Happy July 24th - Mo Manning Pioneer Girl

We ought to live sacrificing, singing and dancing.

Plato

Mo Manning Digi, Copic markers, Prismacolor pencils, white gel pen. gold leafing pen, floral dp,
Spellbinders frame die, butterfly punch, rhinestones

Happy July 24th, everyone!

Every year on this date in Ogden, Utah where I grew up, there is a huge celebration with a big parade down Washington Boulevard, fire works, rodeo, delicious food...everything needed for a jubilant bash.   It is one of the biggest parties of the year in my home town, just as it is in many of the larger cities in Utah.  They are commemorating the date that the first Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came into the Salt Lake Valley to start their new lives.  They were fleeing religious persecution and wanted to find a place where they could worship God and raise their families peacefully.  Many of my ancestors were among those first settlers, immigrating from South Africa, Denmark, Canada and New York after they had joined the church.  I'm very proud of them for the sacrifices they made for our country's religious freedom.  As a young girl, I looked forward to July 24th every year and  Utah is still  the place to be on this day for some  wholesome revelry.

In honor of this special day, I created a card with this darling little pioneer girl enjoying the prairie breeze.  It's no wonder Mo Manning images have always been among my faves!   That pretty prairie  landscape in the background came with the digi when I purchased it. I know, so cute! I added some texture to the grass with my Prismacolors and some little wispy flowers with a white gel pen.  My floral Spellbinders frame seemed a little busy for my taste but after I edged it with a gold leafing pen and popped my little lady up with some mounting tape, I think it looks like she's walking into a field of pretty wild flowers.  I added a couple of butterflies to keep her company in this idyllic scene.

I'm happy I found a way to honor this special day creating some art in my happy place.  I hope you find something special to celebrate today, also. Maybe a beautiful blue sky with puffy clouds and a gorgeous field of flowers? If you can't see it, why not create it?

Thanks for visiting.
Go forth and enjoy some of God's magnificent creations.
Nancy

Playing along with:
         Crafty Sentiments Designs Challenge - July 23
         Lemon Shortbread Challenge #98
        Through the Craft Room Door Challenge - Week July 23  
        Unicorn Challenge #45
        Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #238
        613 Avenue Create Challenge #223
        Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #65
        A Bit More Time to Craft Challenge #96
        Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge #281
        Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge # 351
        Crafty  Creations Challenge #395

Deep Love Mermaid and Seahorse - Normal Burnell Digi

The highest love of all finds its fulfillment not in what it keeps, but in what it gives.

Father Andrew

Copic markers, Spellbinders frame dies, gold leafing pen, white gel pen

Hey friends, 

Sometimes these gorgeously detailed Norma Burnell images are a little intimidating when I sit down to color them, but once I get started, I find myself immersed in a happy copic trance. I'm fascinated with mermaids...aren't we all?...and this gorgeous creature was a dream to color in ocean hues.

I used a fancy white Spellbinders die for her frame because I thought it mimicked swirly ocean white caps and  I gold-leafed my panels because, of course,  that's what I do.  I just like the look.  I used a white gel pen to highlight some of the small details.

I'm crazy about coloring these incredible fantasy images.  They take me to my happy place!

Thanks for visiting.
Go forth and hug a sea horse.
Nancy

Playing along with:
        A Place to Start Challenge - July 2019
        Challenge Up Your Life Challenge #113
        The Fairy and the Unicorn July Challenge
        Color Crazy Challenge - Week 27
        QKR Stampede Challenge 356
        Archi-scraps July Challenge
        Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #65
        Creative Craft Cottage Challenge #120
        Fabrika Fantasy Challenge #32
     

Colours of the Rainbow - Try it On Tuesday Guest Designer

Someday we'll find it, the Rainbow Connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me.  

Kermit the Frog

Mo Manning digi, fence die, leaf die, flower punch, butterfly die, colored gems, copic markers,
white gel pen, dp paper (background), computer generated sentiment (Pinterest)

Hey friends,

I'm extremely honored and excited to be a Guest Designer for the "Colours of the Rainbow" Challenge at

Try it on Tuesday

They're definitely one of my favorite challenges and this theme is right up my alley,  as a glimpse of my blog will attest. I have been dying to color this darling Mo Manning image of Cinderella's "less attractive" step sisters, and I thought they would be perfect for this card about letting your wacky self shine.  I did have to alter their faces a bit because the original image made them look a little angry.  I wanted them to look more quirky than mean, so I gave them some cute crooked smiles. And, of course, their sassy outfits had to fit their vibrant personalities.

This z-fold card base is one of my favorites because it has so much real estate to play with.  I tried creating it in Cricut Design Space but I just couldn't seem to get the measurements  right for the folds.   I realized it was much easier just to measure and score the folds by hand.  The finished card measures 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 and fits in a standard square envelope.

The sentiment on this card says it all.  As those of us with a creative tilt know, life would certainly be boring without the full spectrum of all things bright and  beautiful, both in nature and in people.  

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something colorful.

Nancy

Playing along with:

        (Pin)spirational Challenge #242

        Always Fun Challenge #118

        Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #237

        Cutie Pie Challenge #137

        Incy Wincy Designs Challenge - Rainbows Galore

        Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #1927

        Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #109

        The Corrosive Challenge #7

        Just Us Girls Challenge #495

        Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge #281

A Walk in a Digi Sunflower Garden - Make it Crafty Sunny Scene

A light heart lives long.

William Shakespeare

Copic markers, Make it Crafty digis, white gel pen, gold leafing pen

Hey friends,

Sunflowers are a favorite of one of my dearest friends so I knew exactly what I would color for her birthday card this year.  When I color an image for a card I always feel obligated to create a beautiful, comfortable place for them to live. Yes, I'm a little wacky that way but that's how I roll in my creative fantasy world.

I think charming little Abigail  from Make it Crafty  looks perfectly at home in this cheery sunflower garden.  I gave her some walking space in front of the garden fence with some foam tape.  I die cut the garden and background layers and added some gold leafing to the inner layer. I also die cut some craft foam to match the background shape and glued it to the card base to add some extra dimension.  I added white gel pen accents to my flowers and Abigail's dress.

A happy little flowery scene all ready for a birthday wish...
Happy summer, y'all.

Thanks for visiting.
Go forth and plant a sunny garden...in your yard or on a card.
Nancy

Playing along with:
        A Gem of a Challenge - Week 13
        Colour Crazy Challenge - Week 26
        Crafty Catz Challenge #469
        Creative Fingers Challenge #167  
        Digi Choosday Challenge - Week 27
        Through the Craft Room Door - Week of July 2
        Tuesday Throwdown #435
        Water Cooler Wednesday Challenge #228
     

Appliqued Bib and Burp Cloth Sets

“If I am thinking correctly,” said Pooh, “a new baby is probably, 

undoubtedly the grandest gift that could ever be.”

Hey Friends,

I've been extremely delighted about my hubby's pastrami passion for the past few months, because it means we get to go to my favorite sandwich hangout, La Bou, at least once a week.  A darling sweet young server there has taken a liking to us...well, mostly my pastrami-obsessed husband... and makes sure we always get the best service, complete with bucket loads of meat on our sandwiches.  She has even been known to push other servers out of the way so she can make our sandwiches the "right" way.

During our last visit, we noticed she might be a little pregnant.  Apparently she has been hiding it well for the past few months because she had the audacity to announce she would be going on maternity leave the very next day. How dare she!!! We said our sad goodbyes and managed to keep our despair in check until we got to our car.

When we regained our composure, we decided we wanted to give her a little gift to tell her how much we have appreciated her kind indulgence, and I knew I had some fun handmade baby items left over from my Etsy shop days.  It's nice to have my own little store to shop in when I need a small baby gift. I tucked  the bee set into a fancy bag along with a matching card and we presented it to her the next day.

 A few years ago, I bought several adorable applique images from Etsy to make these sets. I had such a good time embroidering them on my pieced bibs and burp cloths. You can see some other bibs here, here, and here  with a little more detail on earlier blogs.  I don't think I''ll be making these exact same sets again because I have some fabulous  new Accuquilt dies  that will make cutting the patterns so much simpler.  I wanted to immortalize these on my blog before they find homes with some adorable little droolers in the near future.

Our server friend is having a little girl so I hope she thinks of us when she puts the  bib on her sweet little one.  And, selfishly, I hope she comes back soon because we're sure going to miss her smile and her awesome sandwich making skills. But for now, I'm content thinking of a sweet little cheek on my lovingly handmade burp cloth.

Thanks for visiting,
Go forth and kiss a baby cheek.
Nancy