Guest Designer for Arty Divas - Peace Begins With a Smile - Vera Lane Digi

It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime.    

Khaled Hosseini

Vera Lane digi, copic markers, IO mini butterfly and flower dies, digital background from Etsy,
white gel pen, gem, Nuvo Drops, computer generated sentiment

Hey there,

I'm extremely pleased and honored to be Guest Designer this week for Arty Divas Challenge Blog. Thank you so much, Zowie, for bringing a smile to my face and inviting me to  design alongside your amazing Design Team.

You can join the fun at Arty Divas Challenge Blog HERE

Oh, how I love Vera Lane digital stamps!.  I love how incredibly quirky they are and so much fun to color.  I've decided to send this card to my childhood girlfriend for her birthday next month because she's crazy like I am and the peace theme hearkens back to the 60's and some very priceless memories of our high school shenanigans.  We were both God fearing, church going girls, mind you...so we happily remember all the awesomeness!

I colored my little flower child with copics, fussy cut her and adhered her to my background with mounting tape for dimension. My background is a digi scene from Etsy, which I embellished with die cuts and markers. I colored the mini Impression Obsession butterflies with copics and created the centers for the IO blossoms with Nuvo drops.  I added details to the garden flowers and tree with a black fine line marker.  I used pink and green copics to add shading to the grass and tree. The sentiment is computer generated and lined with a black marker.  My white gel pen was perfect for adding some small details to the dress and flowers.

Smiles all around here, and another thanks to Arty Divas for creating a lovely place for artistic types like me to showcase our "masterpieces".

Thanks for visiting.
Go forth and make the world more peaceful with your beautiful smile.
Nancy

Playing along with:

Aud Sentiments Challenge #251

Cardz 4 Galz Challenge #122

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #75

Creative Moments Challenge #191

Digi Choosday Challenge Wk20

Through the Craft Room Door Challenge - May 19

A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge #5
Crafty Sentiment Designs ATG Challenge

Graduation Cards for My Friend - Lori Whitlock Soar and Fly

You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with 

whatever the world can throw at  you.  Brian Tracy

Lori Whitlock svg, Cricut Maker, Cricut Design Space cutting and writing features, 

swirl embossing folder for clouds, red marker for Congratulations

Hey there,

Even though I don't have graduating seniors in my family this year, I was privileged to help my dear friend who couldn't go shopping for cards for her grand nieces and nephews due to the quarantine.   It's hard to know how to do service for loved ones during this time of social distancing so I jumped at the chance to create three cards for her to send.  I was a little worried about coming up with something unique and fun that would suit both young men and women.  Lori Whitlock and my Cricut came to my rescue yet again!

I was excited to find this adorable svg in Lori Whitlock's shop.  I've made several pop-up box cards, so cutting and assembling were a cinch.  As I customized the sentiments in Cricut Design Space using the writing feature I imagined how amazing it would be to add further personalization with names, schools, etc.  I didn't know the school colors so I went with a generic red, white and blue palette, which I think works well here.

I like the way these cards turned out and was happy to see my friend's smile when I presented them to her with stamped envelopes, ready to address and send.  She used the word "charming" to describe them. I loved making her happy and now I have this fun file in Cricut Design Space just waiting to be customized for future grads.

Thanks for visiting,
Go forth and use your crafty skills to do service for someone you love.
Nancy

Playing along with:

Aud Sentiments Challenge #251

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #271

Bitten by the Bug Challenge - Graduation

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #256

Unstampabelles Challenge #100

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #131

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #159

Allsorts Challenge - Weeks 571/2

Pandemic Crazy - Accuquilt Go Stash Buster Quilt

The bad news is time flies.  The good news is you're the pilot. 

Michael Altshuler

Hey there,

One of the best things about being a crafter is having tons of projects calling to me from my craft room for some long overdue attention. I've been feeling a lot of emotions during the quarantine, but none of them is boredom.  Time is what I have right now, so I'm determined to use it while it lasts to happily finish accumulated projects.  Quilting is at the top of my list.  And what better quilt to express my creative emotions during this wonky time than a "crazy" one.  I used the very large Accuquilt Go Crazy Quilt die to cut my blocks and, in the process, my Accuquilt Go Big electronic machine took its last breath.  I knew it had been feeling poorly lately, so I was excited to get a shiny new one. This time I proceeded with caution, as the large dies can be tricky. It took a little concentration to piece the blocks, but I was very pleased at how they turned out in the end.  I used white shashing and colorful corner stones to calm down the colorful craziness.

I have a fabulous long arm quilter who doesn't have a fancy computerized machine so she is very adept at hand guiding the machine to make fabulous designs. Since we needed to social distance while discussing my design choice, I told her I trusted her to choose the pattern she thought would look good.  She chose a beautiful template with flowers that match the whimsical ones in my fabric and quilted them using a warm orange/gold thread.  The results are beautiful!  (Marilla, my beloved sugar skull friend, says "hey.")

Each block measures 10 inches, so with the  2 inch sashing and binding the finished quilt measures    50 x 62, a good lap quilt size. I'm amazed at how a bunch of random fabrics can come together so scrappalisciously. 

I used my left over fabric to piece the back.  I've just started doing this and I think I'll stay with it.  It's a good use of my scraps and I like the back of my quilts to be as happy as the front.  Now if I could just get the labeling thing down.

So what have I been doing with my smaller scraps?  What most of my crafty friends have been doing, of course, making masks.  The ones on the left are made "in the hoop"  with my embroidery machine and the ones on the right are made with a fancy pattern I found on YouTube.  The fancy ones fit way better and are more comfortable, but both types work just fine.  I've made several for friends and family.  It's so nice to be able to use some crafty skills to join in the effort to combat Covid-19.

Hopefully, when we all get out of Pandemic prison, I will have a much smaller to-do list, and can support my neighborhood quilt shops in the way they have become accustomed.  Until then, I'm so blessed to have unlimited time and a boat load of supplies in my craft room to keep me busy for the duration.  

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and use this temporary gift of time skillfully.

Nancy

God Bless Those Who Light Up the World with Kindness

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, 

and glorify your Father which is in heaven.   Matthew 5:16

Copic markers, Normal Burnell digi stamp, Cricut Maker (frame), die cut flower and leaves,
 white gel pen, gem flower center, sentiment stamp

Hey there,

It's no secret that I love bright colors.  They really do bring bliss to my soul. We all need some hopeful light in our lives right now, for sure.  Lately I have noticed so many amazing people whose spirits shine like the sun while they go about spreading love to those in need.  When I  made this card, I didn't have a particular person in mind.  I see kindness and love sparkling all around me from selfless people who compassionately help and heal others.  We all know who they are, if we just take the time to notice their brilliance.  They're the brave souls who walk right into the eye of the storm without thought for themselves.  I'm not that person.  I wish I was.  I'm going to learn from their glowing example and try to do better.

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and shine your light for the world to see. 

Nancy

Playing along with:

Make My Monday Challenge #121

Through the Purple Haze Challenge #167

Creative Moments Challenge #190

Crafty Sentiments ATG

Digi Choosday Wk 18 Challenge

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #270

CD Sunday Plus Challenge #34

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Bright and Beautiful

DT For Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #5 - Morgan Fitzsimons Fantasy Fae Digi Stamp

What is done in love is done well.

Vincent Van Gogh

Morgan's ArtWorld Cameo 14 digi stamp, digital watercolor paper from Etsy,
      Spellbinders frame die, large and small butterfly dies, sentiment stamp, gold leafing pen,
white gel pen, assorted gems, copic markers, 

Hey there,

It's time again for another fabulous Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge.  I invite you to join us for our May Challenge #5, which runs from May 1 through May 27.   You're welcome to use any image and project you choose for this challenge.  I was delighted to color this classy  Cameo 14 image from Morgan's shop to inspire you.  I chose bold, bright hues to match her sassy style.   I adhered my fussy cut image  to  a vivid watercolor background with mounting tape for dimension. I bordered her with a white swirly Spellbinders frame and a lacy bejeweled 3D butterfly that mirrors her stylish body art. Both panels and the sentiment tag are edged with a gold leafing pen and the base of the butterfly is gold foil card stock.  I added white gel pen dots to jazz up her chic locks.

Now it's your turn to use your imagination to create something fabulous for our challenge.

Click HERE to go to the current challenge.

We would love to see you join Morgan's ArtWorld Facebook Group.Group Link HERE!

Morgan has a new shop that will be fully open soon but there are some digi images available for purchase now. HERE

Thanks for visiting,

Go forth and share your artistry in our Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge.

Nancy

Playing along with:

Southern Girls - Team Trace April Challenge

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #387

Crafty Creations Challenge #408

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #269

Arty Divas Challenge #20

Crafty Sentiments Challenge - For Girl

Through the Craft Room Door - Week Beginning Tuesday 28th April
Classic Design Challenge May 2020
The Creatiive Crafters Challenge #27
World Wide Open Design Team Challenge #04