Blog is Moving

I have decided to move my blog. Stampin' Up has provided demonstrators with a web site (http://nancyjoclark.stampinup.net/). It has recently been updated to give us the capability of having a blog on that web site. Specifically you will find it by going to http://nancyjoclark.stampinup.net and pointing your mouse on About Me. One of the sections that appears will be My Stampin' Blog.

You can link directly to my new blog by bookmarking this: http://nancyjoclark.stampinup.net/blog

Leave me a comment there and let me know that you found me!

Nancy

It has been a very "taxing" evening. I have finally gotten all my tax papers together and can now go to the tax preparer.

I had a stamp camp this past weekend and we made several cards. This is a card I CASEd from Debbie Naylor. I just love the card. I like the two-color card. Red and white is always a favorite.

Hope you enjoy!

N

Gift

Hello everyone. I have a dear friend who is moving away to live with her grandson and his family. Tonight I'm going through my cards and making cards to give to her as a gift. She'll still want to send all kinds of cards so I think it will be a gift she can use. Someone else is picking up stamps for her.

N

Signature

So, I have nothing to post. I just looked to see if I could find a picture of something to post. I do have some cards I need to take pictures of, but I haven't done so yet. I did find this. This is my signature post that I put on the end of my email messages. I made it using Stampin' Up's My Digital Studio.

N

Bright Card

The snow is finally starting to melt; however, winter is not over yet. I decided I needed to make some brighter cards. I found some online that were done by Patsy Waggoner so I CASEd several of hers. This is just one. I'll post another one tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, I am presenting how to make the rag bag (see my post Monday Feb 8). My upline Robin is having a team meeting. I'm going to show the attending demonstrators how to make the rag bag. I'll also show them how to make the flower that it in Tuesday's post.

Just think, if you were a part of our team and live in this area, you could be attending and enjoying time with friends stamping and crafting.

Fabric Flower

This picture is a fabric flower I made using the Big Shot from Stampin' Up! There is only a little bit of sewing once the flower petals are in position. I think if I put it in my little bag for the washer it might look nice, too. If I did that it would ruffle up the edges a little.

Enjoy!

A Thought Away

Hello everyone. I did not realize that my last post was Wednesday last week. Goodness. Since last Wednesday, I have been to North Myrtle Beach and back. I have a townhouse in NMB and wanted to get out of VA for a day or two. My friend Doris rode along and I left her at her parents' house in NMB, and my friend Mikaela went along also and stayed with me. We thought we would be getting away from the snow; however, the joke was on us. It snowed in South Carolina Friday night! There was snow on the palm trees and the beach! Mikaela took pictures and as soon as she uploads them, I'll put a couple here.

In the meantime, here is a card that I CASEd from one I got at Leadership. I do not know who I swapped with for this one and there was no name on the back. I layered it and made it mine. I think it turned out nicely.

Enjoy!
(By the way, it has started snowing again here in VA this afternoon.)
N

Think Spring

Let's turn our thoughts from winter to spring. This card is a CASE from a card by Patsy Waggoner. I love these colors and the use of Designer Series Paper on the card.

Sweet Hearts

Hello everyone. We're still snowed in VA, getting another 10-16 inches on top of the 24 we had this past weekend. Enough already!

So, let's talk about stamping. Don't you just love this card? I CASEd it from a swap card I got at Leadership; I only made a little change to the original card, but I think this came out nicely. I got the original card from Lee Conrey. Thanks for the inspiration, Lee!

Works in Progress

I looked at my workspace this past weekend and I had to laugh. It was a mess! I was working on several projects and realized I needed to clear off my workspace. I did work on more projects after clearing space to work. It is much easier to work when there is space to work. I just thought you might enjoy seeing my working mess.

Enjoy!
Nancy

Rag Purse

Hello everyone from the frozen tundra of Virginia! I wanted to share this picture with you. These rag purses are all the rage among Stampin' Up demonstrators. Quilters have always known about rag quilts and rag items. With Stampin Up demonstrators they have become popular because we can run fabric through the Big Shot. This particular purse uses the square scallop template. You can run eight layers of fabric through the Big Shot at once. This little purse takes 19 squares of two different colors. The bag goes together very quickly and turns out rather nice, I think. I used a store-bought twine type handle instead of making one out of fabric. I do not like making handles so I'm very happy with this one.

Enjoy!
Nancy

Snow has stopped.

The snow has finally stopped. I've been out a couple of times. The neighbors were out, too, so we were all helping each other shovel out our vehicles. It is unbelievable out there. I put pictures on Facebook; I'll post just a few here.
Here's my car and then here's me!

My friend Tiffany says it is all about the food. Here's a picture of the breakfast casserole I made Friday night and cooked this morning. It was yummy.

Snow, and lots of it!

Well, it's snowing again. It has been snowing since 10am Friday, and shows no signs of stopping. I do have electricity so my coffee is on and I put a breakfast casserole in the oven. I'm so grateful to have power! You just wouldn't believe this stuff. I'm going to have to go do the first round of shovelling after breakfast. There's a pile of snow behind my car. Stay tuned for pictures!

N

Goodbye to Tai Shan

The National Zoo's beloved panda Tai Shan is leaving. He is going to China. He was never really ours to keep. Tai Shan is the first panda cub to be born at the National Zoo that has survived. He was born at the zoo in 2005 and all of Washington fell in love with him. We will miss him.

N

Snow. Again.

Maybe one snowstorm a month won't be so bad, but does it always have to be a Saturday? The snow is coming down moderately heavy I think you might say. I believe the forecast is for 5-8 inches this time. I went to breakfast (yes it was snowing then.) I was in the cafe for about an hour and my car was completely covered when I came out. The snow is fluffy with big flakes so it was easy to clean off the car. I've been home now for about an hour and my car is covered again.

I think it will be a nice day to stay inside and make cards or play with My Digital Studio software.

Oh, I guess I could also study today. I'm taking a class called Writing for the World Wide Web. In this class we have to design and build a web site. The web site needs a title so I chose Distracted Artisan (except I keep typing Districted) because I have several craft/art interests and staying focused on one is challenging. On the web site we must have two areas of interest. I have decided to focus on quilting and card making. I can't decide if card making is one word, or two.

Today's distraction is the fact that a snowy day lends itself to knitting; however, I need to design some cards for my Birthday Card Class next weekend. So, I'm off to the craft room to do just that.

N

New Header

So, what do you think of my new header? I'm having a little problem getting it inside that light blue line that Blogspot has that indicates the header, but I'm going to keep trying to get it right.

I made the header using Stampin' Up's My Digital Studio (MDS). I am so excited about being able to make the header. I would like to thank Patty Bennett at http://www.pattystamps.com/ for her online MDS tutorials. I followed her instructions and was able to make this header.

I'm going to keep making headers and see what I can come up with.

Enjoy!
N

Life Happens, Love Helps

Hi everyone. Last night I thought I might be getting a cold so I stopped at the grocery and got some chicken noodle soup from their hot soup bar; came home and ate it, fed the cats and got into bed. I knew that I needed sleep so I turned off the light and the TV early and went to sleep.

I'm much better now, thank you. Tonight after work I picked up my friend's twins at after school care, and we went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Their parents met us there and we had a nice "family" dinner.

This card is a CASE of a swap from Dale Morin at Leadership. I thought it was a great card just the way it was so I copied that way. Isn't it a nice card?

Enjoy!
N

Leak

Eek! I had a leak underneath my kitchen sink. One night last week I got some cleaner out from under my kitchen sink and noticed a foul odor coming from there. I didn't have enough time right then to check it out so it stayed for a day. When I finally did look under there, I pulled out the bins that have the cleaning supplies and found that I must have a leak. There was water in the bins and water sitting on the bottom of the cabinet. And did it ever smell! Yuk.

I got it cleaned up, ran a little bit of water and yes, it leaked. Someone from my church gave me the name of a plumber that I actually know. I sit behind him and his wife at church every Sunday. Who knew?

Anyway, Mike came and said I needed a new garbage disposal. It happens that garbage disposals just wear out. He'll be back this week to put in a new one.

The worst part of not having a garbage disposal is the fact that I cannot run the dishwasher! I'm back to washing dishes by hand. Oh well. I'll be very glad when I get the new disposal and am grateful to have someone to do it.

N

Kindness Card

I swapped cards with Denise Lewis at Leadership and was inspired by her card to create this one. Her card was in blue and kraft. I did not have the printed paper that she used so I used what I had. I'm really pleased with the way this card turned out. It was actually very easy to do. I stamped the saying on the white that is the inside of the card.

I'm going to compose some posts and upload images so that I can schedule them to post this week. That way I'll be assured of getting some posts up this week.

I have to do some studying this week, as well as go to campus to take a test, so it's a good thing I learned how to schedule my posts. Stay tuned.

N

Friends

Hello everyone. I have not been consistent in my posting here this month. I have a few cards to show you this week and I will need to be designing more because I'm having a Just Birthday Cards stamp camp on February 6th. Hopefully I'll have cards and projects to continue posting a little more consistently.

Today's post is a CASE of one I received in general swapping at Leadership. The original card was done by Cindy Petersen. I made a small change but only because I did not have the die to use to make the oval she put on hers, but I think this one came out nicely. The ladies at stamp camp like it.

Enjoy.

N

Parting is such sweet sorrow

I have been having a great time in Phoenix. The weather has been marvelous! The stamping has been great; the meetings have been good, and the people I've met have been so nice. I have enjoyed being with my good friends Tiffany and Robin, and making new friends, Patti and Jenn, and several others. Oh, did I mention the food? It has been great!!!!

It will be sad to leave, but I'm looking forward to getting home, too. No picture to add because I have my little mini-netbook with me. I'll be posting once I get home.

N

Save the Date!

I'm still in Phoenix! You see, SU's Leadership Seminar is Thursday and Friday, and there is a Regional Training Seminar on Saturday! So lots of training going on!

I made this little date book for two special ladies that I'll be hanging out with at Leadership - my upline, Robin Merriman, and my roommie for the trip, Tiffany Bauer. I've had one of these little books for over a year. There is a little page for each month. I have entered all the important dates that I need to remember for each month. Using this little book means I don't have to copy all those dates to a new calendar at the end of each year.

I hope you enjoy this little date book!

N

In Phoenix

I'm still in Phoenix for SU's Leadership Training. If I get an opportunity, I'll update this swap. Just in case I don't get to update, I wanted to schedule something that would post while I'm away. I'm trying to get back to posting on a regular basis and this helps.

This is another swap that I made for Leadership. I people like my swaps.

N

Leadership Swaps

Hello everyone! I will be attending Stampin' Up's Leadership Seminar in Phoenix. On this date, I'm actually traveling there. I wanted to show you the swap cards that I made. Here is one of them. I embossed the tree and the saying.

I'm looking forward to the warmer weather in Phoenix and seeing the friends that I have made through Stampin' Up.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow!

N

Box of Cards

Happy New Year everyone! It is very cold here in Virginia. I think the word blustery would be appropriate for today. My cats and I are inside where it is warm and I am grateful for that. On of my cats, K-Bird, turned 19 on New Year's Day! Happy Birthday to him!

I made a box of cards for a dear friend for Christmas. I can finally show you the picture of the box and cards now. As I had stamp camps over the past few months, I made extra cards to give as Christmas presents; that's what I put in the box. The cards are a variety of birthday, thinking of you and sympathy cards. Everyone needs those types of cards.

Enjoy!

N