It's a (broken) Mouse Tail

     When I saw this digi over at QKR Stampede, I knew I wanted to use it but couldn't figure out exactly where or how.  So, when the opportunity arose for a Twisted Thursday at Outlawz challenge without an assigned image, I decided it was the perfect opportunity and made another "Get Well" card for my stash.

     Our theme is always "Anything Goes" and this week our optional twist is "Texture."

      The image is colored with ProMarkers and fussy cut by hand.  I used a Darise embossing folder on black CS to make the frame, then sanded the embossing so that the white core shows through.  The one word sentiment is my own.  I added the blue bow for a bit more texture and called it finished, a nice CAS design.

     Challenges:
ABC Challenge
Cards in Envy
Come and Get It
Crafting from the Heart
Crafts Galore Encore
Design Team Showcase
Get Creative
Mema's
Nordsalten Hobbyklubb
Not Just Cards
Paper Nest Dolls
Robyn's Fetish
Sentimental Sundays
Sisters of Craft
Through the Craft Room Door

     I hope we're going to see you playing along at The Outlawz this week.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Spring Mouse

     It's time for spring to be here and I'm doing all I can for you folks still buried under the snow, including getting a garden started, praying for sunshine, and doing cheerful, flowery, spring cards!  This one uses an adorable little mouse, clearly ready for spring with all those flowers, from Rick St. Dennis. I think I may use it for an Easter card.

I chose colors from the challenge at Color My Heart.

     The image is printed right onto the card front for a single layer card, then colored with my ProMarkers.  While I wanted this to be a CAS design, I also wanted a bit of embellishment so I used Cheery Lynn dies to cut the blue leaves and the butterfly.  Both were cut from a scrap bit of dp.  I used another larger scrap of it for the inside of the card.

     The little flowers were hand punched (again, a scrap piece of CS) and colored, then I added glitter and a bead to each one.  I put one flower in the bouquet the mouse is carrying and another one on his hat.   Finally, I added a bit of glitter to the butterfly.  I also added dp and a pocket to the inside for a gift card.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Brown Sugar
Card Mania
Clear It Out
Crafty Catz
Deep Ocean
Digitally Sweet
DRS Designs
Friends of Speedy TV
Glitter n Sparkle
Jo's Scrap Shack
Love's Rubber Stamps
My Sheri Crafts
Papertake Weekly
Party Time Tuesday
Perfectly Rustics
Sister Act
Stamp and Create
Sweet Stampin

     I know I was MIA all weekend as far as posting went but I was having back problems and just couldn't sit at the computer or craft desk for long enough to get anything accomplished.  Today, I'm feeling much better, though I still have limits on how long I can sit in one position.  Still, it beats how I felt on Saturday so I'm thankful.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie 

Easter Lilies

     I'm still working on Easter cards and this image came from the "Easter Lilies" set available at Deedee's Digis.  I love this set; it has beautiful images and sentiments.  I'll add a photo of the set at the bottom of this post.

     This is a really CAS design with just the die cut (Spellbinders) image and the hand cut sentiment adhered to the card front.  No embellishments because I thought the die cut was beautiful enough to stand on its own.

     Challenges:
2 Cute Ink
Craft Your Passion
Design Team Showcase
Love to Scrap
Monday Morning
Not Just Cards
Pink Elephant
Sunday Stamps
Sweet Stampin'
We Do doobadoo

     We're halfway to the weekend again and I can hardly wait.  While I have big plans for getting plants into the raised beds in my garden, I may have to wait until Sunday since predictions are for another bit of rain on Friday night and Saturday.  I wish we were getting enough rain to make a difference in the 4-year drought but I'll just be grateful for every drop we do get.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Lucky Irish Lass

     My second St. Patrick's card for this year and I have another three in the pipeline.  Most people don't make a big deal of St. Paddy's but I make cards and send them to all my grandchildren in honor of the fact that I'm Irish on both sides of my family tree and I celebrate my birthday on St. Patrick's.  :-D

     As soon as I saw this image at AuroraWings, I knew I wanted to use it for a spring green card.  I also knew that the card was going to be vintage and highly embellished, unlike the CAS you've seen from me over the weekend.  Yes, I love learning to do CAS (and do it well) but I also love vintage so when I get to do 'fussy,' I love it, too.

I based my design on the sketch at Crazy 4 Challenges,

but ran my lace and ribbon the other way 

because the card is a vertical A2.

I took my colors from DRS Designs 

but made her a redhead 'cause she's Irish. :-D

  

     The image is colored with ProMarkers, and cut with one of my framing dies from Spellbinders.  The sentiment was printed with a computer font and hand cut.  All of the embellishments came from my stash; ribbon and lace from Really Reasonable Ribbon, gold mesh recycled from gift wrapping at Christmas, and the bow came from a craft store originally but has been in my stash for quite a while.

     Challenges:

Artbymiran

As You Like It

Catch the Bug (1st column)

Crafting for all Seasons

Crafty Catz

Di's Digi Designs

Graph' It

Inky Impressions

My Time to Craft

Paper Shelter

Red Rubber Inspirationals

Simon Says Stamp

We Do Doobadoo

     That's all I have for today.  We got a good rain last night and we have bright sunshine today, but it's cold outside despite that.  Not freezing or anything near that, but windy so there's a bite in the air.  Still, I should be able to get some plants in the beds this weekend, unless it rains again.  At least I don't have to water before planting.  And, yes, I'm thinking of all my friends buried under six foot snow drifts.  I'll even put in a tomato, squash, or carrot just for you.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Shy Mouse

     Most of you know by now how much I adore the digis from QKR Stampede and I'm especially fond of the mice and the bears.  For our newest challenge, starting today, we have a theme of "Critters" so I get to show off another sweet mouse, this one called "Shy Mouse" digi 24163.  I did a card which will go in the box of cards I'll deliver to children's hospitals for Send a Smile 4 Kids.  (Did I remember to tell all of you that I'm one of the most recent collection and distribution points for SAS4K?  I collect for and deliver to three different hospitals in the Central Valley of California.  Check out the SAS4K site if you want to make cards for hospitalized kids.)

     I colored this Shy Mouse with ProMarkers, then cut and corner punched a rectangle which would fit into the die cut frame (Spellbinders.)  The little butterfly is also a die cut and is embossed.  I added a sprinkle of glitter across the wings.  I tied a bow from pink ribbon, adding it to her hair as a complement to the one on her tail.  The final touch --  the two teeny-tiny buttons on the bows and the gems on the butterfly.

     Challenges:
Crafting for all Seasons
Craft Your Passion
Crafty Boots
Crafty Cardmakers
Cupcake Inspirations
Design Team Showcase
Fan-Tastic Tuesday
Get Creative
Inky Impressions
One Stitch at a Time
Paper Shelter
Pile It On
Sister Act
Sweet 7

     OK, dig out those digis with critters on them (birds, rodents, bugs, animals) and come play along.  You can use any digi or stamp but remember if you use a QKR Stampede image (digi or rubber), your entry goes into a separate drawing for a QKR winner.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Kiss Me Quick

     Friday morning and another challenge at QKR Stampede.  Our theme this week is "Lovely Lace" and we want to see lace somewhere on your card or project.  My mind is still in Valentine mode so one more cute card all about love and romance.  I used the image Digi 11501 "Kissed" and the sentiment Digi 10302 "Kiss Me Quick."

     I used ProMarkers to color that love struck little guy, then die cut the image and matted him with black.  My lace came from my dear friend, Teresa, sent to me all the way across two countries, from Prince Edward Island, Canada to the Big Valley of California.  Thanks so much.  :-D  I also printed and die cut the sentiment, then added the sheer ribbon and bow.  The ribbon and the rose have both been in my stash for a long time but they seem to work for what would otherwise have been a very simple card.  Beside, I'm trying to use those things I hoard away or those which I forget I have.  :-D

     Challenges:
Clear It Out
Craft Hoarders Anonymous
Crafty Sentiments Designs
Crazy Challenge
Digi Chooseday
Die Cuttin' Divas
Eureka Stamps
Going Grey with Scrap-Creations
Jellypark Friends
Loves Rubber Stamps
Melonheadz
Passion for ProMarkers
Pile It On
{Pin}spirational
Quirky Crafts
Robyn's Fetish
Sweet 7
Tuesday Throwdown

     OK, this is the unofficial start to the weekend and I hope to see you playing along with us this week.  You can use any image from any company to enter but if you use an image from QKR Stampede, you increase your chances of winning by a huge margin!  We do a drawing from just QKR entries as well as the main drawing so you'd have two chances to win.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Roses for the Heart

     I have two posts today, both dealing with Love, Hearts, and Valentines.  For this first one, I used one of my favorite rose images which is from Fitztown.  I do love roses, both the real ones that grow in my garden and stamps of roses which I love to color.  I have lots of  rose images but this one is my favorite of all.  There is something delightfully simple about it.

     The image is colored with ProMarkers (rose) and chalks (leaves), and then cut with a die from Spellbinders.  In fact, everything paper has been in my "hoarding" stash and even the butterfly is cut with a die that I've never used in the 3 years I've owned it !   I've used the other two in that particular Spellbinders set, but never this smallest one.  The die cut heart is another one I finally used this year -- having dug out that set and cut a dozen or more hearts in different sizes for use on my Valentine cards.  Even the CS for the card base was in the "hoarded" stack.  :-D

     The border pieces are cut with a Cheery Lynn die, one of my new favorites which I've used lots of times in the last month or so!

     Challenges: (lots of them this time since there are so many with "love" or "hearts" or "Valentines" as the theme.)

613 Avenue Create

Addicted to Stamps

Artistic Inspirations

Bunny Zoe's

Chalk Ah Lot Cafe
Cheery Lynn

Come and Get It

Craft Hoarders Anonymous

Crafty Boots

Crazy Challenge

Cupcake Inspirations

Friends of Speedy TV

Get Creative

Glitter n Sparkle
Great Impressions
Incy Wincy

One Stitch at a Time

Pink Elephant

Shabby Tea Room

Simon Says Stamp

Stamp and Create

     Another post will be up this afternoon so I hope you'll come by and have a look at it, too.  I do appreciate all your visits and encouraging comments.  Tomorrow will be time for another of my DT projects for The Outlawz and Friday is always set aside for QKR Stampede.  See you then.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

"H" is for ... Hungry

     Another Friday, entrance to the weekend, and a fun new challenge at QKR Stampede.  Our theme this week is "Anything but a Card."   As I was mulling over the projects which I might do, I found myself in front of the refrigerator (where I spend waaay too much time!) and decided it was time for a new refrigerator magnet.  To say this is meant as a reminder specifically for me is probably unnecessary.  :-D  But the image from QKR Stamping (Digi 24204, "Snacking") was just so perfect and who could reisit it?

     I used a combination of Copics, ProMarkers and chalks to color him, then cut out the image and corner punched each corner.  Funny but that simple corner-rounding punch is probably the first one I ever bought and it's still my favorite despite all the others I've purchased over the years.

     I matted it with red CS and rounded those corners, too.  I layered the entire thing onto a sheet of magnet stock and cut it to fit.  I added the flower for some texture.  It measures 3.75" x 4" and is only about 1/16" thick.  Below is a shot of it on my refrigerator.

     Challenges:
CAS on Sunday
Come and Get It
Corrosive Challenge
Glitter n Sparkle
My Craft Creations
Paper Nest Dolls
Simon Says Stamp
Speed Craft
Through the Purple Haze
Whoopsi Daisy

     That's it for us today.  I hope you'll join in the challenge this week.  Remember, while you don't have to use a QKR image to enter, there is a separate and special drawing just for those who do use them and you increase your chances of winning tremendously!  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Love You More

     Happy Friday -- that wonderful, glorious day which ushers in the weekend!  It also heralds a new challenge at QKR Stampede and this week our theme is "Hearts."  Obviously, that gave me a chance to do another Valentine card using Digi 24266, "Love You Mouse."

I started the card design by using

the sketch from The Sweetest Thing.

     I colored the image with my ProMarkers and fussy cut the mouse.  In the original image, he has a shadow mouse on the right hand side but I cut it off and used just the mouse.  The heart shapes are all cut with dies from Spellbinders, except the actual white sentiment piece which is cut by hand.  The papers are from Authentique and BoBunny, new papers for me and I absolutely love them!

    The mouse is raised from the plaid heart on dimensional dots, though that doesn't really show very well in the photograph.  The little gems in the middle of the smallest hearts were in my stash for who-knows-how-long!

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Country View Crafts
Crafty Hazelnut's Pattern Paper
Crafty Sentiments Designs
Creative Card Crew
Design Team Showcase
Die Cut Divas
Fitztown
Kit and Clowder
Loves Rubber Stamps
My Artistic Adventures
Not Just Cards
Perfectly Rustics
Pile It On
Squigglefly
That Craft Place
Tinker-Dream
We Do Doobadoo

     What a great day.  The massive storm has subsided in the northeast, it's foggy and quiet here in my neck of the woods, the cats are all curled up together keeping each other warm, and it's a perfect day for crafting!  Enjoy and I hope we'll see you playing at QKR Stampede this week.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Hibernating Birds?

     It's Thursday and time for another fun challenge at Outlawz Twisted Thursday.  We always have an "Anything Goes" theme and then we have an additional but optional twist if you want to use it.  Our optional twist this week is "Lovely as a Tree."  Our sponsor this month is Bugaboo Stamps and they were generous in providing images for the DT to use.  Thanks, Jodie!

     I'm not sure if these birds think their 'tree' is all that lovely this time of year but that's their fault for not migrating before winter set in, right?

My sketch also came from Outlawz this week.

     I used my ProMarkers (favorites of all the brands I have) to color the image and added a bit of sparkle and white gel pen to the snow.  Obviously, I used some of my favorite color, too -- purple!  The sentiment is mine and I printed it right below the image, then die cut both in the same piece and embossed around the inside edge.  I die cut the blue background pieces and used the waste pieces to make the edging along the right side of the card.  Both die sets are from Spellbinders.  I also used a hand punch on three of the corners.  Almost CAS (but for the layers) with minimal embellishing and lots of open space, even if it isn't 'white' space.

     Challenges:
Catch the Bug (emboss/stripes/animal)
Corrosive Challenge
Creatalicious
Die Cut Divas
Dragonfly Dream
Glitter n Sparkle
Great Impressions
Hiding in My Craft Room
Kit and Clowder
Kreativeinkauf
My Sheri Crafts
Outlawz Greetings
Paper Creator's Crafts
Scrap It Girl

     That's all I have for today.  Unfortunately, I'm under the weather with this flu that's making the rounds and I just don't feel like being up and around for very long at a time.  Hope things are healthier at your house.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie  DT

Newest Fur Baby

     I cheerfully admit that this card was inspired by a new fur baby who has come to live at my house.  I'll have some photos of her later in the post and the story of how she came to adopt me.  In the meantime, this card is done for the challenge at Lacy Sunshine, where the theme is "Sparkly and New."  This is one of Heather's sweet animal images, just too cute for words and perfect for anyone celebrating a new fluffy member of the family.

     I wanted a completely CAS card so I printed the image right onto the card front and added the sentiment above it.  I did no coloring at all because I like the black and white of the drawn image.  I did brush some glue onto the bow she's wearing and the flower centers, then added loose yellow glitter.  I brushed glue onto the flower petals and added clear glitter.  Finally, I added some glue to the shadowed portions of the bow and added copper glitter.  What a great way to have lots of sparkle and bling but still have a very CAS card.  :-D

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Card Mania
City Crafter
Corrosive Challenge
Crafter's Cafe
Crafting from the Heart
Going Grey with Scrap-Creations
Inspiration Destination
Little Miss Muffet
Outlawz Greetings
Paper Girls
Quirky Crafts
Scrap & Craft
Sparkle N Sprinkle
Top Tip Tuesday

      OK, now for a peek at my new fur baby, whose name is Molly B Katniss, but she prefers to be called just Molly.  She's about 8 months old and had to find a new home when her previous owners moved.  Through one source or another (translate that to read 'my daughter'), Molly and her humans became aware that I was a sucker for being adopted and that there was already a good start on a 'pride' if she could just manage to be cute and sweet and lovable so that the other two (Cleo and Honey) felines would accept her.

     It took two nights and a full day before Cleo and Honey were willing to fully accept that there was an unfamiliar feline sharing the living space, but here's Molly, checking out the very spot where Honey likes to sit and stare out the craft room window.

     Once she decided that the nesting site was the proper shade of purple and soft enough to suit her delicate paws...

     ...she checked me out (I was at the craft desk about 2 feet away) to see if I was going to give her any verbal grief about being up there.

     Receiving no objections from me, she settled in, perhaps hoping for a quick bath and a long snooze.  Unfortunately, before either of those could happen, Honey voiced an opinion and they had a long conversation about who gets to sit in the window and when.  Although considerably smaller in size, Molly is not to be intimidated and she stood (sat?) her ground.  I don't think the issue has been completely resolved but for the time being that's where she likes to be whenever I'm in the craft room.  More to come, I'm sure.

     Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

New Love for the Young

     (Edited to add:  Sorry this is late today but I've been denied internet access by my provider -- cable box problems -- for several days now and I didn't have this post pre-scheduled.)

     Once again, Valentine's Day looms just over the horizon and in honor of that, I've used a really fun image from Bugaboo Stamps (our sponsor) to make a card for the new challenge at The Outlawz Twisted Thursday.  As always, our theme is "Anything Goes" but we have an optional twist of "Use Brads or Eyelets" on your card.  I chose brads and I'll give you a tip on getting brad colors you need but might not have in your collection.  First, the card:

     The image (new to me) is colored in stripes with red ProMarkers (I wanted a black, white, and red monochromatic combo for this one), corner punched, matted and corner punched again.  The two dp are from one of my new stacks by Authentique.  I have been so good for months and months, using up my stash and my scraps of dp and not buying any papers at all but when I saw this particular stack, I simply had to have it!  What's the point of using up what you already have if you don't get to buy something new to replace it?

     I added stitching to the black striped dp and used a red heart brad in the corner.  The ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon and the scallops are die cuts using one of my new dies (Cheery Lynn) and yes, I am in love with that new die in case you think you've seen it once or twice already.  :-D  Finally, I finished off this celebration of 'New Love' by adding three different sizes of round brads.

     Now, the tip I promised you -- I wanted to match the color of the heart brad as closely as possible but when I looked, I had no red brads anywhere!  I did have some red embossing powder that was really close in color so I embossed the brads.  How, you ask?  I held each brad with very long tweezers (which also have a hard rubber covering on the handle), heated the brad head with my heat gun, then quickly dipped it into the EP, removing it immediately.  The EP melts right onto the brad because the brad is hot.  On a couple of them, I had to do two coats of EP but amazingly, the color was an exact match to the heart brad.  I was so happy.  Never again will I have to worry about having brads in the color I want because I have EP in every color of the rainbow.  :-D

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Allsorts
Catch the Bug (ribbon/scallops/stitching)
Crafting Cafe
Crafting Musketeers
Crafty Calendar
Design Team Showcase
My Time to Craft
Nataliie and Amy's
One Stitch at a Time
Paper Creator's Crafts
Send a Smile 4 Kids
Sweet Stampin'
That Craft Place

     I hope your week is going well and that we'll see you playing in the Twisted Thursday challenge at The Outlawz this week.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie  

No Cold Shoulders

     Friday morning and another new challenge at QKR Stampede.  Our theme this week is "Baby, It's cold outside" which, in many parts of the US and Canada at least, is a totally true statement!   I used this darling snowman digi (Digi 23701 "Snowman Scene") and the sentiment "Cold Shoulder" Digi 10801.

My sketch came from the Wednesday Sketch Challenge at The Outlawz.

     The image is colored with ProMarkers and I added bits of glitter to the overall scene for snowflakes and to the snowman for a bit of sparkle.  I know that pale blues are the traditional colors for snowy winter cards, but I wanted to see if I could make green look cold and icy.  What do you think?  Both the image and the sentiment are hand cut.

     I heat embossed the card front with white EP from Sparkle n Sprinkle before layering on the image piece.  I added green sequins.  The sheer ribbon has been hiding in my stash and I added a scrap of narrow, dark-green ribbon before I tied the bow.

     Challenges:
613 Avenue Create
Card Mania
Come and Get It
Crafting by Designs
Crafting from the Heart
Eureka Stamps
Friends of Speedy TV
Glitter n Sparkle
Great Impressions
Paper Minutes
Papertake Weekly
Party Time Tuesday
Robyn's Fetish
Stamp and Create

      That's it for me today.  I hope your weekend means staying inside where it's warm and doing some fun and enriching crafting, just to recharge your soul.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Cheers!

     I have been away from my crafting desk for way too long and really missed it.  I swear I'm going to have to start a "Crafter's Anonymous" group to help with this addiction.  :-D  Today's card is one I've done for the Progressive Challenge at Rick St. Dennis' Sparkle n Glitter blog.  The image is a new one I purchased with a gift certificate Santa brought me and I also used two of my brand spankin' new dies from Cheery Lynn, the frame and the "Cheers."  What a perfect way to celebrate the New Year!

I used the colors from Pals Paper Arts.

Unfortunately, my Navy Blue looks almost black

and, of course, my lavender/wisteria turned blue. :(

     I colored the image with ProMarkers, then die cut it.  I cut the frame from lavender/periwinkle CS and then cut the sentiment from the same CS.  I added glitter to the "Cheer" sentiment and to the upper corner of the frame for a touch of sparkly bling.

     That gorgeous sheer ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  The little mouse at the bottom is actually a completely separate RSD image which I sized, printed, and fussy cut before adding it.  I think he definitely adds to the party atmosphere, doesn't he?

     Challenges:
4 Crafty Chicks
As You Like It (square because it gives the most space for designing)
Crafter's Cafe
Crafty Catz
Digistamps 4 Joy
DL.ART
I {heart} ProMarkers
Inspiration Destination
Just Inspirational
Little Miss Muffet
Little Red Wagon
Passion for ProMarkers (die cut/free/glitter)
Simply Create Too

     The weekend is half over and the reality of post-holiday work weeks looms ahead.  I hope your day brings you some relaxation and creativity.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Please just ignore the annoying Verification thingy.  You can write and post your comment without entering anything in the box (at least until Blogger decides to change that, too.)  Thank you.

Get Well Wishes

     QKR Stampede has a new challenge today, its first of the New Year, and the theme is everyone's favorite, "Anything Goes."  I admit this card was inspired by my son-in-law's broken leg a few weeks ago.  The image and sentiment can be found here:  Digi 9403 "Ski Accident" and Digi 9105 "MamaSaid."

     I can't tell you how much fun it was to color this image; I used my ProMarkers and a couple of shades of gray from my remaining collection of Copics.  I kept it all very simple since I wanted a CAS design on a masculine card.   I layered kraft and deep blue CS to mat the image and added brads to two of the corners.

     Challenges:
613 Avenue Create
Card Mania
Crazy Challenge
Creative Card Crew
Inspiration Destination
Not Just Cards
Robyn's Fetish
Scrapper's Delights
Simon Says Stamp
Whimsy Inspirations

     I hope your New Year was terrific and that you survived the cold temperatures if your celebration took you outside.  Did you watch the Rose Parade or any football games?  At least those were good, inside-where-it's warm activities.  :-D  Come play with us at QKR this week, won't you?  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Please just ignore the annoying Verification thingy.  You can write and post your comment without entering anything in the box (at least until Blogger decides to change that, too.)  Thank you.

All Downhill for the New Year

    HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

     After trudging doggedly through 2014, feeling like it was a mostly uphill journey adjusting to a new city, a new house, finding my way around unfamiliar streets, and meeting new faces everywhere I turned, I'm looking forward to a downhill 2015!  :-D

     A new challenge starts today on The Outlawz Twisted Thursday where we always have an "Anything Goes" theme but we add an optional twist -- this week the twist is "Winter Fun" and our sponsor for each Thursday challenge this month is Bugaboo Stamps.  They were so generous in supplying the DT members with images to use but since I love Bugaboo and have more than 150 of their digis, I chose this one from my collection (which I have never used before.  Does that make it "new?")

Inside it says "Happy New Year."

I based my design on the sketch from Seems a Little Sketchy.

     I colored the image with ProMarkers and added a bit of glitter to the snow.  For the snowflakes, I used silver sequins.   The paper is from The Paper Studio.  The bow and the three blue sequins are the only added embellishment, leaving the card pretty CAS and good for a masculine card, I think.

     Challenges:
Card Mania
Catch the Bug (image/glitter/choice-sequins)
Corrosive Challenge
Craft a Scene
Crazy Challenge
Creative Card Crew
Friends of Speedy TV
Glitter n Sparkle
Jellypark Friends
Just Inspirational
Melonheadz
Not Just Cards
Outlawz PAM
Paper Nest Dolls
Pile It On
Scrappy Hands

     I hope we're going to see you over at The Outlawz this week.  If you've never joined over there, you really should think about it.  There are challenges every day of the week, and a new monthly progressive challenge where you can earn freebie digis by playing in the challenge.   Joining is free and easy and there are such wonderful people at The Outlawz.  Give yourself a present for the New Year and come join us.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Need a Snow Cat?

     Hmmmm, I think there may different interpretations of "snow cat."  My dear SIL thinks a snowcat is a plow for removing huge drifts of snow or some big transport machine used in Antarctica.  Too much work for me!  Here's my interpretation --

I used the sketch from Sweet Sketch Weds. 2

turned a quarter turn to better fit the shape of my image piece.

     The image is from Rick St. Dennis and I colored it with ProMarkers.  I added sparkle to the snow and the snowflake embellies with a bit of Stickles glitter but it just doesn't show in the photo.  The CS is Recollections and the polka dot dp is from Paper Studio.  The lace has been hoarded in my stash since last spring for fear I'd use it all up.  I only have another 2 yards!  lol

     Challenges:
A Creative Need
Artbymiran
C.R.A.F.T.
Crafty Creations
Digistamp 4 Joy
Divas by Design
DRS Designs
Fussy and Fancy
House That Stamps Built
I {heart} ProMarkers
Inky Impressions
Inspiration Destinations
Paper Shelter
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Scrapper's Delights
Simon Says Stamp
Sweet 7
Whimsy Inspirations
WordArt Wednesday

     I'll be scarce again until after the New Year but I have my DT posts pre-scheduled for the week and there are several of those.  I hope you'll enjoy them.  May you and yours have a prosperous and Happy New Year.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

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Snowman Birthday

     I hope you all had wonderful Christmas celebrations this year and are looking forward to a safe and sane New Year.  It's Friday and that means another new challenge at QKR Stampede.  Our theme this week is "Snowmen or Santa."  I opted for a fabulous snowman (Digi 21201) and made a birthday card with him.  The sentiment is also from QKR and can be found here (Digi 11503.)

     I used Copic markers to color the image, then die cut it and the sentiment.  The blue die cut is part of a corner die from Cheery Lynn.  The full corner piece was too big for the design of this card, but cutting it down gave me a piece the right size.  Doesn't it look like a swirl of winter wind?

     Everything is mounted onto a deep blue card front which contrasts nicely with the white CS.

     Challenges:
Cheery Lynn
Corrosive Challenge
Crafty Creations
Crazy Challenge
Digi Sketch
Get Creative
Love to Create
MarkerPOP
Not Just Cards
Scribble & Scrap

     That's it for today.  I sure hope you'll come and play with us this week.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Please just ignore the Verification on the comment section.  You can write and post your comment without entering anything in the box.  Thank you.

Florida Santa

     Another Friday and by this time next week, Christmas will be behind us and we'll be munching on leftovers and dreading taking down the tree and all the decorations and telling ourselves it's perfectly OK to leave everything up until the New Year.  That's one of the advantages growing older brings -- one can go visit all the kids for the holidays and the decorating and un-decorating is left to them.  :-D

     We have a new challenge starting today at QKR Stampede with a theme of "Lots of Layers."  I chose this silly gator image (Digi 9002 Santa Gator) which I thought would make a perfect Christmas card for a friend in Florida.  Do you remember your childhood Christmases being filled with images of Santa bearing a huge sack of presents?  OK, so you probably weren't thinking of a Gator Santa but all those toys and packages bring back a bit of nostalgia, don't they?

     I used a combination of Copics and ProMarkers to color the image, then fussy cut it for an out-of-the-box look, using dies from a set by QuicKutz to cut the rest of the image and the mat.  The striped dp is from DCWV and is both embossed and sparkly.  The final layer is the green CS which is adhered to the card front.  I added three brads to the corner and one to the center of the bow.  For all of the layers, it's still pretty CAS in design given the minimal embellishments.

     Challenges:
A Girl Who Crafts
Animal Friends
Country View Crafts
Craft Garden
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper
Emerald Faeries
Ladybug Crafts
Mema's
Oddball Art Stamps
Sisters of Craft
Stamp and Create

     Don't forget that while it's not necesary to use a QKR Stampede image to enter our challenge, we do put the QKR image cards into a separate drawing and that really increases your chances of winning.  We also draw from all the other entries and have a winner from those.  I hope we're going to see you playing along this week, despite the fact that you are running out of time to get everything done before the holiday, and that crafting has to take a back seat, and that you barely have time to keep taking breaths.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Please just ignore the Verification on the comment section.  You can write and post your comment without entering anything in the box.  Thank you.

Vintage Christmas Hat

     I love this new image by Rick St. Dennis!  It's called "Christmas Hat" and I got it by playing in their Progressive Challenge.  I saw so many really gorgeous color combos from others who were also entering or giving us inspiration that it took me a few days to decide what I was going to use. Ultimately, I decided to stay with the traditional red and green but used shades of those colors which we don't normally associate with Christmas.

I based my card design on the sketch at 

Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2.

     I used my ProMarkers to color the image and then cut it out using a die from Spellbinders.  The sentiment was printed and cut by hand.  I added the doodles and inked the edges of the card front to mimic the outside borders of the sketch.  Finally, I did three little pearls in two corners, but reversed from the sketch.

     One of the gals in my family will get this card but I can't say which because too many of them read my blog and peek at all the Christmas cards before the day arrives.  Yes, I mean you and you know who you are!!  Shame on you!  :-D

     Challenges:
ABC Christmas
ArtbyMiran
A Vintage Journey
Crafter's Cafe
Crafty Creations
Cuttin' and Stampin'
Cuttlebug Mania
Digistamps 4 Joy  (new digi)
Dragonfly Dreams
Fitztown
It's All About the Vintage
Scrapy Land

     It's a fine Saturday morning.  Are you on your way out the door for more Christmas shopping?  Or are you staying home to finish decorating for the holidays?  Whatever you have on your list to accomplish this weekend, I hope you find some time for rest and relaxation.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Ham It Up for Christmas

     Friday and Christmas is less than 2 weeks away!  Another challenge starts today at QKR Stampede and this week our theme is "Trim the Tree."  I found this fabulous barn yard (or in the barn) image from QKR Stampede (Digi 9609 Christmas Pig) and paired it up with the perfect sentiment (Digi 9806 Ham It Up.)  I just love the fact that he has clearly trimmed his own Christmas tree and is now snuggled inside, out of the snow and ice.  :-D

     I admit to having waaay too much fun coloring this image (ProMarkers) and fussy cutting it before matting it with dark brown CS.  The sentiment is also fussy cut but I matted it with a punched piece for a star look.  The glittery star on the top of the tree is also a punched piece.

     Even knowing that this card was going to be a guy card, I thought the bright red bow and the pearl swirl were still appropriate for a Christmas card.  It's amazing what we can do on masculine cards when they're for a holiday like Christmas.  :-D

     Challenges:
Animal Friends
Cardz for Guys
Catch the Bug
Come and Get It
Crafts Galore Encore
Crazy Challenge
Creative Craft Cottage
Emerald Faeries
Going Grey with Scrap-Creations
I {heart} ProMarkers
Kreativeinkauf
Ladybug Crafts
Loves Rubber Stamps
Melonheadz Friends 
Mema's
Passion for ProMarkers (Ribbon, gems, punches)
Pile It On
Sisters of Craft

     I love the silly humor on this card and I think the recipient will love it, too.  Short post but I have a ton of things to do today, starting in about 15 minutes.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie