My Emotional Support Fabric - A Cupboard Full of Bliss

 How do you know how much a quilter loves you? She uses her good fabric on your quilt. 

Hey there from Nannyland,

I witnessed something so heartwarming at my LFS this week, I just had to share.   As I was walking around the store, admiring the sea of fabulous fabrics and quilts, I noticed a mom and grown daughter admiring and commenting on some gorgeous fabric bundles.  I couldn't help thinking how adorable their sweet interaction was. Later, when I went to the counter, I saw them again as they paid for their purchases.  The daughter was lovingly rubbing a  colorful bundle of fabric on her cheek, and thanking her mom for buying her some "emotional support fabric."  Yes!!!!  EMOTIONAL SUPPORT FABRIC!!!  That's exactly what I would call the brightly hued fat quarter bundles from my favorite quilt designers that reside in the cabinet in my guest room.  Every time I go past them I have to stop and marvel at their sheer majesty and splendor.  A peaceful calm comes over me as I contemplate the hours of blissful sewing I will enjoy as I piece a patchwork design into a handmade "hug" for someone I love. But I do have a common problem among quilters....I don't want to ruin the beauty of my perfect treasures by cutting them up for a quilt. So often they live in their pristine glory for a little too long, waiting for that special quilt worthy of their magnificence.  

You might be thinking that this is all my fabric stash, tucked so neatly in my cute little cupboard. I chuckle at the thought. I have tons stashed in my craft room and garage, all of it very appropriately organized and out of sight, lest you imagine a scene from hoarders.  But this coveted ESF fabric is on display for me to soak up it's healing powers at a moments notice. A tragic example happened this week when Best Buy's Geek Squad permanently lost ALL of the files on my computer, so I spent some extra time mourning with my bundles.  I came away thinking, "Oh well, since I lost a lot of the files I use for making cards with my Emotional Support Copic markers, the universe must be telling me to quilt more."   If you are a quilter, you are identifying with the ESF fabric concept.  If you aren't, just know it really is a "thing"  Most of us have emotional support stuff of one kind or another...animals, pictures, shoes, books, dolls, etc. I say, embrace it and be grateful for it's healing magic.    

It's nice to put a label on an addiction that brings me such joy.   

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

     

My World is Brighter Z-Fold Card - Mo Manning "For Teacher" Digital Stamp

 I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house. – Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hey there from Nannyland, 

The beautiful, crisp clear air on my morning walks has invigorated my spirit for all things autumn.  The bins of fruits and vegetables in the charming stand in our neighboring town have been incredibly colorful and bounteous this year.  It was a delight creating an apple orchard scene with this adorable Mo Manning digi called "For Teacher," which you can find in Mo's Digital Pencil here. 

After coloring this sweet image with Copic markers, I used a white gel pen to add dots to her shirt. I decorated her hair and boots with tiny die cut flowers and then adhered the fussy cut image to my favorite z-fold box card base. This is a well-loved Lori Whitlock svg that I downloaded and saved in Cricut Design Space because it's perfect for creating scenes with the included trees and house. The size when folded is 5 1/2 x 5 1/2. The punched clouds were embossed with a dot embossing folder and the  tree blossoms were created with tiny flower dies embellished with red gems. I added shine and dimension to the apples on the tree with Glossy Accents. I was happy to find the perfect sentiment stamp in my stash. 

 

One of my favorite things to do is add small details to my scenes to  make them come alive.  I hope I have inspired you to create a picturesque autumn scene to usher in the majesty of the fall and Halloween seasons. 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Playing along with:

Crafty Calendar September Challenge

Creative Creases Challenge #66

Dragonfly Creative Challenge #21

Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #247

The Sisterhood of Crafters

Stamping Sensations September Challenge

SAS4Kids - Cute Fall/Halloween

Classic Design Challenge #9

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #9

Worldwide Craftist and Colorists Challenge #9

Polkadoodles Darling Buds Crocus Digi- A Beautiful Day for a Slimline

 Fill your life with adventures, not things.  Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.

 

Hey there from Nannyland, 

I really enjoy using slimline card bases because they offer a wonderful alternative to my usual 5 x 7 cards and afford lots of opportunity for creative design. Most of my favorite die sources have beautiful slimline options and I love collecting them to add to my stash/hoard.  

This pretty Polka Doodles lady is from their Darling Buds collection.  She is called Crocus and I found the digital download in their shop HERE.  After coloring her with Copic markers, I couldn't resist adding small flower dies from my Spellbinders collection to add texture and color to her basket and headdress.  I fussy cut her and adhered her to a slimline background panel which I edged with a gold leafing pen. This layer was attached to the back panel with mounting tape. I die cut and layered four scalloped outer frames for dimension.  My rub on sentiment is framed with a gem-studded hexagon.     

I hope I have inspired you to branch out with your card designs and include a slimline as a delightful option.

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Playing along with:

Creative Knockouts #503 - Favorite Embellishment: die cut flowers

Digi Choosday Wk #35

Path of Positivity Challenge #155 - (Fem/Dimen/die cuts)

A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge #9

Ally's Angels Challenge #73

Classic Design Challenge #9

The Crafter's Cafe Challenge #300

Worldwide Crafters and Colorists Challenge #8

Morgan's Artworld Challenge #9

Polkadoodles Challenge Wk 35

Spellbinders June Large Die of the Month - Whale Hello There

Advice from a whale: make a splash; move with grace and beauty; 
keep a song in your heart; remember to come up for air; no blubbering. 

Hey there from Nannyland,

Creating cards with die cuts...it's right up there with Copic coloring for me. It satisfies my love for detail and dimension.  I seriously have about a million dies that I've collected over the years and I've taken great pains to organize them, but I definitely don't use them enough. Spellbinders, Anna Griffin, Tattered Lace, Tim Holtz, Heartfelt Creations, Crafters Companion, Elizabeth Crafts...I think I have every single one ever made!  Their intricacy and artistic design have evolved dramatically over the 20+ years since I sent my first simple shape die through my original Sizzix Big Red machine.  Lately I've been opening my mail box with delight to find my Spellbinders Large Die of the Month subscription waiting inside. I buy a lot of my own Christmas gifts, so why not bring some of that same joy and excitement to my door throughout the year. 

The June Large Die of the Month set is called Whale in a Bottle and includes 20 dies for creating an ocean scene in a bottle with a fabulous detailed 3D whale, along with ocean foliage, cork, waves, and a tag for the included sentiment.  The large outline die is perfect for an A2 bottle shaped card, but I chose to create a 5 x 7 card so I could use some gorgeous nautical paper that I've had tucked away for a project such as this.  I went with the color scheme of my dp, which was aqua, pink, and silver and added a navy whale for contrast. I embellished with a few gems and pearls, a small acrylic sea shell and a sentiment I created in Cricut Design Space.

My husbands birthday is coming up.  Too pink and girly?  Dang. 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

    Playing along with:

Cardz 4 Galz 206

The Paper Funday Challenge #56

Try it on Tuesday - Let's Go Outside

Cut it Up Challenge #285

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Make a Scene

Crafting Happiness Challenge #146

613 Avenue Create August

Corrosive Challenge #8

Krafty Chicks Challenge #679

Little Red Wagon Challenge #724