Nutcracker Mouse

      I've fallen in love with another artist who draws the most adorable critters!   You can check them out on Etsy - Pawfect Art Creations.   So far I have three different sets of the cutest little mice and today's card features a Nutcracker Mouse, complete with his uniform, his sword, and the most elegant hat.  

     All the images come pre-colored but this one I printed in grayscale, then colored it with Sanjoki alcohol markers, and a bit of gold Stickles on his hat emblem.  I cut the image with a die from QuicKutz.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  I used glittered CS for the card base and layered the image and the sentiment onto the card front.  Not counting the coloring time, it took me less than 10 minutes to make the card.

     Challenges:

12 Months...Christmas

A Perfect Time ...

Critter Crazy

Die Cut Divas

Kerst Christmas

Mirtillamente

Morgan's ArtWorld

SheepSki Designs

     That's all I have for today but I'll be back later this afternoon or maybe tomorrow with another one for Beccy's Place and the 30 Days of Holidays.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Besties

      I absolutely adore the image I used on this card today!  I also love the idea of a cat and a mouse being besties.  :-D   The sentiment was printed along with the image, then the image was colored with Ohuhu alcohol markers.  After coloring, I cut it using my Fiskars paper cutter.  (Reminder to self - it's time to replace the blade.  lol)  I rounded the corners with a Uchida punch from Marvy.  

     I found a dark green CS in my stash and cut it to size for the card front, then added a wide strip of dp to the left hand side (scrap from a DCWV stack.)  The bow is one of my hand sewn, butterfly-shape bows with a pearl.  I spend an entire afternoon hand sewing those by the dozen and tossing them into my stash for future use, sometimes with a pearl, sometimes without.  Over the years, I've learned to buy only white ribbon to make those because it's so easy to 'dye' them with markers to get the exact color I want,  matching up one of the colors used on the image.  This time, I kept the bow white.

     Challenges:

613 Avenue Create

Creative Fingers

Double Trouble

Gem of a Challenge

Pammie's IP

SUYP Cats

Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

All About Halloween

      I'm playing catch-up today because I haven't posted in nearly a week and because Halloween is only a week away.  I have three Halloween witches to share with you and one scared dragoon!  lol  Can dragons actually be scared of anything?  Let's see.

     This is another collaboration card (in fact, all the ones in this post are collaboration cards), with coloring by my sis-in-law, Lainy, and card making by yours truly. We found this silly image of a dragon hiding in a trunk on a clip art site and printed it for coloring.  Unfortunately, it was a very small image and when we enlarged it to color it, the image got a bit blurry.  We corrected as much as we could before printing but it's not really sharp.

     Lainy colored it using Ohuhu markers, then hand drew the spider and colored it with Ohuhus.  There is a string of web from which the spider is hanging but it's hard to see in the photo.  I cut the image with a Spellbinders die, inked the edges and layered it onto the embossed CS I selected for the background (Recollections.)  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  I added a wrap of glitter ribbon for a touch of sparkle.

     Challenges:

C.R.A.F.T.

Digi Choosday

DL Art

     This next card (our first witch for the day) has an image that's actually from a digital coloring book, reduced in size to fit an A2 card.  Again, colored with Ohuhu markers but a few details & highlights were added with gel pens.  Image was cut with a QuicKutz die, and matted with orange CS.  The spiderweb dp is from a Recollections stack and the bow was hand sewn, then 'dyed' with a marker, and a pearl was added to the center of it.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

Krafty Chicks

Outlawz Thursday

Try It on Tuesday

     Second witch card, an adorable mouse witch, and this time the image came from a friend who printed it for Lainy and asked her to color it, so we have no info on the artist.  If anyone knows, please leave a comment and let us know because we love giving proper credit.  The image had been printed in grayscale and Lainy used colored pencils on it.  I cut the image and the black mat with Tonic Studios dies.  Sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die, then I added a mat of orange, hand trimmed to size.  The background was made with CS and a strip of dp from the scrap basket.  I tied the bow with a scrap of ribbon lying on the desk from another project.

     Challenges:

Craft Rocket

Creative Knockouts

Penny's P-C

     This last witch is from my AuroraWings collection of images, and Lainy fell in love with her and her cat the instant she saw her so I printed it for her to color.  The black background is actually part of the image.  Lainy used Ohuhu markers to color this one, adding white gel pen to the whites of the eyes.  Once she finished, I cut the image on my Fiskars paper cutter, and matted it with white CS.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  The background dp came from a Recollections stack and I added ribbon and a triple loop bow to the top of the card.  I love using ribbon because it allows me to make fancy bows with a shiny glow from the satin, unlike twine or cord which always seems flat or dull (but that works well on masculine cards, I guess.)

     Challenges:

As You Like It

Cardz 4 Galz

Double D

Paper Shelter

     OK, now I feel like I'm getting caught up on posting and I'll try to have another post tomorrow,  

Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Field Mouse

     It's time for another challenge to start over at FarmQuest, where our underlying theme is always something "farm or country."  On top of that, we have a specific theme for each challenge and this time we want to see "Critters that eat grain" or something closely related to that.

     I searched my clip art files for something appropriate and came across this little mouse on a wheat stem.  What could be more perfect?  I had a lot of fun figuring out how I wanted to best display the image and finally decided to make the background for the image by water coloring some wheat onto water color paper, letting it dry overnight, ironing it flat (since it has a tendency to curl up while drying), and putting that piece of paper into the printer, then printing the clip art image directly onto the background.  I used colored pencils and white gel pen to add highlights and deeper color to the mouse.  What do you think?

     I cut the image with a Spellbinders die, matted it with some light brown CS, and trimmed that with my paper cutter.  I made the background by digging through the scrap basket and finding a couple of dp and a strip of reddish-brown CS.  I ran the strip of CS through my Linen EF, then layered all three scraps onto the card front.  The image went on top of those, as did the sentiment which had been printed, then cut with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

     I hope to see you playing along in our challenge this fortnight.  There are so many options for you in finding a critter that eats grains; rodents, birds, deer, horses and cows, ... the list is endless!  Let your imagination flow and share with us what you create.  

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Pudding Mouse

      It's the 7th of the month and time for a new challenge over at FarmQuest Country Christmas blog.  Our theme is always Anything Country Christmas and we're mostly looking for outdoor Christmas decorations, critters, scenes, etc.  They need to be 'country or farm' rather than city streets or skylines.

     I chose this adorable little field mouse, cooking up a Christmas pudding for her family.  Can't you just see her in her country kitchen, tucked away in the roots of some great oak tree, carefully preparing a feast for her entire brood?  I adore her calico apron and cap.

     This is a pre-colored, clip art image to which I added the sentiment before printing.  (I just didn't have time to print her in grayscale and color her myself this time, but I'll do that in the future.  :-D) I cut it with a die from Spellbinders and layered it onto an icy blue dp from Doodlebug.  I used my bow maker to tie a double-loop bow, using 2 strands of 1/8" red ribbon.  Isn't she adorable?

     Challenges:

Christmas Craft

Crafty Gals Corner

Double D

Gem of a Challenge

My Favorite Things

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paper Funday

Peace on Earth

Word Art Weds

     We'd love to see you playing along with us this month.  Anything with a country Christmas feel will qualify.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Time for Pie

     Another of the cards I finished while I was doing the local Craft Fair on Saturday and this one will go to one of the grandkids on Thanksgiving Day.  

    The digital image was printed in reverse, colored polychromos pencils, blended with gamsol, and shading was added with alcohol markers.  I used one of my very first Spellbinders dies to cut the image, and the sentiment was cut with an Avery Elle die.  The background strip of dp was a scrap from the fall basket; the pumpkins are embossed for texture and touched with glitter for just the smallest amount of sparkle.  I hand-tied the bow using satin ribbon and called it finished.  Isn't she the sweetest little mouse ever?

     Challenges:

Can You Handle ...

Coloring w Pencils

Crafter's Cafe

Creative Moments

Cutie Pie

Inspiration Station (fall colors)

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz SAR (Thanksgiving Pies)

Pammie's IP

     That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by again.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Pipsqueak and Snowman

      It's Friday and that means another challenge is starting over at Crafty Catz.  We always have an "Anything Goes" theme but we offer you an optional theme if you choose to use it.  The option this week is "Sparkle."  Our delightful sponsor this week is Last Minute Manda and they supplied digis for the DT to use.  I chose "Pipsqueak and Little Snowman."  This image set actually has 6 different snowmen so it's really a bargain!

     I chose to water color the image this time, then I cut it with a QuicKutz die.  I printed and cut the sentiment with an Avery Elle die, added it on top of the image piece and trimmed the corners to fit the card.  I made the card base from green CS and added a sparkly silver mesh ribbon on the right.  I also finished the inside front flap but forgot to photograph it.  Very quick and simple, overall.

     Challenges:

     I'm looking forward to seeing you play in our challenge this week.  Remember, it's always Anything Goes but since it's definitely the time for making Christmas cards, it shouldn't be too difficult to add a bit of sparkle and do the optional theme, too.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Strawberry Time !

      I love summer!  Not so much the miserable heat but for the fact that it's berry season; blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, huckleberries, loganberries, but most of all STRAWBERRIES!!!  In celebration of strawberries, I played with images from different Beccy's Place sets.  

     Before printing, I reversed the sweet mouse and then merged him with the basket of strawberries (also reversed.)  I have to say that when that sweet mouse was by himself (not yet merged with the basket), he looked like an industrious little guy, harvesting a berry from his carefully tended strawberry patch to take home for a delicious dinner.  Once merged, he looks more like a sneak thief  running off with berries which came from my garden!  lol

     I colored with ProMarkers, then did the intricate fussy cutting with scissors.  The green background is plain CS which has been cut and embossed with a Hero Arts die.  I love how the white card front peeps through, accentuating the dimension of the embossed and lifted leaves, flower petals, and butterflies.  

     After fussy cutting the mouse and his strawberry, I mounted it onto dimensional tape so that it would stand above the green background.  The sentiment was also fussy cut and adhered directly onto the card front.  I didn't want anything interfering with the cut background so I did without any added embellishments.

     Challenges:

4 Season

Can You Handle ... ?

Crafty Calendar

Digi Choosday

Di's Digi Designs

Dream Valley

Gem of a Challenge

Pammie's IP

Simon Says Stamp

     Wishing you a lovely day on this start of a new week and thanks for stopping by.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Daisy Mouse

      Today I'm sharing a new image from Conie Fong, called "Daisy Mouse" and the set also contains a darling little hamster named "Hailey Hamster."   The set has an extra image of a single daisy, which I merged at the bottom of the image I used here.  

     Remember, we have challenges each month on our Facebook page, and you can enter using any Conie Fong image.  You could be the winner and you'd win more Conie Fong images!

     I colored Daisy with ProMarkers, then cut the image with a rectangle doe from QuicKutz.  I used a Fiskars punch to shape the corners, and I inked the edges of the image and the sentiment (which was fussy cut with scissors) with ProMarkers.  The background was made using a scrap of very old paper from the basket on my desk.  I added two small, mulberry paper, flowers (from Petaloo) with gems as embellishments, and they are from my stash (at least 5 years old!)

     Challenges:

2 Sisters on the ...

Ally's Angels

Crafter's Cafe

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Di's Digi Designs

Gem of a Challenge

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Thurs

Star Stampz

     Come play with us this month.  We'd love to see what you create!  Don't have a Conie Fong image for your entry?  Grab a freebie from the FB site and get going.  Or check out what's new and on sale at the Etsy store.  You'll fall in love for an exceptionally great price.  :-D

 

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Complete Set

Promises

      Good Morning!  It's the first of another month and that means another "Anything Goes" challenge is starting over at QKR Stampede.  I've used an adorable QKR Stampede image called "Fingers Crossed."   The image was printed onto water color paper, then colored with water color paints.  I used a QuicKutz rectangle die to cut it and then did the corners with a Fiskars punch.  

     The plaid dp is from a Lawn Fawn stack, and the turquoise CS is from Park Lane.  Both were scraps from the basket and I ran the CS through my 'Linen" embossing folder before putting it onto the card front.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die, then matted with a tiny scrap of the turquoise CS.

     Challenges:

A Perfect Time ...

Classic Design

Colour Crazy

Crafty Hazelnut's

Dies R Us

Happy Little Stampers

Mirtillamente

Morgan's ArtWorld

Paperbabe

Star Stampz

     Don't forget, if you play along in our challenge, you may use any image from any company but if you do use a QKR Stampede image (or one from our sister company, Eureka Stamps), your entry goes into a completely separate draw for those who used QKR images and that increases your chance of winning by a huge amount!  The prize is always QKR stamps, and we always have 2 winners per month.  Come play.  We're looking forward to seeing what you create.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Tea Time Valentine

      A new week and a new challenge at Pammie's Inky Pinkies, where our theme is always "Anything Goes" except on the occasional 5th Monday in a month (which will be NEXT Monday, as a matter of fact!)  :-D  Our sponsor this week is Gerda Steiner Designs, and they generously supplied images for the DT to use.  I chose this darling little Mouse in a Cup and turned it into another Valentine card.

     I colored with my ProMarkers, then paper pieced the tea cup with a dp scrap.  I cut the image with a stitched die from Memory Box.  The dp for the background probably came from a Paper Shack stack.  I added the sheer ribbons in Thistle and Tan for a bit of contrast and also because they were colors, along with Tickle Me Pink, in the Butterfly Challenge. 

     Challenges:

Aud Sentiments

C.R.A.F.T.

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Inspiration Station

Mod Squad

Paperbabe

Penny's Paper Crafty

Word Art Weds

     We'd love to see you playing in our challenge this week.  It's "Anything Goes" so create something fun and enter it into our  challenge.   Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Where Are the Cookies?

      For those of you who are Type 1 Diabetics or who might have a Type 1 child as we have in our family, you'll appreciate the humor (and maybe the truth) of this inside sentiment.  I have to give credit for this card theme to my daughter (mother to my diabetic grandson who was diagnosed as a T1D 7 1/2  years ago at the age of 7) who asked me for a card with this specific sentiment to put on the plate which would otherwise hold Santa's cookies.  I wish I had thought of it myself.  :-D  Fortunately, all the grandkids are pretty much grown (youngest just turned 15 a couple of months ago) so they really don't miss Santa, although they still put out a plate of cookies every year, right next to their mantle-hung stockings.

     The image is a House Mouse stamp and I kept the card pretty CAS other than die cutting the image with a Spellbinders die and using a QuicKutz die on the red CS frames around both the image and the inside sentiment.

Inside:

     Challenges:

AAA Cards 

Crafty Sentiments

Dare 2B Artzy

Digi Choosday

Double Trouble

Dragonfly Dreams

House Mouse

Lemon Shortbread

Stamping Sensations

We Love Stamping

     Enjoy what's left of your weekend and Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Noel on the Night before Christmas

      My earlier post today was for the letter "M" and this one is for the letter "N" in the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place.  I have to share with you that I was completely inspired by a card Beccy did using this same image against a very dark background so that the candle light seemed to glow.  I CASEd the card as best I could, including the sentiment.  

     I'm not nearly as skilled with coloring as Beccy is but I did give myself the advantage of starting with her pre-colored image, then adjusting the color so that it was much lighter (almost gray scale) and then used my ProMarkers (Beccy tends to use colored pencils) to color pretty much the same color combo as she had used.  The main differences are that I used grays on the mouse instead of browns, added some shadows, and used less yellow on the parts of the mouse where the candle glow would be.  I also colored the candle green.

      I didn't even attempt to color a dark background (which Beccy did.)  Instead, I fussy cut the mouse, mounted him onto Pop Dots, then used black CS for my card front and put him right in the middle of it.  The "Night Before Christmas" sentiment is cut with an Avery Elle die and the sparkly gold 'Noel' was cut with a Die-Versions die.

     Challenges:

Crafty Calendar

Dream Valley

Gem of a Challenge

Incy Wincy

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paperbabe

Peace on Earth

Polkadoodles

TTCRD

     Happy Crafting, everyone, and for those of us in the US, I hope your Thanksgiving preparations are well under way.  If you're traveling, may you have safe travels and warm moments with family.   Happy holidays to you and yours.  NanaConnie

Mouse with Christmas Flower

      It's the day for the letter "M" in the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place.  I've used one of her newest mice which I think is so adorable!  Although not made as a Christmas image, this darling Mouse is all dressed up in his winter scarf and by using Magenta Markers to color both the scarf and the flower, the image took on a Christmas-y color combo.  The image is colored with ProMarkers.  I also used tiny Metal brads, covered in glitter for a touch of sparkle.  (Secret - when you want to add glitter (or even  a particular color of embossing powder) to metal brads, hold the prongs with a pair of tweezers, heat the brad with a heat gun, and when it's hot, immediately dip it into the glitter EP !)

     The image and its frame are cut with QuicKutz dies.  The magenta ribbon was wrapped around the card front and also used to tie the double loop bow.  The sentiment was cut with an Avery Elle die and matted with magenta CS.

Challenges:

Allsorts

Cardz TV

Colour Crazy

Crafty Catz

Cutie Pie

Di's Digi Designs

Dragonfly Dreams

Outlawz PAM

Passion for Markers

     I missed doing a post for yesterday's card (life got in the way as sometimes happens so I'll have a second post today.  In a way, that's better because the posts will be in 'alphabetical' order even though I made them in reverse order.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Christmouse Wishes

      Today I'm sharing my DT card for I Love Promarkers, featuring an image from our sponsor, Hetty Clare, which is called "Christmouse Wishes."   Our theme for this challenge is "Dies or Masks" and now I have one more card for the Christmas stash!

     I colored with my ProMarkers and used a QuicKutz die to cut the image.  The red circle behind the image was cut with a die from Dare 2B Artzy.  The image was layered onto a piece of dp from DCWV.  The background is a piece of Graphic 45 dp.  

     I found some lovely satin, snowflake, ribbon and used it for the strip across the card front and for the hand tied bow.  The single sparkly snowflake was cut from glitter paper with a Die-namics die.

My colors came from the CMH Color Dare 

board #465, first column plus gold.

     Challenges:

Cardz TV

Crafter's Castle

Crafty Hazelnut's

Gem of a Challenge

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paperbabe

Polkadoodles

Scrapping4Fun

Word Art Weds

     It would be great to see you playing along in our challenge.  We do love being inspired by you and your creations.  So grab a die or a mask and make something wonderful to inspire us!  

     

     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

Penny for Your Thoughts

      Out where I live in California, on the West Coast of the USA, we're suffering through our third heat wave of the summer and we're barely finished with June!  We get heat waves (any stretch of 3 or more days of temps 100F and over) every summer but the temperatures we've had in these three are higher than what we usually get in August, much less June!

     In any case, July 1 starts a new fortnightly challenge at QKR Stampede where the theme is always "Anything Goes."  This adorable little mouse, called "For Your Thoughts," is hoping someone has thoughts about anything other than the heat!  :-D  Or maybe thoughts about how to stay cool despite being 107F outside.

     I used ProMarkers to color him and used a Sizzix die to cut the image.   I managed to find copper paper the same color as the penny and added 4 squares (scraps) of it to the background.  The little metal coins were things I've had in my stash for years and I ran across them when I was cleaning out little drawers in one of the craft cabinets.  I'll bet I hadn't opened any of those four little drawers in 2 years!  There were the tiny coins, just waiting for this perfect card.  

     The black bow is hand-tied  and trimmed into dove tails.

     Challenges:

Cardz TV

Colour Crazy

Creative Fingers

I {heart} ProMarkers

Lemon Shortbread

Outlawz PAM

Paperbabe

Polkadoodles

TTCRD

Word Art Weds

      Come play with us this challenge and your could win some of these fun and fabulous images from QKR.  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Happy Mouse

       It's Thursday and that means it's time for another challenge at Creative Knockouts.  This week, we're sponsored by Fabrika Fantasy and the theme is "Anything Goes."  They supplied images for the team to use and I used the pre-colored, bonus image from the Happy Mouse set.  I needed the shortcut of a pre-colored image at the time I was making this card; I was still in the midst of my COVID recovery.  :-D

Pre-Colored image

Card front embossed w "Linen" EF

Butterflies cut w Press Cut die

Sentiment cut w Memory Box die

Satin & sheer ribbon by Crafty Ribbons

Hand-tied bow

     Challenges:

Crafty Sentiments

Creative Inspirations

Digi Choosday

Dream Valley

Get Creative

Ike's World

Lemon Shortbread

Outlawz Greetings

TTCRD

Word Art Weds.

     Be sure to visit the Creative Knockouts blog t see what all the other designers created this week and than come and play with us!  :-D  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Valentine Cupcake

      This adorable image is the one for the February Progressive Challenge at Imagine That!   It's called Birthday Bunny but it makes a perfect Valentine, as you can see.   

Colored w ProMarkers

Cut w Gina Marie die

Background dp from SU

CTMH glittered flower embellie

     Challenges:

Creative Inspirations

Cuttlebug Mania

Digi Choosday

Double D

Mod Squad

Paper Funday

Paper Shelter

Passion for ProMarkers

Simon Says Stamp

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Happy Mistletoe

      I know there's a specific day for celebrating Christmas, and for those of us in Canada and the US, Thanksgiving Day (even though we do that on two different days), and even your birthday whenever it rolls around, but I think we should recognize and celebrate as many days of "Happy Mistletoe" as possible throughout the holiday season.   It won't be as much fun kissing through our Covid-9 masks but...  Maybe we could turn it into an entire Festival so it can be celebrated in upcoming years when we aren't in the middle of a pandemic.  :-D

     This card uses a fun image from Bugaboo Stamps which I colored last year and never used so it's definitely time now.  It was safely tucked away in the stash of Christmas images, along with about 6 others all colored and waiting.

I based this on the sketch from Sketch Saturday

although I had to adjust the exact placement

because of using up the negative die cut snowflake.

I also used colors from the bottom row at CMH Color Dare.

Colored w ProMarkers

Cut w QuicKutz die

Snowflake is a negative cut w Spellbinders die

Sentiment cut w Avery Elle die

Silver glitter added to make the snowflake

Silver ribbon and red ribbon were both scraps

     Challenges:

Catch the Bug

Crafty Calendar

Crafty Hazelnut's

Di's Digi Designs

Outlawz Festive Fri

Passion for ProMarkers

Polkadoodles

Time Out

     Happy Crafting until tomorrow.  NanaConnie