scrap CS w/ Tutti Designs die
Mesh lace & satin ribbon (scraps)
Background dp - scrap from DCWV
3 stars are left over from the sentiment cut

     Challenges:
All Fun
Archi-scraps (colors are in the image)
Colouring in Scrapland
Creative Moments
Cutie Pie
Dragonfly Dreams
Morgan's ArtWorld
Pixie's Snippets
Your Scrapbook Place

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie 

Teddy Bear Birthday Party

     One more birthday card today and this time it reflects what happens when you have a birthday in the middle of the pandemic shutdowns.  You have to gather all your teddy bears into one place and let them have the party without you.  Social distancing, you know!  lol

     The image is from Bugaboo Stamps and the card design is pretty CAS.

I based this on the sketch from Stella Says Sketch.

Colored w ProMarkers & gel pens

Cut w die from Tutti Designs & edges inked
Paper is a SU scrap
Narrow, satin ribbon + gingham ribbon for bow
CAS design

     Challenges:
Allsorts (bears,bow)
Catch the Bug
Crafty Calendar
Cutie Pie
Get Creative
Outlawz PAM
Passion for ProMarkers
Stamping Sensations
TTCRD

     Happy Tuesday and Happy Crafting!  NanaConnie

Gone Fishing !

    HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

to all the Dads in the U.S.!

     Catch the Bug Challenge has a fun BINGO board for their challenge theme this week and I picked the middle column:  Stitching, Bugaboo Image, & a Sentiment.  The Bugaboo Stamps image is one of their "Sunbonnet" collection but I decided that because she's dressed in coveralls while she's out fishing, 'she' looked more like a 'he' in a straw hat and I could do a masculine card!  If my dad was still with us, he'd be spending his "Father's Day" on the river bank, wearing his straw fishing hat, with baited hook on the pole.  :-D

Colored with ProMarkers, gel inks, & water colors

Cut w/ stitched die from Tutti Designs

Avery Elle die on sentiment

Forest green CS & polka dot dp are scraps

Ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon, also a scrap

     Challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge

All Fun

Angie's Digital

Crafty Friends

Dare 2B Artzy

Dragonfly Dreams

Lil Patch of ...

Pixie's Snippets

Stamping Sensations

     All you dads out there - enjoy your day and find some time to do what you love best.  For those of you who love to craft, whether you be a dad, a mom, a child, a sibling, or just someone who's still observing isolation precautions, be safe and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Peace and Quiet

     I went on a shopping spree at Lili of the Valley during their half-off sale last weekend.  I've always loved their images since the first time I saw one and if they have a sale, you can bet I'm over there buying new (to me) stamps.

     Today, I'm going to share with you something I bought which is slightly different for me but it sure makes for quick and easy, git 'er done, cards!  These are files which contain three different sizes of digital images (A2, A6,& A7 card sizes), pre-colored and ready to print.  All you need is to trim them to fit the card.

     Here's an A2 card made with the smallest image size.  The image is called Peace and Quiet.  I think it took me less than 10 minutes to have the card finished.

In order to use all the colors from Tuesday Throwdown,

I used dark blue CS for the frame and I chose

the pre-made card base with the flowers.

Pre-colored
Cut with QuicKutz die
Dark blue frame cut with Tutti Designs die
Card base is from DCWV Linen Closet set

     Challenges for 1st card:
Art Impressions
Aud Sentiments
Arty Divas
Crafty Sentiments
Lemon Shortbread
SUYP Cats
Time Out

     Now, having done that really quick card, I decided to play around a bit and see what else I could do with them.  Here's the result using exactly the same size image but this time I adjusted the pre-colored version into gray-scale before I printed it.  This card took me about 15 minutes, including working in MS Word to get the preferred lever of gray-scale before printing.

Yellow ProMarker used to color the bees and pansies
Black, fine line, gel pen used on sentiment
Image cut with Tutti Designs die
Card front embossed w/ "Linen" folder
CAS design w/ no embellishment

     Challenges for 2nd card:
Colour Crazy
Crafty Calendar
Creative Fingers
Outlawz SAR
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Path of Positivity
Pattie's Creations
Polkadoodles
Your Scrapbook Place

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Flowery Hello

     Catch the Bug had such a great inspiration photo this week that I just had to get a card made using flowers, butterflies, and the colors.  The image is from Bugaboo Stamps.  Everything on the card, including the CS on which the image was printed, came from a scrap.  I love it when I can make cards like that.  Using up scraps and snippets makes me feel so justified when I buy new papers.  :-D

Colored with ProMarkers
Image cut with QuicKutz die
"Hello" from Tutti Designs dies
Leaf branches from Creative Expressions dies
CAS design

     Challenges:
Crafty Sentiments
Dare 2B Artzy
Digi Choosday
Lil Patch of Crafty...
Outlawz SAR
Pixie's Snippets
TTCRD

     We're halfway through this week (for those of you who may have lost track of which day this is) and I hope all is well with each of you.  I'm so ready to get everything back to normal.  In the meantime, Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

March to Your Own Drummer

     The instant I saw this image from the Progressive Challenge at LeAnn's World, I knew I had to do a CAS card in blues.  OK, so it's not as CAS as my friend, Lynn, does but she's an absolute master at making them (and she loves blue!)  I got carried away with a couple of background layers but there's no ribbon, no bows, no flowers, no twine, no embellies beyond the 3 tiny dots which dropped out of the die cut frame!

Colored with ProMarkers
Image cut with QuicKutz die
Frame cut with Tutti Designs die
Polka dot paper from DCWV
Corner punch from Fiskars
Linen EF used on card base
Sentiment printed and cut with QuicKutz

 Challenges:
A Gem of a ...
Artsy Stamper
Aud Sentiments
Cardz TV
Colour Crazy
Lil Patch of Crafty...
MFT Colors
Outlawz PAM
Time Out

     That's all I have for today but I'll probably have a new post tomorrow.  I'm retiring to the craft room right now to see what strikes my fancy.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Get Well Wishes

     I'm trying to get my stock of Get Well cards replenished and when I saw this adorable QKR Stampede image, called "Sick Angel" (but misspelled in the shop as Angle), I knew I had to use it for my DT card for the newest weekly challenge which starts today.

Colored with ProMarkers
Stickles added to wings and halo
Glossy Accents added to stars
Image cut with Tutti Designs die
Paper scraps cut with Impression Obsession dies
Background embossed with Couture Creations EF
Sentiment printed and hand cut

     Challenges:
Colour Crazy
Crafty Creations
Creative Fingers
I {heart} ProMarkers
Paperbabe Stamps
Paper Funday
Pattie's Creations
Simon Says Stamps
Word Art Weds.
Your Next Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie