Valentine Bike Easel Card - Anna Griffin 3D Bicycle Dies

Anything, everything...little or big...becomes an Adventure,
when the right person shares it.  Kathleen Norris

Hey there from Nannyland,

I've been dying to make this adorable Anna Griffin 3D Bicycle Easel Card for ages and this Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect opportunity to pull out these fabulously detailed dies and start creating. All the parts to this fun bicycle are included in the die set to create some really fun layers, including the basket of flowers, banner and flag. Flowers for the basket are included in the die set, but I used some small Spellbinders flowers from my stash to fill my basket.  Accessorizing the dies was delightful using heart shaped gems and embellishments.  I stamped the labels with sentiment stamps from Hero Arts with a personal message for each of my recipients.  Foam tape on the bottom of the label created the depth I needed to make an easel for my bike. 

I  made four of these cards...one for my husband and one of each of three friends.  When their this cute, you can't make just one!

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

                                                              Playing along with:

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Red or Pink
The Paper Funday Challenge #73

A Perfect Time to Craft #2

Daisy Chain Challenge #93

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #85

A Cut Above February Challenge

613 Avenue Create February Challenge

Cut it Up Challenge #323

Another Anna Griffin Fashion Show - Anna's Paper Dress Dies

You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty, and irresistible for the rest of your life. 

Coco Chanel

Hey there from Nannyland,

A few weeks ago I posted these Anna Griffin dresses  and mentioned I had created enough to assemble cards through the millennium.  In keeping with that prediction, I have enjoyed being able to come up with adorable cards in a flash.  I couldn't resist posting another fashion show featuring some cards I made for some very sweet ladies I recently visited. I added some small changes to the backgrounds and polished up my inside greeting. 

I cut stylish gold foiled card stock to fit the back panels of my cards and I love the elegance it adds to my projects. 

I saved my original "wardrobe" files in Cricut Design Space so all I had to do was access them and cut them out. 

I had fun shopping for the perfect dresses in my humungous, assorted and very chic stash. 

There are two different options for the bodice of the dress, so it was fun to choosing the style I thought best suited my recipient. 

I fashioned either diamond or pearl necklaces to add a touch of elegance to my outfits. 

For the inside, I used water color dp with gold accents, die cut a layered Hero Arts sentiment and added cute Spellbinders sewing-themed die cuts at the bottom. 

I took this collection to Northern Utah with me for our annual 4th of July celebration and hand delivered them to my darling sister and sister-in-laws.  I loved expressing my love for them in this hand-made-with-love way and, from their reactions,  I think they were a hit.

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 - Make it Colorful

A Cut Above September Challenge

Dream Valley Challenge #321

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #127

The Crafter's Cafe Challenge #311

Love to Craft Challenge #82

The Creative Crafters Challenge #79

Flamingo Anniversary - Spellbinders Grand Tropical Flamingos Large Die of the Month

 A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength. 
Proverbs 17:22 

Hey there from Nannyland,

On August 15 my husband and I celebrated 56 years of wedded bliss.  Don't do the math please, but in our defense, we were very young when we got married.  This year I knew I was going to use these darling Spellbinders flamingos and was so excited to start my fun creation.  Then, as often happens in the aging season of life, I had an emergency visit to the hospital for blood clots (eek) and several stressful medical encounters thereafter related to my breast cancer saga.  I really just wanted to hide under some big pink flamingo feathers and hibernate.  But that's no way to go about life when challenges threaten to take you down.  So, as usual,  I secluded myself in Nannyland and went to work trying to design a card with my limited mojo.

One step at a time, my card came together and I ended up with something that expresses my love for my extremely supportive hubby who bears all my burdens with me with calm patience and optimism.  I cut my flamingos and leaves out of white card stock and shaded them with Copic markers.  The detailed layers on Spellbinders dies make it simple to create stunning dimension without much thought.  I wasn't sure if my Anna Griffin background die was too busy, but I actually like the lattice screen look it gives my card.  I couldn't help zhuzhing up my cute flamingo couple with the crown that comes in the die set and some small flowers from other sets.  I was actually a little shocked that my card came together so easily with stress zapping my energy, but I really like the results and so did my hubby.  

I'm an advocate for the healing powers of creativity.  The blissfully calm hours I've spent creating during some of life's most difficult times have proven to be life savers for me throughout my whole life and especially during my 19-year breast cancer saga.  Thanks to many blessings from a loving God, I'm still here, still creating, and still loving it.

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

                                                                  Playing along with:

Moving Along With Times Challenge #169

Cardz 4 Galz Challenge #231

The Paper Funday Challenge #68

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #474

A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge #8

Ally's Angels Challenge #85

Morgan's Artworld Challenge #79

Once Upon A Time Challenge #25

PINspirational Challenge #316

Classic Design Challenge #8

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

Anna Griffin Carte Homme Anniversary Card

Dressing well is a form of good manners.  Tom Ford

Hey there from Nannyland,

I can't believe I finished my Anniversary card almost a month early this year! I love these adorable Anna Griffin Carte Homme dies so much, I just couldn't wait to use them.  I'm extremely proud of myself for creating a legit guy card, even though dressy suits with fancy patterned ties and pocket squares could be considered a little borderline.  

I chose a 6 x 6 paper pad from my stash in navys and grays with double-sided papers that work well for the folded lapels that expose the prints on the other side.  The patterned lapels and pockets added to the posh look I was going for.  I discovered another paper pad with small matching prints for the ties and pocket squares.  All the pieces in the die set make it possible to create many different looks with either a bow tie or a regular tie. So fun!!!

This card measures 5 x 1/2 by 8 1/2  (a standard 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of card stock folded in half) to accommodate all three suits easily in my design.  Envelopes are easy to find for this size but extra postage might be required.  I knew I would be delivering this one in person, so I wasn't worried.  I created the sentiment in Cricut Design Space with the cutting, writing and offset features.  I used foam tape behind the lapels and bowtie for dimension.  I also adhered the center suit to the card base with foam tape. I added tiny gold metallic embellishments for lapel pins and lined the red card base and sentiment with a gold leafing pen. 

Another masculine card for the books.  I'm getting there!

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

        Playing along with:

Moving Along With The Times Challenge #156

The Paper Funday Challenge #55

Shopping Our Stash Challenge #501

Dream Valley Challenge #297

Addicted to Stamps Challenge #450

Try it on Tuesday - Use 3 Colors (Red, White ,Blue)

Avenue 613 Create July Challenge 

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #7

Classic Design Challenge #7

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #113

Charming Little Regency Miss - Mo Manning Kate Digital Stamp

There is no charm equal to tenderness of the heart.  Jane Austen

 Hey there from Nannyland,

This little Mo Manning miss is absolutely delightful, from her Regency style bonnet and frock to her pretty tulip and dainty slippers. She looks like she just stepped out of one of my favorite Jane Austen novels. Her name is Kate and you can find her in Mo's Digital Pencil shop HERE.  

I colored her darling gown and apron in Copic pastel blues, pinks and grays.  I showcased her fashionable straw hat with bright shades of yellow and adorned the pink ribbon with tiny Spellbinders flowers.  After fussy cutting her, I attached her with mounting tape to an ornate Anna Griffin die cut and embossed door, where she remains waiting for a visit from Mr. Darcy. The Jane Austen quote tag was created in Cricut Design Space using the cutting and writing features. The door and tag are lined with silver foil card stock. 

I hope I have inspired you to create a piece of art that transports you to a place and time you love to dream about. After all, imagination is the stuff that sparks creativity. 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

    Playing along with:

Creative Fingers Challenge #258

Krafty Chicks Challenge #670

The Paper Funday Challenge #54

A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge #7

Classic Design Challenge #7

The Creative Crafters Challenge #65

Worldwide Crafters and Colorists Challenge #6

A Gem of a Challenge Wk 13

Polkadoodles Challenge Wk26

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge # 208

 

Flapper Emma - Pink Gem Designs Digi

 Be okay with not knowing for sure what's coming next, 
but know whatever it is, you will be okay. 

Hey there from Nannyland,

Yayyyy!  I'm basking in all the wonderful creative vibes swirling around Nannyland after my surgery last week and it's absolutely blissful. It's so good to shut the world out and imerse myself in a wonderland full of positive possibilities.  I haven't colored for a while but I'm feeling my mojo slowly returning and I think a Copic session would perk me right up.  Until then, I'm happy that I saved this elegant lady I created before my surgery to bring on some springtime cheer.

This adorable image from Pink Gem Designs is called Flapper Emma. I used a complimentary yellow, lavender and aqua pallette to create a bright, vivid design.  After adhering my Copic colored image to my embossed  Anna Griffin oval frame,  I added some pearls and mounted it on a yellow  5 x 7 card base.  The pearl and gem studded flowers adorning Emma's hat and frame are from Spellbinders.  Purple and gold gems trim her hat band and necklace.  I found the perfect gold sentiment in my stash to complete the layout.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that creative, happy thoughts work hand-in hand with lifesaving drugs and are a very important part of healing.  How blessed we are as makers to have access to this restorative and envigorating tonic.  Let the creative revival begin.

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply

Playing along with:

A Place to Start April Challenge

CD Sunday Plus Challenge #108

A Gem of a Challenge Wk 8

Crafty Calendar April Challenge

Craft Rocket Challenge #102

Creative Inspirations Challenge #1

Creative Knockouts Challenge #492

Worldwide Crafters and Colorists Challenge #4

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #4

Classic Design Challenge #4

Friends and Family Christmas Card - Anna Griffin Nativity Easel Card

Joy comes from and because of Him.
       Russell M. Nelson

Hey there from Nannyland,

Designing my yearly Christmas card to send to friends and family is always one of the most stressful  challenges I face during the busy holiday season.  Happily, this year I had Anna Griffin's Nativity Easel Card Dies to make the task simpler.  The die set includes the easel card base and all the layering pieces, so all I had to do was choose how I would use them and in what colors. And, of course, die cut and assemble the card. And address and send them.  Sooo...yeah. 

I  printed beautiful night sky paper from my digi library and I love the way it looks in my background.  I chose glossy gold foil  and white cardstocks for my layers because the embossing shows up nicely on them (much better in person). I created the sentiment "stoppers" in Cricut Design Space and signed them in a script font, which saved my tired pinkies from having to sign each card individually.  I have pared down my list to about 30 cards, which is still a little labor intensive, but when done in assembly line fashion, goes pretty fast.  I was able to finish my cards before Thanksgiving this year, which is a huge accomplishment for me.  It felt so good to have them done so I could concentrate on some handmade gifts for the people on my list, decorating the house and holiday recipes.    

Next year I'm determined to get my cards finished early again.  It was blissful knowing all I had to do was add envelopes and stamps when my holiday calendar began to squeeze me for time.

A lot of people don't know what an easel card is, so I printed this note on card stock, which also served as a protector for mailing my layered card.  

I didn't manage to get my Christmas quilting projects done this year, so one of my 2023 resolutions will be to start sewing them in July.  Seriously,  I think I can pull it off.  I'll be posting them next Christmas.  Another New Year's resolution is to think positively. 😀

Merry Christmas, everyone.  Stay well and have a blessed time with friends and family.

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Playing along with:

Allsorts Challenge wk 707

Crafters Cafe Challenge #292

Crafts Galore Encore December Challenge

Moving Along With The Times Challenge #149

QKR Stampede Challenge #457

The Four Seasons Challenge Winter

Incy Wincy December Challenge

Die Cut Divas December

Anna Griffin Haunted House Easel Card

August is fine, September's keen, but wake me up when it's Halloween.

Hey there, welcome to Nannyland,

Who can resist a spooky haunted house, with all its creepy, ghostly amusement?  When I saw this fabulous easel card die from Anna Griffin, I knew it was for me.  It comes with the door and window frames, the pumpkin, ghost and bat embellishments.  A craftsy, glittery, rhinestones and glue party just waiting to happen. 

Even though haunted houses are usually dark and foreboding, I wanted mine to have some of my signature bright cheerful colors. I still have the typical orange, purple and black going on here, but my green is more of a chartreuse, which I think creates a more upbeat color palette. I had a blast cutting these dies out and embossing them on my brand new Anna Griffin Empress machine.  It's true... I already have a Gemini, Cricut Maker and Big Shot, but this machine cuts larger size dies and embosses like no other.  I added tiny die cut flowers with rhinestone centers to my mansion's window boxes  to give it a  campy glam vibe 

I love the black kitty on the sentiment  I cut on my Cricut Maker for the stopper to prop up my easel.  (Sniff, I miss my adorable black cat, Tawnzie, who died a couple of years ago.)  I'm very happy with the way this fun easel card turned out.   It took some time, so I won't be sending one to everyone on my "card-worthy" list, but I know my Halloween-obsessed daughter will love it. 

Let the spooky shenanigans begin! 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply

Playing along with:

Tic Tac Toe Challenge #178

Crafting Happiness Challenge #131

The Fairy and the Unicorn September 2022 Challenge

SAS4Kids Challenge Cute Fall/Halloween

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday Challenge Sept.

The Paper Funday Challenge #45

Through the Craft Room Door Challenge September 1

A Place to Start Challenge #092022

Stacked Gifts Christmas Card - Anna Griffin Slimline Dies

 I love the rebelliousness of snail mail, and I love anything that can arrive with a postage stamp.  There's something about that person's breath and hands on the letter.   Diane Lane

Anna Griffin Gifts slimline die, slimline frame die,
 Cricut Design Studio tag, assorted gems, digital paper

Hey there from Nannyland,

Have you spent countless hours every holiday season creating special handmade cards for your family and friends?  Then maybe you can relate to my decision (however flawed) that I would quietly ease out of this custom, starting this year.  Since I've observed that few people send snail mail Christmas cards anymore, I was sure no one would notice if my card didn't appear as usual in their mailbox. My guilt was assuaged by the fact that I would have more time to make handsewn gifts for my tribe. Imagine my chagrin when one of my friends told me she was putting away her Thanksgiving cards to make room for a very special Christmas card she knew she would be receiving from a "certain someone."  Then some of my other yearly recipients expressed excitement over receiving yet another of my "limited edition" holiday cards, which they hang on string as a banner for decorations. Apparently, we cardmakers accumulate some devoted "card groupies" over the years! Who knew? 

So, in a panic, I reconsidered my scrooge-like decision and scrambled to design a card that I could assemble quickly.  I found this stylish slimline stacked-gifts die from Anna Griffin and it turned out to be a happy solution to my frenzied meltdown. I used several digital Christmas prints for the die cut gifts and added fussy cut embossed silver bows.  I created the tag in Cricut Design Space and attached it with silver thread to one of my gifts. Coordinating gems added some holiday sparkle. The silver base panel is a stitched slimline die.  A couple of intense cutting and gluing days later I had twenty cards ready to send to my card-worthy tribe. I still have more to do, but I feel so satisfied that I decided to keep my card making ritual. What was I thinking?  Some Christmas traditions are meant to stay.

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Playing along with:

Winter Wonderland End of Year Challenge

C.R.A.F.T Challenge #620

The Paper Funday December Challenge

Creative Craft Cottage Challenge #146

Die Cut Divas December Challenge

                                                                       QKR Stampede Challenge #433

Creative Fingers Challenge #220

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #330

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