Wednesday, May 20, 2009

...And The Winner Is.....

Hi there sorry for the delay on announcing the winner. I took a blog break yesterday to enjoy my birthday. Then I had allergy injections and errands to get out the way this morning so finally here I am to announce a winner. I put all the names in a hat and the winner is



Gosia said...
Happy Birthday!Greetings from Poland.I added a link to your candy on my blog



Congratulations Gosia. Thank you so much for joining in my Birthday celebrations. Please email me your address at icantgetagoodid@hotmail.com So I can get your goodie package on it's way to you.



As an extra treat I want to show you some of the lovely cards I got for my birthday. Here is Carrie, Jaydee, Joani and Rose.




Monday, May 18, 2009

Birthday Candy Time


My Birthday is just around the corner and I want to share it with you. The blog is still a little on the quiet side. But that's ok, However the last candy I had seemed to work pretty well for me so I decided to do the ever increasing Blog Candy once again.





In other words it will start with one item and every other day it will increase by one item until the end date comes round. All I ask is that if you have a blog you post a message on it linking back here. After all the more the merrier right. If you don't have a blog no worries just tell some friends another way and leave a response here to say hi.

This Blog Candy will end on May 19th, a week from today. With this in mind again if I get more than 20 responses there will be a few surprises in the package too.

Item One: Sizzix Film Strip Cutting Die (added May 12th)
Item Two: Alterable Purse Board Book (added May 14th)
Item Three: Heidi Grace Rub-Ons (added May 16th)
Item Four: 2 Packets of Clear Stamps(added May 16th)

Item Five: 1 pack Sticklers + 3 Sakura Souffle Pens (added May 18th)




This post will be edited every other day to show the next item/s I have added and will remain at the top of the blog until May 19th. Please scroll down for newer posts. Thanks and good luck.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

What do you get.....



....when you mix this awesome paper I found at Jo-Ann's.....


.....with these cool Jolee's stickers?






I'll let you know.....*wink*
Hugs
Nic

Friday, May 15, 2009

Rocking Gift Card Holder



Last weekend Hubby asked me if I could make him a gift card holder for a friend. He said he was going to by an XBox points card for it. The first thing that comes to mind is Rock Band. I looked on splitcoast for some ideas as gift card holders come in all shapes and sizes. I settled on one that had a link to a blog with step by step instructions.


The instructions were awesome, you couldn't go wrong with them. My initial idea for a rock band theme took a minor detour when I grabbed some Elvis paper I had lying around. I bought it back in California before we moved back here and have had no luck finding anymore here in Texas. I sure will miss it once it's all gone.



The stamp set is from Inkadinkadoo it's called Rock Star which kind of fitted the theme perfectly. The sentiment is from Stampin Up. Cardstock is brocade blue so is the ribbon. I finished it with silver metal dots from colorbok. I'm very glad with how it turned out.
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Thanks for looking
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Hugs
Nic

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Snowman Family


These are my cards for last months challenge on Tracy's blog http://tracyshappyplace.blogspot.com/. You had to make 5 cards all with the same main image. The theme was simply 'Snowmen'. I bought this stamp from Archiver's it's from Stampology. I loved that there was 4 of them as I wanted them to represent the 4 of us.
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Cardstock, Ink and Ribbon are Pacific Point from Stampin Up. I used my creative memories cutting system for the ovals. My corner cutter gave up on me half way through so I have been forced to buy another. I cuttlebugged the back and then used a cotton ball to sponge color all over. A snowflake embellishment finishes the card.
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Personally I don't think I am quite finished. I want to make it look a little more like us which means I need to make 2 of the snowmen look like girls for me and my daughter. Any suggestions?
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Thanks for looking
Hugs
Nic

Monday, May 11, 2009

I Appreciate You


Well Hello there,

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday. Mine was really good. I got to have a lie in, breakfast in bed, some lovely flowers and a gift card to my favorite craft store. I couldn't have asked for more.



Today I wanted to show you what I made for the kids teachers last week. It was teacher appreciation week and even though I had given to a collection for the kids teachers it just didn't feel right if I didn't make something for them myself.



I had seen a mini magazine file that holds cards on a blog while surfing http://www.stampinwithblythe.com/2009/03/magazine-files-downsized-into-card-files.html and then my friend Joani sent me one she had made. As luck would have it she also put a tutorial on her blog http://joaniscardsmadebyhand.blogspot.com/2009/04/magazine-rack-tutorial.html which made them very easy to follow. I sat down last week and made one each for the kids teachers and once I got going I just had to make one for me. lol.



I did cheat with the cards I put in them though. I ran out of time and popped to Michael's for some of their awesome $1 packs of note cards. I found some that went pretty well with my cardstock.

Well that's all for now. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post. My Birthday is fast approaching and I'm gonna have a little blog candy here for you all to win.

Hugs
Nic

Friday, May 8, 2009

WOJ Birthday Card


I made this card last week but had other things to show you so I am finally posting it today. I used a WOJ image from the Elisabeth Bell Spring Set. I still haven't gotten around to inking all these up yet and already there is a summer set on the horizon. Needless to say I ordered it. The Spring ones were so cute you just know the summer ones will be just as cute.
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I used the DP as my inspiration for my color scheme. Settling on Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise and Rose Red. I used 2 SU oval punches. They didn't fit snug inside one another so I set it on an angle for more impact. I finished the card with a SU designer flower brad. The turquoise is cuttlebugged with the floral fantasy folder.
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Thanks for looking
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Hugs
Nic

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Ila's Candy

I know how much you all love your candy.

Ila is celebrating for a number of reasons and has an awesome candy on offer.

She's retiring from being an awesome High Hopes Diva.

Why don't you pop over and take a look at her awesome work.

http://artfullyila.blogspot.com/

Hugs
Nic

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Couple More Different Cards

Here are the rest of the cards I made for the "swap with a difference" I told you about yesterday. Sorry I'm a little late on today. I just can't seem to get motivated in the craft room or anywhere right now. Plus my laptop has been whirring all day and I'm worried it's about to die on me. I will keep this short just in case.
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Above: I added the slits to the top note and punched the scallop circle out of one of the pieces of cardstock. Everything else of from the kit shown on the previous post.
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Above: I colored the rabbit and trimmed him down. I used my corner punch to round the corners on 2 sides. Everything else was in the kit.
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Thanks for coming by I hope to get my mojo back on track soon.
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Hugs
Nic

Monday, May 4, 2009

A Different Kind of Swap



I took a leap a few weeks ago and tried something I had never done before. I joined a 'swap with a difference' over on Joani's Yuku group (the link is on my side bar). Basically everyone who signed up had to supply something specific like cardstock, ribbon, embellishments, stamped images, etc, enough for everyone in the swap. These were all sent to one person who turned them into kits and sent them back out to everyone. You then have to make as many cards as possible using only the stuff they sent you. Talk about out of my comfort zone. Above is the picture of everything that came. I borrowed the above pic from Keersten http://www.mypurplethumb.blogspot.com/ she's our hostess for this swap. And below are a couple of the cards I made. I promise I will show you the rest tomorrow.


This very sweet TAC image is just so cute. All the papers just seemed to compliment the cardstock so well which is Groovy Guava. I was allowed to color her in. I chose my watercolor pencils. Everything else is from the above kit.


I love this moose image so much. Having said that I almost didn't use him as I couldn't think of how I could. Crazy, right? Well luckily I took a look at the rules of the swap and it states that you can dry emboss the stuff you are sent. You can also use your own punches so long as you only use them on the stuff in the kit. With that in mind I used my Houndstooth Cuttlebug folder and a circle and scallop circle punch. This time I used my Marvy markers to color the image. Everything else is from the kit.

Thanks for looking
Hugs
Nic

Thursday, April 30, 2009

WOJ Challenge #28


I did it, I finally did it. Omg I can't believe I actually managed to do a challenge. Not just do it but finish it before the deadline. I am almost always late. This one seemed to fall in nicely with a card I had on my to do list. I even used this weeks Splitcoast Color Combo. CC #216 Real red, Old Olive, and Basic Black. My striped DP is Stampin Up and so is my sentiment. I used my top note die, trimmed it down and distressed the edges. Other embellishments include 2 star punches and black brads.

The Whiff of Joy Challenge was Stars and Stripes. You win a 2 week guest designer spot on the challenge blog. All you have to do is make sure you use a WOJ stamp. Mine is Draco the Dragon isn't he gorgeous. I have a soft spot for dragons, then again I am Welsh so I guess it's in my blood. LOL. I am so pleased with how this turned out. Hopefully my cousin, who this little fella is heading to will like him too.

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Thanks for dropping by

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Hugs

Nic

Monday, April 27, 2009

Merry Christmas



I'm still sticking to my resolution to make my Christmas cards ahead this year. Having said that this one is for March's challenge therefore late but I intend to catch up soon. I may miss the April deadline but I should be back on track for May. March's challenge was to use the colors black, white and one other of your own choice. You also had to use buttons as your only choice of embellishment. I admit I used ribbon too. But it just didn't look right without it and I had already missed the deadline so I didn't think it mattered.



I made the card to measure 9x4 and I used the Merry Christmas wheel from Stampin Up. It's retired but as you can tell I've had this idea for a card swimming in my head for a long time. I actually unmounted my wheel and backed it with cling foam so I could use an acrylic block with it. It's so much easier and saved me all the money of buying the adapter for the wheel and the cartridges of ink.


The Candy Canes are from High Hopes. I just love their stamps. I kept the inside fairly simple as you can see, using another SU set for the sentiment which I will have to check the name of. If you want to join in this monthly challenge you will find it posted on Tracy's blog http://tracyshappyplace.blogspot.com/ from the 15th of every month. I found another cool Christmas challenge blog that my friend Maria is doing too. If your more of the weekly challenge kind of person. Try http://christmasstampin.blogspot.com/ I hope to have the chance to join in with one of her awesome sketches soon.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Floral Mother's Day


I sat down a couple of days ago with a idea in mind and it took a few days for it to come together but I finally got it where I'm happy with it. I seem to be finding it more and more difficult to transfer my thoughts into actual projects these days.



I used my new Papertrey Ink Set "Quilter's Sampler" and my new Daisy Die cuts. I had planned to enter these in a couple of challenges but as usual time ran out for me to enter. Here for your viewing pleasure are my Mother's Day cards.



Cardstock and ink are Cameo Coral and Tempting Turquoise. I paper Pierced and finished the card off with a large gem in the middle of the flower and some organza ribbon around the top of the card.
Thanks for looking
Hugs
Nic

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Triple Candy

I just wanted to put a quick post up to let you guys know about some awesome candy possibilities. I am mid project so won't have anything to show you till at least tomorrow, that's if I can get in my craft room to finish it today however...

Bev is celebrating http://bevscrafts.blogspot.com/ she makes the prettiest cards ever. I just love visiting her blog.

Katharina is offering not one but two of her new Elizabeth Bell Summer Stamp kits to the lucky winners of her candy. http://katharina1704.blogspot.com/

Jeanette http://jeanette-happythoughtsinkspots.blogspot.com/ is also offering up some awesome candy to a lucky winner.

My luck is on holiday right now so I probably won't win but if you enter maybe you will be. Good Luck!

Hugs
Nic

Friday, April 17, 2009

You Rocket!


Finally got around to finishing my son's thank you cards. I'm only 3 weeks late with them. Still 2 of those weeks I couldn't get in here because my in-laws were here and I was showing them around. They had an awesome time here in Texas. They are now back in Wales and I have been able to give my craft room a little more attention.
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I used my son's 2 favorite colors and he is currently into Lego Star Wars so I thought my little changito in a rocket would be perfect to link the theme - sort of.lol. I kept the card fairly simple. It is from a 10 year old after all.
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Thanks for looking
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Hugs
Nic

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Spreading the Word

You guys must know what a fan of Whiff Of Joy stamps I am and Katharina has yet another awesome release. More gorgeous medieval stamps from the Alison Action collection. She is hosting a blog candy on her blog. You can win all of the newly released stamps if you enter. http://katharina1704.blogspot.com/.



There is also a new Elisabeth Bell Summer Stamp kit available for pre-order. Pre-orders run till May 4th. I've ordered mine, have you?

I just got some new stamps in the mail from Whiff Of Joy. I am gonna get them mounted up and have a play hopefully today. I just can't get enough of these gorgeous stamps.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Stuffed Buddy

Well, Hello! Our visitors are finally on their long way home so I haven't got anything to show you yet. At least not that has been made by me. I thought I would pop on though to show you that I have not disappeared completely and to show you this cool present that Jake received for his 10th birthday from our awesome friends in California ("insert wave here" Hi, Lucy & Co).



It arrived in multiple parts (dog, stuffing and buttons) and it was my job to complete the task. It was about a week till I got around to it. Apologies for that but it's been crazy busy here. I had to stuff him and sew up his behind and attach his eyes.


The finished thing was the cutest little doggy and one very happy son. The dog has been named Buddy, this is Lucy's dogs name and Jake loves buddy dog and misses him alot. Hopefully I should be back in a day or two with something from me. I am a little under the weather though so please bare with me.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

TAC Easter Card


I got this TAC set for my order choice from Joani hostess club last month and have been itching to ink it. The animals are so cute. I made these in a little bit of a rush as I had to mail some of them home and had to make them the same day I sent them but I am really pleased at how they turned out.
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Cardstock is only orange, not a color I use a lot but worked really well with the colors in the DP. The flower DP is from doodlebug and the dots are Bobunny. SU Scallop square punch was used for the images. Hot pink ribbon and the help of dimensionals finished the card.
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Thanks for coming by to take a look. You may not see me now till next week as the in-laws are here till Monday but I will be back as soon as I have something to show you.
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Hugs
Nic

Friday, April 3, 2009

OMG Candy

I found some time to escape my visitors and look what I found.



Jacqui is celebrating her first blogaversary with an absolutely fabulous candy.

Go check it out here http://jacqui47.blogspot.com/ you only have till April 10th.


She makes the most beautiful cards too. I love visiting her blog as often as possible.