Happy Birthday Reece!

My sweet little great-niece is turning a year old so it was the perfect occasion to get out the new "Life of the Party" Basic Grey paper and Hero Arts stamps! I went bold, bright and cheerful with just a bit of girly-ness.

~ Psalm 100:1-3 ~

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Worship the Lord with gladness;

come before Him with joyful songs.

Know that the Lord is God.

It is He who made us, and we are His;

we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

blessings,

nancy

March Card Chain Challenge

I was on the ball this month and got my card done and mailed right away....and it stayed in California as I sent it my neighbor in the northern part of the state, Arlene.
Here's the color scheme and sketch from Deborah:

I loved the bright colors and had some fun with the sketch.....here's what Arlene received:

I used Hero Arts and Unity stamps and some bright colored paper scraps. The colorful tree has some Glossy Accents on it to make it special.

And now talking about being on the ball and getting a card in the mail...here is the card I received from Jie Ying all the way from Singapore, it's sweet and adorable and utterly charming!

I love those international postage stamps!

I am so addicted to these Card Chain Challenges. The idea of sending a card off to someone I don't know yet and receiving one from another new friend makes me so happy. I just need to give a woot woot to Deborah, the genius behind this wonderful monthly ritual. If you want to take part in a Card Chain Challenge, visit Deborah's blog, Society of Stamp & Scrap-aholics. She posts the new challenge at the end of the month.

~ Luke 16:15 ~

"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."

blessings,

nancy

Basic Stamping Class

This Saturday I'll be starting my Rubber Stamping 101 series of classes at Stamp Fever. These classes are geared toward the total newbie to stamping who wants to get started on the right foot with our wonderful little arty-crafty hobby. It will also be great for seasoned stampers who want to get a refresher and learn some new techniques with new products. I promise there will be something for everyone, whatever your skill level.

Here are the samples for the first class:

If you are in the Southern California area and would like to learn about stamping starting with the basics, contact Stamp Fever at 714 974-3552.

~ Psalm 1:1-3 ~ 

Oh the joys of those who do not

follow the advice of the wicked,

or stand around with sinners,

or join in with mockers.

But they delight in the law of the Lord,

meditating on it day and night.

They are like trees planted along the riverbank,

bearing fruit each season.

Their leaves never wither,

and they prosper in all they do.

blessings,
nancy

Bird Collage

While having some fun doing my Cuttlebug demo at Stamp Fever last Saturday, one of the techniques we tried was letterpress inking with embossing. This involves inking the embossing folder then running the paper through the machine. Depending on which side of the folder you ink you get a different look. For this card I inked the flat side so the ink covers the non embossed parts of the paper.

For the blue panel, I first stamped the white cardstock with Friend Definition using Stormy Sky Distress ink. Then I inked the embossing folder on the flat side with the same ink, placed the stamped cardstock in the folder with the stamped side toward the ink, then ran it through the machine. The design stays white and the rest is inked with blue. For the yellow panel I started with a scrap of yellow patterned paper and inked the folder with Wild Honey Distress ink.
For the main image I stamped Hero Arts Bird Collage K5503 with black Archival ink on vintage hymnbook paper. I colored the flowers and leaves with American Crafts markers and did some white highlights. On the kraft card base I stamped HA Envelope Pattern in black and Fabulous Flourish in brown. Once it was all assembled I embellished with Hero Hues gems, ribbon and Tim Holtz tissue tape.

At the demo we also experimented with embossing envelopes so I decorated an envelope to match this card.

This would definitely be more suitable for a hand delivered card or to enclose in a larger mailing envelope.
I'll be entering this in the Hero Arts challenge for this month. The challenge themes are birthdays, layered stamping and decorated envelopes.

~ Ephesians 6:10-11 ~

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 

Put on the whole armor of God, 

that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

blessings,

nancy

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Sister!

     What do you get for the person who has everything? Indeed, what if that person is your sister and you want to do something special? Well I don't know about you, but I got out my paints, pens, papers and canvas and made something! I haven't done a mixed media art piece in a long time but desperation can be a very good motivator.

     I saw this sentiment somewhere, can't for the life of me remember where (maybe on a stamp?) but it made me burst out laughing, it's perfect. You see, there's a story that goes with this.
     My dear sister is a few years older than me and when we were younger we shared a room. I can't imagine what it must have been like for her, I mean I was in 1st grade when she was in Junior High. We didn't have much in common in those days but I was very useful in assisting her when she needed help. Like timing her as she practiced speeches, or pinning the hem of a dress she was sewing at 2 in the morning. She was very good at getting me to do what she wanted. She did this by threatening to not be my sister anymore if I didn't cooperate. Like the time she wanted me to break her arm so she wouldn't have to take a test at school. (yea, that was gonna work) This is a brilliant plan when your 6 year-old  sister is  intimidated by the fact that her only sister, who she adores, is almost an adult at 12 years old. And it worked for many years. I did eventually figure out that she really didn't have that kind of power, convincing as she may have been.
     Today we are the best of friends in spite of being different as night and day. I admire her many accomplishments and successes. I look to her for advice and encouragement. So this gift is a nod to simpler times and a celebration of our loving friendship. Happy Birthday, Donna!

~ 2 Corinthians 5:21 ~

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, 

that we might become

the righteousness of God in Him.

blessings,

nancy

supplies and materials:

5 x 7 canvas-The Artist's Studio by Aaron Brothers

Golden Heavy Body Acrylic Paints

Claudine Helmuth multi-medium (I love this stuff)

Faber-Castell PITT artist pen

Sakura Pigma Micron pen

Jane Beljo Flower Button

Vintage text paper

Glossy Accents

miscellaneous buttons

Stamps- Hero Arts Flourish Background, CHF Kim Hughes Collection Collage Elements 1

computer generated text

just a quick share....

My sister's birthday is tomorrow so I made a sweet and feminine card for her. I'm working on a fun little canvas as a gift too. I'll share that next week. Since one of the challenge themes on the Hero Arts blog is birthdays I'll enter this over there.

I paired my favorite older HA birthday clear set Cupcakes CL158 with a new background stamp Daisy Outline Pattern S5472. Some pretty ribbon and delicious Cosmo Cricket Delovely paper and it's done!

This next card was inspired by this sentiment stamp set...

For some reason the words Live, Laugh, Love stood out and I thought they would work together well. I think they did, what do you think?

Some more Cosmo Cricket paper, this time from the Togetherness Mini Deck and the very versatile Graph Background stamp, S5435. I added Glossy Accents to the black areas of live and love and to the letters in laugh, here's some close up looks....

I'm doing a Cuttlebug demo today at Stamp Fever, so I used lots of die cut pieces in these two cards. The label dies are by Sizzix.  The large scallop and half circle dies are from PTI. The small ribbon label is Cuttlebug.

~ Proverbs 3:5-6 ~

Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek His will in all you do

and He will show you which path to take.

blessings,

nancy

A Little Color Challenge....

I love it when talented (and sweet) people put their heads together to come up with a fun challenge. That's just what the dream collaboration of Vicky, Deborah and Kathy did with this "color throwdown". Check out their blogs to see their gorgeous inspiration cards, the challenge details are on The Daily Marker.
The challenge is to use 4 Copic colors without blending or just use this color combo:

there is also a sketch to follow (which I did quite loosely, as always):

I made two cards using the same design; on one I followed Vicky's lead and stamped on kraft cs and colored with Copics.....

and on the other I did the stamping and coloring on white cs for a totally different look...

I like how the first one looks aged and vintage without having to break out the Distress inks. The Copic colors are soft and subtle when stamped on kraft. Then they pop against the bright white cardstock. I did some stamp layering for the background, it's very light on the kraft card.

Stamps: Hero Arts- Flowers and Swirls S5488, Classic Fabric Design CG245, Essential Messages CL371, Truly Appreciated CL380
Paper: Kraft Cardstock-PTI; White cardstock-Neenah Solar White; Patterned Paper- Graphic 45 Eden's Symphony from Botanicabella Collection.
Copic Markers- I used what I had Y38, YR16, YG05, B24
Ink- Memento Tuxedo Black; HA Soft Sand Shadow ink; Faded Jeans Distress ink.
May Arts Jute Twine; Labels 8 Nestabilities Dies; Sizzix tag die. Sakura White Gel Pen.

~ Psalm 16:7-8 ~

"I will bless the Lord who guides me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I know the Lord is always with me.

I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me."

blessings,

nancy