Monday's Feature

The Challenge last week was to make a card or scrap page using this, somewhat random Sketch 8 )

and the winning card is...

Made by Susan. Isn't it fantastic!... Here is Susan herself,

and Because her Card was so unique it was a tie between Susan and Suzanne. Here is Suzanne herself and her winning creation.

I Love the bling balls!..... Anyway Please join me as I interview these talented ladies and enjoy.

(questions in bold answers in italics)

Why did you start your cardmaking/scrapbooking as your Hobby?

Sue; I've been stamping on and off for about 16 years. My first experience with it was when I made my own Christmas wrapping paper, witha cheap set of foamie stamps and kraft paper. Everyone loved it and I had so much fun that I started to buy stamps and teach myself how to do it.

Suzz; A good friend of mine is a cardmaker, and she started hosting little classes for me with her Mom. This got me interested and I started stamping cards.

What is your favorite technique? please explain.

Sue; Wow thats hard to say, I'm a technique junkie! I love trying out new ones and playing around to see what I come up with. I really like making my own backround papers using distress inks mixed with embossing, water stamping, Perfect Pearls, alcohol inks.

Suzz; Sponging on colors. I tend to add alot of colors and sponging is a great way to add soft colors.

What is your favorite stamp?

Sue; I don't think I have one favorite stamp, I have a couple that are favorites of the moment and then as new stamps come out my favorites change. Right now I love Hero Arts S5264 antique flower backround. It's so elegant and it can be used for a lot of different situations. I just remembered I do have a favorite stamp that my husband bought me about 13 years ago. It's a monogram stamp of my initials SM that I use to personalize every card I make. It's from a company called Designs by Henry in California.

Isn't this the coolest stamp? I want one!

Suzz; Hmm. I have alot of stamps that I really love. Lately I have been using my antique flower backround from Hero Arts.

What is your favorite crafting tool?

Sue; I would have to say it's a tie between my cuttlebug and embossing heat tool.

Suzz; My detail scissors. I use them to cut out lots of things.

Wow the Antique brocade stamp must be VERY popular!

Who Inspires you and why?

Sue; I'm inspired by other cards from blogs and magizines. Nature is a great inspiration, especially in the changing seasons. I'm also inspired by art and photographs - the colors and designs. Sometimes the smallest and seemingly most isignificant thing can be inspirational like a button, a cookie, a piece of ribbon.

Suzz; There are so many talented artists out there I can't pick just one. I am inspired by colors, techniques, designs, everything. The flickr group for Hero Arts has a variety of styles, techniques and awesome artists to inspire you everyday.

Speaking of the Hero Arts group on Flickr, you can find both ladies wonderful works Here, and Here.

When coloring in an image what is your favorite utensil to use?

Sue; I use a few different things for coloring in images, it depends on the image and my mood.

I use Prismacolors, Lyra Aquacolor Artist Crayons, Loew Cornwell Watercolors, Twinkling H2O's and Sakura Stardust pens. Though overall I'm not much of a colorer, I prefer to use inks to do my coloring or shading.

Suzz; Water color pencils, I'm working on improving my copic skills

Upon making a mistake you... yell, cover it up, trash it or other?

Sue; I do all the above, it depends on the size of the mistake! Okay sometimes there is a few angry words too...... :)

Suzz; I have had a hard time letting go, I will keep working on trying to fix it. Sometimes I end up with my most beautiful cards that way an others it ends up in the scrap pile.

What type of card/page do you make most?

Sue; I mostly make cards and the are they are usually for birthdays. Christmas would be the second most popular. I've tried a few scrapbook pages and haven't had any luck with them.

They are too big and I don't know what to do with the space.

Suzz; Lately my trend is to make cards with no sentiments. I like to stock up on birthday cards.


Thank you Ladies I enjoyed hearing(or reading I should say ) your answers, it's great getting to know some of my fellow artists a little better. Have a Great Day!

Saturday Sketch Challenge week 3

So sorry about posting this so late,yesterday was a lazy day for me, and I havent been doing much.

Anyway here is my new Sketch

again same rules apply but use this Sketch and tag your creation hss3; you can read the rules here.

Please Check back tomorrow to see the Winner Featured.

Beautiful Handmade Wreaths for sale

For the Past 5 years I have been selling wreaths for a wonderful company called;

Wreaths Of Maine

These 9 wreaths(click on the links below) are handmade in Maine from real Balsam Fir

they are made with excellent quality and have a Beautiful fresh smell.

A1 homestead wreath

A2 classic Christmas wreath

A3 classic Christmas swag

A4 hamilton plaid spray

B2 gold Christmas wreath

B4 blueberry wreath

B5 presidental pine roping

B6 coastal frost wreath

B7 traditional christmas wreath

Customers, from Washington to Florida, say that Wreaths Of Maine make the best Christmas wreaths they have ever seen( I can vouch for that). "Creative, fragrant, festive" are some of the words used to describe their wreath when they open the white gift boxwith the large red bow. The thick double-sided Christmas wreath measures 2 feet across, a perfect fit for a standard-sized door, and comes decorated ready to hang. Every wreath is handmade of the finest quality Balsam Fir. It's this very distinctive Balsam fragrance that makes a Maine wreath unique.

It's also an elegant gift idea. One out of every 4 wreaths are sent as a gift and comes with a personalized gift card. All have a 100% guarantee. The wreaths, swags, sprays, and garlands have been sent to Capitol Hill, corporate offices and thousands of homes across the country.

Whether you choose to decorate your home or office, or send a gift to a friend or relative, you won't find a finer longer lasting, more beautiful wreath, swag or spray.

They use the best delivery service possible to ensure your wreath will arrive fresh to your door.

Also if well taken care of a wreath, swag, or spray should last till New Years or longer.

Please Note: all items are sold in the USA only and that $7.00 S/H apply per wreath

all items are tax free except in Maine. All items arrive in December on the week chosen by you

If you wish to purchase or have any questions please email me at hannah.ncole_f@yahoo.com

Thank you

Monday's Feature.

Please Welcome Linda! a Wonderful Artist a Friend and an altogether Great Person.

When I was down she cheered me up, when I needed help she gave me advice, and when she created she inspired me. She was the only one to enter my challenge last week, but I was glad of the chance to get to know here better in an Interview, so I asked her the following questions.
(my questions in bold, her answer in italics)

Why did you start cardmaking/scrapbooking as your hobby?
My baby sister got me into scrapbooking several years back. I have scrapbooked and paper crafted as long as I can Remember but she showed me how the industry had changed and was growing. The card making (as I do it today) was basically a space issue. Although when I was teaching classes, I found it easier to use cards to teach techniques.

What is your favorite techinue? please explain.
Whoa, I'm not sure I can narrow it down to one, I love and use so many. I think distressing could be my top fave. I love to take a brand new piece of paper out of it's little plastic wrapper and give it a life and a back story. Make it feel warm and loved and look like something that has been adored, cherished and handed down to the next generation.

What is your favorite stamp?
I used to have this little skunk that I just really loved, I could put him on anything. stamped him on the back by my name a gazillion times, he had this little smirk and twinkle to his eye that you just know he was up to know good but you know how us girls love bad boys. Then one day he disapeared. I searched and searched but alas, no Skunky. Then one day I finally got fed up with my rolling chair not rolling... I found him... poor Skunky. I'm afraid I dont know the company name. I didn't keep that kind of information until I joined the Hero Arts Group.

What is your favorite crafting tool?
Oh my, it has to be my personal trimmer. I can not complete a project without it. I have a Pazzle that I love and have never been sorry I purchased. I also have loads of tools that I use often but the trimmer is used on EVERY project.

Who inspires you and why?
Why Hannah, you inspire me! I find it so wonderful that someone so young wants to express herself through art. Someone your age that is willing to share your feelings with others is a true gift. Life inspires me and Hannah you are full of life.

Thanks Linda, when I first met you and all the other HA members, I was about to give up but I know now that giving up is not the answer and I have alot to learn

What type of card/page do you make most often?
I would like to think that I make beautiful, no wait... make that magnificent..., cards and pages mostly...hehe
A great answer! but you dont need to think, I know that they ARE magnificent!

When coloring an image what is your favorite coloring utensil to use?
I have a set of watercolor crayons from Stampin Up that I just love. They are so easy to use and I get good results every time.

Upon making a mistake you... Yell, cover it up, trash it, or other?
I dont yell, I have a teeny tiny space with a lot crammed into it. Yelling would cause an avalanche. I usually try to cover it up first then see what parts I can recover. If not, trash is my only option but I am slow to throw away. It may lay on my table for a day or two, be picked up several times, turned over, talked to, fussed about a bit and even showed to BG the cat before it is tossed.

Now a word from Linda: Thank you Hannah, I find your sketches very challenging and I like to see the world through your eyes, you have come a long way since I first met you and I know you have a most wonderful journey in front of you. I hope I can continue to be a small part of that. Thank you for this honor Hannah and ENJOY! Linda aka Oz

Oz, It was Great having you on Today, and I hope you have a Great Day!

Sketch Challenge week 2

Here is the Sketch for this week's Challenge, I was in a Random mood when I made this so hopefully you can find a way to use it, I know I can't!

Same Rules from last week apply with the acception of a new sketch and please tag this weeks creations with hss2. You Can Read the Rules Here, and you have till October 15th to Enter

Good Luck!

Oh I can't believe I forgot. Stop back Monday Oct. 10th to see this weeks Winner Featured.

And The Winner is!......

HSS12
Originally uploaded by Linda aka Oz

Linda (aka Oz)!

and here is her Winning Card with Last Week's Sketch. Isn't that Awesome?!

Check out some more of her Fantastic Work Here

Please check back tomorrow for the new Sketch and Challenge.

See ya' back here Monday Linda!

All the way from Ireland

A couple week's back, or rather a month ago. I joined the CCC (card chain challenge) Hosted by Deborah Nolan and was the recipient of this beautiful card below, made in Ireland by Heather Doran.

My Camera decided not to work so the picture is not as good as the actual Card.

Her note inside reads: Hi Hannah, Isn't it fun to be taking part in Deborah's first Card Chain Challenge?

It's hard to make a card for someone when you don't know them, but I had a look through your photostream and you seem to like flowers and the Asian and Russian dolls - me too! I've visited your blog a few times too - you've done a great job on it. You're great to do all that, make cards and do school and house stuff too. Looking forward to seeing more of your creations in the group and on your blog. Best wishes and happy crafting.

Hugs Heather.

In reply through email I told her; I was mowing the lawn when her card came and I was complaining about it, but when I opened the mail I didn't feel so bad about my work and finished much faster.

On a side note Deborah's CCC was was very fun and it's a great way to get to know more about those who share the Enjoyment of stampcraft and cardmaking.

I Challenge...You! --->

Hi Everyone, last week I anounced, that I was was going to have a Challenge and here's the Deal:

The Rules

1. Tag your Submissions HSS1 (You can use the sketch for a Card or LO)

2. Upload by October 8th at 11:59 pm your time.

3. You can only be Featured once but can join the challenge and upload as many submissions as you wish.

4. Put a full description of your Card or LO and link to this Blog. http://www.jorgaunnasplaceoffascination.blogspot.com/

Judging

on Friday I will look through all your Submissions and choose the winner to be Featured here

on the following Monday.

The Winning Card or LO will be based on who put my Sketch to the best use.

The Winner

The Winner will be Contacted via their flickr mail and will be asked to give me their picture and email address, and be Featured the following Monday as before said.

Does this sound like fun?!

Hope to see Submissions Soon!

Happy World Cardmaking Day!!!!

TTYL,

Hannah.