Hello and welcome,

Boy does life rush past at a rate of knots!! 2017 already, and this year will be a 'big' birthday year for me....how did that happen already! ;-)

Today I have finally uploaded a couple of the projects I created last year, ready for the display boards at OnStage at Telford in November 2016. I was very lucky and privileged to have been chosen as a Display Board Stamper for this event, and although when I initially opened my package I sat looking at it thinking yikes, I have no idea what to do with men's stuff, I did pull myself together and realised that actually there was quite a lot I could do....especially as I have a son who is in to motorbikes!

The Nailed It stamp set includes various tools and small images of nails and screw heads. The bonus is that there is a die set to accompany the stamps, so no fussy cutting required.

The first sample is a scrapbook page of one of my son's motocross bikes from way back when he was much smaller ;-) I've used the dies without the stamped images for this one as I think the suggestion of what they are is enough. There is some hidden journalling behind the image which explains when, where and why.

The second sample includes all the tools in the set. I stamped the images on to crumb cake card stock and inked and over stamped with the large woodgrain stamp for the effect on the handles. I then stamped with stazon on to silver card for the metal parts of the tools and glued all the elements together. This card also includes a fab new hexagon embossing folder. I have also added a screw head from the fantastic new metal embellishments set...I especially love these :-)

Thanks so much for visiting.

Wishing everyone a very peaceful and happy 2017.

Nikki

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Balloons galore - sneak peak

Hello and welcome,

What a beautiful sunny morning here after the drab and dreary day yesterday!

Today, whilst playing along with another fantastic colour challenge over at Global Design Project, I am also sharing a sneak peak from the upcoming Spring Summer catalogue.

 

I have to admit that although this colour combination works really well it is not one that I would have thought of using myself - which is why it's a challenge I guess ;-)

After attending Onstage Local in Telford I was lucky enough to come home with some new stamps, which meant I could put my Balloon Punch (which has been sat on my shelf - unused I am ashamed to say, for far too long!) to good use. So for my entry I have gone to town with the balloons, and snuck in a cool new embossing folder - you'll have to look a bit more closely to find it hidden amongst the balloons!

Have a lovely day.

See you soon

Nikki

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Onstage Telford 2016 Swap

Hello and welcome,

Well, it turns out soon wasn't that soon after all! Starting a new job and getting into the flow of how that all works took a little longer than anticipated, but, now I know what I'm doing (pretty much) and can relax a little, perhaps I might manage to update my blog a little more frequently - that's the plan at least.

So, at the weekend I joined hundreds of other SU demonstrators at Onstage in Telford. I haven't been to an event for a couple of years, so it was really nice to catch up with some very lovely people. As usual part of the fun is exchanging ideas in the form of swaps, and for mine I used the baby wipe technique of dropping colour from re-inkers randomly over a baby wipe, thus creating a random 'ink pad' which can then be used to stamp loads (and I mean loads :-)) of whatever image you choose.

I chose the set Timeless Textures set to create my background. The sentiment is from Endless Thanks, as is the little leaf image behind the flower, and I topped the background off with a pansy from the Flower Shop set.
The colours I used to create my background are Daffodil Delight, Pear Pizazz and Marina Mist. As I ran out of time to enter my details on my swaps if you did swap with me thank you very much indeed. 

See you again soon.
Take care
Nikki
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Swirly Bird meets Botanical Builder Framelits

Hello and welcome,

I must admit I was very slow to the Botanical Builder Framelits party, but now I have them I absolutely love using them! They are my favourite 'go to' set at the moment along with the Timeless Textures stamp set.

Today I have been experimenting with backgrounds using the baby wipe technique of randomly placing a few drops of colour from re-inkers on them to create a temporary custom inkpad. I have also decided to play along with the latest Global Design Project Challenge #042 which this week is this fabulous sketch from the amazingly talented Teneale Williams;

My take is a little variation on the original sketch, but hopefully not too far off the mark.  I really enjoyed creating this card which has turned out to be one of a set of 4, the others of which I will post soon.

Thanks for taking time to visit and have a look.

Have a lovely day.

Nikki

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Onstage Display Board Stamper Consideration Entry

WOW, what a long time it's been since I last posted anything!! I can't quite believe it's been nearly 2 years...that is just ridiculous!

Life has been interesting, and a little bit of a challenge at times, but throughout I have been maintaining my status as a demonstrator...sometimes only just but I'm still hanging in there and the new catalogue has certainly inspired my creativity just lately.

Just recently all demonstrators have been given the opportunity to enter some projects to be considered as an Onstage display board stamper in November. To that end I am entering the following projects for consideration.

A Scrapbook Page:
The background was made using 3 stamp sets, the main focus of colour being added using the big Watercolour Wash stamp which I inked up, spritzed with some water and then dabbed away with some kitchen roll before stamping onto Whisper White 12 x 12 card. As luck would have it there was some white space created where I didn't press the large stamp firmly enough, but I used that to my advantage by placing my words on that side! A bit of a happy accident...;)




3D Item No 1 - Card Holder:
I cannot take credit for coming up with the original 3D element as there are several of these throughout the crafting community. I initially made one of these about 4 years ago so sadly cannot remember who's dimensions I followed - it is a 12 x 12 piece of card scored and folded to hold 2 cards - very simple but effective and lovely to give as a small gift.

3D Item No 2 - Babygro holder box 

Card No 1:

After die cutting my elements for my Babygro Box I had the negative star shape left over, which is where I started with my first card. I grunged it up a bit by clear embossing and then inking over the edges of the star, adding a few more elements until I was happy with the result.

Card No 2: 
This was created before my 3D card holder and was my inspiration for the colour and design.

Card No 3: Inspired by my scrapbook page and using Pool Party, Sweet Sugarplum and Dapper Denim

Thanks so much for stopping by to take a look.

Nikki

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Floral Felt

Hello and welcome,

Gosh, how quickly this month has gone - I'm so deeply immersed in learning a new job that I've just not found the time when I get home to do anything else other than try and unwind - some days successfully, others not so much! The upshot of not being able to switch my brain off has resulted in some very strange dreams I can tell you! I've forgotten quite how stressful it is learning something completely new.....but it will get better, I'm only 3 weeks in so time will make things easier, and I'm thankful to actually have a job :-)

Today I thought I'd show you how cool the Spiral Flower Die turns out when you use felt. I love using the die with card, but using the Bigz and Original dies in the Big Shot means you can use other materials too. I've used a heat gun to stick the felt together and hey presto a very quick and effect looking flower....or small bouquet of flowers. I'm just thinking I might have a go at spritzing them with some diluted re-inker to see what effect that might have on them, it might look quite effective - going off to check now :-)

Supplies used:
Dies - Spiral Flower Originals, Autumn Accents Bigz
Ribbon and Trim - Burlap Ribbon, Natural and Old Olive Two-Tone Trim
Misc - Tag-A-Bag Gift Box

Have a great week -weekend, hopefully the gorgeous late summer sunshine will last a while longer yet.
Thanks for stopping by.
Nikki
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Blended Sweetbriar Rose

Hello and welcome

...so yesterday and today my wonderful team mate Colette and I held our blendabilities class, and we both had a fabulous time with 2 groups of lovely and very talented ladies. Colette also treated us all to some of her fantastic baking - I had coffee and pecan cake 2 days in a row ;-) very naughty but so very delicious I just couldn't resist! Thanks Colette x

 

We used the Sweetbriar Rose stamp on a couple of the cards as it's a great one to colour in using the blendabilities pens. The ladies also created a home décor piece with the Swallowtail butterfly in a frame, which was inspired by the super talented Elizabeth Shannon. The butterflies were all different and all equally beautiful - I'm hoping we'll get a look at the one created by Debby when she's finished it as the background she created for the butterfly was wonderful.

 

Supplies used:
Stamps - Sweetbriar Rose, Hardwood, Everything Eleanor, Itty Bitty Banners, Blooming with Kindness
Card - Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Old Olive

Ink Pads - Memento, Sahara Sand, Old Olive

Pens - Blendabilities collections - Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight
Framelit Dies - Bitty Banners

Misc - Tea Lace Paper Doilies

Have a great week ahead.

Thanks for visiting.

Nikki

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Become a Demonstrator

Have you ever thought about becoming a demonstrator but aren't exactly sure what it costs or involves?

You can join for just £99.

The Starter Kit is completely customisable and there is absolutely no risk.

Once you've purchased the starter kit it's yours. The kit also includes £45 worth of business supplies to get you started....whether you just want to purchase products for yourself, sell to family and friends, or whether you're thinking about making it a full time business - the choice is yours.

If you already know it's something you'd love to do then you can sign up by clicking the link below:

 

Join Now!

 

To remain an active demonstrator you need to reach a minimum quarterly sales amount.
Please do contact me for a no obligation chat if you'd like to find out more.

Nikki

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Class card

Hello and welcome,

As my lovely SU team mate Colette and I have our blendabilities class coming up this week I thought I'd share one of the cards we'll be making. The flowers from the Everything Eleanor stamp set work very well for colouring in as the 'light and shade' has already been worked out for you.

This is simplified variation of a card featured in the annual catalogue, and I can already see some of the talented ladies who'll be coming along will be putting their own unique slant on the design - I love that though :-)

Have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend.
Thanks for stopping by.
Nikki
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Holiday Home Sneak Peek

 

Hello again,

 

A little sneak peek for you today. I've been having a play with some new items which will be available to purchase in the upcoming seasonal catalogue which launches at the beginning of September. Can you spot what's new? There's a fab star embossing folder, and Holiday Homes, a photopolymer stamp set which has matching framelits available too.

 

I also had to sneak in a little bit of Kinda Eclectic, the sun image also makes a pretty cool night time glow from a street lamp I thought! Maybe could be executed a little better but I'm sure you get the idea.

 

My first Christmas card of the year!

 

Thanks for taking time to stop by.

Nikki

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Sour Cream Carton

Hello and welcome,

I hope I'll be forgiven for being mostly absent at the moment. Hopefully I'll get back to a routine very soon, but in the meantime life means it's as and when...

Today I've been making some samples for an upcoming class and I've been told no Kinda Eclectic...what's that all about eh....my favourite set at the moment and I'm not allowed to use it! You know who you are and you also know you need it, resistance is futile :-)

This sour cream carton is a little 'thank you' for the ladies who'll be attending my upcoming class. I've also made a matching card using a left over embellishment. Not a great photo and for some reason I can't seem to upload the other one I have so I hope you sort of get the idea!

Thanks so much for visiting.
Nikki
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Blendabilities - late to the party!

Hello and welcome,

I have to admit I've been a bit late to the Blendabilities party! I've always said I really don't do colouring in as I have no real patience for it (this despite absolutely loving it at school and really enjoying using pastels for as long as I can remember!!).

I ordered some blendabilities really as a way of showing my lovely customers what they are and how they work, and have since discovered myself just how easy they are to use and how quick colouring in can actually be. The pens come as a pack of 3 which includes a light, medium and dark version of one colour - how easy is it to achieve the blended effect when you have these? The answer is super easy :-)

This is my very first attempt at using them and although you can see I perhaps need to be a little more careful about staying within the lines (rules are there to be broken I figure ;-)) the overall effect is not too bad. Practice obviously makes perfect and that's part of the fun of using them, as you progress really quickly and can achieve some lovely effects with just a little bit of patience.

If you would like to learn how to use these fab pens, and create some beautiful projects in the process, I'll be holding a class at the end of August (details on my side bar) so if you'd like to join in please do contact me. I'd love to hear from you.

Enjoy the rest of the week.
Thanks for popping by.
Nikki
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Kinda Eclectic

Hello,

Has anyone else been watching the golf? I've just watched Rory McIlroy win the 2014 Open, and he's still so young - fantastic that he stayed focused this time, well done Rory :-)
I know you've not visited to hear about the golf, so I'll get on to the crafting bit now ;-)

As I've now delivered most of the goodies to the lovely ladies who purchased items at my Open House, I'd like to show you the little card I put into each bag to say thank you.



I've used the fab new stamp set Kinda Eclectic, which I loved as soon as I saw it.  I can see this being a well loved set this year, perhaps even giving Gorgeous Grunge a run for it's money ;-)

I did take a few photos of my Open Day - I normally forget to do this so I'm quietly impressed with myself for remembering....although it's taken me a couple of weeks to get round to posting them (sorry!).
Some samples for inspiration...

The table groaning with my retired items ...

Coffee break....

The chocolate shortbread went down very well with everyone.
Will be back soon.
Have a great week.
Nikki
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Rainy Saturday! Sunny Sunday!

Hello,

I hope you're enjoying the tennis, the mens final always seems to be a thriller and this year is no exception. I have half an eye on the tv and half on typing this so please excuse any spelling mistakes ;-)

Here's the card we made yesterday as the M&T at my catalogue launch. Thank you so much to everyone who came along, and two lovely ladies who couldn't make it in person on the day - the sun tried and failed to come through but we had a lovely day nonetheless. A very special thank you to Debby for the house loan, and to Doreen for making all the refreshments...it did look a little like I was moving in when I starting bringing my boxes in, so I must have given Debby a bit of a fright considering her house is now all back in order after a few months of 'chaos'.

On to the card we made - the background is stamped with Basic Grey onto Lost Lagoon and then the flowers cascading down the edge are all layered up using glue dots and dimensionals. The leaves are from the Bird Builder punch and were tucked in just wherever they seemed to look best. I think it went down quite well with everyone, even though it took a bit longer than a usual M&T.

Supplies used:
Stamps - Petite Petals, Hardwood, A Dozen Thoughts
Colours - Whisper White, Mossy Meadow, Lost Lagoon, Blackberry Bliss, Basic Grey

Punches - Petite Petal, Bird Builder, Itty Bitty Accents
Framelit Dies - Word Bubbles

Misc - Rhinestone Gems, Dimensionals, Glue Dots

Thanks for visiting - I'm getting back to the tennis now ;-)
Nikki
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Petite Petals - New Catalogue Launch

Hello there,

Three posts in one week....I'm going to have to go and lie down in a quiet room for a while after this ;-)

Today I have a little sneak peek of the Make and Take my lovely ladies will be able to make on Saturday. My amazing friend Debby has very kindly lent me the use of her house for the morning, and we were hoping we might get a sunny day being July, but it doesn't look like the weather is going to play ball...it won't dampen our spirits though! Cakes and strawberries and cream are also on the agenda :-)

Will be back with the full card and hopefully some of the display items after the weekend.

Take care and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts.
Nikki
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Something for Baby

Hello,

I hope you had a lovely weekend.

I have an Open House catalogue launch event coming up on Saturday, and me being me, am in what can only be termed a 'crisis management' situation....again! I do manage to get things together in the end though - thankfully! ;-)

I'm frantically making samples, and was hugely inspired by the ladies on the Inspiring Inkin' blog hop on Saturday, so at least I have loads of inspiration to keep me going.

I spent Saturday afternoon (the whole afternoon!...though I was doing the washing, cleaning and dusting as well lol) making this little gift box and matching card. There's a belly band around the box, which slides off so that the box can be opened.

I love the framelit dies which match the stamped images - it makes 'cutting' things out so much easier. You'll be able to order these from tomorrow. :-)

Supplies used:
Stamps - Something for Baby, Something to Say, Zoo Babies
Colours - Very Vanilla, Baked Brown Sugar, Night of Navy, Hello Honey, Marina Mist

Punches - Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack
Framelit Dies - Baby's First, Apothecary Accents

Misc - Lullaby DSP

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a great week.

Nikki

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Inspiring Inkin Annual Catalogue 2014-2015 Launch Blog Hop

Good morning,

 

Today I'm really excited to be joining in with the Inspiring Inkin' Blog Hop, where 17 members of the team are bringing you fantastic projects using products from the new 2014-2015 Annual Catalogue which goes live on 1st July 2014. Not long to wait now ;-)

 
You can join the hop anywhere in the chain and hop along to the next talented team member by clicking on the next person on the list. Aren't all the projects fantastic - I'll be CASEing for sure ;-)
 

As my first love is scrapbooking I had to do something based around that, so my project is a little mini book using the gorgeous new Lullaby Designer Series Paper (DSP) - 12 double sided sheets of 12" x 12" paper, which I don't think is ever done true justice until you see it IRL. I've lost count of the amount of times I've looked at paper in a catalogue and thought nothing of it, and then seen it in real life and thought...why on earth haven't I bought this, it's gorgeous! Please don't tell me I'm the only one who does this!  

 

 

This DSP is perfect for use with baby/toddler photos, although I've used it here to record a wedding day just to show how versatile it is. Envelopes used to create the inside of the mini book (which was made following a template I purchased) have been folded and cut to create little pockets, where I've added additional pull out sections making use of another new product, which is possibly my favourite item at the moment - I'm an Adminstrator by day...what can I say, filing and organisation is a bit of an obsession! ;-)

 

Supplies used:
Stamps - Everything Eleanor, Perfect Pennants, Petite Petals
Colours - Whisper White, Early Espresso, Hello Honey, Coastal Cabana

Punches - Bird Builder, Petite Petal
Framelit Dies - File Tab 
Misc - Lullaby DSP, Rhinestone Gems, Paper Doilies, Whisper White Satin Ribbon, Whisper White Envelopes

I hope you're enjoying the hop. Use the links below to hop along the chain. If you're following in sequence then your next stop should be  to the very lovely Liz, check out her wonderful work and don't forget to leave us a comment if you're enjoying the hop :-)

1.	Nikkis Free Time
2.	Elizabeth's Craft Room
3.	Very Victoria Stamps
4.	Jessie B's Crafts!
5.	Elaine's Creative Musings
6.	Linda's Stamping and Stuff
7.	Kerry's Stampin'spiration
8.	Kazza's World
9.	Crafting by Design
10.	Caro on Stampin'
11.	Paper, Stamps and Sticky Things
12.	Inspiring inkin'
13.	Shiny Sparkly Stamping
14.	Petra's Craftink Place
15.	Paper and Ting
16.	Passion & Purpose
17.	My Little Craft Haven

Thanks for taking time to visit, I hope you'll pop back again soon.
Have a lovely weekend.
Nikki
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In colours 2014-2016

Hello and welcome,

I hope you had a great weekend, don't they always seem to go too fast though!
I have a very simple offering today, again using the new In Colours for 2014-2016. There are lots of cards on Pinterest using this same kind of design, and I really like the speed at which you can produce them....great if you have lots of swaps to make ;-)

Supplies used:
Stamps - Serene Silhouettes, Petite Petals, Gorgeous Grunge
Colours - Tangelo Twist, Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon, Whisper White, Basic Black
Punches - Petite Petal
On Saturday I'm joining in with my very first Blog Hop so do pop back then if you can.

Thanks for visiting, I hope you have a lovely week ahead.
Nikki
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Sneak Peak Hello Love

Hello,

Well, I finally got round to making something with my little pre-order stash which arrived last week :-)

This card is a CASE of one of the fab samples in the upcoming new Annual Catalogue. I loved it when I first saw it and although I'm not really one for cutting things out I couldn't resist having a go at this one. I love the little bird, so cute!

I've used 3 of the new in colours - Hello Honey, Lost Lagoon and Blackberry Bliss (still trying to learn all the new names!) ;-)

Hope to be back very soon with some more.
Thanks for popping by.
Nikki
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Retiring Products

30 May - 30 June 2014 (all items available while supplies last)

Saying goodbye to make way for some exciting new products.

We’re saying goodbye to hundreds of retiring products from the 2013-2014 annual catalogue. Not only that, but some of these amazing products even carry discounted prices! ALL products are only available while supplies last, so be sure to get your order in early to avoid missing out on your favourites!

I'm eagerly awaiting a delivery of some 'sneak peek ' items that demonstrators are lucky enough to see and order before the launch date of the new 2014-2015 Annual Catalogue. Fingers are crossed it arrives before COB tomorrow and I'll be back at the weekend with some 'sneak peeks' for you :-) 

Nikki
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