Debuting a New Blog Look with a New Lily Pad Challenge

I decided I had threatened to change things up long enough...it was time to deliver the goods. After shopping around all the blog decor sites and not seeing anything that was really me, I did a little designing for myself. Armed with my trusty Microsoft Publisher and some graphics from The Graphics Fairy and a freebie digikit I created a new blog banner, footer and favicon. One more thing checked off my 2012 To Do List.

On to the challenge at Lily Pad Cards. This month our Simon Says Stamp sponsored challenge is all about using the Kissing Technique. I love the great texture that you can achieve by "kissing" one stamp with another before hitting the paper with it. I hope you will check out the gorgeous work the Design Team has on display at Lily Pad Cards and join us for another fabulous challenge!

For my card I used a new stamp and an old stamp. And I embellished....yep that's right, I used flowers, buttons and die cuts on one card. I stopped short of adding bling too, didn't want to go completely crazy.

~James 1:17~

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us

from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.

I channeled my inner Tiffany and Lin to come up with a feminine design to use the Kiss technique. I have no idea when or where I got the bird stamp, it has no name on it and it's been rattled around in my stamp stash for years. Because it has a large solid area it's perfect for adding texture, in this case I used Hero Arts Friend Definition to kiss the ink off of the bird before stamping. For the background I inked the background stamp with Tumbled Glass Distress ink and kissed it with the Envelope Pattern inked with Stormy Sky Distress ink.

blessings,
nancy

InLinkz.com

Lily Pad Cards- Virginia's View #2

This week the Pond{ers} are sponsored by Sweet Stamp Shop for our second Virginia's View Challenge!
I'm so sorry but these card photos are irretrievably lost.

Make sure to visit Lily Pad Cards for some fabulous inspiration from the Design Team!

Stamps and Supplies:

Sweet Stamp Shop Stamps: Melvin and Vernie, Sweet Tooth, Gnomies
Copic Markers
Tiny Type Letters (Cosmo Cricket)
Kraft Paper and blue patterned paper (Lawn Fawn)
Jenni Bowlin Cough Syrup ink
Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug)
Heart Punch (EK Success)
Glossy Accents (on gumballs and owl glasses)
Micron Pigma 005 fine line black pen (Sakura)
Neenah Tiara White cardstock
Red Card Stock (PTI)

blessings,

nancy

Sending Love Your Way

Hi all, today I'm sharing a favorite card made by combining 2 wonderful new Lawn Fawn sets; You've Got Mail and Flying By. I designed it as a Make n Take for CHA. I had a great time showing store owners and designers how to put it together while sharing how much I love Lawn Fawn stamps.

I also used the wonderful new Lawn Fawn papers Bright-Eyed and Upbeat kraft.

I'm sending some airmail love all the way to heaven....today would be my mom's 82nd birthday. I've been missing her since 1978. Remembering you with love on your birthday Mom!

blessings,
nancy

New Class Series Starts This Week

The new series in Stamping Basics, Stamping 103, starts this Saturday and I'm so excited! I have a full class of 12 wonderful women joining me for the next 3 months to do some really fun projects.

In our first class we will be doing lots of stamping, dry embossing and die cutting and did I mention stamping?
These are the 2 cards we will be making this week:

 This card is one I did the for Hero Hostess Blog Hop and it combines lots of trendy new stamps.

For this one I used new stamps with an older embossing folder and some fun inking techniques.

Stamps and supplies for these cards are in the inlinkz collection below.

Happy Valentine's Day!

nancy

John 3:16-17- it's all about God's love for you!

"For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him."

Basic Stamping Kit- Adhesive Runner, Foam Adhesive, Glossy Accents, Glue Dots, Scissors, Paper Trimmer, Ink Blending Tool, Black Ink, VersaMark Ink, Non-Stick Craft Sheet.

Adhesive Dispenser	Tombow Adhesive	Tuxedo Black Ink	VersaMark Watermark Ink	Tonic Scissors
Fiskars Paper Trimmer	Mini Glue Dots	3D Foam Squares	Ink Blending Tool	Glossy Accents
Non Stick CRAFT SHEET

InLinkz.com

Stamps and Supplies we will be using for Stamping Basics 103 Session 1:

Cuttlebug A2 Embossing Folder BIRDS AND SWIRLS Provo Craft 37-1609	Hero Arts NEWSPAPER BACKGROUND S5601	HA-Sizzix FLORAL 657776	Hero Arts SENDING YOU LOVE CL588	Hero Arts XO CL586
Hero Arts Frame Cuts F	American Crafts BRIGHTS Stamp Markers	Sakura Micron Pens	Ink Blending Tool	Tim Holtz Distress Ink PAD VINTAGE PHOTO Brown Ranger
Tim Holtz Distress Ink PAD SPUN SUGAR	Stormy Sky Distress Ink	Cuttlebug Die-Cut & Emboss Machine

InLinkz.com

All of these supplies are either in stock at Stamp Fever or can be special ordered for you.

Just a Quick Post

I'm up to my elbows in Gelatos, creating up a storm for my upcoming classes at Stamp Fever, so I'll keep this post really short and hopefully sweet.

This was the first card I've ever submitted for publication. It didn't make the cut but I'm pretty happy with the experience and plan to keep submitting cards, you never know!

Here's another all-purpose birthday card:

This one was also not selected but it makes me smile. Hopefully it will bring a smile to the recipient!

blessings everyone, have a wonderful weekend!
nancy

Stamps: Hero Arts- Newspaper Background, Small Solid Flower, Small Open Flower, Antique Flowers and Butterflies Sizzix set, Silhouette Vines Stamp and Emboss set, Little Greetings Happy Birthday.

Real Love

I've been slowly returning to my love of collage. I recently had the pleasure of taking a workshop at CHA taught by the delightful Donna Downey that got me very inspired. The whole set of Faber-Castell Gelatos I came home with also fueled a bit of artistic fire.

I have been wanting to introduce a new format for my Thought for the Day by combining some art with a favorite Bible verse. I'm thinking this is going to be a blog feature that will become what it wants to be over time but today is a start.

With Valentine's Day just a week away, love is a popular subject of cards and crafting projects right now, so it's perfect for sharing a very favorite verse about real love.

My Thoughts: I love this verse because it confirms to me that I can do nothing to earn my right relationship with God. He did it all because He loves us. It's real love, a sacrificial love that is very hard for the human mind to comprehend. A right relationship with God cannot be earned, it's not based on our goodness. As Ephesians 2: 9 teaches; "Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." It was God, working through His love for His creation who made the way for everyone to receive His love, His real love. It is a free gift, and God is holding it out to you today...will you open your heart to receive His gift of love?
For further study read: Titus 3:4-6.

I decided to start small with my valentine canvas, this one is 3x3 and features stamps by Hero Arts, Lawn Fawn and Unity.

I'm hoping to complete one canvas per month as I explore new ways to use the art supplies I have.

blessings,
nancy

Verse Art: Hero Arts Digital image "Sketch Tulips"; Font-"Complete in Him"
Canvas: Ranger-Sticky Back Canvas; MFT- Hearts a Plenty Die; Lawn Fawn- Teeny Tiny Backdrops; Hero Arts- La Letter; Unity- provencial collection-my dear; Faber-Castell- Gelatos.

Some Valentines and More CHA

{warning: long post....grab a beverage and spend some time with me}

I got up early this morning to do the 90 Minute Scramble with the talented ladies in the Hero Arts Flickr group. Our hostess for the morning's festivities is Marcy and she inspired us with a gorgeous Valentine card. Check out her blog En Papillote Arts, she does some really lovely work.

So the challenge was to use a heart in a way other than just stamped on the card. I looked over the mess on my work desk and saw a tattered left-over piece of Sticky Back canvas and the idea light bulb went on. I decided to die cut a heart from the canvas and add color to it with Gelatos. They just happened to be sitting on the desk too. Did I mention I got a whole set of Gelatos when I took a Faber-Castell sponsored workshop at CHA...you can't beat free when it comes to art supplies! So use them I must.

All the stamps are Hero Arts: CL587 Amour and the background is CG405 Leaf and Floral Background. They are some of the freebies from the 2 Hero Arts workshops I attended with sweet Ivy. 

You should check out the beautiful cards in the Hero Arts Flickr group, it's amazing what these talented women can in less than 90 minutes!

So now, from elegant to fun and whimsical. This is my Valentine card for my hubby using Lawn Fawn stamps:

This one was made a few weeks ago using whatever I found on my desk (seems to be a recurring theme with me). The stamp set is "Love n Breakfast" and I just love the sentiment. It's perfect too, because my wonderful guy loves to make muffins for breakfast, in fact as I type this I'm scarfing down a cranberry orange muffin that he made.  The Valentine greeting is in the "My Silly Valentine" set from Lawn Fawn.

The background paper is Crate Paper Snow Day (I did mention it was just sitting there waiting to be used, right) and the label is from Odds n Ends by Cosmo Cricket.

The Rest of the Show

CHA 2012 Day Two:

Clockwise from top left:

· Kelly posing with Holly and Susan from Papercrafts Magazine;

· the Lawn Fawn booth was a busy place on Monday, Chari and Ivy presided over the Make n Take table;

· Ivy having some Lawn Fawn fun;

· all the Fawnies at the end of  a busy day, from left- me, Chari, Ivy, Kelly, Mike, Erica, Andy, in front- Laurel and Greg;

· I finally got to meet the ever so sweet Vera Yates, love that girl!.

I got in on the photo op fun with my friend Jennifer.

On to Day Three:

Tuesday was my day to preside over the Make n Take table; I had so much fun and met so many wonderful people. I especially loved showing everyone the wonderful new Lawn Fawn stamp sets!

Here's my friend Jennifer with her card, she came back on Tuesday just so she could make my card.

My Make n Take card used You've Got Mail and Flying By. The papers are the new Lawn Fawn Bright Side papers.

Day 3 was all about reconnecting with friends, meeting others for the first time and the new friendships that began:

Clockwise from top left:

• Posing with sweet Jennifer McGuire after the amazing Hero Arts workshops
• Meeting the delightful Julie Ebersole
• Love this girl; the sweet and talented Chari Moss
• Kelly and Mike being silly at the end of the day
• Three wonderful people: Ellen Hutson, Julie Ebersole and Kelly Marie Alvarez
• Gotta love this sweet girl, Laurel Beard
• I always love seeing my talented friend Sally Traidman
• Kelly and Laurel get framed

Day 4:

It was just Kelly, Mike and I on the last day of the show....and it flew by really fast! Before we knew it we were breaking down Lawn Fawn land but there were some highlights along the way. There wasn't much time for taking photos as I was doing double duty with make n takes and helping the visitors to the booth.

Clockwise from top left:

• What a thrill to have Amy Tan join me to do my Make n Take card! Check out those fabulous washi tapes on the table; keep an eye on Amy's blog, you just may see them there: amy tangerine
• I finally had a chance to get back to the Hero Arts booth where I met May and got some supplies for a Stamp Fever event.
• We got all the product and samples packed up
• Lawn Fawn land is ready to load up.
• When the show's over the carpet comes up and booths come down pretty quickly. This guy had quite the personality and wasn't afraid to pose.

Thanks for sticking with this long post. I wanted to get the CHA posting finished up today; I hope you enjoyed sharing my adventure with me.

blessings,

nancy