Painterly Wishes - Spellbinders Artful Brush Dies

 You can't go back and change the beginning
but you can start where you are and change the ending.
C.S. Lewis

Hey there from Nannyland,

I always love the calm and serenity I experience with Copic coloring, but sometimes manipulating die cuts to create a colorful composition is the best way to bring calm to my unsettled soul.  Systematically arranging, attaching and embellishing are so satisfying and soothing. That was the case when I created these frilly paintbrush cards as I go through  testing and await some concerning medical results for the next couple of weeks. I love retreating into the safety of Nannyland to feel the unencumbered joy of creating and I always find the tranquility I seek here. 

These whimsical paintbrush dies are from Spellbinders and come in sets with large and small sizes and a variety of accessories to decorate them. I die cut the ferrules and handle tips in silver foil card stock and the wood embossed handles in white card stock. I used a fun drippy paint blob to embellish this paint brush, along with Heartfelt Creations handmade flowers, silver and purple punched swirls and leaves, and a silver layered butterfly that came with the set.  

Here I used the same embellishments and added some Copic coloring to the paint bristles

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The size of the paint brushes perfectly fit into the stitched frames I used to create my slimline cards. I used Hero Arts stamps and dies to create the sentiments.  The Create Art sentiment was created in Cricut Design Space. 

I hope I have inspired you to assemble some beautiful art with your favorite dies.  Go forth and organized them into a beautiful masterpiece! 

Thanks for visiting Nannyland.

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

Nancy (aka Pink Panoply)

Playing along with:

The Paper Funday Challenge #50

Crafting Happiness Challenge #139

Stamps & Fun = Creativity Challenge 425

We Love 2 Create Challenge #1

Polkadoodles Challenge Wk4

Creative Fingers Challenge #247

Creative Knockouts Challenge #487

Classic Design Challenge #2

A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge #2

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #2

Cactus Garden Inspiration - Stamped Succulent Cards

👉   Once a year go someplace you’ve never been before.

Hi everyone,

Ever wonder why artists are so obsessed with succulents? I didn't appreciate their unique charm until I hiked through the desert hills (uphill both ways) on a fascinating adventure exploring the amazing landscapes of Southern Utah. These gorgeous creations pop up everywhere amid the colorful desert mesas adding texture and beauty to the magnificent scenery.  How their gorgeous blossoms survive in the hot arid climate is truly a mystery!

When I returned home I knew I had to use some of my cactus stamps to create some bright summer cards for friends.  Three small neglected potted cactus stamps (two from Hero Arts) called to me from my stamp shelf so I took them down  and colored them with copic markers.  I found directions for this Double Z Joy Fold Card here and created a pattern in Cricut Design Space.   

My plan was to use a bright  yellow, aqua and purple palette for all my cards but when I saw this patterned paper resembling a desert sunset, I had to experiment with it. Sometimes you gotta just go with your mojo.

My original  yellow and orange sunset, coupled with a more intense aqua sky,  created a bright card with  more contrast. I saw all shades, bright and subtle, in the desert sunsets I witnessed on my trip, so I couldn't go wrong here.

I still haven't decided which pallete I like best.    Got a fave?

Sitting in a lovely cactus garden in the warm sun is heaven.   Definitely a halcyon day.

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

Playing along with:

        Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

        Dream Valley Challenge #182 - All Things Bright and Beautiful
        Stamps + Fun = Creativity - #327 - Summer
        Heartful Stamping Challenge
        Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Challenge #84
        The Corrosive Challenge - Anything Goes
        Dare 2B Artzy Challenge - Bright Colors

Altenew Peony Bouquet Flip Cards

I adore these Tonic Studio Flip Flop die sets when I need to make something special and don't have much time.  I got a little panicky last night when I realized I needed to make two birthday cards and a sympathy card for today.  

                                         

I stamped these lavender flowers with Tim Holtz distress Ink.  The layers on these Altenew Peony Bouquet stamps are pretty easy to line up in my Misti if I just pick a few spots to concentrate on.

I'm into stripes lately, both in my quilt borders and cards.  They just seem to coordinate with everything.  This beautiful gold and white striped Stampin' Up vellum called to me from my stash.

I used two different Tonic Flip Flop dies, an oval and a rectangle.  The die cut sets include a large die to cut the flip flop card (over 5 x 7) which can be sized to different dimensions and several layering dies for the shape area. There's a sentiment die for the center, but I chose to pop up my peonies for my focal point and put my sentiment on the back.  I dug out my Marvy stamp pads from a hundred years ago and now I remember why I love them so much.  The pinks and reds stamped very evenly and I am happy with the bright, vivid colors. Good thing I have the reinkers because I think I'll be using them a lot for my layered stamps.

The little swirls around the flowers were the scraps from the die cut frame.  Glad I didn't throw them away!  I added a pretty sparkly gold bow to my side panel and some sequins to match the flowers and I'm almost done.

I use tons of die cut sentiments because I can put them anywhere on the card, even over stamped images, and I don't have to worry about ink smudges.  This "Prayers" image is from Hero Arts and it has several stamp phrases to go with it.  And, of course, I messed up stamping the "sending hugs" phrase, so I just stamped it again on another piece of paper and popped it up over my boo boo. I'm a boo boo guru. 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and be fabulous.

Nancy

Adding my card to these challenges:

Crafty Creations

Dream Valley

The Card Concept

Really Reasonable Ribbon

Make My Monday
Aurora Wings

Just Keep Swimming - Hero Arts Color Layering

I love the new Hero Arts color layering stamps so much that I fear I'm in danger of collecting them all. I was so excited when I saw this Goldfish set at Joann's. I had seen this You Tube video by Jennifer McGuire and decided to give the acetate window panel a try. This technique is a little tricky at first, but after you have done it once it's easy and you can use it on many different kinds of cards.

                                           

The  beauty of these Hero Arts three-part color layering stamps is that you can use coordinating inks to build color and detail into your image without much effort. My MISTI stamp positioner helped me to line everything up easily.. 

The stamp set also includes the sea weed and the sentiment so I was able to complete the whole card with just one set.  I layered different shades and textures of blue paper (one glitter) for the "water" on the card front and added some pearls for bubbles.  I have several friends who could use this encouraging message.  How about you?

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and be fabulous.

Nancy