30 Days of Holidays - "B"

      This is my second post for the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place, and although I posted my card for "A" early this morning, Beccy's Place is on Australia time so they have already started the second day of the challenges.  The theme is to use things starting with "B."

     I love Birds on my Christmas cards and this time I even chose a Baby bird.  I colored him with markers using mostly Burgundy and Bayberry (green) on the bird and holly leaves & Berries.  After coloring, I cut the image with a QuicKutz die.  The sentiment was merged into the image before printing so it came out as part of the image when I die cut it.

     The Background paper was a scrap from an old DCWV stack.  I found some red ribbon, wrapped it around the card front, and tied a Bow.

      Challenges:

12 Months Christmas

Crafts Galore Encore

Kerst Christmas

Morgan's ArtWorld

MTTCC

Outlawz Friday

SheepSki Designs

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Thanksgiving Blessings

      This morning, I'm sharing another Thanksgiving card but not one for the 30 Days of Holidays.  I'll have that one this afternoon.  This card has an image from a Jan's Digi Stamps set called "Autumn Leaves."  I'd give you a link to it but I can't seem to find it in the shop.  Sorry.  Edit: Found it! (Thanks, Donna) Click HERE to see the whole set.

     This image is the 'Spices' part of the set and I thought it had gorgeous autumn colors.  I cut the image with a Spellbinders die.  I used scraps of gold and orange CS to make the background, added glittered ribbon, and layered the die cut image on top.  The sentiment was merged with the image before printing.  I added a double loop bow with button which I 'dyed' with ProMarkers to match the colors in the card.

     Challenges:

Ally's Angels

Die Cut Divas

Happy Li'l Stampers

Incy Wincy

Inspiration Station (fall oranges and yellows)

Jan's Digi Stamps

Morgan's ArtWorld

Rabisco

     I'll see you later with another card this afternoon.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Swinging Halloween

      I think this is my third House Mouse card this month and each one has been more fun than the last!   I did a summer theme and a Christmas theme and now something in between, Halloween.  

     This time I used ProMarkers and polychromos pencils to color the image and cut it with a QuicKutz die.  I printed the sentiment onto a scrap of white CS, trimmed that to fit as a frame around the image, and added the tiny, hand-tied bow to the corner.

     I made a card base out of gray CS, embossed the top and bottom of it with my 'Linen' EF, and added the square of Halloween dp (DCWV).  That dp is embossed and glittered for some fantastic texture.  I layered the image piece onto that and called it finished.  I tend to do simple, flat Halloween cards because the majority of them get mailed so flat is better.

     Challenges:

2 Sisters ... Blog

Art Impressions

Carlin's Card ...

Crafty Hazelnut's

Double Trouble

Friendship

House Mouse

House ... Stamps Built

I love ProMarkers

Simon Says Stamp

      Happy Crafting!  NanaConnie

Shop 'til You Drop

      Welcome!  It's time for another new challenge at Creative Knockouts and this week we have a Recipe for our theme:  1 image, 1 sentiment, 2 dp, and 3 embellishments.  We are sponsored by LeAnn's World and they provided images to the DT for use on their inspiration projects.  I used "Shopping Day" and a blue color combo.  My three embellishments are ribbon, bow, and a pearl.

I used the 3 colors from Color Dare #446

(yellow/ blue/ gray) 

Colored w ProMarkers & gel pens

Cut w Spellbinders die

Papers from DCWV & both are scraps

     (hidden by the image & small dp strip is a 'hole' 

      where something was cut out for another project -

      NEVER toss out those scraps! lol)

Sentiment cut w Avery Elle die

     Challenges:

A Bit More Time ...

Crafts Galore Encore

Crafty Hazelnut's

LeAnn's World 101

Morgan's ArtWorld

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Pixie's Snippets

Polkadoodles

SheepSki Designs

     Have yourself a marvelous day and Happy Crafting!  We hope to see youplaying in our challenge this week.  NanaConnie

Little Pen Pal

      How many of you had a pen pal when you were a youngster?  I did; a girl about the same age I was who lived in Nebraska (I was in California.)  When it came time for me to try completing a DT card for the new April challenge at Pammie's Inky Pinkies, sponsored by Gerda Steiner Designs, this adorable little "Pen Pal Bear" brought back memories of my own pen pal.

     I'm still doing CAS designs because of how long it takes to me make a card (especially if it includes coloring.  Reminder to self - never discount the after-effects of Covid!) but this darling bear is so cute, it can clearly stand alone.  :-D

I was inspired by the sketch at My Favorite Things, 

turned to fit the image shape.

Colored w ProMarkers

Cut w Tonic Studios die

Metallic marbled dp - cut w Tonic Studios die

Blue background heat embossed

Glitter EP

Polka dot bow

     Challenges:

Aud Sentiments

Cute Card Thurs

Cuttlebug Mania

I {heart} Pro Markers

Passion for Markers

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Simon Says Stamp

Word Art Weds

     Be sure to come and play with us this week.  Don't forget that our challenges are always Anything Goes (except on a 5th Monday when there's a theme) and we love being inspired by what you show us.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

All About the Heart

     This is the first of 3 posts today which is what happens when the first of the month falls on a first Monday.  :-D  This is the one for 2 Crafty Critter Crazies but be sure to check back in just minutes for the post for Jan's Digi Stamps and in a couple of hours for the post for QKR Stampede.

     Here it is the first of another month and, since it's February, our thoughts turn to deep friendship or love and things of the heart.  Our latest monthly "Anything Goes with a Critter" challenge starts right now at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies.  We are sponsored this month by Beccy's Place, who generously supplied images for the DT.  

     I actually used the freebie image from the January challenge at Beccy's Place.  That challenge has ended but the image is still available.  He's perfect if you still have Valentines to make.  :-D

I used sketch #199 from Sweet Sketch Weds.

Colored w ProMarkers & gel pens

Cut w Sizzix die

Papers from Neenah

Satin edged ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon

Mulberry paper flowers from stash

Pink gems from stash

Hand-tied pink bow w gem

     Challenges:

Crafter's Cafe

Creatalicious

Dies R Us

Double Trouble (all 3)

   partner w Heart 2 Heart

Dream Valley

Outlawz Stash

Simon Says Stamp

     Come play this month.  Remember, our theme is always "Anything Goes with a Critter."  We want to see a critter featured prominently on your project, not just a teeny butterfly or an almost unseen animal down in the corner.  :-D   Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Harvest on the Veranda

     When I saw this freebie image from Beccy's Place (for their challenge this month), I was instantly taken back to my childhood !  My grandparents lived in a large house (which seemed huge to me until I drove passed it 50 years later and realized it was large but not the size I had in my memories) on a few acres of land, and they had fruit and nut trees plus a large plot on which they grew vegetables, corn, and a small patch of wheat, oats, or rye, rotating them every year.

     Every autumn, they would harvest apples, pears, pumpkins, potatoes, and whatever other veggies had ripened later than the usual summer picking.  Those marvelous things would always end up piled on the veranda which completely encircled the house.  Grammy would pull up chairs and baskets and we would sort through everything, dividing up things which would go to neighbors and friends, and larger quantities which would go to market.  There was always a huge pallet packed with boxes of things which would be donated for distribution to those who weren't as fortunate.

     Grammy had a favorite straw hat which she always wore when tending the garden and it often hung on the back of a chair when we worked in the shade of the porch.  So you can see why I grabbed this image right away and had to do this card - a salute to my Grammy.  And, yes, to answer your unasked question, my blog is named for this same Grammy but that's a different story.  :-D

     Thank you, Beccy, for the fabulous memories!

     The theme at the Beccy's Place challenge is always "Anything Goes" but Beccy gives us an option which we can use if we want to challenge ourselves a bit.  This month, the option is to CASE something you have made previously and I did that.  I CASEd a card I did only two or three weeks ago.  You can see that one here.

Colored w ProMarkers & gel pens
Cut w QuicKutz dies - edges inked
Card front scored using Scor-Pal
Score lines colored w ProMarkers
Sentiment printed, matted w Unbranded dies
Bow - hand-tied & dyed w ProMarker

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time...
Aud Sentiments
Colour It, Create It...
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafts Galore Encore
LeAnn's World 101
Morgan's ArtWorld
Scor-Pal
Your Scrapbook Place

     Have a great day and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Harvest Moon

     It's Labor Day here in the USA, and out on the West Coast we're suffering under the hottest days we've had in an unusually hot summer but somewhere, the fall harvest is about to start and the air is cooler .  That means the full moon this month, the Harvest Moon, will be shining down on fields of pumpkins and corn stalks and the autumn holidays will be upon us without warning!

     Today, you're getting another 2 for 1 - we're starting a new challenge at Jan's Digi Stamps and also at Pammie's Inky Pinkies.  The theme for each of those challenges is "Anything Goes" and Jan's is the sponsor at PIP this week so it made sense for me to use the same card as my DT creation for both teams. 

     Don't forget, at Jan's, we have two winners every month; one using a JDS image and the other using any image on their projects.  My card today features JDS images from the "Autumn Corn Sheaves" set which I merged before coloring them.

Colored w ProMarkers
Image matted w CS
Chalked card base
Satin ribbon for bow
Fabric pumpkins embellishment

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time...
A Perfect Time...
Allsorts
Classic Design
Country View Crafts  (blue-orange)
Crafter's Castle
Crafty Calendar
Crafty Friends
Friendship
Scribbles Designs

     I want to see you playing along at Jan's Digi Stamps this month.  The challenge runs until Sunday, October 3.  Don't forget, if you use a JDS image, you really increase your chances of winning more beautiful sets because all the JDS image projects go into a completely separate draw.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Baseball Legend

      My youngest grandson, in his earliest teens, is absolutely hooked on playing baseball - Little League, small local leagues -- baseball in any form is his one great passion at this point in life.  So, I don't have to tell you that when the spring and now summer leagues were cancelled, it was a bitter pill to swallow.   His skills have improved over the years (he was about 8 when he started playing) and he really is quite good at whatever position he plays now.  He seems to be something of a natural at it.

     As a consolation for him, small though it may be, I've made a card for him to show him how I feel about him.  :-D  The image is from Bugaboo Stamps.

Colored w/ ProMarkers and gel pens

Image and frame cut w/ Dare2BArtzy dies

Ribbons from Really Reasonable Ribbon

Hand tied sheer bow

     Challenges:

Catch the Bug

CCC Digi Creations

Creative Moments

Cutie Pie

Dare 2B Artzy

Double Trouble

Dragonfly Dreams

LeAnn's World

Outlawz Greetings

Simon Says Stamp & Show

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

A Monthly Challenge at QKR Stampede

     I know, change is not something most of us would choose first thing on a Monday morning, but the usual weekly challenge at QKR Stampede is now a monthly challenge for the summer!  We haven't decided whether it will stay monthly beyond that point but for the summer months you'll have plenty of time to enter each challenge.  This one will end on June 30 and our next one will begin on July 1.  :-D

     I'm going to share two cards with you today, one very much a salute to summer, and the other I sent to a friend whose son just made the collegiate wrestling team, in the "Lightweight" category.

     For my first card, I used a fun image called "Snacking Mouse," and I've been chowing down on watermelon for the last week as we suffered through the earliest heat wave (3 or more days in a row of temps in excess of 100 degrees F) we've had in many years.

Colored with ProMarkers
All cuts made with QuicKutz dies
Sentiment printed and die cut
Polka dot paper from DCWV
Hand tied, polka dot bow

     Challenges:

Arty Divas
Coloring in Scrapland

Creative Moments

Mod Squad

Papercraft


     My second card uses an image called "Weighing."

Colored with ProMakers and gel pens
Cut with dies from MFT Die-namics
Image inlaid into frame
Paper from Authentic
Sentiment & mat cut with Avery Elle dies

     Challenges:

Creative Crafters
Double Trouble

Pammie's Inky Pinkies

Prika Crafts

Time Out

     This is my last post for today so if you missed the one for either 2 Crafty Critter Crazies or the one for Jan's Digi Stamps, just scroll down - you'll find them.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Sally's Christmas Friends

     Finally, my first Christmas card this year!  I usually start in either March or April and given that those were both lock-down months, I can't really claim that I was too busy to get any done but still I didn't get any made at all.  So, here we are, two-thirds of the way through May and I'm finally posting my first Christmas card for 2020.

     I used one of Conie Fong's new releases, called "Sally's Christmas Friends."  As anyone who lives in snow country knows, our lovely feathered friends need a bit of help finding seeds for sustenance so I had Sally hanging not ornaments but suet & seed balls for her sweet little cardinal friends.

Yes, I used the traditional Christmas colors of red and green but that's my favorite color combo for the holidays.  What do you think?

Colored with ProMarkers & silver glitter pen
Cut with Unbranded, cross-stitch die
Sentiment cut with Avery Elle die
Background paper from Graphic 45
Sparkly ribbon from Really Reasonable Ribbon
Bow - hand tied w/ gem

     Challenges:
12 Months of Christmas
Craft-Dee BowZ
Friendship
Lemon Shortbread
Morgan's ArtWorld
Outlawz Festive Fri
Sparkles Christmas
Winter Wonderland

     Don't forget that each month on the Conie Fong Facebook page we have two challenges; one for coloring only and the other for finished cards.  We do require the use of Conie Fong images to enter those challenges but how could you resist those darling images?  There are freebies available on the FB site and there's also a 25% off sale going on at the Etsy Store right now!  Check it out to see if one of your favorite images that you've been wanting to get is one of those on sale.   :-D

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Guest Designer at Conie Fong !

     I can hardly tell you how excited I am today.  I've been invited to be a Guest Designer at Conie Fong's Facebook challenges for February and March!!  I discovered and fell in love with Conie's lovely artwork way back when and being a Guest Designer is such a delight.  Maybe some day I can join the team on a more permanent basis and that would be just as exciting but for today, I'm looking forward to the opportunities to share with you my designs as GDT.

     This sweet image is called Bella with Rose and I thought it made a perfect Valentine card.  Of course, a certain member of my family seem to think it should serve as her birthday card but that's not my intention this time.  :-D

Design based on the sketch at Sketch Saturday.

Colored with ProMarkers
Image and mat cut with Spellbinders dies
Sentiment printed and cut with Avery Elle die
Papers are scraps from DCWV
Heart is in the dp but embellished with get ink
Hand tied and sewn bow
Metal brads

     Challenges:
A Bit More Time...
Angie's Digital Stamps
Crafter's Cafe
Crafty Friends
Creatalicious
Dare 2B Artsy
Dragonfly Dreams
Outlawz PAM
Stamping Sensations

     Come visit the Conie Fong Facebook site.  We'd love to see you there.  There are both Coloring Only and Completed Project challenges, but you must use a Conie Fong image.  Check out the Etsy store - you'll fall in love.  :-D  Happy Crafting.

Day 2 - 30 Days of Christmas at Beccy's Place

     At Beccy's Place 30 Days of Christmas, our second letter is "B" and I've used a Beautiful Berry wreath image for this card. I added one of my signature Bows and three, tiny, metal Brads at the bottom, and everything is on a Burgundy card base.  My sentiment is all about a "Berry, Merry Christmas."

Colored with ProMarkers
Cut with QuicKutz die
Scalloped dp mat cut with Sizzix die
Metal Brads
White Bow
Burgundy card base embossed with Linen EF

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Creative Knockouts
Cute Card Thurs
I {heart} ProMarkers
Mod Squad
Penny's Paper-Crafty
Southern Girls
Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

...Not even a Mouse

     So it's nearly the middle of July, and definitely the middle of the year and I'm finally doing my first Christmas tag for the year!  It's 4" x 4" and the perfect size for the stamp.  The stamp is from Mo's Digital Pencil and I think it's the first one I ever got from Mo's.  I know I've had it a long time, maybe as much as 10 years, and I've used it for several cards over the years.  If you're not familiar with her delightful art, do go check them out!

   

ProMarkers to color
Die-Versions to cut sentiment (cut from scrap)
Bo Bunny dp scraps
Scrap of ribbon from stash

     Challenges:
12 Months of Christmas
A Gem of a Challenge
Aloha Friday
Crafty Calendar
Cute N Crafty
Cute N Crafty Christmas
Double Trouble
Outlawz Greetings
Retro Rubber
Southern Girls

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Violets

     Today I'm playing in the June challenge at Beccy's Place and they have a fun "Flip a Coin" theme.   Here's the chart and all you do is flip a coin to choose between the 2 options on each of the 4 rows.  I ended up with "Not a rectangle/ Kraft CS/ Digi/ & Recycled.  My lace is recycled from an old child's dress and that lovely image is from Beccy's Place.



     Here's my card:

     Here's a list of what I used:
ProMarkers
Stitched and inlaid dies from Memory Box
Alphabet letters die from Memory Box
Recycled lace
Sheer ribbon for hand-sewn bow
Dimensional Dots for mounting the fussy cut violets

     Challenges:
A Perfect Time
Aud Sentiments
Creatalicious
Creative Moments
Cute Card Thurs.
Scribbles Designs
Southern Girls
Sparkles Monthly
World Wide Open DT

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Outlawz Progressive Challenge

     Another of my favorite progressive challenges, one I've been entering each and every month since they started it almost 4 1/2 years ago, Outlawz Progressive.   This month, Oddball Art has supplied the image for us to use and I turned it into a birthday card.

      I colored with ProMarkers, then cut the image and both frames with simple rectangle dies from QuicKutz.  The background dp was a scrap that was on my desk and I think it was from Doodlebug.  I trimmed it to fit the card front.

     The little bit of white ribbon was also a scrap on my desk and I saw no point in tossing it out when it fit perfectly here.  I printed the sentiment, hand cut it, inked the edge, and layered it onto the ribbon strip.  I added one of my signature, hand-tied bows to which I added a flat gem.

     Challenges:
A Perfect Time to Craft
Craft-Dee BowZ
Crafts Galore Encore
Crafty Hazelnut's
Lemon Shortbread
Oddball Art
Paper Girls
Paper Nest Dolls
Passion for ProMarkers

     Enjoy your weekend and Happy Crafting!  NanaConnie

Summer Days

     Ok, now that we've had consistently warm days for more than a week, I can believe that summer is right around the corner.  Unfortunately for me, I live in an area where it gets really HOT during our summer months and I hate the heat.  :-(  But I do love summer grilling so this cute image from Limited Runs for the latest Progressive Challenge was just what I needed.  I'll probably use this as a birthday card for my son since he not only has a summer birthday but he's a master at the grill (just ask him - he'll tell you!)

     I colored with ProMarkers, then cut the image with a Sizzix die. The pale yellow circle was cut with a die from QuicKutz.  The sentiment was printed and hand cut.  I found a bit of golden, satin ribbon in my stash and wrapped it around the kraft CS front.  I used one of my signature bows, leaving it white this time, and added only a pearl as I was sewing it.

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Cardz TV
Crafty Creations
Dream Valley
House that Stamps Built
Incy Wincy
Jo's Scrap Shack
Simon Says Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Land of Fruit and Nuts

     Beccy's Place is always one of my favorite places to play and Beccy always offers a freebie, which you can use if you wish.  I usually work with something from my collection of her images, as I did this time.  I adore this little critter and he was perfect for a Welcome card for a new neighbor who moved here (California) from Wisconsin.

     I colored with ProMarkers, adding highlights with a white gel pen, then cut the image with a hexagon die from Spellbinders.  The card base is made from smoky gray CS, embossed with my 'Linen' folder.  The dp was a left over scrap from previous projects which seemed to work well with the overall design.  I cut it so that I could line up one of the 'corners' of the hexagon with one of the half-diamonds on the paper. 

     I printed the sentiment, hand cut it, and added it to the upper corner.  Finally, I 'dyed' one of my hand sewn bows with a lilac ProMarker, added a gem to it, and called the card finished.  It's a card for a guy so I kept embellishment to a minimum.

     Challenges:
Aud Sentiments
Crafting with Friends
Crafty Hazelnut's
Die Cut Divas
Dies R Us
Southern Girls
Sparkles Forum
Take It, Make It
Your Scrapbook Place

     That's all I have for today.  I hope your weekend is going well and that you found a bit of crafting time.  I've been at it since very early yesterday morning since the weekend is pretty much when I do my crafting these days.  I've already completed 4 cards and have 3 more planned for completion today.   Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Tulips for Easter

     Today I'm sharing my first Easter card of the year and I used a lovely tulip image from Beccy's Place. 

I used the colors in the palette from 

The House that Stamps Built.

     I started by coloring with my ProMarkers, then cut the image with a die from Spellbinders.  The sentiment is also cut with another die from that same set.  The background dp was a left over on my desk and worked perfectly with the color combo. 

     I find that when I'm using 12 x 12 scrap booking paper, I tend to leave the scraps on my desk after I've cut into a new sheet.  Over the next few days of crafting, I'll grab and use up those scraps as they work with whatever I'm creating at the moment.  Often, the scraps themselves will inspire the next color combo.

     I added two of my signature, hand-tied, bows with pearls.  I used a ProMarker to 'dye' them the color I wanted, choosing the lilac color of two of the tulips.

     Challenges:
Cardz TV
Craft-D BowZ
Crafty Creations
Happy Craft
Outlawz Twisted Thurs.
Polkadoodles
Scrappy Land

     That's all I have for today but I'm headed to the crafting table so who know what else you might see the rest of this week.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

B for Blizzard at Beccy's Place

     I'm a few days behind on playing in the month-long, 30 Days of Holiday at Beccy's Place.  This is the 6th year Beccy has done this and each day there is a new challenge.  Beccy's uses the alphabet letters as daily prompts, plus she throws in some unexpected themes to account for the extra 4 days without letters.  I managed to play on Day 1 but then I got some kind of flu bug and haven't been doing much other than curling up under the covers.

     In the middle of the night last night, I was awake and restless, though feverish, so I did some creating and am now hoping to be able to sit up long enough to get a couple of posts done for the "B" and "C" prompts.

     For "B", I used one of Beccy's fabulous sentiments and a few of her snowflakes to salute "Blizzards."  I also have a Bow, the color Blue (in 2 shades) and Brads.  :-D

     I used glitter on the snowflakes and cut the sentiment with a square die from QuicKutz.  This was a very fast and CAS card but it was the best I could manage at the time.

     Challenges:
Allsorts
Crafter's Castle
Crafty Catz
Crafty Friends
Crafty Hazelnut's
Jo's Scrap Shack
Outlawz PAM
Take It, Make It

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie