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Scrappeland in Norway Challenge or…Win a spot in Über*Media Gesso

Very thrilled to be the guest designer for scrappeland.no this month. Scrappeland is a wonderful message board in Norway and they do some really cool features and tutorials throughout the month.

 

Here is my contribution. On the message board you can find how this canvas was made (in Norwegian AND in English) and there is also a challenge to create something based on my tutorial. You can win a free seat in my running 5 week-long Über*Media Gesso Online Workshop if you play along in the challenge and upload your project at Scrappeland here.

 

 

 

Can’t wait to see all the projects :)

Have a wonderful day!

Huge hugs

nat

Nat

Comments (7)

  • suzieq23

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    where is the message board so I can see how you made this awesome tree page?? tks

    Reply

  • Eniko DeLisle

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    Loving this, you clever girl! Very charming!

    Reply

  • Jesica Aguilar

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    Thank you for chairing your work. I love it!!!

    Thank You.

    Jesica Aguilar

    Reply

  • mjmarmo

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    This is so cute!!

    Reply

  • Lisa Flaherty

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    Charming piece, Nat! That background has such great texture! And, on closer inspection, I had a nice giggle from the paper with the smiley-face angels! Cute!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Oooh, I need to make a tree like that…so simple and yet so appealing to my eye.

    Reply

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Internationally Inspired – Final Sign Up Chance

 

Just a reminder- the Internationally Inspired Online Workshop with anna dabrowska, cari fennell, birgit koopsen,  donna downey and little old me is closing on December 1st meaning : tomorrow is your last chance to sign up for it.

You can sign up here.

Here are some sneaks from my over one hour-long workshop part in it:

 

 

 

 

Have a gorgeous day

Nat

Nat

Comments (5)

  • Andrene

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    I signed up as soon as Donna released the class…..and it was AWESOME. All of you created the most beautiful journals (yours was one of my favorites!!) After I watched all the videos I wanted to replicate every single journal!! I am glad you posted this because I have been meaning to send each of you ladies a message thanking you for the inspiration and talent you all shared. So THANK YOU NAT!!!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Ahhh- thank you Andrene! I am glad you liked it. It was a lot of fun putting it together. Have a gorgeous day, Nat

      Reply

  • Sandi McLean

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    Ok so you talked me into it! I am signed up! See you online!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Sandi, awesome! I so hope you will like it and I would love to see what you create. Hugs, Nat

      Reply

  • corinne (march)

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    ^_^ moi c’est déjà depuis longtempts et j’aime beaucoup ces ateliers ! à voir et revoir ;-))

    Reply

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Map it Or…Simple Gift Wrapping Idea

Love using old maps for accents on gifts.

Hearts for Birthday presents, stars for a Thank you Gift or just a little flower showing the home town city on a Souvenir from home present.

 

Some Craft Paper, Stamping and Twine is needed too. 1, 2, 3 …Done. Easy Peasy :)

Have a gorgeous day

Nat

 

Nat

Comments (9)

  • sylvia

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    awesome idea, and i love the results!! hugs, xx

    Reply

  • Riikka

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    Great idea! Looks fab!

    Reply

  • Pam in New Jersey

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    Nat, A great idea. I am going to raid my husband’s car and use some for fun. Thanks for the idea. Pam in New Jersey

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      LOL Pam…he might get lost when you take his maps ;)

      Reply

  • Micki

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    oh be still my heart….. awesome idea. I have some old maps from Germany (back from 1994) and had planned on incorporating them into some canvas art (as soon as I get time, sigh) I’m definitely holding some of the maps back for something like this. You know my favorite – the one that made my heart pitterpatter was the Gruesse aus der Heimat. Around Christmas I always – ALWAYS – get homesick.
    Big hugs

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      ahhh Micki – that must be hard …homesickness is not pretty :) I am getting homesick right now- because I wanna be home now – LOL. And I am only gone for three weeks ;) – Huge hugs

      Reply

  • Jean Marmo

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    Maps are so much fun to use. Love these!!

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Simple and fun to look at. I love using old maps to spruce up a card or LO.

    Reply

  • Michaela

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    Sweet idea to wrap a present, I like!!!

    Reply

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Thank you Mr PearCabbage Or…You made an impact on my life

I came across this fun and inspiring video by Drew Dudley on TED and I wanted to share it with you. Thank you Drew- you made an impact with this speech!

[ted id=1355 width=560 height=315]

Wow! And so when I watched this video I started thinking about all the people who handed me a huge lollipop and made a big impact on my life and might not even know it and I will try to get in touch with them and say thank you:

  • the elementary school teacher “Herr Birnkraut” literally translated into “Mr PearCabbage” who called me Little Dracula Teeth (because I had some temper problems in elementary school – ehem) and sent unbeknownst to me my short story of 10 pages (double ehem..I was NEVER really able to say things in just a few words- LOL) to an Elementary Writing Competition because he believed that I would become a writer just as I wanted to be,
  • the wonderful family of Alice and herself inviting me, a stranger from Germany, to a Shabbat Dinner after my workshops in Israel, one of the most beautiful and touching experiences I have ever made in my entire life, I have a hard time expressing this!
  • the friend of a friend I met at a party who told me he was 20 years a lawyer and then decided he hated it and became a high school teacher, and who made my brain go “huh- you can do that?” which lead me years later into quitting my paralegal job to become a full-time Artist

 

BTW – I tried to find Herr Birnkraut with no luck but I know that he would have laughed at the translation of his name – he was and hopefully still is a very very funny guy.

Do you have a person that might not know that they had a big influence on your life or changed you and might not even know it?

huge hugs

Nat

 

 

Nat

Comments (5)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Just look at that cute younger Natalie next to Mr. Pear Cabbage.
    I had a math teacher in High School who had an effect on me later…he always told us that we could do “hard” math if we thought we could and not to be intimidated by it. Just keep working on it until you get it (oh and ask for help).
    Lots of moments when friends know just what to say (or not say) that makes the difficult situation a little less difficult.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      “Lots of moments when friends know just what to say (or not say) that makes the difficult situation a little less difficult.” – so true Sue!

      Reply

  • micki

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    OMG, my Art teacher in Germany…. Herr Schulz. He would always start each project with a wonderful story. Like when we had to use pen and ink to draw Medussa’s head with all the snakes (kind of like doing a Zentangle today) he told us the story of Medussa. Everyone loved his class.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      That sounds like such a fun teacher, Micki…and mmmh – Medussa – such a fun project!

      Reply

  • Miri

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    Nat, you touched me by this post. I am glad you had such a good time in Israel!! It made me think about people that made a big impact on my life too. Thank you. Miri

    Reply

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Back in the Cove – Photos from Workshops in NJ

Last weekend I taught at Scrappers Cove in New Jersey, which was a lot of fun. I love this little store with lot’s of yummie products not too far away from my in-laws and it is always fun to come back to these awesome ladies

The classroom was sold out with 12 students in each class and we had a blast. It is always amazing to see students again – I just love it or finally being able to put a face to someone I have before only “met” online :)

First up was the YAWP PanPastel Artjournal class and they had lot’s of fun playing with PanPastels

 

The next class was the Portrait of a Lady class playing with Derwent Artbars and as always I loved seeing the different results, some are sticking to reality and some are going abstract .

Here is a portrait that a young über*talented lady in my class did of her grandma – Love it!

And here is a Portrait of two Superheroes :)

Thank you to all my students and Scrappers Cove for a wonderful inspirational and fun day! Hope I will see you soon again ;)

 

Huge hugs

Nat

Nat

Comments (4)

  • Pam in New Jersey

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    Nat, I so enjoyed meeting you at Scrappers Cove and learning so many great tips and techniques using pan pastels in your class. I look forward to your return. Pam in NJ

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Pam, it was so wonderful to finally meet you. Thank you for coming and taking my class. I hope I see you soon again :) hugs, nat

      Reply

  • Miri

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    I envy you, I wish I was with you in this workshop, but… I live far away. Maybe, if you plan something for the winter, I plan to visit my cousin that lives in New Jersey…Just a thought,.. maybe I can join a workshop :)

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Hi Miri, ah I am sorry :( This year I won’t be back for christmas though- it is always either Thanksgiving or Christmas. I was once in Israel and I loved it loads- I hope I can come back some time! Stay safe and hugs! Nat

      Reply

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Advents Calendar Make Over

I could of course have done this post in mid October as this seems to be nowadays the time to be able to buy advents calendars in German stores- but quite frankly I was still dwelling on my sunny fun time in Italy at that time and there was no way I could have thought already of winter, christmas or other holidays. But ok…now is the time….I posted this advents calendar make over last year already- but I think it might be still new to some of you- so I dare to repost and I hope you don’t mind ;)

Originally posted on November 30th, 2011

The origins of the advents calendar come from Germany to count down the days till christmas  starting December 1st – and therefore- as we Germans celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December…there is only 24 doors on our advents calendars :) The coolest advents calendars contain of course 24 minigifts – and I used to make those a lot for hubs…who…well…loved it….but this year – ahem – I really had no time to make a fancy cool 24-gifts containing calendar for him. But how to make an effort to make still a cool unique one? I show you how :)

Sometimes you get this ad-presents – or there are like really cheapy cheesy advents calendars. And this one has yummie chocolate from a well known Switzerland company inside- so not too bad- but who would hang this UGLY calendar on the wall besides an employee in the office of this company???? (sorry for bashing)

What about then this version of this calendar?

That was fun to make :) I used  eco-friendly Acrylic Paints as this calendar contains food and although the chocolate is wrapped I wanted to make sure that I do not kill hubs slowly in 24 days by weird chemicals going through the wrapping ;) as I really love him dearly- LOL

Supplies: Advents calendar, Acrylic Paints, Prima Mask, Crafter’s Workshop Stencil, Brush, Number Stickers, Ribbon

—————-

I guess it is time to create a new calendar soon, I am a bit late again…

Are you creating an advents calendar too and how will it look like?

Have a wonderful day

Nat

Nat

Comments (8)

  • Lisa Flaherty

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    Love this idea! Our selection of Advent calendars this year was…meh. But, we have to have them! Great solution, and thanks for the tip to use eco-friendly paint.

    Reply

  • Sabine

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    Hey Nathalie,
    great make-over of an ugly advertisement thing.
    This year I made an advent calendar for my dear little god child Antonia. She is 3 1/2 and I crafted a train for her. There is a lokomotive and 3 trailers made of cardstock, patterned papers and toiletpaper rolls.
    I used to make calendars for my husband but that tradition fell asleep as the years went by.
    Have a wonderful advent time!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Oh what a cute idea with the lokomotive- I love that! Have a wonderful advent time too! Nat

      Reply

  • Eniko DeLisle

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    How fun! What a great make-over! I love making advent calendars & hope to get to it pronto this year. Here’s a link to a couple I made using photos…though not nearly as “artsy” as yours, they are quite delightful. Hugs!

    Reply

  • mjmarmo

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    That is a cool idea!! I have been buying my kids chocolate advent calendars since they were toddlers! Luckily they have very cute scenes on them.

    Reply

    • mjmarmo

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      The kids are now 24 and 28!~

      Reply

      • nathalie-kalbach

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        LOL- one is never too old for an adventscalendar ;) nat

        Reply

  • Milagros

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    I like the change!!!!
    hughs

    Reply

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Marble Marvel Or…ALMOST Senseless Post Title

Why ALMOST senseless post title? Well – my brain runs weird sometimes. I was going to work with some photos taken in Amalfi in Italy and that lead to thinking of the awesome marbled notebook I bought there with Amalfi Paper, which reminded me of the sheet of marbled paper I made showing the technique in my Über*Media Acrylic Ink  Online Workshop and so I used that. Well…and Marbel and Marvel..they rhyme…but…really…let’s just stop  LOL …because who knows what other nonsense I come up with posting today ;)

 

Supplies: Cardstock, Liquitex Acrylic Inks, stamps: Autumn Leaves and Stamper’s Anonymous, Scrapbook Adhesive by 3 L MyStik. Heidi Swapp Chipboard Letters, Molotow Markers

For this layout I actually got some of my former most favorite stamps out- these crazy stitches by Autumn Leaves. I found them while rummaging on the search for something for my friend Sandra who wanted to take some stamps with her for a kid’s school project. I was so giddy when I found them  (she probably makes a good imitation of me finding them ;) ) …I had to use them right away!

What are you favorite stamps?

huge hugs

Nat

 

Nat

Comments (5)

  • Milagros

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    Just beautiful!!!!! Hughs

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    I really like that stamp of stitches…looks so real. I love my Tim Holtz stamps the best because they leave a clear impression. So many stamps that I have just don’t come out clearly.

    Reply

  • france papillon

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    i love your nonsense hon, keep it coming!
    gorgeous page by the way, lolll
    and my favorite stamps? that’s no secret: Stampotique!

    bereknuffel ;)

    Reply

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Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing all of those that are celebrating Thanksgiving a wonderful day with their loved ones!

Thank you all so much for reading my blog and for your wonderful comments. I am thankful to have you!

Huge hugs

Nat

Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    I am thankful for your blog every day Nat.
    Have a delightful day!

    Reply

  • Patty

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    You inspire me everyday thank you for giving of yourself.

    Reply

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Bizzy Bs at Bizzy B’s

Coming back to Bizzy B’s in Toronto Canada after only four months was so much fun. It was like I have seen my students yesterday and it made it so special, plus Barb and Tony are amazing hosts and store owners and they are just making it so easy to teach!

 

The first class was the Be Awesome! Be a Book Nut Altered Book Class

 

 

 

It was fun seeing all those different books and takes of the students. They were such a fun and wonderful group and it was amazing seeing so many again and getting to know some finally. Like Marg who came all the way from Newfoundland and was such a sweetie!

 

Next up was the Season Canvas Class

 

 

On Sunday I taught the Über*Media Acrylic Paint ArtJournal Class, which was a five-hour class. We had lot’s of fun and it was super messy colorful :)

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to all my students who came to my workshops – I hope I will see some of you soon again ;) And thank you to Barb and Tony from Bizzy B’s for having me again!

Little German Lady ;)

Nat

 

Nat

Comments (6)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Just look at all that awesome art laundry hanging out to dry.
    I am curious about the way those pages are folded in the altered book.
    And could that be a Series of Unfortunate Events that I see (awesome series).

    Reply

  • Suzanne Bouchard

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    WOW1 That lokks all so exciting! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  • Sandi McLean

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    Ok so now you have been to Toronto a couple of times, I am hopeful that you will get to make the west coast some time!! I can image how thrilled your participants were!

    Reply

  • Anne Porretta

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    Nat, I’m glad you enjoyed your visit to Toronto! I regularly follow your blog and enjoy your sense of humour and your playful art. Wish I wasn’t already booked elsewhere both times you came. Maybe next time I can get to meet you . . .

    Reply

  • mjmarmo

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    Wow – wish I could attend one of your classes!

    Reply

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