Things Found in a Field

      The newest FarmQuest challenge has started and our theme is "Things Found in a Field."  I remembered a digital coloring book image I had and searched my computer for it.  It took a while but it was exactly the way I remembered it so it was perfect for this theme.  I think it was a KesterArt coloring book.

     The image comes with lots of gray scale detail so the coloring just enhanced what was already there.  I printed it full size and colored with Sanjoki markers and water color paints.  I photographed the finished page, and reduced the size of it before printing it onto white card stock to use on the card.  I cut the image with a QuicKutz die, then printed the sentiment and cut it with an Avery Elle die.  I used the left over white CS to frame the image, and the background dp is from an old DCWV paper stack.  After everything was laid out on the card front, I added highlights to the birds and one or two flowers with a white gel pen. 

     Challenges:

     Come play with us this fortnight.  Just show us something you might find in a field and enter it into our challenge.  We love seeing what you create.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

FarmQuest Country Christmas January

      I'm still sharing Christmas cards and will be doing so each month for the FarmQuest Country Christmas challenge which runs for a month at a time, starting on the 7th of each month throughout the year.  Each challenge ends on the 5th of the following month.  

     The theme is always Christmas and it must have a country flair.  No big city scenes or modern crowded city streets, just open country scenes of wood land animals or fields.

     This beautiful cardinal image is a coloring book page, sized to fit a card.  I printed it in light sepia tone (20% saturation), then colored the bird and branch with water colors.  I used a Spellbinders die to cut the image.  I printed the sentiment, cut it with an Avery Elle die, and matted it with a scrap of red CS.   I took another scrap strip of red CS, punched one corner with a Fiskars punch, and used it as background.  A really CAS card but one with eye appeal.

     Challenges:

Crafts Galore ...

Kerst Christmas

Merry...Christmas

Morgan's ArtWorld

Outlawz Friday

Peace on Earth

SheepSki Designs

Triple B

     I hope you're not too tired of Christmas to come join us in our Country Christmas Challenge.  We love seeing what you create.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Life's Too Short ...

      Today's my daughter's birthday and I hope she's going to be far too busy to visit my blog (which she doesn't do that often anyway) because I'm posting her Halloween card.  Yes, she's an adult, and yes, she has kids in college, and yes, I send her (and everyone else in my family; kids, grandkids, great-grands) Halloween cards just because it's so much fun!

     But this one will have special meaning to her and that means I need to tell you a little bit about the business she runs.  She's a Color Street stylist and if you've never heard of Color Street, check out her FB site, Michele's Magnificent Manis.  Color Street is dry nail polish strips which go on in a jiffy and are dry to the touch as soon as they are applied.  Since she started her business about 4 years ago, I've been using Color Street on my own nails and I have to say I love the product.  Everybody asks if it's stickers or stick-on nails, but it's not.  It's real nail polish but it comes in strips, not in a bottle and there's no waiting for it to dry once applied.

     So, when I saw this fabulous digital coloring page over on the Bogema Books site, I had to buy the entire coloring book just to get this image.  What could be more perfect?  Tatiana Bogema is the artist and I do love her pages.  I also bought one of her Christmas books while I was there.

     I sized the image for an A2 card, then printed it and used water color paints for coloring it.  I cut it with my largest Tonic Studios rectangle die and matted it with both black and orange CS scraps, trimmed to fit.  The sentiment came from a sign my daughter has in her vendor booth when she does sales events.  It seemed perfect for this image!  Isn't this a scream?

     Challenges:

Aloha Friday

Crafty Gals Corner

Creative Knockouts

Double D

Happy...Stampers

LeighSBDesigns

Paper Funday

Simon Says Stamp

Sweet Sketch Weds (scene)

     Sending a Happy Birthday wish to my daughter and thanks to all the rest of you for stopping by.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Holly Jolly Mouse

      I have a craft fair coming up just a few days before Thanksgiving in November and I've been working on lots of extra Christmas and Thanksgiving cards.  

     This is a digital coloring book image which I reduced in size to fit an A2 card.  I used my polychromos colored pencils to color that sweet mouse, then cut him with a QuicKutz die.  I photographed the image after I colored him and printed 6 of them so that I could make a half dozen, duplicate cards which will be a set of Christmas cards.  They are all the same but for the background color.  I used different sparkly papers on each one (this blue, plus red, green, white, silver, and gold) so there is some variety, even though the image looks exactly the same on each one. The sentiment was printed and fussy cut.  The background is glitter paper from DCWV.  Fast and easy with no embellishment!

     Challenges:

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Final Exams

     I know it's been several days since I posted anything but I'm recuperating from some serious respiratory problems and my crafting has been very limited.  Sorry.  Hopefully, I'll get back to normal soon.  :-D

     Today I'm sharing 2 different cards, both made as encouragement for a college student facing some really difficult exams at the end of a semester.  This first one is for that horrendous period of study and anxiety leading up to the exams.

     The wise old owl seemed appropriate for a school/education theme.  I'm pretty sure this was a digital coloring book image which I reduced in size.  The image and the CS framing were each cut with dies from Spellbinders.  The Christmas candy dp was from an old DCWV stack and it just had the perfect colors to complement the image.  The sentiment is mine alone.  :-D  

Pre-exams

     I loved the CAS design and used it again on the second card.  The same Spellbinders dies were used on the second card and the background dp is also DCWV.  The flower is from Petaloo.  Obviously, this one is for that joyous period when grades are assigned and all exams were successfully passed.  :-D

Post exams

     Challenges:

Crafty Calendar

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Dare2BArtzy

Dragonfly Dreams

Gem of a Challenge

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Festive Fri

Pammie's IP

Paperbabe

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie