Long Time, No Post

Hi All,

I know it's been some time since I've last posted on my blog and I wanted to give everyone a quick update.  I haven't posted any projects etc. because I recently joined the Stampin' Up! business and wasn't sure if I was still able to continue my blog.  I've read and re-read their angel policy and I think as long as I don't have a direct link to a particular product, then I'm okay to post and share my fun projects with all my blog friends.  Hopefully, I've interpreted that correctly, as I have no legal training that might not be accurate :O Yikes!!! Anyway, I'm going to roll the dice and continue to update my blog regularly with all kinds of fun cards I've been creating!  Recently, as in black Friday, I bought a sewing machine too, so when I actually master that art, I will hopefully be posting fun things I create with that as well!  The next big thing for me is to try and earn some fun items to post as giveaways to spark interest in my blog...nothing gets attention like giveaways and why not, they're super fun right?!?  So check back soon for some awesome ideas/inspiration and hopefully a give away or two!!! In the meantime check out the great projects I made using Stampin' Up! products.  Please check out my website at http://npudvah.stampinup.net.

2X in one night????

So I just remembered I've crafted these 2 birthday cards for a very dear friend and her daughter and wanted to share these as well as the Halloween cards I just posted!  Both were really fun to make, I got to use my Cindy Loo cartridge again, this is a really diverse cartridge and I just love using it to create more mature, intricate cards.  I hope you enjoy these projects.  The little girl bday card was created using Rock Princess, quickly becoming my second fave cart!!!  I added some extra bling for the bday girl :-)  As always, please email me for any details on either card.

OOh here is another card that I created for a very dear friends baby shower, I just fell in love with this color scheme and paper (patterned paper by SEI zoo pals!! animals cut from Create a Critter cart) Enjoy, be safe, and happy scrapping/card making/living :-)

Halloween Quickie

Hi All!

It's been awhile since I've had the opportunity to upload some projects, so here I go... I've been crafting up these cards in the last few weeks and wanted to share.  I hope you enjoy :-) Please email me if you are would like the details of anything you see below.  I'm excited to send these out and spread some spooky holiday cheer!

Pinkalicious Blog Hop Challenge Project

Hi All,

I finally had a chance to upload my project that I created for My Pink Stampers Pinkalicious Blog Hop Challenge.  I made this with a friend in mind.  She is an early intervention reading specialist.  We recently had an enlightening conversation about what that is and why it is so critical for all young children to receive the proper attention so each can develop into a grade level reader.  She has inspired me to want to help motivate and reward the kids for jobs well done.  With that in mind, I wanted to create a little desk top ornament (if you will) that would house some school supply rewards such as pencils, sticker sheets, pens, etc...so I purchased a wooden star with a carved box in the middle and decorated it with Me and My Big Idea paper and Soft Spoken embellishment pack.  I think it turned out super cute and I hope she really likes it!!!  I can't wait to fill it with Halloween pencils and gift it to her!!!  Hope you like it!

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thanks for stopping by!
Nicole

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More Breast Cancer Cards Needed!!!

Hi All
It's a little late on Friday night (at least for me) but I wanted to ask anyone who happens to drop by my blog to head over to Robyn's My Pink Stamper website for details on how to help out with a Breast Cancer Survivor Breakfast.  If you have some spare time and would like to create a few cards for the cause please check out My Pink Stampers' site for details www.mypinkstamper.com.   I didn't want to copy the letter without permission from Robyn so PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE check out her site, help out a great cause, and bring a smile to a survivor's face!!  Thanks!

PS don't forget to check out her Pinkalicious Blog hop/challenge too!!! V. fun! Can't wait to get my project started tomorrow!  Good night all!

Sooo turns out with a little patience, and a lot of time (at least for me), I've been able to make some key changes/additions to the blog that I hope all of you stopping by to view it like!!!  I changed the color of the font b/c I felt the other color was a bit hard to read, I've added some blinkies (I think this is what they are called???) to the bottom of my page, I've added the very short list of blogs I follow (soon to be expanding I'm sure), and some labels for some of the projects I've posted....hope all my friends stopping by find these helpful!  Enjoy the day!

Blogging is difficult :-S

So...I've been trying to figure out this whole blog thingy.  I can't seem to figure out how to list the blogs that I follow on my page so that they are available to anyone who might stop by my blog...hmmm.  I think you can grab these little tags called blinkies but I figured it would be much easier and streamlined to just list the URLs of the blogs I visit regularly but what do I know anyway???  Computers in general are a foreign language to me, guess I will get it eventually.  I did notice I have 2 followers...this is super exciting news to me, I'm so thankful!  When I first started this I thought it would just be a place for me to display my crafts so my family and friends could check them out but now I have comments and followers, I'm truly flattered by you all. 

Okay enough of my blazie blah about blogging.  On to the real reason I'm posing today, Halloween Cards!!!  Yes, the fall bug has bitten me!  This is hands down my most favorite time of year :-) and I was super excited to try some of the cartridges I've been hoarding (ha, not really).  So I decided to break out a couple and give some fun Halloween Cards a go..I used Martha Stewart's Seasonal Cake cartridge and Simply Charmed for the cards I'm posting below.  I have detailed recipes listed below the cards if you are interested.  I thought both cards turned out really cute!  I was excited to have a chance to "ink edges" on the ghost card.  I'm new to card making and scrapping so every time I try a new technique I'm nervous about how the end product will turn out but I'm happy with these guys!!!  I still keep it simple, exploring embellishments and layering a little bit more each time I design something...hopefully you enjoy the cards and find the recipes helpful if you decide give them a go!  Have fun, stay safe, and happy scrapping!!!

Simply Charmed Halloween card:  
Paper Company Trick or Treat Pack Purple cardstock 8.5X11" cut in 1/2 then folded in 1/2 for 5.5X4.5"
Embossed with Provo Craft Halloween folder--borrowed from a friend
Filled in Boo/Scary/Bat/Spider using ZIG writer metallic collection in Silver and Pure Black
Cut Ghost Base character at 2.5" in Black and Layer 1 Ghost in white
Inked edges with Color Box Petal Point fluid chalk in ice blue and cheeks in rose coral
Pop Dots raised Ghost off card
Inside:  cut headstone base in black at 2" then layer 2 shift headstone in white at 2"
inked edges of stone with same chalk as ghost in creamy brown and cheeks in peach
cut phrase(word key) at 1" base character
cut grass border from Plantin Schoolbook at 1"

Seasonal Cake Halloween Card:
Used 2nd half of Paper company purple paper above
Recollections All Season paper pack patterned paper cut at 4X4" and rounded corners with chomper
Cut witch base image at 2.75"
Cut Fence Border (not shown on inside of card along bottom) cut at 1X6" using the cake creative feature button
Cut phrase BatBdv at 1" (this is the Happy Haunting code in the booklet)
Pop Dots for witch, inked around patterned paper using purple haze from Colorbox Pastel fluid chalk

oops...forgot the dress picture...she is amazingly beautiful in this dress!!!

removed pics b/c my sister was worried her fiance would find them online...he knows about the blog so I just don't want to ruin her big day if he accidentally (no pun intended) runs across these pics...

HOLY COW!!! People are checking out my blog???

First I want to THANK, the three lovely ladies that were kind enough to check out my blog and make such encouraging and nice comments on the few projects I have posted.  It truly made my night to see that after only a mere 3 entries and 3 posted projects that someone actually cared enough to migrate over and check out my lonely little blog.  I was ecstatic and couldn't wait to write and give a huge THANKS!! to you ladies!

I finally have some time and wanted to upload another couple of projects that I'm proud of...I will have to formulate the recipes tonight and post them for you soon.  The first project is a retirement card I made for a co-worker, the second is some scrap layouts for a book I'm composing for an old college friend, the third is a congrats card made for expecting friends (here you can see my novice stamp use, I'm still learning!!), fourth is a bday card for one of my dearest friends (gave me a chance to use the Cindy Loo cartridge I picked up a month ago), and last but not least is a prototype of the Save the Date I'm making for my sister's upcoming wedding!!!  I'm super excited about all of these projects and hope you enjoy checking them out.  I'm also posting a pic of the dress my sister just picked out today...I'm so happy for her and am so thrilled she wants me to help out with her special day, not just by being her maid of honor, but also by being crafty with her save the dates!!!!

I did want to share one more little bit of info I found out this past weekend while shopping for some holiday Cricut cartridges....so I was at a major chain retailer (wish I could post the name but not sure of copyrights...let's just say it is a girls name??) and I wanted to buy the Winter Frolic cartridge but it was not on sale...hmmm...I had seen this cartridge on Walmart.com for only 24.98!  I happened down an aisle with an associate and was relaying this information to her when she informed me that they have a price match guarantee and that if I could call it up on my phone or show a printed proof they would sell me the cartridge at the same price....not too shabby!!!  Needless to say I left with 2 cartridges for their sale price for 1 cartridge!!!  Moral of the story:  ask about price guarantees b/w competitors and then check online for the best price (think this most likely excludes non-chain major retailers though) and see if they'll match it??? Worst case scenario is you leave with 2 for the price of one...hehehe!!!

My Pink Stamper Pinkalicious Blog Hop Challenge

I have a ton of updates to give and some more projects to post!  I'm very limited on time but wanted to share the project I completed for MPS's Pinkalicious Blog Hop that happened this past Friday.  Side note:  according to the MPS page this blog hop occurs every 2nd Friday of the month!!!

  The challenge was to show your style making your favourite thing e.g. colour combo, technique, or Cricut cartridge.  Soo...I thought, what would I make if I could make one of my favourite things??  Well, I love to give back to the community and every Mother's Day I run the Susan G Komen Race for a Cure.  I think in the past couple of years (5+) I've only missed one race!  This being said, I wanted to use the Cricut cartridge, Pink Journey, that was included in my Cricut bundle to make a fabulous project for the challenge.  The project I posted here served double duty as I made this card for a friend who is currently battling breast cancer.  I was excited to do 2 of my favourite things with this challenge...one to support a friend in need and secondly show my "style" through my paper crafts....I hope you enjoy! and thanks to MPS for the opportunity to participate in such a fun blog hop!

I used plain Recollections Brown Card Stock for the card (measurements 5.5X4.5)
I used the Cricut cartridge Pink Journey for both the ribbon and the phrase (cut at 3.5)
I used Me and My Big Ideas Pastel 5X7 Paper Pad
Sizzix embossing folder (sorry misplaced the packet so not sure of the name)

Day ???

I have no followers but that's okay...I am still going to do my thing and update the blog.  I have been a crafting fool lately.  The Cricut Expression machine I received as an xmas gift is awesome!!!  I've made cards for birthdays, Father's Day, Mother's Day, and now my latest and greatest...welcome baby!!!  My best friend from college just added a new addition to her family and I wanted to make something special for her and her new bundle of joy...what better way than to show up with dinner and a hand-made card.  I'm super excited to do just that on Saturday!!!  I wanted to post my latest creation in hopes that someone might actually look at this blog and provide me some much needed criticism/help/encouragement/complements???? I'm reaching here people!

email me if you want the recipe

Day #1

I'm technologically challenged but wanted to create a space where I could come and share some of the crafty tips I've learned of the past 6months.  As my title implies, I'm an accidental crafter.  I started by journey into crafting approximately 7years ago.  It was then I decided I would try my hand at scarpbooking and make my sister's move to Chicago immortalized via my art.  I was not prepared for what unfolded after the initial conception of my ingenious idea.  I have never scrapped in my life nor have I been artsy.  I once tried to paint an orchid for a seventh grade art class assignment and even though my mother was supportive, it was a complete disaster.  Oh well, that was then and this was now and I was determined to have this be a success.  Long story short the couple of pages I did create were amateur at best however, I discovered I really liked scrapping.  At that time I only had some single sheets of card stock and decorative scissors but what I made I was proud of and excited for what was in store for my future crafting projects.  It took me seven years but now I own a Cricut machine and some general cartridges ready to rock the craft world.  Ambitions set high and hope soaring, I'm about to embark on my craft journey.  If you're "man" enough buckle up....it's bound to be a bumpy ride.  Road stop #1 the Pink Stamper (check out her website/blog, she is amazing) National Scrapbook Day Challenges!!!

My cupcake submission for Challenge #1 on The Pink Stamper website....my goddaughters birthday was the perfect occasion for me to use my Wild Card Cricut cartridge and even more exciting b/c I could do double duty and use the cupcake option to submit for this challenge :)  Happy Scrapping!!!