Blog Hop Giveaway...

Well good morning.  I am not usually up this early, but I just want to thank everyone who visited and commented on my last post.   I just want to let you know that I am going to lay down for a bit, and then I am going to draw out name for my give away.

One of the nice things about having a blog hop is you can receive visitors while you are off doing things.    Saturday, I had a luncheon, and then I went to go visit my brother and his family.   Yesterday, I went to church, then to my parent's home.   Ate dinner there, and my sister came over there with her two, and a new family member.   She adopted a kitten, and the kids named her Princess.   cute little grey and white kitten, could not have been no more than a few weeks old.   So my sister needs to take Princess to the vet.  After that, it was going with my mom to take my oldest nephew's friend home.

Well.  like I said this is short and sweet, and now I am sleepy.   Talk to you soon.   God Bless you and your day.

Christmas Blog Hop

Hello, and welcome to my Blog.   If this is your first time on my blog, I am Patricia, and I am the owner of both MDN Creates the blog, as well as the papery business. I have been creating scrapbooks, greeting cards, journals, and other paper crafts for over 10 years.  This is my third year having this blog, and my second year having this business.   Enough about me.

I am a participate of a Christmas Blog Hop, sponsored by the Card-a-day Blog.  In case you are not familiar with the blog, Card a day vows to give you cards of inspiration, meaning if you are stuck on what to make, you can turn to this blog, and find a card that can help give you ideas of what kind to make.   There are so many cards out there in cyberland, until it can be confusing, and The Card-a-Day blog can help bring confusion into clarification.  Other people participating are:


Adele Robbetze from nogardscreativecave
Christine Patton from Creative Genie-ous
Cindy Foster from Cindy's Creations
Cindy Pointe from The Creative Pointe
Janet White from Stamping At The White House
Kelly George from Sassy Scrapper Studio
Michelle Hessler from Paperthreads
Patricia Logan from MDN Creates-You are Here!
Shelley Bordeleau from Gardens Crafts 'n' More
Tina Campbell from Tina's Scrap Corner
Vicki Schram from Paper Squirrel
Back to the Card a Day Blog to see who won the challenge 

For the blog hop, I have made a sort of quick card.   This card is simple to make, and it is worthy of any theme,not just Christmas. The recipe for this card is:

• Drk. green cardstock
• Light green cardstock
• Christmas patterned paper (I used on with Christmas lights and ferns, from a old Christmas stack I have not used.)
• Tan cardstock to make the snowflake
• Tattered Angels Glam (I used Organic Garden (green), and Rocking on Sunshine (Yellow)
• Cricut cartridge (I used "When It's Cold Outside a 2009-2010 seasonal Cartridge).  Note:  If you do not have a Cricut, you can use any die cutting or electronic die cutting machine.

I do not measure, so the best way for me to tell you how big to make this card, is to cut in half on the long side of the 8 1/2 x11 sheet of cardstock.    fold in half, and with the glam colored closest to the shade of you card blank, paint it on.   To dry quickly, use a heating gun, or if you do not have one, a hair dryer.  Set aside.   Next, cut a piece of cardstock a shade or two lighter than the first.   I would have to say that for this card, I cut about 2" on all sides, but I usually cut about an inch or so for the mat.   Take the same color glam to paint this piece as well.  note:  sometimes the paper will start to curl up.   That is to be expected and once the heat is off the paper, it should straighten out itself.  If not, set it in between pages in a book to help flatten it out.

Next, cut out your die cut.  The snowflake was cut at 4".    Paint the die cut with the second Glam.

Once you get everything dried, start assembling the card, with the solid piece on top of the card blank, the pattern piece on top of the first mat.   Sentiment is optional.

I do have Blog Candy to send out, but it is a surprise, but it will be good.    You do need to be a follower in order to win the blog candy, but you can comment at anytime.   I will draw after the blog hop, so please use your first name, email address.   Website address is optional, unless you want to follow you.   I love following people.

Well the next person to stop on the Christmas hop is Shelley from Gardens Crafts 'n' More.   Have Fun and God Bless.

Misty waters....or spray to your heart's content

A few months ago, I joined my favorite online scrapbook supply store's buying clubs.   In case you are not familiar with what a buying club is, a buying club is a club where you are committed to buy a particular product for x number of months.  For instance, say you join a Copic Marker Club with your LSS (Local Scrapbook Store). In that club, you are committed to buy 4 Copic Markers for $36.00 (before tax and shipping), and it is for 6 months.   The LSS decides that they will pick and choose the colors you get.   That means you are locked into that price for the next 6 months, probably will have first pick before the rest of the customers, and you get something free at the end of the club like an extra marker.   

That is not bad for the price, and I have enjoyed every single club I belong to.   You can build on your collection (say you have 4 Glimmer Mists, and you need more).   You are locked into special pricing that would otherwise be ignored.

Technique Thursday…

I am inserting something in this blog, that from time to time, I do not have full knowledge of, because I am just now learning about it myself, or I know very little about.    Like I said earlier, I was in a buying club, and I am in another one this time around.    The club I just got finished with is for Glimmer Mist.   Misting your projects is the new trend these days, and I have had fun re-coloring flowers, adding spritz of color on a layout or a card.    I was going through my emails, and I found an article on the different misting sprays out in the marketplace.    I would to share it with you.    This article is from Simply Scrapper, and I get their daily email, although I never have the time to read it.   The title caught my eye, while I was waiting for meatballs to thaw out for me to cook.  This post was written by a guest writer, Jennifer Smith-Sloane of Live.Teach.Create:

”Have you ever walked into a scrapbook store and seen all the great new products on the shelf and just been overwhelmed at where to start with them?  I was that way when I first saw TatteredAngels Glimmer Mist on the shelf of my local store. Then the next thing I was seeing was MayaRoad Maya Mists, StudioCalico Mr. Huey, and even more.
I came home and went online to do some research and found out that there were even more different types of misting products and I was just floored.  I had to know more about these products because I definitely saw them in my crafting projects but didn’t know where to start.
Most of the mists on the market are a water-based spray infused with color.  Some of them (like Glimmer Mist) have glitter within the spray while others (like Mr. Huey) are a more opaque color mist.  Each of the different types of mists have great purposes in scrapbooking and crafting.

• Using a mist to cover a background is a great way to get a custom color for your cardstock, tags, or even alter the paper that you are using.

• Using a mist to alter a white flower or other embellishment is a great way to make your supplies last longer.

• Layering mist colors can help you create some unique color combinations that no one else out there will have because every time you do it you will create something new.

Taking the sprayer off the mist bottle and using a paint brush to paint the mist on is another way to use your mists. It acts like a water color and will accent your project beautifully and in most cases give a more concentrated color.”

I would like to add some tips help you along the way, if you decide to add some misting colors:

1.      When applying color, remember not to over saturate the item.   When you do that, particular with paper, it will cause the paper to either curl up, tear up at the slightest touch, and it will take several hours to dry.

2.      This also goes for layering colors.  Too much of a good thing can leave a project looking muddled, so be careful when applying.

I hope you do learn from these tips that both me and Jennifer have to offer.   As always, if you have any questions, be sure to ask them either in the comments section or email me at plogan@columbus.rr.com.  God bless you, for he is worthy to be praised.

Card a Day post

Today, I want to share with you something special.   I am a new team member of a blog called Card a day.   The purpose of this blog is to give you inspiration on card ideas.  When I get stuck, or if I want to know how to make a card, I often turn to other blogs for help.   I find it most helpful, when I can find inspiration in them.

The reason why I mentioned this is this Friday, I will be participating in a Christmas blog hop.  Yes, it is that time of year again, and I like to start early, sometimes in July.   No I do not decorate that early.  For me, it is a mindset.   I start thinking about the reason for the season. 

For those of you who will agree with me for a moment, it is not about the presents under the tree, taking pictures with Santa and giving him you wishlist.  It is not about decorating the house, the office parties, and seeing who can hang the most lights (go to You Tube, and search under Christmas lights, and you will see what I mean, LOL.)  It is not about getting away for a winter vacation.   All of those are nice, but for me, the first thing is the day that Jesus was born, in a manger.  His mother did not take Lamaze classes for proper breathing techniques, rushed off to the hospital when the labor pains started, given meds to ease the pain, pushed on queue when the doctor told her to push, and finally got to see her precious baby laying in a bassinet with all the other babies.   Where Jesus was born, it was very unsanitary, animals all around, no meds to ease the pain.  It was as natural as they came.  In fact, the inn keeper did not bump people so Mary would have a place to lay her head.   Jesus’ bassinet was a watering trough for animals.

When I was little, I loved dolls, and often played mommy.  I had to have one every Christmas, and it had to be the latest and greatest.   Today, I still love them, and I had been known to buy one or two in the past.   Now, they are for display.  I have 6 cabbage patch dolls and a Christmas 1997 Barbie, still in the box.   I remember my tea sets when I was little and my two easy bake ovens.  I was one of those little girls who just a touch of tomboy in her, which is why I had mud tea parties.   I would make mud pies and cakes but on the other hand, I would be just as girly, wanting everything pink and frilly.   I also climbed trees in a dress.  Go figure.   Today, I am still girly, and still love pink.   I love getting dressed up, but I have my down moments in jeans and a t-shirt.   My mom started the girly obsession, and I did not stop here, LOL.   My mom did the same with my sister, but she is the opposite of me.  Now to get my sister back, my niece is so girly at 3, until is it so funny.  It has to be pink or purple colored stuff.

The point I am making is Christmas is what you make of it.   Some people can be very religious about it, or too commercialized about it.

Back to the start of this post.   As I was saying, I am part of a design team, and we are having a Blog Hop, October 1-2, 2011.   I was in one a few months ago, with a different person, and I had a blast.   I will be working on my Christmas card, and a giveaway, known in the blog world as blog candy.   I will probably make something, and have something from my stash.  Please stay tuned as I will try to start doing a post a day for everything I write for.   God Bless.

A non-scrapbook Idea

Every once in a while, I come across a blog where the craft is real easy to do that children can make it too (with or without supervision.)
I can across this post on a hair blog, and sometimes you have to look for your inspiration elsewhere.   Anyway, her blog normally talks about styling hair for herself and her children, especially one she calls, "the Diva".   (I do not know any children like that, maybe some adults, LOL), any you may find out why on her blog.   You can get to it through this link here. I like the simplistic of the bulletin board, and she does give instructions on how to make it, and where she got everything at.  Here is the link again (in case you were not able to click on it: http://www.divalocks10.com/2011/07/non-hair-related-bulletin-board.html 


I will be making on for sure.


Good night, and God Bless.

Where was I on September 11, 2001...

 This is the 10th  anniversary of that dreadful day, and at the time I was...in bed.   I had started learning how to be a night owl, and the night before, I went to bed at 1am.   Well, I was living in an apartment, nice apartment, and I was asleep.   The phone rang, and it was my dad, who clearly said to me, "You're sleeping, and the world is going to hell in a hand-basket?"   I was still a little dazed from coming out from sleep, and I was trying to understand what he meant by that.  Dad instructed me to turn on the television, I will find out.   So I got out of bed, went into the living room to turn it on.   I had it on the local CBS station in the area, and I stood there in stunned belief.  "What the heck is going on", I thought to myself, as I saw people running from a cloud of dust in New York.  Shortly, after that, I saw the second tower being hit, and I said, "what the F***!   Is this the end of the world?"  I tried all day to understand who would do this, and why?

 We are such a helpful nation, and maybe sometimes too helpful to other countries.   We are too giving, and maybe that was our downfall.  At the time, my parents, who lives less than 2 minutes from my house was caring for my oldest nephew and two foster kids had to get them from school, so mom was trying to retrieve them from school (the nephew was in Kindergarten, and the other two was in 1st and 2nd grade.)  As soon as I got dressed, I immediately went to their house, and watched the news from there, as that was only thing on.

Today, as we remember those who perished on that day in New York City, Pennsylvania, and Washington DC, it is not about where you were on that day, or what you were doing at that time, it is about what has changed in the 10 years since that day.   For me, it was graduating with a bachelor's degree in marketing, becoming an independent home consultant with a company I love (Longaberger), starting a business from scratch (MDN Creates), and trying to be the best aunt to two more boys and a little girl.  My oldest nephew, who was 5 at the time, is now a 15-year old high school student, and wants to do something with computers when he graduates.    The other two boys have moved on back to their mother.   There are some things I still hope for, being out of debt, a new home, and to become a wife and a mother.  But, I am grateful for what I have so far, because that day could have been the end of this country, and there could have been a war on our own shores for the first time with a foreign country (the last war in the US, I believe was the Civil War.)
Hug your loved ones, for they are precious to you, and in the sight of God.   Tell them that you love them, and you thank God for them.

My swap items

I have not posted something in about a week or more.  I have not made something in about a week.  Correction- I have not completed anything in about a week
My swap Items...

I did a swap towards the end of the month of August.

 This first one is a Thank You card.   the ingredients are:

1 sheet of Graphic 45 paper (I believe it is Curtain Call-do not quote me on that one). It is cut to I believe 41/4 x 5 1/4-sorry, I do not measure in the same way that Rachael Ray does not with food ingredients.
1 blank card-I used the Kraft cardstock from Close To My Heart 12x12 cut in half to 6 x 12.

Flower:  Black and cream cardstock from Bazzill (Archiver's), cut from the Pagoda Cartridge using any Cricut machine (I used the E2 machine), pearl center is from Martha Stewart Crafts.  it is cut at 3".   I used shadow and Layer 1.

Sentiment:  Using my computer, I went into MS Word to type out "Thank You".  Note:  I usual use MS Publisher for this sort of thing.  Use whatever your computer will allow you to do,   You can use a publishing program, word processing program, card creation program.  If you do not have a computer, or do not know how to use the computer for that purpose, either email me at plogan@columbus.rr.com, comment and I will get back to you with instructions, or just purchase a stamp with the words thank you on it.  (it needs to be a small stamp.)

Lastly the ribbon.   I used lacy ribbon, and a ribbon that is about 1/4 of an inch wide.  I layered the small one on top of the lace, and fell in love with the results.  The 1/4 ribbon I got at Michaels, and the lace i got at a thrift store.   YES, you can get scrapbooking stuff at a thrift store.   Just give the item an inspection before buying, because once you leave with item in hand, you cannot take it back.  I antiqued it a little by putting brown ink on the lace.

Card #2

My second card is a fan card (no sentiment)

For this one, I went simply.  I had to, because I wanted a pocket tag card, but humidity and lack of strong double sided tape proved to be almost disastrous.

Ingredients:

3 sheets of 12 x 12 Kraft cardstock (one for the blank card, one for the die cut, and one patterned for the matting)

Pearl by Martha Stewart.

Take the first piece of cardstock, cut in half to make it into two 6x12 sheets, fold in half.   Set aside.  Take the patterned cardstock, and if you have a DreamKutz machine, cut the sheet in half (back slot), then turn it one of halves to cut it in thirds (front slot).  From there, you should have 6 pieces to work with.   If you do not have a DreamKutz machine, with your paper trimmer, cut the 12x12 sheet in half, follow by cutting each half into thirds, making it about 4x6.  Set them aside.
Next take out your die cutting machine (electronic or not, and make a die cut that is about 3" or 4".   I used my Cricut Expression 2, 5th Anniversary Cutting machine (E2), the cartridge, Pagoda.  the fan is cutting using the shadow feature.   I put a pearl in the center to look like it can open and close.

What happened to the pocket.   To make a pocket out of a mat, you need some really strong double sided tape.   I had a tag that I cut out using the Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge (my go to cart for all things tags-retired), and I put the same lace I put on the first card.  the tags turned out nice, but I had to ditch them, and will be using them in another project.   To make a pocket, put tape on three of the side (preferably, leaving one of the shorter ends without tape.)  because of the bulkiness of  tag, the mat kept coming up.  So the lesson learned is use strong double-sided tape and have a thin tag.

Well I know this is a long post, and a well deserved one.   I wish you well, and God bless you.