Coffee Loving Monster

     On this Memorial Day, let's remember

why it's on our calendars and honor those 

who fought for and even gave their own lives

that we might enjoy our Freedom.

     This fun and slightly distressed (ok, a lot distressed!) monster is the Progressive Challenge image from Limited Runs for May/June.  The expression on his face just shouted that he had tasted his coffee and found something horribly wrong.

     It reminded me of an incident when I was probably 10 or 11.  I wanted to do something really special for my dad on Father's Day.  He was never one for big, noisy, celebrations, especially when he was the object of them, and he had announced that he planned on going off early in the morning to spend the day fishing; no fuss, no muss, no celebration.  After a few minutes of begging to go with him, he agreed and I said I'd fix the picnic basket of lunch and snacks.

     I suppose I made sandwiches or maybe even potato salad (one of his favorites) but what I really remember was the thermos of coffee.  He loved coffee and drank it year round, cold weather or hot.  His coffee thermos went everywhere with him.  I made coffee as soon as I woke up and, because I might end up drinking some of it myself if there was nothing else available, I added a bit of sugar since I really didn't care for the taste of coffee back then.  It's an acquired taste, you know.  :-D

     We were probably 10 or 15 miles from home when Dad had me pour him his first cup from the thermos, and his face turned an apoplectic red, then white as he swallowed a big mouthful.  Dad took his coffee black - no adulteration allowed!  He looked just like that Coffee Monster!  lol  As I remember, we turned around, went back home, remade the coffee, and then went fishing.  He never scolded me about it but it remained a long-standing joke between us for the rest of his life.  :-D

     OK, after that rather long story, here's my card. Consider it a salute to the greatest dad who ever lived (and a WWII vet, also!)

Colored with ProMarkers
Image and sentiment cut with Dare 2B Artzy dies
Background CS cut with same D2BA dies
Die cut circles inlaid into background
Satin bow dyed with ProMarker, pearl added
CAS design

     Challenges:
Artsy Stamper
Arty Divas
Coffee Lovers Blog Hop
Creative Craft Cottage
Incy Wincy
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Paper Girls
Simon Says Stamp & Show

     Take a moment and thank a veteran, won't you?  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Stop and Taste the Tulips

     This fun and silly image came from the Progressive Challenge at Limited Runs this month.  I know we're commonly advised to "Stop and smell the roses" but this one looks more like she's stopping to taste the tulips.  lol  I did a pretty simple design with just the image and some ribbon.

Colored w/ ProMakers
Cut with an Unbranded die
Sheer ribbon from my old stash
Gray CS for the card base

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time...
Crafts Galore Encore
Creatalicious
Creative Crafters
Dare 2B Artsy
Outlawz Stash
Prika Crafts
World Wide Open

     We had rain again this morning, even though our weather predictors said it would only rain up in the mountains and that we'd see nothing.  Mind you, I'm not complaining!  It was wonderful to hear the rain pounding down on the metal awning over my driveway right outside my craft room.  What a wonderful background accompaniment to the creative process.  :-D

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Monsters Are Hiding

     Did you know that when monsters hide (in the closet, under the bed, behind the flower pot), they can't be seen?  It's true!  Check this out.

     This image is for the April Progressive Challenge at Sasayaki Glitter and I colored it with watercolors, then used gel inks on the flowers and eyes.  I did all the die cuts with Unbranded dies.  The little plaid bow is actually made from a strip of fabric.  I added the glittered ribbon for just a touch of sparkle.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Cardz TV
Crafty Catz
Creative Fingers
Double D
Happy Craft
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz PAM
Take It, Make It

     Hey, we're mid-way through the week!  Does anybody else feel like time goes way to quickly these days?  I mean, we're a third of the way into April and almost a third of the way through 2019, and it still feels like I was doing Christmas cards just a couple of weeks ago.  Sigh...  Oh, well, Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Let Us Eat Cake

     This crazy little "Cake Monster" from Gerda Steiner Designs was just too cute to ignore!   It's the image from the monthly Progressive Challenge and I started working on it practically the moment I got it.  :-D

     This is actually a 'window' card in that the card front is die cut (Memory Box), leaving a scalloped hole and the image is on the inside of the card.

     I colored the image with my ProMarkers, trimmed it to the size of the A2 card and mounted it on the inside.  I printed the sentiment, fussy cut it and adhered it to the card front.  This is another ombre card front.  I bought a stack of ombre CS in various colors and I'm having a lot of fun using them for card bases.

     This time, I decided it only needed minimal embellishment, so I added the sheer, purple-ribbon bow. Because there wasn't a lot of room along the sides of the window, I added a small tab sticking into the window and then adhered the bow to it so that the tab was hidden by the bow.

     1 more card for the birthday stash.  :-D

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps and More
Crafting by Designs
Kraftin' Kimmie
Outlawz Greetings
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Scrapy Land
Simon Says Stamp
Unicorn 

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