Nancy's Creative Space

October Storm

2012-01-15T12:17:00.020-05:00

I wanted to make sure I documented the awful storm we had here in Connecticut before I forgot all the details. It was one of the most challenging experiences I've been through. So, when the next Mosaic Moments challenge came up, it seemed like a good opportunity for this layout.

Our challenge was to use Page Pattern 29, with Mist colored grid paper (a light blue), and to incorporate one of the following: felt or fleece, clear stamps, or one of the free downloads from Mosaic Moments. I decided to use white felt on my layout.

I actually used one of the clear stamps from Mosaic Moments as the design for my embroidered snowflakes on felt. I tried stamping the felt, and it worked alright, but I felt it showed too much of the ink after the embroidery was done, so I did the remainder freehand.

I had a hard time finding a background paper that looked the way I wanted it to. So I went to my favorite fallback - Hot Off The Press Color Me papers. These are papers that have an embossed design on them, that you color with your own ink pads and the design remains in place after coloring. I used a light pink, a light blue and a purple color to bring out the colors in the photo:

I also had a LOT of journaling about this experience, as well as some other pictures I wanted to include, but not necessarily show them on the main page. So I decided to duplicate the page pattern and make a two page layout, with a mini-album attached to the second page:

Here is the journaling in full:

Saturday, October 29, 2011
The weather report called for snow, but when did we ever really get snow in October? I had a crop planned for that day at Stamp and Scrap Nest. I figured I’d go and then come home after lunch. It wasn’t supposed to start snowing until early evening.

We were about half-way through lunch, and someone said “Look outside!” Darn if it wasn’t snowing – and not just flurries! It was really coming down! I live about 45 minutes away from the store, so I was already worried about getting home. I started packing as fast as I could!
The drive home was scary. I guess the cities didn’t really think it was going to snow either because the roads weren’t treated at all. It was okay until I got to the big hill on Country Club Road. Someone had decided to stop right in the middle of the road (either giving up, or using a cell phone, probably), but that really created a dangerous situation for those of us at the top of the hill trying to get around them. We were slipping and sliding all over the place!

I finally got home, my nerves about as frazzled as they ever get. I hadn’t been home fifteen minutes when the power went out.
Fortunately, it was early enough in the day, that it was still light out. We got upstairs and started pulling out the oil lamps and flashlights, and made sandwiches for dinner.

I have sleep apnea, so I use a bi-PAP machine, and I also use oxygen. Without power, I have neither. I have a large emergency tank that will work about 8 hours at 2 liters. I tried sleeping upright in the recliner with my emergency oxygen. I was able to sleep a little, but not much.
I heard a loud thump in the night. I thought at first Tony might have tripped and fallen in the dark so I called out to him. He was okay and he had heard the thump too. It was too dark to see what had caused it. We figured maybe the cats had knocked something over, and we’d wait until daylight to see what. Fairly early the next morning Tony called out “I found out what made that noise last night – part of the tree in the front yard fell on the car!”

We thought surely the power would come back on some time the next day. It didn’t. Or the next. On Monday, we heard a report on our battery-powered radio that we could be without power for a week!!! I just lost it. I was cold. I was miserable. I was hungry. I couldn’t breathe well. At that point we decided we needed to look for either a hotel room, or get a generator. None of the hotels that were open took pets, and I couldn’t leave my cats behind to freeze. It was already down to 50 degrees in the house, and getting colder.

One thing about times like this – you find out who your friends are, and who your good neighbors are! Jim and Sue Pelletier from across the street were wonderful in helping us. They came over to check on us just to be sure we were okay. They told us if they needed us to just shine a light in the window and they would come over. They came over on Monday with a power saw to help get the branches off of the car.

Our life-line during the first few days was our cell phone and a battery-operated radio. At first the cell phone started dying and we weren’t sure what we were going to do, but then Tony remembered we had a car charger!

After the first day or so, we found ourselves changing our routine. We had no television, internet or phone. During the day, we could read or do crafts, but at night you couldn’t see to do much. We started going to bed around 6:00! I started a simple afghan that I could work pretty much by feel, instead of having to see it. I finished the whole thing in about 2 days!

Tony went to Lowe’s to check into a generator. Neither of us knew much about them or how much they cost! Lowe’s didn’t have one but they said they were getting a shipment in the next day. On Tuesday, Tony stood in line for an hour to get the generator – they were passing out numbers and he was #19. It cost over $800! That of course, doesn’t include the gas to run it! We were desperate, though, so he got it, and a couple of space heaters.

Jim and Sue were helpful again in helping us get the generator going – turns out he has the exact same model. What a relief! It took a while for the heat to get going. We put one space heater in the bathroom and one in the family room. Believe me, going from 50 degrees up to 60 is like night and day!

The next thing after getting warm and having a little light, was food. We had pretty much been living off of crackers, potato chips, trail mix and one can of Spam. With no place to store food, you couldn’t keep anything perishable.

There were no grocery stores open the first few days – they had no power either. They couldn’t store produce or meat. The ATMs weren’t working. That was a real problem in the beginning – the stores that were open weren’t taking debit cards and neither were gas stations. And you couldn’t get cash, because you needed to use your debit card to get it!

I believe it was Tuesday or Wednesday when we decided we had to get some hot food and got in the car and just drove until we found something. Nothing in Bristol was open, so we headed to Plainville. We found Applebee’s open – that smart manager had gotten himself a huge generator! They apologized for the limited menu, and we told them it didn’t matter one bit to us- they could have had one item and it would have been wonderful to have a hot meal!

Tony got a little toaster oven that would be easier to run off the generator than the large stove. After he was able to find a grocery store open, he bought a small roast and we had our first home-cooked hot meal in days – it was delicious!

Our insurance company, USAA, was WONDERFUL. They gave us $500 to replace the food we had to throw away. They covered the damage to the car, and paid for removal of debris from the yard.

The power finally came back on about 6:30pm on Saturday, November 5. What a joy! I felt like dancing! This was an experience like none I’d ever had before (and hope to never have again!) I forgot to mention that Halloween trick or treat was cancelled in our area- it was just too dangerous for the kids to be out with downed lines.

What I learned:
• During a trial like this, friends, family, and neighbors are everything!
• You can find new ways to do things.
• While there are some people out there who push to the front of the line, or take advantage of the situation, for the most part, people come together and help each other.
• How much I appreciate my husband – I don’t know what I would have done without him.

Stamp Pad Storage To Die For!!

2012-01-15T12:07:00.003-05:00

I'm in love. I got my new stamp pad storage unit and I absolutely love it. I have room for all my pads - VersaMark, Ranger Distress Inks, Little Stampin' Up! Stampin Spots, Chalk Inks, and it also holds my Stickles, Liquid Pearls, reinkers, and Copic markers! I made a series of little drawers to hold my watercolors, Memento Dew Dr0ps and Perfect Pearls. It's big, but it holds EVERYTHING. And there's room on top to store my Cuttlebug!

Here's where you can get yours! http://www.stampinthings.com/ink-pad-organizer.html. Sue is wonderful to work with too.

If you'd like a copy of the pattern for the drawers, just send me your email address.

Winter Wonders - First Mosaic Moments Assignment!

2012-01-01T13:47:00.014-05:00

Our first assignment for the Mosaic Moments Design Team was a photo challenge to create a layout showing the five things that mean winter to us.

I included:
- a pot of stew (we make stew usually once a week in the winter time. It's warm plus it makes great low-fat lunches!
- coats - I hate having to put on a coat whenever I go outside. When it's time to wear a coat, it's winter!
- a thermostat - In the winter my husband and I have a constant battle with the thermostat. He's always cold and he will turn the downstairs thermostat on 80 degrees if I don't keep an eye on it! Then the upstairs will be stifling!
- a plow pushing snow out of our driveway
- and finally, a Christmas tree. A big part of winter is Christmas - getting ready for Christmas and then putting everything away for another year.

The pictures I chose gave me a bit of a challenge. Three of them went together well, with kind of pink and gray tones, but two of them had red in them. I could have printed them in black and white, but I didn't want to. So, I decided to just make my background rather neutral. I added pictures of ice-laden branches around the picture of the Christmas tree to bring out the frozen theme, plus add more of the gray/pink hues.

I used one of the snowflake stamps from the collection of goodies Mosaic Moments gave us for my border pieces, and hand-cut around them, finishing with a rhinestone in the middle.

I made a special treatment with the title. I first cut the letters out of gray metallic cardstock (Wausau). I then painted the top halves with Moonlight Smooch.

I then added a little Viva Decor pearl pen to the bottoms of the letters.

Finally I topped them with Polar White Flower Soft. That didn't give me quite the look I wanted, so I added a little Faux Snow.

Hope you like it!
Nancy

Mosaic Moments Design Team

2011-11-06T13:26:00.001-05:00

I just got word that I made the Mosaic Moments Design Team! Woohoo! So, you'll be seeing a lot more mosaic work from me on this blog! I'm most muchly mosaic happy!

Learning New Things!

2011-10-22T16:03:00.002-04:00

I'm taking an online class at My Creative Classroom on parchment craft. I've been trying to learn on my own, have bought a couple of books and some basic supplies. I'm hoping I'll get some good technique tips in this class. I already heave learned a few things about getting a more even look when dry embossing. Here are a few of my projects so far:

Mosaic Magic

2011-10-08T18:00:00.003-04:00

I am applying for the Mosaic Moments Design Team and realized I haven't posted any mosaic work in a while. So - here are a few faves! This is a technique I come back to time and time again. Sure, it takes a little while to complete a layout, but they're SO awesome when you do one!

Welcome to the Paper Wishes World Card Making Day Blog Hop!

2011-10-01T05:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the Paper Wishes (http://www.paperwishes.com/?ptpsalt) BLOG HOP - we are so glad you are here to help us celebrate World Card Making Day! Some card making day trivia for you:
• Today, card making is a worldwide hobby, especially popular in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• 1 in 6 U.S. households participates in making cards
• 86% of scrapbookers also create handmade cards
• 92% of paper crafters create cards more than any other type of project

Be sure to check out all the blogs in this blog hop, as well as visit the Paper Wishes message board (http://forum.paperwishes.com//) as there are tons of things going on there today, all sponsored by Paper Wishes, with loads and loads of great prize packages! You don’t want to miss a chance to win!
This blog hop gives you TWO ways to win!!!

First – leave a comment on ALL THE BLOGS and a random drawing will be done to choose the winner, who will get a prize package from Paper Wishes.
Second – play H.O.T.P. (Hot Off The Press) bingo with us.
• Visit each blogger on the blog hop to find their bingo square. (Make a note of the blog name for each square too!)

• Click on this link to find the official BINGO CARD (http://forum.paperwishes.com/showthread.php?p=32493#post32493). (If you aren’t a member of the Paper Wishes message board yet, you are not only missing loads of fun but you may need to register to access the bingo card!)

• To win, you will need to make a bingo (4 squares in a row, horizontal, vertical or diagonal) by doing what it shows in each square. There are some free squares; there are some where you just have to post something specific on the message board, and there are some that tell you to use something. Where it tells you to USE something, that means to make a project (any kind of papercrafting project – a card, an ATC, a bookmark, a tag, etc.) with the item listed in that square.

• When you have your BINGO ready, follow these directions:
o Go to the Paper Wishes Message Board and click on “post reply” on THIS THREAD (http://forum.paperwishes.com/showthread.php?t=2297).
o In your reply tell us the four squares you are using for your bingo.
o Tell us the square number AND the name of the blog for any squares you are using that were mentioned on a blog.
o Post the items for each square in your reply, including a picture of the project you made for any square with directions to USE something.

• We will randomly select a winner from all the correct bingo entries! Be sure that we have either your blog address or your email so that we know how to contact you if you are a winner!!!

• Your bingo must be posted to the Paper Wishes message board not later than midnight U.S. eastern time Sunday, October 2 to be eligible for the prize drawing!

The BINGO SQUARE FOR THIS BLOG IS: T10

Here are all the participating blogs for this blog hop:

Nancy (http://www.nancyscreativespace.blogspot.com/)
Penny (http://www.pennydouph.blogspot.com/)
Michelle (http://preciousthoughtscards.blogspot.com/)
Robin (http://redrobinlane-rgcarr.blogspot.com/)
Patti (http://pattiscards.blogspot.com/)
Cheryl (http://cheringpapermemories.blogspot.com/)
Sam (http://unteachablepig.blogspot.com/)

So on with the fun – it doesn’t matter where you start the blog hop, just see where you are on the list above and make sure you visit them all and leave some sweetness behind!

Here is my project for the day. I used paper from the Roses in Harmony pack and the white lace doily scrapbooking Dazzles. The stamp on the outside is from Stampin' Up! The sentiment inside is from the Card Greetings and Sentiments CD. This is a card I will be featuring in a challenge in October on Paper Wishes - watch the Message Board for Guest Challenges - it's coming up soon! When it is posted, you can learn how to make this card.

Get ready for Christmas cookie baking!

2011-09-29T12:38:00.003-04:00

Want to participate in a cookie recipe exchange? Come join us on the Paper Wishes Message Board. Sign up by Saturday 10/1 and you have until 10/31 to get your cards completed. You will need to sign up for the message board to respond to the post - but it's free and it's easy!

Here's the link to the main forum site to sign up:
http://forum.paperwishes.com/

Then, here is the info on the cookie recipe swap:
http://forum.paperwishes.com/showthread.php?t=2290

Fun Day of Activities Planned for World Card Making Day October 1

2011-09-24T16:30:00.002-04:00

We are planning a fun day on the Paper Wishes Message Board for World Card Making Day on Saturday, October 1. You don't want to miss it. And there are going to be a LOT of prizes! It doesn't cost anything to be a member of the Message Board - just sign on - go HERE.

Here are just a few of the things we have planned. Everything is around a cooking/food theme this year:

a blog hop with prizes for leaving comments as well as HOTP bingo

cooking trivia questions

a scavenger hunt

"Make a Cake" contest - anything but a card

"What's for Supper" contest - cards

a cookie recipe exchange

a cooking/food scrapbook layout contest

Come join the fun!

I'm Featured in a Sketch Challenge for Operation Write Home!

2011-09-21T17:14:00.019-04:00

A few cards I created from an assigned sketch will be featured this Sunday (September 25) on the Operation Write Home blog! This time I made three versions to show how you can adapt a sketch to fit either your theme or the supplies that you have on hand. Join in the fun and see what you can create from this sketch! Just go to the Stars and Stamps blog on Sunday.

I hope you will be inspired to create some cards to send to Operation Write Home! It's a great organization bringing a needed service to our troops. You can have fun and contribute at the same time! For more information go to: http://operationwritehome.org/

Here are the cards I created:

This first one is the most straightforward. I used the exact measurements and only added the flowers and stamped on the top panel.

This next one I just inked the edges of two of the panels, added ribbon to one, and added bracket embellishments. Same sketch but it looks different! I even used similar colors!

This last one I changed a little more. I turned it on its side (landscape), and then, instead of the third panel, I added the "thanks" diecut.

Most of my supplies were from the Paper Wishes Citrus Creative Pack.

Welcome OWH Cardmakers!

2011-07-28T08:10:00.002-04:00

I haven't posted much lately due to illness, but I did want to send a greeting to all of the Operation Write Home cardmakers visiting my blog this week! OWH is featuring my tutorial on pleating. So welcome folks - I hope you come back - subscribe to my blog to receive future tutorials. You're doing great work for our service folks!

Like It Love It Gotta Have It Technique for June - Pleating

2011-05-22T15:25:00.009-04:00

This month we're going to explore pleating! I love the work that Anna Griffin does - and she does it so well. Below are my less-than-Anna-perfect attempts!

For the first one, I scored 1/2" then 1/4" on four pieces of paper 12" x 1" and made my folds:

Then I placed the four pieces just under the edges of my sentiment, making sure I had pleats exending past the edges on all four sides.

Then I cut the corners at a 45% angle to mitre the corners.

I then added the panel to my card, and added a few embellishments (which are great if one of your corners doesn't come out quite right!)

For the next card, I decided to do box pleats - I scored 1" then 1/4" then 1" then 1/4".

And folded like so:

I then added the strip to my card background.

I added a few border strips and a strip of Dazzles.

And here is the finished card:

Try this!

Like it - add a simple pleated border on a card or layout

Love it - try box pleats

Gotta have it - add layers of pleating and layers of borders for all kinds of interesting looks!

Like It Love It Gotta Have It Challenge for May: Black on Black

2011-04-20T15:24:00.010-04:00

This month I'm putting a Paper Wishes spin on a technique I learned from Nathalie Metivier of Magenta. She teaches this easy technique using black embossing on black cardstock. I decided to see how black Dazzles would work and it worked like a charm! This looks nice as well using white Dazzles on white cardstock.

First, select the Dazzles you want to use and place them on your cardstock:

Then, just begin to put spots of color in different areas. I like to use the metallic and pearlescent water colors by ArtQuest. You can try this with Twinkling H20s, or Smooch too.

Now start with another color:

Continue with a third color if desired. You don't want to go too crazy with too many different colors! You'll want to blend the edges where the colors meet one another so the effect is smooth.

Here's another example where I colored in only the image, not the background:

Another Mosaic

2011-04-07T12:29:00.001-04:00

I just realized I didn't include the Jamestown layout in my last post! This is the one that was a challenge on Paper Wishes to cut out a center image and then use mosaic for the background:

Mosaic Scrapbook Pages To Share

2011-03-28T13:28:00.005-04:00

I've been doing a lot of mosaic work lately - I bought a bunch of page kits on Black Friday and over the past couple of crops, I've used up most of them! I also had a challenge on the Paper Wishes Message Board to try cutting out an image and using mosaic for the background so I did that on one of these (the Jamestown one). Hope you like these - just posting some recent work to share with Family and Friends...
If you want to learn more about mosaic scrapbooking, click the Tammi Potter or Snap 'n' Crop icons on the right-side of my blog!

Like It Love It Gotta Have It Challenge for April - Weaving

2011-03-19T14:12:00.008-04:00

This month I decided to play with weaving a little. It's something I haven't done in years. I probably got introduced to this when I was in Junior Girl Scouts and we made our sit-upons - anyone else do that? Remember weaving the newspaper? This is the same thing, except with MUCH prettier paper!

First, I made a card background, weaving normally, but with 4 different patterned papers - I think the finished product came out great. You'll see in a bit that not all my playing turned out quite as nice! (I like to publish the good and the bad - how else do you learn?! :) )

Next I decided to vary the widths of the papers - I alternated 1/4" and 1/2" strips. But I learned something - Doing this you end up with stripes instead of a checkerboard! But you do still get interesting texture. To get checkerboard you'd have to put all one color on the base and weave with all one other color. (Lesson learned!)

Next I cut the strips with curves - I learned this in a class I took with Peg Napier on altered books. It makes a really interesting effect - it's really bold in black and white (or other strongly contrasting colors). I decided to try it here with more muted tones. I like the way it came out.

Here's a closeup...

And finally, I covered a shape with weaving. The heart shape was a little challenging because at the top you can't really carry a piece all the way across - you have to use two smaller strips. But I really like the way it came out in the end.

Note on all of these that instead of doing the weaving and just cutting the ends off at the edge of the base, I actually folded the ends over and taped them on the back - I think it makes for a much neater, finished look.

See what you can come up with this month!

Like It - try regular weaving on a square or rectangle
Love It - try using curved strips
Gotta Have It - cover a shape!

The Original Scrapbox Giveaway!

2011-03-19T13:24:00.001-04:00

The Original Scrapbox is having a giveaway for National Craft Month! I'm posting this on my blog to get a point! I would really like to have the Workbox. Check it out:
http://http://www.facebook.com/TheOriginalScrapbox

Like It Love It Gotta Have It Project for March - Rosettes

2011-02-19T12:06:00.029-05:00

I've seen a lot of rosettes lately on projects, but I had never tried making one myself until last month. I thought it would be a good project to share with you for our challenge this month. You can experiment with different sizes of rosettes, and different papers, border punches, and you can even weave ribbon into the edge! Here's how you do it:

Start by cutting a strip of paper - I used strips 1 1/2 inches wide by 12 inches long, but you can experiment with different sizes. Notice on one of the strips I tried using a border punch....

Next, make accordion folds the entire length of the strip - I folded at about every 1/4 inch. Now for those folks who really feel the need to be precise, you can mark your strip every 1/4 inch, but I just estimated. You know who you are! :)

Put a piece of STRONG tape on one end.

Then join the two ends.

It's going to stick up - not to worry! We'll make it flat in a minute! To do this we need to make a base - I just punched out a circle from a punch I had handy. You can cut a random little piece of paper -it doesn't matter what kind or color, because we're going to cover it up. Put glue on the base - I used a wet glue. A tacky glue would probably work fine too.

Then press the rosette onto the base and hold it until the glue is set. I found I needed to put something on top of it - it can take a while. Actually, one of my punches worked good to put on top - the accordion pleats make it strong enough tht the punch doesn't smoosh it.

There you have it! Now for the fun - finding something to put in the center and making variations of the basic rosette! Try different kinds of paper - don't be afraid to try stipes! Look below - I tried stripes in both directions:

And then I tried lacing ribbon through the edges of one (do the lacing before you put the strip into a circle):

Here is the one done with a border punch:

And finally, pick a topper for your rosette. You can use all kinds of things - small flowers, brads, buttons, and small die-cuts!

Let's see what you can come up with:

Like it: Just try making a rosette - any paper, any topper
Love it: Try a punched border
Gotta have it: try lacing the ribbon through the edge!

A Page to Share

2011-02-16T21:39:00.005-05:00

Paper Wishes is having a mini-contest on Facebook for pet projects. I posted this layout featuring one of my favorite pictures of Nikko. She was laying in the sun in our sunroom and this one of her looking back at me I just fell in love with! I used their Vintage Roses paper pack - the green just highlighted the color of Nikko's eyes!

Love Anna Griffin!

2011-01-30T13:01:00.004-05:00

I went a little crazy on HSN's last craft day and bought a bunch of Anna Griffin goodies! I went to a crop this weekend and had a chance to play a little. Here is a picture of my granddaughter, Leyda's new haircut done Anna style. This is the first time I tried making rosettes - took a little time, but not too hard and I think it makes a great look on the page for some texture! I cut out a couple of patterns out of one of the papers to top the rosettes, and used a third next to the journaling block.

Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge

2011-01-27T08:11:00.001-05:00

This week two cards I made for the Operation Write Home Sketch Challenge will be featured! To see the sketch and the cards others will make, go to the Operation Write Home Blog. The post will be up on Sunday, January 30. I used mostly Paper Wishes products, including some of the artwork from the creative packs and made two versions to show how you can use different colors and shapes for the same sketch.

I hope you will be inspired to send some cards to Operation Write Home. If you are not familiar with this organization, go to http://operationwritehome.org.

February Like It Love It Gotta Have It Challenge

2011-01-23T15:35:00.005-05:00

This month at Paper Wishes for the Like It Love It Gotta Have It Challenge, we're doing spot color. In this technique, you only color part of your image. Here are the step by step instructions:

Stamp the image you plan to use. You want to pick something that is large enoug

h to show off this technique - if you use a small image, you won't be able to color

much of it, or you'll end up coloring the whole thing!

Next, take a piece of scrap cardstock and punch out the shape you want to use - it can be a circle, a square, a star, a heart, pretty much anything.

Tape it over your image where you want to place color and color only within that shape.

Remove your mask, and now you have your spot color! Fun!

Like It: Just color part of your image without using the punched mask.

Love It: Follow the instructions above.

Gotta Have It: Try doing a shape within a shape, like a heart within a circle, using two colorways, or black and white in the center, color in the larger shape.

Post your projects in the challenge area on the Paper Wishes Message Board - let's see what you come up with!

Character Cafe Feature Friday

2010-12-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas is almost here! Anything goes this week as long as it's sparkly! So, I used the snowman from this month's releases and put some Stickles over a flocked title.

Like It Love It Gotta Have it Challenge for January

2010-12-17T16:45:00.000-05:00

Well, we had a little time off on the swaps for Paper Wishes, and I'm really glad - I over-committed myself in October and November and didn't know how I was going to get it all done. So welcome to getting ready for a new year! This will be posted on the Paper Wishes site on December 15 but it is for January so put your thinking caps on, but you can wait until January to dig in and create something fabulous!

What I'd like to introduce to you today is a technique I've seen in several magazines, and Gina K had a version of it on her videos - this is my first time trying it. Basically you stamp an image twice - once on one color background and with a complementary ink and embossing powder, then you stamp it again in reverse. Here I'm stamping white on red, and red on white.

The trick to this is being sure your image is exactly placed in the same place on both pieces of cardstock. If you have a stamp positioner, this is the time to use it! Unfortunately, this is one little gadget I have yet to acquire. So, I chose the size of my paper not too much bigger than the image so I could just center the image and hopefully all would come out alright and it did!

Here are my two images stamped on 5" x 5" squares. The first is using a white embossing powder on a dark red cardstock. The second I had some tensil embossing powder and decided to try using a glittered cardstock. I wasn't sure how the image would stamp on this type of paper, but it did great! So the glitter and tensil adds a little sparkle as well!

Then, I cut each image into 1" strips. When applying the strips to your base, you just alternate the pieces - one from the white image and one from the red image. The cool thing about this technique is you end up with two cards!

Like It

I cut mine into 5 pieces, but you can do just 2 - half and half. In fact I have an old card that does just this! Notice how the designer of this card made it extra interesting by using reverse colors on the background, and adding a dark border!

Not a stamper? Try this with two patterned papers - you can often find a single pattern printed in several colorways - see if you can match them up!

Love It

Try the 1" strips like I did

Gotta Have It

You could do more, smaller strips, or even cut them up and do a checkerboard pattern. You could even fussy-cut around the image and replace one side with the other instead of using straight cuts. Try this and see what you can come up with!

Happy New Year Everyone!

Character Cafe Feature Friday

2010-12-17T00:00:00.003-05:00

This week we're looking for foil and shiny stuff. I used the new year baby image from this month's releases at The Character Cafe and used one of the great foil papers from Hot Off the Press - I love these papers - they're much thicker than average, so they're good not only for pages and cards, but also for making boxes.

Winner of Snowmobiling Image from the December Character Cafe Blog Hop

2010-12-14T16:32:00.003-05:00

Julye - you're the winner! I've sent you the images in email.

CONGRATULATIONS!

List Randomizer

There were 2 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

Julye
darling Ho

Timestamp: 2010-12-14 21:32:32 UTC

Feature Friday at The Character Cafe

2010-12-10T00:00:00.000-05:00

I had some fun this week with one of the new December images at The Character Cafe. Our challenge was to use glitter, and it worked out well with one of my purchases from Black Friday! This cute rocket would be great for a kid's valentine! I got one of the 50-page bundles (well, I actually bought all three!) from Bo-Bunny. This paper was in the birthday/party pack and I thought it fit well with the rocket and a boy theme. So I glittered up the gears and swirls with Stickles and added some foil stars. I shaded the background with my Copics but the edges weren't as smooth as I'd like, so I used a stiple brush with black ink to smooth out the gradation of lighter blue to black in the background.

Like this image? You can get it here.

The Character Cafe December Blog Hop!

2010-12-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the month again in a good way - blog hop time! This month my image is a fun one - snowmobiling! If you like this image (named Sledding) you can get it at The Character Cafe or leave a comment at the end of this post and you could win it!

Also, if you leave comments on all the blogs in the hop, and at the last stop, you could win a gift certificate to The Character Cafe as well! So if you started on my blog go to the Character Cafe Store to start at the beginning (the link is below).

Here's the order:

Start at The Character Cafe Store
DJ - Moon Rocket
Joyce - Sledding
Chelsea - Top Hat Baby
Lola - Snow Friendly
Jessica - Snow Friendly
Nancy - Sledding
Cleota - Top Hat Baby
Deanette - Sledding
Fink - Snow Friendly
End: The Character Cafe Blog

And finally, here's my card for this hop. Hope you like it. In December we're amping up the bling! You'll see glitter, foil papers, rhinestones, anything sparkly! On this card, I used irridescent watercolors for the sky, a pearlescent white cardstock that I embossed with a swirly design to simulate snow swirls, peel offs from Magenta, rhinestones, and a great product I found a couple of years ago called Faux Snow.

Another Challenge - Holiday Cards

2010-11-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

This week I chose to use another Character Cafe design to enter the challenge at Our Daily Bread. This is a lovely Thanksgiving/Fall design:

Cosmo Cricket Challenge

2010-11-21T14:51:00.004-05:00

One of the reasons I enjoy being on design teams is that you sometimes get assignments that are outside of your comfort zone - either in what you are to make, how you are to make it, or color outside of your favorites. One of the assignments I had from the local store I design for - Wiggles and Giggles, was to make a layout from the new Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 line, which is one of the trend you see now with the retro colors - which are REALLY not my colors! You know me - I love bright colors, especially jewel tones. This is about as far away from that as you can get! :)

Anyway - two of the phrases on the two embellishment sheets I was given sparked what pictures I might use: "You and Me. Always." and "Home is Where the Heart Is." At first I thought about recording all the places we had lived, but I couldn't find the pictures! (That worries me, and I'll have to follow up on where all my pictures are!) So then I decided to use pictures of us at different stages in our relationship. I found a picture from our wedding reception, a professional portrait we had done about 5 years in, and then one of us taken at Christmas a few years ago. I then added in a couple of pictures with the grandkids. I cut out some of the motifs from another piece of the paper in the collection, and added some pearls I had in my stash that matched the colors really well - I got them at Michaels - it had the red, green and gold all together!

I think it turned out pretty good in the end! What do you think? The pictures got a little skewed in the scanning, but you can get the idea.

Feature Friday at The Character Cafe

2010-11-19T00:00:00.001-05:00

This week our challenge was to use neutral colors and to make a flower. I used the cardinal image released this month with a scrap of Anna Griffin paper I had that was just perfect -neutral colors and Christmas to boot! I then added a poinsettia I made out of a stamp from Holly Berry House. The center of the flower is actually a white brad that I covered with gold Stickles.

Winner of Last Week's Blog Hop - Festive Lion from The Character Cafe

2010-11-12T08:44:00.002-05:00

Congratulations Linda S! You are the winner of the Festive Lion image from The Character Cafe!

There were 4 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

Linda S
craftymom205
Jennifer
Anne
Timestamp: 2010-11-12 13:43:58 UTC

Paper Sundae's Challenge #43 Let It Snow

2010-11-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

I thought I would use The Character Cafe's new November release for this challenge. It is a nostalgic image of a father and son bringing home a Christmas tree. Like it? Get it HERE!

Christmas Layout Class at Wiggles & Giggles December 4

2010-11-06T16:34:00.003-04:00

I'll be teaching a Christmas class at Wiggles and Giggles in Wethersfield on December 4 at 1:00. We'll make two layouts and three cards! Yeah, I know, ambitious! We'll be working with this cool kit from Creative Imaginations that comes with 23 sheets of paper and a sticker sheet and red gems! Even after we make the layouts and cards you'll still have paper to play with!

Here's what they layouts look like - the two-page spread was designed by Lori Gentile - I designed the rest. The layouts are fairly simple, so anyone can take the class. It does require some detail cutting, however, so if that's not your thing, you will want to consider that.

November Blog Hop at The Character Cafe - Friday 11/5

2010-11-05T00:00:00.000-04:00

It's blog hop time again! The Character Cafe has some great holiday images just released for you. Come see what the design team has done! Visit each blog and leave comments at each, and at the Character Cafe blog, for your chance to win two new release images AND a $5.00 gift certificate to The Character Cafe. I will also be giving away my image, Festive Lion, from the folks leaving comments on this blog!

My image, Festive Lion is below. However, if you didn't come here from Chelsea's blog, and you want to participate in the blog hop, you need to start at the beginning - go to The Character Cafe Store to start.

Here is the complete order and what everyone is working on:

Jessica - Harvest
Joyce - Christmas Tree Shopping
Deanette - Cardinal
Georgia - Remy & Fredrik
Fink - Harvest
Cleota - Stefan & Katherine
Lola - Christmas Tree Shopping
Chelsea - Cardinal
Nancy - Festive Lion
Back to the Character Cafe Blog!

OK - here he is: Festive Lion! I colored him with my Copics, and mounted him using my Spellbinders Nestabilities. I used Christmas papers from Hot Off the Press's Ultimate Christmas Creative Pack and added a gold Dazzle border and some punched out shapes. Of course I had to add some bling! So I added Stickles to the punched elements.

Once you leave your comment here, proceed on to The Character Cafe blog! You're almost done! :)

Nancy

Exciting Give-Away on Etsy!

2010-10-30T15:20:00.003-04:00

I belong to a group of cardmakers on Etsy called Etsy Greetings. Beginning Monday, and running the entire month of November, whenever you buy a card from one of the Etsy Greetings Team sites, you have the opportunity to be entered in a drawing (one entry for each card you purchase). Each member of the team has donated one card for the drawing with the theme of "Red." They can be holiday cards, but do not have to be - they just have to have red in them. The winner of the drawing will receive the entire package of cards!

To learn more about the give-away and see some of the cards in the drawing as well as others created by the team go to www.etsygreetings.blogspot.com.

To visit my shop (please!) go to www.sandersnan.etsy.com

Once you buy a card, you will need to go to the Etsy Greetings site above, and fill out a form to be entered in the give-away. You will need to record the transaction number and name of the site where you bought your card.

Good luck! Please visit our team's sites and enjoy what we have available - there are a lot of different styles from clean and simple to ornate! And of course, if you like dog and cat cards - buy from me! :)

Nancy

Friday Challenge at The Character Cafe

2010-10-29T08:01:00.003-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! This week our challenge was to use orange again, this time with a die cut, 3 circles and ribbon. I used the same image as last week - the mallard, but look how different it looks with this layout! If you like this image you can get it at The Character Cafe.

Challenge #8 - Crafty Emma's

2010-10-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Crafty Emma has a challenge this week for a male birthday card. I thought this image from The Character Cafe would be perfect! I love nature scenes and what is better for a masculine card?! This is one of the new releases for the month of October. If you like it, get it here!

500 Followers Blog Candy at Feline Playful! WOW!

2010-10-18T17:34:00.001-04:00

Check out this blog candy from Feline Playful! Wow - how generous!

As for the blog candy, you will get all this plus a $10 USD gift certificate to a place of the winner's choice:

300 sheets 6x6 designer paper (not shown)
Sweet Shapes stamp set by Stampin' Up
Good Friend stamp set by Stampin' Up
Send A Celebration stamp set by Stampin' Up
Birthday Best stamp set by Stampin' Up
Wee Watercolors stamp set by Stampin' Up
Tags and More stamp set by Stampin' Up
Paint Prints stamp set by Stampin' Up
Holiday Minis stamp set by Stampin' Up
Small Script stamp set by Stampin' Up
Polka Dots and Paisley stamp set by Stampin' Up
Painted Posies stamp set by Stampin' Up
Tag Alphabet stamp set by Stampin' Up
Everyday Flexible Phrases stamp set by Stampin' Up
Abstract Impressions Fancy Notes stamp set by Hero Arts
Shaded Circles stamp set by Endless Creations
Simplicity Corner Slot Punch by Stampin' Up
Wrought Iron Corner Slot Punch by Stampin' Up
Eyelet setter kit
Tim Holtz ruler
5 sets of eyelets

For a chance to win all this all you need to do is be a follower and mention the 500 Followers Blog Candy on your blog, either in a post or on your sidebar, with a link back to Feline Playful. Once you do please enter the draw using the linky widget below. Please enter only once though using your main blog URL, thank you!

You will have until midnight on November 5th to enter the draw (see linky widget below for remaining time to enter). I will randomly select and announce the winner on November 6, 2010. This post will remain at the top until then so please scroll down for daily posts!

Here is the link to Feline Playful.

Friday Challenge at The Character Cafe

2010-10-17T14:01:00.002-04:00

This week the challenge was to use one of the new releases for October, to use orange, 3 squares, and 3 flowers. I decided to really make this a challenge and use the Christmas image - Christmas and orange!? Oh my! Here's what i came up with. Check out the Character Cafe Blog to see what the other design team members did!

Free Turkey Digi!

2010-10-16T16:08:00.004-04:00

I found this cutest little free turkey digi at Digital Delights! Go get him here. They are having a contest with this image and you can get $10 in free digis! Here is the address for the challenge.

Paper Wishes Challenge for November

2010-10-16T13:52:00.010-04:00

The Like It Love It Gotta Have It Swap for November at Paper Wishes is about doodling. I ran across an ad from Outlines Rubber Stamps using a technique I learned back in the 4th grade. Evidently someone has turned this into a major trend/fad - there are workshops to learn how to do it, there are products you can buy - you name it! It's called Zentangles.

Here's a link to the main Zentangles site and the Zentangles blog where you can see all kinds of intricate designs folks have made there. There are even Zentangled sneakers! Check out some of the things people have done:

Now let's bring this back to paper crafting! Here's the image that caught my attention from the Outlines Rubber Stamp ad:

To do this, you need to find an image that has a lot of open area to fill in with designs. I found this butterfly image from kpink worked well.

You're not limited to just black and white - you can use any color, but you want to be sure to use something that has enough contrast to make the design show up.

I look forward to seeing what folks come up with this month. To join the challenge, go to the Paper Wishes Message Board (www.PaperWishes.com). Click on Message Board and then go to the Challenges section.

And the Winner Is...

2010-10-14T10:34:00.003-04:00

The winner of the drawing from comments on my blog for the Character Cafe Blog Hop last Friday is

scrappingdragon!

You win the featured digi that I used - Pokey (the little snail). I'll email you details on how to get your file.

List Randomizer

There were 8 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

scrappingdragon
racinggrandma61
Josephine
dj1952
Gail
Lora Oliver
Lawren
Thea

Timestamp: 2010-10-14 14:34:35 UTC

2010-10-08T11:53:00.004-04:00

I always like to let you know about great deals and contests! Here's a chance to win a The Paper Tower from The Original Scrapbox! To enter go to Priscilla's Styles.

The Character Cafe Blog Hop October 8

2010-10-06T17:30:00.008-04:00

Join in on the fun at The Character Cafe Blog Hop for October showcasing all the new releases this month! Complete a tour of all the blogs and you will be in a drawing to win a $5.00 certificate and 2 new release images. Leave a comment here and you will also be in a drawing for the newly-released image - Pokey!

To start at the beginning you should go here.

If you are already in the Hop, you should have come from Chelsea's blog. After you are finished here, you will go to Lola's blog.

To participate for a chance to win free digi's, leave a comment at each blog (it would be nice if you would become followers as well!). At the end, you will need to leave a comment at the Character Cafe blog.

Now on to the fun! Here's Pokey. He's a fun little snail released this month. Isn't it true? Snail mail IS the best mail!! Don't you just love getting a hand-crafted card from a friend in the mail?

Remember - leave a comment, then you will move on to Lola's blog....

Thanks for dropping by!

Thank you for voting!

2010-10-02T19:23:00.002-04:00

Thank you everyone who voted for me in the Paper Wishes September challenge using Color-Me Papers. I was a runner up! I get a $25 gift certificate - yay! You can see the other winners on the Paper Wishes website (www.paperwishes.com). The next contest is using Christmas Dazzles - come join the fun!

Nancy

Paper Wishes Blog Hop

2010-09-30T14:24:00.007-04:00

Come Join Paper Wishes for World Card Making Day and you can WIN! Starting October 1 at 8 AM EST and ending October 3 at 8 AM EST you will have a chance to win some great prizes worth more than $50 -

There will be three total winners, so you have three ways to win:

1. Hop to each blog listed below
• Leave a comment at each one
• Become a Follower at each blog
• Write down the Paper Wishes product featured on the blogs
• Send a Private message to Swaps Albums on the Paperwishes Forum: http://forum.paperwishes.com/member.php?u=2271 (If you have questions, email angela@sewmanycards.com for help) telling us all of the products being featured.

2. Hop to each blog listed below
• Leave a comment at each blog
• Become a Follower at each blog
• One random winner will be chosen from the comments

3. Hop to each blog listed below
• Leave a comment at each one
• Become a Follower at each blog
• Make a project using mostly Paper Wishes products
• Send a Private message to Swaps Albums on the Paper Wishes Forum: http://forum.paperwishes.com/member.php?u=2271 (If you have questions, email angela@sewmanycards.com for help) with a link to your project of a picture.

You should have come to my site from Jen's. When you leave here you will go to Precious Thoughts, .

Here is information for my project that you can get at Paper Wishes: (well not really the project that I made, but this is my assigned product that you need to record to enter to win.)

Paper Flair Feminine Card Kit plus 10 Cards & Envelopes

Price: $11.59

Now on to the next site! Have fun!

Never Try to Teach a Pig to Sing: http://unteachablepig.blogspot.com/
Cher-ing Paper Memories: http://cheringpapermemories.blogspot.com/
Montserrat Native: http://montserratnative.blogspot.com/
Becca's Heart for Creativity : http://www.beccasheartland.blogspot.com/
Crafty Imaginings by Jen: http://craftyimaginingsbyjen.blogspot.com/
Nancy's Creative Space: http://www.nancyscreativespace.blogspot.com/
Precious Thoughts, : http://www.preciousthoughtscards.blogspot.com/
Penny's Page: http://www.pennydouph.blogspot.com/
Crafty Patti' s Card Crafts: http://pattiscards.blogspot.com/
Sew Many Challenges: http://sewmanychallenges.com/

Red Robin Lane : http://redrobinlane-rgcarr.blogspot.com/

Friday Challenge at The Character Cafe

2010-09-30T09:05:00.002-04:00

The Character Cafe has a challenge every Friday. This week the challenge is to use orange, 2 embellishments and ribbon. I was also given this "Simonstein" digi to use. Here's my sample for the challenge! Join in the fun at www.charactercafe.blogspot.com!

Vote for Me!

2010-09-26T15:21:00.000-04:00

The Paper Wishes contest this month is using their new Color Me papers - I absolutely love these! They are made to resist ink and have beautiful designs. When heated, the resist areas can also take glitter! Oooh - the possibilities! Here is my submission. Voting starts tomorrow, Monday, September 27 - please vote for me! If I win, I get $100 in Paper Wishes product!

Go to www.paperwishes.com and click on the contest tab to vote.

Mosaic Card Class

2010-09-26T11:16:00.000-04:00

Date has been set - I'll be teaching the Mosaic Card class at Stamp and Scrap Nest in Simsbury on Saturday, October 9. Hope to see you there!

Design Team!

2010-09-25T09:31:00.001-04:00

I got selected for The Character Cafe's Design Team! Just got the word - more to come!

Mosaic Cards!

2010-09-05T15:42:00.000-04:00

People always get excited at crops when they see me working on one of my mosaic pages. Susan at Stamp and Scrap Nest in Simsbury, CT gave me a challenge - the bulk of her customers are card makers so she wanted to see if I could put together a card class. Well! I'd never made cards with this technique but I love a challenge so....I went to the Mosaic Moments websites and got some ideas and this is what I came up with. One (the gift card holder is a direct lift from the design blog at Mosaic Moments.) The class will probably be some time in October.

For more information about card making and scrapbooking with mosaics, click the link I have on the right side of the blog.

Strips and Stripes - Seminole Patchwork

2010-09-05T15:20:00.000-04:00

Here's another fun thing to do with strips and stripes! Seminole patchwork comes from the Seminole Tribe and is used in making clothing and decorative fabrics. Do some searches - there are many interesting patterns and they all have a story behind them!

Again I'm cutting my pieces, but you can use striped paper easily enough. This time I'm cutting 1" strips.

Just as in the Bargello technique, glue or tape your strips down to a base piece of paper or cardstock.

When all of your strips are applied, cut away the excess:

Then cut 1" strips across your stripes:

We're going to be laying these down at an angle like so:

Here's a way you can be sure you're getting the first piece laid down at the right angle: Draw a straight line exactly perpendicular. Then lay your first piece down so that the corners are directly on the line.

Then lay down all your additional pieces until your card panel is full.

Next, cut two 1" strips of coordinating solid paper and place them along the top and bottom of your design:

After looking at this on my base card, I decided I wanted the black strips to be a little narrower, so I trimmed them down:

And then all that's left is to add some artwork and a sentiment!

Strips and Stripes - Bargello

2010-09-05T15:03:00.000-04:00

This month in the Paper Wishes swaps it's all about strips and stripes! One of the fun things you can do to make great backgrounds for your cards is taking strips of paper and making Bargello patterns. Bargello is a needlework term and you see a lot of Bargello embroidery and tapestry work. Google it and see what you find!

In this demo I'm making strips of paper 1/2" wide. You could also use a striped patterned paper and get the same effect for less work! Once you get a good collection of strips, glue or tape them down to a piece of background paper or cardstock.

Then, cut 1/2 inch strips crosswise. I find that I do best when I mark the lines on the back and just cut with scissors. If I try to do it in my paper trimmer, the layers of paper are just too thick and sometimes the trimmer will lift up what I've pasted down. If you've used thin papers it might work.

Here are all my cut strips:

Before you decide how you want to glue them down on your final card panel, you can play with them at this point. It's fun to rearrange them and see what kind of patterns you can get!

Once you find a pattern you like, glue or tape them down to your card panel. Then trim off the excess:

Here's my final card panel:

...and the final card. Here I just added a strip of vellum, and a cutout from the Hot Off the Press Classic Creative Cardmaker's Pack:

What's coming up next month?

2010-09-02T17:26:00.000-04:00

Thought I would give you a little teaser as to what's coming up for the October technique swap on Paper Wishes. It has to do with Strips and Stripes! Hmmm.....what's Nancy cooking up?

Like It, Love It, Gotta Have It! Brick Technique

2010-08-08T15:42:00.000-04:00

I'm starting a new swap/challenge section on the Paper Wishes Message Board and this is the first installment! How exciting is that? For this series, I'm using the Tim Horton's restaurant ice cream serving sizes as a way to show a basic technique, how to simplify it, and how to take it to the next level.
Love It (Medium) - the basic technique
Like It (Small) - If you're a little anxious about trying the full-blown technique, or maybe don't have all the materials, try Like It!
Gotta Have It (Large) - for the advanced scrapper who wants to take it to the next level

You may remember a while back I had created a card using a brick technique. This is the original card:

The basic idea of this technique is to take an image, cut it apart, and reassemble it in a brick pattern. Let's go through this step by step.

Love It - The Regular Brick

Technique

In this technique you have a base piece of paper or cardstock, and a second piece that we will cut up into bricks. You will need to think about the color of your background, as you will want it to contrast with your bricks enough that you can see the differences in color (otherwise all your cutting will not show up!) You will stamp your design on the piece that will be cut. (You'll see in the Gotta Have It version, that you can actually stamp both pieces!) You also want to think about the kinds of stamps to use. As it usually helps to see an example, I'm going to demonstrate two images - one that involves writing, and one that is a more solid image. As you'll see, the image on the right below ends up being a much better image for this technique.

1. Stamp your image on a piece of cardstock - mine are on 3 1/2" x 4" pieces.

2. Next, with very light pencil, draw a horizontal line every 1/2".

3. Then going vertically, draw lines at 1/2" marks, but alternating between horizontal rows, like bricks. (See examples below.)

4. Choose your background paper or cardstock.

5. Here I decided that my image would look more centered with the bottom row cut off, so I removed one row:

6. Similarly, I decided to trim a little off the other image as well. You can do this before you start, or after you have cut bricks, but I like to do it up front.

7. I also decided for the blue card to have a jagged edge, rather than a straight one.

8. Next, you start cutting your bricks and gluing them down. You will want to start either at the top or the bottom, doesn't matter which. And you will want to work from one side to the other - I chose to work from right to left and from the bottom.

You will see below I ran into a bit of a problem. The paper on my green card was cut at an angle against the pattern and it made my eyes go buggy! So I ended up with my design a little crooked. No problem - I just cut it down, aligning my paper trimmer with the edge of the design. (You'll see it corrected in the next picture).

Also in this set of pictures, you begin to see how the blue design is not as good for this technique - cut apart, you cannot make out the words in the design as well. I think it really helps to see all the perfect things, but also to see imperfect things and how you can either fix them, as in the green card, or remember to do things a different way next time, as in the blue card!

9. Here are the finished cards. You can see I straightened up the green card a bit, and also cut down the sides a little more and put a second background piece behind it.

Now - are you ready for a little more? Or are you a bit overwhelmed and want to try something a little easier first?

Easier - go to I Like It

More! - go to Gotta Have It

I Like It

OK - if you're not quite ready for the detail of the full technique - he're a similar but still fun and effective way to change up your cards! We're going to just cut an image into four pieces. Here's the finished card:

This is very simple! No fear!

1. Simply stamp your image on a square piece of cardstock, or cut an image from patterned paper - just make sure it's square.

2. Then, on the back, mark in pencil, a dividing line at the half-way mark in both directions.

3. Cut your image apart and then reassemble onto a piece of cardstock cut 1/4 to 1/2 inch larger than the original image.

4. Easy-peasy!

Gotta Have It - The Next Level: bricks with a shuttered window

I'm using two main stamps for this card. The first is a shuttered window by Great Impressions, and the second is a vine by Memory Box.

1. First, I cut a piece of regular cardstock 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" (for a 5 x 7 card).

I then stamped the window image on the stock just above center.

2. Then on a second piece of lightweight cardstock, I stamped the vine image several times. We are going to make bricks from this image and put them onto the window image.

3. The next step is to mark lines across the image every 1/2" very lightly with pencil

4. Then, we need to draw lines going vertically every half inch, but alternating every other row, to make a brick pattern.

5. Next, we need to make the bricks a more "brick-y" color! Here you can get creative - make them look like regular red bricks, make them grey like stone...I decided to make a kind of terracotta feel. I used finger daubers and used Dried Marigold and Wild Honey Distress Inks by Ranger.

6. I then decided I wanted my "grout" to be just a little darker. So I used the same colors on my window piece, but added some Potters Clay and Rick Cocoa Memento inks on this one and put a little Cottage Ivy on the shutters. Doesn't look too pretty right now, does it? Just wait!

7. Next comes the fun part - we get to lay our bricks! You will want to start either at the top or the bottom, doesn't matter which. And you will want to work from one side to the other - I chose to work from right to left and from the bottom.

Cut off the first row of bricks from the vine piece. I chose to ink these to make them look weathered and slightly rounded, using Potters Clay Memento ink. Glue down the first brick flush against your first corner (for me - bottom right). Then lay down each additional brick with a little space between each one - about 1/16".

Notice how there is a little piece hanging off the left edge? That is because my two pieces of original cardstock were the same size, but I'm layin gdown my bricks with a little gap in between. This is why you want to work in the same direction all the time. Once all the bricks have been laid, this left over part can be cut off.

8. Keep laying bricks until you get near the stamped image.

9. This next part gets a little tricky - you need to place bricks where you can, following the previous pattern, but then when you get close to the window, you need to alter the size of the bricks so they fit. Some you can leave out. It's a matter of preference at this point! Here's how I continued on mine. I did come back and fill in some half-bricks later in my finishing.

10. You will need to follow a similar process around the arch of the top of the window. As you'll see in my finished product, I did a little better job of it on one side than I did on the other. I also added some little flowers to my flower box at this point. I would recommend doing this a little later, as you'll see. I decided after I had done this that I wanted to open my window. This made it a little tricky - it would have been better to place the flowers AFTER I had cut the window! :)

11. I also decided the green on my window was a little washed out looking and my flowers needed some depth as well - so I put more green on the window, outlined it with green Smooch, and put Smooch on the flower edges. I think it provided a better contrast to the background this way:

12. I then used a craft knife to cut my window open, and put a quote behind the panel:

13. And I then trimmed the edges and placed the entire panel on my card. Here's the finished product! Who would have thought this started out as a piece of white cardstock?!!! :)

New Things Coming....

2010-08-04T16:17:00.001-04:00

I've been asked to moderate one or more of the swaps on the Paper Wishes Message Board, so I may very soon be posting some techniques on my blog. Fun! Watch for new postings!

I WON!

2010-07-23T17:13:00.000-04:00

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! to everyone who voted - I just got word that I won the Paper Wishes 3-D Dazzles contest! There was a lot of competition this month - some very pretty designs - I'm so haappppppyyyy!

Voting is Open!

2010-07-17T11:26:00.001-04:00

Vote for Me! Vote for Me! Vote for Me! Vote for Me!

The Paper Wishes contest this month was using their new 3-D Dazzles. Blogger isn't playing nice today so I can't get the picture reposted - but if you go to my post of July 3 you can see my entry! To vote, go to "http://www.paperwishes.com/scripts/pw_contest_vote.php"

I could use some followers!

2010-07-12T17:50:00.000-04:00

I know a bunch of you come out to my blog from places like Facebook and the Paper Wishes Message Board - why not follow my blog so you are notified every time I update with new goodies? Hmm...if I had more followers I might make this a little more interactive!

Nancy

An Uplifting Week

2010-07-11T14:39:00.000-04:00

This has been an uplifting week for two reasons:

First, I got an email last week from one of my friends on the Paper Wishes Message Board, Fabrizio (Fab) Martelluci, that he had sent me something. Out of the blue, no swaps going on, no challenges, he just had seen something he thought I would like and sent it to me. I received it during the week and it was a lovely cat stamp - you know how much I like cats! I will definitely have to pay this forward to another crafter one day! Here is the thank you card I made for Fab, using the stamp. I tried something a little different on this one. I used two different colors of embossing powder - a chocolate brown and a copper. Like the effect?

Then, I was looking at my different blogs and favorite sites, and ran across a notice that Michelle Oatman, a card designer and digital artist, had been in a car accident and Meljen's Designs had created a freebie digital design and was asking people to create cards for Michelle using the design. It is of a donkey, and evidently Michelle raises miniature donkeys. So people are flooding her mailbox with these cute donkey cards.

Just renews your faith in people again to see this happening. What a great hobby we have!

Nancy

Christmas In July

2010-07-04T14:56:00.000-04:00

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at my house already! Time to start making cards for my shop! I finished five sets of four cards this weekend! Whew! I've got stuff EVERYWHERE! It's fun, though, getting ready! Here are my first ones of the year:

Next Contest Please!

2010-07-03T13:51:00.000-04:00

I enjoy challenges and contests so much - being limited to a certain product or color or design really stretches your creativity! The next contest at Paper Wishes is using their 3-D Dazzles - I chose the butterflies - they're GORGEOUS! Voting hasn't started yet - I'll let you know when - but here's my entry. I used two pieces of paper from their Handpainted Papers so I could make the mirror image for the gatefold card, I then added Stickles on the flowers and added two layers of the 3-D Dazzle butterflies. I then used leftover paper and fussy-cut around the flowers and added another butterfly to the inside of the card. I love how it turned out!

New Scrapbook Pages!

2010-07-03T13:46:00.000-04:00

I've pretty much done nothing but cards for the last two months trying to get enough inventory for my first craft show. So it was good to get back to some scrapbooking last weekend! I finished several heritage pages and a couple of Judy and Hunter's trip to Washington, DC. It was fun to play with mosaics again! By the way, if you want to learn more about mosaic scrapbooking, go to my link on the right side of my main page.

A Great Class with Mitra of Impression Obsession

2010-06-13T12:04:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't posted much lately - I've been madly working to build my inventory for my first craft show coming up next Saturday 6/19. I went to a class recently and really would like you to see all the things we made. Mitra from Impression Obsession was the guest instructor and the class was sponsored by Stamp and Scrap Nest in Simsbury, CT. The first half of the class we learned all kinds of ways to use impression Obsession's Cover-a-Card stamps - if you haven't seen these yet, they are WONDERFUL background stamps and after taking this class I want more of them!

In this first card, we used a striped stamp. We used a baby wipe to put alternating colors on so you get various colored stripes. Then we used the vine background over top of that - I had never thought of using more than one background! It turns out great! We then stamped the leaves in the corners, and applied the sentiment. Beautiful!

In this next card, we applied a "scratches" background in a light brown. We then added a rose background on top of that. Nice shappy-chic effect!

Next we applied three colors of background ink on a card (to get the shading) and then applied the tree branches stamp over top, and then spritzed with Perfect Pearls mixed with water. Gorgeous!

Then we used the same tree branch background, and made a shaker card - a lot of people named this their favorite! The shaker has bird seed in it!

Last, we used the distressed stripe background again - first using turquoise ink, then turned it 180 degrees and used the purple ink - nice effect!

Finally we made a series of shaker cards. Fun!

Free Stuff from Tami Potter!

2010-06-09T10:40:00.000-04:00

Go to the address below for free downloads to use in your mosaic scrapbooking pages! Just print, cut out and they fit right into the grid! You can also click the new links I have on my sidebar to go to Tami's shop.

http://www.snapncrop.com/Free-Downloads_c_29.html

Happy scrappin'!
Nancy

Vote for Me Again! Please! Please!

2010-06-03T12:41:00.000-04:00

Paper Wishes is having another contest - another chance for $100 shopping spree! This time it's using their absolutely GORGEOUS foil papers. I have a lot of competition this time - there are a lot of beautiful pages and cards already out there. So I need your votes! Tell your friends too!

Voting begins June 4 (tomorrow). Go to www.paperwishes.com and click on the contest tab. Here are pictures of my entry. This is Judy some time around 8th or 9th grade. Everything black! But I did like the way she was wearing her hair then!

Some New Creations Added to My Shop Today!

2010-05-28T18:36:00.000-04:00

Here are a few creations that I added to my Etsy shop today. If you haven't been there yet, go to www.etsy.com/shop/SandersNan. I've signed up for my first craft show - it's going to be June 19 - wish me luck!

New Dog Stamps at Meljen's Designs!

2010-05-26T12:43:00.001-04:00

Melissa put out a whole new collection of dog stamps - I love this dalmation and am putting this in the challenge for this week. She also has several other breeds in this set as well.

Production Mode!

2010-05-16T14:06:00.001-04:00

I've been busy in production mode getting ready for a craft show. This is the first one I've done with my cards, so wish me luck! I'm focusing on cat and dog cards, but am also including a few other animals, and general cards, and a few mini brag books.

Meljen's Designs Blog Challenge

2010-05-09T13:15:00.000-04:00

Here is my entry for Meljen's Designs' challenge this week - the challenge is to use one of the new images from her Ocean Buddies collection. This little crab caught my eye. And after I colored him blue/green (not red!) he went perfectly with some papers I had from Creative Imaginations. I see so many crabs colored red - they're only red when they're cooked!:) Hope you like him! And Happy Mother's Day everyone!

P.S. - added 5/19 - this was selected in the top 5 for this challenge! Yay!

Pretty Kitty

2010-05-07T14:36:00.000-04:00

You know I love my kitty stamps! Here is a pretty digital stamp from Karen's Doodles. She's so sweet. The papers and colors just all came together well on this card. I'm pleased with myself! :)

Cutie

2010-05-07T14:34:00.000-04:00

I just had to post this cutie - this is a card I created from a design by Melissa Jenkins of Meljen's Designs. Isn't this mouse just the cutest thing!?

I've Opened a Shop on Etsy!

2010-04-29T18:08:00.001-04:00

You can now buy my cards on Etsy! This is my first step in something I am trying out. My plan is to see if I can interest veterinarian's offices and groomers in selling my cards in their places of business. But this is the first step - creating a place to buy things. So check it out. I'm going to need to work on the banner a bit, and I'm sure I will improve as I learn - as always, your feedback is welcome!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SandersNan.

Prairie Fairy Digital Stamps

2010-04-15T16:51:00.000-04:00

Besides having a cute name, this site has great images! I love challenges and this blog offers challenges as well. The artist is Roberta Laliberte and she does great work. Check it out!

http://www.prairiefairydesigns.com/cart/home.php
http://prairiefairy.blogspot.com/

This was a freebie image available to those who want to apply for the design team - she's accepting 10 folks!

Another Artist I've Found!

2010-04-14T12:00:00.000-04:00

I've been enjoying delving into the world of digital stamps and discovering all the artists out there! And, of course, you know I always look for animal images, particularly cats! This image is a dog image - oh well, we all can't be perfect! :) This design is by Crissy Armstrong. She has a challenge blog called Sundays with Crissy: http://sundayswithcrissy.blogspot.com/ I'm going to enter this in her first challenge!

Happy Easter Everyone!

2010-04-02T16:03:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter! I got this cutie at Meljen's Designs. It's Spring and love is in the air! And hopefully the snow and rain is over!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Nancy

Cats Rule!

2010-04-02T15:55:00.000-04:00

I found this cute digi at http://karensdoodles.blogspot.com. . You know if it has a cat and WHAT a cat this one is, I have to have it! Isn't she just REGAL?

Brick Wall Technique

2010-03-20T16:14:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine, Kim, showed me a technique she learned off of Split Coast Stampers and I decided to try it - while Brick Wall takes a little time, it's a very nice effect! Here are the two cards I made using the technique and a link to the tutorial if you'd like to try it too!

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/brickwall/

And Kim - do you realize you made a Nancy Project? :) For those of you who don't know what a Nancy Project is, it is one that takes a long time and is very detailed! And normally Kim shies away from Nancy Projects!

If you like these stamps, the tulip stamp is from Rubbernecker and the treehouse stamp is from Third Coast.

Runner Up

2010-03-19T16:18:00.001-04:00

Well, I didn't win the Paper Wishes contest, but I was a runner up and won a $25 gift certificate! Works for me! Thank you everyone who voted for me! If you missed my project - it is the next post down...

Vote for Me!

2010-03-14T16:18:00.000-04:00

Voting starts tomorrow (March 15) for the monthly contest at Paper Wishes. Vote for me! The winner gets $100 shopping spree!

This month we're using the new floral Dazzles. I made an explosion box - be sure to click on the additional views on the website to see the inside.

To vote, go to www.paperwishes.com and click on the "Contest" tab.

More Meljen!

2010-03-10T17:01:00.001-05:00

I can't get enough of these cute designs. And you know if it has cats, I'm going to love it! Here are two cat designs from Meljen Designs. The cat fishing is using the sketch for this month's challenge for the Paper Wishes card swap. Both cards are using papers from Hot Off the Press (from Paper Wishes).

Digi Stampin'

2010-03-09T18:15:00.000-05:00

I've been venturing into the world of digital stamps. Kind of fun - I like that you can size/flip/change the stamps, but I still like the techniques I can use with real rubber too! Here is a card I made with two stamps from Meljen Designs. The flowers came with the word "Family" in the flowers, but I changed it to read "Easter!" Isn't the chick just the cutest thing?

Good Site for Dog and Cat Stamps

2010-03-06T15:25:00.000-05:00

I discovered a new site for dog and cat stamps and especially sympathy stamps - Purrs and Pants (www.purrsandpants.com)! Here are two cards I made from their collection. The Rainbow Bridge has a poem that goes along with it. Have a tissue ready when you read it!

What You Can Accomplish in 15 Minutes!

2010-03-04T16:43:00.001-05:00

Allow me to step aside from paper crafting for just a little while....I have something to share!

I had an epiphany at Christmas Time this past year. I had decided to make two of the Basic Grey 2010 calendars for the kids, using pictures of the grandkids. It was a relatively small (8x8) all-included kit, so I decided I would work on it upstairs in the bedroom, rather than in my craft room. It would give me something to do while I did my nebulizer treatments, which take about 15 minutes, twice a day. When I finished those two calendars, I realized how much I could get accomplished in just those fifteen minutes!

So, I started thinking, what can I do on a regular basis? I wouldn't be able to do most of my paper crafting, because I need so many things! (I know, I know, but I NEED them!) So I decided to start beading at my little table. Beading doesn't take up much space, and as long as the cat wouldn't get into it, I'd be in good shape!

Well, I've made several projects since Christmas!! Take a look (all but two of these were done after Christmas and one of those was a project that still needed to be finished up - and that was done after Christmas!)

Just look at what you can do fifteen minutes at a time!

A Peaceful Page

2010-02-23T17:18:00.001-05:00

I've been holding on to this picture for a long time. I wanted to do something a little special with it, but just couldn't quite think through how I wanted it to look. It was such a special photo - it would be great turned into an oil portrait! I finally looked around and found a piece of burlap I had left over from a workshop I took by Rusty Pickle. Here's what I finally came up with - what do you think!?

February Swap

2010-02-11T17:03:00.001-05:00

Our challenge this month was to use one of the Paper Wishes folding templates. I decided to use the links. I like how the colors on this turned out!

January Card Swap at Paper Wishes

2010-01-28T16:46:00.001-05:00

Now that Michelle has received her card, I can post what I sent her! I love Penny Black cat stamps - this one just makes you giggle!

New Pages to Share!

2010-01-28T16:34:00.000-05:00

Went to a crop this weekend at Stamp and Scrap Nest and got a few pages finished! Two more mosaic pages to show you!

This one is my favorite - I just love how the colors came out!

I finally got the whole page together! This is the one where I worked on the frame for about 6 hours! The colors on the right side don't go as well together, but I still like it!

I love Leyda's facial expressions in these pictures - they really capture her surprise when she opened the gift and found a cell phone!

2009 in Review

2010-01-07T12:52:00.001-05:00

I made this for a class I'll be teaching at Wiggles and Giggles in February. Tried to get it in January but the calendar was full! At first I thought I didn't have much to put in a year-in-review type page, but I ended up taking some things out! Our biggest events for 2009:

- We got a new car
- I had my first publication
- Judy and Hunter bought their first house

Happy New Year Everyone!

A "Nancy Project"

2009-12-17T17:07:00.000-05:00

My friend Kim is always kidding me about my "Nancy Projects." I always seem to get myself in trouble by deciding to do something really detailed. This time I was working on a scrapbook page for my grandson's softball team, The Bucks. The store didn't have any camouflage paper, so I bought some cardstock in appropriate colors and was going to make my own. Then I remembered a technique I had seen Nathalie Metivier from Megenta stamps do where she cut the paper in small wedges and created a mosaic look. Here's my final effort (not a page yet, but at least the frame is done!)

Christmas Cards

2009-11-18T16:10:00.000-05:00

I've finally gotten a good bulk of my Christmas cards done. I used two main designs this year:

Star Wars and LegoFest

2009-11-13T16:56:00.000-05:00

Our charge this week was to make a layout for the LegoFest coming to Hartford, CT. I had Star Wars. To make it a little more interesting, I combined pictures of my grandson, Gavin who is 2 this year wearing the costume his brother wore several years ago as Luke Skywalker. Then I took pictures of Nathan from year-before last when he was Darth Vader. Good and Evil - that was it! Here's the result:

A Walk Down Memory Lane

2009-10-17T14:33:00.001-04:00

I went to a crop last weekend and worked mostly on pictures from my college days. I think sometimes I'll never finish this project! It's fun, but I enjoy doing more current things too! I'm almost through sophomore year now. This one really took me back. Look at the maxi dress! How about that - they've been coming out with maxi dresses again this past summer! This one is from 1974! These are pictures of my friend, Jay Wilcox, and me singing in the Sunken Garden at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. We used to sing in several of the local churches. Sorry the pictures are a little dark. Perhaps I should have scanned them before putting them in the layout, but I used the original pictures I had from the event.

This paper was from a collection I got on HSN - 3 Birds. I didn't know what in the world I would ever do with this yellow and black paper, but when I started going through my college pictures, this just seemed to fit, and the swirl cut from another piece in the same collection has a 70's feel to it.

New Swap Stuff

2009-10-17T13:59:00.000-04:00

First let me apologize for not posting much lately. We've been absolutely swamped at work. We're putting in a new phone system and everyone has been working long hours. It's probably going to be like this for another month and a half! Yikes! Flu bugs stay away!

I have a couple of things to show you. This month our card swap is a Fall theme, and so is a swap that is being called "Pick 'n' Mix" where you do 3 items consisting of an ATC, a "twinchie" or a tag, or any combination. Here are my fall things!

Finally got my ATC swap done!

2009-09-09T17:14:00.000-04:00

I had started working on the ATC for my September swap but got stuck - it just wasn't looking like I wanted it to. So I started in another direction. This one turned out much better! This is using one of the Stacy Stamps by Stacy Rich. I like the paper - it has little swirls that look like the wind!

A Challenge!

2009-09-07T15:55:00.000-04:00

It's amazing when you find yourself stuck on a project, that sometimes when you finally get the inspiration, or make the decision, or whatever happens that gets you moving, that the end result can be way better than you expected! Our latest design team assignment from Wiggles and Giggles had me stumped. I loved the papers I had gotten - the Autumn Bliss line from Little Yellow Bicycle. The colors were great - I had a great assortment of embellishments - even the nice acrylic overlays and journaling cards. Pictures? I had nothing. I went through all the pictures I had on my computer - don't know why but almost none were taken in the Fall. The only Thanksgiving pictures I had were of our little sad table for two at home. I thought about doing something about the things I was grateful for, but didn't know quite how to approach the pictures. Also, since so much of what I'm grateful has to do with health, I wasn't sure I wanted to display something so personal in the store. Well, I was at the store on Saturday, and was talking with Lakisha about it. She pointed out that making it personal would really show what scrapbooking is all about and encourge customers to think about their own scrapbooking. Well, I sat down on Labor Day afternoon, and took some pictures of myself. A couple turned out pretty good. Hmm. So I got the left side of the layout pretty much conceptualized. Now I had to do the journaling. Boy - writing about yourself is HARD! About 15 tissues later, I had it written. Here's the result:

If you can't read the journaling, here it is:

Even though my health isn’t what I would like it to be and sometimes it’s really a struggle, I think about all the other people out there with problems much worse than mine…

Even though I get short of breath doing every day things like getting ready for work, I think about those who don’t’ have a job to go to…

Even though I get winded cooking a meal, I think about those who have to go without…

Even though children sometimes stare at my airhose, they’re just curious and it gives me an opportunityto teach them about how people are different, and sometimes their parents too…

Even though there are a lot of things I can no longer do physically, there are so many things I still can do, and those are the things that make me happiest and feed my soul…

Even though there are days when I need help, I’m grateful for my husband, who helps me in so many ways, and my friends at work who always think of my needs…

Gratitude and Happiness…
It’s all about perspective…

Happy Fall, y'all!
Nancy

Samples Finished for October Iris Folding Class

2009-08-14T16:02:00.000-04:00

I'll be teaching an Iris Folding class in October at Wiggles and Giggles - I believe it's the 2nd Saturday. I finished the samples this week. The card is a very traditional format, but the scrapbook page I found the pattern for in this great book called Iris Folding by Michelle Powell. I'd never seen iris folding with these kinds of shapes - love it!

September Paper Wishes Swap

2009-08-09T16:53:00.000-04:00

Our challenge this month for the card swap is a patchwork card. I hadn't pulled out my quilting punches in a long time, so I made two cards. Now, which one to send? Hmmmm.....

I got new cat stamps!

2009-06-06T16:30:00.001-04:00

I saw an ad in one of my magazines from Third Coast - they have ALL kinds of cat stamps! My order came last week and here is the first creation from that set!