"Santa" on Vacation?

      This adorable little "Santa" cat has no intention of staying up all night on Christmas Eve, delivering presents to children all around the world.  In fact, if he is assigned that particular Santa chore, he's heading off on vacation the day before!

     The image is from Conjuror of Dreams and their challenge theme this month is, as always, Anything Goes but the optional theme is "Santa on Vacation."  This is my take on the vacation option.  :-D  

     The image is pre-colored, and I cut both it and the mat with dies from QuicKutz.   The sentiment was printed and cut with my Fiskars paper cutter.  I chose the glittery, red, card stock for background because I wanted a monochromatic look for this particular card.

I was inspired by the sketch at AAA Cards.

     Challenges:

613 Ave Create

Double Trouble

Dragonfly Dreams

Dream Valley

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz SAR  (St. Nick & 'won't stay awake')

Pammie's PIP

Simon Says Stamp

     I may have a second post today but if not, I'll post tomorrow.  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

Garden Cat

      I needed a birthday card this past week and found this delightful digital coloring book image, which I reduced in size to fit onto a card.  Colored with Ohuhu markers and colored pencils, then cut with a QuicKutz die.  I used the next size larger die to cut the navy blue frame for the image.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.

     The background dp is from a DCWV stack.  The butterfly-shape bow is hand-tied and dyed with an old marker.

     Challenges:

Creative Friday

Inkspirational

Lil Patch of ...

Polkadoodles

SUYP Cats

Triple B

     That's all I have for today but tomorrow will bring you three DT post!  Be sure to stop by then.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

All About Halloween COWS???

      I know after that title on this post, I'm going to have to do some explaining.  We don't automatically associate cows with Halloween.  But my granddaughter invented this silly game to be played on long car trips (or train journeys) the object of which is to count (and thereby 'collect') cows seen from the windows.  The person with the most cows at the end of the trip wins.  What they win is still uncertain, but win they do!

     Somewhere along the way, additional rules got added, things like the first person to spot a graveyard (ah ha! a connection to Halloween!) or a sign pointing out the road to one, gets to keep all their cows but everyone else's cows die and are gone forever.  

     Out of that game, came a love for cows of all kinds but mostly the adorable Highland cows with the moppy hair or at least black and white cows.  Her apartment is now decorated with all kinds of cow decor, including a black and white spotted refrigerator.  lol  Her boyfriend is barely tolerant of all the cows, mostly rolling his eyes when they are mentioned or when some new addition arrives to join the herd.  I don't know if the fact that she attends college in Texas makes it better or worse, but I make and send her cow related cards for all occasions and sometimes for no occasion at all.

     Of course, Halloween is right around the corner and I was fully prepared to find another Halloween Cow image but then I discovered some hilarious digital images from Zigi Design Studio, fell in love, and all plans changed.  I knew I'd get feedback from her demanding to know why there were no cows this time, so I built in the answer in card sentiments on both her card and her boyfriend's card.  

     I used my favorite Halloween greens and oranges, and of course the standard black.  See below, where I share both of them.

Her card.

     

      Challenges (Her Card):

Creative Inspiration

Creative Inspirations

Digi Choosday

LeighSBDesigns

Night Owls

Outlawz Friday

SUYP Cats

His card.

     She'll giggle and he'll be very satisfied over winning one.  lol

     Challenges (for His Card):

Crafty Catz

Creative Fingers

Di's Digi Designs

Gem of a Challenge

Inkspirtional

Love Those ... Papers

Polkadoodles

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Kitten in the Mistletoe

      One of the things about kittens (no matter what time of year), they will do their best to misinterpret any instructions given to them!  This sweet little guy is asked to "Hang the Mistletoe" but he goes a bit wild and hangs from it instead.  Maybe he's confusing it with catnip.  :-D

     In any case, this is a grayscale, clip art image which I colored with ProMarkers, then fussy cut.  I layered it onto a Sue Wilson die cut left over from another project but it made a great frame for this kitten.  The green background was embossed with a Sizzix folder.  

     The sentiment pieces were printed and fussy cut.  The final touch, the round embellishment from K & Co. was added to cover up a tiny tear in the die cut frame.  It's a dimensional piece so it gives some texture to the card.

     Challenges:

Can You Handle ...?

Christmas Bingo (rectangle/free/emboss)

Crafty Gals Corner

Creative Inspiration

Digi Choosday

My Favorite Things

Outlawz Thurs

Passion for Markers

Penny's P-C

Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Best Friend

      I'm featuring another image by Mariola Budek on this card today and, as you can probably tell from a quick perusal of my blog, I love cats and consider them to be appropriate "best friends."  :-D  I fell in love with this darling image and knew I had to use it.

     The image was colored using my Sanjoki alcohol markers, then cut with one of my oldest Spellbinders rectangle dies.  I used a Fiskars punch on the corners.  The butterfly was a leftover from another project but had been cut with a Cottage Cutz die.  The background  was made from a scrap of dp, embossed with a folder from Taylored Expressions.  The sentiment was printed and fussy cut, then inked around the edges.

     Challenges:

Butterfly (Heather, Highland, Hawk's Blue)

Can You Handle ...

Digi Choosday

Di's Digi Designs

Dragonfly Dreams

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Thurs

Pammie's IP

Passion for Markers

SUYP Cats

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Cat-in-the-Box !

      If you've ever shared your life with one or more felines, you know that they will claim any box (empty or not) as their own by climbing into it, regardless of its size or theirs.  This adorable image, which came from the February Progressive Challenge at the Outlawz, shows exactly how cats behave around a box.  No matter how many comfortable (and expensive) cat beds you may have around the house, the cat will be in the box !

     I printed and colored the image with ProMarkers, then cut it with a die from QuicKutz.  The background was cut from goldenrod CS with an Altenew die, then mounted onto black CS.  Clean, simple, and perfect for a masculine card.

     Challenges:

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie  

The Missing Bird

     Today we start a new challenge at QKR Stampede, where our theme is always "Anything Goes" and where you can win two different ways; use a QKR Stampede image (or Eureka Stamps, our sister digi company) and be entered into a drawing just for those who used those images or use any image from any company and have your entry put into the general drawing.  Both winners are chosen by Random.org but DT members have some input on which QKR/Eureka entries are put into the drawing.

     I absolutely adore this image from QKR Stampede, called "What Bird?"  It's just so true to feline character when caught doing something they ought not!  Obviously, this cat has too much time on his hands when he's forced to stay inside during the cold winter months.  This is his version of  'winter fun.'  I doubt that his people truly believe his "What Bird" answer when the family canary is missing from his cage!  lol  

     I colored the image with water color paints and cut it with a Dare 2B Artsy pinpoint circle die.  The brown frame was also cut with another die from that same set, making pinpoints on the inside of the circle instead of the outside, and the frame circle was cut on the outside with a QuicKutz die.  The sentiment was printed and cut with an Avery Elle die.  The background paper is a scrap from K & Co.  I used polka dot, grosgrain ribbon for the hand-tied bow.  This is going into my birthday card stash for one of the grandkids.  :-D

     Challenges:

Creative Inspirations

Cupcake Inspirations

Dare 2B Artsy

Digi Choosday

Dream Valley

Paper Funday

Paper Shelter

Penny's P-C

Simon Says Stamp (food? lol)

SUYP Cats

     I hope we're going to see you playing along in our challenge this fortnight.  We love being inspired by you.

     And, don't forget that we have a DT call going until mid-February and we're still looking for a couple more people to join the team.  Check out the details on the blog.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Cat on the Fishbowl

      How's this for a complete break from Valentines?  I was inspired once again by the new "No Stamps" challenge over at The Outlawz.  I'm putting together birthday cards for family which I'll use throughout the year.  I usually try to have them all done in January but since this month seems to have been dedicated to Valentine cards, I'm pretty sure making the birthday cards will be dribbling on throughout February.  :-D

     This card was made by die cutting three different pieces of scrap watercolor paper, and one of regular CS, which I colored appropriately before cutting them.  I used the same die on each colored scrap, then cut the parts I wanted from each of those die cuts and pieced them together to make the whole.  The die came from Cheapo Dies.

     The green background scrap was embossed with my Linen EF before layering it onto the card front.  The sentiment was printed and fussy cut.  I found a scrap of burlap, added it to the right side, and trimmed it to fit.  The bow was hand-tied using sparkle twine from We Are Memory Keepers.

     The birthday sentiment is on the inside.

     Challenges:

Crafty Catz

Digi Choosday

Pammie's IP

Paper Funday

Penny's P-C

Simon Says Stamp

Snippet's Playground

SUYP Cats

Word Art Weds

     I love the end result of this card, especially the die cuts and I know I'll be trying that technique again.  Using the die on each water colored scrap means that I didn't really know how it would look until I was layering it all together.  I'm going to try the same thing again but this time by die cutting white CS and then coloring the different parts with ProMarkers.

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Take a Peek !

      Here it is, a New Year, and I wish you health, wealth, and happiness throughout 2023!  

      At QKR Stampede, we're starting another challenge today and it will run through the 14th of the month.  We have two challenges per month and they always start on the 1st and the 15th of each month.  Our theme is always Anything Goes and we have 2 prizes each month; one for those who use a QKR Stampede (or Eureka Stamps) image and another for those using an image from another company.

     My first DT card is for a birthday, and this year I'm determined to have an entire year's worth of birthday cards completed for family and close friends before the first birthdays fall in February.  We'll see how that goes.  In any case, here's my first one using a sentiment image from QKR Stampede called "Take a Peek."

     I used ProMarkers and gel pens to color the sentiment piece then cut it with a Spellbinders rectangle die.  I think that set of rectangle dies were the very first dies I ever purchased and they certainly have cut their share of paper and card stock.  The cat was cut with a die from Poppy Stamps, and the mice were cut with a Gina Marie die.  The papers were scraps from the basket which sits on my desk, collecting left overs.

     Challenges:

     I hope you'll come and play with us in this challenge.  And, if you played with us in December, be sure to check out the new challenge post to see if  you're on of our winners or Top 5 DT favorites.  Happy Crafting.   NanaConnie

Meowy Christmas

     Late on Christmas Eve, the fur babies wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and they begged me for a card they could share with each of you.  They unanimously approved this one because it looked like a party!  :-D

     This was a coloring book image which was colored with gel pens and metallic sparkle inks.  I reduced it in size with my editing software after photographing it.  I trimmed the corners with a Fiskars punch, then mounted it onto a frame which was cut with an Unbranded die.  The CS for the card front was dry embossed with my Linen folder before the other pieces were attached.  The bow is satin and was hand-tied.  The sentiment was cut with an Avery Elle die.  Overall, very simple to make; took less than 15 minutes, so really perfect especially for a last minute card on demand.

     Challenges:

As You Like It

CRAFT-alnica

Crafty Gals Corner

Creative Knockouts

Outlawz Festive Fri

Paper Funday

Penny's Paper- ...

Simon Says Stamp

SUYP Cats

Word Art Weds

     Merry Christmas from the 3 fur babies and from me.  May your Christmas be warm and wonderful, regardless of the weather outside.      Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

How to Slice a Turkey?

      My card today is for the first of the non-alphabet themes for the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place.  Beccy chose a theme of "Complimentary Colors" which are colors that are across the color wheel from each other.  I chose blue and orange for this Thanksgiving card.

     I decided it was time for a gate fold card, and I actually started with a pre-colored image from Beccy's Place.  Because I wanted to emphasize the orange, I grabbed a ProMarker and made the yellow parts of the calico fur orange.  Those patches were also brighter and more defined once I colored them.

     The image was cut with a CUTplorations stitched die and I matted it with a scrap of bright orange CS.  Then I found a scrap of paper which was water colored (the blue) and another scrap from Taylor Made (leaves.)  The sentiment is my own and I cut it with an Avery Elle die.

     Challenges:

2 Sisters ... Blog

613 Ave Create

Digi Choosday

Jan's Digi Stamps

Pammie's Inky ...

Passion for Markers

Polkadoodles

Scor-Pal

Taylormade ...

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Whose Christmas Stocking?

      I have two posts today; this one as my DT card for Conie Fong and a second one coming up for the 30 Days of Holidays at Beccy's Place.

     This Conie Fong image is called "Christmas Stocking" and it's ON SALE right now!  You might want to also check out "Molly's Christmas Stocking" which is a related set and like this one, it's on sale, too.

     For the image on my card, I colored with water color paints, added glitter to the laces and the package, then used an Unbranded die to cut it.  I took a bit of a liberty with the image when I added a die cut kitten to the stocking, but the image reminded me of every cat I've ever had who climbed the Christmas tree and did everything possible to explore the stockings as they hung from the mantle piece.  The kitten was cut from a Cheapo die.  The die actually has the kitten climbing on the side of a goldfish bowl but I fussy cut just the cat from the overall die cut, then added him to the stocking.

     The background dp was from the (Christmas) scrap basket.  I think it was from a Graphic 45 stack.  I tied a simple bow, then heat embossed the sentiment, cut it with a Tonic Studios die, and mounted it diagonally at the top of the image.

I based this on the sketch from The Outlawz, turned vertical.

     Challenges:

Dare 2B Artzy

Dragonfly Dreams

Kerst Christmas

Morgan's Art World

Paperbabe

Peace on Earth

Penny's Paper-Crafty

SUYP Cats

Word Art Weds

     Please come and play in our Conie Fong challenge.  All you have to do is use a CF image, color it, and enter your project on the Facebook page!  You could win more fabulous Conie Fong images.  BTW, there are freebies available on the Facebook site!

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie  

Quoth the Raven ...

      We're getting close to the end of the 31 Days of Halloween over at LeighSBDesigns; just today, tomorrow, and then the big day itself on Monday!  My card today features another digital coloring page, sized for an A2 card.

     The image is printed in grayscale, then colored with watercolors, ProMarkers, and gel pens for highlights. I cut the image with a Tonic Studios die.  The black, purple and orange papers for the background are all CS scraps from the basket of leftovers.  I added one of my signature, hand-sewn bows with a pearl as the only embellishment.

This is also my Day 29 entry for the
 LeighSBDesigns 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop.

 

     Challenges:

Colour Crazy

Country View ...

Die Cut Divas

Gem of a Challenge

Outlawz Festive Fri

SheepSki Designs

Simon Says Stamp

SUYP Cats

There's a Stamp ...

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Cat in the Window

      I've been going through my boxes of dies again and this one popped out at me.  It's been a long time since I used it and I thought it would make a good autumn card, but with non-traditional colors.  The Cat in the Window die is an Unbranded die and the cloud was cut with a Memory Box die.

     The card base was dry embossed with an EF from Darice.  The "ribbon" along the left side is actually washi tape but the signature, hand-sewn bow was sewn using satin ribbon and I added a pearl.

Today is the third day of the six day Cat Lovers Hop 2022.

     Challenges:

Can You Handle ...

Crafty Catz

Happy Li'l Stampers

Paperbabe

Simon Says Stamp

SUYP Cats

There's a Stamp ...

World Wide Open

     If you're signed up for the 2022 Cat Lovers Hop but haven't started playing yet, you can still enter up to 5 cat themed projects before 11:59 p.m. Pacific time, Saturday, October 29.  Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Night of the Witch

      Today I'm featuring two images from my beloved Bugaboo Stamps.  I was so disappointed when they closed their doors but at least I can still use their wonderful stamps.  I had both this darling witch image and the image of a cat under the moon so I thought they would be wonderfully cute if merged together.   

      I colored the images with ProMarkers and added highlights with a gel pen.  I cut the image and the frame layers with QuicKutz dies.  The card front was dry embossed with a "Branches" Sizzix EF.  I hand tied a triple-loop bow from stitched ribbon, then printed, matted, and fussy cut the sentiment.

This is also my Day 26 entry for the
 LeighSBDesigns 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop.

 

     Challenges:

Colorful Options

Creatalicious

Creative Crafting ...

Happy Li'l Stampers

Let's Squash It

Papercraft

Rabisco

     Halloween is only a few days away now so get your cards finished quickly!  Then we can all focus on Thanksgiving and Christmas for the rest of the year.  Oh, my, where did this year go?!  It can't be almost over, can it?   

    

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Cat Gratitude

      Today is the first day of the six day Cat Lovers Hop 2022.

     I've played in the hop every year since 2016, and may even have played the year it started (2015) but I can't confirm that, so I only claim 6 years of playing.   The card I made is a Thanksgiving card and we all know how grateful cats can be when they can get a high view from a tree branch.  :-D

     My card today is all die cuts and all scraps, but for the plaid dp from Taylor Made.  There's dry embossing on the orange CS.  I used my "Linen" EF but this time, I turned the CS scrap on the diagonal so that it has a cross-hatch look.  The tree was done using a die from Die-Versions and I cut black, brown, gold, tan, and eggshell scraps to get all the different leaf colors, plus the cat and tree trunk.  It took a lot of time to make all the cuts and individually place all the pieces but it was worth it in the end.

I based this on the sketch from The Outlawz, turned sideways

& using the leaves, trunk, & cat's tail as the shapes

 along the sides of the middle panel.

     Challenges:

4 Season

Creative Inspirations

Double D

Inspiration Station (harvest colors)

Jan's Digi Stamps

SUYP Cats

Word Art Weds

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Kitty Spells

      I have 2 posts today and this is the first of them.  All this week I'll be doing posts for the 31 Days of Halloween at LeighSBDesigns (which I've been playing each day in the month of October) and for the Cat Lovers Hop 2022.  Check the post above this one to see the Cat Lovers card, although this card would have worked for that challenge too. 

     The image is from Colour of Love and I colored it with water color paints, highlighted with gel pens and a gold paint pen.  I cut the image with a Tonic Studios die.  The sentiment is fussy cut and the background was made by piecing together scraps of paper from the basket.

This is also my Day 24 entry for the
 LeighSBDesigns 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop.

 

     Challenges:

Colour Crazy

Creative Fingers

Cupcake Inspirations

Gem of a Challenge

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Festive Fri

Pammie's Inky ...

Paperbabe

There's a Stamp ...

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Vintage Pumpkin Witch

      I've used 3 other vintage Halloween images this month but those were all from Lilli Rin and this one is from Taylor Made.  I've already entered the Taylormadecards4u challenge this month but I still wanted to share this card.  

     The image is pre-colored and I cut it to size with my Fiskars paper cutter.  The polka dot ribbon is from Really Reasonable Ribbon and the small pumpkin is fabric.  Pretty CAS design on this card.

This is also my Day 22 entry for the
 LeighSBDesigns 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop.

 

     Challenges:

Cupcake Inspirations

Digi Choosday

Double D

Double Trouble (circles + Halloween)

Inspiration Station (large pumpkin)

Pammie's Inky ...

Penny's Paper-Crafty

Simon Says Stamp

SUYP Cats

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

Something Wicked

      It's Day 21 in the month long Halloween challenge at LeighSBDesigns and so far I've managed to play each day.

This is also my Day 21 entry for the
 LeighSBDesigns 31 Days of Halloween Blog Hop.

 

     I started with an svg from Silhouette Store on white CS.  I cut it with a QuicKutz die and mounted it onto periwinkle CS, also cut with a QuicKutz die.  I used purple CS for the card front (my favorite color in any season!)  Once everything was layered together, I added a sheer bow with pearl and a row of purple gemstones for embellishment.

     Challenges:

Addicted to CAS

Aud Sentiments

Creatalicious

Creative Knockouts

Creative Moments

Dare 2B Artzy

Outlawz Thurs Twist

Papercraft

Your Scrapbook Place

     Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie