Colours of the Rainbow - Try it On Tuesday Guest Designer

Someday we'll find it, the Rainbow Connection, the lovers, the dreamers and me.  

Kermit the Frog

Mo Manning digi, fence die, leaf die, flower punch, butterfly die, colored gems, copic markers,
white gel pen, dp paper (background), computer generated sentiment (Pinterest)

Hey friends,

I'm extremely honored and excited to be a Guest Designer for the "Colours of the Rainbow" Challenge at

Try it on Tuesday

They're definitely one of my favorite challenges and this theme is right up my alley,  as a glimpse of my blog will attest. I have been dying to color this darling Mo Manning image of Cinderella's "less attractive" step sisters, and I thought they would be perfect for this card about letting your wacky self shine.  I did have to alter their faces a bit because the original image made them look a little angry.  I wanted them to look more quirky than mean, so I gave them some cute crooked smiles. And, of course, their sassy outfits had to fit their vibrant personalities.

This z-fold card base is one of my favorites because it has so much real estate to play with.  I tried creating it in Cricut Design Space but I just couldn't seem to get the measurements  right for the folds.   I realized it was much easier just to measure and score the folds by hand.  The finished card measures 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 and fits in a standard square envelope.

The sentiment on this card says it all.  As those of us with a creative tilt know, life would certainly be boring without the full spectrum of all things bright and  beautiful, both in nature and in people.  

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something colorful.

Nancy

Playing along with:

        (Pin)spirational Challenge #242

        Always Fun Challenge #118

        Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #237

        Cutie Pie Challenge #137

        Incy Wincy Designs Challenge - Rainbows Galore

        Pammie's Inky Pinkies Challenge #1927

        Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #109

        The Corrosive Challenge #7

        Just Us Girls Challenge #495

        Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge #281

A Walk in a Digi Sunflower Garden - Make it Crafty Sunny Scene

A light heart lives long.

William Shakespeare

Copic markers, Make it Crafty digis, white gel pen, gold leafing pen

Hey friends,

Sunflowers are a favorite of one of my dearest friends so I knew exactly what I would color for her birthday card this year.  When I color an image for a card I always feel obligated to create a beautiful, comfortable place for them to live. Yes, I'm a little wacky that way but that's how I roll in my creative fantasy world.

I think charming little Abigail  from Make it Crafty  looks perfectly at home in this cheery sunflower garden.  I gave her some walking space in front of the garden fence with some foam tape.  I die cut the garden and background layers and added some gold leafing to the inner layer. I also die cut some craft foam to match the background shape and glued it to the card base to add some extra dimension.  I added white gel pen accents to my flowers and Abigail's dress.

A happy little flowery scene all ready for a birthday wish...
Happy summer, y'all.

Thanks for visiting.
Go forth and plant a sunny garden...in your yard or on a card.
Nancy

Playing along with:
        A Gem of a Challenge - Week 13
        Colour Crazy Challenge - Week 26
        Crafty Catz Challenge #469
        Creative Fingers Challenge #167  
        Digi Choosday Challenge - Week 27
        Through the Craft Room Door - Week of July 2
        Tuesday Throwdown #435
        Water Cooler Wednesday Challenge #228
     

Appliqued Bib and Burp Cloth Sets

“If I am thinking correctly,” said Pooh, “a new baby is probably, 

undoubtedly the grandest gift that could ever be.”

Hey Friends,

I've been extremely delighted about my hubby's pastrami passion for the past few months, because it means we get to go to my favorite sandwich hangout, La Bou, at least once a week.  A darling sweet young server there has taken a liking to us...well, mostly my pastrami-obsessed husband... and makes sure we always get the best service, complete with bucket loads of meat on our sandwiches.  She has even been known to push other servers out of the way so she can make our sandwiches the "right" way.

During our last visit, we noticed she might be a little pregnant.  Apparently she has been hiding it well for the past few months because she had the audacity to announce she would be going on maternity leave the very next day. How dare she!!! We said our sad goodbyes and managed to keep our despair in check until we got to our car.

When we regained our composure, we decided we wanted to give her a little gift to tell her how much we have appreciated her kind indulgence, and I knew I had some fun handmade baby items left over from my Etsy shop days.  It's nice to have my own little store to shop in when I need a small baby gift. I tucked  the bee set into a fancy bag along with a matching card and we presented it to her the next day.

 A few years ago, I bought several adorable applique images from Etsy to make these sets. I had such a good time embroidering them on my pieced bibs and burp cloths. You can see some other bibs here, here, and here  with a little more detail on earlier blogs.  I don't think I''ll be making these exact same sets again because I have some fabulous  new Accuquilt dies  that will make cutting the patterns so much simpler.  I wanted to immortalize these on my blog before they find homes with some adorable little droolers in the near future.

Our server friend is having a little girl so I hope she thinks of us when she puts the  bib on her sweet little one.  And, selfishly, I hope she comes back soon because we're sure going to miss her smile and her awesome sandwich making skills. But for now, I'm content thinking of a sweet little cheek on my lovingly handmade burp cloth.

Thanks for visiting,
Go forth and kiss a baby cheek.
Nancy

A Dress For All Occasions - Dreaming Tree Darling Dress SVG

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

Guillaume Apollinaire

Dreaming Tree SVG, Circuit, Sizzix layered sentiments and dies, DP paper pad, rhinestones, satin bow,
 gold and silver leafing pen

Hey friends,

I've seen this darling dress card everywhere on the Dreaming Tree Face Book page and now I know what all the fuss is about. This design is so clever and fun to cut and assemble, it seems no one can make just one card. I couldn't wait to download the SVG from the Dreaming Tree Website, dust off an older 12 x 12 scrapbook paper pad and go to town cutting bright bold prints for this super snazzy dress on my Cricut Explore Air 2.  Before I knew it, I had whipped up  nine cards in a flash.

These fancy frocks were delightful to embellish with satin bows, pearls and rhinestone jewelry. I was congratulating myself for creating such a hefty stockpile of  generic cards when I realized I would be mailing at least five of them right away...three to friends I haven't checked in with for a while, one to my dear friend who has just finished radiation treatment for cancer and another young lady who is undergoing surgery for thyroid cancer as I write this post. I'm so glad my creative outlet affords me such a personal way to express my love and concern to my friends.  

I'll still have a few left for thank you's, and birthdays, but I'll have get busy designing more of these chic dresses using different patterns and embellies. SO MUCH FUN!

I have this pattern all set up in Cricut Design Space so I can whip up a batch in no time, just  like baking cookies...only much more fun  (and kinder to the hips.) 

Thanks for visiting.
Go forth and create something fabulous.
Nancy

Playing along with:

        Crafty Catz Challenge #468
        Daring Cardmakers - Cut It Up
        Aud Sentiments Challenge #230
        CardZ 4 Galz - Challenge #99 - Favorite Color Combo
        Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #194
        The Sisterhood of Crafters - Any Occasion
        Paper Craft Crew Challenge #342
     

Sunflower bouquet - Power Poppy and Copics

Every accomplishment begins with the decision to try.

Edward T. Kelly

Hey friends,

Have you ever had one of those days when your creative mojo just seems to take a vacation?
After hours of trying to finish this card, the top of my desk looked like monkeys had partied there.  Sluggish  imagination  happens to me more often than I'd like and  all I can do is ride it out.  I could hardly stand to look at this card after I finished it, so I put it away,  knowing that it might improve with a fresh perspective in the morning.  And, happily, it did!  I realized my coloring wasn't so bad and the design was just fine. Isn't it great when we give ourselves some slack?

While coloring  these Power Poppy sunflowers with my copics  I realized I need more practice creating the look of texture on these smaller petals. But I love adding detail with my Prismacolors, so I was happy with my final result.  I wanted a background that wasn't too busy, and that's why I went back and forth with several different ideas.  I finally settled on my first choice, which is indeed, a little busy, but I think it looks like a lacy table cloth. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Then there was the sentiment.  What color, where, should it overlap my image?  Sheesh!!!  I just went for it and tried not to overthink it.

So here's my final card and I like the colors and the layout.  I'm proud of myself for persevering with the flowers and have vowed to practice more.  I learned a lot by "having a go" as Alyce Keegan (Kit and Clowder) would say.  The creative process can be messy sometimes, but in the end, a new creation is born, even though the birth might have been a little long and painful.😄

Thanks for visiting.
Go forth and create something fabulous.
Nancy

Playing along with:
        Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #346
        Crafting by Designs - Happy Birthday Challenge
        Crafty Creations Challenge #392
        Creative Moments Challenge #170
        Scrapy Land Challenge #116
        Word Art Wednesday Weeks #392-#393
        Through the Craft Room Door - June 18, 2019
        A Bit More Time to Craft - Challenge #94
        Make My Monday - Challenge #98
        Color Crazy Challenge - Wk 26

Father's Day Card - Dreaming Tree SVG and Cricut

Happy Father's Day, friends, 

Guy cards...why are they always such a challenge?  For me, I think it's because it's hard to curb my fancy girlie urge to over embellish.  Although I really love clean and simple cards, they're just not my style. So when I saw this fun SVG in Dreaming Tree, I knew it was a Father's Day card I could wrap my fussy fingers around.  It's bright and cheery but still manly enough for me to get away with.

The SVG had all the parts and was easy  to cut on my Cricut and assemble.  It had a clever shutter mechanism on the inside that opened to reveal the photograph.  It seemed simple enough but I decided to skip it and just glue my picture under the frame.  It was much easier and the impact was only a little less dramatic.  It actually looks a little cleaner this way so I used that as my excuse for not using the extra parts. 

I love the cute belly band with the bow tie that holds the card closed.  I really think the whole design is adorable (though manly, of course).  Thank heavens for people who can design guy cards so those of us who are "masculine card challenged" can make cards for the men in our lives  without having to ruminate about it.  I saw lots of  really fun cards for guys on the Dreaming Tree site so, thankfully,  I think I'm covered for a while. 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and create something fabulous.

Nancy

Playing along with:
        Avenue 613 Create Challenge #222
        Dragonfly Dreams Challenge - Man/Boy
        Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #108
        A Gem of a Challenge Wk11
        Crafty Calendar June Challenge - Masculine
        QKR Stampede Challenge 352
        Through the Purple Haze Challenge #157
        Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #193
        Cardz 4 Guys Challenge #221
        Die Cuttin' Diva's Challenge #424

     

Coloriscious Hummingbird in Copics- Kit and Clowder May Class

Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.

John De Paola

Copics, white gel pen, gold leafing pen, corner dies, Power Poppy Hummingbird digi, 

I chose to color the lined version of this beautiful Power Poppy digi in Alyce Keegan's copic coloring class this month, even though she suggested we go for the no-line image.  I've experienced some problems with no-line coloring in the past, and I think I'm just afraid to take off my training wheels.  Alyce goes through the coloring step-by-step in her classes and once I got started, I was sorry I didn't go for no lines. It was actually less forgiving shading with the black lines but I kept with it and in the end I liked how it turned out.  I'll be braver coloring sans lines next time because I got some good practice shading this one.

I decided to make a card for one of my friends who would appreciate the gorgeous hummingbird and  flowers on this image.  I wanted my image to take center stage, but I also wanted it to have some texture and depth.  In the middle of the night, I got the idea to raise the focal images with mounting tape.  I had to fussy cut very carefully but  I really like the result.  (It shows up much better in person.)  I lined the front panel with a gold leafing pen  and tucked  a couple of gold fancy corners underneath the raised main panel.  I really love the colors Alyce picked for this image.  Bright and vibrant and just my style!

Thanks for visiting,
Go forth and create something fabulous.
Nancy
        Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #64
        Color It! Create it! Show it Off! June Challenge
        Creative Craft Cottage Challenge #119
        CCC Digi Creations Challenge #104
        Alphabet Challenge - F is for Flowers
        Creative Fingers Challenge # 65
        Crafting With An Attitude - Challenge #52
        Time Out Challenges - Nature
        Moo-Mania & More
        Rainbow Card Challenge #6