Holiday Party Time !

      A couple of days ago I did a post in which I mentioned a FB site where certain artistic people create AI clipart, often from specific requests made by members of the site.  It's called Free Printable Clipart and if you're interested, you can get there by clicking on the name above.

     I joined and have had a wonderful time browsing around and downloading clipart images I'll be using on my cards.  Today, I'm sharing two different cards which were made for neighbors who open their hearts and homes to the neighborhood for holiday parties each year.  

     Because I was making these cards more or less at the last minute (party is tomorrow night!), I chose to use the pre-colored version, exactly as I downloaded it.  But I've also used these clipart images printed in gray scale and hand colored by either my sis-in-law or me.

     I used scraps of dp for the background on this first card, carefully pieced together and the image was placed on an angle to cover a bare spot where one scrap was too small.  The image was cut with a Spellbinders die and I added silver and blue snowflakes.  The angel was in my stash of Christmas decorations, the only one I had left and it gave a bright spot of white to the card.  The sentiment was printed and cut with a small die from QuicKutz.

     The second card was also cut with a Spellbinders die and was framed with a scrap of deep blue CS.  The background dp came from an old K & Co stack and it has embossed holly leaves on it.  I added a die cut snowflake (Cottage Cuts), plus a wooden snowflake (Recollections) placed on top of it.  This sentiment was also printed and cut with a die from QuicKutz.

     Challenges: 

Cutie Pie

Dream Valley 

Lil Patch of ...

Outlawz Monday

Polkadoodles

     Challenges:

Aud Sentiments

Dragonfly Dreams

Path of Positivity

Simon Says Stamp

ZieloneKoty

     That's it for today.  Happy New Year to you and yours and may yours be safe and same.  NanaConnie

Jan's New Year's Eve Set

     New Year's Eve is just under a month away and I've done my first New Year celebration card!  Jan's Digi Stamps has two really beautiful sets and I'm featuring an image from one of them for my DT card for the Third Challenge which starts today.  Our theme is always "Anything Goes."

     I don't do a lot of cards celebrating the New Year but the image options in the two sets (which are new releases) are so versatile they can be used for nearly any celebration.  I chose the hour glass from the New Year's Eve 3231J set because I can also imagine it on a birthday card with a sentiment about "Is time running out?" or something silly like that.  :-D  But this particular card is definitely for the New Year, as you can see from the sentiment which can be found in the Happy New Year 3030J set.

     This card was CAS and so quick to make.  It took me less than 15 minutes because I used the pre-colored image.

Pre-colored image (I wanted you all to see the incredible wood grain that's in the pre-colored image, but not on the black and white outline images.)
Image cut w/ Memory Box die
Frame cut w/ Memory Box stitched die
Frame edges inked w/ ProMarker
Sentiment cut w/ Sizzix die; Stickles added
Glitter paper from Recollections

     Challenges:
2 Sisters on the Blog
AAA Cards
Addicted to Stamps
A Perfect Time to ...
Carlin's Card Paradise
Dare 2B Artsy
Die Cut Divas
Friendship
Lil Patch of ...
Stamping Sensations
Your Scrapbook Place

     Come play with us.  The challenge runs until 3 p.m. (Pacific) on Sunday, December 15.   Happy Crafting.  NanaConnie

New Year Resolutions

     Another Friday and another new challenge at QKR Stampede!  Our theme is always "Anything Goes" and you can win some of the cutest images anywhere in the digital (or rubber, if you prefer) world.

     Today I want to have a brief discussion about New Year Resolutions.  Each and every year, we all get subtle 'nags' about making new resolutions for living our lives in the upcoming year but we all know that the resolutions will get broken within the first week (ok, maybe some will last a whole month if we make our resolutions easy and non-stressful) and then we can overwhelm ourselves with guilt for not sticking to them.  What's the point?

     Here's what I think should be done with New Year Resolutions!

     Write them down, share them with NOBODY, put them into a bottle, and toss them into the ocean (or any nearby body of water where they can sink to the bottom and be lost forever.)

     This QKR image is called "Wish in a Bottle" and I've been meaning to use it for over a year now.  See, I should have made using it one of my New Year Resolutions last year and it might have gotten done more quickly. :-D

The colors from the challenge at My Favorite Things

were perfect!

 
     I colored with ProMarkers and watercolors, then cut the image with a simple, square die from QuicKutz.  I wrapped it with sparkly, sheer ribbon and tied a 5-loop bow with the help of my bow maker.  The white 'flowers and leaf flourish' was cut with a Memory Box die.  I printed the sentiment, hand cut it with scissors, and mounted it on dimensional dots.

     Challenges:
As You Like It
Craft-Dee BowZ