A Few Words About Alison & Nick Nocera

Hi there, everyone. I know it's been a little while since my last post, but I wanted to pop in and share the story of a couple of friends that could use your help. If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen me tweeting and retweeting about this earlier in the week.

Last weekend, on their way home from a craft show in Cincinnati, Alison and Nick Nocera from Alison Rose hit a patch of black ice and flipped their truck. Alison, luckily, escaped with "only" some gnarly cuts and bruises. Nick on the other hand broke his tibia/knee and is facing a possible surgery (my understanding is that he has been released from the hospital and is awaiting an appointment with a specialist next week). They have business and auto insurance which will cover the loss of their truck and inventory, but they are unfortunately without health insurance.

Nick was a teacher up until last year and left his teaching position so that the couple could really make a go of their business. If you're a local, you know how hard they've been working; independently in their shop, as a wholesaler for other businesses, even with the City of Columbus in efforts like the CoGo Bike Share. These are really wonderful, hard-working people and they could use your help. They really are some of Columbus's best. If you are willing and able, you can visit the donation page that has been set up for them right HERE.

Thank you for checking in and I wish you and yours a very happy Thanksgiving. Take a moment to hug (or high-five if you're not a hugger) the people you love today. See you soon, folks!

Craft Show Update

Good morning, everyone! I just wanted to pop in and say thank you to everyone that came out and supported Craftin' Outlaws yesterday. It was a fantastic day made possible by really hard-working people and enthusiastic shoppers. And a special thanks to Megan from Stinkybomb Soap for absolutely everything! Her dedication to the show is admirable - from event logistics to early morning TV spots, she works tirelessly and we totally appreciate it.

Sean was able to raise $81 dollars for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. With the Food Bank's buying power that will translate into $891 in groceries for families in need. So thank you to everyone that asked a question, received a compliment, or had their social media account hijacked!

I also wanted to pop in with an update about one more show I have coming up this season. The Holiday Hop Pop Up Shop will be December 7th from Noon to 10pm at the Garden Theater in the Short North. It's the same day as the North Market event, so Sean will be manning the table solo most of the day. I'll be around in the evening all the way up until closing time. The event features the crafts that you all know and love along with treats for kiddos (make & take table, Santa) and adults (beers on draft) alike. Check out the Facebook page for more information as the event draws near.

Now, friends, I am going to spend the rest of today doing a little low-key work with the cat on the couch. Have a wonderful day and I'll see you again soon!

Craft Show News

Hello again, everyone! I just wanted to pop in really quickly to give some updates on events I have from now until the holidays.

First up is Craftin' Outlaws this weekend! I'll be peddling my wares down at Vets Memorial tomorrow, Saturday the 16th, from 10am until 5pm. The event itself is free, but parking is $7 so make sure to carpool. It's definitely one of my favorite events all year and there are even more fun features than ever before. Stop by and say hello!

Sean will be doing his "Asked & Answered" booth all day, too. Ask him a question and he'll answer it for $1. Absolutely everything he collects is going to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. He keeps not a penny. You're essentially paying my husband to goof around all day and giving money to a very worthwhile charity at the same time. Everybody wins!

Next up is the North Market's 2013 Marketfare on December 7th from 8am until 5pm & 8th from Noon until 5pm. I always enjoy the North Market's holiday events, so I'm really excited to be participating in this one again this year!

I have one more event in the works that I'll make sure to share more info about as soon as I get it. You can also fine Poshta goods at Wholly Craft anytime, holidays or otherwise. Hope to see you out and about at one of these events. Thanks for the support!

Fancy Footwork - Day 5

Good morning, everyone, and welcome back to this month's Papertrey Ink countdown! I have two more cards to share with you, so let's get started.

My first card features the tango images paired together along with the coordinating sentiment.

I began by stamping the women's dance steps in Pinefeather ink and the men's steps in Ocean Tides onto white cardstock. Then, I die cut a circle shape out of the panel to make way for the sentiment. I attached a strip of Pinefeather cardstock that had been cut with the Pinking Shears border die to the back of the tango panel and adhered the whole piece to a Soft Stone card base.

Next, I stamped the sentiment in Pinefeather and a decorative circle in Ocean Tides onto a white die cut circle. I mounted that with foam tape to the card base inside the negative die cut area of the tango strip. Simple and masculine. You could also switch up the colors to make the card more feminine or seasonally appropriate.

I wanted to show that you can use the sentiments independent of the dance diagrams, so that's what I set out to do with today's final card.

I began by die cutting the Wine Bottle Tag shape from white cardstock and stamping it with my sentiment. The "You" is separate and goes with both this sentiment and the "make me feel like dancing" sentiment. This is particularly handy in the event that you want to stamp your sentiment in multiple colors, as I have here. I used Sweet Blush and Dark Chocolate inks this time (the "you" is easier to see in real life, but I couldn't get it to read well in the photo - my apologies).

Next, I adhered the tag shape to a Kraft card front that I had textured with the Wrought Iron impression plate. Then, I die cut the Man & Wife shapes using Kraft, Sweet Blush, and white cardstocks. I assembled those and mounted them to my Wine Bottle Tag shape with foam adhesive. As a final touch, I added teeny, tiny dots of dimensional paint to the woman's hair to resemble pearls.

Alrighty, I'm all wrapped up for another countdown, but there's plenty more to see. It's a group post day, so Nichole, Ashley, Betsy, Cristina, Danielle, Dawn, Erin, Heather, Laura, Maile, and Melissa all have projects to share. Melissa Bickford is also sharing a few more peeks of her new sets, so make sure to visit with her, too. I'll see you all again soon!

Recipes:
Two To Tango Card
Stamps: Fancy Footwork (available November 15th), Framed Out #9 - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Soft Stone, Pinefeather - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Ocean Tides, Pinefeather - Papertrey Ink
Other: Pinking Shears Border Die - Papertrey Ink; Circle Dies - Quickutz; Foam Tape - Scotch

Swept Couple
Stamps: Fancy Footwork (available November 15th) - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Classic Kraft, Sweet Blush - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Sweet Blush, Dark Chocolate - Papertrey Ink
Other: Man & Wife Die Collection, Wine Bottle Tag Die, Wrought Iron Impression Plate - Papertrey Ink; Foam Tape - Scotch

Fancy Footwork - Day 4

Welcome back for Day 4 of November's Papertrey Ink Countdown! I've been absolutely loving the enthusiasm you folks have been sharing for Fancy Footwork over the past few days. Thank you so much for the warm reception! I have a couple of cards to share with you today, so let's get to it.

My first card uses the dance diagrams to create an all-over, monochromatic pattern. The images are relatively large, so the stamping process goes so quickly when covering a large space like this.

I began by stamping and heat embossing my footprints with VersaMark ink onto Winter Wisteria cardstock. I wrapped that piece with two widths of satin-edged sheer ribbon and adhered it to a white card base.

Next, I die cut a Photo Finishers shape from white cardstock and stamped my sentiment. I adhered that over the ribbon and embellished with a couple of custom-colored rhinestones.

My second card shows that you don't have to stamp a large area to get that great pop of pattern.

I started by die cutting a Mat Stack 1 shape from white cardstock and stamped the footprints with Berry Sorbet and Summer Sunrise inks. When I was finished stamping my steps, I die cut a circle from the center of the shape and mounted it to a Berry Sorbet card front that had been textured with the Sheet Music impression plate.

Next, I stamped and heat embossed my sentiment onto Summer Sunrise cardstock. That was then die cut and placed inside the negative in the Mat Stack shape. I also added an extra layer of foam tape really set the sentiment apart.

Two quick and simple cards for today. I hope you enjoyed them! Join me tomorrow for a couple of additional cards featuring Fancy Footwork. In the meantime, it's a group post day and the ladies have tons of wonderful inspiration to share. Check in with Nichole, Ashley, Betsy, Cristina, Danielle, Dawn, Erin, Heather, Laura, Maile, and Melissa for their contributions. Melissa Bickford is also sharing a few more peeks of her new sets for this month, so make sure to visit with her, too. See you tomorrow!

Recipes:
Swept Card
Stamps: Fancy Footwork (available November 15th) - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Winter Wisteria - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Gray Pigment - Studio G; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: Photo Finishers Die Collection - Papertrey Ink; Clear Detail Embossing Powder - Filigree; Marker - Copic; Small Rhinestones - Mark Richards; Medium Rhinestones - Darice; Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers; Sheer Ribbon

Cheerful Dance Card
Stamps: Fancy Footwork (available November 15th) - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Berry Sorbet, Summer Sunrise - Papertrey Ink; white
Ink: Berry Sorbet, Summer Sunrise - Papertrey Ink; VersaMark - Tsukineko
Other: Sheet Music Impression Plate, Mat Stack 1 Die - Papertrey Ink; White Detail Embossing Powder - Filigree; Foam Tape - Scotch; Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers