Princess Bear

     This is an image I bought ages ago from Morgan's Artworld and this is the first time I've colored it up and used it.  I thought it would make a great birthday card for a young girl.

     I started coloring with my ProMarkers but added a few strokes of gel ink to the fur and then put glitter on the flowers & on the bunting on her shoulders and skirt.   I also added glitter to the gems in her crown and colored the crown itself with gold paint pen.  I was attempting to make her skirt look somewhat iridescent, hence the blue, lavender, and pale pink colors.

     Everything was cut with stitched dies from either Lawn Fawn (the squares) or Die-Namics (the rectangles.)   I used two different ribbons from my stash and tied a double bow.

     Challenges:
ArtbyMiRan
Brown Sugar
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards
Crafting with Friends
Crafty Catz
Creative Fingers
Fussy and Fancy
Morgan's Artworld
Polka Doodles

     Have you had lots of crafting time this weekend?   Whatever you've had, I hope it has soothed and relaxed your soul so that you're recharged for the week ahead.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

MHK Designs Tulips and Butterflies

     Today starts the May/June challenge over at MHK Designs and here's our inspiration photo:

Remember, you can use the colors, the photo, 

a specific thing within the photo, 

or a combination of everything.

If you use an image from MHK Designs

then the theme is "Anything Goes"

whether you use the inspiration photo or not.

Here's what I did using "Tulip of Thanks."

     I printed two of  the flowers, die cutting one and fussy cutting the other.  I colored with ProMarkers and, though it doesn't show very well in the photo (try enlarging it for a better look), added glitter to the top one.  I mounted that flower on dimensional dots after cutting away the leaf and adhering it so that it pointed in the other direction.  

     The three, green, CS rectangles are also all die cut with my Pinpoint Rectangles die set from Memory Box.  I scattered die cut butterflies (also Memory Box) across the card, adding pearls to them for the bodies.  The final touch, making this almost a vintage card, was the lace and stitched ribbon.

     Challenges:

2 Creative Chicks

A Bit More Time to Craft

Artistic Inspirations

Card and Scrap

Card Mania

Crafting from the Heart

Craft Your Passion

Crafts Galore Encore

Crafty Enjoyments

Crazy Challenge

Creatalicious

Digistamps 4 Joy

Incy Wincy

Our Crafty Corner

Outlawz Twisted Thursday
Pearly Sparkles
Really Reasonable Ribbon
Scrapy Land

     I hope you'll come and play in our challenge this month.  It runs through June 15 and you can use any image from any company with the inspiration photo or you can do "Anything Goes" if you use an image from MHK Designs.  Hope to see you there.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

 Tulip of Thanks

Sketch, Panda, and QKR Stampede

     Good Friday morning to all of you!  Another new challenge is starting at QKR Stampede this morning and this week we have a sketch challenge.  It's a great sketch; very versatile and fun to use.



     Here's my version and I used QKR Stampede Digi 24320 Panda and Digi 15810 Huggable for the sentiment.

     It may be a bit hard to tell in the photo but this is an easel card.   I left the image black and white, cut it with one of my oval dies from Spellbinders, and added an oval mat, also die cut.  The leaves are cut with my favorite die from my collection of Cheery Lynn dies.  The striped background dp is from SU and has been in my stash more or less forever!  :-D  I added a few green sequins for some sparkle and bling.  Can you believe there are 5 different layers on this otherwise CAS design, not counting the leaves or sequins?  

     Challenges:

613 Avenue Create

Artistic Inspirations

Crafting from the Heart

Craft Your Passion

Crafty Addicts

Creative Moments

Dragonfly Dreams

Inspiration Destination

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends

Love to Scrap

Scrapy Land

Sweet Stamps

     That's all for today but we do hope you're going to play along at QKR Stampede this week.  Use the sketch as your basic design and remember you can use any image you like.  If you happen to use an image by QKR, your card will be entered to a separate drawing just for those who used QKR images and that means your chances of winning increase dramatically.  See you there.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Wine and Age

     The sentiment on this card says it all and now I have one more birthday card in my stash.  I can't say who'll get this one because some people in my circle of friends and family read my blog and I certainly don't want to give it away.  :-D

The image, sentiment, and sketch are by From the Heart Stamps.

There's a twist with this sketch -"Crop the Digi" - which I did.

     I used my ProMarkers to color the inside circle of the image, leaving the outer circle in black and white.  I used two of my Die-Namics stitched circle dies to cut the image.  The sentiment is cut with with a square die from my Spellbinders collection.  The papers were scraps in my stash and the sheer ribbon I used was also a scrap.  I love the color and texture of it so much, I simply couldn't throw it out so found a way to use it.  :-D

     Challenges:
2 Creative Chicks
A Bit More Time to Craft
Art Impressions
Aud Sentiments
C.R.A.F.T.
Crafting with an Attitude
Dies R Us
Hannah & Friends
Not Just Cards
Paper Creator's Crafts
Petal Lu
Sisters of Craft
Sparkles Forum
Sweet Stamps

     Almost Hump Day and then we're on our way to the weekend - woohoo!  Enjoy your day and make it the best one so far this week.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Daphne's Daffodil

     This wonderful, sweet image is the FB Progressive Challenge freebie from ArtbyMiRan.  She became a birthday card because I'm stocking up on those.  No particular person in mind for this one but it will probably go to my sister-in-law who has the next family birthday coming up at the end of this month.  :-D

     I used my ProMarkers to color the image in lovely, spring greens and then used my latest Cheery Lynn framing die to cut it.  I backed it with pale green CS so that the frame element would be better showcased.  I added the leafy die cut, also a Cheery Lynn die, and punched flower petals for the white flower, adding a sparkly sequin to the center.  Green isn't my usual color choice for a monochromatic card but I rather like it on this one.

     Challenges:
A Beautiful Mess
ArtbyMiRan
Aud Sentiments
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards
C.R.A.F.T.
Craft Rocket
Crafty Catz
Crafty Creations
Creative Corner
Creative Fingers
Creative Moments
DL.ART
Inspiration Destination
Star Stampz

     I hope your week is going well even if it is a Monday and the first day back to work.  Count your blessings -- you have a job and a paycheck.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Staring You in the Face

     The image on this card is one of the new ones from Bugaboo Stamps and as soon as I saw it, I went on a shopping spree.  It just made me smile.  :-D

I started with the sketch from The Outlawz

but modified it to suit my die cut/embossing on the corner.

    This is another of those cards where everything I used came from the scrap basket or my stash of things needing to be used.  :-D  I always feel so self satisfied when I do that and then I give myself permission to go on a shopping trip for more supplies.

     I also challenged myself to see if I could use at least 12 shades of pink in the coloring (ProMarkers with watercolor pencils) and papers in the overall design but still wanted the image to look more or less "natural," meaning I didn't want to give her bright pink hair but still wanted it to have a pinkish tinge.  At my count, I used 15 different colors of pink, including a couple that favor the coral side of the hues.  :-D

     The corner die cut was done with a die from Poppy Stamps and the image and mat were cut with a couple of stitched circle dies from Die-Namics.  The papers were open stock scrapbooking papers from my stash of leftovers.  I used two shades of pink CS.  The flower and butterfly embellies are double layered and the top layer is sparkly with glitter.  Each one has a gem stone in the center for a bit of bling.

     Challenges:
Catch the Bug
Crafting by Designs
Crafting for all Seasons
Crafty Addicts
Crafty Creations
Crafty Friends
Di's Digi Designs
House That Stamps Built
Inspiration Destination
In the Pink
Let's Color Saturday
Outlawz Twisted Thurs
Pencil Case
Scrapy Land
Simon Says Stamp

     We're starting a new week and, hopefully, it's going to cool down a bit.  We all but hit 100 degrees out here where I live (some nearby areas did get to an official 100 -- we got to 99) and it's just too early in May for that to happen.  I'm afraid it's a sign of a long, hot summer coming up this year.  Ugh.  Oh, well, good excuse to stay inside and craft, right?   Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Magical Birthday

     I've been fascinated with unicorns since I was a child.  The one in this image is so fantastic, I just had to use him for another birthday card.  I think I wish I could give this to myself.  :-D

I used the colors at The Outlawz.

I wish my purple doily had stayed purple instead of turning maroon!  Sigh...

    I used my ProMarkers and Copics to color the image, fussy cut the unicorn, then found a Cheery Lynn doily die to cut the mat.  I also cut a simple white circle and put it into the center of the doily, giving something of a 'full moon' look to the scene.

     I also used two pieces of dp, each of which had punched, rounded corners and those were found in my scrap basket, intended to be used on some previous project and then rejected in favor of something else.  How nice that they worked so well in this card design.  :-D

     The sparkly ribbon came from my stash and is probably from Really Reasonable Ribbon.  I tied a quad-loop bow.

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
City Crafter
C.R.A.F.T.
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafty Addicts
Crafty Catz
Create and Inspire
Fabrika Fantasy 
Kitty Bee Designs
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Southern Girls
WordArt Weds.

     That's it for my second post of the day.  I'm going to have brunch with my daughter and then do a bit of craft shopping.  See you tomorrow.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Birdbrain Graduation

     Yesterday I shared a graduation card with you that I had done either for my granddaughter or her best friend.  Today, I'm sharing the second of those two cards and I still haven't decided who's going to get which one.  :-D  This one has an image by From the Heart Stamps and I'm also using the sketch from their challenge.

     I colored the image with ProMarkers, then die cut it with a stitched circle die from Memory Box.  I layered that onto black CS.  The sentiment is printed, hand cut, and matted with a scrap of that same black CS.  Since their school colors are blue and gold, I tried to keep to that color combo when designing the card.

     The dp is from my scrap basket.  I love that kind of argyle-plaid paper and I've used every single bit of it rather than throw away any of it.  I still have one full sheet of it left but hesitate to cut into it because I just love it so much.   It must be the geometric pattern -- those are always among my favorites because they work so well for masculine but also for girl cards.

     The stitched ribbon is the last bit of one-yard sample I had in my stash.  I added the yellow ribbon flower and the 3D grad hat for embellishment.

     Challenges:
As You Like It
Aud Sentiments
Connie Can Crop
Crafting with an Attitude
Crafty Catz
Creative Corner
Creative Fingers
DL.ART
Hanna and Friends
Outside the Box
Simply Papercraft

     Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

No More School Days!

     Happy Friday, friends and followers.  Are you looking for information on the newest challenge at QKR Stampede?   Well, it started today and our theme is "Graduation Cards."  Since I have a granddaughter who's leaving Middle School for High School this year, I'm doing cards for her and her lifelong best friend.  They both love my humorous cards so here's the first one and I'm not sure which of them is going to get it.

     For this card, I used the QKR sentiment 13513 "School Day" and the image 13912 "School Days."
I added the "No More..." to the sentiment and added the 3D grad cap to the image so if you go looking for those parts of the image or sentiment, you won't find them.  :-D

     I colored the image with my ProMarkers, then cut it using a die from Cheery Lynn.  I printed the sentiment and cut it by hand.  I put blue CS behind the die cut image piece, matching the blue in his shirt as closely as possible, and decided that the frame was enough embellishment so added nothing further.

     Challenges:
Artistic Inspirations
Cheery Lynn Designs
Colouring in Scrapland
Crafting from the Heart
Crafting with an Attitude
Creative Card Crew
Cre8tive Hands
Creative Ladybirds
Outlawz Greetings
Incy Wincy
Lemon Shortbread
Through the Craft Room Door

     I hope you'll come play along this week.  Those graduations are happening already and you don't want to miss out on getting a card ready.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Lovely Victorian Hat

     As soon as I saw this image over at Julia Spiri, I grabbed it and made this card!  It's actually called "The Victorian Hat" hence my post title today.  Naturally, I had to do a vintage card.  I'm going to use it for a birthday card because my stash is very low on birthday cards but I'm going to put the sentiment inside, along with a handwritten, personal note, and use this for my daughter's birthday card.

     I colored with ProMarkers, use a die from one of my Spellbinders sets to cut it out, and then cut a large oval for the mat (QuicKutz).  I added pearls, dried flowers, a die cut butterfly (2 layers) and used ribbon to make a double-color, double-loop bow.  Too bad it looks so pink in the photo.  It's really pale lilac.

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft
Crafts Galore Encore
Crafty Girlz
Creative Card Crew
Digistamps4Joy
Digitally Sweet
Double D
I {heart} ProMarkers
Julia Spiri
Lunagirl Moonbeam
Paper Creator's Crafts
Scrapy Land
Sisterhood of Crafters
WordArt Weds

     Hope your week is going well.  We're on the downhill slide to the weekend now so hang in there.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Inlaid Die Cut Butterfly

     I'm experimenting again with inlaid die cuts.  That's the challenge theme from AAA Cards and I do like the way this turned out.

     All the dies I used this time are from Spellbinders and I just love the way they work together.  For the background, I nested together 4 dies from one of my framing sets and cut both light and dark turquoise CS, then alternated the colors.  These are not stacked layers -- the two colors are actually inlaid so that when it's finished, there's only one layer.  I did layer everything onto white CS but that was only for gluing purposes.  I trimmed away all but the tiniest border of white before applying that piece to the black card base.  The outside frame and the oval were both embossed by using the die again but this time with a rubber pad for embossing instead of cutting.

     Then I used two butterfly dies to cut butterflies from two shades of CS in the purple family.  I inlaid those the same way but left a couple of negative pieces of the lavender instead of inlaying the darker purple.  I just liked the look of it that way.

     The sentiment is hand stamped and die cut.  While it was still in the die, I drew around the inside of the die with purple ink.  After removing the die, I edged it with purple ink.  Finally, I added one of those bows which I make by the dozens and put pearls on the butterfly body.  I kept it very CAS, even though my "white" space is black on this card.  :-D

     Challenges:
613 Avenue Create
Artistic Inspirations
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafting from the Heart
Craft Your Passion
Crafty Cardmakers
Dare 2B Artzy
Our Crafty Corner
Outlawz Twisted Thursday
Pile It On
Ribbon Girls
Scrapy Land

     We're halfway through the week and nearly half way through the year - can you believe that?  Next month is the turning point and we'll celebrate the longest day of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere, although the hottest days of summer will still be ahead of us so I'm not sure the days really feel all that much shorter.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Double Spotlight on Flowers

IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR MY TUESDAY THROWDOWN CARD TODAY, 

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN ONE POST.

     Our challenge for May over at Open-Minded Crafting Fun has four sponsors; Dr. Digi's, Julia Spiri, Lemon Shortbread, and Scribbles Designs.   We have a fun theme of "Using Your Favorite Technique."   There are several I really like to use but doing a Spotlight Technique has been a favorite ever since I first tried it.  Recently, I learned how to do a Double Spotlight and I love that even more!

     The image I used is "Flower Pot 2" from Scribbles Designs.

I took my colors mostly from the inspirational photo at

Make My Monday.

     After the image was printed, I printed a second one and colored only the flowers (ProMarkers.)  I cut it with a Scalloped Stitched Circle die from Memory Box, then cut out the center of that piece with another, smaller die from that same set.  I mounted the center piece onto Pop Dots so that it was raised above the main spotlight piece.  Lining up the spotlight pieces with the black and white image underneath resulted in an out-of-the-box technique also.

     With so much detail from the two techniques, I used a very CAS design for the overall card.  The sentiment was printed, hand cut, and adhered to the background dp which I found in my scrap basket.  I thought the tiny dots in the dp pattern complemented the stitches in the die cuts.

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft
Artistic Inspirations
Card Mania
CAS on Sunday
Classic DT
Crafts Galore Encore
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper
Crafting from the Heart
Craft Your Passion
Dragonfly Dreams
Eureka Stamps
Incy Wincy
My Crafting Stories
One Stitch at a Time
Scrapy Land

     I hope we're going to see you entering the challenge this month.  Just decide on a technique and make something you can enter.  We can hardly wait to have you inspire us.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Thinking of You

     Our newest challenge at Tuesday Throwdown this week is sponsored by our very own Crafty Girl, whose marvelous images can be found here.  Our theme is a very simple one, "Thinking of You."  I used her Flower Trio image.

     I've been on a kraft kick lately and this time I combined it to get my favorite 'kraft and...' combo, kraft and pink.  I colored the image with my Promarkers and cut it out.  I embossed bright pink CS and added it to the bottom of the card front.  The ribbon is from my stash and I made the bow using that same ribbon plus a narrow, grosgrain so that it's a double layer bow.  The flower is a kraft paper embellie with a bead in the center.

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Catch the Bug
Color Your World
Come and Get It
Corrosive Challenge
Glitter n Sparkle
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Ribbon Girls
Scrapper's Delights
Sweet Stampin'

     Come play along with us this week, won't you?  A "Thinking of You" theme is almost as good as an Anything Goes.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Kitten Cuddles

     This image from Ppinkydolls was the freebie for the May Progressive challenge at The Outlawz and you know I fell in love with it!

     I decided on a CAS design with very limited embellishments.  I colored the image with my ProMarkers plus I added sparkle gel ink to her wings.  The top wing is layered on with Pop Dots for a bit of dimension.  Then I used my largest square die (Spellbinders) to cut it.  I added a piece of sheer ribbon to the image piece and layered that onto a blue card base so that it looks framed or matted.  The butterfly is double layered with one colored and the other one white with a gem for a bit of sparkle.

     Wouldn't this make a perfect get well card for a child?

     Challenges:
A Beautiful Mess
Allsorts
Animal Friends
ArtbyMiRan
Aud Sentiments
Crafting -with-Friends
Creative Fingers
Jo's Scrap Shack
Julia Spiri
Outlawz CAS
Outlawz Twisted Thurs
Path of Positivity
Quick Quotes
Show Us Your Pussie Cats Only
Simply Papercraft
STAMPlorations
 

     I hope you had a sparkling weekend and a wonderful Mother's Day for those of you who are mothers or have mothers.  Mine was fantastic.  :-D   Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Happy Mother's Day

     This is my last Mother's Day card for this year and I made it for my daughter's mother-in-law who loves pink so much she did her entire Christmas decorating one year in pink, including the tree!  The whole family is getting together over lunch to celebrate all the moms in the family so I'll give it to her then.

     When I first decided to make a card for her, I was inspired by the photo in the challenge at Sparkle and Shine and decided that flowers would be a good subject.  

     I have this delightful Rubber Stampede tulip stamp which I used the other day on a very CAS card but this time I wanted something a bit more detailed.  I stamped and heat embossed the tulips in white onto a scrap piece of dp.  There's a story behind that scrap.  It was a pale, pastel pink and I wanted something deep pink, yet bright.  I grabbed some of my pink ProMarkers and colored over the entire piece of dp.   The original pattern in the dp still showed through but it was now the deeper shade of pink that I wanted.  :-D 

     I stamped one more tulip onto white CS and colored it with my ProMarkers.  I fussy cut just the blossom and offset it slightly on top of one of the embossed tulips.  The black lace is from my stash and the little bunting die cuts are from a die set by Spellbinders.  I added three sequins in two corners for a bit of sparkle.

     Challenges:

Crafty Gals Corner

Creative Card Crew

Deep Ocean

Double D

Going Grey with Scrap Creations

I{heart} ProMarkers

Inspiration Destination

Lemon Shortbread

Mod Squad
Outlawz PAM

Paper Minutes

Passion for ProMarkers

{PIN}spirational

Stampotique

Through the Craft Room Door

     Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.  :-D  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

You're How Old ?!

     I was a winner at Cre8tive Hands this week and, while I've played in their challenges a few times, this was the first time I've visited their store.  Of course, the first thing that happened was that I fell in love with half a dozen feline images so, after claiming my prize, I went on a shopping spree.  I'm also now a member of their monthly club where I will be getting up to 20 images per month for $5, plus a discount on purchases from the store.  Since I'm really crazy about everything I've seen, that's going to work out for me.  :-D

     Here's my first card using a Cre8tive Hands image.

I used the sketch at The Outlawz.

     The cat is colored with my newest Warm Gray markers from ProMarkers, and I hope he looks like a young Siamese just beginning to get his distinctive markings.  I used a Memory Box Scalloped Circle Stitched die to cut him and did an out-of-the-box technique.  I used that same circular die to cut out the sentiment, cutting it once from the top, then moving the die and cutting it from the bottom to get an oval instead of a circle.

     The "Happy Birthday" is from a Spellbinders set and the dp is from DCWV, the "Midnight Chic" pad.  I hoard this particular stack of paper because I love working in black and white but it's hard to find really great b&w papers.  When I found this stack over 2 years ago, I grabbed it up and now I wish I'd grabbed two.  I haven't been able to find it since and every pattern is just so fabulous.  Consequently, I save all the scraps every time and use them before cutting a new sheet, if that's at all possible.  This was a scrap piece that fit the card and the sketch perfectly.

      Believe it or not, there are three sets of three sequins each on the card but they're hard to find in the photo.  They sparkle like the dickens IRL !

     Challenges:
Art Impressions
As You Like It
Aud Sentiments
Crafting by Designs
Cre8tive Hands
Creative Moments
Inspiration Destination
Little Miss Muffet
Scrapy Land
Show Us Your Pussies Cats Only
Sisterhood of Crafters
Word Art Wednesday

     I think that's all I have for today but I am working on a couple of new projects so you never know if there will be an additional post this afternoon.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

A Face a Mother Can Love

     The latest challenge at QKR Stampede starts today and our theme is "Feminine or Mother's Day."   Sometimes our moms just need to be recognized for being the ones who always loved us, no matter what.  :-D   My card today celebrates that side of moms the world over.

I chose the colors from Hand Stamped Sentiments.

     This image, Digi 402 "Geese" by QKR Stampede, was printed directly onto the card front and then colored with ProMarkers and a couple chalk markers with which I added sky and ground background to turn it into a complete scene.   Because I wanted to showcase the scene and sentiment, I did a completely CAS, single-layer card with no embellishments at all.

     Challenges:
Cards in Envy
Chalk n Stock
Crafting from the Heart
Craft Your Passion
Crafty Sentiments Designs
Critters and Creatures
Eureka Stamps
Incy Wincy
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Festive Friday
Paper Minutes
Passion for ProMarkers
Where the HeART Is

     Come play with us this week, won't you?   You can use stamps/images from any company and you can enter up to 3 times.  However, if you use an image from QKR Stampede, your card will be entered into a separate drawing for QKR only and that greatly increases your chance of winning.  Hope to see you there.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

The Perfect Age or Aged to Perfection?

     It's time to begin stocking up on birthday cards again.  My stash seems to get really low about this time every year and, in my family, we have lots of summer birthdays.  Since I bought that set of rubber stamps the other day, I have been inspired to look through my collection of rubber and use a couple of them.  I also wanted to try coloring on kraft again, not something which has been all that successful for me in the past but I'm satisfied with this one.

     This time, I started with kraft card stock for the card base, stamped the flower and the sentiments with Stazon ink, and began my coloring using gel pens.  After I got the basic lines colored with gel; ink, I went over it with ProMarkers.  The tulip stamp is from Rubber Stampede, and the sentiments are from Hero Arts and Stampabilities.

     I knew I wanted something CAS but decided on a couple of  embellishments; paper ribbon and paper embellishments - staying with the kraft theme.  The paper ribbon was the last of something I had in my scrap basket.

     Challenges:
613 Avenue Create
Addicted to Stamps
Amusing Challenges
Artistic Inspirations
Cards in Envy
Come and Get It
Crafting from the Heart
Craft Your Passion
Incy Wincy
Inky Chicks
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Paper Girls
Penny Black and More
Stamping Sensations
Where the HeART Is

     Thanks for stopping by and feel free to browse around while you're here.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

PigWit in a Planter

     It's a new month and I went on a shopping spree at From the Heart Stamps.  I snapped up this darling set "Hamlet PigWit in the Planter" the instant I saw it (and then found out an hour later that it was the Progressive Challenge freebie for this month and I would have gotten it anyway! lol)

I also chose to use the sketch at From the Heart Stamps

but I added the lace and flower embellies along the side.

     I colored with ProMarkers, aiming for a lilac/lavender monochrome combo, and then cut the image with a stitched scalloped circle die from Memory Box.  I did an out-of-the-box technique with the sentiment and bottom portion of the image.   I merged the sentiment with the image before printing, using PhotoShop.

     The background squares are cut from ombre scrapbooking paper and those pieces all came from the same sheet.  I mounted everything onto CS and put that onto a kraft card base.  I added embellishments of  lilac satin ribbon and white lace, plus mulberry flowers with white or purple pearls in the centers.

     Challenges:
Art Impressions
Aud Sentiments
Crafty Boots
Crafty Cardmakers
Critters & Creatures
Get Creative
Hanna & Friends
Incy Wincy
Melonheadz Friends
Our Crafty Corner
Outlawz Twisted Thurs.
Time Out

     Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Tall and Skinny Bouquet

     Hmmm, tall and skinny -- I think that's what I wish I was!   In any case, this is my first ever Tall and Skinny card.  I've avoided making them because I never can find tall and skinny envelopes for them and don't want to try to make one.  However, I found some suitable envelopes in a box of old greeting cards and they are still good enough to use.

Colors in the image are from Crazy 4 Challenges.

     I dug out a stamp set by Stampendous and used different pieces of it to stamp this Bouquet in a Jar which I thought would be great for celebrating Mother's Day.  This time, I colored it with watercolors and used chalk markers (after it dried well) to give some shading for more depth.

     Since the watercolor paper I used for the image had some texture to it, I embossed the colored CS layers with my Linen folder.  Very hard to see it in the photo but it adds almost the same texture throughout all the layers.

     This is a tri-fold card and I added polka dot dp to the right side fold.  The CS I used for the card base is white which makes it white inside where one can write a message.

     Challenges:
Artistic Inspirations
Cards in Envy
Chalk n Stock
Crafting from the Heart
Craft Your Passion
Dragonfly Journeys
Just Us Girls
Let's Color Saturday
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends
Little Claire's
MFP Stamps
Outlawz Greetings
Penny Black and More
Stamping Sensations

     Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie