Be a Mermaid in a Sea of Fish - Conie Fong Liliana Mermaid Digi

Smell the sea and feel the sky,
let your soul and spirit fly. 
Van Morrison

Hey there from Nannyland,

I miss designing for Conie Fong lately,  but that doesn't keep me from coloring her gorgeous images to calm my soul while I anticipate surgery and radiation.   I've been undergoing umpteen diagnostic tests recently, and as a distraction, it's fun to imagine the sunlit beaches I visited often when I lived in California.   So it's no wonder Conie's delightful, heart-warming images are the ones I reach for when I want to relax and think soothing thoughts. 

This cute Conie Fong Liliana Mermaid image couldn't be more adorable with her splashy outfit and couquetish pose. After coloring her with Copic markers, I added details with a white gel pen.  I created a glittery blue  ocean wave background panel  in Cricut Design Space and layered it with a small white ocean- themed die cut frame.  The flowers are created with  Spellbinders die cuts and the sentiment uses the Cricut cutting and writing features. 

I'm looking forward to a restorative trip to Hawaii the minute all my breast cancer drama is over.  I'll be blissfully lying on the sandy beach in Maui conjuring up beautiful mermaids and magic dragons! 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit. 

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply

Playing along with:

The Fairy and the Unicorn March Challenge

Craft Rocket Challenge #101

Creative Knockouts Challenge #490

Through the Purple Haze Challenge #202

Shopping Our Stash #492

Classic Design Challenge #3

Make My Monday Challenge #196

Dragonfly Dreams Challenge - Outdoors

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Rainbow Colors

Try it on Tuesday - Oh So Sweet

Mo Manning Alisa Sassy Lassie - Trading Roses For Shamrocks

 May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you, and all your heart might desire.
Irish Blessing

Hey there from Nannyland,

This darling Mo Manning digi called Alisa With Roses has been calling to me to bring her to life with a wash of Copics for ages. She is one of the first digi stamps I bought from Mo's Digital Pencil.   "Where are her roses?" you might ask. In Mo's original drawing, Alisa looks like a dainty flower girl at a spring wedding, with a wreath of roses in here hair and a basket of roses behind her.  But it's almost St. Patricks Day and I needed a fun birthday card for my friend's March birthday.  Alisa's billowing dress just begged to be embellished with some tiny shamrocks and her thick hair looks copper red in my imagination, like locks on a proper Irish miss.  So I went there, and I'm so happy I did. I adore Mo's original version of this image, but making her my own was a fun creative challenge.

I loosely drew the shamrocks on her frock with a green Copic marker and then added the shamrock outline with a fine black liner  I added subtle sparkle with a clear glitter marker.  I created my shaped card with a Heartfelt Creations frame and used the lacy layers to build my card base. I die cut the scalloped green and white dotted dp circle three times for dimension and adhered Alisa with dimentional tape.  The green glitter shamrocks on the frame and the sentiment tag were cut in Cricut Design Space and edged with a gold leafing pen. Clear gems and pearls garnish their centers. The gold flowers on the frame and mini flowers in her hair are die cuts embellished with clear and pearl gems.  I originally planned to add die cut flowers behind her, but I decided the card was fancy enough without them. 

I hope I have encouraged you to look at your images in a new way,  and make changes that make them uniquely yours. 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit. 

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply

Playing along with:

Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #241

The Sisterhood of Crafters - The Color Green

Passion for Markers Challenge #681

Retro Rubber Challenge #202

Try it on Tuesday - Go Green

Unicorn Challenge #85

Crafting Happiness Challenge #140

Worldside Crafters and Colorists Challenge #3

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #3

Classic Design Challenge #3

Prima Princess Gabrielle Cling Stamp - Miss You Card

Never allow waiting to become a habit.  Live your dreams and take risks.
Life is happening now. 

Hey there from Nannyland,

While I'm certain I'm putting up new roots in the perfect place for me right now, I left behind some dear California friends that I miss every day. One such lady is a beautiful friend of more than 30 years, with whom I have spent countless hours pondering the mysteries of life.  We have always been there for each other,  through thick and thin, and I especially appreciated her love and support during my first two battles with breast cancer.  Now, as I navagate through my third,  I miss having her near to offer words of wisdom, laugh with me and remind me that things always work out fine in the end.   

I was excited to make a card for her to tell her how much I miss her.  I loved coloring  gorgeous Prima Princess Gabrielle with my Copics because I knew I could add some tiny die cut flowers to her hair and bouquet to create some fun dimension. Her size was perfect for a slimline card, which I matted with a double die cut scallopped frame. I attached her with foam tape and added a layered Hero Arts sentiment made with a stamp and die set.  The small flowers are from Spellbinders and the large one was created with Heartfelt Creations stamps, dies and mold.

I hope I have inspired you to think about the friends you don't get to see often and create a card to tell them how loved they are.  Go forth and make someones day with a snailmail love note.

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit. 

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Playing along with:

Digi Choosday Wk 9

Shopping Our Stash Challenge 491

Stamping Sensations March Challenge

The Corrosive Challenge #3

We Love Stamping March Challenge

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Special Women

A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge #3

Worldwide Crafters and Colorists Challenge #2

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #3

Classic Design Challenge #3

Maida Podmajersky Snow Baby

There is no need to rush. What is meant for you will always arrive on time. 

Hey there from Nannyland,

I colored this darling little snow baby back in January and the thought occurred to me that I might not want to post something so wintery in the beginning of spring, after our long cold winter.  How wrong I was!  Even though we very rarely get skiffs of snow here in my sunny desert home, last week for a couple of days we had snow that stayed on the roofs, scrubs and ground for more than half a day. I know, bizarre. So I'm thinking, since it's even snowy in my old home at the beach in California,  you might be getting some extra use out of your snow blower in your neck of the woods. 

This adorable  light grayscale digital image from Maida Podmajersky was a joy to color in shades of aqua, lavender and orange. I don't use a lot of orange in my coloring, but I really like this pretty combination.  The frame is one of my favorite Spellbinders dies because of its large opening and the delicate lacy design.  I embellished it with handmade Heartfelt Creations flowers and silver metallic die cut leaves. The sentiment tag was created in Cricut Design Space with the writing and cutting feature and embellished with orange gems. I used a white gel pen to add detail to the image.

I hope I have inspired you to expand your usual color palette and seek out some new, fresh colors to add new life to your amazing creations. 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit. 

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Playing along with:

Digi Choosday Challenge - Wk 8

A Place to Start February Challenge

Dream Valley Challenge #288

CD Sunday Plus Challenge #104

The Corrosive Challenge #2

Polkadoodles Challenge Wk8

Love to Craft Challenge #73

Classic Design Challenge #3

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #3

Worldwide Crafters and Colorists Challenge #2

Scrappy Jelly Roll Log Cabin Quilt

 Being unique is better than being perfect. 

Hey there from Nannyland,

When I pieced this quilt top last summer, I called it my "Quick Quarantine Quilt," because I was cloistered in Nannyland with a mild case of covid.  I actually felt fine, so I was happy to take on this fun jelly roll log cabin quilt block project that I had been wanting to conquer for a long time. 

You can read on my post how I used several tutorials to narrow my process down and I really love how this quilt turned out.  My plan is to make several more with this delightful and simple pattern, and whittle down my significant jelly roll stash.  

        

I still can't believe how much I love the colors in this quilt, since this was my least favorite jelly roll in my stash when I picked it for my first attempt at this pattern.  It had much more subdued hues than my usual bright palette and I thought it might turn out blah.  I learned something from this exercise...I shouldn't limit myself to my "go to" palette all the time.  Branching out and experimenting with color is very satisfying.  

I took my quilt top to my favorite LQS for some beautiful quilting in a lovely swirly pattern. I'm having things quilted a little denser these days, as is the trend now, but I still like to keep my quilts soft and cuddly for my recipients.  

This quilt lives on the ottoman at the end of my bed in my master bedroom for now.  I'm planning to make the Accuquilt Go Quilt-a-long House bed runner when I get a chance and this quilt will find a new home.  It's funny, but I can't bear to give it away yet.  I just really love those colors!

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit. 

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Norma Burnell Poppies and Flutters Fairy - Let Your Spirit Soar

 Think about what could go right. 

Hey there from Nannyland,

Every now and then we need to quiet the tumult in our minds and let our spirits take off in fanciful flight.  I'm listening to some of my favorite music right now and thinking of all the wonderful possibilities that could be waiting for me in the future. Coloring this gorgeous Normal Burnell fairy helped to get me to this blissful place. 

 

I loved retreating to Nannyland to color all the tiny details of this amazing Norma Burnell digital stamp called Poppies and Flutters. I created a lacy Spellbinders frame to surrounded her and backed it with a black base layer.  I mimicked the bright chartreuse color in the leaves for my 5 x 7 card base and added gold gems to the flowers and purple gems to the corners of the frame.  I dotted her fairy wings with Stickles and added small details with a white gel pen.  The gold edged sentiment was created in Cricut Design Space using the writing feature.

I hope I have inspired you to free your mind of mundane thoughts and replace them with joyful ones to lighten your spirit.  Go forth and take some time to soar!

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit. 

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Playing along with:

CD Sunday Plus Challenge 103

613 Avenue Create Challenge - February 5

Stamping Sensations February Challenge

The Fairy and the Unicorn February Challenge

Through the Purple Haze Challenge #201

Dream Valley Challenge #287

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #199

Worldwide Crafters and Colorists Challenge #2

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #2

Classic Design Challenge #2

Princess and Frog Z-fold Valentine - Vera Lane Kiss the Frog Digis

The only way to get what you want in this world is through hard work.
Tiana, the Princess and the Frog

Hey there from Nannyland,

I had the best time creating this quirky Valentine card for my wonderful soul mate of 50+ years.  Vera Lane's charmingly whimsical images just crack me up every time I use them.  Since guy cards are often a challenge for me, what with my girlie style and all, these unique images allow me to keep my fussy elements, but in a humorous, lighthearted way.  

I printed my elegant Kiss the Frog digital stamps on Xpressit blending card at 4 x 6 and colored them with Copic makers.  I knew it would be a little tricky to fit these larger images on the same card,  so my favorite Z-fold box card was the answer.  I lengthened the height to 5 inches and cut the base and layering panels out with my Cricut Maker.  I used the Cricut writing feature to create my sentiment. The closed card measures 5 x 7. 

My flowery meadow background scene is digital paper and my blooming tree is from the Cricut image library.  I gave myself permission to glam up my royal couple with all the regalia their status deserves.  I paper pieced my princess dress with a sweet, floral print and added a sparkly gem necklace.  I used colored pencils to create a plaid design for the frog's necktie.  The princess, frog, crowns nnd necktie are all adhered to the card with mounting tape for dimension.  Gems and pearls were added generously to add to the splendor of my majestic scene. 

I think my hubby will get a kick out of this very realistic depiction of our extraordinary relationship. I hope I have inspired you to add a little whimsy to your Valentines this year.  Go forth and create a chuckle for yourself and someone you love.

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit. 

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Playing along with:

Fab'n'Funky Challenge #566

Little Red Wagon Challenge 691

The Paper Funday Challenge #50

Cardz 4 Guys Challenge #315

Try it on Tuesday - All You Need is Love

Crafting Happiness Challenge #139

Make My Monday Challenge #193

Arty Divas January Challenge

Classic Design Challenge #2

Morgan's ArtWorld #2