Spellbinders Summer Birdhouse Slimline - Don't Forget to Fly

We ourselves feel what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. 

But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.  Mother Teresa

 

Hey there from Nannyland,

Recently I asked my artist friend for her opinion on why I love to collect small intricate objects de art and surround myself with them, rather than go for the large generic decorating pieces that are so popular in home decor.  As she dutifully helped me arrange my cherished treasures on shelves, she pointed to the Jane Wooster Scott folk art paintings on my walls that testify to the fact  that I obviously am attracted to detail. In that "eureka" moment, I realized that I really do have a penchant for tiny elements and it shows in my artwork. It become clear to me why I can spend blissful hours coloring fine details on beautiful images and  cutting, sponging and carefully gluing teensy die cuts together without the least bit of tedium. It's a thing. 

Spellbinders dies are perfect for those of us who have a detail obsession, with sets that contain many tiny dies meant to layer for incredible dimension.  I chose the summer birdhouse from my set of Spellbinders seasonal birdhouses to create this sunny coastal setting with a slimline format.  I used curved dies to cut layers of patterned paper sand to layer a playful base for my lighthouse.  The bird comes from a separate Spellbinders die set called  "Sweet Birds on a Branch."  I did a little sponging for shading on the bird house, clouds and fence, but I really prefer a cleaner look with my die cuts so I restrained my urge to shade all the pieces. The cute little flying birds, starfish, shells and fence all come with the birdhouse series of dies.  

I had a blast creating this cute summer scene and am looking forward to using all the fun die cuts that come with the other darling seasonal birdhouses in the set. 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

                                                          Playing along with:

Try it on Tuesday Challenge - Small Things

A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge #5

Ally's Angels Challenge #82

Classic Design Challenge #5

Crafter's Cafe Challenge #308

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #76

613 Avenue Create May Challenge

Allsorts Challenge Wk 781

Crafting Happines Challenge #175

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #123

 

Fantasy Journal Pages - Julia Spiri Young Fairy

Choose joy!  Don't wait for things to get easier, simpler, better.
Life will always be complicated.  Learn how to be happy right now.
Otherwise, you'll run out of time. 

Hey there from Nannyland,

It's a sun-drenched Friday morning here in my lovely desert home and, as I type, I'm looking with delight at the gorgeous citrus trees outside my window.  Directly in front of me is  a lush young apricot tree full of small green orbs that will soon burst forth with my favorite fruit.  Juicy ripe home grown fruit is definitely a simple thing that brings me joy. 

If you haven't checked out The Art of Julia Spiri,  you are missing a real treat.  She is a talented Spanish artist who creates with an amazing whimsical, fantasy style that I love.  I blissfully colored this stunning digi called Young Fairy with Copic markers and embellished her for my Fantasy Art journal.   

I used a white Anna Griffin die cut to frame her angelic face and embellished her with Spellbinders flowers, pearls, colored rhinestones and a white gel pen.  My sentiment page was created in Cricut Design Space with the writing and cutting features. 

Some of the simple things I'm delighting  in today are: a quiet morning prayer, a nature walk with red hills surrounding me, lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant, an afternoon creating in Nannyland, my hubby across the hall in his office, an orchard in my side yard, bright flower beds in my back yard, kids laughing next door.  How about you? 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

                                                          Playing along with:

Creative Artiste Challenge #104

Cut It Up Challenge #304

My Time to Craft Challenge #534

Classic Design Challenge #5

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #123

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #76

CD Sunday Plus Challenge #133

A Perfect Time To Craft

Moving Along With The Times

I Love Promarkers Challenge #559

Fancy Dress Slimline - Anna Griffin Paper Dress Dies

Dressing well is a form of good manners.
Tom Ford

Hey there from Nannyland,

I could spend countless hours creating fancy dresses from Anna Griffin's darling paper dress dies.  Oh wait...I DID!  I chose two of the three dies in this adorable set and reacquainted myself with my neglected 6 x 6 double-sided designer paper pads to use for "fabric." I got all giddy choosing coordinating designs for my chic frocks and was obsessed with folding them into stylish origami-style gowns. Zhuzhing them up with lace trim, button gems and elegant jewelry was the frosting on my girly cake. 

I don't own the 3D Anna Armoire die that was designed to hang her dresses, but I wanted mine to take center stage so I checked out the Cricut image library for "Armoire" images.   A pretty layered frame that mimics an armoire was sized to create a background for  my layout.  I chose a dress form instead of a hanger to showcase my designer ensemble and sized it to fit my dress.  

I'm thrilled that I created enough of these adorable dresses to send cards to my friends through the millennium. I can quickly cut the files I have saved in Cricut, change the sentiment in the writing feature, and add my dress to make a card for any occasion.  

I love the gold accent I was able to create in this layered frame.

 My finished image fits a  4 x 9 slimline card with room for embellishing. 

An adorable Spellbinders scissors die cut in silver and a mini flower 

are a cute accent for my sentiment tag.

These first four cards will go my dear talented friends in California to express how much I miss our weekly card making sessions.   Die cutting definitely is taking over a heartfelt place in my maker repertoire. 

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 Challenge #255

The Sisterhood of Crafters Challenge - Ladies

A Place to Start May Challenge

Get Creative Challenge #131

The Perfect Time to Craft #5

Classic Design Challenge #4

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #76

Pinspirational Challenge #313

Creative Fingers Challenge #277

Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #2418

Morgan's ArtWorld Butterfly Fairy - Fantasy Journal Pages

God's love is wrapping all around you whether you notice it or not. 

Hey there from Nannyland,

The first time I saw a beautiful Morgan's ArtWorld digi image was in a card making class with my dear friend, Arlene, who has been a designer for Morgan for many years.  I was so impressed with her beautiful coloring and asked where her gorgeous stamped image came from. She told me it was digital art, which I knew very little about, and as our conversation progressed,  I learned she was a designer for Morgan.  I grilled her a little on what was required to become a member of this coveted design team and shortly thereafter, I was having my first designer experience creating cards for Morgan's ArtWorld using her incredible images.  

I realized lately that I haven't colored a Morgan image in a while, so when I won this one on her challenge blog, I went right to work creating a journal page for my fantasy journal.  I found some intricate layered die cut butterflies in my stash that I used to replace her digi wings. I also added a vellum layered butterfly to coordinate with the lovely insects Morgan drew on her image  It was a delight zhuzing up her wreath crown with several small beaded die cut flowers.  On the opposite page, I created a butterfly and sentiment in Cricut Design Space and adhered it to a dp background. 

I no longer design for Morgan's ArtWorld but you can check out my design team cards in the Labels side bar of this blog under Morgan's ArtWorld or in her fabulous shop here. I also encourage you to enter her wonderful monthly challenge here.
 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

 

                                                                                Playing along with:

Try it on Tuesday Challenge - Fantasy

A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge #5

Ally's Angels Challenge #81

Classic Design Challenge #4

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #76

Papercraft Challenge #105

Worldwide Crafters and Colorists Challenge #16

613 Avenue Create Challenge - April

Dragonfly Dreams April Challenge