Machine Appliqued Lion Bib and Giraffe Self Binding Receiving Blanket

My friend was blessed to receive a very special late Christmas gift this year.  Just two days after Christmas, her daughter gave birth to an adorable baby boy, who joins three very jubilant siblings. I always keep a few of my machine appliqued baby bibs and blankets on hand for these joyful events because they happen so often!  If riding in a one-horse open sleigh is fun, then making these bibs and blankets must be a close second.  There is a huge variety of darling digital embroidery patterns on the internet so personalizing is a snap. Immediate downloading is also a perk.  Etsy is my favorite place to shop for baby embroidery files because the many and varied sellers offer the cutest original digital files and so far they have all stitched up beautifully. The cute little lion on this handmade patchwork bib was very simple and fun to stitch. You can check out some others I have created and the directions for them  here and here.

I always add an absorbent terry cloth backing and easy to use snaps on my handmade bibs.

Also waiting in my stash for this sweet little guy to cuddle in was this colorful giraffe receiving blanket  

Here are some good instructions on how to create this flannel self binding blanket.

And, of course, a matching card.  

Can't wait to bundle my handmade love in a bright package and go visit this little cutey and his  happy, relieved mom.  

Happy New Year, Everyone.

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

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

Vellum Overlay - Stampin Up Rose Wonder

Vellum is like a lovely lady who is always the belle of the ball as long as you treat her with respect...she  just doesn't like to be tousled. I went on a search in my craft room for a large open line floral image and was elated to find Stampin Up's Rose Wonder, one of my favorite and most versatile stamp sets. The bonus is this set has matching die cuts.  I was so happy not to have to stamp and emboss my image on the vellum. All I did was glue the beautiful die cut image to the vellum overlay.  Lady vellum doesn't like too much heat either!

I usually reach for  pastels when I color my flowers with Copics but I'm glad I opted for brilliant pinks this time.  They show up so beautifully through the vellum. 

I cut my vellum flap about an inch larger than the front of my card so I could tuck it between the layers and attach it without glue showing.  The vibrant colors of my rose were subtle and pretty under the translucent vellum but I wanted to make sure the recipient of my card could lift the vellum to take a peak at the unmasked brightly colored rose  underneath ...kinda like two cards in one.

This was one of those cards that simply evolved as I created it, and I really like how it turned out. I can't wait to try it in another color...blue maybe?  I love, love, love lady vellum.  I'm going to see that she gets out more often.

I'm adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday
Stampin' Royalty

Freshly Made Sketches
The Card Concept

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and be fabulous.

Nancy