Remembering Our Veterans

     Next Monday, November 11, we celebrate Veterans' Day here in the US and in other parts of the world it's often called Remembrance Day.  Whatever the title, it's a time for remembering and honoring those who served their countries.  So, our theme for the challenge this week at Delicious Doodles is "Remembrance."  For those of you too young to know the significance of the red poppies (and that's most of us out by now), they came to symbolize the casualties on Flander's Field in WWI.  I still remember getting little paper poppies in grammar school on November 11 and that was many years after WWI, and even some years after WWII, for that matter.

     My card today uses a new digi from Teri at Delicious Doodles called "Poppies and Butterflies," just perfect for remembering and honoring those service men and women of the entire past century.  Honoring them is near and dear to my heart.  My grandfather was a veteran of WWI, my dad served in WWII, my brother served along with many of my cousins between 1955 and 1975, and I have a wonderful grandson who is a career Marine, who has served two tours in Iraq and is currently stationed in Japan.  I'm grateful for each and every one of them.

     I did a spotlight technique by printing the image twice, then coloring a portion of one and die cutting it with a circle die.  I adhered that to the black and white image, being careful to line it up as perfectly as possible.  Then I used scissors to fussy cut the B&W image.  I chose to use a black card base because it really made the spotlight and the red bow 'pop'.

     I used a computer font to print the sentiment, outlined it with black marker and layered it onto the image piece.  Very CAS this week.  :-D

     Challenges:
Catch the Bug -- Anything goes
Crazy 4 Challenges -- Black, white, plus 1 color
Heck of a Challenge -- In the frame
Going Grey w/ Scrap Creations -- Give thanks
House of Gilli -- Thanks
LEJ Designs -- Monochromatic
Love to Scrap -- Anything goes
Male Room -- Remembrance
Mema's Crafts -- Anything with Thank in the sentiment
Oozak -- Anything goes with Thanks
Operation Write Home -- Any Hero cards
Party Time Tuesdays -- Thanks or Thanksgiving
Path of Positivity -- Thankfulness
The Paper Girls -- Fussy cutting
Whoopsi Daisy -- Monochromatic
Word Play Saturday -- Anything

     It's definitely fall around here.  The weather is getting chilly and I've added two blankets to my bed.  Both of the fur babies now think they should be allowed to sleep UNDER the covers instead of draping themselves across my feet or shoulder as I try to sleep.  I've dug out the sweatshirts and pants for lounging around or going outside, though I'm not doing much of either of those things the last few days, preferring to stay in and tackle the remaining boxes.  Soon, all will be unpacked and then I can truly get to organizing the craft room.  I might even take a few pictures and share them with you (the first and only time!)  In the meantime, Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Friends Across the Miles

     It's so good to be back posting with The Crafter's Cafe again after taking a leave while I was doing all that moving.  Having gotten the craft room into a manageable state (which is not to say it's organized or even completely unpacked), I'm excited to be fulfilling my DT obligations again.

     This challenge our theme is "Friends" and our wonderful sponsor is QKR Stampede.  I love QKR digis and I found this image in my own collection, although QKR provided images to the team.  I wanted to do something that would celebrate all those friends and loved ones who are so many miles away but are still counted among those dear to us.

I chose to use the sketch at CAS on Sunday.

     I really love coloring QKR digis and watching them come to life.  I used my favorite ProMarkers, and then added Metallic Silver EP from WOW! to the mailbox and the larger gift.   I used a glitter gel pen to make the snowflakes and shadow the snow on which the snowman is standing.

     I used a VersaMark pen on the bits I wanted to emboss, then sprinkled on the EP and used my heat gun. That's one of my favorite ways to heat emboss digital images.  I always color the image first, then use an Embossing Buddy to powder the image before applying the EP.  That way,  I don't get unwanted spots of EP on the digi.  Here's a tip for you:  When you want to heat emboss really small areas of a digital image, use a very small 'spotter' type paint brush, stroke it across your embossing ink pad (or dip it into your refill bottle if you have one) and then 'paint' the area you want to emboss.  The embossing ink sticks to the paper and you can emboss smaller areas than the VersaMark pen tip would allow.  The biggest problem with VersaMark pens, I think, is the relatively large size of the nibs.

     The bow is one of those I sew and I used ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon to make it.  Paper came from DCWV, their "Winter Magic" stack from a couple of years ago.  I used a strip of washi tape and mounted the sentiment on it.  The rhinestone bling was in my stash.  (It's amazing what you can find when you have to pack and then unpack due to a move!!)   After all I've done on this card (or should I say "haven't done" -- meaning I left off most of the embellishments I wanted to use), I certainly hope it has a CAS feel to it.  I know the open space isn't 'white' space but there was so much white in the image piece, it just needed a patterned background to showcase it.  At least the bow & rhinestones are the only embellishments and it will definitely fit in to a standard envelope.

     Challenges:
2 Sisters -- Christmas with no red or green
A&T Emerald Faeries -- Ribbon/lace & bling
A Little Bit Crafty -- Sparkle and shine
Card and Scrap -- Christmas cards
Catered Crop -- Washi tape
Challenges 4 Everybody -- Anything goes
Christmas Card Challenge -- Dimension
Christmas Cards All Year Round -- Winter wonderland
Corrosive Challenges -- TicTacToe: bling/ image/ layers
Crafting Cafe -- Winter blues
Die Cut Divas -- Holidays and celebrations
Flat Friends -- Christmas cards
Great Impressions -- Holiday card or tag
Hobbycutz -- Song inspired (Blue Christmas)
One Crazy Stamper -- Christmas
Outlawz PAM -- Snowmen
Really Reasonable  Ribbon -- Christmas + ribbon
Tok Bobok -- Christmas
Whoopsi Daisy -- Monochromatic
WOW Embossing Powders -- Christmas/Winter

     Goodness, I haven't done a single card for that many challenges in many months!  But this week/month seems to have so many challenges with Christmas or winter themes, how could I resist?  :-D  I hope we're going to see you playing in our challenge at The Crafter's Cafe.  Remember, it doesn't have to be Christmas -- just anything that fits our "Friends" theme.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Look What I Found!

     Well, the actual relocation part of my moving is done and I'm happily in my new home in my new city.  Now, if only I could just snap my fingers and have all the boxes unpacked, the crafting room all organized, and the fur-babies all adjusted to the new digs.  Ah, well -- good to have something to keep me occupied.

     I thought I had planned everything so well, bringing certain of the crafting supplies with me instead of putting them on the moving van.   Somehow I overlooked a few rather important things not the least of which is the cable which connects my camera to the computer so that photos can be uploaded into the hard drive for editing and saving.  It seems that little cable got packed into one of the million boxes still in need of unpacking.  Without that, no matter how many cards I make, nothing will get edited or posted to the blog.  :-(

     However, counting all my blessings, guess what I found already in my hard drive just waiting to be posted?  So, here's my first post from the new home.  :-D

     The image is "Gertie Goose - Fall" from Imagine That !!, given to everyone who played in the progressive challenge last month.  I'm barely getting it in before the end of this month and I'm so grateful I had it photographed before last weekend.  Now I won't miss the challenge over there.

     Everything on the card came from left over scraps, including the trim and the papers.  Both the image and the mat were cut with dies from Spellbinders, and the bow is one of those I make up by the dozens.  I did the sentiment with a computer font.

     Oh, just to finish the story -- having no idea which box is holding the elusive camera cable, I was smart enough to get online and do a search for a store that had another one.  I found it quickly (although in a state halfway across the country), ordered it, and it should be delivered early next week.  Thank goodness for that.  Now I can take time away from unpacking to create a few things, knowing that I can post them within a very short time.

     Challenges:

4 Krafty Girlz -- Anything goes

Brown Sugar -- Autumn

CraftyHands -- Anything goes

Inkspirational -- Photo inspiration (colors)

Outlawz PAM -- Anything goes

Sister Act -- Anything goes

     It's been a long day already and I'm so ready for a nap.  I woke up at 3:30 this morning, started unpacking boxes and finally ate "lunch" about an hour ago.  So, this short post will have to do as my first in almost two weeks.  I promise more posts as this week goes by.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

A Vintage Autumn

     This was one of the last cards I got to make before all the paper crafting supplies got boxed up for the move and I'm proud to say that it's my Guest DT card for this week's 'Anything goes' challenge at Scribble & Scrap. The image is a magnificent one from the Scribble & Scrap shop called "Vintage 3."  If you haven't been to the shop before, you really should go explore it.  More is being added all the time.

I used a sketch from I {heart} Sketches, elongated to fit the image

and the colors are from There She Goes.

.

  

     Isn't she marvelous?  Maybe it's because fall is my favorite season but I thought she'd be perfect done in muted fall colors.  Of course, I can see her done up in spring pastels, too, or even summer brights.  This time, she's colored with ProMarkers and then die cut with that magnificent Cheery Lynn frame.  I did two cuts with that die; one on the image (the white) and a second cut on brown CS.  I fit the white image piece into the brown frame, then matted it with pumpkin CS.

     The leaves are also from a Cheery Lynn die.  All the flowers were in my stash.  I added pearls to the corners and a few places on the frame, plus in some of the flower centers in the image.  They don't show up as well in the photograph but IRL they just shine!

     Challenges:
Artistic Inspirations -- Make it girly
Crafty Sentiments -- Anything goes
Die Cuttin' Divas -- Use brown
Eureka Stamps -- Anything goes
House of Gilli --  Anything goes - Fall
MFP Simple Salutations -- Flowers
Outlawz Monday -- Smiles (even soft, gentle ones)
Parade Your Crafts -- Fall
Rhedd & Rosie's -- Shades of Autumn
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- Inspired by Tammy Tutterow
Top Tip Tuesday -- Flowers
Vintage Stamping -- Feminine Beauty

     I hope you'll come and play along in the challenge at Scribble & Scrap.  Remember, it's anything goes and there's nothing better than that!  I'll see all of you in a couple of weeks when I'm settled and back online after the move. Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Candy Corn Halloween

     I'm getting close to the end of my Halloween cards, thank goodness, and will have to mail some of them really soon since they are going overseas to Japan.  The others can wait until after the move and by that time, some of them won't even have to be mailed.  I can hand-deliver them to the grandkids who already live in my soon-to-be new city.  After all, being close to family is the whole reason for this move.  :-D

    On this card, I used an image from Lacy Sunshine, "Candi Corn Sticky Wings", and I think she's just adorable!   The theme for their challenge is "Stitching, real or faux."

The sketch came from The Outlawz

and the colors from the challenge at Color Throwdown.

     The image is colored with ProMarkers and I used glitter gel ink on her wings.  The embossing folder is by Cuttlebug but I don't remember the name of it.  I've had it at least 2 years and this is the first time I've used it (hanging head in shame.)  Papers came from my 12 x 12 scrapbooking papers and they just really worked for that color combo.  The sparkly bats were in my stash from last year and the bows are some of those I sewed up myself.

     Challenges:
Allsorts -- Autumn colors
Card Makin' Mamas -- Trick or Treat
Challenges and Candies -- Colors of Autumn
Crafting by Designs -- Anything goes
Crafty Catz -- Anything goes
Crazy 4 Challenges -- Halloween
House That Stamps Built -- Happy Fall
Just Inspirational -- Think Pink or Halloween
Moving Along with the Times -- Anything goes
Penny's Paper Crafty -- Anything goes
QKR Stampede -- Fall
Shelly's Images -- Inspiration photo w/ fall colors
Stamping Chef -- Stitching

     OK, that's the end of my break today -- now it's back to work.  I have files to organize and label for the office and very few days left to get it all done.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Silent Night for Whimsy Inspirations

     In the midst of everything else going on in my life (sorting, packing, moving), I was invited to be a Guest Designer for Whimsy Inspiration's challenge this week.  It goes live today at noon Eastern time so my post is a couple hours early but this was when I could get it linked up so... I guess you get a quick preview of the theme.

     I've played in their challenges so often over the last year or two that I just couldn't say "No."  :-D  The theme is "Shabby Chic/Vintage" and I immediately thought of that lacy die cut frame when I saw this image in the Whimsy Stamps store.   It's called "Silent Night," perfect for a Christmas card and lovely with a vintage-y look.  I know vintage is usually piled with flowers, lace, and glittery embellies but I didn't want to cover up the stamp.  I thought the frame was enough and I just did my best to balance CAS and Vintage.

I based this on a sketch from Sketchbook Saturday adapted for a square card.

     I know there's a bit of an angle to the photo but I used gold, metallic CS to mat the image and sentiment and it gives off a terrific glare in a straight-on shot.  The image is colored with ProMarkers and sparkle gel ink on the star and on her wings, although it's hard to see because of the angle.  I die cut both the image and the sentiment with frame dies from Spellbinders.  The bow is one of those I make by the dozens (hand sewn) and the star embellies are metal and enamel brads.  The blue background dp is from DCWV's Juniper Berry stack.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps -- Create a scene
A Gem of a Challenge -- Use black (the wolf)
Challenges 4 Everybody -- Anything goes
Christmas Card Challenges -- Anything Christmas goes
Crazy 4 Challenges -- Use a bow
Di's Digi Designs -- Show your coloring skills
Drunken Stampers -- Die cuts
Glitter n Sparkle -- Something metallic (CS & brads)
Outlawz CAS Sunday -- Baby related (Birth of the Christ child)
Sweet Stampin' -- Things w/ wings

     I think this one may be my favorite Christmas card so far this year.  I know it has to go to someone really special but haven't decided which of the family members will get it.  I do have a friend who just loves wolves so maybe it'll end up in his mailbox instead.  We'll just have to wait and see.  I don't know how many other posts I'll have this week but since yesterday had 3 posts, I know there'll be lots for you to see.  In the mean time, Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Caroling Snowmen

     I'm so excited to announce that I was invited to join Beccy's Place as a Guest Designer for a blog hop that is being done by Sparkle N Sprinkle, where you can find many of Beccy's images. 

     Today the Beccy's Place designers have teamed up with Sparkle N Sprinkle for the release of the new "Snow One Like You" set of images.  The girls over at SNS have been working with the rubber stamp version, while we have been using the digital set that contains a couple of additional images.

Keep reading to learn how you can win one of Beccy's digital sets!

The digital set is available for purchase from Beccy's online store.

Here is the card I created using the set. 

     I went a little wild with the circles but that just makes it a "well-rounded" card, right?    I used ProMarkers to color the image and added glitter to them and to the ice for a bit of sparkle.  I used the same shades of blue to color the "joy" in the sentiment.

     I die cut everything; image, dp, sentiment, then layered everything onto a sapphire blue card base.  I added pearls to the corners for embellishment and then left it alone.  I thought the papers were busy enough that nothing more was needed.

     Beccy is giving away three sets of the "Snow One Like You" digital stamps.  All you have to do is leave a comment on one of her designers blogs during the hop.  Three random comments will be chosen and those people will receive the full set of digital images.  You can leave a comment on as many of the designers blogs as you like... visit them all to increase your chances of winning!

Monika's Blog

Aurore's Blog

Christine's Blog

Karin's Blog

Cynthia's Blog

Ema's Blog

Donna's Blog

Angela's Blog

NanaConnie's Blog  <----that's me!

Charlene's Blog

     Challenges I'm entering with this card:
2 Sisters -- Anything goes
Crafts-Too Challenge You -- Texture + glittery
Creative Corner -- Great Outdoors (if they weren't outdoors, they'd melt!)
Cut It Up -- Going in circles
Digi Haven -- 2 colors (blue & white; just for you, Lynn!)
Drunken Stampers -- Die cuts
My Creative Moments -- Seasons (winter)
Outlawz Monday -- Anything goes
Sister Act -- Anything goes

Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Which Witch Has the Spider?

     When I saw this witch over at Beccy's Place, I knew I had to get her colored up and ready for Halloween.   I love fun Halloween cards and even though I really hate spiders, this one was almost cute.

I used the sketch from A Die for a Sketch.

     The image is colored with ProMarkers and I added a bit of glitter gel ink to the spider's web and to her wand.   I used a hexagon die to cut both the image and the mat.  The paper has been in my fall stash for waaay too many years and is by DCWV but was probably discontinued long ago.  I thought it made a great background for this fun witch.

     The purple ribbon is the last bit I had from some which was recycled from a potted plant and the bow is one of those I make myself.  I added the Dew Drops (purple) and Rain Drops (orange) for embellishment and knew it was finished without anything more.  This is truly one of those "less is more" cards.

     Challenges:
A&T Emerald Faeries -- Magical Creatures
By LORi Designs -- Hexagons/chevrons
C is for Challenges -- Make it sparkle
Craft Your Passion -- Fall colors
Creative Craft -- Use ribbon
Designed to Color -- Anything goes
I {heart} ProMarkers -- Anything goes
Just Inspirational -- Die cuts/punches
Ladybug Crafts -- Anything goes
Lexi's Creations -- Autumn colors
My Craft Creations -- Stamped or digi image
My Craft Spot -- Fav technique (die cuts & coloring)
Oozak -- Fall
Pink Elephant Monday -- Digi image or paper

     OK, back to the "packing" mines for me, my friends.  As the moving gets closer, I feel the pressure of running out of time.  I may be somewhat scarce in my posting for the next couple of weeks, limiting my play to DT work only.  Isn't it terrible when life gets in the way of fun?  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

"Santa" Bear Gets the Tree

     This adorable image is from QKR Stampede and they were generous enough to provide it to Lady Anne's for the progressive Christmas challenge.

My colors came from Chromatic Craze 

and it's based on the sketch from Christmas Challenges w/ Sketches,

with a couple of small liberties taken like tilting the image background.

  (Edited to add:  The sketch had to be removed

but you can find it by clicking on the link.)

     I used ProMarkers to color the image and used a white gel pen to add the snow and snowflakes.  The ribbons came from my stash and the papers are some I've been hiding and hoarding so the maker is unknown.  The white snowflake embellies are punched from vinyl and I added blue gems to them for a colder, more icy feel.

     Challenges:
ABC Christmas -- R for Recipe: 3 dp, 2 ribbons, 1 image
Christmas Stampin' All Year Round -- Cute and cuddly
Crafty Cardmakers -- Christmas snow & ice
Creative Creations -- Christmas
Cutie Pie Challenge -- Cute Christmas
Holly Jolly Christmas -- Include some nature (outdoors & tree)
One Crazy Stamper -- Christmas

     You'll see more of my day-in-the-craft-room if you visit me this weekend and again early next week.  I've really kept myself busy playing all day today.  Other than taking time to wash a couple of lunch dishes and do some laundry, I gave myself the entire day to just play and enjoy crafting.  Too soon now, everything will be packed and I'll be forced to take a week or so without any card making at all.  :-(  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Pumpkins Are Fruit

     Yes, my friends, pumpkins are fruit, not veggies!  If you don't believe that, just check Wikipedia.  Or simpler yet, read the sentiment on my card and I'm sure you'll agree.  :-)

     We had a late start with our usual 1st of the Month New Releases at Doodle Pantry but it's here now and to make it up to you, Laurie is running a sale at the Doodle Pantry store.  BTW, if you get over there and get some weird error message, be patient.  The server had a major crash just as Laurie was getting ready to load all the new sets.  Try again in a short while.

     My card today uses both an image and a sentiment from the new "Pumpkin" set.  There is also a single pumpkin, several sentiments, and some gorgeous papers!  This particular set will be the freebie with any purchase made by Sept. 24th.  Aren't these gorgeous?

Sketch came from 2 Sisters.

     This is a pre-colored image which I stippled after I die cut it, then I mounted it onto that lacy frame die cut (Spellbinders).  The papers have been in my fall colors stash for a year and are from DCWV.  Everything is layered onto a kraft card base.  The white CS on which I printed the stamp and the orange bow are both recycled from a Thanksgiving card I received last year.  The white CS was an insert to keep the card flat and the bow tied the envelope shut.

   I thought the little pearls on each side of the frame were exactly the right amount and size of embellies since this card has to be mailed.  I wanted it relatively flat so that it would fit into a regular envelope.

     Challenges:
Crafty Sentiments -- Fav fall colors (green, orange, yellow, brown)
Hobbycutz -- Recycle
Oldie but a Goodie -- Spots & stripes
Pattie's Creations -- Anything goes
Penny's Paper-Crafty -- Spooled items
Pumpkin Spice -- Anything goes
Speedy Fox & Friends -- Frame it
Sweet Stampin' -- Spots & stripes
Whimsy Inspirations -- Masculine

     Scroll down for a peek at the whole Pumpkin set, then go check out all the rest of the new releases.  Some adorable Christmas sets, and a couple more of Laurie's "Ants."  You know what an absolute hoot they always are!

     And don't forget the challenge which starts at 10 a.m. Eastern time today.  You must use a Doodle Pantry image (not just a sentiment) but you'll get a free set just for playing.  A photo of that set is below also.  Happy Stamping  NanaConnie

 Free w/ Purchase Sept 5 - 24

  Free for playing in the challenge

Pig in a Punkin'

     Have you ever had one of those experiences when you see an image and think, "mmm, cute but..." and go on your way.  Then, you'll see that same image on a card or scrapbook page someone else has done and suddenly it becomes a "have to have that!" and ideas begin to flow?

     Well, that's what happened with this delightful Doodle Pantry set called "Pumpkin Peeps" which happens to be the freebie set you can get just for playing in our Doodle Pantry challenge before August 24th.  That's only 2 days so get going!   You will need a Doodle Pantry image to play along, but then you get a set free just for playing!

     I used the piggy but there's also a darling panda bear, some great digital papers, and lots of fun sentiments.  I'll show you a photo of set at the bottom of this post.

I used the sketch found over at Crafting Musketeers (although I'm not entering that challenge because it's sponsored by Delicious Doodles and I happen to be on the DD DT.  :-) )

and the colors came from Annabelle Stamps.  I love the colors and have already used them once before.

  

     The sentiment is part of the set also.

     Challenges:
Animal Friends -- Summer
Cards Galore -- Bingo: sentiment/ summer/ ribbon
Catch the Bug -- Bingo: No dp/ sewing/ flower
Creatalicious -- For the boys
Send a Smile 4 Kids -- Animals cards 4 kids
Totally Gorjuss -- Die cuts/ punches

     That's it for today and I'm going away today for the entire weekend.  I doubt that I'll have anything to post again before Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.  I'm going to see what I can find in the way of a new home some 300 miles away from where I live now.  I'm going to miss my old Victorian house but will be so happy to live in the same town as some of my grandkids.  Family is so important to me and my one disappointment is that all my kids/grandkids and their families live so far away.  That's the brightest part of this move.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Fairy Glen

     The image on this card is called "Mushrooms in the Forest" and it's one of the new (to me, at least) digital images I found over at Sparkle n Sprinkle, where they have a color challenge this month.  Although I've already done one card for that challenge, I bought this digi and used the colors again just because they seemed to really work for this image.

  

I took my design sketch from The Outlawz.

     I colored the image with my favorite alcohol pens, ProMarkers, then cut and mounted it on a doily.  I used green CS for my card base, added glittery sheer ribbon and a bow, then layered on the image piece.

     The corners are done with a die from Cheery Lynn Designs and those are the punched out, 'negative' pieces which would normally be thrown out.  I added glitter to the corner pieces, though it's a bit hard to see in the photograph.

     The sentiment is my own, computer printed and cut out, then added to the image piece.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps and More -- Make your mark (Coloring)
Crafty Bloggers Network -- Favorite things (mushroom images)
Get Inky -- Ribbon
I {heart} ProMarkers -- Doily
MarkerPOP -- Anything goes
Paper Girls - Glitter
Paper Playtime -- Lots of yellow
Stamp and Create -- Glitter

     Happy Monday to all of you.  It's going to be a long day at work for me today but I'll get to rest when I get home this evening.  Little time for any crafting much before Wednesday afternoon (my treasured mid-week, half-day off) so you know I'll be looking forward to it.  In the meantime, Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Get Along Little Doggie

     My post title is the name of this delightful Meljen's Designs image, and I used the colors from the challenge over there, too.   I know, I know, you expect to see only felines on my blog but the truth is I love animals, not just cats.  Shhhh, don't tell my fur babies I said that.  :-D

Here's a look at the colors from Meljen's 

and my sketch came from Crafting Life's Pieces.

  

     I colored him with a combination of ProMarkers and Copics, with a tiny bit of sparkle gel ink.  The papers are all from my stash and the scrap bits from which I made the dove-tailed flags are shiny CS (from Gina K., I think.)

     I added the stitching around the card front and around the image, and printed the sentiment with a computer font.  Everything is matted with Deep Ocean Blue CS.  The little dragonfly is part of the dp and since it was just a scrap, I had to work it some to get it in exactly the right place.

     Challenges:
2 Creative Chicks -- Anything goes for kids
ABC Challenge -- S is for Stitching
Card and Scrap -- Anything goes
Creatalicious -- I {Heart} my pet!
Lady Anne's Stamp -- Anything goes
Live & Love Crafts -- Warm or cool colors
Penny's Paper-Crafty -- Stitching
Whimsical Designs -- Bug or animal

     I hope you're having a great day and finding just a bit of inspiration in your travels around blogland.  I may be MIA for a couple of days as far as visiting my favorite blogs but I have a DT card scheduled for tomorrow and maybe one or two others this week so I hope you'll visit even if I don't answer my door when you knock.  There's usually a cold drink in the fridge and cookies in the cookie jar on the counter so make yourself at home while you browse around.   :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Room for Rent?

     I was so tickled when I saw this image in the store at Rick St. Dennis!  If you've never had the opportunity to visit the coastal country of Big Sur in California, you've not only missed some gorgeous country, but have missed out on some of the quirkiest, neatest, toes-to-the-earth-and-head-in-the-clouds, artistic people in the world.  :-D  This "Big Sur Outhouse" image sums it all up!  Only in Big Sur would you have an outhouse that looks like a school with a belfry on top!  Hmmm, come to think of it, I remember an outhouse at a back woods school in Montana that looked a lot like this one.  :-D

     Today starts a new challenge at 613 Avenue Create and Rick St. Dennis is one of our sponsors.  The other one this week is Sassy Studios.  We always have an 'Anything Goes' theme, and a twist.  The twist this week is very simple.  Just use a sentiment.  Mine just adds some humor to this wonderful image.

I used a sketch from Papertake Weekly

and my colors came from the inspiration photo

at Just Inspirational.

 

     I colored the image with ProMarkers and pencils, then die cut the image with a rectangle die and rounded the corners with a punch.  The brown CS (a scrap) is embossed with a folder and, again, I used a punch on the corners.  The flowery dp is also a left over scrap.  I inked the edges of everything with distress ink straight from the pad.

     The ribbon is one of those "What was I thinking?!" purchases that we crafters sometimes do.  Don't get me wrong, I love the ribbon!  But when I bought it, I just knew I'd use it on everything so I bought a 30-yard spool of it which was on clearance at 75% off.  But 30 yards??!!  OMG!   And this is the first time I've ever used it.  Sigh.  Of course, it did get hidden in a drawer and I only located it a week ago during a reorganizing campaign.  :-D  Maybe you'll be seeing it on lots of projects now.  I also shared some of it with a friend of mine so maybe you'll see it on some of her projects, too.

     Challenges:
Crafty Catz -- Pastel colors
Just Add Ink -- Masculine cards
Kitty Bee Designs Aloha Friday -- School (see paragraph 1)
Nutcrafters -- Summer Sunshine Fun
Party Time Tuesdays -- Anything goes
Shelly's Images -- Use your scraps
Sister Act -- Anything goes
The Male Room -- Anything masculine goes

     Well, August is here, the last of the hot summer months.  I have no idea where the earlier part of the year has gone but I know the years are moving faster and faster all the time.  Many kids are returning to school this month, and harvest season is nearly upon us.  Soon I'll be picking the garden clean and eating the last of the fresh vegetables.  Since I'm moving away from here in the next couple of months, it is probably my last summer garden.  A sad thought.  But fewer garden chores means more crafting time so there's always a silver lining.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Raising Teenagers

    I'm really excited to tell you that I'm a GDT at Oozak for this challenge and our theme is Anything Goes/Funny -- either a funny image or funny sentiment.  Our sponsor is Bugaboo Stamps and you can't go wrong with fantastic humor over there.  I used an image called "STB teenages and flowers" and the sentiment couldn't be more true!   Having raised my own teenagers, I'm sending this to my daughter who is currently raising her own teens, bless her little heart.  :-D

     Stella and the flowers are colored with Shin Han Touch Twin markers (available at Oozak!) and a bit of sparkle gel ink.  The image is already framed and I just matted it with black CS.  the border punch is layered onto purple CS and attached to the bottom of the image.

     The patterned dp is from DCWV's "Violet Leaf" stack, one of my latest favorites.  There's also a faint print in the purple dp.  I punched the corners, added the ribbon and used a second ribbon to tie the bow.  That's a hand punched flower with a gem added which I layered onto the bow.  The final touch was the three purple pearls in the top corner.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps -- Lots of layers
Card Mania -- Summer blooms
Digi Sketch -- Anything goes
One Stitch at a Time -- Anything goes
One Stop Craft -- Add flowers and ribbon
Paper Playtime -- Use patterned dp
Pile It On -- Anything goes
Robyn's Fetish -- Friendship w/ a sentiment
Speedy & Friends -- Tie it up (bow)
Tammy's Scrappin' Corner -- Use a digi
Top Tip Tuesday -- Spooled items (ribbons)

     I'll have one more post this morning since this is the New Release day for August over at Doodle Pantry.  Be sure to check back in an hour or so to see all of Laurie's newest goodies!  Also, come play along at Oozak.  You have two weeks to get something done and enter it.  Won't you share your fun/funny/humorous projects with us?  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie  

Beware of Saber-Tooth Smilidon!

     Oh, my, what a fierce creature!  Just look at those vicious fangs!
   
     I'm really crazy about Heather Valentin's digis and use them as often as possible but I found this one in the $1.00 Retiring section on Sunday and without any doubt, it's my favorite of anything she's ever drawn!  I'm sorry to see it retired and am so glad I got it before it was gone forever.  I wish I could talk Heather into doing an entire series with this darling Sabrina Smilidon!  Without further ado --

     Sabrina is colored with ProMarkers and I added clear embossing powder (heat embossing) to the flowers and her little butterfly for the shine.  The image is die cut with a Deckled Rectangle die from Spellbinders.  I ran the card front through my "Linen" embossing folder, then adhered the matted image.  The largest flower has layers punched from hand-made paper and embossed by using a stylus to make the lines in the petals.  The other flowers and leaves were in my stash and I added the tiny pearls and the gem stone for a little bit of girly flash.  CAS but for the flowery embellishments.

     Challenges:
ABC Challenges -- 2 kinds of embossing
Crafty Boots -- Animals
Creative Creations -- Anything goes
Friends of Speedy TV -- No patterned papers
Lacy Sunshine -- Anything goes (must have LS image)
My Craft Creations -- Anything goes
Outlawz Greetings -- Embossing
Path of Positivity -- Caring
Tammy's Scrappin' Corner -- Fantasy creatures (saber-tooth smilidon!)
Through the Purple Haze -- Flowers

     I hope you love this frighteningly adorable smilidon as much as I do.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Naughty List

     This is the next in the daily cards I'm making for the Catch the Bug Christmas-in-July challenges going on through Friday.  Today's theme is "Make us Laugh" and I hope this one does it for you.  :-D

Sketch is from Try Stampin' on Tuesday.

     This Bugaboo image is called "Christmas Cheer" and I'd say she's had a bit more than necessary.  I colored her with a combination of Copics, Promarkers and glitter gel ink.  The die cut is done with a Cheery Lynn frame/border die.  The die cut itself was so fancy that I left the card without any additional embellishments.  I figured the sparkle and fancy borders were enough.

     Challenges:
Cheery Lynn Dies -- Beautiful borders
Delightful Challenges -- Glitter, bling and sparkle
Eureka Stamps -- Christmas in July
Graph'It Colour -- Candy colors (peppermint and wintergreen)
Loves Rubber Stamps -- Christmas in July
My Craft Spot -- Christmas in July
Oozak -- Texture
Outlawz GCC -- Christmas in July
Stamp and Create -- Christmas in July

     I hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday and remember, that means we're half-way to the weekend.  Not that I like wishing my life away but I do love the free time I get on the weekends for fun and play.  However, most of it will be spent indoors this weekend if what the weatherman is predicting comes true -- high temps in the 100s once again.  Oh, yuck!  I so do NOT like hot weather, at least, not that hot.  Enjoy the rest of your week and Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Summer, Flowers, and Bears, Oh, My!

     This delightful little "Tall Flower Bear" is a freebie I found last Friday at Bugaboo Stamps (Catch the Bug --Anything Goes.)  Isn't he just the most precious thing holding his big summer flower?  One look at him, and I decided it was time for another card done in my favorite color of purple.

My sketch is from Incy Wincy

and, as if I needed more inspiration to use purple, 

I took my colors from {Pin}spirational.

 

     The image is colored with a combination of markers, mostly ProMarkers.  The it's die cut and matted (dies from QuicKutz) and mounted on a black card base.  The inside has white paper for a hand written notation.

     The dp is from Recollections and is also used as the mat for the image.  I used sheer ribbon and purple ribbon with a sheen from my stash (could be Really Reasonable Ribbon) to make the dove tail strip, then I found a last scrap of purple gingham ribbon to tie that bow.  I added a pearl to the flower center and then added three more to the lower corner. Despite the patterned paper, the design is still pretty CAS with lots of open space.

     Challenges:
C is for Challenge -- Flowers
Card Makin' Mamas -- Monochromatic
Colour Me Creative -- Anything goes
Cutie Pie -- Cute and Cuddly
Fairy Tale -- Favorite colors
Friends of Speedy TV -- Monochromatic
Graph'It Markers -- Bright and bold
Love to Create -- Ribbon & bling
No Matter Which Challenge -- Anything goes
Outlawz PAM -- Summer
Send a Smile 4 Kids -- Diecuts
Tammy's Scrappin' Corner -- Animals
The Ribbon Girl -- Add a bow
There She Goes -- Animals

     I hope you're having a wonderful Wednesday!  We're halfway to the weekend and that's fun time.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Summer Blackberries, Yummmmm

     Doodle Pantry has a secondary release this month of some older sets, now available in a colorized version, and a set of fabulous digital papers, called Country Flavors!  Oh, I'm in love with nearly every one of the papers, and since blackberries are probably my favorite summer fruit, I had to do a card using blackberries for my image and two of the new papers.   This just brings back great memories of heading out into the wild with buckets in hand and then picking wild blackberries until we had pounds and pounds of them for eating, freezing, baking pies, and finally making jams and preserves.  Mmmmm, definitely the best of summer!

     Here's my card using the "Blackberries" set.  That set has its own papers, but I chose to use papers from the new Country Flavors set.

I chose my sketch from Sketch Saturday, turned sideways,

and my colors from the challenge at Inkspirational.

  

     The image is printed twice in different sizes, then fussy cut and layered together.  The same thing could be done merging .png images together but I'm still working on how to do merging so fussy cutting is my best option at this point.  The images are layered onto a die cut which is mounted onto another larger die cut, made with one of the Country Flavors digi dp.  That one is backed with white paper.

     I used a second County Flavors dp for the vertical strip and added sheer purple ribbon with a great sparkle in it, then tied a bow.  The sentiment is also from the Blackberries set and it's just printed and cut free hand, with scissors.  It may be hard to see but I hand embossed two lines down the left side of the card, and then used the "Lattice" embossing folder on the right side of the card front.  Obviously, those embossings were done before I started layering everything onto the card.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge -- Lots of layers
Allsorts -- Favourite things (blackberries)
4 Crafty Chicks -- Dry emboss
Clearly I Stamp -- Summertime
Jellypark Friends -- Celebrate summer
One Stop Craft -- Anything goes
Rhedd & Rosie's -- Here comes summer
Scrapper's Delights -- Die cuts  
   
     Check below for a photo of the new Blackberries colorized set, and be sure to check out the Doodle Pantry store to see all of the new releases.  Don't forget our challenge.  If you enter by July 24 (must use a DP image), you'll get a free set and you can get another free set with any purchase made by July 24.  There's also a new freebie set called "Viola Ants" on the Freebies page at the store.  How can you lose?

     Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie