Pages

Friday, December 30, 2016

Exciting Announcement



I'm so EXCITED to post this. It has been really hard to keep it a secret from you all. ๐Ÿ˜˜ Introducing "The Traveler's Box" ๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽ‰ Do you love all things traveler's notebooks, planners and/or journals???? Well we do, and we know you are going to love the first ever "Traveler's Box" Each box is filled with 100% usable, coordinated themed goodies designed by me and Erika at Chaotic Blessing from: 

* designer paper
* decor
* stickers
* artistic elements and tools
* faith inspired items
* and so much more!


All items can be used for any size TN, planner or journal. Patterned paper is 9.25x 6.75, perfect to make dashboards and more. When a TN insert is included it will be in personal size. 


February's theme is: Victorian Love

LIMITED QUANTITIES are available so PRE-Order yours today. Pre-order closes Jan 20 and boxes will begin to ship Monday, February 6.
Want to see sneak peaks of this month's goodies....be on the look out on our Instagram accounts. Guest designer this month is Little Miss Alaska. She has such beautiful talent and graciously agreed to help us in the debut of the Traveler's Box. Check out her IG!!!! Sneak peak of her exclusive charms for this kit are on the website๐Ÿค—

Direct any questions to info@chaoticblessing.com



Saturday, December 24, 2016

Boxing Day Sale


We're celebrating Boxing Week with four days of different deals where you'll save 50% on select items. The fun starts at 3:00 pm (MST) on Monday, December 26, with a selection of deals that will last until 2:59 pm (MST) on Tuesday, December 27. Then, a whole new set of deals will begin!

Check every day from Monday through Thursday at 3:00 pm (MST) to get a jump start on each day's sale ! These deals are only available at www.NinasArtSpot.Closetomyheart.com and click on the promotions tab. This sale is while supplies last, so be sure to shop early!



Monday, December 19, 2016

Easel Card FREE Printable




Interested in learning how to make this Easel Card? Click on the image below to download the FREE Instructional Printable.





The Easel card is an easy fun way to make an interactive displayable card. Once you get the base instructions down you can whip out a multitude of them. I created 150 cards this year using this method and it was probably the fastest easiest card I've made to date. Be patient with yourself the first time as the scores and folds can be hard to understand at first. Make yourself a mock up to play with then come up with your own card front color's and design. 



Monday, December 5, 2016

To Do or not To Do...List that is!



...and, YES another resource. I tell you I'm full of them! Its one thing to go without any ideas and yet another to have an abundance....because there is no such thing as to many resources. 

Now I know I'm dating myself when I say this but back in the late 80's when I was in college I was a list composer. Yes, I made list's upon list's. List's to get things done in my day. List of books I wanted to read. List of media I wanted to learn to use. I listed anything and everything, any topic even anything I thought about. I was also a brain dumper...but my brain dumps looked more like outlines or....like lists. A list with a purpose. 

I was told by a counselor during that period in my life, that I needed to stop making lists. That lists were a set up to negative self talk when you did't get things on the list done and that there was more to life than crossing things of my to do list. At the time I though "She's the professional what do I know anyway"? Well that counselor had no idea what she was talking about. 

1.) I didn't just list what I needed to get done. 
2.) I listed for the sake of seeing things more completely. For the complete satisfaction I felt when I looked at the list(s) afterwards.
3.) For a compartmentalized individual a list is total nirvana....and I don't mean the Buddist version of nirvana. I mean it is a perfect state of happiness.

Well I had completely given up on lists except maybe a grocery list (not very satisfying I might add) Then last year I discovered The Reset Girl, Cori Spieker. I read her About Me page and was pulled in by the those things I felt I had in common with her. The biggest thing about Cori that caught my attention was her Listers Gotta List or LGL. She puts out a list of prompts, one for each day of the month to get you reflecting on your life. Its not about being perfect and making sure you get them each done all though the month. Its about self discover and it is completely what this repressed lister needed.  I was in nirvana because here was an opportunity to take my list making smash it into my artistic-ness coupled with my need to tell my story for my kids and make scrapertunities. It was the "real deal" and of course another resource providing lots of scrapertunities to reflect on when needed was yet another opportunity to share with you all. Actually the LGL is nearly a scrapbook in itself depending on how you construct yours.



Some people use those refrigerator grocery list pads to compile their LGL each month, some use planners and yet others might paint theirs in watercolor or hand letter them. I use my Travelers Notebook for my LGL. 


Left to Right: Pocket Sized I use for my journaling and Bible studies. Center is a Personal Sized I use for my listing. I do a Journaling prompt insert and my LGL in it. Finally this is my Christmas TN, it is a Cashier Size and I use it to plan and track all things Christmas. *Not shown here is my Mixed Media Journal which is also a Cashier Size.

Here is a sample of Cori's LGL Prompt Download Sheet for November 2016. She creates these and posts them monthly as a FREE download.

I simply cut out the Prompt List and adhere it into my TN Insert (TN=Travelers Notebook) as shown below.



This is the Front cover of my October LGL TN Insert


This is the back of the cover page and the first page in my Oct LGL TN Insert



As you can see in this close up I like to layer my Prompt number and have printed out the Prompts on clear labels so they all look relatively the same. Generally I do mine two up on a page so I have room and those I know I have lots to write about or a photo I want to include I save the whole page.

Cori, The Reset Girl also sells LGL Kits. She offers an Essentials Kit as well as a Deluxe Kit. I purchased the Essentials kit for November in the Grateful Heart. 


Here are some of my pages using this kit. I also pre-ordered the December Essentials kit in A Very Classy Christmas. 


This is the cover page in my Nov LGL TN Insert


This is the back of the cover page and the first page in my Nov LGL TN Insert




These list generate a lot of ideas that can be turned into Scrapertunities. For example the #2 prompt for November was "Words to describe this season of my life". I can see a few ways to turn this into a scrapbook page using both photo's of myself in the roles I listed above or using textural words (via embellishments etc.) running through the page. What a way to leave a legacy for your family about how you see yourself at this stage in life. It might be nice to add the date and age to the journaling block as well. (food for thought)

Another thing Cori has recently started is her Self Care Photo Challenges. She started this for October with the following prompt list.



So all during the month of October I posted a photo to my Instagram account based on the appropriate prompt. It was very much a challenge and I was not completely successful at it but it was super fun. Guess what else it did? ....... it created a Scrapertunity! ๐Ÿ˜ฒ Go Figure! So Here is an example of one of my posts.



and here are the final scrapbook pages I did of this process. They are 10, 9" x 9" pages and were super simple in the layout. I even just followed the same color scheme that Cori used in her Challenge image. I did them in the 9" x 9" because my Book of Me I've been working on for my kids is already in that size. I barely used any journaling because in my Instagram posts I had already done "mostly" a journaling block already. 




















Friday, December 2, 2016

It's The Little Things ~ Close to my Heart's Christmas Bundle's


So often it’s the little things that matter most—and what better way to celebrate the little things in life than with adorable mini albums? Whether looking for a meaningful gift idea or a treasured keepsake, these mini albums are a fast and easy option, and this month you save 30%-off the retail price of the products you need! We've bundled some irresistible mini-album products together at great prices to make it easier than ever to make a mini album celebrating all those things that mean so much!

With only 23 days left to be creating for Christmas, these are the little things that can help you get that much closer to finishing your ๐Ÿ’—heartfelt creative gift items. 

Choose from the Blush, Blue Jean or Stripes mini album in 5 different bundle choices.

Blue Jean Mini Album Bundle; Item #CC1197 - $18.95 (30% off retail) Comes with:

  • Z3282 Instalife Album - Blue Jean
  • Z3291 Instalife Cards - Enjoy
  • Z3284 Instalife Overlays - Black
  • Z3116 Memory Protectors - Mini 4" x 4"
  • Z3117 Memory Protectors - Mini 2" x 2"

Blush Mini Album Bundle; Item #CC1198 - $18.95 (30% off retail) Comes with:
  • Z3270 Instalife Album - Blush
  • Z3275 Instalife Cards - Hello Gorgeous
  • Z3279 Instalife Cards - Gold
  • Z3116 Memory Protectors - Mini 4" x 4"
  • Z3117 Memory Protectors - Mini 2" x 2"

Adventure Mini Album Bundle 6" x 8"; Item #CC1199 - $19.95 (30% off retail) Comes with:
  • Z9979 Everyday Life Album - Stripes
  • Z9978 My Crush Adventure Calls
  • Z3252 6" x 8" Memory Protectors

Adventure Mini Album Bundle 4" x 6"; Item #CC1200 - $19.95 (30% off retail) Comes with:

  • Z9979 Everyday Life Album - Stripes
  • Z9978 My Crush Adventure Calls
  • Z3192 4" x 6" Memory Protectors



Adventure Mini Album Bundle 3" x 4"; Item #CC1201 - $19.95 (30% off retail) Comes with:
  • Z9979 Everyday Life Album - Stripes
  • Z9978 My Crush Adventure Calls
  • Z3191 3" x 4" Memory Protectors

There is no limit to the number of bundles you can purchase. However, this is while supplies last. Simply go to my Promotions tab on my website and add the bundle of your choice to your cart.


Dates of Availability: December 1, 2016 (12:00 am MST) – December 31, 2016 (11:59 pm MDT)

Looking for a place to get your photo's printed in the Instalife size's of 2"x 2" or 4" x 4"?  Hop on over to Persnickety Prints they have the tools that make it easy to print in these size's as well as more traditional size's. What is unique about Persnickety is that they use an archival quality silver halide process for their prints.




Thursday, December 1, 2016

December 2016 CTMH's Stamp of the Month

Close to My Heart's



Thoughtful Flowers, Set of 14- $17.95 S1612 
Each month you can purchase a new D-size Stamp set, available for that month only, for just $5! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close to My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing. This set is only available December 1-31, 2016

Recommended Blocks: 1" x 31/2" (Y1002) and 2" x 2" (Y1003)

Here is my card I choose to go simple but took an opportunity to do some water coloring and played with a knock out and used Monochromatic coloring for each flower.



I first cut out the shape/size out of watercolor paper. I laid out the stamps from the Dec SOM on the block allowing some to protrude off the paper sides. I stamped the images using the Archival Black Ink so the black ink wouldn't bleed when I applied the watercolor paint. I then proceeded to paint the images with the Watercolor paints.


I water colored each flower in Monochromatic (Different shades or hues of the same color) so one all the blues, the next all the yellows and then all the pinks.



Using the same stamp's on the same block I stamped onto the card base in regular black ink the image exactly as it was on the watercolor paper.I masked out the area I wanted to stamp the Sentiment "Thinking of You" I then filled in around it with the other flower stamps from the set. I popped up the Sentiment block leaving a slight border around it in white from where I masked off the area. I then adhered the water color piece directly to the card base lining it up with the stamped images below.



Supply List
Stamping Technique ~ Knock out or Masking
  • S1612 Thoughtful Flowers December 2016 Stamp of the Month
  • Z3132 Watercolor Paints
  • Z3188 Paintbrush Set
  • Z679 Liquid Glass
  • Z3091 Pink Enamel Gems
  • Z1263 Bitty Sparkles
  • X5785 Lemon Cardstock
  • Z3146 Watercolor Paper
  • X254 White Card & Envelope Value Pack
  • Z2805 Black Ink Pad
  • Z3271 Archival Black Ink Pad
  • Z1151 3-D Foam Tape


Here are some more samples of using the Thoughtful Flowers December 2016 Stamp of the Month.


Created by Robyn Holfeltz



Supply List
Stamping Technique ~ Bleaching (download the technique sheet here)

Created by Kendra Halverson


Supply List
  • S1612 Thoughtful Flowers December 2016 Stamp of the Month
  • Z899 Memento Black Ink
  • X5784 Willow Cardstock
  • X5772 Canary Cardstock
  • X7213B City Sidewalk
  • Z2452 Golden Yellow Shin Han Marker
  • Z2462 Peony Purple Shin Han Marker
  • Z2466 Vivid Green Shin Han Marker
  • Z2454 Leaf Green Shin Han Marker
  • Z1263 Bitty Sparkles
  • Z3094 Poppy Twine


Created by Sundi Hendrix


Like what you see here at Nina's Art Spot?
Sign up for our Newsletter HERE or
Visit us on FacebookInstagramEtsyPinterest,
PeriscopeYouTube, SnapChat or Twitter.
I'm on all things as
Nina's Art Spot