Loves To Create

We are only human...

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:34:00 +0000

....and so because of that we often spend too much time comparing ourselves to others. I am so guilty of that! I will tell you a TRUTH.... Lately, that is what has kept me from creating. I kept seeing my work as inferior to others and it sorta took me over. That and combined with the recent loss of my grandfather it sorta shut off my mojo!

Today someone shared this quote on my friend Jenny's blog and she then shared it on her group page on FB. It was just what I needed to hear, it's amazing how good God is! If we don't fight him he shares lessons with us when we need them!

So, I had to create this simple, yet pretty little wall art and I'm going to print and frame it so that I can hang it where I can see it daily!

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I simply went and pulled some great digi art from Rhonna Designs and it came together very quickly! That is what is so awesome about using Rhonna's art, it's beautiful and so no matter what you make with it, it always looks FABULOUS!

I pulled the background paper from this Chevron Tool Kit found HERE

The Hot Air Balloon from the Punk Junque Kit found HERE

The cute font is Bon Appetit also by Rhonna found HERE

Have a great Thursday!

p.s. I did not share that TRUTH so you could tell me I'm great at what I do, just wanted to say it out loud so I can start getting over it!

One Little Word meets Rhonna Designs

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Hello there! Well, I am still alive and kicking, ha! I just had seemed to fall into a slump and getting my mojo back took some time and I'm still working on it! I worked this past weekend on some fun things for submission to a Styled Wedding Shoot. Once I get the photographers photos I will share them with you!

I finally had some time to finish up my first month's homework for Ali Edwards One Little Word. I had put aside a bunch of card stock that I had, which I knew would last me the entire year but...... I couldn't resist using some of Rhonna's art from her "A year to follow your heart" kit. I simply opened up the base pieces from Ali and then added some pieces from Rhonna's kit. If you recall I did this same thing for my December Daily, which no I haven't finished that yet, ha!

I printed out the page on some textured Bazzill card stock then inked it with some Tim Holtz distressing inks. Added a few things I had on hand, I'm trying to do my best to shop my current stash! I love how the pieces turned out! I'm hoping to get the protector pages at some point. I have my LSS ordering them for me as I am being super cheap on shipping charges, ha! That is another reason that creating Hybrid projects is great! You simply download your files so no shipping charges!

Here is what I created using PSE, Ali's January Files and Rhonna's Kit found HERE

Click on all photos to see them in a larger size.

Please note the file below is in a lower resolution as it is not a file to be shared. I'm merely sharing my process with you.

And once printed and trimmed to size I created the pieces shown in the collage below. Getting over the fact that I don't have beautiful girly handwritting is always hard but Ali encourages you to use your own handwritting. I even messed up a few spots on my journaling cards but just went with it. I have to continue to remind myself that this is for me and it doesn't have to be perfect or as beautiful as some of those shared by others.

Talk about easy, quick and fun! It didn't take me any time at all and so I plan on completing February's this week too! Are you participating in One Little Word? If not click on the button on my right side bar to see more info via Ali's blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

p.s. I will finally have a couple of Valentine items posted later this week!

Dressing your blog

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Today I wanted to share with you a very talented friends blog, her name is Leslie Avila. This gal is so talented it's crazy gewd!!

She dabbles in paper, paints, mixed media and fabric and to be honest I don't think there is anything she can't do! We met about a year ago and although we live a few hours away from each other she is a dear friend! Well, she made me a beautiful cuff bracelet that you can see on her blog HERE. I had wanted to make her something for her birthday, then for Christmas and well time got away from me! So, I decided that a blog makeover would be another way I could gift her something. So, hello this is just another way you can use the incredible digital elements from Rhonna Designs!

Here is a peek at Leslie's blog but I do hope that you will head on over and see for yourself and drop her a note to say hello HERE. *I have to say that viewing the blog via mobile or iPad will not show how fab it turned out. If I do say so myself *wink

I used items from the following kits when dressing Leslie's blog.

Kiss Me Background Kit

Kiss Me Pieces Kit

Kiss Me Border Kit

Rhonna has a great Valentine Bundle Set that include those kits above and MORE that link to the bundle set is HERE! And so really that is the way to go for a great savings! And if you are new to my blog or Rhonna's you should go and visit Rhonna's Blog too because she has some amazing Valentine DIY projects up on her blog. Lots of hybrid crafting, seriously it's all delish you have to go look HERE.

And lastly, if you are on FB and are using the new Timeline look (which we will all end up with soon) you will want to check out this Kiss Me Cover Page Kit HERE. It's an easy way to dress up your Timeline for the Valentine holiday. And actually with any of her digital elements you can create your own. Yes, I have created some myself, love changing it up! In fact I need to dress up my blog header too! This week for sure, after all it's has to have a touch of Valentine right *wink

Here is my FB Cover photo that I created with elements from her Kiss Me lines but in her kit she has some all ready for you to use and she even has some that you can add photos to!

I hope to have a DIY project up this week so check back soon. And I'm also working on an idea for a video screen tutorial for those of you who want to learn how to decorate your own blog using Rhonna's designs, Photoshop Elements and Blogger. Any interest in a tutorial?

Thanks for stopping in today!

My OLW for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

If you don't already know about Ali Edward's One Little Word then just go HERE for more info. Most folks who are sharing their OLW via their blog usually have an explanation as to why they chose it. I did last year (found HERE) but this year at this time I am not. I had two words in mind and this one chose me. I hope to share more on it as time goes by but, for now this is all I got.

Won't you join us?!

And what about Project Life you ask? Well, I'm participating in that this year too. Last year was a major fail for me. So, I am going to try again and this year I am DETERMINED to finish it! You can learn more on Becky Higgin's Project life HERE

Hope to get back to my blogging and creating, so see you back here soon. *I wouldn't mind it too bad if you sent a little creative mojo my way though *wink

The art piece I used above is from Rhonna Designs A Year To Follow Your Heart Printable Kit found HERE . Since it's a printable kit you can print the pages out and make your own journal! How cute would these be in your Project Life sprinkled throughout!

Rhonna DESIGNS: New Year. New Kits. New Look. Twenty.12

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:05:00 +0000

Have you stopped over at Rhonna's blog? There are some great new kits!! Love the calendars!

Rhonna DESIGNS: New Year. New Kits. New Look. Twenty.12: I'm sooo excited about this next year...twenty.12. My focus & mantra for the year is to: Follow My Heart. it really means so much t...

My sweet grandpa, Ernesto...

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:54:00 +0000

Today we lost our grandfather Ernesto to cancer, our hearts are broken. But, we are comforted by the fact that we know he is in a better place, with his Lord and Savior. Until we meet again sweet grandpa! I will forever love you and hold my memories of you in my heart.

Merry Christmas Friends!

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 08:02:00 +0000

May you have many blessings this coming year!

All items (minus the two photos) used to create this card can be found at www.Rhonnadesigns.com

And some beautiful Christmas music for you from Mindy Gledhill's album Winter Moon. You can find the entire CD on iTunes or on her site www.mindygledhill.com

The link below will not take you to another site, you will get to enjoy her song via my blog.

09 The Christmas Song by mindygledhill

Play It Again Sam -Hybrid Ornament Take Two

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:53:00 +0000

Today I asked a friend of mine if she had seen my ornament post HERE and as we chatted about it an idea came to mind. I told her that I was a bit sad to mail off my ornament and so I would have to make myself one. Then I thought how about creating an ornament with a monogram for my nieces and nephews to put on my tree. I think that it would be special for them to see "their" ornament on our tree. So, I changed out one side of the ornament when creating it and changed up the junk bow a bit. I also took step by step photos, if I had not taken photos I could have finished this up in 20mins. If you try your own I would love to see a photo!

*Click on photos to see them in a larger size*

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The K was from the Monogram Junque Kit found HERE

And the piece with the doily is from the Christmas Junque Pieces Kit found HERE

The little "bright" and "twinkle" pieces are from a stash of tinsel & twig from a past line of the girls paperie

Thanks for stopping by!

Hybrid Christmas Ornament

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:31:00 +0000

Welcome back friends to my piece for cReative Team Tuesday! Be sure to head over to Rhonna's blog to see all the other amazing projects!

This week I am sharing with you the hybrid ornament that I created for an ornament exchange. It's on it's way to a sweet friend miles and miles away and I hope she loves it as much as I do.

*You can click on photos to see them in a larger size to see more detail*

I started out with some extra pieces of printed Christmas Junque pieces I had left over from my December Daily project. A few other items as shown in the photo above. I also gathered some pieces of ribbon, lace, tulle and burlap to create the junk bow used on the top of the ornament.

I bought a package of clear ornaments at my local Hobby Lobby.

I liked that they weren't a globe like most clear ornaments. You can see one of the printed pieces that I slipped into it. What I actually had to do was roll up the piece then slide it into the hole. I then used a thin paintbrush and a metal tool that was even thinner to help me unroll it.

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Here is side #1 of the ornament.

Here is side #2 of the ornament

In this view above you can see that I inked the edges of the piece inside. I added some silver numbers to the outside of the ornament. I made sure to add some glossy accents over them so they wouldn't fall off over the years.

Now in these two views, I am hoping you can see that I have a tinsel garland that I adhered with the red tape around the bird piece. You can also see in these photos that i used some sewing pattern paper between each of the two pieces so that they would help fill the ornament. I think that using the pattern paper gives it a shabby chic look. I also sprinkled some of the glitter and Diamond dust into the ornament so you can see them stuck to the inside of the ornament.

I thought that the glitter was just so delish that I had to add it to the pattern paper that I used in the junk bow. Some glossy accents was rubbed on the paper then sprinkled with the glitter. Love!

I love this view above, it shows the pattern paper I used to print the bird piece on. And it also shows the glitter on the mini flag and star. Love how delish that looks! I used a little tip that Margie taught us during her Spark Your Christmas to give those little flags the dimensional shape. This ornament was mostly if not all inspired by Margie! It's not too late to take her course, the videos are amazing! And so many of the tips she taught us can be used all year long in many projects!

The digital pieces used throughout out this ornament can be found at http://www.rhonnadesigns.com/

I used the ledger piece from the Christmas Junque Background kit to cut out the two small flags HERE

And pieces from the Christmas Junque Pieces Kit found HERE

There are many wonderful pieces that you could use within the Christmas Junque Line. The possibilities are endless! Hope you are enjoying this holiday season!

I will be back this week with a few more pages from my December Daily (hopefully *wink)

Creating Your Own Christmas Card

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:40:00 +0000

Hello friends! I'm back with a second post today! I was going to share this with you next week but then realized that many are mailing cards out now so why wait!

So, here is a card I created as an example of what you can do for your family card.

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1. I simply opened up my Photoshop Elements program and created a size I wanted for the card. It's a good idea to first check and see what size cards your favorite photo processor sells.

2. I then pulled in one of the new Chevron backgrounds from this Kit HERE. I did customize the color to my liking. Super easy!

3. I then simply pulled in the photo mat from this Kit HERE and then layered a photo on top.

4. Added the sweet little bird from this Kit HERE.

5. Re-colored a washi tape from this Kit HERE and placed it on my collage.

6. Added some text (used Decor Font) on the top and bottom. Rhonna has many more fabulous fonts that are available HERE *I used my color selector to pick up a color from the bird piece so it would all tie together.

7. Upload to your favorite Photo store, many offer a blank where you can pull in your own jpeg file. You simply use it as a background. Just be sure that you use a high pixel photo for the best quality. I'm using a lower pixel in my example.

8. Mail them off to family and friends.

Thanks for dropping in and if you have any questions just leave a comment and an email so I can reach you.

December Daily Days 2 and 3

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 06:51:00 +0000

I'm back and today is cReative Team Tuesday at Rhonna Designs Blog so be sure to check out other fabulous projects on her blog HERE!

I have to say that adding the task of blogging my pages is going to add more to my to-do list but I am going to try and keep it up! I may be a few days late in posting them but I think that will be just fine! Here are two more days, as you can see I was inspired by the digital layouts created by Ali Edwards. I put my own spin on it by using some of the fabulous digital elements from Rhonna Designs Christmas Junque line. I also decided to add the day to them so I will be going back to Day 1 and adding Thursday! That is the beauty of digital, you can change it up and print very easily! These pages will go into my album so it will still be a hybrid project. As mentioned on Sunday I do plan on sharing photos of them layed out in the book but that will come as time allows. Thanks for stopping by!

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I am using photo paper purchased at my local office supply store to print these out in a 5x7 size.

The backgrounds used are from the Christmas Junque Background Kit HERE

The numbers used are in the Number Kit HERE

Frame used is from the Simple Photo Frames Kit HERE

The MERRY is from the Christmas Word Art Brush Kit HERE

The little JOY tag I cropped out of the Christmas Junque Tags-N-Flags Kit HERE

Day 1 in the books!

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:58:00 +0000

Well hello friends! Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving Holiday and a great start to December! We have been busy here at the Wyatts and so I was a little behind getting my pages put together for the first three days! Here is the journaling piece I created to add to my December Daily. I simply created a 5x7 piece in PSE, added a Christmas Junque background. I then re-colored and added a 1 from the Number Junque Kit, a photo and my journaling. It came together great and once I printed this piece out I simply attached it to one of my already printed Christmas Junque pages and slipped it into it's page protector! I hope to photograph the page in it's entirety this week.

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Items used to create piece above are as follows:

Christmas Junque Backgrounds found HERE

Number Junque Kit found HERE
Printed out on photo paper in a 5x7 size

December Daily 2011 -Foundation Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:40:00 +0000

Welcome back, this weeks cReative Team Tuesday.
I am sharing some of the journaling cards that I created using elements from Rhonna's Christmas Junque Kits. I'm not sure about you but I didn't want to have the actual pages that my photos go on fully completed. Why? Well, I am one of those girls that isn't sure if she is going to like the photo I have chosen for my page. And if it is going to be vertical or horizontal once I do have it picked out. I plan to have these cards next to my album in my December Daily Keepsake Box so that I can pull the one that fits my page that day. I also plan on using some of them for additional embellishments on pages. The inspiration for these cards came from Becky Higgins Project Life Kit, (which I started and fell behind on mid June).

My first step was to create each individual 2.5 x 3.5 card. As you can see above the layers are shown to the far right and so I simply started with a 2.5x3.5 canvas then added my pieces to it. I then flatten the layers and save as a jpeg. One tip I would like to share with you is to name your layers when you are working. This makes it much easier to go back and move layers around, especially when you have many layers!

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I then pulled them into one 8.5 x 11 page shown above. I was careful to use guide lines to help me line up all my cards. Lining up the cards will help me when it comes time to cutting as shown below.

You can see in the photo above how the cards are lined up so that I can simply cut them apart, easy peasy!

Love that doily used in the Merry Christmas Journal card above, it's from the Christmas Junque Pieces Kit found HERE

So there you have it, Hybrid Journaling cards. I printed these out on 110lb white card stock and I also printed some out on some Bazzill textured paper and it looks and feels delish!

I wanted to share another Fabulous December Daily project that I have, it's my Keepsake Box from Paper Coterie you can visit them HERE.

I absolutely LOVE it! I plan to keep my journaling cards in the box next to my album with some supplies. I will be able to easily add photos and journaling cards to my album and it will be all nice and tidy! Then once I am done I can tuck my album into it for safe keeping and or to keep my Christmas cards and little momentos from our holiday.

Here is a shot of the front, spine and back and you can click on it to see it in a larger size. What I did was created these pieces in Photoshop Elements. I made it really simple by simply using a background from the Christmas Junque Background Kit found HERE and then added some elements from the Christmas Junque Pieces Kit found Here. And the element on the bottom right corner of the cover is from the Evergreen Christmas card Kit found HERE Once you have your pieces created you simply upload them into your project on their website. They guide you through it step by step and if you can't get it just like you want simply email them and they will help you! They will even tweak it for you, seriously they are so helpful!

And last but not least I have a tiny sneak peek of a Christmas Card that I created for a guest blog visit with Marci of Dandelion Farm Girl so click HERE to visit her blog. I believe the post will be up on Tuesday and so I will be back to edit the link to direct you to the actual post at a later time.

Thanks for stopping in and hope you have a wonderful week and a Happy Thanksgiving!

All frames used on the photos in this post are from Rhonna Designs and can be found HERE

Come visit me at Marci's

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:30:00 +0000

Today I'm hanging out at fellow Spark sister Marci's blog! I would love it if you stopped in to say hello and had a look around her sweet blog! Lucky for me she is having me back tomorrow with a short tutorial I did for a Hybrid Christmas Card using some Christmas Junque from Rhonna Designs. So be sure to visit her on Tuesday too, I think you will love the easy card I created! Just click on her logo below to head over there.

Got Pinterest?

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 03:34:00 +0000

Hello Friends!

A really quick post for those of you who are on Pinterest, or should I say addicted to Pinterest? Ha!

I'm not sure about you but I have noticed that now that there are lots more of us on Pinterest that the pinning is getting a bit SLOPPY! What I mean by this is that when an item is pinned there are many times that the original pinner is simply copying the blog/site address verses the actual post that the item is on.

Why does that matter? Well, if I want to go back to a pin to view a tutorial or view the item and it's not pinned to the actual post then that means that I am going to have to search to find it. And that defeats the purpose of pining something, at least for me.

Because of this I am trying to check the pin's before I re-pin them and if they link back to the overall blog then I look to see if the item is easily located. Once I locate it then I pin it properly for myself, there have been a few times that I haven't been able to find the item so I give up and move on.

So, here is a little example of what I mean so if you would help me out and spread the word, we will all benefit from this, I promise!

****Click on the Title of the Post that has the item you want to pin before pin'ing and that will help makes sure you pin properly****

Thanks and Happy Pin'ing!

Click on the photo to see it in a larger size.

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Let's talk about how digital met my December Daily

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 07:34:00 +0000

First of all, I just want to thank you for stopping by to see how things are coming along with my December Daily! And for the sweet comments and questions that have been left for me.

So, let's talk about how I you can use a digital kit to create what I have shared so far. Are you ready? It's really easy, I promise! The majority of the printed items I have used so far are from the Christmas Junque Background Kit found HERE.

How you ask? Well, you simply click on the file once you have unzipped it and the files will open up with Word, Photo Gallery or Photoshop Elements. If you simply click on the file your computer knows what software to use to open it. What I want to make clear for you is that you don't have to have any fancy software to open up these files. If you wanted to, you could take these files on a jump drive to your local office supply store and have them print out for you.

What I did was printed out a total of 13 background pages on 110lb white cardstock that I bought at my local office supply store. You could also use some Bazzill cardstock if you wanted some texture to the paper. I was able to trim out two 4"x8" pieces from each background page. If you look closely at the divided pages in this post HERE and look at divider for days 7 and 19. You will see that for some of these I cut the background pages horizontal on the page and on some I cut them vertical. This helps to give some of the duplicate pages I used a different look. I chose to add some colored cardstock to the back of the 4"x8" pieces to not only add some weight. Then I had a ton of fun pulling from lots of my existing stash to decorate the pages. As I mentioned before I wanted to keep it simple and easy! There were so many other things I could have done like sewing and cool pockets and cutouts but for me keeping it simple helped me get it done fast! I will add that if you used the Christmas Junque Art pieces found in the kit HERE you could print them out and simply cut them out and use them as embellishments! I'm telling ya, the possibilities are endless!

The layout above shows how I cut the pieces out on the horizontal, cutting them as shown above often allowed me to keep a design on each piece for those pages that had designs on top and bottom.

And the layout above shows you how I trimmed the paper on the vertical. Some background papers are better suited for this cut layout.I also printed out those background pieces at a reduced size so that I could cut out pieces with a smaller pattern.

And one more fun way to create divider pages is shown above. I simply printed out a background on some laser jet compatible transparency sheets also purchased at my office supply store.

It's so easy and fun to use digital files and if you have any other questions please let me know.
You can also go visit http://www.rhonnadesigns.blogspot.com/ and see some of her tutorials. Rhonna is fabulous at giving out free pointers!

Be sure to drop in later this week, I am finally going to share with you the foundation pages that I created with some of the digital elements in some of the other Christmas Junque kits. Ciao for now!

My other posts on December Daily can be found in the two consecutive posts below.

December Daily 2011 - Foundation Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:09:00 +0000

Welcome back! I finished up all my divider pages so I wanted to share with you the photos I took tonight. Unfortunately, now that the sun goes down so early it doesn't give me a chance to take photos while I have good daylight. Well, that and that I worked until dark on these so that didn't help either!

OK, so as you can see I continued using the Christmast Junque Background Pages to create the 4"x 8" divider pages and simply embellished them. Hope you like them, I sure do! Now I need to finish up the larger pages that will hold the photos. Those are in the works so hoping to share those later this week or next weekend. Only time will tell, hope you had a great weekend and that this is a great week for you!

Click on photos to see them in a larger size.

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You can find the Christmas Junque Background Pages HERE over at Rhonna Designs! And have a look around because she has many awesome kits available!

Click HERE to see Part 1 of my December Daily Foundation post.

And HERE is a link to Ali's Foundation Pages Part 2, if you aren't playing along it's not too late!

December Daily 2011 - Foundation

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:30:00 +0000

Hi there! Can you believe that we are 2 weeks away from Thanksgiving and only 7 weeks away from Christmas! The older I get the quicker the year seems to fly by!

OK, so on to my December Daily. As you can see I have started the foundation pages for my December Daily and have taken very poor photos to share part of it with you today, ha! This year I am trying to be prepared and Rhonna's kits are making it really easy! I still don't even have the actual album that is going to hold it, for now I'm using a binder. I have chosen to do an 8.5x11 album this year, I say that as if I did an album last year. I did not, ha!

My pages area going to be similar for each day as far as set up goes. I am simply printing and cutting out paper and slipping them into the photo protector pages. I did create some daily dividers, which were inspired by Ali Edwards! I used some distressing ink on some of the paper and pulled out some of my last years stash from the Girls Paperie. I love using digital files along with items that I have from kits and my LSS. Hybrid scrapbooking is awesome!

For me it has to be sweet & simple in order to get it done in time and to follow through. I want the journaling and the photos to be the true stars of the pages. I will be doing some custom designed pages using digital elements from Rhonna Designs as well. But for now I wanted to share the items that I simply opened up and printed out. Using digital files is truly that simple, I promise!

So on the page above I will most likely add a photo and a journaling spot. That is a silver foil doily above, love those!

I have to tell you that I was so excited when I realized that I had an old music book full of Christmas music, what a score huh! I love checking used book stores and getting them very inexpensively!

I plan to use the 5x7 pockets, shown here with the music paper to hold one photo on one side only. And for the page with 2x3 openings I will do some journaling, a photo or two and extras like receipts. Only time will tell. And I will most likely print out a photo in a larger size and simply crop out a section of it I like.

All that layering above makes my heart happy! Can't wait to add more to it!

Little pockets like the one above on the left will hold a special note or item, meant for Andy and I only.

Love using scrap pieces of paper and other bought items from my stash to decorate the date. I am using fonts from American Crafts so far.

Above I used some scrap burlap and ribbon I had on hand. Only time will tell what will make it into those open spots in the pocket protectors.

I had some metal snowflakes on hand (have been hoarding them for years!) and so I slipped some in here and there. This is it for now, going to keep working on it and so I have promised myself that by Dec 1st it will be ready for me to start adding photos daily and documenting our days!

Here are the Christmas Junque Kits I used so far

Christmas Junque Printable Backgrounds Kit found HERE

Candy Cane Card Kit found HERE

***Edited in at 3:30CT 11/9/11 The page protectors used in my album are from Pink Paislee House of 3. Sadly they aren't for sell anymore, at least I haven't found them. Sorry for the tease!!

Be sure to check back in for more as I will be adding some more printables and I will also be creating some custom pages. Enjoy the rest of your week!

And HERE is a link to Ali's Foundation Pages Part 1

Spark No. 3, Chapter 6

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:45:00 +0000

You are probably thinking man, can she stretch this Spark story out any longer?! LOL

Sorry, I just decided some time ago that life comes first and so doing posts comes later and sometimes that means they get a little delayed and stretched out.

OK, so this year at Spark we had some amazing new classes!

We learned from some amazing women and they were all such fun to spend time with!

Take a look at some of my projects, as I type this it just hit me that I didn't take a photo of the amazing t-shirt project that we created with Amy Tan. It's just as well because I'm making some for all the ladies in my family. So, I will share photos at a later time but some of the other gals that went to Spark have shared theirs so just check out their links found here on my blog a couple posts down.

So, here are a couple photos, you can click on them to see them in a larger size.

Art Piece, I created in Donna Downey's class. Let me tell you that she really was a joy to spend time with. She was funny, informative and very helpful in class. The piece was created with Pan Pastel, Tissue Paper, Stazon Ink, Tags and Fixative. I am not done with it just yet, I added some die cut paper to it at home and some number brads (from Margie's old line the girls paperie) and a bit of ribbon.

SheArt, was created in Christy Tomlinson's class, she too was a joy to spend time with. She was helpful as well, she took her pen to a few pieces and shared her techniques. I'm not totally happy with how mine turned out. Still have to make some minor adjustments to it but in the end I know it will be fabulous. I have taken her SheArt class online so I already had experience and so I allowed myself to chat lots with my table mates.

Wool Felting, this class was taught by the talented Emily Falconbridge. Her class was very relaxing, her voice is so soothing and it's not just her Australian accent. She just has this awesome cool, calm and collected way of teaching! We created a wool felt covered soap bar, simply took a pre-existing soap bar and covered it with felt and following her instruction we worked it and worked. I got up and started my socializing so mine isn't quite done.

Birds Nest, the talented Cathe Holden taught us how to create this lovely birds nest charm with ribbon. Many of us were first determined for it to be "perfect" but then Cathe pointed out that a true nest looks messy. I went with a messy look, ha! This is something that I will be recreating for Christmas gifts, don't tell my family ;)

Junque Journal, was a fun busy class full of new techniques taught by Jenn Jensen. She doesn't have a blog so for now I am simply sharing a photo of the contents of our kit. We took an old book and pulled out pages, glued pages and added paper and photo protector pages to it. I haven't finished it so will be sure to share photos when it's done. Promise!

Rubber Stamp Carving, Our teacher, April Meeker is one funny and super talented lady! She was one of Margie's creative partners and did so much for Spark. She taught us how to create our very own stamps out of a block of rubber. It was so much fun! She was a lot of fun and very helpful during her class. She has an amazing new jewelry line and you can find out more on that and so much more about April by visiting her blog!

Reverse Applique, taught by the amazing, sweet and beautiful Amy Tan! I really loved her class, it was relaxing and she shared her story with us. She was such a sweetheart and it made me even more proud to be on the same design team with her for www.rhonnadesigns.com (if you look closely at the shirt I'm wearing it's one I bought from Amy Tan's line)

I got called out in class, I was using way too much embroidery thread, LOL!

Photo courtesy of my sweet friend Jessica Woodford's iPhone

Spark No. 3, Chapter 5

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 05:00:00 +0000

OK, Here are the last of the fabulous gifts that my wonderful Spark sisters gifted me, love them!

1. Judy gave me this awesome apron that she decorated with the Spark logos and added an adorable ruffle to it! So cute and she took one to have the teachers and spark sister sign it. Brilliant! She was so sweet and brought us name tags for the pre-Spark dinner! Please visit her HERE

2. Susan who was with me at Spark No. 2 as well as this year brought me this adorable dish filled with candies and the gorgeous N. Love it! Sadly Susan doesn't have a blog, boo! This year she brought her daughter Olivia and her friend Mary and her daughter Brittany. I fell in love with them all! Such dolls!

3. Alisa, Alisa, Alisa, what can I say about my sweet friend Alisa! Isn't this mixed media piece she created amazing!! Love it! I'm going to hang it in my cubicle at work, it will keep me happy! So, Alisa found a place in my heart many months ago thanks to Spark! I started to blog stalk her and you should too! She is one of the most amazing woman I have ever met! She has an amazing heart, she is super talented (she created most of the Spark art for the Spark blog) and she writes from her heart! Please go and visit her HERE and I will warn you, she creates amazing digital pieces of art! You will love it! She is such an inspiration!

Thanks ladies! You were so sweet to think of me and I will cherish the gifts you sent me home with! xoxo

Spark Sisters Sharing Their Story

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 02:36:00 +0000

This year I was super busy saying hello to friends, making new friends and taking the amazing classes they offered to each of us. I was so busy that I did a terrible job of photographing Spark and so I'm hoping that you will visit some of my Spark Sisters. They have done a great job sharing their experience! And while you are there you should look around their blogs, you might find that you want to visit them now and then or maybe often. They are amazing ladies! Hope this inspires you and that you decide to join us at Spark No. 4!

You can also find the Spark love at the main Spark blog Here and I have a Spark Sisters blog you can click Here to visit. It's an amazing experience, start saving for it now and join us next fall!

Spark No. 3, Chapter 4

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:39:00 +0000

Hello there! Welcome back to my Spark story, yesterday I shared with you what one of my fab sisters made and I won! Today I am sharing what a Fab Sister made especially for me! Her name is Jamie and she is crazy talented! I met Jamie via the House of 3 craze a few years ago, we both had won something from Rhonna and that was the first time we were in touch. I then started stalking her blog, I kid you not! She is crazy talented, yes I know I said that already but she is, so I'm stating it twice! Fast forward a few years and we are now both on Rhonna's design team! When Rhonna made the call I figured that Jamie would try out and make it because, YES, she is Crazy Talented! Well, she made it and when I saw that I was on the same team I was so excited! Mainly because she and I would have to interact and then she would have to be my friend, ha!

Well, she decided to join us at Spark and I was so excited and as promised she was a sweetheart and showed up with a sweet gift for me! No, I didn't take her one, bad friend huh! Well, she didn't hold it against me, plus I bribed her to like me with a ride from the airport to the hotel. I'm sneaky like that, ha!

So, here are a few photos of the adorable mini album she created for me using the Grateful Glam line from Rhonna Designs. Once you take a good look at these photos you should head on over to her blog and say hello and I will just warn you now....you will get hooked and start blog stalking! Why? Yep, she is Crazy Talented! Ready to check out her blog? Click HERE and she just created a fan page on Facebook so you can also check her out there by clicking HERE

As usual you can you can click on the photos to see them in a larger size!

Like these cute photo frames? I knew you would, you can find them HERE

Now, before you go I wanted to give you a heads up about an upcoming giveaway!

Rhonna is getting ready to add some great Christmas goodies to her onsite store and you don't want to miss out! So, head over to her site by clicking HERE and sign up for the newsletter. It's easy, you will find the sign up just under the hot air balloon! And I have it on good authority that she will be doing a HUGE giveaway this coming Friday on her Facebook group page so be sure to go and "Like" it by clicking HERE.

And lastly she has this wonderful freebie below for you, you can get it on her site. You simply put it in your shopping cart and when you check out you will not get charged, yep Free!!

You will want to get it from her store because that one will be in full resolution, now head over there now, hurry ;) click HERE

Spark No. 3, Chapter 3

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 01:47:00 +0000

Friendship. Memories. Laughter. Love. That is just a bit of what I experienced at Spark this year! This year I met more AMAZING women at Spark! And there were many more that I didn't even get a chance to speak to which leaves me a little sad but excited for them that they were at Spark meeting other new friends!

Last year I hosted a small dinner gathering the night before Spark, we were a small group and it was such a nice way to start Spark! So nice that I decided that I would host yet another Pre-Spark dinner gathering and was it a gathering! This year we had 50 FABULOUS women attend, yes 50! WOW! I was so excited that we had so many interested and I think that they all had a great time! We stepped it up a notch this year by holding a swap. Everyone who was interested in playing along brought an item in a bag and we took the bags and re-distributed them out. It was so much fun and everyone left with a wonderful item to remember their Pre-Spark meeting!

Here is what I left with that night, an incredible handmade pin created by the talented Carrie Clayden of California! She is amazing, talented, beautiful and a joy to talk to! Please be sure to head over to her blog HERE and say hi, she has so many fabulous Spark photos to share! She owns a store in southern California so if you live there you should check it out and here is the blog for her shop HERE!

*I will be sharing photos of a few more gifts I received from fellow Spark Sisters so join me Monday night!

Click on the collage below to see it in a larger size so you can gawk at the incredible pin that Carrie created and it was enclosed in a gorgeous box too! ;)

I used the following Rhonna Designs items to create this collage:

Simple Photo Edges2 Kit found HERE

Washi Tape Kit found HERE

Number Tags Kit found HERE

Spark No. 3, Chapter 2

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 05:34:00 +0000

This one is going to be a short one, really short! I'm still trying to get some photos together since I didn't take many during Spark this year! I hope to photograph the projects I created and do a post on those as well as photograph the wonderful gifts I was given. So for now I wanted to share a photo of Nancy & Nancy. I met Nancy online last year and when we met in person we had an instant bond! How could we not, we are both Nancy and we are both cuties, he he. I was so excited to see her again this year at Spark and so we were sure to get in our annual photo as we now like to call it! I'm hoping that next year she and I can end up in the same group so that we can spend some quality time together!

So, here are photos of us from Spark No. 2 and Spark No. 3.

I have to tell you that along with the incredible classes we get to take at Spark the friendships we form has to be one of my absolute favorite things about Spark! I'm truly sad when I leave because it will be another year before I get to see most if not all but a few of my Spark Sisters.

Rhonna Designs Digital Kits used
Frames used are Simple Photo Edges2 Kit found HERE
Washi Tape Kit found HERE

Four Years and Counting

noreply@blogger.com (Nancy W) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:58:00 +0000

Today is a special day in our home, we are celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary! Each day I thank the lord for allowing me the honor of living this precious life with my hubby Andy! I can't think of anyone else that I would rather spend my life with! I love you with all my heart my sweet love bug!

I created this little piece with the following pieces:

Background paper from Grateful Glam Paper Kit found HERE

Simple Photo Edges 2 Kit found HERE

Monogram Junque Kit found HERE

Number Tag Kit found HERE

All the pieces above are printables, I simply used them digitally so that I could share it with you quickly. I will be sharing a tutorial with you on how you can create this layout as a hybrid page this coming Tuesday.

Thanks for stopping in, have a great weekend and see you back here on Tuesday!