One World One Heart Giveaway

This will be my third year

participating in the

"One World One Heart" event.

I love flying all over the world

and checking out

some of the best blogs ever!

These two weeks will allow

you to meet people

that you probably would

never have discovered,

if this event was unavailable.

It is such a fun way to find some

fantastic inspiration. I will miss that

this will be the final year. Sigh!

I really should introduce myself

more than I have in the past.

Perhaps this will entice you

to share my life and art,

and we may even become friends.

Ever since I was even a child,

I have always loved doing artistic things.

I spent a number of years

making fabric quilts

and began knitting

when I was ten years old.

Then came more than a decade

of traditional scrapbooking

my heritage family photos.

I even spent a number of years

designing layouts

for a local scrapbook store.

My biggest leap in art

was discovering

art journals, ATC's and Altered Art.

That is when I really got hooked.

I love any kind of paper,

old photos, especially sepia toned ones.

I adore all Somerset Studio publications.

For as long as I can remember,

I have always liked old things.

I enjoy taking photos, assembling vintage

style collage art,

and sometimes I even cross

over to Country Western and Gothic themes.

There's nothing like reading a good mystery novel

and stories of the "Old South."

When I first purchased my

Canon SLR digital camera,

there was another huge turning point

in my artistic career.

I became obsessed with

learning more about the beauty

of digital art, and promised myself

I would become proficient at this.

Since that opened so much

visual excitement for me,

I began posting some of my

digital creations and then

was asked to become

a design team member

for Moonlight Journey.

It's been uphill ever since.

Their images are just stunning

and motivating to me!

Recently, I have been involved in a

monthly artistic recipe card swap.

My family recipes are

slowly evolving into

treasured little pieces of art,

which are dropped lovingly

into protective sleeves especially

for a recipe card binder.

This process has

triggered my desire

to become a better cook,

get all my recipes organized and copied

for future generations.

Plus, I can appreciate

the importance of eating more

natural and organic foods.

Over the years,

I have become more

in tune with the true beauty

of nature, friends, family,

art in a whole new way, and

less about what I don't possess.

Afterall,

it is much more important to

truly enjoy the present.

And ta da , for my prizes!

Prize #1

Mittens, Woodland Colors

25% Wool & Acrylic, Washable

Prize #2

Garter-Stitch Wrist Warmers, Dusty Rose

100% Acrylic

Please leave a comment

and a way to contact you.

On February 17, I will email you

for your address

and then mail you

your gift within 3 days.

I sincerely thank you for

stopping by and

sharing your talents!

Come back and visit me anytime.

Nancy

A huge thank you so goes to Lisa Swifka, for all your devotion to this galant extravaganza. Without you, this would not be possible. To link back to the participants in OWOH, click HERE.

Sweet Chickadee Mugs

For almost 200 years, Pfaltzgraff has provided America with gorgeous dinnerware. I have wished for a set of "Winterwood" coffee mugs for quite a while, and this year I received these sweet cups for a gift during the holidays from my daughter-in-law. As green is probably my most favorite color and chickadees are just too adorable, this set of mugs will grace my morning table each and every breakfast from now on.

I would really like to own a set of dinner plates after having received these cute little cups and side plates. There are a number of items that coordinate that I keep admiring. Would you believe they have already sold out from the holidays?

And, now for a cup of

Wild Sweet Orange herbal tea......

and maybe an

apricot or raspberry kolacky.

January Recipe Cards

Above recipe card by Nancy Van Hoose

"Alice in Wonderland" images

available through Moonlight Journey.

Above two cards created by Sherry Reiber

Some of the images above

available through Sherry on

her Creative Memories website.

When my sisters and I were growing up, my mom was the best cook. Oh, how all of us remember some of her specialties like Beef Stroganoff, Lemon Meringue Pie, or fresh Apple Pie. I remember my mom for her Spanish rice.....which caused me to wish I could go to a friend's house for dinner on the days it was prepared. But always on my birthday, she made me a Burnt Sugar Cake, which I absolutely loved with "Mrs. Purdy's Creme Frosting."

Once again this year, I have joined a recipe club where a dozen gals exchange their family recipes artistically on a 5" X 8" card. It is more than just getting a beautiful card. It is a monthly retreat where we tell our stories, share our talents, our skills, our secrets, and how each of we women journey through our lives.

Many thanks to each and every one of my recipe card friends for letting me get to know you a little bit more, hear about your gardens, farms, and discover different lifestyles than my own.

And so, let me share 12 months of some of favorite recipe cards in the future year. I regret that I cannot post each and every card I receive due to time restraints.

Just Carry On

A couple of weeks ago, I dreamed about yarn. Knitting dreams are kind of common for me--for you see these colorful socks have a serious mistake in them. I discovered the error after I had already completed a whole sock and half of the next one. Sheesh! Now what?

Do I start ripping it out after more than 30 hours of work? Or do I make another one with the an identical knitting issue. Well, I decided to just keep the mistake again so they match.

I guess, no one would even know but me, but sometimes my desire for absolute perfection gets the best of my unspoken mind. The socks fit just fine, and they do have a kind of clever artistic flair. I will find the beauty in them no matter what. That's what knitters do.

Country Music Cards

"Music

washes away

from the soul

the dust

of everyday

life."

Sometimes finding the time to create art becomes a little more difficult. I have so many ideas, and just not enough time in the day. With the holidays now past, I can once again focus on all my unfinished projects and all the new stuff I need and want to begin!

These cards are a work in progress for my art group. Every month I need to muster up 15 cards using a rubberstamp that all of us are required to use.

For the month of January, our stamp was this chair image from Paperbag Studios. I thought it might be fun to try something a little bit "country."

The stamp image was scanned and digitally enhanced in Creative Memories Storybook 3.0. Then I added a background, a banjo and a cowboy boot image from Deviant Scraps. The card itself was cut from a Martha Stewart paper pad called "Bandana," which I distressed with a Tim Holtz distress ink pad called "Rusty Hinge."

CREDITS: PAPERBAG STUDIOS, MARTHA STEWART, TIM HOLTZ, DEVIANT SCRAPS, & CM STORYBOOK 3.0.