Cat with the Coffee

     Today's card is late for the Coffee Lovers Hop but the image came from Limited Runs .  :-D   Doesn't he look like the dollop of whipped cream for his latte ended up on his head?  No wonder he wanted just the coffee.  lol

My colors came from this challenge at Color My Heart.

Colored with ProMarkers
Cut with pinpoint, Memory Box die
Matting layers cut with Memory Box dies
Background paper from DCWV
Burlap twine, triple loop, bow

     Challenges:
Cardz TV
Colour Crazy
Cute Card Thurs
Double Trouble
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Paperbabe Stamps
Pattie's Creations
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Polkadoodles

     Thanks for visiting and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Coffee Lovers Hop

     It's time for the Coffee Lovers Hop again and I was thrilled to find out that this time they are including any/all hot drinks - coffee, tea, cocoa, because that fits perfectly with the cute image I'm using which comes from Digi Doodle Studios.  It's called Carolina's Coffee Break.

Colored with ProMarkers
Fiskars corner punch
QuicKutz die on kraft matting
Flowers dyed with ProMarkers
Sentiment hand cut
Flat metallic brad in flower center

     Challenges:
Colour Crazy
Crafty Catz
Digi Doodle Studios
Outlawz Crash Your Stash
Polkadoodles

     I'll have another post today (or 2) so that I can catch up with the Beccy's 30 Days of Holiday Cards.  They are on Day 2 already and I haven't even posted one for the 1st day.  See you later.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Meowl-loween

     Hey, the 2019 Cat Lovers Hop starts today

 and this is my first project for it!

This is year #5.

Haven't played before and interested in joining?

Click HERE.

     Ready for another silhouette card?  This one was pretty quick and simple, and qualifies as a CAS card, I'm sure.  Have you noticed a fascination for cats in these silhouettes?   Back in the days when I was still buying rubber stamps instead of using digis (a looooong time ago!), I think I bought every single stamp I saw that had a cat in it.  Of course, when it comes to Halloween stamps, cats are easy to find, especially black cats which makes silhouettes a natural.  :-D

Colored with ProMarkers
Cut with a Sizzix die
Stitched black ribbon from Crafty Ribbons
Bow tie bow added to the middle cat
Embossing on card front - Darice EF

     Challenges:
Crafty Catz
Crafty Gals Corner
Creative Knockouts
Double D
Dragonfly Dreams
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds
I {heart} ProMarkers
LeighSB Designs
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Scrappy Land
Simon Says Stamp
SUYP Cats

     Happy Monday and Happy Crafting!  NanaConnie

Cutest Purple Witch, Ever!

     When I was growing up, when we talked about "Halloween colors" we meant black and orange - only black and orange. Somewhere along the way, Ooze Green got added and then Purple.  Once Purple became a Halloween color, I was ecstatic!  It's my favorite color whatever time of the year, and getting to use it for Halloween was the greatest bonus ever.

     This little witch is following good advice when she digs out and dons her purple dress and purple hat.  :-D  The image is the freebie for the Progressive Challenge at LeAnn's World 101.

Colored with ProMarkers
Image and sentiment cut with Tonic Studios dies
Background embossing w/ Darice EF
Sparkle ribbon
Signature bow w/ pearl

     Challenges:
Angie's Digital Stamps
Colour Crazy
Crafty Calendar
Crafty Catz
Creative Fingers
Creative Knockouts
Dragonfly Dreams
LeAnne's World 101
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Scrapper's Delights

     That's it for today but more Halloween fun tomorrow.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Mushroom Fairy for Fall

     This adorable little fairy, sitting in her mushroom garden enjoying the cooler days of fall, is from All Dressed Up. 

     The weather has stayed pretty hot where I live until today when they are predicting 83 instead of 93, and my blogging buddy, Lynn, a Texan from head to toe, says it's stayed awfully warm in her area, too.  So this card celebrates the arrival of fall and if it hasn't cooled off for her yet, maybe the weather is heading from my house to hers.  Hang in there, Lynn!

I chose colors from the middle column of color board #363

at Color My Heart Color Dare, plus I used "Ballerina"

for her face and arms.

Colored with ProMarkers

Cut image & frame with Sizzix dies

Gold CS base

Gold, glittered flower

CAS design

     Challenges:

Addicted to Stamps

Cardz TV

Colour Crazy

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Outlawz SAR

Pattie's Creations

Take It, Make It

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Batdog to the Rescue!

     OK, OK, I know there's no "Batdog" in real life or even in the comics but think of him as a recent, mythical creature!  I adore the cute image we received this month from Polkadoodles for the Outlawz Progressive Challenge.  Perfect for another Halloween card with her little pup all dressed in his bat costume.  :-D

I pulled my colors from the

Ike's World challenge.

Colored with ProMarkers & gel pens
Cut with an Unbranded die
Ribbons (black sparkle and orange/white stripes) - both are scraps
Gemstone bling on the bow
Sentiment printed and hand cut

     Challenges:
Crafting by Designs
Crafty Creations
Crafty Sentiments
Digi Choosday
I {heart} ProMarkers
Passion for ProMarkers
TTCRD

     That's all for today and I hope your weekend is going well.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Bewitched !

     Another Halloween card today and it's for our challenge at Crafting with an Attitude where we have our usual "Anything Goes" theme.  Our fabulous sponsor is Digi Doodle Studios and you know how much I love their images!  This one is called "Witchy Shoes" and I colored it Halloween colors.

Colored with ProMarkers
Die cut with QuicKutz
Glitter paper by Recollections
Hand tied bow with sequin
Sentiment cut with QuicKutz
Inked edges on sentiment
Black card base

     Challenges:
Crafty Creations
Creative Inspirations
Digi Choosday
I {heart} ProMarkers
Paper Funday
Passion for ProMarkers
Scrappy Land
TTCRD
Work It Weds.

     Come play with us this month!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Witches' Stew

     My mother loved split pea soup - me, not so much.  She'd have a batch of it simmering on the stove as soon as the weather turned cold and, most often, that meant sometime in October.  With Halloween looming on the near horizon, she'd try to 'sell' the dish to me by calling it "The Witches' Stew."  Each year, she'd say it was a secret recipe which she'd procured with great difficulty from a dying witch and that it was guaranteed to cure all winter ills.  lol

     I'm celebrating that memory by using this fun image and sentiment from Jan's Digi Stamps.  Remember a couple of days ago when I was telling you how excited I was to have found Jan's new store after the closure of Sparkle N Sprinkle?  If you didn't see that post, check it out HERE. 

     Below is Gertie, the Witch with her bowl full of Witches' Stew.  (Image is actually named Witches' Brew.)  While I'm at it, let me share some fabulous news with you.  On Monday, November 4, 2019, Jan's Digi Stamps is going to be starting a new challenge blog!  Challenges will be posted on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month and they will have an Anything Goes theme.  You can  read all the Guidelines if you visit the blog.  Mark your calendars and be sure to become a follower so that you don't miss out on playing in them.

     OK, here's today's card:

I took a couple of liberties but was inspired by

the sketch at The Outlawz.

Colored with ProMarkers
Image and frame cut with Tonic Studios dies
Card front embossed with "Linen" EF
Scrap of ribbon
Signature bow with pearls
All the CS used were scraps, including the piece used for the image and the sentiment

     Challenges:
Crafting by Designs
Crafty Sentiments
Creative Inspirations
I {heart} ProMarkers
Paper Funday
Passion for ProMarkers
Pixie's Snippets
Scrappy Land
SUYP Cats

     That's it for today.  Please go check out the new challenge blog at Jan's Digi Stamps and mark your calendar for November 4th when our first challenge will go live.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Fall Fashions

     I'm playing with another House Mouse stamp today, still hoping to encourage autumn to arrive and the hot summer temperatures to go away.  We're Day 3 into yet another heat wave (temps of 100F or more 3 or more days in a row) and I'm really tired of it.  A week ago, I had hopes that we were done with 100F temperatures until next summer but no such luck.  Ah, well, maybe by the end of this week...?

Colored with ProMarkers
Cut and framed w/ Spellbinders dies
Stitched satin ribbon
Fabric pumpkin w/ added pearl
Sentiment - printed and hand cut
Striped dp - DCWV "Basics" stack

     Challenges:
Coloring in Scrapland
Crafty Sentiments
Digi Choosday
Double Trouble (paired w/ The Paper Girls)
Get Creative
Outlawz Greetings
TTCRD
Tuesday Throwdown

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Embroidery Pattern Kitten

     I went on a "clear it out" rampage last weekend when I opened a rarely used cabinet in my crafting area.  I think most of us have such places but mine was filled with shoe boxes of crafting things I hadn't seen since my move to this city almost 6 years ago!   During my last move, I simply moved the cabinet with boxes intact and without sorting anything.  After this weekend, there are two shoe boxes left in the cabinet and I know everything that's in each one.

     Among the things I found were several packets of iron-on embroidery patterns, including this one of a kitten with flower.  The flower may have been intended as a daisy but since I did it in fall colors, it's now a sunflower.

I based this on the sketch at The Outlawz

flipping it so that the bow becomes the butterfly.

ProMarkers
QuicKutz circle dies
Persimmon CS frames
2 layers of sheer ribbon
Kraft card case
Hand tied, gold, sheer ribbon bow

     Challenges:
Crafty Friends
Creative Inspirations
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Festive Fri.
Paperbabe Stamps
Passion for ProMarkers
Scrappy Land
SUYP Cats

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Cleaning Up

     Welcome to another Friday and another start to the weekly challenge at QKR Stampede.  I have a DT card to share today which is filled with just plain silliness.  The image is called "Bathing Bear."  It comes in both digi and rubber stamps.

Again, using my favorite orange & brown fall colors.

ProMarkers
Sparkle gel ink on faucet
Spellbinders die
Stitched ribbon - Crafty Ribbons
Plaid Ribbon - Really Reasonable Ribbon
Brown CS for background embossed with 'Linen' EF

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Creative Knockouts (digi/sentiment/ribbon)
Cute Card Thurs.
Cutie Pie
Dragonfly Dreams
Get Creative
Outlawz Greetings
Path of Positivity

     Come play with us, won't you?   We love being inspired by you.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Harvest Flower Jar

     Even though this is my second post of the day, it's Monday morning and the beginning of another week.  I'm still focused on autumn and hoping for a quick end to summer (hope springs eternal!)  This lovely image from Bugaboo Stamps called out to me and I bought it the minute I saw it.

My favorite fall color combo is green and orange.

Colored with ProMarkers 
Fussy cut image
Square is cut with a QuicKutz die
Faux stitching
Stitched ribbon
Accordion-fold bow

     Challenges:
Catch the Bug
Crafty Friends
Creative Inspirations
Cute N Crafty
Cutie Pie
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Scrappy Land
Simon Says Stamp
Word Art Weds.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Autumn Butterflies

     Most of us think of spring when we think "butterflies" but I've noticed that there are more of them in my garden in the fall than in the spring.  I don't know what's growing there that time of year that they particularly like, but whatever it is, they prefer it to what's there in the spring.

     This image is from Conie Fong.

Image colored with ProMarkers
Image is hand cut with scissors
Background squares cut with Sizzix dies
Only scraps used for the background

     Challenges:
Butterfly wheel (jade, juicy orange)
Coloring in Scrapland
Crafting by Designs
Cute N Crafty
Dare 2B Artsy
Dragonfly Dreams
Get Creative
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Pixie's Snippets

     That's all I have for today.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Autumn Fox

     This darling little fox is an image from MMedal Illustrations and he's the freebie image for the Outlawz Progressive challenge this month.  I considered treating him as an Arctic Fox but decided that he'd be perfect for a card done in autumn colors.  I may use him again in icy colors for a winter card.

I decided to use colors from the 3rd column of Color My Heart's

Tic Tac Toe color challenge, plus neutrals of brown and gray.

     I love the expression on his face - he seems so happy!  I colored with ProMarkers and polychromos pencils.  I cut him with an octagon die from QuicKutz and matted him with another, larger octagon cut.

     The polka dot paper is a scrap which I chose because it has the three colors in the column perfectly matched.  I chose CS as close to the "nectarine" color as I could get and made the card base.  My two ribbons look much more orange than they are IRL; they really are just deeper hues of the nectarine color but I have photographed this card 4 different times in different light each time and they continue to look orange.  Sigh....

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
A Gem of a Challenge
Cardz TV
Crafty Calendar
DL.ART
Dragonfly Dreams
Polkadoodles
Southern Girls

     Well, the weekend has officially started and I'm on a coloring binge.  That means I'll have plenty I can do tomorrow to put cards together and get them ready to post.  In the meantime, a few hours of sleep is in order.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Gratitude

     For today's card, I've used "Earth Fairy" from Fabrika Fantasy.  She colored up so beautifully!

     I colored with ProMarkers, cut the image with a die from Spellbinders, and backed it with orange CS.  I printed the sentiment, matted it with a scrap of that same CS, and added it to the top of the image piece.

     I made a card base from kraft CS and added a scrap of dp which had been lying on my desk.  I wrapped the card front with some sparkly brown ribbon, then layered on the image.  I cut tiny pumpkins with an Impression Obsession die and added them to the bottom of the image.

     The double layer butterfly was cut with a die from Cottage Cuts and I added pearls to make the body.

     Challenges:
Angie's Digital Stamps
Cards in Envy
Crafter's Castle
Crafty Catz
Jo's Scrap Shack
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Stamping Sensations (Bounty, Butterfly, Brown ribbon)
TTCRD

    I'll have another post tonight, around 6:00 p.m Pacific time.  I don't normally pre-schedule my posts for that hour but in this case, I'm guest designing and that's when the Outlawz Monday challenge goes live.  So think of it as being my post for Monday and check back when you have time.  :-D

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

The Perfect Pumpkin

     When was the last time you wandered through a pumpkin patch (with or without kids/grandkids) searching for that one perfect pumpkin?  I remember the days when we actually went out to the farmer's field and found pumpkins for Halloween and Thanksgiving.  Now, they come to us by way of our super markets and a good number of grandkids don't even know that pumpkins grow on vines which are found trailing across acres and acres of ground.  Sigh...

     I absolutely love this darling image from Ching-Chou Kuik and I know that she didn't find her perfect pumpkin in a grocery store.  Nope, she and her kitten found that one in the field and picked it straight off the vine.  :-D

     I colored the image with my ProMarkers, then use dies from Sizzix to cut it and the frame piece.  I had already decided on a CAS design so I grabbed a scrap of kraft CS which was not large enough to made a standard A2 size card.  I left the back side as a 4.25" x 5.5" rectangle but the front flap was only 3" wide.

     I used my Scor-Pal to make the score lines vertically on that front flap, then added the scalloped circle image.  Although it's not really clear in the photograph, it gives a very interesting shape to the card.  I printed and hand cut the sentiment, adding it below the image.  There are no additional embellishments, only the score lines.

     Challenges:
Aloha Friday
Cardz TV
Ching-chou Kuik FB
Creative Fingers
Fussy and Fancy
Outlawz Festive Friday
Pattie's Creations
Scor-Pal
Take It, Make It

     It's the start of the weekend and we still have another few sweltering days before cooler air moves in from the Canadian north.  Weatherman is saying we'll be down in the 80s before the end of next week and I can hardly wait!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Jumping in Leaves

     Nothing is more fun in the fall than jumping in leaves!  Kids love doing it and grown ups love remembering when their bodies were young enough to do it.  Well, at least I do.  :-D

     Another Friday and another "Anything Goes" challenge from QKR Stampede.  I'm sticking with doing autumn cards in hopes that the fall weather will finally arrive and today's card is no exception.  I've used an image and a sentiment from QKR's sister company, Eureka Stamps.  The image is called "Lady Throwing Leaves" and the sentiment is "Jump into Pile of Leaves."

I was inspired by the sketch at AAA Cards

turned sideways.

     I chose the scrap of paper before I started coloring with ProMarkers and pulled colors from it.  I cut the image and the brown frame with Sizzix dies.  I printed the sentiment, hand cut it and inked the edges with a ProMarker. 

     I took the scrap of paper and tore the edges all the way around for a distressed look.  I layered everything onto a kraft card base.  I dub out black and gold jute cord and wrapped the card front with them, tying a knot.  I also tied a small, black, polka dot, bowtie bow and added it.  I really liked the CAS look of the design so I left it as it was.

     Challenges:
Crafty Gals Corner
Crafty Sentiments
Digi Choosday
Dragonfly Dreams
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Scrappy Land
Time Out
Word Art Weds

     OK, now it's all up to you.  Come enter our challenge this week and you might win some fabulous QKR Stampede images!  See you there.  NanaConnie

Butterfly Days

     Here it is the first Thursday in September and our latest challenge is starting over at Crafting with an Attitude.  Our sponsor this month is Bugaboo Stamps and our theme is the usual "Anything Goes."

     Bugaboo Stamps generously provided images for the DT to use and I chose one from Floral Set 2.

     I had such fun coloring this image in lovely autumn colors and I went a little bit crazy with new ideas.  I started with my usual ProMarkers, then added Stickles to the butterfly.  While I was waiting for that to dry, I did a very light spritz of Heidi Swapp Amethyst mist.  I printed the sentiment, spritzed it, hand cut it, and inked the edges before adding it.

     Once the Stickles glitter on the butterfly was completely dry, I fussy cut the image circle, leaving the flower and one leaf  "out-of-the-box."   I still had the scrap of white CS on which I had laid the pieces for spritzing and I decided to cut it with one of my Amy Designs dies.  I wasn't sure that was going to work but I actually loved the way it looked so I layered on the image piece and added loose, "Grape" glitter to some of the tiny butterflies in the die cut, leaving others just spritzed.

     That entire thing went onto a Harvest Gold piece of CS, cut to the size of the card front.  As the final embellishment, I added three lavender pearls to diagonal, top and bottom, corners of the card.

     Challenges:
Butterfly Challenge (electric yellow and embellishment)
Catch the Bug
Crafting by Designs
Creative Inspirations
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
I {heart} ProMarkers
Paper Shelter
Scrappy Land
Sisterhood of Crafters
Work It Weds.

      I hope we're going to see you playing in our challenge this month.  You can't lose with an Anything Goes theme so join us and inspire us with your creations.  :-D  NanaConnie

Pumpkin Wagon

     The pumpkins in the garden are getting bigger, fatter, and more orange each day.  The rest of the crops are pretty much done for the year even though my tomato plants are still looking healthy and are massive in size.  I was inspired to dig out this delightful image from Sandi Huggett which I used nearly every fall; sometimes for Halloween, sometimes for Thanksgiving.  This year it's just for a celebration of the harvest season.

     I started with water colors on the sky and ground, then colored the rest of wagons and pumpkins with ProMarkers.  I cut the image with an Unbranded, Cross Stitch Rectangle die.  I wanted dp which had fall colors but also had blue.  I found two scraps of dp in my basket, neither of which was large enough to cover the entire card front so I combined them.

     The brown strip is the back side of one of those papers.  The sentiment was printed and cut with another die from that same Cross Stitch set.  I inked the edges before adhering it to the top corner.  I added the three metal brads and the wrapped-string bow and called it finished before it got away from me.  :-D

     Challenges:
CARDZ TV
Crafty Gals Corner
Creative Inspirations
Creative Moments
I {heart} ProMarkers
Outlawz SAR
Simon Says Stamp Mon.
Simon Says Stamp Weds. (this is pumpkin pie in its raw form! :-D)
Sum More Fun
Word Art Weds.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie  

Pumpkin Time

     I've spent the weekend doing both Christmas and Halloween themed cards and today I'm sharing one of the fall/Halloween cards.  The stamp is from Digistamps4Joy and I think it's adorable.

I was inspired by the colors in the mood board at Sum More Fun.

     I used ProMarkers to color the image and white gel ink to make the stars.  I cut the moon from white CS (colored with ProMarkers), added it to the corner, then cut the entire image with a Tonic Studios die.

    I printed the sentiment, cut it with another Tonic Studios die, matted it with yellow CS, and cut that with my paper cutter.  I added everything to an embossed card front and found a lace bowtie to add.  I left it CAS because it will be sent to one of the guys in my family.

     Challenges:
Double D
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
Fussy and Fancy
Hiding in My Craft Room
Outlawz Tuesday
Paper Shelter
Polkadoodles
SUYP Cats

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie