Nancy Hanttula : MajaDesign

Fly High Vintage Book Banner – Life By The Sea

25 July, 2014 - Altered Items, Life by the Sea

Hello Maja Design fans and friends! It’s Nancy Hanttula here again. This week I am going to share a banner that I created using a beloved vintage, Little Golden Book, from 1971, FLY HIGH, written and illustrated by Virginia Parsons.

I absolutely love children’s books. I love the stories. I love the illustrations. And I absolutely ADORE books that I have had for my lifetime (I guess I am considered “vintage” now 🙂 ) and finding vintage books in antique and thrift stores.

So here is an easy way to preserve a beloved book to make as a gift or to use as personal home décor…..use the pages to create a banner. It can be used in a child’s room, in a play room or family room, or even a creative space. How cute would this be to give as a baby shower gift?! Now, I know some of you are going to perhaps cringe at tearing out the pages of a book….but, if you don’t use it, then what are you really going to ever do with it. Well, you could save it to pass on for generations in your family, IF your kids and their kids and their kids don’t e-bay it, or donate it, or trash it. I’m just saying what may be sentimental to you, won’t necessarily be sentimental to your off-spring. BUT if you actually created something with it…well, I imagine it may actually have a better chance of being passed down. Maybe. But, if you really cannot bring yourself to tear out the pages of a book, then you could color copy the pages and use the pages that way. Personally, I want to make that one-of-a-kind treasure.

Here is the book that I used for this project.

And yes, the torn out pages are behind the cover. I didn’t use all of the pages. I chose the ones I liked the best and told the story for me.

I used the Life by the Sea paper collection for this project, because I thought it showcased the book pages the best.

I cut out 5 different papers and matted the book pages onto them. Added a coordinating strip to the tops. Used a different border punch on the bottom of each of the banner pieces, and added some fun embellishments from my stash.

Here is a close-up photo of the first 2 banner panels:

and the 2nd two:

and the 5th and 6th panels:

finally the last one:

It was hard for me to get a good photograph of this hanging on the wall. I used a Fiskars ribbon punch on the very top of the panels, laced ribbon through them all to join them together.

The specific papers I used out of the Life by the Sea collection included: (front) Nautic; (back) Islands & Skerries; (back) Seaside Cottage; (back & front) The East Coast; (back) Landmark; & (front) Drop the Anchor.

Other ingredients used in this project included: Tombow permanent adhesive; Aleene’s Tacky glue; Prima/Ingvild’s chalk ink in Dry Sand, White, & Brick Wall; border punches from Martha Stewart, Fiskars, and EK Success; metal embellishments from Prima; buttons and ribbon from my stash.

Thank you for taking the time to stop and take a peek at my latest creation. I hope something has inspired you to create something amazing today! Have a wonderful weekend!

Collage Inspired Cards created with Coffee in the Arbour

Posted by Nancy Hanttula

11 July, 2014 - Cards, Coffee In The Arbour

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Hello Maja Design fans and friends! Nancy Hanttula here again, and this week I am sharing two cards that I created inspired by a favorite style of mine….collage.

I love collecting bits and pieces of ephemera and odds and ends. I have amassed quite a collection of it, and I love to bring it out to embellish my projects.

EPHEMERA noun plural noun: ephemera

things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time.
items of collectible memorabilia, typically written or printed ones, that were originally expected to have only short-term usefulness or popularity.

The first card I embellished by distressing a piece of corrugated cardboard with some FolkArt acrylic paint in Warm White.

I stacked a lace and paper flower from my stash, topped off by a little green gem, & added a paper bird ephemera piece and fancy scroll corner border. I created the little bird’s nests by gluing some twine into circles and adding some Prima and BoBunny adhesive pearls into the centers.

This was inspired by a card that I saw created by a woman named Sherry Wright.

The chalkboard label that I layered onto the background paper (the backside of the Coffee in the Arbour paper “Smell of freshly brewed coffee”), is from EK Success. I also did some stamping onto the background paper — CTMH & Prima clear acrylic stamps and CTMH ink in Cocoa.

The other Coffee in the Arbour paper that I used to layer just behind the cardboard was the frontside of “Raspberry Lemonade.” The other pearl bling is from Prima.

The 2nd card was created using the frontside of “Raspberry Jam Cookie.”

The added paper layers from this paper collection also included: “Grandma’s Old Porcelain Cups -fs” & “Raspberry Lemonade-fs.” The ephemera and bits I used to embellish this card included a butterfly from K & Co, some tickets, a key,

buttons, cardstock vintage image and flower all from my stash. The doily is actually a transparent doily that I cut out from a Prima packaging.

So, do you collect ephemera? Do you use it to create with? This week I challenge you to use some ephemera of one type or another on your projects.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look at my latest creations. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and get the opportunity to create something amazing today!

Senior Prom – Coffee In The Arbour

Posted by Nancy Hanttula

27 June, 2014 - Coffee In The Arbour, Layouts

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Hello Maja Design fans and friends! Nancy Hanttula here again to share another layout with you.

I created this layout using the gorgeous new paper collection, Coffee In The Arbour.

After choosing the papers that I wanted to use for this layout, I used a piece of wallpaper border that a friend gave me (actually, she gave me a huge book of wallpaper samples that included these amazing borders, and I have been so excited to use one in a project.)

I also decoupaged some Tim Holtz tissue paper onto the background paper in various spots. I love how the tissue paper is transparent allowing the paper and color to show through. I used Liquitex Matte Super Heavy Gel to adhere the tissue paper down onto the paper. It dries super fast and it doesn’t bubble or cause wrinkles in the process.

This is another photo of the lovely girl that recently graduated from High School. And I scrapped this for a friend to give her as a gift. I framed the photo of her and her best friend using a frame I bought at my local craft store. It originally started out as a lightish green in color. I added various colors of acrylic paint from FolkArt in Warm White, blue, and pink.

I added some flourish stickers directly to the photo (stickers from EK Success.) I also added a decorative sticker in a lace pattern to the top of the frame (sticker from Michael’s Recollection collection.)

I then framed the photo and frame with various flowers from Prima, Petaloo, and Michaels. And added a pretty little pink butterfly that I added some additional dimensional paint & Prima adhesive pearls (butterfly from Michael’s Craft Store.)

I am always looking for some new ways to incorporate texture and design from less than obvious supplies.

I used some grapevine wire that I also found at Michaels, shaped it into flourishes, & glued it down as accents to the page. (If you look at the above photo, you can see how the frame I used to frame the girls in the photo originally started before I painted it.)

I took a metal accent that I have had in my stash from who knows where…..ripped it almost in half…

and adhered one half to the top right corner of the page…

and the other to lower left corner. I also painted a border around the entire page, inked the edges…and then went back and doodled a border.

For my title, I used some BoBunny chipboard letters from the Et Cetera collection….painted them over with some Warm White FolkArt acrylic paint and underlined them with some washi tape from the Recollection collection from Michaels.

And finally, I did some random stenciling using a 6 x 6 Prima damask patterned stencil and some brown chalk ink from Prima/Ingvild.

Supplies used for this layout that have not already been mentioned included: Chalk ink from Prima/Ingvild in colors Worn Jeans, Knotted Wood, & Vintage Pink; black ink Permaball permanent pen (for border doodling); and white lace from Offray (scored this at my local Walmart of all places.)

The specific paper I used for this layout was “Lovely Weather” both the front and back-sides, from the Coffee in the Arbour paper collection.

Thanks for taking the time to take a peek at my latest creation. I hope something has inspired you to go and create something amazing today! I wish you an amazing weekend!

In Our Sofa …. Welcome to Nancy’s Creative Space

Posted by Nancy Hanttula

14 June, 2014 - In our sofa

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Hello Maja Design fans and friends! Nancy Hanttula here, and today is my turn to share a glimpse into my creative space.

Above is a vinyl chalkboard sign that I have hanging on my creative space door. ( A disclaimer of sorts. ) Because, I won’t lie, my space is seldom that tidy. I do try to clean up after projects….but there always seems to be a bit of chaos going on. But, with that said, I did clean up knowing that I was inviting guests over. 🙂

So, come on in….it’s the door to the right……

I feel so blessed to have a room to call all my own. Before moving into our new house, I was a dining room table scrapper. I had all my supplies “neatly” organized alongside the wall (yes, the dining room wall) …. well, at least until I was in the middle of a project, and then well, things weren’t so neat. And as most scrappers realize way too late, supplies start to amass in quantities you just do not plan for.

So, let’s open up my door…

Fortunately, I had not been scrapping too long before we moved to a bigger house (frankly, with our 2nd child, we were busting at the seams), and I was fortunate enough to get to have one of the extra bedrooms all to myself to turn into my very own creative paradise.

AND that is exactly what I did.

AND before I even organized my clothes closet, I set to work on getting my creative space up and running. 🙂 A girl has to have her priorities.

Above is a shelving unit that I got at an estate sale for $5…it was already backed with the peg board. AND was already painted the pretty Robin Egg blue. This is where I have most of my acrylic and block stamps organized.

Since moving into my creative space, the space has evolved. There once was a time that I had a baby play-pen beside my desk.

Above is a cassette tape holder that I have had since the 1980’s…..I knew I would need it for something! It’s perfect for holding my ink pads.

Interestingly enough…I have noticed that 2 of the spaces that you have already visited on this Maja Design Creative Team tour, have the very same shelving system that I finally invested in a couple of years back…the Ikea Expedit shelving. I cannot believe that Jenny rescued hers from the dump!

I have 2 of the shelves next to each other and then one row of the white craft shelves from Michaels to fit the final space in the corner, across the entire side of the north wall. What I personally love about these shelves is that the storage spaces are 13 inches x 13 inches….perfect for your 12 x 12 papers. And because space is limited for most of us, vertical storage is such a great way to save and expand on space. AND if that wasn’t enough, there is a ton of storage above the shelves.

So I store a lot of stuff on top of the shelves. Here is a photo of some of my ribbon. I bought an over-the-door shoe rack….instead of using it for shoes, I used the spools to put my ribbon on. This cost me all of $12 at Walmart. For other storage, I have a relatively narrow buffet that I use to store more of my ribbon stash, and a low 6 drawer dresser for my sticker storage and various miscellaneous ephemera stash.

I have a closet in this room (photo above)….which needs a bit of a redo. I need to make the very most of this space. In here I house a lot of various miscellaneous, my blank canvases, etc. And, I use the closet doors for punch storage and to hold a peg board for additional supplies that can be hung on hooks.

See-through, over-the-door shoe holders are perfect to hold my punches. They only cost me a few dollars at my local Walmart. I also have one hanging on the back of my actual studio door. I have very little space go to waste in my room.

And now for my desk…..My desk was bought from Target on-line….and was a birthday present from my dear husband a few years back.

Above my desk is an inexpensive pegboard system that I also bought at Walmart.

It is the same Peg Board that my husband bought for our garage. Easy to install. I am a very visual person and need to see my supplies. So I find this works very well for me.

Some other interesting organizational things I have created for my space include a magnet board that I created for all of my Prima/Ingvild chalk inks. First of all, I am obsessed with these particular chalk inks. When I saw the entire set on sale at Scrapbook.com, I had to have them. I glued a magnet to the bottom of each one using E6000 glue, and placed them onto a 12 x 12 decorative metal wall hanging sheet.

This keeps them easy for me to get to and organized, especially when using my magnetic We R Memory Keepers cutting mat. BUT I did see a rather awesome chalk ink organizer on Gabrielle’s desk that has me intrigued…..I have not seen that organizer before. Maybe Gabrielle can share exactly what type of organizer that is and perhaps where it can be purchased? 🙂

Another thing that I had to do to get my mists/sprays organized was to create a color board. I have a lot of mists…and I really needed to be able to see exactly what colors and finishes each particular one created. I have seen some tag books that some artists have created for this purpose…but as visual as I am, I need to be able to compare and contrast at a glance. So, using a smallish (I think about a 2 inch) square punch, I punched out a bunch of white squares, and then misted each square with one of my mists/sprays. Then, I glued them all down to a sheet so I could hang it on my wall for easy reference. I won’t lie, it is in need of being updated as my collection has grown since I created this board. But here is a photo of this tool that I frequently use. After spraying the square, I wrote the color and manufacturer down for easy reference.

I hope you have enjoyed this tour into my home and into my personal creative space. It has been a pleasure having you over. I will tell you, I plan on relocating my space to my daughter’s room when she leaves for college (in like 12 years 🙂 ) because she has the most incredible closet that would be amazing for my crafty supplies. 🙂 Here’s some quick pics of her closet space….

It even has built in shelves on the insides. But, shhhhh, that’s a secret for now.

Wishing you a super creative and blessed weekend! Hugs!

Senior Picture – Walking in the Forest

Posted by Nancy Hanttula

13 June, 2014 - Layouts, Tutorials, Walking in the Forest

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Hello Maja Design fans and friends, it is Nancy Hanttula here. Today, I am sharing another layout that I created for my friend to give as a graduation gift.

I used the gorgeous Walking in the Forest paper collection.

I tried very hard to consciously take photos of every step of my process creating this layout so that I could share it with all of you. I will have to admit though, apparently I become a bit impatient from step to step and don’t always take the time to assure my photos are properly in focus….so I hope you excuse me…you may see just a few blurs along the way.

#1 – I knew that I wanted to use at least 2 different patterns on the background (Knitted Sweather & Bjork-Birch). When I do this, I don’t like to waste any of the paper by layering too much paper that just gets hidden and therefore, “wasted.” So I usually just use a piece of solid cardstock and glue the papers onto the cardstock as shown in the following photo.

Then I just layer the final piece over the final gap in the cardstock.

#2 Next I used a Martha Stewart circle punch on the 6 inch setting to punch out a circle out of the paper Frisk Luft – Fresh Air.

My plan wasn’t to use it in this exact form but to cut out the center and use it as a frame. I sketched a basic circle with a pencil and then cut it out with my X-acto knife.

And then I set it aside.

#3 Next, I took several of my mists and Tim Holtz Distress stains and went to town on the background. – specific supplies used: Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels (Candy Corn); Lindy’s Stampgang: Yellow Rose of Texas, Burnt Umber, Ponderosa Pine Olive; Tim Holtz Distress Stains: Wild Honey, and Gathered Twigs.

#4 Then using FolkArt acrylic paint in Warm White…

.I painted the edge of a corrugated piece of cardboard to use to paint a frame around the actual photo. I also used the foam brush and the same paint to paint a rough frame around the entire layout.

#5 Using the left-over paint, I painted onto a Prima acrylic chevron patterned stamp (#980078) and added stamped details throughout the page.

#6 Next, I cut some film negatives, that a friend had given me to use as embellishments, in half.

I tucked them under the paper layers and adhered them with glue.

#7 Then I cut out some die cut embellishments from the Klippark and inked them with Prima/Ingvild’s chalk ink, Dark Bark.

I added some staples and some extra details to further embellish the pieces.

#8 Now it was time to put down the photo, add the circle frame, & add a butterfly I purchased at Michael’s craft store.

#9 I added some Tim Holtz Distress Stickles in Vintage Photo to add some extra dimension to the circle frame.

#10 I also added some Tim Holtz Remnant Rub-ons and the title using Prima wood alphas.

#11 I decided that I needed to add some brown painted chevron stamping using the same Prima stamp in various spots for some contrast. I used FolkArt paint in the color Coffee Bean.

#12 The last details added to this layout were some small areas of sewing machine stitching.

And all those little and big details make up the entire page. 🙂

I hope you enjoyed this walk-through into the process of how I created this layout. And I hope that perhaps it has inspired you to create something amazing today!

Have a wonderful weekend! and be sure and stop by tomorrow as I take you on a tour through my very own personal creative space.