Happy happy New Years Eve - A Dream comes true!

Dear friends! I can`t express how thrilled and excited and happy I am! I can`t believe it, but I won the Win-A-Day on the Blog Contest over at the Hero Arts blog and will be working with the fabulous Nancy!!! I was screaming and hopping and crying and laughing and dancing when I read about that! So today I`ll share a special card with you! This is the very first card ever I entered/uploaded to a challenge on 31st of March, 2009:

I never made cards before, I hadn`t stamped before but loved what I saw on the Hero Arts blog! So I ordered some stamps, watched some of the great videos and started doing it! Then I couldn`t stop it! I think I never missed one Hero Arts challenge since then. (And spent about 600 $ on Hero Arts stamps - yes, I calculated that and was shocked... please don`t tell my husband ;)... but I bought all the stuff from my own money!)

Thank you so much for your support, love and friendship! This year was a wonderful (although expensive) adventure for me, I got to know wonderful people from all over the world and I can`t wait what the new year will bring! This means so much to me and I`d never want to miss it! I hope we all stay healthy, happy and creative!

Ok, hope this wasn`t too much like an award-winner`s speech, but I am sooo excited!

Have a wonderful New Years Eve everybody, all the best for 2010 and thank you for making me happy with your kind words!

Hugs,

Vanessa

Another Lovely Shelf Card

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had fantastic holidays - but I am so glad Christmas is over! No more Christmas Cards for me :)

Today I`ll share another card I made with Nina Brackett`s gorgeous "Lovely Shelf" stamp set. I love orchids and this set contains this beautiful image:

So elegant, I am happy to possess an orchid stamp now! The leaves are colored with copics, the flower pot and the flowers are colored with pencils. Love the effect on Kraft!

How will you spend New Year`s Eve? The question these days :) I am curious to know! We will stay at home because of Alyssa - but maybe you are planning something interesting?

Have a wonderful day and thanks for visiting!

Hugs,

Vanessa

PUBLISHED WORK AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

********** THIS WILL NO LONGER BE UPDATED - MOVED TO THIS SITE************

Publications:

Paper Crafts:

* Paper Crafts Magazine May/June 2011 issue (2 Cards) - upcoming

* Paper Crafts 225 Cards & Gifts Vol. 2 (9 Projects) - upcoming

* Paper Crafts Magazine March/April 2011 issue (1 Card) - upcoming

* Paper Crafts Stamp it! Techniques (4 Cards) - upcoming

* Paper Crafts Magazine January/February 2011 issue (2 Cards) - upcoming

* Paper Crafts Special Issue (5 Cards) - upcoming

* Paper Crafts Card Creations: Favorite Occasions Vol. 2 (p.14 Just Saying Hello, p.40 Scallops Birthday, p.41 Birthday Butterfly, p.64 Cupid Wishes, p.65 Wedding Congratulations, p.84 Blue & Green Thank You)

* Paper Crafts Magazine November/December 2010 issue (Vanessa's Story p.15 , Musical Bird Card p.70, Online Bonus Projects: Houndstooth Birthday Card, Felt Holly Card, Santa Card)

* Paper Crafts Holiday Cards & More Volume 5 (p.46 Oh What Fun Card, p. 53 Pastel Christmas Card, p.87 Gingerbread Man Tag, p.99 Poinsettia Gift Bag, p.103 Snowy Santa Money Holder,Online Bonus Project Christmas Whimsy Planner) - find online patterns here (tag + bag)

* Paper Crafts Magazine September/October 2010 Issue (p.55 Well-ie Wishes Card, p.61Thinking of You Swirls Card)

* Paper Crafts Card Style (p.82 Plum Birthday, p.91 Doily Thank You, p.99 For You Vine)

* Paper Crafts Card Creations Vol. 8 (p.141 Elegant Best Wishes Card)

* Paper Crafts Magazine May/June 2010 Issue (COVER!, p.23 Birthday Treat Box, p.41 Pink & Yellow Dots Card, p.58 Hold Our Family Together Gift Bag, p.74 Rainbow of Butterflies Card, Online Bonus Project Happy Birthday to You Card)

CARDS Magazine:

* CARDS Magazine April 2011 Issue (3 Cards) - upcoming

* CARDS Magazine February 2011 Issue (1 Card) - upcoming

* CARDS Magazine January 2011 Issue (2 Cards) - upcoming

* CARDS Magazine November 2010 Issue (p.28 With Gratitude Card)

* CARDS Magazine September 2010 Issue (p.49 Happy Fall Card, p.100 Back to School Card)

Scrapbook Trends Magazine:

* CREATE: Christmas Cards 2010 (p.95 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Card, p.111 Christmas Tree Card, p.119 Santa Card )

Other:

* Scrapstreet Magazine April 2010 (New Arrival Card)

Wins and Recognitions:

Papertrey Ink:

* Papertrey Ink January Guest Star Stamper HM "Best Use Of A Papertrey Template"

* Papertrey Ink November Guest Star Stamper Winner "Best Use Of A Papertrey Template"

* Papertrey Ink October Guest Star Stamper HM "Best Use Of Previous Set"

* Papertrey Ink September Guest Star Stamper HM for Celebrating Autumn project

* Papertrey Ink July Guest Star Stamper Winner - "Best use of previous set"

Paper Crafts Connection:

Published gift bag featured here

Published Mother's Day card featured here

* Paper Crafts Go-To Sketch Challenge # 4 Winner

* Paper Crafts April Gallery Winner

* Paper Crafts Go-to Sketch Challenge Winner

* Paper Crafts January Gallery Winner

* Paper Crafts December Gallery Winner

* Paper Crafts World Card Making Day Gallery Winner

* Paper Crafts Gallery Idol 2009 Top 15

* Paper Crafts Gallery Idol 2009 Top 20

Moxie Fab World:

Published Swirls Card featured here

* Moxie Fab World Winner "Fun With Floss" Challenge

* Moxie Fab World HM for "Tuesday Trigger" Challenge

* Moxie Fab World Winner "Gradient is radiant" Challenge

* Moxie Fab World Winner "Not Your Regular Ruffles" Challenge

* Moxie Fab World HM for "Tuesday Trigger" Challenge

* Featured artist on Moxie Fab World "World Tour of Card Making"

* Moxie Fab World HM for "Stretch your Holiday Style Fun & Cute" Challenge

Hero Arts:

* Hero Arts Digital Winner of "Food and Travel" Challenge

* Hero Arts Winner of "Home and Mother's Day" Challenge

* Hero Arts Day On The Blog with Nancy Taylor

* Hero Arts Win A Day Winner

* Hero Arts Winner of "Holiday Accessory" Challenge

* Hero Arts Winner of "ATC " Challenge in digital category

* Hero Arts HM for "Learning" Challenge

* Hero Arts Fresh Face Winner "Be Inspired" Challenge

2Peas:

* Layout of the day 03/05/2010

* Layout of the day 01/13/2010

* Layout of the day 04/14/2009

* Featured card in 2Peas Newsletter

Other:

* CardPatterns Sketch 87 Super Six

* Get Sketchy Top 5

* CardPatterns Sketch 65 Super Six

* Caardvarks winner of "Monochromatic" Challenge

* Featured card on Cards Blog "Buttons Challenge"

* Caardvarks HM for "Color It" Challenge

* Caardvarks HM for "Take a Bow" Challenge

* Featured artist at Caardvarks on WCMD

* Get Sketchy Top 5

* Card Patterns Sketch #22 Top 5

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!!! Thank you so much for this wonderful year, thank you for your support and love and inspiration! I feel blessed to know you!

In Germany, we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve - and it´s already over here! We started early at about 4 pm because of my little girl. She is lying in her bed now and is trying to calm down and figure out why she got so many cool presents. I thought I`d share some pictures of my dinner table. Here are my final place-card "Do Me a Favor" Boxes. Remember my torn stamp?? Ha, I can place it onto the acrylic block in a way that it still works! Yay!

I decided to go with chocolate, cream and gold to match our table:

Waiting to be placed:

Placed:

I got some cream poinsettias - love them!

And little angels were watching from the angels` hair:

Do you think I got a good photo from me and my angel? Nope. I was busy making dinner, feeding her and cleaning up afterwards... And I so wanted nice Christmas photos! I looked kind of festive today! But enough of grumbling!

Have a wonderful, peaceful, merry merry Christmas wherever you are!!

Big Hugs,

Vanessa

Lovely Shelf Card

Welcome to my second post today! If you are interested in my snowglobe, please scroll down! Here comes another card using Nina Brackett`s beautiful new stamp set "Lovely Shelf"! I thought the teapot image would be perfect for a little "Get Well" card including some tea:

I created a little pocket to hold a teabag inside of the card:

To see some more creations with new Gina K. Design Releases, visit here!

Have a lovely evening! Off to bed :)

Hugs,

Vanessa

Snowglobe Moneyholder

Happy Monday! Yesterday evening I had a fun idea how to give money in a special way and had to try it last night - a snowglobe that holds money! Love snowglobes and I am happy I found this one with enough space to put more than just a photo into it:

Another view of it to show the left side without the reflection:

And some snowglobe action:

Love it! It`s perfect for the Hero Arts "Giving Cards" Challenge - well, I hope so, because it is not a card... Btw, did you see all the amazing new stamps?? I can`t wait to get some - any ideas how to make lots of money? Lol!

Thank you for your sweet comments on my family`s health! My husband returned to work today and Alyssa is ok again, too! So glad this is over - I was awake every night the last two weeks, either because my husband was coughing or because Alyssa was crying. No need for that :)

We are enjoying a bit of winter wonder land at the moment, but unfortunately they already predicted the snow will be gone til Christmas... well, I`ll have to make some more snowglobes to create our own white Christmas ;) . Yesterday we decorated our very first family Christmastree. On the lower branches I used Christmas Balls made of plastic, because my little monkey thinks it`s funny to grab them and run away with them! The tree looks a bit strange, usually the big globes are hanging on the lower branches, but because I only have small ones made of plastic it is decorated vice versa... Wow, I am chatty today, hm? Hope it wasn`t too boring! After the holidays I`ll post a how-to of the candle, I am glad you liked it!

Thank you for visiting and have a wonderful Monday!

Hugs,

Vanessa

Supplies:

Cardstock: (Kraft, White) Papertrey Ink, Patterned Paper: (Double Dot) BoBunny, Stamps: (Santa With Gift, Merry Christmas, Dots) Hero Arts, Gems: (E Line) Prima Marketing

Papertrey Ink Guest Star Stamper Submission

Happy Friday! Just wanted to share my entry for Papertrey Ink`s December Guest Star Stamper Challenge, using "Turning a New Leaf". I am quite happy how my first ever stamped candle turned out:

I thought the candle needed a matching card:

And the set together:

Ok, off to do some more Christmas preparations! Hope I`ll be able to finish everything I planned in time!! If you want to, I`ll post a how-to of the stamped candle - just let me know if you are interested!

Thanks for stopping by and have a fab weekend!

Hugs,

Vanessa

Caardvarks - Hero Arts Digital Challenge

Happy Wednesday! Today I am sharing two hybrid cards made with Hero Arts Digi Kits that are available at 2Peas. Hero Arts is sponsoring the current "Digital Showcase" challenge over at Caardvarks. First is a Christmas card using the "Kris Kringle" kit. It`s the first time I colored a large image with copics and I am quite pleased how it turned out! (But if you`d like to see some really talented Copics-Colorers, be sure to visit Alice and Donna!)

On the second card I used one of my favourite digi kits, the "Poetic Petals". The card was inspired by one of Hero Arts Sneak Peeks for the new 2010 Catalog - can`t wait to see all the new stamps! This image is colored with colored pencils:

Thank you for your sweet comments, I am sorry I am behind leaving love on your blogs - my little girl and my husband are both sick and it`s no fun ;) Trying to catch up as soon as I can! Keep your fingers crossed that I won`t catch it!

Thanks for visiting and have a great day!

Hugs,

Vanessa

Supplies will be added later

Lovely Shelf Blog Hop

I am very excited and so honored that the supertalented Nina Brackett asked me to be her Guest Designer to feature her new stamp set "Lovely Shelf" that is available HERE! The beautiful set is so fun to work with and I`ll soon share some more cards I made with it! Here is my first one, using the gorgeous rose image:

Do you want to see more? For even more inspiration with the Lovely Shelf stamp set, please visit these designers' blogs:

Nina Brackett {illustrator}

Jessica Fick

Melanie Muenchinger

Donna Baker

Emily Giovanni

Lee Murphy

Peggy Wainman {CSS designer}

Cheri Weston {CSS Designer}

me {Nina's Guest Designer}

The StampTV Idea Center is also a valuable resource for tips, samples, and tutorials on how to use all of GinaK's stamp sets. Check out the Lovely Shelf stamp set discussion HERE. The Lovely Shelf Card Kit information can be found there as well.

And, finally remember to check in on GinaK's blog tonight to leave your comment on her Lovely Shelf post so that you can be entered to win Nina's stamp set or any stamp set valued at $23.95 or less!

Have fun hopping, thank you for "hopping by" and have a great day!

Hugs,

Vanessa

Papertrey Ink "Do Me a Favor" Just Because Box

Hello! Today I`ll share my third box using the template "Do Me a Favor" that will be for sale on the 15th at Papertrey Ink! It`s a "Just Because" box to surprise someone special:

This time I decided to make the base from vellum to let the recipient get a glimpse of the content:

To close this box I just tied ribbon around it:

Ok, that`s it! I hope you enjoyed my "Do Me a Favor" boxes and that I inspired you a bit! Be sure to visit Nichole Heady to see more of this month`s wonderful releases and all the gorgeous creations! And leave her your comment to win the amazing prize package :). I am so honored that I was allowed to show you my stuff together with the fabulous Papertrey Ink team!

Have a happy day and thank you very much for your kind words!

Hugs,

Vanessa

Supplies:

Cardstock: (Spring Moss, Ripe Avocado, Vellum) Papertrey Ink, Patterned Paper: (2008 Bitty Dot Basics) Papertrey Ink, Clear Stamp: (Damask Designs) Papertrey Ink, Pigment Ink: (Perfect Match Vintage Cream Hybrid Ink) Papertrey Ink, Ribbon: (Spring Moss Classic Grosgrain Ribbon) Papertrey Ink, Button: (White & Cream Mix Vintage Buttons) Papertrey Ink, Dies: (Scalloped Square, Scalloped Rectangle) Spellbinders, Embossing Folder: (Polka Dots) Provo Craft

Papertrey Ink "Do Me a Favor" Place Card Box

Happy Friday! I am back with my second project using the template "Do Me a Favor" that will be available for purchase on the 15th at Papertrey Ink! I immediately had so many different ideas for this cute template that I finished 3 boxes in one evening. Here is one I am planning to use as a place card for our Christmas dinner :

For the tag I used the gorgeous "Giga Guidelines" set:

And wrote the name of the recipient onto the back:

For this version I decided to close the box with ribbon that`s held in place by a knot in the inside of the box and is drawn through both box base and lid to close the box with another knot:

I hope you like my Place Card Box! And I hope my family will ;)! But I have to change the design a bit for our dinner, because Godzilla-Me managed to tear apart my new favourite stamp when taking it off the acrylic block - the beautiful flourish leaves stamp from the "Turning a New Leaf" set!!! You can`t imagine how that shattered me, it was brandnew and I was distracted for only one tiny moment and didn`t pay attention to how I lifted it from the block. Sorry for my whining, but the only ones to understand this tragedy are you!!

I`ll be back tomorrow with my third box using "Do Me a Favor". Be sure to visit Nichole Heady for the new releases and be inspired by her fabulous creations and those of the design team! I`d be happy if you were stopping by again!

Thank you for visiting today and have a wonderful Friday!

Hugs,

Vanessa

Supplies:

Cardstock: (Pure Poppy, Cream) Papertrey Ink, Clear Stamps: (Turning a New Leaf, Giga Guidelines, Tree Trimming Trio) Papertrey Ink, Ribbon: (Pure Poppy Classic Grosgrain Ribbon) Papertrey Ink, Dies: (Circles, Small Scalloped Circles) Spellbinders, Rhinestone: Prima