Painting the Town Red

     When I was a child, my mother's favorite expression for going wild and doing crazy, perhaps even slightly naughty things, was "...and they painted the town red!"  I loved the expression and thought it was delightfully descriptive.  When I saw this sweet image in the QKR Stampede store ("Paint Puppy"), I knew right away I was going to use it for my DT card for this week's challenge at QKR Stampede.

      The image is colored with ProMarkers and cut with a die from Cottage Cutz.  The background is kraft CS cut with a die from Gina  Marie Designs.  The two "painted" bits of dp are scraps which were in my basket and they just seemed to work perfectly.

     The sentiment was printed, hand cut, and inked, then I added one of my signature, hand-sewn bows.  Everything was layered onto a shiny, red, card base.

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft Extra
A Perfect Time to Craft
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafter's Cafe
Creative Craft Cottage
Cut It Up
Let's Craft and Create
Morgan's Art World
Not Just Cards
Polkadoodles

     Have yourself a wonderful weekend and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Compliments to the Chef

     Once again, I'm doing a GDT card for the newest challenge at Colour Crazy and our sponsor this fortnight is The Paper Shelter.   The image is called "Great Baker," although I'm treating her as a chef, and I'm using this card as a thank you for the hostess of a dinner party.  I think it's perfect!

     I colored the image with ProMarkers, then cut it with a CUTplorations stitched die.  The brown CS is cut with a Memory Box die, dry embossed with my 'Linen' folder, and backed with beige paper.  I added the golden ribbon and tied a simple bow.  The sentiment was printed, hand cut, and inked on the edges.

     Challenges:
Crafty Friends (baker, blond, bow)
Crafty Gals Corner
Elliebelle's Crafty Weds.
House that Stamps Built
I {heart} ProMarkers
Outlawz Festive Friday
Scrappy Land
That's Crafty!
Word Art Weds.

     I hope we'll see you playing along in this challenge.  Remember, our challenges overlap so we always have two "Anything Goes" challenges running at the same time.  A new one starts every week but each one runs for two weeks.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Where's the Coffee???

     This is my second post today.  Be sure to scroll down to see the first one. :-D
   
     This is how my mornings start -wanting to know "Where's the Coffee?"  Unfortunately, my fur babies have never volunteered to get the coffee made before I get up so the answer is, "It's not made until you get up and make it!"  lol

     This is the latest Progressive image from Limited Runs.

I actually used an old sketch, but a favorite,

 from The Outlawz to inspire my design.  I wish I could 

give you a link to the sketch but I loved it so much, I printed it and don't

remember what week it was used other than it was in 2016.

     This time I colored with a combo of ProMarkers and polychromos pencils, and I cut it by hand.  I made the background dp by pasting the image over and over and printing an entire sheet of them, then trimmed it to size.  I added the hand cut image to it, using dimensional dots.  I printed and hand cut the sentiment, inking the edges of it before adding it on dimensional dots.

     I found a piece of striped ribbon (Really Reasonable Ribbon) in my stash and wrapped the dp piece with it.  The bow is one of my hand-sewn bows, dyed with ProMarker to get that shade of light blue.  A nice, CAS card which can be used for either a guy or a gal.

     Challenges:
Cards in Envy
Crafting from the Heart
Creative Inspirations
Creative Moments
Hiding in My Craft Room
I {heart} ProMarkers
Jo's Scrap Shack
Pammie's Inky Pinkies

     That's it for today and I have a really busy rest of the week so I don't know if I'll have another post before Friday.  But then, I'll give you another Twofer day with DT cards for both Colour Crazy, where I'm a GDT through June, and my regular QKR Stampede project.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Flowers for You

     It's been a long, long time since I used an image from All Dressed Up and I decided it was time to correct that.  I'm sending a packet of wildflower seeds to a friend of mine for her blog anniversary and needed a card to enclose with them.  This adorable image of the two mice seemed perfect.

     I started with a dry-embossed, lavender card base.  I had already decided to make this really CAS since I have to mail it and there will be a packet of seeds inside it.  I didn't want to add to the thickness of the envelope by adding lots of embellishments.

     This time, I colored with my watercolor paints and a brush.  I know, I know - I always use my ProMarkers but this image just lent itself to water coloring.   However, if it makes you feel better, I used a ProMarker to ink the edges of the image and the sentiment.  :-D

     When it came to the sentiment, I decided to add a bit of glam by heat embossing it with silver EP.  I printed the sentiment, then used a Versa-Mark pen to write over the letters, and then added the EP.  Here's a close up since it doesn't show really well in the photo above.

        Challenges:
AAA Cards
CCC Digi Creations
Crafter's Cafe
Creative Fingers
Cute Card Thurs.
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz Festive Friday
Outlawz Twisted Thurs.
Pattie's Creations

     Thanks for stopping by.  Feel free to browse around while you're here.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Dahlia Dreams

   
     The flowers are beginning to bloom in my garden and my first dahlias buds have showed their faces.   Soon we'll have lovely large blossoms to put in bouquets.  I love dahlias and I'm celebrating their arrival with this card.

     The image is from Ching-Chou Kuik.

I based my card design on the sketch at Stella Says Sketch.

     The image is colored with ProMarkers and die cut with an oval die from Cheapo Dies.  The green mat is also cut with a die from that same set.  I added a bit of green dp which was in my scrap basket. 

     The card front was dry embossed, although that's hard to see in the photo.  I layered on the green CS mat, then ran ribbon along the vertical line where the dp and dry embossing met.  On top of that, I layered on the image piece.

     I printed, hand cut, and matted the sentiment before adding it.  For embellishment, I found metal brads and heated them with my heat gun before dipping the heads into dark green embossing powder.  The powder melts onto the hot brad heads and that way, you can use brads which are whatever color you need.  They end up looking like shiny pearls.

     My final touch was to 'dye' one of my white bows with green ProMarker, leaving the pearl white, and adding the bow to the lower portion of the image.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
Digi Choosday
Outlawz Twisted Thursday
Passion for ProMarkers
TTCRD
Try Stampin' on Tuesday (bottom row)
Unicorn

     Have a wonderful week and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Birthday Bonnet

     Still working on my stash of birthday cards and for this one I dug through my collection of stamps from Angie's.  What's more perfect for a feminine card than a kitten in her best frock and bonnet?

     I used ProMarkers to color the image and used Sizzix dies to cut it and the two layers behind it.  The plaid dp was from my scrap basket and I don't remember the maker.  The satin ribbon has an interesting pattern in it which is textured.

     I printed and hand cut the sentiment, matting it with a tiny scrap left over from the bright pink CS.  I had a scrap of gingham ribbon which I used to tie the little bow.  I love using up scrap bits.  It always make me feel justified in heading out to buy more goodies.  :-D

     Challenges:
Allsorts
Crafty Friends (Birthday, Bonnet, Bow)
DL.ART
If You Give a Crafter a Cookie
Ike's World
Jo's Scrap Shack
Send a Smile 4 Kids
SUYP Cats
TTCRD

     Have a perfectly wonderful week!  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Didn't Forget

     I'm working on my stash of birthday cards again so you'll see another two or three of them this week.  This one is made using one of the cutest elephant images from Bugaboo Stamps. 

     I started by coloring with ProMarkers, then added glitter to both balloons for some sparkle.  I printed and hand cut the sentiment, matted it and added it to the bottom of the image.  I cut the image piece with a stitched die from CUTplorations.  The yellow part of the background was cut with a stitched Memory Box die and then layered onto some bright pink CS before adhering it to the card front.

     I found some delightful polka dot ribbon and used my bow maker to tie a bowtie bow.  I have to use a bow maker to tie any of those.  It's not something I can do with just my two hands and still keep the bows straight.  :-D

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Catch the Bug (top row)
Color Inspiration Mon
Crafting with Friends
DL.ART
Outlawz Festive Friday
Polkadoodles
Southern Girls
Take It, Make It

     Thanks for visiting today.  I love it when you leave me a comment.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Sir Tailor of Haberdash

     I don't know how I've overlooked this darling little Mouse Knight from QKR Stampede but once I saw him, I knew I had to use him for my DT card for the new challenge starting today.  Our theme every week is "Anything Goes" so there's no reason you can't some and play along!

     Just a quick backstory on this:  My dad was not only my own 'Knight in Shining Armor,' he was also an extremely talented man, a self-taught Jack of all Trades.  For many years, he owned a tailoring shop and, in fact, he is the one who taught me to sew!  So, I guess this card is in honor of the wonderful memories he holds in my heart.  He  would have adored "Mouse Knight" every bit as much as I do and he would have loved this card on Father's Day.  :-D

     I colored that grand Knight with a combination of Copic and ProMarkers, then cut the image with a Gina Marie die.  I used a larger die from that set to cut the seafoam green CS, ran it through my "Linen" embossing folder, and used it for the mat behind the image.

     I added a strip of shiny raffia twine and then layered the entire piece onto the card front.  I tied a multi-loop bow and added it as the primary embellishment.

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft
Classic DT Open
Country View Crafts
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafts Galore Encore
Creative Craft Cottage
Let's Craft and Create
Paper Nest Dolls
Scribbles Designs
Sunsational Stamps

     I hope we're going to see you playing along with us this week.  Remember, it's Anything Goes and that gives you very wide latitude.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Fairy Princess

    This darling little fairy sitting on her toadstool is from Lemon Shortbread and I'm totally in love with her!  I think she'll be perfect for a birthday card or just to please any young lady who loves fairies, or princesses, or who might love a bit of cheering up.

     I started by coloring the image with ProMarkers, added loose glitter to her wing and her crown, then I die cut it with an oval die from QuicKutz.  I cut the glittered frame for it with another die from that same set. 

    I used dp scraps which originally came from the "Basics" pad by DCWV.  I found some of my favorite sheer ribbon and wrapped it around the card front, tied it, then added one of my hand-sewn, satin bows.  The bow had been white but I 'dyed' it with a ProMarker to get that exact shade of blue.

     The sentiment was printed, hand cut, inked on the edges, and then adhered across the lower part of the ribbon.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Calendar
Dragonfly Dreams
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Star Stampz

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Dance from the Heart

     I love the sweet little ballerina image which is the freebie for the monthly progressive challenge at Dragon's Lair.  It brings back such wonderful childhood memories.  Strange as it may seem since I was a true tomboy in all other aspects of my childhood, I was in ballet classes from age 6 to about 12 and I loved dancing!  Our ballet school was prominent enough to put on 3 performances per year in our local municipal auditorium and I participated in all of them.  We were quite famous, locally.  :-D

     At first, I thought about a pink and girly color theme but then decided that pale lavender would work just as well and I could use dp with both lavender and pink in it.  I colored with ProMarkers, then fussy cut the image.

     I chose a lavender card base, found dp from Recollections, trimmed it to size and added it on top of the card base.  I wanted it to be a bit more feminine so I added the lace to it after weaving through the pink, satin, ribbon.

     The feather is a peacock feather from a 'white' peacock.  My granddaughter collected a huge number of feathers at one of our local parks where they have a peacock enclosure.  She only gathered the ones which have been shed naturally by the birds.  Until she brought these to me, I had no idea that the 'white' peacock feathers were so beige.  :-D

    I mounted the ballerina on Pop Dots, then put it right over the feather.  The sentiment is printed, hand cut, and inked before layering it onto the ribbon.

     Challenges:
Allsorts
Aloha Friday
Aud Sentiments
Crafting with Friends
Creative Fingers
Creative Inspirations
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
Outlawz Twisted Thurs
TTCRD

     Hey, we're halfway to the weekend!  For those of you not yet retired, that's important.  For those of us who are actually retired, weekdays often feel like weekends and vice versa.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Birthday Bear

     What a great morning this is!  I've added one more card to my stash of birthday cards, this one for a 1-year-old.   The image is from Beccy's Place (I love his frosting mustache and beard!) where the challenge has a fun optional theme of flipping a coin.  There are 4 categories and 2 choices in each category.  You flip a coin and choose the design item under either the "heads' or the "tails" column, depending on which comes up when you flip the coin.  I ended up with "Use a Sketch" - "Color with Markers" - "Ribbon" - and "No Sentiment."

The sketch is from Outlawz.

     I used ProMarkers to color, then printed, and cut a snippet of plaid dp which is also from Beccy's Place.  I cut the image with another, smaller, die from that same Cottage Cuts die set.

     The ribbons were scrap pieces from my stash and the lace flourish in the corner came from Recollections.  I can't even begin to tell you how long I've had that piece!  I added three tiny metal brads to the lower corner.

     Challenges:
C.R.A.F.T.
Crafting with Friends
Crafty Catz
DL.ART
Outlawz Festive Friday
Outlawz Twisted Thurs
Polkadoodles
Take It, Make It

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Rare Breed

     It's time for the latest challenge to start at World Wide Open DT and our theme is always "Anything Goes."   Our challenges are sponsored by Julia Spiri and she is generous enough to give images to the DT members to use on their projects.

     This month I've used "Spirit Dreamer."  I created the sentiment as a tribute to my younger granddaughter who adores unicorns.  :-D

     The image is colored with ProMarkers, polychromos pencils, and gel pen.  Although it's difficult to see in the photo, the unicorn's horn is silver but the reflection from it makes it look white in the photo.

     I fussy cut the image and set it inside a die cut frame (Amy Designs) which I trimmed to eliminate the bottom portion.  I put the image inside the frame when I mounted them onto the green card front.
I used white gel pen to highlight the flowers, then added tiny dots of Nuvo Crystal Drops to the flower centers and butterfly wings.  Finally, I sewed together a tiny, purple bow and added it.

     I love this card!

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Butterfly Challenge (hunter green)
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Addicts
Crafty Creations
Cute Card Weds.
Elliebelle's Crafty Weds.
Pammie's Inky Pinkie
Sasayaki Glitter
Sisterhood of Crafters

     I hope you're going to come and play with us this month.  Remember, our challenges run from the 15th of the month to the 14th of the following month but that's Australia time!  That means my posts always go up on the 14th since I'm in the USA.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Ladybug Summer

     Our weather last week felt more like early summer than spring so I'm beginning to work on summer cards.  I had fun with this Bugaboo Stamps image which is actually 2 different images, merged together.  Fancy Sunbonnet is one of my favorite Bugaboo characters and I use her every chance I get.  I think I have nearly every image which features her.

I started with the sketch from Stella Says Sketch 

but turned sideways to accommodate the shape of my image.

     I colored with ProMarkers and added the two flowers on each side of the image.  They are from the second image, cut in half with a middle flower removed.  After they were adhered, I used a die from Spellbinders to cut the image piece.

     I printed the sentiment, hand-cut it, and added it to the bottom of the image. 

     Making the card base was a bit more complex.  The pink CS part was left over from a die cut I did last week.  It was a large enough scrap to make and A2 size back flap plus enough of the decorative edge to fold over and adhere to a front flap.  I used a scrap of navy blue CS which is smaller than an A2 size but worked as a short front flap to which I could attach the image piece.

     I added tiny, dark blue, Nuvo Crystal Drops along the decorative edge and called it finished.

     I'm sending this one to a dear friend who still lives in my old hometown and I know she'll love it.  She was always the one searching my annual garden for the first ladybugs of summer.  :-D

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps and More
Angie's Digital Stamps
Catch the Bug
Create and Makes
Get Creative 
Incy Wincy
Lemon Shortbread
Paper Girls
TTCRD

     Thanks for stopping by.  This is all I have for today but I'll be back with another post tomorrow.  Hope to see you then.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

'Beary' Sweet Day

The Happiest Mother's Day to all of you who are moms!

     I did one more card which I'm going to use as a Mom's Day card even though the image could work for any occasion or even a non-occasion.  That sweet bear came from Gerda Steiner Designs and was the most recent image for their monthly progressive challenge.  Unfortunately, they've had to drop their challenge but I'm posting the card anyway just because the image is so adorable.

     I used my ProMarkers to color the image (printed on a scrap of white CS), then cut it with a framing die from Spellbinders.  The die was longer than I wanted so I covered the the bottom with a scrap of dp from the DCWV Linen Closet stack.  I matted everything with another scrap of navy blue CS and layered that onto a light blue card front.  My signature, hand-sewn, bow is the only embellishment.  This time, the plain white seemed to work best so I didn't even dye it like I usually do.

     I've really been into blues the last three days!  I hope my blogging friend, Lynn, appreciates it!  lol  She totally loves blue; lots of it and any shade there is.

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
CCC Digi
Color Inspiration Monday
Crafty Friends
Di's Digi Designs
Get Creative
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Pixie's Snippets

     All you moms out there, enjoy your day and hug your family!  If you can sneak in a crafting hour, enjoy that, too.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Birthday Cheers !

     Here's my card for this month's Progressive Challenge at Sasayaki Glitter and it's perfect for adding one more birthday card to my stash which was getting pretty thin.  :-D

     Before I even started coloring, I decided I wanted a very simple design.  I colored with ProMarkers and cut it with a die from Spellbinders.  The sentiment is cut with a Cheery Lynn die.  I cut three of them and stacked them together for a bit of dimension.

     The sheer ribbon was a left over piece from another project and I added one of my signature, hand-sewn bows.  That bow was white but I 'dyed' it navy blue with a ProMarker.  Lots of open space for a CAS design, even if the space is blue instead of white.  :-D

     Challenges:
C.R.A.F.T.
Crafting with Friends
Crafty Cardmakers
Crafty Catz
DL.ART
Dragonfly Dreams
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Festive Fridays
Pammie's Inky Pinkies

     I love this sweet image and had so much fun turning it into a card.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Stop to Smell the Flowers

     Today is Friday and that means another new challenge is starting over at QKR Stampede.  Our theme is always "Anything Goes" and there's no requirement to use a QKR image.  However, if you do, your entry will go into a separate draw and that really increases your chances of winning.  :-D

     My card today was made with the "Picking Flowers 24184" image and I did a monochromatic blue for my blogging buddy, Lynn, who loves blue as much as I love purple!  If I know her as well as I think I do, she'll love this cute bear, too!

     If I had to choose between blue or pink, I definitely would choose blue because blue seems so much more versatile than pink.  Somehow, it's OK to use blue for even a really feminine card but it just wouldn't be the same to use pink on a masculine card!   Of course, purple would work either way.  lol
   

     I started by coloring the image with ProMarkers.  I used a Memory Box die to cut both the lighter blue and the center of the darker blue CS.  I added the image to the card front and then added the double-layer frame.  I love making double-layer frames; it's a favorite technique of mine although I don't use it as much as I'd like because I don't have that many dies with an open center for the image.

     Because that frame is so intricate, I didn't want any other embellishment.  I printed the sentiment, hand cut it, inked the edges, and added it at the bottom of the frame.

     Challenges:

As You Like It

Aud Sentiments

Crafter's Castle

Crafting from the Heart

Crafty Friends

Creative Fingers

Cute Card Thurs.

Fussy and Fancy

Quick Quotes

Time Out

     That's all for today.  I hope you enjoy it.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Loves Me...Loves Me Not...

     The neat part about MOM is that you never have to pluck flower petals or ask questions about her love.  :-D  This sweet image is from Sasayaki Glitter and was a freebie from their last FB challenge.  Unfortunately, I missed getting it somehow before that challenge ended.  :-(   I'm using it anyway because I think it's so cute and I can use it for a Mother's Day card for one of the daughter-moms who gave me lovely grandchildren or even great-grands.

     Naturally, I used my ProMarkers to color her in various shades of pink (a favorite color for feminine cards), then die cut her with a die from Cheery Lynn.  The background pink is cut with another, larger, Cheery Lynn die. 

     I layered them both onto a pale pink card base.  I printed the sentiment, cut it, and inked the edges before adding it.  Those dies created such fancy cuts that I decided it needed no embellishment at all.

     Challenges:
Crafty Cardmakers
Cut It Up
Digi Choosday
Di's Digi Designs
Passion for ProMarkers
Path of Positivity
Pattie's Creations
Sasayaki Glitter
TTCRD
Victorine Originals

     This week seems to have flown by - maybe because I've been so busy?  Whatever the reason, the weekend is right around the corner and tomorrow I'll have another of my DT cards for QKR Stampede.  I know you'll want to see it.  I designed it with a good blogging friend in mind since she loves anything blue.  Did that give you a hint, Lynn?  lol  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Sweet Smell

     Today you get another post from me but count it as tomorrow's post.  I have a full schedule tomorrow and probably won't be anywhere near the computer nor the blog.  For this card, I used a freebie image from the Progressive Challenge at The Outlawz.  This beautiful vintage perfume bottle is by Sandi Huggett.

I followed the sketch from Sketch Saturday 

and colors from C.R.A.F.T..

  

     I used my ProMarkers to color the image and those inspiration colors from C.R.A.F.T. allowed me to use my favorite color combo, purple and turquoise.  I added a bit of glitter to the jewels on the bottle and I also used a white gel pen to make the reflection of light on the bottle.

     The image is cut with a die from Spellbinders.  I used some lovely ombre dp from Recollections.  I snipped a scrap of navy blue CS into a dovetail and added it across the middle, then hand cut the sentiment, inked the edges, and added it.   One of my signature, hand-sewn bows was the final touch.

     Challenges:
Angie's Digital Stamps
Crafting from the Heart
Di's Digi Designs
Dragonfly Dreams
Jo's Scrap Shack
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Simon Says Stamp & Show

     Enjoy the two-for-one posts and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Baby Shower

     In our extended family we're all looking forward to the birth of new baby.  The really special part of this one is that, after a long line of three big sisters, this one is a boy!  Of course, he'll be treated like royalty.  I had the honor of designing and making invitations for the baby shower coming up later this month.

  Front

Inside

I started on these after being influenced

by the blue (for a boy) and gold (for a prince) colors in the

inspiration photo at Color Sisters.

     I can't believe how long it has taken me to get these made.  Typing up the text and choosing the font was the easiest part.  Laying those out onto a sheet of cardstock so that I could use dies to cut them individually took a little thinking and fussing about but I got it.

     For the front, I used a Fiskar's corner punch on the royal blue CS and mounted that onto the white card base.  The text was printed on white CS, die cut with a die from Spellbinders, and then I used a gold ProMarker to ink the edge.  The crown and the decorative gold triangle at the bottom were added to enhance the 'little prince' theme.  I used dimensional dots to ad those and they give some great dimension to the front.

     On the inside, I cut the blue CS with another Spellbinders' die, then used the first die to cut the text pieces, layering them together on the inside.  After cutting all of those pieces by hand (I made 30 of these!), I inked the edges and added gold paint to some of the embossed areas on the blue CS.

     Although they look fairly CAS in design and layout, each invitation took almost 2 hours to complete.  Then there's all the addressing and stamping of the envelopes.  A time consuming project but fun to do and well worth it.

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft Extra
Crafting with Friends
Crafts Galore Encore
Creative Craft Cottages
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Outlawz PAM
Take It, Make It

     Thanks for visiting and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Eggs-traordinary!

     I was lucky enough to be a winner in the Sparkle n Sprinkle challenge last month and today I used one of the images I got as part of my prize.  This one was so much fun to color!

     I used ProMarkers to color the image and water color paints to do the blue sky background.  The image is cut with a die from Spellbinders.  I found a very wide ribbon in my stash and wrapped it around navy blue CS, then added the image.

     The sentiment is part of the stamp set but I cut it by hand and added it below the image.  I decided to do one of my wrapped-burlap twine bow ties and I think it really sets off the country feel of the image.

     Challenges:
Color Inspiration Monday
Crafting by Designs
Crafting from the Heart
Crafty Gals Corner
Creative Moments
Dream Valley
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Simon Says Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Outlawz 'Songs and Rhymes' Challenge

     I have the honor of being the first GDT on the brand new Sunday "Songs and Rhymes" challenge over at the Outlawz and I'm delighted to participate.  :-D  Each week, they will have a song or a rhyme as the theme and you can create something which was inspired by it.  This week, I was inspired by the whole "English Garden" idea and I am convinced that English Gardens are filled with fairy circles and all that comes along with those, including fairies and dragons and tiny-but-meaningful gifts. 

     My card uses a delightful image from A Day for Daisies.

I started with colors from Color Sisters 

and loved the inspiration photo of this lovely garden at 

ARTastic.  Don't you just know there's a fairy in there somewhere?

  

     The image, which is printed directly onto the card front for a single-layer card, is colored with a combination of ProMarkers and polychromos pencils.  My version of the color combo is soft, springtime pastels to enhance the feeling of a garden.  I added some Wink of Stella shimmer to the fairy's wings and sparkly glitter to the dragon's wings.  As a salute to the previous requirement of CAS designs for the Sunday challenge, I kept this card very CAS, adding no embellishments other than the sparkle.

     Challenges:
Catch the Bug
CCC Digis
Crafty Calendar
Crafty Friends
Jo's Scrap Shack
Not Just Cards
Paper Nest Dolls
Send a Smile 4 Kids

     Come join us at The Outlawz.  There are new challenges each day, a monthly progressive challenge, and membership at the Outlawz is free.  You'll find lots of new (and old) friends, crafters just like you who are warm, friendly, and wonderfully helpful when needed.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Grayscale to Black and White Monochromatic

     I just had to do another AuroraWings sprite for their "Black and White with or without a Pop of Color" challenge.  I enjoyed the one I did last week so much that I browsed through my extensive collection of AW images and found this one which I thought would work perfectly.

     I colored with ProMarkers and watercolors, then cut the image with old decorative scissors.  How many of you still have decorative edge scissors?   Come on, fess up - no crafter ever threw out any tools which still works!

     The black frame is cut with a die from Spellbinders.  Everything is put onto an embossed (Linen folder) white card front.  I printed and added the sentiment after hand cutting it and inking the edges.  I really wanted to leave it fairly simple so I added only the black bow with a tiny pearl.

     Challenges:
Crafting by Designs
Crafty Sentiments
Creative Moments
Digi Choosday
Everybody Art
Ike's World
Outlawz Color
Scrappy Land
Unicorn

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Life's a Carousel

     Good Friday morning, friends and followers.  It's time for another weekly challenge at QKR Stampede and our theme is Anything Goes, as always.  I found the most delightful Carousel Horse image and made this single layer card with it.  BTW, if you go searching for the image instead of just using the link I made, you need to know that in the store the name was inadvertently misspelled as "Carosel" Horse.

     When I was a child, I loved carousels and the horses were always my favorite of all the animals.  Despite the exotic lions, or tigers, or even elephants, the horses were majestic and noble and that's why I loved them best.

     The image is printed directly onto the card front, then colored with ProMarkers and watercolor pencils.  I wanted a monochromatic black and white with a pop of color from the roses.  All the shading is done with gray ProMarkers. 

     Challenges:
AAA Cards (middle row)
As You Like It
Crafting with Friends
Crafty Sentiments
Creates and Makes
Cute Card Thurs.
Di's Digi Designs
Ike's World
TTCRD
Tuesday Throwdown

     I want to see you come over and play in our challenge this week.  How can you lose with an Anything Goes theme?   Remember, you can use any image from any company but if you use an image from QKR or even from Eureka Stamps (our sister company), your entry will go into a separate draw and that increases your chances of winning by a huge amount.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Thanks to Our Veterans

     I'm always supportive of our military veterans and I make cards for those who are involved in the Honor Flight trips to our nation's capital.  I also try to honor them on Memorial Day and that's coming up the end of this month.  This is a sample of the style I like to do and I've done half a dozen of these over the last two years, using this same image and color combo.  The image is from Delicious Doodles and the poppies are perfect for veterans.

     I printed the image twice, coloring one and leaving the other black and white.  I die cut the colored one with a plain circle die from Spellbinders, inked the edges with black ink, and layered it onto the black and white image.  This "spotlight" technique is one of my favorites.

     To make the red pop even more, I used black CS for the card blank, adding a panel of white inside for writing the note.  I printed the sentiment, hand cut it, inked the edges, and added it to the image piece.  Offsetting the image on the card front left me room to add the single, red, bow with the pearls.  Since I don't know if this card will go to a man or a woman, I did only that minimal embellishment, keeping it pretty CAS. 

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft
Addicted to Stamps & More
A Perfect Time to Craft
Crafting by Designs
Crafts Galore Encore
Die Cut Divas
Dies R Us
Double D
I {heart} ProMarkers

     A salute to all our veterans of whatever conflict or war.  We DO appreciate your unselfish service to our country.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

"Mice" Rose

     I did a huge clean-out of my remaining wood-mounted, rubber stamps and got rid of most of them but the ones from Penny Black had to stay.  I adore all the mice, hedgies, and cats in my PB collection and simply couldn't stand the idea of sending them off to live elsewhere.  But sorting through them made me realize how little I've used them since discovering digis some years back so I stamped several of them and put them into the "Waiting to be Used" file.

     Here's a hint for those of you who love the sizing ability of digis (probably my favorite thing aside from computer storage):  stamp the image onto paper or CS, then photograph it and save the photo as a .jpg image.  Open the .jpg in whatever software you use for opening and printing digis, then adjust the size from there before you print and color it.  I don't know if that will work with a cell phone photo because I only photograph with my Canon digital camera but it works great with those photos.

   

I loved the inspiration photos at Sugar Pea Designs and at Cupcake Inspiration.

  

     I used my ProMarkers to color the image, then die cut it with a fancy oval die from Spellbinders.  I printed the sentiment in red, hand cut it and added it to the image piece.  Everything went onto a blue background.

     I found a piece of beige lace in my stash and used a ProMarker to 'dye' it the coral-pink I wanted.  I tied it into a bowtie bow, wrapped with a bit of 1/8" satin ribbon.

     Challenges:

Allsorts

Crafting from the Heart

Crafty Sentiments

Digi Choosday

Di's Digi Designs

Jo's Scrap Shack

Penny Black Saturday

TTCRD

Tuesday Throwdown

     Thanks for visiting and for commenting, my friends.  I truly appreciate your time and efforts.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge with Rick St. Dennis

     Here we are - another new challenge starts today at 2 Craft Critter Crazies and the sponsor is Rick St. Dennis.  They generously supplied images for each of the DT members so all of our inspiration projects are completely different this month.  Be sure to check the main challenge blog to see them all.

     I used a fabulous image called "Dragon" and, if you're into dragons the way my granddaughter is, be sure to check out the Zibbet store.  There are several fantastic dragon images over there.

     I colored the dragon using ProMarkers, then cut him on three sides with a border die from Spellbinders.  The scallops on the dp were also cut with another border die from Spellbinders. 

     The olive green dp came from Stampin' Up and I used 4 different scrap pieces to make all those layers.  I thought minimal embellishment would best feature that magnificent dragon so I limited the embellishing to three, tiny pearls in two corners and then left it alone.

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Color Inspiration Monday
Crafting from the Heart
Crafting with Friends
Crafty Catz
Cut It Up
Di's Digi Designs
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz Greetings
Pammie's Inky Pinkies

     Come play with us this month!   Out theme is always "Anything Goes" as long as you feature a creature.  Be sure to check the blog to find out who won last month's challenge and to see all the DT Favorites.  One of them might be you.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie