Joy Fold Card

      Today I'm sharing a Joy Fold Card for the letter "J" in the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place.  The sentiment image is from Beccy's Place and I followed the tutorial Beccy has available (click on  the word tutorial to see it.)  In addition to the Joy Fold, I have Jade green, Juniper green, and Joy in the sentiment.

     This was one of the easiest cards I've done, yet it looks much more complex.  I know I'm going to be using it again.  The word Joy was colored by adding a layer of texture using Liquid Pearls as the 'paint.'  It took quite a while to dry but once it was dry, I cut the sentiment with a Spellbinders rectangle die.  The papers came from Authentic, K & Co., and DCWV.

     Challenges:

12 Months ... Christmas

613 Ave Create

Crafty Calendar

Dragonfly Dreams

Happy Li'l Stampers

Kerst Christmas

Lil Patch of ...

Peace on Earth

Polkadoodles

     I'll have a second post today, in about an hour, because I'm still trying to get caught up on the alphabet prompts over at Beccy's Place.  Be sure to check back later on.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Stay Warm

      In these couple of days after Christmas, our temperatures have dropped drastically; below freezing overnight and then this morning it warmed enough to rain.  Now we have cold sunshine amid the scattering clouds.  I don't want any of you Canadians or Mid-Westerners laughing at me!  Remember, I'm in California where we only have snow in the high Sierra Nevadas and when it gets below freezing, we really feel it.  I don't even own a winter coat!  lol

     This card perfectly reveals what's happening in our neck of the Christmassy woods.  The image is from House Mouse.

I pulled colors from My Favorite Things.

Colored w ProMarkers

Glitter & Liquid Pearls on snow & pompoms

Cut w Fiskars

"Linen" EF used on blue CS

Snowflakes cut w AI dies

  (they sparkle but it doesn't show very well)

Sentiment printed & fussy cut

     Challenges:

Artsy Stamper

Craftlandia

Cute Card Thurs

Digi Choosday

House Mouse

House that Stamps Built

Outlawz Greetings

Simon Say Stamp

Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Thin Ice

      Reindeer rarely ice skate because, unknown to most of us, they have a pathological fear of thin ice!  lol  The only time you can get a reindeer to cross a frozen pond or river is if it has recently snowed so that the snow hides the ice.  

     The Bugaboo Stamps image below (which is the Friday Freebie for the last day of the Holiday Chaos challenges and is still available if you want to grab it) will show you what I mean.  I reversed the image before printing it.

The theme is a color palette.

Colored w ProMarkers

Liquid Pearls used for snow

Cut w Gina Marie Die

DCWV washi tape for image mat

Hand-tied bow w pearl (my signature style)

     Challenges:

Allsorts

Craft-Dee BowZ

Crafty Calendar

Crafty Hazelnut's

Cutie Pie

Di's Digi Designs

Gem of a Challenge

Outlawz PAM

Passion for ProMarkers

Simon Says Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie  

All My Polar Friends

 Edited to add: My apologies for this post being late.  I incorrectly scheduled it for tomorrow.  I've corrected it now.

     Today is the beginning of our last challenge at Pammie's Inky Pinkies this year but we'll be back on January 4.  Our theme is always Anything Goes (except on a 5th Monday) and our sponsor for this week's challenge is Polkadoodles.  They have some of the cutest stamps anywhere!  They provided images for the DT to use and I got to color up this sweet Winnie image called  "Polar Friends."

Colored w ProMarkers

'Snow' on tree = Glitter & Liquid Pearls

Cut w Spellbinders border die

Matted w red CS; trimmed by hand

Graphic 45 dp; scraps

Signature bow w pearl

Sentiment hand cut

     Challenges:

Crafty Gals Corner

Creative Inspirations

Cuttlebug Mania

Digi Choosday

House that Stamps Built (3d column)

I {heart} ProMarkers

Paper Funday

Passion for ProMarkers

Polkadoodles

     Come play with us this week.  It's another Anything Goes week so you have no excuse not to play.  Then, we take a break until Monday, January 4.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Merry Chris-Moose !

      It's time to start our December challenge at Jan's Digi Stamps and our theme (as always) is "Anything Goes."  My card today uses one of Jan's most recent sets, called "Merry Chris-Moose" and it's on sale for 20% off!  Both the image and the sentiment are part of the featured set.

     You really should check out Jan's store, even just the first page, because there are half a dozen or more sets on sale until Christmas and there's also a freebie!  Although I'm using this as a Christmas card, I chose a color combo which could be used for any winter card.  I tried to stay with a masculine theme so there is little embellishment other than the ribbon and the dp.

I chose a color combo of green, beige, & tan

from STAMPlorations as inspiration.

Image & sentiment printed on scrap CS

Colored w ProMarkers

Liquid Pearls used for shimmery snow

Cut with QuicKutz die

Edges inked w ProMarker

Sentiment cut with QuicKutz die

Dark green CS scrap is dry embossed w snowflakes EF

Tan dp is a scrap from the basket

Wide grosgrain bow made w ribbon scraps

     Challenges:

12 Months of Christmas

A Bit More Time...

Christmas w Cuties

Country View

Craft-Dee BowZ

Crafty Hazelnut's

Dies R Us

Kerst Christmas

Passion for ProMarkers

     Happy Crafting to all.  NanaConnie

'Tis the Season

      I was playing around with some new dies last night and this card was the end result.  It went a different direction than what I had in my mind's eye but I'm rather pleased with this result despite that.  One more for my Christmas card stash.

Birds & Pine Branch cut w/ Sue Wilson dies

     (Birds & Pine cones are embossed)

Snowflakes cut w/ Art Impressions dies

Sentiment cut w/ Die-Versions dies

Colored w/ ProMarkers

Liquid Pearls white added as snow

White gel pen used for snow on pinecones

Background embossed w/ "Linen" EF

     Challenges:

12 Months Christmas

A Bit More Time...

Arty Divas

Colour Crazy

Crafts Galore Encore

Crafty Animals

Crafty Friends

Crafty Hazelnut's

Kerst Christmas

Your Scrapbook Place

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

December Challenge at Brown Sugar

     Good morning and happy Friday morning.  We're starting a new monthly challenge today over at Brown Sugar.  Our sponsor this month is The Paper Shelter and they supplied us with an image set called "Holy Night."  Paper Shelter is having a sale this month and the image we all used is included in the sale.

     Interestingly enough, I used this very same image for a DT card last month but with a different team.  You can see what I did for them by clicking this LINK.  Rather than duplicate something I had just done, I decided to use the beautiful background that came with the set and build a scene on top of it with die cut deer and Liquid Pearls.

Background paper from The Paper Shelter (Holy Night digi set)
Cottage Cutz dies for deer - colored w/ metallic ProMarkers
Sentiment cut with Die-versions dies
Liquid Pearls for deer hoof prints in the snow
Snowflake cut with Art Impressions die
Blue rhinestone added to snowflake center

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
Dare 2B Artsy
Dream Valley
Incy Wincy
Outlawz SAR
Pammie's Inky Pinkies
Simon Says Stamp & Show
Sparkles Christmas
Tales from the Craft Room
Your Scrapbook Place

     I hope we're going to see you playing along with us this month.  This is my last month on the Brown Sugar DT but I'll be visiting many of you before the month ends.  :-D  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

Rose Girl

     I had such fun coloring this beautiful rose girl image which is the image this month for the progressive challenge at Scrapper's Delights.

     I colored with ProMarkers, then fussy cut the image and adhered it to an embossed piece of confetti CS.  The embossing was done with a folder from Leane Creatif.

     I cut a double frame using plain QuicKutz dies.  The smaller of the two frames is embossed with glittered embossing powder and has wonderful sparkle, though that's hard to see in the photo.

     The papers are all from DCWV.  I  printed and hand cut the sentiment, then added the tiny, pink bow.  The silver in the middle of the bow is Liquid Pearls.

     Challenges:
Colour Crazy
Crafting with Friends
Crafty Friends
Creative Fingers
Happy Craft
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz Festive Fri.
Scrapper's Delights
Southern Girls
Take It, Make It

     I know this wasn't a long post but it felt like it when I was typing.  The shoulder still hasn't healed and typing is one of the hardest things to do.  I've worked on this in 10 minutes spans (one handed) with a bit of a rest in between and I've been at it for more than 45 minutes.  (twinge!)  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Birthday Giraffes

     I have a dear friend who moved away last year (I mean really away - like 350 miles away!) and she loves giraffes.  For as many years as we've known each other, I've made her birthday cards with giraffe images on them.  I decided just because she lives in another city now was no reason to change that pattern.  I just had to make her card flat and easy to mail.

     I colored with ProMarkers, then cut the image with a simple rectangle die from QuicKutz.  The card base is kraft CS, and I added an embossed scrap to the background.  I inked the edges of both the image piece and the embossed rectangle.

     The ribbon was in my stash and I used one of my signature, hand-sewn bows which I had 'dyed' with a yellow ProMarker.  Ribbons and bows are definitely my favorite embellies!  I put a tiny drop of Liquid Pearls on the bow to hide the thread I used when wrapping the center of the bow.  I also added three, flat, metal brads to the top corner.

     I put the birthday sentiment on the inside, made with die cut letters and words.  The letters were made with a Memory Box die and the word "birthday" was cut with a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die to which I added loose glitter.

     Challenges:
Crafty Addicts
Crafty Catz
Creative Knockouts
I {heart} ProMarkers
Outlawz Twisted Thurs.
Paper Funday
Scrappy Land
Word Art Wednesday

     That's all for today.  I doubt I'll even get any coloring or crafting done today.  I really need a day of doing nothing to get the shoulder healed up.  Happy Crafting to all of you.  NanaConnie

Believe in Angels

     Each year when we would put the angel on the tip of the Christmas tree, I would hear my mom whisper, "I believe in Angels."  Years later, when I had my own home and was decorating my own tree, I heard myself whispering the same thing as I put the angel on the tree.  A tradition was passed down without any of us realizing it at the time.  :-D  So this card is a salute to my mom.  I miss you, Mom.

     The image is from Bugaboo Stamps and I colored it with ProMarkers.  I added white Liquid Pearls to their little wings, then cut the image with a scalloped, Tonic Studios die.  I found a scrap piece of plaid paper from a stack by My Favorite Things and it had perfect colors in it to complement the card base and the colors in the image.

     I wanted a CAS design so I added only the bow tie bow at the bottom of the image.  That one was made from the last scrap of that ribbon that I had.

     This card was done as one of three options for a lady who wanted a card with an angel to giver to a friend of hers at Christmas.  You'll see the other two I did in the next few days, both with angels.  The other two are more Christmas-sy but this one could be left on a mantle piece all year round.  :-D

     Challenges:
Addicted to Stamps
A Gem of a Challenge
Catch the Bug
Di's Digi Designs
Hiding in My Craft Room
Jo's Scrap Shack
LeAnn's World 101
Pixie's Snippets

     Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Welcome Home

     I had so much fun with this card !  I started with a pre-colored image from Beccy's Place which best matched the optional colors from their challenge this month.  I also used a sketch which I found at Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2.

  

     I used an oval die from QuicKutz to cut the image, then inked the edges with a ProMarker.  The patterned background paper is from one of my DCWV stacks, but since it was a scrap, I have no idea which one.  I matted it with pistachio green paper.  

     The three strips were cut from textured 'leather' CS and backed with stone-washed denim.  All of those were also scraps.  I added baker's twine and a die cut flower.  I colored the flower with ProMarkers, then added glitter for a bit of sparkle.  The center is a peach colored, Liquid Pearls drop.  I printed and hand cut the sentiment.

     Challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More

Aud Sentiments

Brown Sugar

Crafty Friends

House that Stamps Built

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Pixie's Snippets

Simon Says Stamp

      The weekend is over, Monday has arrived, and those of you not already retired have started your work week routine.  I envy you - not at all !  :-D  Happy Crafting.   NanaConnie