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Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Quick Quarantine Quilt - Jelly Roll Log Cabin

Quilting is painting with needles. 


Hey there from Nannyland,

What do you do when you have a little touch of Covid and you're stranded at home for a spell? In my case, the answer was easy. I used the excuse to chill in my craft room for a ton of guiltless hours coming up with a solution to a perplexing dilemma I've had for awhile.  I tested positive on my birthday, the last day of May, and have to admit, it wasn't the best present I've ever received. But a prescription to sequesterer myself for days amid all my creative paraphernalia is always the one that draws me in, no matter what my malady. 
            

It didn't take long for me to figure out something to amuse me.  I have loads of jelly rolls in my stash and I struggle with finding patterns that make a  2 1/2 inch strip look chichi.  I had plenty of time to  ponder how to combine jelly rolls with my favorite classic quilt block, the log cabin. 


I knew my experiment might not turn out perfectly owing to my limited math skills, so I chose some jelly roll strips from a roll that had fabrics that were not my favorite colors, just in case I really messed up.  I soon realized that expanding my tried and true bright color palette by using a softer one was not as "blah" as I thought it would be.  I actually love the restful colors in my final quilt.



Cutting the strips for the block might seem very straight forward, but there is some precision and math involved when using jelly roll strips and there are lots of different lengths to cut.  Because I wanted my quilt scrappy,  I combined three or four patterns from books, the internet and YouTube and ended up with the one I thought would give me the best results. Here is a tutorial from Jordan Fabrics that really helped me. She has a free downloadable pattern. 


                             

I used the EQ8 program on my computer to lay out my quilt and it provided me with feedback on yardage, block design and border details.  It really helps to have a map in front of me when I'm embarking on a quilt journey. This program  has saved me countless hours of stress by keeping me focused and charting my progress. 

My quilt top was blissfully completed during the week of my confinement and is aptly named  "Quick Quarantine Quilt." Now that I have a system, I can whip up a snazzy jelly roll quilt in a jiffy and work on purging my stash in the bargain. 

My hubby and I have both  recovered very well from our Covid, which turned out to be no more than a slight case of the sniffles due to our two vaccines and two boosters.  With a new false sense of hybrid immunity, I have been happy to take off my mask and live like a normal human being again. It will be fun to take my quilt top to my LQS for quilting and meet my fellow quilters face-to-face!

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.
I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit.  
Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Morgan's ArtWorld Rose Slimline

Be a girl with a mind, a woman with attitude and a lady with  class.



Hey there from Nannyland,

As a Creative Team member for Morgan's ArtWorld a couple of years ago, I was privileged to design projects for Morgan Fitzsimons, an incredible  international artist and author who founded Creative Art  Design Studio. Her digital images are a delight to color, so when I won this sophisticated lady in a challenge a while ago, I knew I had to create some art.   She is called Rose and you can find her in Morgan's shop here.   You can also see my Morgan's ArtWorld Creative Team projects on my blog here.              


I enjoy paper piecing on images where I'd like to add small details that would be hard to color, especially on clothing.   I did this on the belt and front panel of this dress and I really like the way it turned out.  This beautiful lady's hair is very wispy, so I colored it in blues and lavenders to show off the soft movement.  I gave her one of my Heartfelt Creations handmade flowers to carry to keep the whimsical feel. 

Morgan's ArtWorld Rose digi, slimline frame dies,
Cricut Design Space writing and cutting features,
Copic markers, Heartfelt Creations stamp,die, mold


The length of this image fits perfectly on a slimline format so I chose slimline frame dies for her layered background. The sentiment was created in Cricut Design Space and cut with my Cricut Maker.

 I'm on my way  to take to some cards and treats to some very special ladies at an assisted living facility today.  One of them is 95 years old!  Is there someone in your life who would appreciate the gift of your attention and one of your beautiful crafty creations?

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.
I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit.  
Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)
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Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Conie Fong Art Guest Designer - Heartfelt Delilah

Gazing at beautiful things acts on my soul.
Michelangelo



Hey there from Nannyland, 

Conie Fong has so many incredible images in her Etsy Shop, I've been having a hard time choosing which ones I will use for my Guest Designer projects for the next couple of months.  This gorgeous image is called Delilah and you can find her in Conie's Etsy shop  here.    Her beautiful soulful eyes and luxurious hair were a joy to blend with Copic markers in one of my favorite color combos.  The flowers and butterflies were also fun details to shade. I fussy cut my colored image and attached her to a rectangle dp panel which I lined with a gold leafing pen.  The "wish" sentiment is a Sizzix die with a base layer.  


I created the shaped card base by placing a Heartfelt Creations frame die on the fold of a white card base and running it through my Gemini. Here is a tutorial that explains how I did this.  

Conie Fong digi, Heartfelt Creations frame die, Sizzix 
sentiment die, Copic markers, white gel pen, gold leafing pen

I'll be mirthfully creating more Design Team projects using Conie's amazing art for the next couple of months. They'll be posted in Conie's FaceBook Group here, where you'll find tons of inspiration.  You can also enter your own projects into the Conie Fong Art monthly challenge for a chance to win some fabulous images.  

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Father's Day Z-Fold - Cricut Design Space Lighthouse Scene

 Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure. 




Hey there from Nannyland, 

It seems like most of the cards I make for my hubby are beachy. Maybe it's because I can use pretty, bright colors and still claim they are masculine, but I think the real reason is we have created some of our most treasured memories at the sea shore.  We were just youngsters when we moved from Utah to Los Angeles at twenty three and had only been married three years.  That is when the magic began.  We rode our bikes every weekend through Venus Beach to Santa Monica Pier when it was a "bikes only" path.  After six years of sunny bliss we moved to San Jose and spent many halcyon beach days in Capitola, Santa Cruz and Monterey.  We still gravitate to the gorgeous beaches in Monterey, Carmel and Pacific Grove, where my daughter lives, and make yearly trips to Hawaii.   I can almost feel the misty sea breeze on my face when I imagine walking on the warm sandy banks. 



I found lots of nautical images in the Cricut Design Space library to create this ocean scene on my favorite  z-fold card base.  I chose a lighthouse, palm trees, waves and clouds to populate my panels and cut them out on white card stock so I could color them with Copic markers.  I sized them to fit my card base and made sure my sun was large enough to accomodate my Cricut generated sentiment.   


Brown pearls were added to mimic coconuts and a white gel pen formed some foam on the waves. I layered the palm leaves to add extra fullness to my trees. I kept the other images flat for easier mailing. 

Cricut Design Space cutting and writing features, brown pearl gems, 
silver leafing pen, white gel pen, Copic markers


I created an additional card to send to a friend who is having cancer surgery this week.  A change in the sentiment was all this card needed to make a cheery card for our beach-loving buddy. 

  

Thursday, June 2, 2022

Conie Fong Art Guest Designer - Feeling Fabulous Digi

 

The true beauty of a woman is reflected in her soul.  
It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows.
Audrey Hepburn



Hey there from Nannyland,

I'm "over the moon" excited for the honor of being a Guest Designer for the fabulous artist, Conie Fong, for the months of June and July. She is one of my all-time favorite artists and I go to her images often when I want to color beautiful angelic faces with sweet poses, as you can see from my previous posts here.    Her stunning artwork also includes many adorable animals and gorgeous florals which you can purchase and download from her amazing Etsy Shop.  I had a delightful time coloring the gorgeous image on this card, titled "Feeling Fabulous."  You can find her in Conie Fong's Etsy Shop here.




This cute little stunner, trying her best to be grown up and glamorous, deserved to be spotlighted with a pretty die cut wreath, which I cut 4 times from white shimmer card stock and stacked together for dimension.  I added a few die cut mini flowers for some zhuzh factor. I kept my background simple so my sweet damsel could take center stage. I added the wreath to a subtle striped panel, which I framed with gold foil card stock. I backed my panel with craft foam and glued it to a white 5 x 7 card base. I found a fun hello sentiment in my stash that was the perfect color and size. Voila...a card was born. 

Conie Fong Feeling Fabulous Digi, die cut wreath, Copic markers,
striped dp. gold foil card stock, die cut mini flowers

                          
I've been in heaven coloring Conie's images for my next projects. Please come back and see what I've created.  And check out Conie's Etsy Store.  You'll be obsessed like I am!

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.
I'll just be here blissfully creating until your next visit.  
Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)
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