Craftiness is Happiness - Paper Shelter and Cricut

 “The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before.”      Dieter F Uchdorf

Paper Shelter digi stamp, Cricut Design space and writing feature,
Copic markers, green acrylic dots, gold leafing pen, purple glitter card stock

Hey there, 

I'm certain many of you will enthusiastically agree with the notion that craftiness truly is happiness!  We creative types are so blessed to have found a passion that makes us feel so joyful and fulfilled.  Few things can compare with the exhilaration of creating something unique with our own two little ink stained hands and then displaying it or, better still, gifting it to someone wrapped in love.  It is often said that home is where your heart is.  I'll extend that to say your crafting space is where your creative soul is.

 

THIS  little paper crafting cutie from The Paper Shelter looks blissful surrounded by her tools of the trade.  It was so tempting to use a rainbow of  Copics when coloring this, with all the art paraphernalia surrounding her. With super human restraint,  I managed to keep my main palette to purple, green and blue, reserving the rainbow for her pencils markers and paper.  I created the shaped card base in Cricut Design Space, as well as the sentiment tag.  The focal panel is raised a bit with mounting tape and all the panels are lined with a gold leafing pen. 

Several of my crafty friends would be perfect recipients of this card, but I might just keep it displayed in my craft room to remind me how blessed I am to enjoy the raptures of being an ardent  craftophile.  Oh, wait...I made it myself...I could make more.  The perks of handmade! 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and fill your soul with crafty happiness.  

Nancy

        Playing along with:

Through the Purple Haze Challenge #179

Crafty Creations Challenge #420

Creative Moments Challenge #213

Crafty Sentiments April Challenge

Through the Craft Room Door Challenge April 27

Crafting Happiness Challenge #94

Get Creative Challenge #100

Path of Positivity Challenge #90

Crafter's Castle #40

The Corrosive Challenge #4

Accuquilt Chimney Sweep BOB Quilt

If you see me with a seam ripper, now is not the time.

 

Hey there,

Quilting is one of my favorite chill activities and, sadly, the one I seem to make the least time for among all my crafty pursuits.  I guess it's because it takes time and effort to set up my sewing space to my exacting ergonomic specifications  and it creates a bit of disarray in my craft room for a few days.  But I'm in heaven the whole time I'm sewing, so it's worth a little bit of temporary chaos.  And I LOVE creating unique treasures for my special tribe.  It's delightful to join a tapestry of  bright happy fabric in colors that only have one job...to play well together.  When I proudly present my masterpiece to my beloved recipient,  I think of it as an enduring, adoring hug. Yes, I know a baby or a dog might leave his mark on it, but a few cycles through the washing machine (or not) will give it cozy character. 

I die cut this fun classic block with the Accuquilt Chimney Sweep Block on Board in just a couple of hours!  What's not to love about accurate piece cutting in so little time.  The pieces are much easier for me to sew together with  their uniform size.  I usually make lap or baby quilts because they go pretty fast and are within my price range to have professionally quilted. Longarm quilting is worth the cost to me because the results are so beautiful and durable...and it saves my aching back. 

My daughter is arriving from Denmark tomorrow to get her covid vaccination a few months earlier than she would in Copenhagen.  I haven't seen her for a year and a half, so I'm beyond excited.  She's an on-line therapist and will be working from here as she quarantines for a while, so I'll have some quiet time to sew.  It will be so nice to quietly work in my craft room knowing that my sweet baby, (37 years old) will be occupied quietly close buy.  I miss those days!!!

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and dig out a UFO (unfinished object) that you've been longing to finish.

Nancy

You Are So Special - Kit and Clowder Pretty Posies Class

 Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience. 
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Power Poppy Dancing Dafodils digi stamp, Copic Markers, gold metallic card stock,
white gel pen, Tattered Lace frame dies, card stand die, 

Hey there,

Three years of Kit and Clowder classes are tucked away in binders on my shelf, waiting for me to take the time to follow along with Alyce's expert video instructions. It's a treat to open them and discover my next coloring challenge.  Trouble is, I love coloring images of feminine women so I have lots of practice coloring skin, hair and clothing but not so much anything else. I have challenged myself to take on varied floral images to gain more confidence when they show up as part of my coloring.  

Flowers come in such an array of  gorgeous forms and colors, they are a joy to shade and shape with Copics. I colored the lovely blooms in this Kit and Clowder January 2020 class for a spring card for my friend.   Alyce shows us how to add texture and depth which is useful on any type of floral image. I usually make a card of my finished artwork so I can pass it on to someone I love.  Since my shaped card base doesn't  stand flat for display,  I created a die cut stand in white. I printed the sentiment using the writing feature in Cricut Design Space.

Flowers are such a delight to color and very forgiving with all their uniqueness.  After all, nothing in nature is perfect but  most of it is absolutely stunning. I think I'll set out for a walk and fill my eyes with all the hues and textures of my magnificent southwest landscape.  It's a happy sunshiny spring day out there. 

Thanks for visiting,

Go forth and observe the beauties of nature and then create something fabulous in their image.

Nancy 

Playing along with: 

Creative Knockouts#397

Crafty Gals Corner #218

The Sisterhood of Crafters Mellow Yellow

The Paper Funday Challenge #28

Digi Choosday Cjhallenge Wk 15

Ike'sworld Challenge #143

Shopping our Stash Challenge #443

Use Your Stuff Spring/Easter

Avenue 613 Create Challenge #4

Crafty Calendar April Challenge - Spring or Easter

You Are Something Magic - Conie Fong Princess Kiara

Let your dreams be your wings. 

Conie Fong Kiara Princess digi, Copic markers, Cricut frame, Cricut sentiment,
gold glitter card stock, Xpressit blending paper, pink iredescent gems, gold Stickles 

 Hey there,

You know that magical  place where exquisitely beautiful princesses fall in love with dashingly handsome princes and they ride away together on a magnificent white steed to an enchanted castle in the clouds? I think it's at the corner of Hallmarkland and Craftyville.  I'm so happy to visit there regularly when I sink into my craft room chair and survey my hoard filled kingdom.  I love to escape my real world challenges to a mystical burg where fairies, princesses, unicorns and well dressed animals  communicate affectionately with each other and live together in harmonious bliss. Even the witches in my world are lovely and kind. My super power is a very inventive and vivid  imagination.  What's yours?

I recently found the time to color THIS gorgeous Conie Fong Princess Kiara image from a Kit and Clowder class.  Dress folds and transparent fabric are often a bit challenging for me, but I always love  practicing my shading skills on something pretty like this princess frock with gradient shades of blue and pink.  Flowers are also a neglected skill that I enjoy revisiting.  I fussy cut my image to include the castle in the distance and mounted it  in sections with mounting tape on a glittery gold Cricut-cut frame embellished with pink iridescent gems.  I embellished the flower centers with gold Stickles and created the sentiment tag in Cricut Design Space.

My card recipient is my beautiful daughter who turns 41 this month.  She's Disneyland-obsessed so I know she'll appreciate this nod to Cinderella. She'll always be the little cutie who sat and watched Disney movies with me for hours back when the world seemed a little more mellow.  Young souls never grow too old for magic. 

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and BELIEVE.

Nancy

Playing along with:

Aud Sentiments Challenge #272

Classic Design Challenge April # 4

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge #86

   Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #4

Crafty Sentiments Designs April

Avenue 613 Create Challenge #4

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #C155

Stamping Sensations April - Fantasy and Magical

The Fairy and the Unicorn April Challenge

Creative Fingers Challenge #205

 

Happy Birthday, Doll - Julie Nutting Cassandra Stamp

The meaning of life is to find your gift.  
The purpose of life is to give it away.    William Shakespeare

Julie Nutting Cassandra stamp, Copic markers, Cricut card base, gold leafing pen,
 dp for dress and background, handmade flowers, beaded lace bow, butterfly die,
 beaded swirls, assorted gems, pom pom trim, 

 

Hey there,

Yipeeee!  Covid vaccinations abound and my friends and family are finally able to visit us in our new home.  Next week we will have two families staying just two days apart.  I'll be joyfully anticipating and frantically preparing for their stays.  One of our guests, my darling niece, has a birthday on Monday, so it'll be fun to celebrate and give her this card in person with a big hug.  

I've loved my stash of Julie Nutting paper doll stamps forever and I never grow tired of dressing them up in fancy frocks and creating girly cards.  Have I mentioned I had a class with Julie in person?  Okay, maybe only a dozen times because it was so exciting and I'm in awe of her talent which she so generously shared.  I dressed this cute Cassandra doll in a paper pieced party dress and mounted her on an elegant card base which I elongated  in Cricut Design Space.  I embellished the subtle DP in my background with handmade flowers, a beaded lace bow and a die cut metallic butterfly with added vellum wings. I created even more sparkle by adding gems to my birthday girl's metallic crown and swirly vines for her to dance in.  Every birthday card needs a bit of bling, right?  My stamped birthday message found a perfect place to live amongst all the party hoopla. 

I'm slowly getting on the slimline card bandwagon and this card might qualify because it fits in a regular size 10 envelope.  I'm collecting a few pretty slimline dies, so stay tuned for some proper skinny cards to come.  I think a little change is in order as the pandemic fog lifts! 

Thanks for visiting,

Go forth and get vaccinated and then hug some vaccinated loved ones!

Nancy

Playing along with:

Crafty Creations Challenge #419

Little Red Wagon Challenge #595

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #312

Crafty Sentiment Designs ATG

Through the Craft Room Door Wk beginning March 30

A Gem of a Challenge #7

Sweet Stampin' - Special Woman

Creative Moments Challenge #211

Prima Princess Alexis - Bloom With Grace

There is nothing in nature that blooms all year long, so don't expect yourself to do so either. 

Prima Princess Alexis stamp, Copic markers, Anna Griffin background die, Cricut cutting and writing feature, gold leafing pen, white gel pen, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, blue card stock, mini flower die cuts with Nuvo centers

Hey there,

Prima Princess stamped images are an absolute delight to color with  Copic markers!  My stamps  sometimes get lonely hanging out in their stamp storage because it's faster for me to print a digi image precisely sized to fit my card.  THIS large stamp fits a 5 x 7 card perfectly and I think she's  absolutely dazzling.  I was happy for the much-needed practice coloring flowers on this elegant image.  My challenge was to create a subtle background to accentuate her lovely, coquettish pose.

I die cut an Anna Griffin swirly background four times and glued the dies together to create dimension for my background.  With all the fabulous detail in this image, my sentiment was enough to complete my design. I printed and cut the sentiment on a label shape using my Cricut Maker.  I edged it with a gold leafing pen and added a bejeweled punched butterfly.   I embellished the foreground bouquet with a few mini flower die cuts with Nuvo drop centers. One of the large blooms is adhered with mounting tape for dimension.  I added details to the flowers and berries with a white gel pen. 

This card will be sent with love and paper hugs to my friend in California.  Birthday cards are my fave!

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and bloom gracefully.

Nancy

Playing along with:

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #410

Fab 'N' Funky Challenge #516

The Sisterhood of Crafters Easter/Spring

Passion for Markers Challenge #584

Unicorn Challenge #63

Retro Rubber Challenge #154 (stamp approximately 5 years old)

Classic Design Challenge #3

Morgan's ArtWorld Challenge #3

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #142

Allsorts Challenge Week 616

Creating Handmade Flowers - Tim Holtz and Heartfelt Creations

Surround yourself with people who allow you to blossom. 

Hey there,

I have to admit...I'm a little obsessed with YouTube crafting and quilting videos and spend hours exploring the new products and techniques people so generously share there.  Another passionate obsession of mine is creating handmade flowers.  I just love coloring them, arranging their petals, and adding bling accents like gems and glitter.  So when I happened upon THIS Tim Holtz video and realized I already had the inks and Sizzix dies he was demonstrating, I got busy last weekend creating some pretty embellishments to have on hand for my cards.  I'm not much for messy techniques, but I actually took out my Distress Oxides and water color paper, and created the background paper I used with Tim's dies to make these layered blooms.

I have several Tim Holtz wildflower die sets and I don't use them enough because I can never decide how to color them.  I usually cut them out of white card stock and color them with  Copics.  This time I used water colors and I really like how easy it was to get this pretty painterly look.  I plan to add details with colored pencils when I attach them to my cards.

My favorite Heartfelt Creations flowers are shown in THIS video from my tutorial menu.  They are a delight to create and they turn out beautifully.  So much fabulous texture for so little effort. They are created by sponging ink on the stamped images, die cutting them, adding them to a mold and running them through a high profile die cutting machine like the Big Shot.

I added micro beads and glitter to the centers of these flowers and stickles to the edges of the petals. So subtle and elegant. 

These flowers were created using vellum instead of card stock for a more delicate look.  I used white holographic embossing powder to stamp and emboss the flowers and then colored them with Copics on the back.  I die cut them and molded them the same as the regular flowers, but they need to be handled with a little more care because they are easier to tear when they're wet.  They add a frilly,  classy elegance to my cards.. 

These are a little too large for most of my cards, but I know I'll find a use for them on other projects. I played with adding complimentary colored gems to their centers so they really are quite eye-catching in person.  

I also enjoy creating textured leaves with Heartfelt Creations "Leafy Accents".  They add beautiful texture to all my flowers and can be torn apart to fit my arrangements. 

I die cut tiny flowers, leaves and insect accents to add personality to my flower creations.  Small gems and Nuvo drops give them a little interest and dimension.   I keep them in bead trays I find at Walmart so I always have them close at hand.

I don't have any affiliation with Tim Holtz or Heartfelt Creations...I just really love the layered flowers I can create with their products.  There are a million ways to make lovely flowers just waiting for me to discover out there on the www.  So many blossoms...so little time.

Thanks for visiting.

Go forth and produce a patch of  pulchritudinous paper posies. 

Nancy