Hello Birthday Bouquet - Spellbinders and Elizabeth Crafts

👉  "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need".   Marcus Tullius Cicero

Hi everyone,

This gorgeous square Spellbinders  frame die seems to be a fave of mine because I keep using it over and over without  realizing it.  I'm thinking some emergency  shopping for fancy square dies  is in order.  Gonna get right on that! Squares seem to be the perfect shape for many of my card creations and I can't get the clean intricate cuts on my Cricut that I'm able to achieve with dies.  Even though this is a birthday card, I thought the hello die cut fit perfectly on the front of my card. What's more happily universal than Hello?  I can add any sentiment I want to the inside of my card to fit my occasion. 

I cut my pretty Elizabeth Craft vase die and Spellbinder frame from glossy gold card stock. It's my favorite for making every card look elegant.   The Elizabeth Craft flower dies were cut from  iridescent mylar paper and I added her peel off stickers to the centers to fit with  my gold theme.  To balance my design, I added a Martha Stewart punched glitter butterfly embellished with more peel off stickers and then an opposing die cut greeting.  This card is fairly flat compared to most of my cards and can go through the mail easily, although I always have to use "nonmachinable" postage, especially with odd shapes.  I don't mind because our cards deserve a little TLC after the time we put into them, don't they?

Greeting dies are my favorite way of adding sentiments to my cards. They add a little dimension and you can find them in all shapes and sizes.  This Happy Birthday to You is one of my favorites.  It's elegant enough to dress up the inside of my card while keeping it clean and simple. It leaves me plenty of room to write a heartfelt message. 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

Playing along with:

        Crafty Creations - Challenge #373

        Scrapy Land Challenge #96

.       The Sisterhood of Crafters Challenge - Bloomin' Flowers

        Addicted to Stamps - Challenge #306

        Stamp Art Papel - Retarte Challenge #126

        Through the Craft Room Door - August 21 Challenge

        A Perfect Time to Craft - August #08

        Happy Little Stampers - August Die Challenge

Christmas In July - Richele Christensen Class in Dixon, CA

Hi everyone,

A group of my besties and I had the privilege of attending Richele Christensen's "Christmas in July" class recently in Dixon, CA.  She is an absolutely brilliant designer for Sizzix and Tim Holtz. But best of all, she is a dear friend who started her impressive career teaching classes at the Stamp Art Shoppe near where I live.  Her loyal groupies, of which I am a proud member, love it when her busy teaching schedule includes a class  in our neck of the woods.  This gorgeous snowy  woodland scene is my favorite of the cards we made. We used the Sizzix Paper Snowflakes Thinlets, Stitched Oval Thinlets and Woodlands Thinlets for this card.

My plan is always to get my Christmas cards done way before the holidays to relieve my holiday crafting stress but, thus far, that dream has never materialized.  This year, Richele's class has put me in the mood to get my creative juices flowing with Christmas spirit early and, after this inspiring class,  I think I'm already hearing some distant jingle bells. A Stacked Baroque Thinlit and Retro Merry Christmas was used here.

                             

We made these two cards using Tim Holtz Lift Ink on a alcohol ink and Yupo  background.  Jennifer Mcguire shows how it's done in this video.  You really have to try this fascinating twofer process.  Stampers Anonymous Mini Swirl Snowflakes were used for the stamping.

I've made several shaker cards in the past with mixed results, so I tend to avoid them since the tiny bits seem to stick to places where they don't belong.  Somehow this card seemed easier to accomplish with Richele holding our hands.  However, fifty of them might be a little daunting, so I'll save this one for someone special. The winter scene stamp is from Stampers Anonymous.

Festive gift card holders were fast and easy using the Sizzix Gift Card Bag Thinlets.   

I learned some interesting new techniques in this enjoyable class and I love every card we made. You'll find Richele to be one of your favorite instructors if you are ever lucky enough to take one of her amazing classes.

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

Howdy Handsome - Lori Whitlock SVG Birthday Card

👉  When you're young and you fall off a horse you may break something.  When you're my age you splatter. - Roy Rogers

                          

Hey everyone,

Two masculine cards in a month...my head is exploding!  Late Fathers Day and early birthday celebrations this year have made for some frantic guy card making.  Lori Whitlock svg's are my go-to resource for manly cards because I can make them clean and simple, something I struggle with when left to my own devices.   I gave myself permission to  adorn my card with  a little heart  and a festive party hat  because even horses need a little flair.

I used this Lori Whitlock svg and found the heart and party hat  in Cricut Design Space. Some bright Nuvo drops spiff up my cute party hat. I even printed the "Handsome" tag with the "print then cut" option in Design Space. I thought adding the "Handsome" after Howdy would leave little question  my card was directed to my extremely good-looking husband. 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

Playing along with:

        Happy Little Stampers - August CAS Challenge

        Scrap From Your Heart - Challenge #24

        Always Happy Birthday - August Challenge

        Sunny Day Crafting - August 14 Challenge

        Moving Along With the Times - Challenge #77 For the Boys

        Ellibelle's Creative Moments - Feature a Creature

        That's Crafty - Animal Magic Challenge

Daughters of Utah Pioneers - Gold Panners Camp Invitations

👉  We should, like our pioneer ancestors, push our handcarts forward with the same fortitude they did.    - Dallin H. Oaks

Hey everyone, 

I love being a  member of Daughters of Utah Pioneers in Northern California because LDS history is so rich here.  Members of the Mormon battalion were instrumental in starting many of the first settlements in California and in fact, six battalion members were present at Sutter's Mill when the initial discovery of gold was made.   Our monthly Camp meetings are a chance for us to share histories of our pioneer ancestors and learn more about our  heritage  And best of all, anyone who is interested in pioneer history is welcome to come to our meetings so we've made some wonderful friends. This year I'm the First Vice Captain of our camp and, of course, I'm always in charge of all things crafty,  no matter what my position.  No complaints here. My first assignment for the 2018-2019 year, which starts in September, was to make a special invitation to our meeting. (We usually use email.)

More and more I'm finding  Cricut Design Space is my BFF. I found this darling handcart image in Design Space on the Heritage cartridge, along with many other vintage images I could have chosen.  I also found the mountains, grassy mound and sun image in the design library  It was a cinch to create a cute little mountain scene for my handcart and size it  perfectly for my A2 card.   I was surprised at how quickly my 26 invitations came together. I think they'll rise to the top of  piles of  junk mail to compete for attention.  After all,  happy snail mail with a hand-licked postage stamp is such  a rare treat these days. To make an invitation is human, to receive an invitation is divine.

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

Scrappy Churn Dash Quilt - Lori Holt Fabrics and Accuquilt Go

👉  My soul is fed with needle and thread.

Hi everyone,

They say life is just of bowl of cherries...and that's especially true with  these sweet Lori Holt Sew Cherry fabrics that I stitched up into a happy, scrappy, traditional quilt.  Riley Blake fabrics are always my first pick for bright, colorful vintage style quilts.  The colors make me so happy and the prints remind me of my grandma's house dresses.  (Remember those?)

I call myself a "quilter wannabe" because I still have so much to learn about the finer techniques of quilting. I am self taught, and happily I find piecing fabrics  pretty forgiving if the block isn't too complicated   And I'd be hard pressed to find a friend or family member who doesn't love cuddling under a  warm, comfy handmade quilt, even if some of the stitches are a little random.

I made plenty of mistakes on this quilt and at first I was a little bit sad that I used my favorite fabrics with such an imperfect result. But then I realized that I have learned so much about what not to do and what I really should always do,  that I think this quilt will forever be one of my favorites.

Here are some of the things I learned:

1. The final machine quilting process is HARD with a larger size quilt.  I see why people quilt with their credit cards.  More time for the actual fun part. Maybe next time.
2. The fun part is piecing!  
3. The Binding Tool is easy once you get the hang of it.  
4. Lots of white in a quilt makes the colors pop.
5. Scrappy is my fave.
6. Striped binding is my other fave.
7. The Accuquilt Go Churn Dash BOB die makes cutting so much faster and piecing infinitely easier. (Scroll down and check out the video on this link.) 
8. Learning by doing is the best way to learn.  Just wade in and get wet. 

Can't wait to use what I've learned on my next quilt...and make some more useful mistakes.

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

Life is Art - Paula Best Copic Lady

👉 I don't want life to imitate art...I want life to be art.  Carrie Fisher

Paula Best is one of my all time favorite collage artists.  She "zentangled" before doodle art was a thing.  At Stamp Conventions in the late 90's and early 2000's,  I was obsessed with collecting her unique stamps.  I was absolutely thrilled when I actually got to visit with her a couple of times and considered myself a devoted "groupie."  At the time, I didn't know her stamps would become  rare collector items, with some of the larger more detailed ones selling on Ebay and Etsy for almost $50.00 each.  After a quick Google, I was happy to discover she still has her Website, Pink Blackbird, and is continuing to make the world a more colorful place  with her amazing art,  but sadly no stamps anymore...sniff.

This gorgeous stamped lady is probably twenty years old and I have colored her many times in many ways.  Copics love her  because...well, look at all the gorgeous design elements.   I agree completely with the Carrie Fisher quote on her beautiful hat brim...I want life to be art and I believe it is.

I colored my stylish lady on Xpressit copic blending  paper and then fussy cut the image.  I created a lovely halo for her by mounting her with pop dots over a die cut wreath embellished with small paper flowers and a layered vellum die cut butterfly.  The white card front panel is edged with a gold leafing pen and mounted on a purple glitter card stock panel.   This is layered on a top folding 5 x 7 card base.

I love when old treasures keep there vibrancy and charm through the years.  I knew Paula's amazing art would stand the test of time. 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

Playing along with:

        Aurora Wings Challenge #69 - Anything Goes

        Crafty Calendar Challenge - Totally Girly

        Lemon Shortbread Challenge 72 - Anything Goes

        Try Stamping on Tuesday Challenge

        Dragonfly Journeys Challenge #122 - Summer Lovin'

        International Art and Soul Challenge #37 - Summer Fun

        Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #86

        Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers Challenge #114 - C is for Colouring

Home Sweet Home - Richele Christensen Collage Kit

👉 “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try.”– Dr. Seuss

My dear friend and incredible designer, Richele Christensen, has just opened  an Etsy Store and I was privileged to be one of the first to purchase one of her fabulous collage kits. (My finished project is the one on the left, her sample is top right.)  She is a very popular designer and all her items sold out almost immediately.  Richele has been a Tim Holtz designer for many years and is now designing for Sizzix.  She travels the globe teaching classes and making "artists" out of her adoring fans. Years ago, she was my favorite instructor at the Stamp Art Shoppe with  her talented eye for design, always making projects simple and fun.  We  felt like proper artists when we left with our new skills and beautiful handmade card creations. 

I am far from being a collage artist and my creation is a lot "stiffer" than Richele's sample but I'm proud of myself for attempting something out of my comfort zone.  My brain likes balance, order and preciseness, even when I'm trying to be free and flowing.  So a kit with detailed instructions and materials is the perfect way for me to safely wander out of my box. The design was cute and simple, ala Richele, and a pefect addition to my sewing room wall.  All I had to do was follow the instructions, cut out the pieces from a pattern, do a little fun sewing and painting,  and glue the pieces in place on the wooden vignette tray included in the kit.  I used my own fabric scraps to  match the quilts on my wall perfectly.

If you love collage art or just want to try something new and you want to create your own little masterpiece designed by an artist extraordinaire, hop on over to Richele's Etsy Store and purchase one of her wonderful kits.  

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

Playing along with:

        Creative Artiste - Mixed Media Challenge #40

        Unicorn Challenge #34 - Stitching

        Mix it Up Challenge # 15 - Mixed Media