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

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

Mo Manning Guest Designer - Amity Gives Thanks

Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. 
And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.  Maya Angelou

Mo Manning Amity digi, Cricut die cutting, gems, gold leafing pen, paper flowers, Copic markers

Hey there from Nannyland,

                                                   

I am beyond thrilled to be a Guest Designer for Mo's Digital  Pencil Challenge  Blog this month. The optional theme is Anything Goes with the optional theme of Thanks and her talented Dream Team has created some beautiful inspiration for you. 

I invite you to pop on over to Mo's challenge blog and join in this fabulous challenge. 

  

Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge Blog

 

For the Thanks theme I chose this adorable image called Amity.  Mo's amazing artwork introduced me the the magical world of digi stamps many years ago and changed my card making forever.  Her images are full of personality and her art skills are epic. 

 

I created the base for this easel card in Cricut Design Studio and sized my image to fit the inner panel.  The card is 5 x 7, so there's plenty of real estate for this sweet little pilgrim to thoughtfully lounge on her pumpkins.  I colored her with  Copic markers and mounted her to a cloudy digi background.  The sentiment was also created in Cricut Design Studio.

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 #218

Polkadoodles Challenge Wk 45

Time Out Challenge #200

Tic Tac Toe Challenge 138

Little Red Wagon Challenge #626

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #328 

QKR Stampede Challenge #431

World Wide Open Design Team Challenge #10

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

We'll Always Be Friends - Digi Doodle Studios Maddy and Molly Digi Stamp

A circle is round, it has no end. That's how long I'm gonna be your friend. 

Hey there,

My new digs are offering some exciting new adventures and amazing discoveries,  but none compare to one of  the biggest perks of my new location..  My dear friend and her darling family moved away from us (and broke our hearts) many years ago, and now to my delight, we're residing in the same fabulous city.  This lovely lady has stunning strawberry tresses and two little dogs that she and her husband spoil shamelessly.  When I saw THIS Digi Doodle Studios image, I knew it was meant for the card I would create to thank her for all the loving assistance she and her hubby offered us during our challenging move. Now, our lunch and shopping dates (masked and socially distanced, of course) are filled with the same laughing and lively chatter we enjoyed when we first met thirty two years ago.

I colored adorable Maddy and her precious dog, Molly, with Copic makers and  created an easel card scene in Cricut Design Space for the grinning duo to relax in.  I backed my card panels with silver foil cardstock and added a matching iridescent flower and silver glitter leaves to accent the cool tones of my color scheme.  Clear gems accentuate the adornments on their stylish coifs.   I was excited to find the perfect sentiment stamp in my stash,

One of my favorite things about crafting is I can create something personal, from my heart,  to express my love to a cherished friend. I'll deliver this one in person after we enjoy a long awaited dinner prepared in my pristine and barely used cozy kitchen.  I plan to have it well broken in by Thanksgiving.  Life is good! 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and cherish your friends, both of the old and new variety. 

Nancy

Playing along with:

Cute Card Thursday Challenge 659

Little Red Wagon Challenge #574

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #296

Crafty Sentiments November AG

Digi Choosday Challenge Wk 44

Through the Craft Room Door Challenge November 3

Animal Friends Challenge #92

Crafty Creations Challenge #415