Nancy Wagner

This month we’re delighted to share with you the work of Nancy Wagner, a paper artist who has been featured in a variety of national magazines.

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About Nancy (“Wizzy”) Wagner, Journaler and PaperArtist

After watching the 1993 wildfires destroy her Southern California coastal home, Nancy Wagner used her lifelong enthusiasm for creativity as a medium to move her life through and beyond disaster into re-building. Determined to turn disaster into recovery, she developed a unique process she calls Experience Journaling to re-capture the memories associated with the many precious mementoes lost in the fire.

Starting her scrapbook pages with the journaling, then adding photos, and finally embellishments, Nancy began to produce layouts with heightened substance. Adding artistry turned the daunting task of recovering nearly five decades of memories into a creative pleasure.

Nancy’s work—layouts, special projects, and articles, especially journaling guidance—have been featured in numerous paper artistry publications, including Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, and Legacy magazines. Her first published layout and article, “Burned Out,” chronicling the horrors of watching her home burn to the ground, knowing the destruction was taking two kitties and five generations of beloved family keepsakes, was a powerful catharsis.

Making a positive difference and sharing inspiration, Nancy’s two life goals, are each fulfilled when she teaches her “Experience the Experience: Capturing the Essence of Your Life” journaling classes in local and national venues. An early technological adapter, Nancy—on-line and gramma name “Wizzy”—frequently turns to information generously shared on the internet for creative growth and inspiration.

“It’s an honor being this month’s featured artist for HOTP,” declares Nancy. “Paulette has been a longtime hero of mine for her entrepreneurial successes and pioneering in the paper-crafting industry.”

Look for pages from Nancy’s vintage-themed wedding scrapbook, and an accompanying article, “The Case for Later-In-Life Elopement,” in Somerset magazine’s February 2005 “Weddings” special issue.

Nancy’s double-page spread below celebrates her wedding day with husband Paul. Nancy used papers and art from the Busy Scrapper’s Solution for Wedding & Romance Pages and Ephemera Background Papers.