Anna Griffin Balloon Easel Card

 One can never consent to creep when one feels the impulse to soar.    Helen Keller

Anna Griffin Hot Air Balloon dies, dp, handmade paper flowers, gems and pearls,
 Cricut Design Studio cutting and writing features, gold foil card stock

Hey there from Nannyland,

It's always a treat  to carve out some time to create a stash of all-occasion cards for my cherished tribe. Life's celebrations and events are endless and one of the rewards/perils of being a card maker is the fact that my recipients feel neglected if their card from me isn't a handmade original. Hot air balloons have always been universally admired, so I chose this  elegant easel card from Anna Griffin for my assembly-line card-fest. 

These beautifully detailed dies were such a pleasure to work with.  My seldom used Sizzix Bigshot Plus came in handy for cutting the oversized card base. The scoring on the die made it easy to fold and add the balloon-shaped mat layer to create the easel.  I had fun embellishing the detailed top layer with the coordinating intricate die cuts, which I created with gold foil card stock.  Although I was tempted to zhuzh my balloons up with tons of bling, I managed to keep the pearls and gems to the scallops and basket. Oh, and maybe just a few on my flowers and butterflies. (They're a little hard to see here, but they're dazzling in person.) I didn't want fussy embellies to overwhelm the beautiful details of my pretty balloons. 

I created a layered label in Cricut Design Space and used the Cricut writing feature to generate several  sentiments that coordinate with the "flying" theme. It will be a breeze to open my project in Design Space and print out a personalized sentiment to match my occasion when I need it. 

Several blank cards are just waiting to be personalized at a moments notice! 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Playing along with:

Aud Sentiments Challenge #282

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #153

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #2134

Crafter's Castle #44

The Dream Factory Challenge #95

LeAnn's World 101 Challenge #41

Love to Craft Challenge #61

QKR Stampede Challenge #426

A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge #8

Krafty Chicks Challenge #574

Studio Light Misses Fashion Show, Too.

 Don't tell people your plans, show them your results. 

Studio Lite Misses dies and stamps, designer paper, metallic copper card stock,
 assorted gems, slimline card base and frame, Hero Arts  "hello" die and stamp set

Greetings from Nannyland, 

My craft room and my hubby's office live in a very busy place in our new home we  call the "hub." We have recently come to refer to his office as the "Doug-out" and my craft room as "Nannyland."  My Pink Panoply logo has always aptly displayed a regal grown (because I'm obviously the queen here) and my Pink Panoply designs are all born in Nannyland .  I love nesting here with all my creative tools and elements surrounding me, where I can bring the dreams and ideas that live in my quirky head to life. Yeah, I'm all about fantasy stuff.  Don't judge.

Speaking of creative tools and quirky heads,  I love these Studio Light Misses dies and stamps so much!  I posted a few cards I made with them in a previous post and have a few more to share with you.  I can't even stand how amusing it is to start with a plain head and shoulders and then bring these stylish ladies to life with colorful hair styles, outfits and jewelry.

This is one of my favorites, because I used a bangs die to create her funky hair and I love her trendy glasses. 

I sent this one to a dear friend for her birthday. She said she couldn't stop staring at all the chic details, which, of course, I created to match her classy style.

The number of trendy looks I can create with these dies is endless, so it's a kick to try to match them to the likeness of my recipient.

When I gave one of my cards to my darling girlfriend for her birthday, she just happened to be wearing a shirt in the same color.  She added some earrings and a necklace to match and this is the result.

 .

I know.  Awesome!!!

Thanks for visiting Nannyland, home of Pink Panoply.

Please come back again soon. 

Nancy

Playing along with:

Aud Sentiments Challenge #12

Stinkin' Inkers Challenge - Long and Skinny

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #152

A Place to Start Challenge #8

Get Creative Challenge #104

Allsorts Challenge #637/8

Crafty Calendar August Challenge

Createful Heart Challenge #35

Sweet Stampers Challenge #59

The Paper Funday Challenge #32

Anniversary Fred and Ginger - Mo Manning Cheek to Cheek Digi

Heaven, I'm in heaven
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak
And I seem to find the happiness I seek
When we're out together, dancing cheek to cheek

Mo Manning digi, Anna Griffin Fantastic Flip card base in Cricut Design Space,
Authentique "Classique: Pretty" dp, acrylic gems, Copic markers, clear glitter pen

Hey there,

It's always a treat browsing the latest fabulous Mo Manning images at  Mo's Digital Pencil. Her characters are always so full of personality and emotion. I was  delighted when I came across this darling couple blissfully tripping the light fantastic and  I knew they were perfect for my anniversary card this year. I gave myself permission to make this card a little girly, even if I'm giving it to my hubby, because it's depicting both of us, so it's gender neutral, right? I colored a loose floral pattern on Ginger's dress to coordinate with Fred's spiffy tux. 

The sentiment is from the fabulous (and Academy Award nominated) song, "Cheek to Cheek," sung by Fred  to Ginger in the vintage movie "Top Hat."  It came with the digital image and I took advantage of some flip card panels  created in Cricut Design Studio  to accommodate a larger size.  

My double sided dp had lots of pretty paper options so I just went wild and used up all the scraps  created from my die cutting.  

I love fancy cards that do tricks like this double flip card because they give me so much awesome real-estate to adorn! 

Thanks for visiting,

Go forth and cut the rug with some "cheeky" dancing.

Nancy

Playing along with:

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #608

Crafty Creations Challenge #424

Creative Moments Challenge #220

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #322

Through the Craft Room Door

Stamping Sensations Challenge - August

Aud Sentiments Challenge #281

Crafter's Castle Challenge #44

Be the Light - Botched Skirt Redeemed with Paper Pieced Origami

Wrinkles should merely indicate where the smiles have been.  Mark Twain 

Asian stamp (unknown origin), Heartfelt Creations stamps, dies and mold; assorted beads, gold metallic card stock, black card stock, Cricut Design Space, copic markers, white gel pen, prismacolors, Nuvo Drops, gold leafing pen, dragonfly mini die

Hey there,

Anyone remember the awesome yearly stamp convention called the Rubberama that traveled across the country a few years ago? I was drawn to some gorgeous Asian stamps at one of those gatherings and bought several of them because the samples displayed in the booth were so stunning.  When I got them home, I enjoyed doing some monochromatic coloring on them but multi-colored details seemed daunting.  I was excited when I came across this one recently and knew it would be easier to work with since my stamping and coloring skills have  evolved a bit since those early days.    

The coloring was, indeed, straightforward and simple but the trouble came when I tried to color the hatch mark design on the skirt.  The more I colored, the more blotchy and messy my colors got, until I was so frustrated, I put my efforts aside and labeled them as unredeemable. But as happens so often in crafting, a random thought came to me on how I could fix my funky coloring.  Luckily, I happen to have tons of delicate origami paper in my stash just waiting to be pieced into a stylish skirt.  I stamped my image again on a piece of white paper to make a template.  I couldn't stamp her directly on the origami paper because the hatch marks would show up on my pretty paper.  I cut out my template and traced it on my origami paper. It was simple to fussy cut and glue the skirt into place on my lovely lady.  

It was so gratifying to save my discarded attempt and create a way to use this glamorous but challenging image. I embellished with some handmade Heartfelt Creations flowers with beaded centers  and a beaded die cut dragonfly, and accented her dress and the background with Nuvo drops and gel pens.    I framed her with a narrow white mat and  mounted her on a gold metallic die cut frame and a black square card base.  The sentiment was created in Cricut Design Space.

What could be more satisfying than rescuing something deemed to be beyond repair?  I think my origami paper adds elegance and  Asian style to my image.  What do you think?

Thanks for visiting,

Go forth and recue something destined for the trash and create a work of art.  

Nancy 

Playing along with:

Just Add Ink Challenge #566

Krafty Chicks Challenge #571

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #411

Crafty Creations Challenge #424

Retro Rubber Challenge Challenge 164

Unicorn Challenge #68

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge 2131

Arty Divas Challenge July Challenge

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #90

The Crafter's Cafe