Welcome, Sweet Indy - Conie Fong Mother and Baby Digi

 Baby girls are like flowers that are forever in bloom. 

Hey there from Nannyland,

Baby Indy made her entrance into the world a couple of days ago and everyone around her is smitten.  She is beyond adorable!  I already have her quilt wrapped up in a pretty box and all I need to do is tuck this card inside to complete my love-filled handmade gift.  When planning this card, I saw several darling images of babies in my digi library, but THIS exquisitely drawn image from Conie Fong really caught my eye.  I enjoyed being on Conie's design team so much because I absolutely adore her gorgeous artwork.  This image is perfect for my beautiful friend who has lovely thick locks of blond mermaid hair. 

After coloring the image with Copic markers,  I added details with a white gel pan.  I fussy cut her and adhered her to a water-colored dp panel, which I edged with a gold leafing pen.  I cut a shaped card with a Heartfelt Creations frame die and added a matching gold panel to fit the card front.  The intricate embossed layer was die cut in white card stock and the focal panel was attached with foam tape for dimension.  The flower embellishments are handmade from  Heartfelt Creations stamps, dies and molds, with punched gold swirls and a mini die cut butterfly for accents.  

It's such a joy to spend hours creating baby gifts and cards because the recipients are so precious.  I like imagining them all warm and cozy wrapped in a quilt that I created especially for them.  It's like giving them a never-ending giant hug!  I hope you have some sweet little ones in your life to share your creative talents with...and maybe pass some of your skills on to them to keep the creative cycle going. 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Playing along with:

Crafty Gals Corner #249

Double "D" Challenge - Stripes and/or dots

Digi Choosday Challenge - WK 45

A Place to Start November Challenge

Cutie Pie Challenge #188

A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge #11

Ally's Angels Challenge #76

Classic Design Challenge #11

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #11

Worldwide Crafters and Colorists Challenge #11

A Heartfelt Quilt for Baby Indy - Accuquilt Wonky Heart BOB

Please bless the little head that lies beneath these quilted threads.

Hey there from Nannyland,

I've been super excited to have the opportunity to sew a baby quilt after a very long break with no little ones waiting to appear.  Happily, a sweet little mom, whom I think of as a granddaughter, recently announced that she would be giving birth to a darling baby girl in November.  Indy Jean, as she will be called, will certainly be beyond adorable because her family is already the cutest in the world, with a three-year-old boy named Tuf who has already stolen my heart. 

 

My dilemma has been designing this quilt in a more modern style, since the last ones I created for my Etsy Store several years ago rocked ducks and bunnies in shades of pink, blue and yellow.  While I think I could still come up with something cute using that recipe, I really wanted to make this one more current, since my friend (and hairdresser) is a very stylish lady.  I've been noticing the popular colors for babies are more muted shades of pinks, blues and neutrals, often referred to as boho colors after their earthy hues.  I searched the internet for fabric that would "make the cut" and found a pretty collection by Moda in Etsy called Songbook.  The peachy pinks and tans match the colors in little Indie's nursery perfectly.   

I cut my layer cake with my favorite  Accuquilt Wonky Heart BOB die to create 35 six-inch finished blocks and added white 1-1/2 inch sashing and aqua corner stones to set my blocks.  The back is the same aqua fabric with small metallic flowers as  the corner stones and the swirly heart edge-to-edge pattern my long arm quilter used to mimic my heart blocks shows up beautifully. I added my usual striped binding in aqua and white and I love how things came together.  I carefully washed my finished quilt in Dreft baby detergent on the gentle cycle and dried it on the low setting to bring out all the soft crinkly texture. I don't often wash my quilts before I gift them, so I'm always surprised and amazed at the change in texture after they come out of the dryer.  I really love it and hope my recipients do, too.  I have made a decision to wash all my quilts in the future before I gift them so they are fresh, newly crinkled and cuddly soft when they reach their new home. 

This quilt still feels quite different from my usual brightly colored creations, but I loved going out of my comfort zone for my special friend and her baby.  I hope little Indie and her mom will cherish it for many years to come.  I opened up Indy's closet and it was full of the cutest little wardrobe items in all the boho colors of her quilt.  Now I just can't wait to meet her in a week or two!  I also think my boy Tuf needs a quilt all his own.  Hmmm.  What would a three year old boy like?  Another creative conundrum to tackle.

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)