Updates Updates Updates!

Hi All,

September will be gone before we know it, I can't believe how fast the time is passing by.  Last month was crazy because I was in the midst of finishing all the final touches and details for my sister's bridal shower and then in the beginning of this month I changed positions at my company.  I'm officially moving out of science and into business.  I have been in this position for about 2 weeks and things move sooo much faster outside of the lab!  I really like it however, I'm still struggling to learn all the nuances of this new role but am having fun learning something new every day!  AND BIG ANNOUNCEMENT:  I got engaged!  I'm so excited!!! My boyfriend and I have been together for almost six years and it is awesome that I get to have fun with my sister at her wedding next month and then continue the wedding high/honeymoon phase by having her help me plan and share in my wedding.  Well with all of that I'm still very excited about all the projects I need to do for my sister's wedding and for the upcoming spooky Halloween holiday!

I recently found some articles about decorating craft pumpkins with bling! Now I have to admit I cheated and bought the bling pre casted (if you will) in these cool swirls and the others I used fish net stockings (Target special!! $5) for the others.  There really is no right or wrong way to decorate them I just did what felt right.  I feel the stocking pumpkins are missing something so I'm thinking of adding some die cut leaves with glitter, just to add that extra pop.  You can check out the pics below and weigh in on what you think would complete these guys.  I just couldn't help decorating this weekend, my hutch is transformed into a spooky nook, unfortunately I still haven't had time to add the fake spider webbing!!!

Also, this weekend marks the 4th annual Fall Festivous for the Rest of Us weekend my girlfriends and I have started because of our love of corn mazes and pumpkin carving!  I made little post it note pads for the other lovely ladies I will be mazing, carving, and roasting seeds with this weekend.  I really hope they like them.  I used the Googly Ghouls stamp set from Stampin' Up!'s seasonal catalog and Basic Grey, Very Vanilla, and Elegant Eggplant paper as the base and punches.  The patterned paper is from DCWV Halloween and fall stack and the ribbon is from American Crafts multi pack I scored at JoAnn's with a 1/2 off discount.  I tried to choose some fun inks like Gumball Green and Pumpkin Pie that coordinated with the patterned paper.  In the end I'm really happy with the end product.  Let me know what you all think!

One last thing before I go, if you haven't checked out the Create a Critter 2 cartridge that Provo Craft released last week go to their website now and do so!  It is chock full of really cute and fun cuts for all occasions.  I usually don't splurge but I had a $10 coupon from my AC rewards card and purchased it this past weekend.  I can't wait to use it!!!  So I'm off to follow up on some of the ppls blogs I follow and see what they are up to and then hopefully off to cut some cute critters!!

ps made this little layout with the free sneak peek of the cartridge last week!

Until later...Happy Crafting!
Nicole

August already????

I'm soo sorry I haven't been online in a long time!  The summer is almost over and I can't believe where all the time went.  It has been a very busy and stressful summer.  My grandfather has been sick and I have been serving as his medical POA and I've been chosen as my sister's maid of honor for her upcoming October wedding!  Needless to say b/w escorting my grandfather to doctors appointments (he is on his road to recovery, yay!!!) and designing my sisters bridal shower invites and planning the Sunday brunch of celebration I haven't had a lot of time to craft and get things up here for all to view!  Never fear, I'm hoping to get back in the groove soon!  I really appreciate my 8 followers and I hope I haven't let you down with this lull in posting.  I'm really trying to get this blog going and am grateful for your "blogship", my term for friendship on a blog!

  This week I crafted an anniversary card for my soon to be in laws (celebrating 39 years!) and since my sister accidentally saw her invites I'm posting a picture of that too!  I had so much fun doing both projects.  I LOVE Love Love my Cricut and owe all the credit to the 2 crafty cartridges that allowed me to create these masterpieces:  Create a Critter and Sweethearts...hope you enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by!!!!

PS a little background so my sisters invite makes a bit more sense, my sister's name is Teresa and she is marrying a man with the last name Rex, therefore we did a little play on words for her bridal theme as she is the soon to be Mrs. T Rex!!

Happy Crafting!!
Nicole

I had some really quality craft time the past two days.  I've been able to make my Mother's Day cards, Dad's birthday card, and even (early I know) a Father's Day card!  It was so much fun to hang out in my craft room and just create, sometimes I wish this was my full time job!  Until that becomes my reality, the next best thing is to share all of my creations here on my blog.  So with further ado, the 2 Mother's Day cards I recreated from some Stampin'Up! mailers.  The one on the left is from March 2012's Stampin Success and the one on the right (if you're looking straight at the screen) is from the Occasions Mini catalog.  I put a few twist on each project as well as changed up the stamp sets but overall they are pretty exact.  I'm excited to give them out to the two fantastic "mothers" I have in my life.  I just realized that I didn't make one for my Nana!  Yay, now I have a reason to hide away in my craft room tonight and create another fun card for Mother's day.  The other 2 cards are for my future Father in Law.  His birthday is Saturday, and while I was feeling inspired I created a Father's Day card too!  His two loves are golf and flying...hoping I hit a "home-run" with these cards.

Besides the missing Mothers Day card I have one more card I need to make before the busy weekend gets here.  It's for a college grad, my little cousin Matthew.  He will graduate on Saturday from Widener University with a Civil Engineering degree.  I'm so proud of him!  He already has a full time job lined up.  I can't wait to take him shopping for things to fill up his bachelor pad, of course I'll be the voice of reason...hmmm You definitely need that fuss ball table! hahaha!  It's such an exciting time in his life!  Sparks my nostalgia of my college days :-)


Okay I'm signing off, check out the cards and feel free to leave me any feedback, praise, criticism....I love all comments!!!

Happy Crafting,
Nicole

Give-away over at Cricut Blog in celebration of NSD!

Hi All,

Cricut is generously giving away an Expression machine in celebration of National Scrapbooking Day and all you have to do is take a picture of yourself in your craft space.  I already own the Pink Expression but my sister really would like to join me in the scrapping world so I'm going to enter in this give away and hopefully (if I'm lucky enough) I will be able to surprise her with a brand new machine!!!

Earlier this year I wanted to re vamp my craftroom, I was sort of using the communal office space to do crafts and was hoping to be able to create a space where I could do my thing and feel inspired.  I went to IKEA and located a few pieces that were affordable and set off to do some re-vamping.  I love pinks and purples and envisioned the room to be cozy and inspiring, I finally located the perfect color at Home Depot: Malt.  A perfect mix of purple and grey, I was estatic.  I'm not good at painting so my AWESOME boyfriend helped to make my dream of a cozy personal craft space a reality!  He worked extremely hard and it turned out amazing!     To top that he surprised me with a chair I originally located on Target.com but was hesitant to buy.  I loved it and it really made the room pop!  He is the BEST!

So now I have my very own space where I can go and create that is chock full of cozy details and tons of scrapping/card making supplies.  You can check out the pics below...I'm going to link this to the Cricut blog and keep my fingers crossed for my sister!  Good luck to everyone participating!

Until then...Happy Crafting!
Nicole

My Pink Stampers NSD Designer's Choice Blog Hop

Helloooo and Happy (post) National Scrapbook Day!!!

As usual I'm a day behind but this time it isn't due to obligations, just due to poor sewing skills!  I came across Rockin' Renee's blog:  I Came, I Saw, I Created during the MPS blog hop yesterday in celebration of NSD and found a fun challenge!  You were allowed to create anything you wanted it just had to contain a flower made of fabric and or ribbon.  A while back I bought a magazine that demonstrated how to create flowers by cutting a piece of fabric 1-1/2" wide then pinning in 1/2 and cutting slits every 1/4"  or so, you then had to sew along the pin line pulling the fabric together with the needle/thread until it formed a U, then you were to fold the edges and sew it together.  Viola! Instant flower....hmmm for those of you who do not know me well, I (unfortunately) failed the sewing portion of Home Economics in High School, a shame to my family, as I come from a long line of women who toiled in the sewing mills for decades. 

So yesterday I was in the midst of creating a memory board with some SUp! fabric I received during their SaleABration event and thought why not add a fabric flower!  Not only would it add a little something to my memory board but I could enter it in the blog challenge at I Came, I Saw, I Created (in case you lost my trail of ADD thought...).  Well the first attempt failed and then after a laborious 2nd attempt I semi-mastered the art, however I'll let you the reader decide??  Should it stay or go?  I have it secured to the board using hat pins that doubled as center attraction.  Please let me know what you think, I'm not scared of criticism....or suggestions (please, please).  I'm learning as I go and if you could help me along my journey I would be forever grateful.

Now I'm off to the other 2 blog challenges I came across during My Pink Stampers NSD Designers Choice Blog Hop....one is embossing (yay!!) and the other is something highlighting physical movement!  The second one excites me as I've been meaning for 2, yes 2, years now to scrap a Mud Run my boyfriend and I participated in during that summer.  I can't wait to see what I use to fully document the fun!  All the blogs along the MPS blog hop are offering fun giveaways in honor of NSD, if you haven't checked out My Pink Stampers blog or her talented designer teams blogs,  do so today!

Until then...Happy Crafting!
Nicole

the board...if you are interested in step by step directions, eamil me nicolepudvah@yahoo.com

close up of the flower (maybe I should have used a different fabric????)

So Many Projects, So little time!

Hi All,

I've been away for awhile but I'm back!  Last weekend I managed to squeeze in 2 cards between cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc. and I wanted to share.  The first card I'm sending to Alex at You Had Me At Craft,  I entered one of her give-aways and won!  I was so super excited to receive my "My Pink Stamper" Veggie Puns set that I wanted to thank her back and what better way then to create a card using the stamp set.  I hope she likes it!  I had a ton of fun coordinating the cut with the pun!  The second card I made was just for my stash.  I was on Cricut.com last week and noticed they were having a sale...and I'm a sucker for sales!  I picked up the Best Images of 2006.  This was the inspiration for the second card which is a welcome baby card using an image from that cartridge.
I hope this weekend I can get some more time to create some fun projects I've had on my radar for some time now.  One is a recipe book using From My Kitchen and another is some fun Mothers Day cards/projects using some Stampin' UP! blossom stamp sets and punches.  I only have one more day to grind out and then I can get to work!  I will definitely hope to share some fun projects before Monday.

Until then I hope you all are having a great week, Happy Crafting!
Nicole

boo kinda hard to see the stickles on the cloud in this photo :(

Blog Hop and super deal on letterpress kit!

I normally do not post in the middle of the day but I'm excited about 2 things this afternoon and I couldn't wait to share them with the few and the brave that follow me. 

First, as my title implies I wanted tell everyone about the incredible deal I got on the L letterpress kit in case this is something that is available at every AC Moore Store.  So on Tuesday night, I was browsing the aisles and I stumbled upon the letterpress kit on clearance for $37.50!  I knew nothing about letterpressing so I quickly googled it on my iPhone and realized it was a deboss/inking technique and I wanted to give it a try!  I also noted that the kit usually retails for $129-149 so I thought this deal was Amazing and I bought it!  The letterpress plates were only $6.99 (originally $24.99) so I scooped some of those up too!  I can't wait to get home tonight and try my hand at letterpressing....sooo excited.  If this interest you, you should check your local store to see if it's available as I'm not sure if this was store specific or not.  I hope if you really want this that you'll be able to find it at the same deal...sending positive vibes!

Secondly, tonight is My Pink Stamper's Pinkalicious Blog Hop.  If you haven't been to this blog, check it out!  MPS has a ton of talented designers who showcase really inspiring cards and crafts!  OOOh and it's not only super fun to hop along and check out all the great cards and crafts but you can also participate and load your very own project at the end!  Sometimes the designers have great giveaways you can enter along the hop!  Be sure not to miss it!  It begins at 8pm central time which is 9pm my time!  See you there!!!

Happy Crafting!
Nicole

Stay tuned to see how the letterpress kit worked out for me, hoping to post tonight!!!

Just Joined Cricut Craft Room

Hey!  Happy Monday!  I've been sitting at the computer for over an hour now, trying my best to learn the ins and outs of the new Cricut Craft Room.  I saw some Chemistry icons in their craft room exclusive gallery I just had to have!  So I purchased the lot and set out to do some fun projects, unfortunately I cannot get the image layers to cut properly in order to layer them??? I checked the dial size, made sure it was relative and not real, and still no luck :-(  If anyone has a clue as to what I'm possibly doing wrong please don't be shy to let me know, even if it is as simple as not overlaying them properly...ha!  nothing is impossible!  I'm attaching a screen shot to see if anyone has encountered this issue and to plead for help.  The 2 overlays on the right hand side match up perfectly, the two beakers on the left are cut completely out of proportion!!!  Thanks in advance!  I look forward to creating many fun projects in this virtual room!

Happy Crafting,
Nicole

MPS Birthday Blog Hop....Only 1 Day late!

Hi All,

So I couldn't tune into the live MPS blog hop last night b/c I was out celebrating my sister's fiance's birthday!  A bunch of us went for sushi and then a slightly competitive game of bowling.  It was girls against guys...unfortunately, we lost both games but we all had good fun! 

My Pink Stamper blog hop theme was all things birthday in honor of Robyns' (my pink stamper) daughter's birthday (Happy 14th Birthday to her!).  Coincidentally, I had to quickly make a card yesterday afternoon for the party I was attending so this project was serving double duty.  Dan, my sister's fiance, is really into grilling so I thought it would be fun to use the Father's Day seasonal Cricut cartridge and make him a card using the grill image.  I had to cut the base 2 different times to get the effect of the shiny and matte silver/gray but I think it was worth it in the end.  I do not have any of Robyn's stamps yet but am planning on getting some soon, so the stamp you see on the card is from Stampin'Up!  I tried to be all punny inside the card but not sure it went over as well as I thought it would....here is what it said on the inside:  Dan, since today is your birthday we hope that things are "done" your way.  Using "done" as in "how do you like your steak done", but not everyone got it, oh well back to the punny drawing board...hahaha! 

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this card, I had fun making it and giving it out to my future brother in law (only 189ish days left to my sister's wedding...yay!!!).  Glad I could hop along with Robyn and her team, even if it was 1 day late...if you haven't done so yet, check out Robyn's blog, My Pink Stamper at mypinkstamper.com, and hop through all her Super Talented Designers!

Hope everyone has a joyous Easter weekend! Happy Crafting!!
Nicole

Supplies:
Solid Paper:  SUP! gray, black, and red; card dimensions 5.5"X4.5"
Patterned Paper:  Me and My Big Ideas, specialty cardstock black and white
Cartridge:  Cricut Fathers Day seasonal, grill cut at 3.5"
Stamp:  Stampin'UP!  Party this Way collection

Spring is here and Easter is right around the corner!!!

Hi All!
I've been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather here in Pa soo much that I haven't had a lot of time to get crafting.  All that changed this weekend as it was rainy and cold!  Can't complain too much though, this has been one of the mildest winters I can remember :-)  Anyway, with Spring in the air and Easter right around the corner I let my creative juices flow and prepared some holiday inspired cards for my "peeps"...hahah, I crack myself up!  I would love to do a tutorial for you all but I'm not so handy with my webcam and I do not own a handheld recorder..maybe I will have to look into that!  With that said I'm posting 3 cards, 2 created with the Cricut Create a Critter cartridge (by far my most fav of cartridges, I always find reason to use it) and 1 from 3 Birds on Parade.  The stamped sentiments are from a personal stock I gathered from a local craft store so I do not have the exact vendor but each is v. replaceable with any sentiment stamp you may have on hand.  Both SUp! as well as My Pink Stamper have some very cute stamp quips for this holiday, you should check them out!
Well enough chatting...onto the project posting....enjoy!  As always, if you would like dimensions or instructions please feel free to drop me a personal email and I'd be happy to share :-)(nicolepudvah@yahoo.com)  Hope you enjoy these fun cards and as always Happy Crafting and Happy Easter!!!  Hope you all have a blessed holiday!

Happy Friday!!!

TGIF, right??? I'm trying to stick to my guns, sort to speak, and start blogging more regularly and what do you know??? Here I am posting another project within the same week in the same month!  Go me!  I was surfing around Northridge Publishing's website, the publisher that produces the Cricut magazines and many others, and found a list of contest/challenges for entry.  I decided to give the list a go and created this fun scrapbook page for the I love my Pet theme sponsored by Cricut mags.  My boyfriend and I adopted Kitty McLovin in the fall and this layout, although the pics were taken at Christmas with me and my sister, is entirely dedicated to her and how much fun she has been to have around these past few months.  I didn't use a specific layout  for the page,  I just put a bunch of fun things together using the Cricut Lite Meow cartridge (sooo fun!!) I thought would mesh well.  I hope you enjoy the project.  I'm providing the link to the various contest/challenges below so you too can get in on the fun!

Happy Crafting!!!

Northridge Publishing Link:  http://northridgepublishing.com/forms/submit-creation#cri

Project supplies:  Cricut Lite Meow cartridge, Cat and Purr sign cut at 3.5", fish border cut at 1.5", embellishments are from an old stock, sorry do not have all the names of the companies, Patterned paper was by DCWV, Plain paper from SUp!

Bad Blogger/My Pink Stampers Pinkalicious Blog Hop!

Hi All,

I'm such a bad blogger.  I think the reason for this is my lack of knowledge on how to build a fun blog.  I envy the bloggers that have these adorable avatars that appear in their image on their blog!  I've considered hiring someone to create a blog that I've envisioned but since this is not my full time job, I have second thoughts on investing the money.  Maybe one day my dream of being a full time crafter will come true, until then my day job as a Research Scientist keeps me busy and thus away from my blog and sometimes my crafts :-(  However, fear not I am still trying to stick with it and find the time everyday to upload to this blog.  I think I can spare a few minutes at night to just sit down and type some free flow thoughts, we'll see how this plays out.  This has been a recurring theme on my blog and I have yet to fully live up to my own expectations. 

So with spring right around the corner and the onset of daylights savings time (yippee)!  I'm going to try my best to balance the crafting with some outdoor activities!!  I was roaming some blogs last night and realized that it was My Pink Stamper's Blog Hop this past Friday!  I missed the live streaming, bummer but did jump from blog to blog to see what fun things were created and possibly be inspired to create something fun too (Thanks Robyn and company!!)  The theme was St. Patrick's Day.  The rules were to "Think Green" and create a card, layout, mini book, home decor, party item etc.  As I was blog hopping I came upon Angela's site Simple Creations and her card using hearts to for a clover.  What a clever idea, so I thought I would borrow that bit of her idea and create a treat box for my co workers!  I pulled out my Sweethearts cartridge and cut out 4 scalloped hearts at 1.5", secured with a brad as Angela showed in her project and stamped one heart with Good Luck (as I do not own any Happy St. Patty's Day stamps??? what is up with that???), viola a clover!  Now I noticed that my clover has 8 leaves and not the traditional 4, so I'm guessing that means twice the luck.  The treat box was cut using my Sizzix machine and the matchbox die available from Stampin'Up!  I secured my clover onto my box using a stampin dimensional and now it is ready to be filled with treats and shared!  I have the complete recipe at the bottom of the page...let me know what you think!  I haven't had comments on here in awhile and I really love hearing your thoughts.  Special thanks to Robyn and her blog hopping crew for continually providing me inspiration for both crafting and blogging! 

Happy Crafting!

Recipe:

Cardstock, Lucky limeade:  SUp! Polka dot paper: from random 6X6 stack that I lost the name to (sorry!)
Stamp sentiment: Hampton Art Clear stamps
Ink:  Garden Green, SUp!
Matchbox Sizzix die:  SUp!
Brad: SUp!
Hearts that form clover:  Cricut Cartridge Sweethearts, cut <HartSclp> at 1 1/2" 4 times
Adhesive: SUp! snail and dimensional

If you are interested in purchasing any of the SUp! products you see here please visit my site at http.npudvah.stampinup.net!  Out of state or in state customers welcomed!!