Unicorn Dreams

     New challenge today at the SheepSki Designs blog and our theme is "Dies and/or Punches."  I used this fantastic "Unicorn" image drawn by Andrea and I'm so crazy about it, I know I'm going to use it again and again.  This time, it's being used as a birthday card.

Colored with ProMarkers
Glitter added to unicorn horn
Tonic Studios dies
Double loop, double layer, bow (ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon)
Sheer, plaid, ribbon strip (also from Really Reasonable Ribbon)
Metallic CS base
Sentiment printed and die cut with Tonic Studios die
Inked edges - ProMarker

     Challenges:
2 Sisters on the  Blog
a2z Scrapbooking
A Bit More Time to Craft
Bastel-Traum
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafts Galore Encore
Crafter's Cafe
Digi Doodle Studio
Dream Valley
Your Scrapbook Place

      Come play this month.  We love being inspired by you and your creations.  NanaConnie

#1 on Your Birthday

     Our September challenge is starting today at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies and, as always, our theme is Anything Goes with a Critter.  We're sponsored this month by QKR Stampede and they have so many adorable creatures and critters, including bugs and snakes, any of which would count in our challenge.  But I chose to use this darling "Beaver" image and added one more masculine birthday card to my stash.

ProMarkers
QuicKutz die
Argyle dp from DCWV
Sheer gold ribbon
Accordion fold bow

     Challenges:
Creative Knockouts
Cutie Pie
Digi Choosday
House that Stamps Built
Passion for ProMarkers
Scrappy Land
Simon Says Stamp
Work It Weds.

     Come play along with us this month, won't you?  Remember, you can also enter any creations made for our challenge over at QKR Stampede where their theme is always "Anything Goes."  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Tea Party Alice

     I've been playing with things in my "Images Waiting to be Used" folder again, mostly consisting of printed or stamped images sent to me by fellow crafters which I've either colored or partially colored, and then popped back into the folder for use later.  That means I don't always have info on who created the image, as is the case on this one.

     It was probably sent to me a couple of years back when one of my granddaughters had an Alice in Wonderland "Mad Hatter" tea party theme for her birthday.  But as of now, I can't remember who sent it to me nor anything else about it.

     Given the size of the image, I opted for a very CAS card although it looks complex.  Everything you see is part of the image except for the sentiment.  Believe it or not, it's a single layer card !  I do love the Cheshire Cat.  Can you find him?

Colored with ProMarkers
Stamped Sentiment

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Allsorts
Colour Crazy
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Festive Fri.
Paperminutes
Passion for ProMarkers
Polkadoodles
SUYP Cats
TTCRD

     (I got that far on drafting my post and the power went out in my neighborhood.  According to the power company's hot line, a vehicle accident broke a power pole and they expected to have power back on within the hour.  It took about 2 hours.)

     Happy Crafting and have yourself a great weekend.  For those of you in USA- like me- enjoy your long Labor Day weekend.  NanaConnie

Out for a Swim

     It's Friday again and that means we have a new challenge starting at QKR Stampede.  I'm using this fun QKR image, called "Out for a Swim."   The sentiment is all mine - printed with a computer font and hand cut with scissors.  I admit that's my favorite way to add a sentiment because it allows me to chose the font style and to add the silly sentiments which seem to pop into my head (unbidden, I might add) when I'm choosing images to use.  :-D

Colored with ProMarkers
Gina Marie die for image
QuicKutz dies for dp & brown CS
"Linen" embossing folder (brown CS)
Satin ribbon & hand tied bow
Kraft card base

     Challenges:
As You Like It
Aud Sentiments
Cardz TV
Crafty Creations
Creative Knockouts
House That Stamps Built
Scrappy Land
Simon Says Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Sneezes and Sniffles

     I've done a Get Well card using a House Mouse image and I have no doubt it'll get used rather quickly although, at the moment, it's in my stash.  Cold season is just around the corner and I've learned those can go through the entire household very quickly (and predictably!)

Colored with ProMarkers and colored pencils
Frame cut with Spellbinders die
Stripes created with ribbon
2 polka dot, bow tie bows (tied on my bow maker)
Sentiment printed and hand cut

     Challenges:
Bastel-Traum
Crafter's Cafe
Creative Moments
Digi Choosday
Dream Valley
House Mouse
Papercraft
Simon Says Stamp & Show (Sniffles, Sneezes)
TTCRD
Tues. Throwdown

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Embroidery Pattern Kitten

     I went on a "clear it out" rampage last weekend when I opened a rarely used cabinet in my crafting area.  I think most of us have such places but mine was filled with shoe boxes of crafting things I hadn't seen since my move to this city almost 6 years ago!   During my last move, I simply moved the cabinet with boxes intact and without sorting anything.  After this weekend, there are two shoe boxes left in the cabinet and I know everything that's in each one.

     Among the things I found were several packets of iron-on embroidery patterns, including this one of a kitten with flower.  The flower may have been intended as a daisy but since I did it in fall colors, it's now a sunflower.

I based this on the sketch at The Outlawz

flipping it so that the bow becomes the butterfly.

ProMarkers
QuicKutz circle dies
Persimmon CS frames
2 layers of sheer ribbon
Kraft card case
Hand tied, gold, sheer ribbon bow

     Challenges:
Crafty Friends
Creative Inspirations
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Festive Fri.
Paperbabe Stamps
Passion for ProMarkers
Scrappy Land
SUYP Cats

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Dragon's Flower

     Today I'm featuring my favorite color combo - purple and anything!  Why?  Purple is my favorite color and I know it goes well with turquoise, green, pink, yellow, orange, and neutrals such as white and tan.  It's just so versatile.

I was inspired by the color inspiration at Paper Girls.

Image colored with ProMarkers
Die cut with Spellbinders die
Bleached CS cut with Spellbinders die
Lace
Stacked bows with gingham on top
Sentiment printed and hand cut

     Challenges:
Art Impressions
As You Like It
Cutie Pie
Dream Valley
Scrappy Land
Simon Says Stamp & Show
   (stacked bows & Spellbinders)
Southern Girls
Word Art Weds.

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

Butterfly Kitten

     You mean you didn't know that fairies have kittens?  They do.  Look at this image from Paper Shelter and you'll see they have butterfly kittens!  :-D  What a delightful fantasy concept.

Colors inspired by House that Stamps Built.

Colored with ProMarkers
Glitter on the wings
Image & frame cut with Cottage Cutz pinpoint die
Border cuts with Spellbinders die
Paper from the scrap basket
Hand sewn bows w/ pearls

     Challenges:
Butterfly  (Kobe hair)
Cut It Up
Double D
I {heart} ProMarkers
Outlawz Festive Fri.
Polkadoodles
Scrappy Land
Southern Girls

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Purple Roses

     I've been going through my folder of images and projects which are awaiting completion, getting inspired all over again about how to use them.  I don't know if you have one of those folders but it holds images I've colored but not yet used and even uncolored images waiting for the ProMarkers or polychromos pencils. 

     I also store stamped images which others have given to me.  I belong to a group of ladies who regularly exchange images they have stamped, giving them to others in the group who then color and use them to make cards.  It's a great way to expand the number and kind of images you might have available.  These roses came from someone in that group and I have no information on who made the stamp or how old it might be.

The inspiration for my colors came from

The Paper Girls.

Colored with ProMarkers
Fussy Cutting
Heat embossed with "Bullfrog" EP
Hand sewn bow
Stamped sentiment

     Challenges:
Allsorts
Colour Crazy
Crafty Gals Corner
Cute Card Thurs.
Digi Choosday
Outlawz Stash
Southern Girls
TTCRD
Word Art Weds.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Summer

     Summer is the time of travel, vacations, trips to the beach, picnics with watermelon, cool drinks served in coconuts, and heat!  I love all of it except the heat.  :-D  My card today is inspired by the inspiration photo at Catch the Bug challenge.   

     I combined two Bugaboo Stamps images to create this CAS card.  Although it looks really busy because of the collage image, it's only the card base and the combined images - no embellishment of any kind.

Colored with ProMarkers
Images are cut with QuicKutz square (out-of-the-box technique) and rectangle dies

     Challenges:
Creative Inspirations
Ellibelle's Crafty Weds.
I {heart} ProMarkers
Lemon Shortbread
Mod Squad
Path of Positivity
Simon Says Stamp
Stamping Sensations
TTCRD

Hope you're having a great weekend and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Cleaning Up

     Welcome to another Friday and another start to the weekly challenge at QKR Stampede.  I have a DT card to share today which is filled with just plain silliness.  The image is called "Bathing Bear."  It comes in both digi and rubber stamps.

Again, using my favorite orange & brown fall colors.

ProMarkers
Sparkle gel ink on faucet
Spellbinders die
Stitched ribbon - Crafty Ribbons
Plaid Ribbon - Really Reasonable Ribbon
Brown CS for background embossed with 'Linen' EF

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Creative Knockouts (digi/sentiment/ribbon)
Cute Card Thurs.
Cutie Pie
Dragonfly Dreams
Get Creative
Outlawz Greetings
Path of Positivity

     Come play with us, won't you?   We love being inspired by you.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

The Mermaid and the Diver

     I have another fun summer-y card to share today and I seem to be on a kick of mermaids this week.  :-D  Maybe it's just the need for something cool (or at least cool colors) in the midst of yet another predicted heat wave in my part of the country.  Looks like we're faced with another 5 to 7 days of over 100F temperatures.  Yuck.  I'm really tired of it.

     This card features an image from The Paper Shelter which I think is adorable.

Colored with ProMarkers
Mermaid heat embossed with a sparkly EP
Image cut with QuicKutz die
Papers are scraps left on the desk from other projects this week
Pearls for embellishment
Sentiment rubber stamped - unknown maker

     Challenges:
Crafty Creations
Crafty Gals Corner
Creative Inspirations
Cute Card Thurs.
Double D
I {heart} ProMarkers
Outlawz Twisted Thurs.
Scrappy Land
Word Art Weds.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Worm in an Apple

     Mr. & Mrs. Worm have found a new home in a left over, picnic apple!  I know, I know, it's usually ants who show up at our picnics, but this couple was in serious need of a home and a meal so an apple, deliberately left behind by some kindly person after the last picnic of the summer, seemed a perfect choice.

     (Sorry, I had to take a break right there.  Queenie, the new kitten, decided it was nap time and that somehow required that I hold her in the crook of my elbow while she 'nursed' on my hand.  Of course, I couldn't put her down until she woke up.  Sigh....)

     The image on this card is for the latest Progressive Challenge at Limited Runs.  Actually, it's two images which I combined for the card.

ProMarkers
Fiskars corner punch
Polka dot ribbon for hand tied bow (scrap)
Scraps for the dp and the white frame
Linen embossing folder on the card front

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Coloring in Scrapland
Colour Crazy
Crafter's Castle
Dream Valley
Outlawz PAM
Path of Positivity
Pixie's Snippets
Words to Craft By

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Water World Mermaid

     A summer card today, despite my recent focus on autumn cards in a desire to get summer over and done.  But this one has a cool color combo so it's almost as good.  :-D

     The image is from LeAnn's World 101 and is the freebie given for their monthly Progressive Challenge. 

I used the sketch again from Sketch Saturday 

but this time flipped side to side.

Colored with ProMarkers
Glossy Accents added to image
Image is fussy cut
Background splash cut with Memory Box die
DCWV background dp
Starfish ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon

     Challenges:
CardsTV
Crafty Creations
Crafty Friends
Creative Inspirations
LeAnn's World 101
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Twisted Thurs
Pattie's Creations
Polkadoodles

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Butterfly Globe

     When I saw this image at Bugaboo Stamps, I fell in love with the peaceful feel of the butterflies in the globe.  Most of us think of globes as being snow globes and, therefore, only for winter but this one was unusual and I immediately wanted to work with it.

Based on the sketch at Sketch Saturday.

Image printed onto vellum and fussy cut
Colored with ProMarkers
Glitter & Liquid Pearls on globe and butterflies
Scrap dp
"Ocean" CS for card base
Sentiment printed and hand cut

     Challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge
Bastel-Traum
Catch the Bug
Colour Crazy
Creatalicious
Creative Moments
I {heart} ProMarkers
Simon Says Stamp
Stamping Sensations

     That's all I have for today but enjoy your upcoming week.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

The Fairy & The Unicorn

     Another birthday card today, this time for a young lady who loves fairies and unicorns.  The image, which comes from Digi Doodle Studios, couldn't have been better.

I started by using the colors from the 

Digi Doodle Studios FB Challenge 

and the sketch from Sweet Sketch Weds.

 

Colored with ProMarkers
Glitter on her hair & the unicorn's horn (enlarge photo to get better look)
Sue Wilson die (pink CS) & QuicKutz (circles)
Paper from DCWV "Basics" stack
Ribbon and hand tied bow w gem

     Challenges:
Crafty Sentiments
Cupcake Inspirations
Cute N Crafty
Dream Valley
Lemon Shortbread
Outlawz Greetings
Passion for ProMarkers
TTCRD

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Golden Libra

     One of my grandsons was born under the sign of Libra and, while I don't usually care much for the Zodiac images I've seen, the set recently released at AuroraWings appealed to me.  I grabbed images for the family birthdays (and there are a lot of them, many duplicated) and this is the first one I've used.  Grandson's birthday is only a couple of months away so...

I was inspired by the "Gold or Silver + 2 Accent colors"

(#356) at Color My Heart's Color Dare.

I chose Gold, plus olive green and kraft.

Colored with ProMarkers
Cut with double stitched die from Die-namics by MFT
Inlaid into gold foil also cut with the same die
Sentiment cut with stitched die, adjusted to get proper shape
Gold jute cord

     Challenges:
AuroraWings
Cardz TV
Colour Crazy
Creative Knockouts
Outlawz Festive Fri
Paperbabe Stamps
Polkadoodles

     That's all for today.  Enjoy your weekend.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Gold Medal Diving

     With all the Olympic qualifying trials going on this month, I thought a fun card featuring an Olympic diving hopeful (!?) might bring a smile to your face.  The QKR Stampede image is called "At the Beach" and I used it on my DT card for the weekly challenge starting today.

Colored with ProMarkers and Copics
Fussy cut image mounted on dimensional tape
Framed with Sue Wilson die cuts
Polka Dot ribbon from Crafty Ribbons

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time to Craft
Bastel-Traum
Crafter's Cafe
Creations in Pink
Creative Moments
Dies R Us
Digi Doodle Studios
Scribbles Designs
Tales from the Craft Room
World Wide DT Open

     Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie

Beyond the Wall

     Scrapper's Delights has started their latest progressive challenge and you have your choice between two images; one a wall, the other a fence.  I chose the wall and I love how the card developed.  :-D  The lovely sunbonnet girl is also one of their images.

Colored with ProMarkers
Wall image cut with Spellbinders die
Sunbonnet girl is fussy cut
Sheer ribbon used for double bow
Green CS pieces are scraps
Pop Dots for dimension on girl

     Challenges:
Angie's Digital Stamps
Colour Crazy
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafty Creations
Creative Fingers
Dare 2B Artsy
Dream Valley
Outlawz Festive Fri
Scrapper's Delights

Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Oldest You've Ever Been

     How about a card that has a total focus on the sentiment?  I think this sentiment is from Aud Sentiments but since I had it in a folder of things waiting to be used and who knows how long it's been in there, I simply don't remember.  Unfortunately, I didn't write anything on the back.

Sentiment cut with border die from Spellbinders
Gingham ribbon from Crafty Ribbons
Stars cut with Art Impressions dies
Mini-hearts from Cheery Lynn die

     Challenges:
Cardz  TV
Crafter's Castle
Crafty Friends
Creative Fingers
Cut It Up
Dragonfly Dreams
Outlawz Festive Fri
Scrappy Land
Take it, Make It

     Thanks for visiting and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie