Thursday, December 22, 2016

A fond farewell ...

Today marks the end of a very special couple of years for me ... as a member of the wonderful Design Team at Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge blog. My final make is for a challenge called : Cats or Dogs, sponsored by Sami Stamps. I have used this adorable floating kitty image : 


I will still be playing over at Wicked Wednesday, its so fun to enter their varied challenges, and they have awesome sponsors, and prizes you can win. 

I thought I would share a few of my fave and most memorable Wicked Wednesday makes from the past few years :

My first ever Wicked Wednesday make : Blog post is HERE 


Isn't she gorgeous, I really enjoyed the pairing of image, embelishments and papers. Blog post HERE


My first ever make with Vera Lane Studio images : I had a toddler at the time so this was very close to my heart x Blog post HERE

This alcohol ink background was so fun to make. And I loved the scene. Original post HERE


And who doesn't adore Octopode Factory images, combined with a little of my Englishness. Original post HERE


Paper piecing the witches dress from a candy wrapper - unforgettable :) Blog post HERE



This one was a hoot and amused me greatly hahahaha. Like I say ... its gotta be fun - right ? Blog post HERE


And him ... how stinkin' cute is he xxx I loved the pairing of him with those words. Blog post HERE


Look at this poor kid ... excess of candy. LOL. I love his expression. Blog post HERE



And finally .... how awesome ... LOL. I just love him. Blog post HERE


Quite honestly I could go on and on .... LOL but the above images gives a good range and sample of my makes over the past few weeks, once a week. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and all the fabulous images provided from the sponsors. Sad I can't show all of the artwork here, but I have all my makes in a folder on pinterest if you are interested to see the whole catalogue : HERE

It has been an honour to be part of the team, thanks girls and see you around online xxxxx

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Christmas Gift Tag

The challenge at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity is entitled 'Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas'. Lost Coast Designs and Carmens Veranda have some awesome and unique Christmas images. Check them out :)

Here I have used the awesome Snowman image from Carmen's Veranda.  What I liked most about him is that he is over 4" high and easy to colour and fussy cut, great for lots of Christmas gift giving.


I also used the snowman to make an ATC. In this monochromatic ATC I would like to acknowledge that not everybody has a great time during the festive season. It fills some with dread and sadness. Its not always jolly :(  The blue also is for the cold and icy snowman.


This background of the ATC is made with paint chips that I cut up, edged with blue gelli roll pen and clear embossed. I used the same Snowman image as above and edged the ATC in brown ink. Words are typed on my typewriter. I used a die for the icicles at the top.

Thanks for stopping by x

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Vera Lane Studio DT News

I have some exciting news to share .... I will be co-ordinating the new Design Team at Vera Lane Studio in 2017. I am joined on the Design Team by very talented and inspirational designers, and we will be sharing daily creations in the facebook group. Its a very fun and friendly environment, and we do regular trades.  Come on over ... you know you want to :)

If you have not met any of the gorgeous, whimsical and quirky beings over at Vera Lane Studio yet ... I suggest you check it out :) Here is a link to the Etsy store.

Over the past few years I have been creating with the fabulous digital images from Vera Lane Studio, you can search my blog to see what I have made. The images are very unique and lend themselves to both CAS, mixed media and basically to artistic freedom.

First stop though ... the DT announcement HERE



         I am really looking forward to 2017, I hope you come to play with us on the Lane x 



Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Oh Deer !

Wicked Wednesdays challenge this week is 'Things starting with the letter D', sponsored by the fabulous Miezo. I have used this image, Ralfi the Deer. The image is the whole, but I just focussed on her head, and added some nice long lashes :) Isn't she gorgeous :


Ralfi is coloured with copics and prisma color pencils. Diamond glaze added to her eyes. Background are leftovers from mixed media backgrounds, inks and sprays. I typed the words on my typewriter.

Thanks for stopping by xxx

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Sunday, December 4, 2016

It's a Party !

It's that time of year ... the season of the (dreaded !) Christmas party ...

This gorgeous gal from the Mini Manga set by Lost Coast Designs is certainly looking the part, heading out for the first party of the season :


The girl is stamped and coloured with alcohol markers, then her dress and boots are clear embossed. She has been fussy cut.

The gorgeously rich background is made with Nuance powders by Magenta, and when it was dry, I stamped 'It's a Party!' from Party Words by Lost Coast Designs and embossed them in white. I added a little red washi tape and matted the ATC front onto red card stock.

Hugs and best wishes as we approach the holiday season, Nikki x 

Thursday, December 1, 2016

... And a Partride in a Pear Tree

A fun Christmas Card trade at the Vera Lane Studio facebook group, here is my card featuring the new set called 'Partridge in a pear tree' : 


Coloured with copics, gel pen, prisma pencil and diamond glaze added. Background is gelli prints.

Thanks for stopping by x

Science Geeks

This week Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge blog are doing a science geeks challenge, sponsored by Polkadoodles

Here is my geek :


I'm not exactly sure what hes cooking up there ... but he looks pretty confident :)

Hes coloured with copics.



Grumpies !

I am participating in a trade, which was to make postcards inspired by a song. My grumpies, from Smeared Ink were giving me the stink eye .. they wanted to play, so out they came :) 

First is a song from the 1980's by The Human League. I liked the surprised look on his face :)

Background is a few gelli prints and I cut them up and collaged them. Grumpy is coloured with copics and fussy cut. The words were created with a small alpha stamp.

The second postcard is giving a bit of love to the Biebs : Justin Bieber rocks ... in my opinion :)

The background is made with dylusions sprays and stencils.  Words typed on my typewriter.

These postcards have gone postal, to the UK and Australia. Hope my partners like them :)



Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Vera Lane Studio DT call

I love the digi images from Vera Lane Studio, they are whimsical and so versatile and fun. If you follow my blog you will have seen lots of my makes using these gorgeous images. Well ... there is a DT call. Check it out :


A few of my makes :






And if you are interested, there is a youtube video of all my VLS makes :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCTvz6_FeAE

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Reflecting on this wonderful hobby ...

Do you ever look back on your blog posts ? Reflect on some of the awesome things you made ? For a particular task this month, I am doing just that, sharing some of my favourite recent makes.

So many to choose from .... but I will just aim for a few that I enjoyed, that indicate my style and weird ... erm I mean .. quirky sense of humour ;)


This whimsical bird is a fave of mine ... I cant seem to give this card away, theres just something about it ... HERE is the link to the original blog post :

I really enjoyed making this card, so many yummy layers. HERE is the link to the blog post and tutorial : 

A little love for Vera Lane Studios digital images, a card I made. HERE is the link to the actual post :

And another Vera Lane Studios card: HERE is the blog link

And another Vera Lane Studios image, made into an ATC. HERE is the blog link.

I made some thank you cards, they were so fun and easy to make. HERE is a link to the actual blog post and tutorial :


My fave little dog stamp from Stampotique assisted in the making of this card ... note that no dogs were harmed in the stacking up of the pyramid lol : HERE is the blog post link


Another Stampotique make I enjoyed : HERE is the link to the tutorial : 

And lastly my fave Halloween makes : 

Day of the Dead ATC: HERE is the link and tutorial

And a card. HERE is the link to the original blog post.

I am getting  bit carried away ... I'd better stop now. Looking back through all my post and the hours and hours of work, and pleasure and leisure that go into this hobby, the connections and friends I have made through it, both online and face to face ... I am thankful. Nikki x






Cinderella

Concetta Kilmer of Enchanted Designs Studios is this weeks sponsor at Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge blog. I have used the Cinderella image and fussy cut the section that I wanted to showcase. She is coloured with copics and prisma colour pencils, and gel pen :


Doesn't she look like she has attitude ? Hence the words ... she doesn't look like she's getting back from the ball by 12 !

The background is made by embossing in silver a harlequin stamp. There is colour in the background too as I used a piece of scrap card stock with impressions on it already.

The words are typed on my typewriter.

Thanks for stopping by x


Sunday, November 20, 2016

Mojo comes back with a little help from Vera Lane Studios

Hello blogland, 
I know my posts have been a little sporadic of late. As creative as many of us are, sometimes it can be a struggle and rather than force it and not enjoy this wonderful hobby of ours, its good to take a little time off. I have had a few months of doing other stuff, with the occasional make. I missed crafting but knew my heart wasn't in it. But, thanks to Janet Klein with her awesome images at Vera Lane Studios ... I am back into the creative process - Yay. Its good to be back :)

Today I would like to share two projects with you, first is a card for a good friends Birthday. Her dress is inspired by the outfit my friend wore at our coffee date. This gorgeous gal is from a set called 'Thinking of you'.  She is coloured with copics and gel pen, and fussy cut. For the card base I used craft card stock and inked up my 4" round gelli plate with white and some residual green acrylic paint. I stamped it onto the card front. The words were stamped from a set by Waltzing Mouse Stamps (sadly closed now), and embossed in silver embossing powder. 


I also made an ATC to recognise all the scaremongering and a lack of acceptance that seems to be all around us right now ... I don't know about you, but it sure feels chaotic to me.


This gorgeous whimsical princess is from a set by Vera Lane Studios called 'Kiss the Frog'.  I coloured her with copics and gel pen and fussy cut her. The background was made with a painted pink acrylic base. I used molding paste and a stencil to add some random texture. Then I applied dark blue ink directly from the stamp pad to pick up the high points and some other random parts. I used Staetler neon markers to add some crazy scribbles. The blue strip behind the gal is a left over piece of a paint chip when I was die cutting icicles. The words are typed on my typewriter, a little colour added to them. 

See how serene and calm she looks - she's not phased at all by all the crap thats going on in the world right now ... Its so hard to know what to believe in the media and especially on social media ... so advice from the princess is to stay calm and keep your dignity.

Look out for more regular makes from now on. 
Thanks for stopping by x


Winter ATC

This weeks challenge at Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge blog is 'Winter'. I have used this gorgeous Christmas Deer image  by All Dressed Up :


The image was resized in word, coloured with copics and gel pen and fussy cut. I then clear embossed the deer.

The words I typed on my typewriter then cut them down into a sign post, colouring with copics and adding fake snow to the sign and the ground 

The background is made with molding paste through a stencil, spray ink and glitter.

I thought this image was so peaceful and delightful, thanks for stopping by x


Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Contemplating Gratitude

Today I wanted to share with you a postcard I made for this months thankful challenge at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, featuring the beautiful image from Lost Coast Designs  'Head in Hands' :


The background is made with nuance powders on water colour paper. 

In the background I have also stamped a long swirl flourish, and I stamped some butterflies from the Butterfly Set. The words are typed on my typewriter.

Thanks for stopping by x

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Close Ups

For this weeks challenge, Close Ups, at Wicked Wednesday, sponsored by The East Wind, I have used this adorable Unicorn image.



She is coloured with copics and fussy cut. The background is made with nuance powders from Magenta. I typed the words on my typewriter and cut them out individually and edged them with copics. I added white gel pen and some glimmer using wink of stellar pen to the horn and wings:)

The image is actually her whole body but I resized her in word so I could just do a close up of her upper body. I shredded some shredded pink ribbon to ground her. The atc is matted onto brown card stock.

Thanks for stopping by x


Thursday, November 3, 2016

Give thanks

Wicked Wednesday is sponsored by Aurora Wings this week, and the challenge is anything goes fall/autumn related. I used this adorable Sea turtle kiss image, with the words Give Thanks.  Wouldn't you want to give thanks to be so close to such a wonderful animal - I mean the turtle :) lol


Thanks for stopping by x

Friday, October 28, 2016

Witches, Bats and Cats

This weeks challenge at Wicked Wednesday is Witches, Bats and Cats, sponsored by Oddball Arts. There are so many fantastic images by Lizzy Love, its a real treat to visit her site and work with her images :


Thanks for stopping by ...

Thursday, October 27, 2016

By the light of the silvery moon

Today I am sharing another make for the 31 Days of Halloween, are you following the daily blog hop? If you missed any, don't worry, you can go back and check it out :)

I have made a card, featuring the awesome background stamp from Lost Coast Designs,  Tree Branches. I stamped this onto clear acetate with stazon ink. The background is made with Nuance powders . When it was dry I cut a shape and slotted in my glitter embossed moon. The adhered everything together, typing the words on my typewriter



Thanks for stopping by x

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

A Murder of Crows

If you are a follower of all the wonderful makes and daily blog hop for the 31 Days of Halloween I hope you are enjoying the vast variety of projects shared, its just wonderfully creative and inspiring.


My 31 Days of Halloween make for day 19, features the awesome three birds stamps from Lost Coast Designs, and I called this collection of ATC's 'A Murder of Crows' :



The birds are stamped and embossed in white on yupo paper that I had colourised with alcohol inks. I then fussy cut them. And added a little black pearl dot for an eye.

For the background I used distress inks to color the card stock grey, then I stamped one of the images from the ATC Grunge Set in a darker shade of grey and then Flying Birds in black. I edged the ATC with black distress ink and cut think strips from the yupo paper for the bird to stand on.

The words are typed on my typewriter. This caw caw noise is one I hear a lot, there are many crows around where I live, and they often come in large groups to the trees in my backyard. Bit boring though ... I just get the black variety here, not these lovely Halloween coloured breed. LOL

Why not check out the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity for inspiration and all the other links to the daily bombardment of creativity :)

Thanks for stopping by x

Halloween Colours ATC

This week Wicked Wednesday's challenge is Halloween Colours and we are sponsored by the Fantasy Art of Nikki Burnette

What could be more Halloweeny than green and orange, 
this is Ryla against the colourful background : 

The background is made with alcohol inks on yupo paper, I love the effect. The image is coloured with copics and fussy cut. I added wink of stella glitter to her hat and dress.

I thought the words, Whoo-la-la were perfect, the whoo whoo of the owl and the raunchy attire of Ryla.

Thanks for stopping by x

Monday, October 17, 2016

Halloween Cute or Creepy

A fun challenge this week at Wicked Wednesday ATC blog, sponsored by A Day for Daisies.

The image featured in my ATC is called Little Witch Waiting


Little Witch Waiting was resized in word and printed. I coloured her with copics and fussy cut her and her three black kitty cats :) 

The background is pattered paper and a moon that I punched out of yellow card stock, that I have sponged with distress inks and edged with embossing powder from a Canadian company called Emerald Creek. The words are typed on my typewriter and lightly sponged.

Thanks for stopping by, why not check out Wicked Wednesday and A Day for Daisies :)