Drum Roll Please....

  First off I would just like to thank everyone for all their wonderful comments and support!!  So awesome, it really means a lot  to me!  Thank You!!!  Because there were so many different ways to be entered, I chose to go the traditional route and drew names out of a hat.  When my boyfriend got home I made him draw the winner...  And the winner is  Chantal!!! 

  Congratulations Chantal!!!! Please email me your shipping info at Scrapaholicmania@aol.com and I will ship out your prize!!

  Thank you again to all that participated!!!

Have a great rest of the week!!

Nicki Chicky

Giveaway Time Again!!

It's that time again for another giveaway!!!  I have done it again!  This time I created a set of 6 super yummy fabric covered brads.  Covered with Moda fabrics, they look just like candy.  These big brads measure an inch, making them perfect for scrapbooking, cards, flower centers, etc..  I loved the colors so much, that I decided to throw in a matching 6x6 Crate paper pad.  The brand new Snow Day Collection!!  So today is your lucky day!!    To get entered for this giveaway, you can do any of these 4 things, for up to 4 chances to win!!!

1. Show some love, and leave me a comment on this post.

2. For an additional entry you can refer a friend! Make sure they mention your name in their comment.

3.For a third entry, post a link on twitter, facebook, or your blog and leave your link in an additional comment.
4. And lastly, become a follower of this blog for another entry! Don't forget to leave a comment letting me know you are a new follower!

The winner will be chosen at random, and announced Next Monday the 13th. @ 6pm EST. 

 Good luck to all who enter!! And thanks so much for your support! 

Hope this holiday weekend has been wonderful for everyone!!

Until Next Time!

Nicki Chicky

Daydreams Of A Domestic Diva - MPTS Challenge

It's that time again for the release of the design team projects for More Paper Than Shoes!  I had planned on posting this earlier today, but my day was ruined by severe abdominal pain and a trip to the hospital.  And since I have been laying in a hospital bed for about 7 hours, laying down more just isn't appealing to me. Maybe after I write this.  And if your wondering about the abdominal pain, they didn't find anything in all the tests they ran except a high white blood count, and no explanation as to why.  Heading to the doctors for a follow up, and waiting on tons of blood work.   Right now the pain has receded enough to function, so I guess at this point I just wait.. 

   So on to the MPTS challenge of the month!  This month the challenge was Rusty Bucket. 

What does it look like?  

What purpose did it serve before the rust settled on it?

Where did you find it when you stumbled across it?

What kind of history or life does your rusty bucket have?

Take us on the journey of your rusty bucket.

Supplies: Metal and Twine (any kind of rope).

Surface: ANY

Technique:Torn paper

When I received this challenge, it was hard to not take it literally.  I understood the concept, and the idea of  the challenge.  And all the things that could be considered rusty buckets,  and the stories that are behind them.  But I just kept coming back to the idea of a wash bucket, and the retro image from Graphic 45 papers of the woman doing her laundry.  In that image there is a towel with the word Monday on it.  And I knew somewhere I had a towel just like it.  When I found it I was surprised to see that the image on the towel had a duck doing his laundry, how perfect!  I then was wondering what was so big about Mondays and laundry?  After further investigation, I discovered that Mondays were the day EVERYONE did their laundry in the 50's and earlier.  Sundays were always family days, so to prepare for the week you would do laundry, and pressing on Mondays!   Even my grandmother did her laundry on Mondays, so that is her picture hanging.  But who likes doing laundry?  So I decided to try and create a sort of daydream  with all the pretty things in the bucket.  I even added an old post card signifying my grandfather writing her from the war.  A ticket stub for a party she would much rather be at.  Beautiful flowers because she loved gardening, all mixed in with soaps, clothes pins and linen waters.   The best part, is the whole thing is just put together with the clothes pins, so it all comes apart and the pieces can be used again! 

I would like to wrap things up with some good news.  Today I received an email that a card I submitted to Paper Crafts Magazine was chosen to be published!!!!  I am super excited about this, and can't wait till it comes out.  I don't know when the publication date is yet, but as soon as I find out, I will let everyone know so you can look me up!! 

Check back Monday for a little giveaway I have up my sleeve!

Wishing everyone has a wonderful, and safe Labor Day Weekend!!

Nicki Chicky

Wake me, could I be dreaming?

It's so wonderful now that I am home creating, I can share my projects with you more often!  

Yesterday my mother and I went to Archivers just to see what was going on.  I was looking around in the clearance isle and found a whole bunch of Cosmo Cricket Chipboard stickers.  They were 6 x 12, and I knew by looking at them that they were ALL the brand new chipboard designs.  I thought to myself, this can't be right!  These just got released at CHA, why are these on clearance?  So I did the right thing, and bought a whole bunch on clearance for 1.99each!  I even was so sure this had to be a dream, that I mentioned it to the lady at the register.  And she reassured me that they had to be old if they were on clearance.  They had the new Wanted, Pixielicious, and Matilda Chipboard stickers and letters all clearance!!  INSANITY!!  So I came home last night and whipped up a few cards that will be future classes and kits coming up in September.  I even went back today just to get the chipboard stickers I had used, so that I will be ahead of the game when it comes time for kitting up, and at a clearance rate!

So here is what I made using the new release of Wanted by Cosmo Cricket

These are only 2 of the cards from the set.  There will be more to come next week, after they are made : )

Have a great weekend!

Nicki Chicky

Featured Design Team Member Monday

If you haven't already been over to MPTS, then you are missing out on my moment!   This is my time to shine, well at least for the week!  Every Monday they feature a new design team member.  And this week it is me!  YAY!  So check it out, click here to see what I had to say!

Gonna leave you with a quick glimpse of a mini book I am working on for classes.  Using the New G45 Steampunk Debutante line.  This line is sooo me!  I couldn't believe they went this route!!!

Doing a happy dance!

And this is only the cover!  There will be lots more to come!

Off to my morning hike, then time to hit the grind stone.

Thanks for stopping by, and I wish everyone a wonderful and creative week!

P.S.maybe with the kids at school you will get more time to play!

Wouldn't that be fun!

Nicki Chicky

New Beginnings

Recently I was faced with having to make a tough decision concerning my job.  For the last 5 years I have worked at a wonderful ,HUGE scrapbook store here in the local area.  At the end of April, David took over his father's business running a budget car rental.  Currently he is the only person who works, meaning he works 7 days a week, leaving at 6am and getting home around 6:30pm.  The volume of business he was doing was starting to get to be too much for one person to handle on the weekends.   So we had talked and decided that it would be better to keep the money with us, and that I would work for him on the weekends.  And during the week, it would give me time to focus on my upcoming designs for classes.  And start scheduling classes at all the local stores.   So I took the leap!  As of last week I am a self employed stay at home mom(except weekends).  I have already talked to some local stores, and they can't wait to have me start!  And you know, it's funny but I couldn't feel more like I am in the right place, doing what I need to be doing, everything seems to keep falling right into place more and more everyday.  I feel so blessed.  Since last week I have already picked up 5 special orders on Etsy!!  I feel like one of those quit your day job stories they always focus on in the daily storque on Etsy, and you know what?  It's an awesome feeling! 

 

So on that note,  I have been working on mainly special orders for people lately. Which hasn't left me with a lot of time to create new things. I finished up the huge order for 108 flowers, definitely had to snap a few pics! 

I really think they look a lot like hens and chicks when they are grouped together like this.  So beautiful!

If you are interested in purchasing one of the scrapbooking kits these flowers went into, head over to http://www.sweetpeachcropshop.com/.  They have a design team, all kinds of scrappy ideas,  contests on their blog, and some of the most unique handmade items in their kits.  Check it out!

Had a second order of paper flowers, this time for 20 Xlarge flowers.  These flowers measure 3", and were made as table decorations.  

I really think they look like Lotus flowers floating in the water.

Also received an order for a card that was a CD case.  The sentiments, and theme were sent to me.  The rest was all up to me.  I decided to go with the feel of romantic Paris.  At the beginning of the month when they released the design team projects from MPTS, I fell in love with the project Megan had made.  I created this sorta in the same style.  I was already on a black and white kick, and who doesn't love to add old book paper to projects? 

When I went to create this I found that there wasn't a large enough piece of paper to create a pocket.  So I had to get innovative and create a pocket using small folded pieces of paper along the edges to create flaps.  I then glued my top layer to the flaps.  It was a lot of fun to make, and I just love how it turned out!

In between orders I had a few hours to just play so I made up some cute little Halloween gift boxes for Etsy.  These would be perfect little party favor boxes, and they are made to hang as ornaments too! 

As for the card kits that I had been anticipating putting on my blog this week, I found that right now I have no photo editing programs that will create a collage of photos for me.  Starting to get frustrated, but all will come together in a few days.  Gonna have to head over to my mothers and use her computer till I can find a program that works for what I need.  But in the mean time how about a few little sneak peaks?

Coming up next week I will be featured as the designer of the week on MPTS blog.  Lots more projects and ideas, and maybe even some card kits for sale too!  

Have a great weekend!

Nicki Chicky  

August Already?

It's hard to believe it is August already.  Where did July go?  I swear it was just a week ago we were watching fireworks.  August means even hotter weather, geez it was like 105-115 last week with the heat index, I don't think I want to experience Hotter.  It means summer is coming to an end, and all those little kiddos must go back to school.  It also means the release of all the design team creations on More Paper Than Shoes blog!  Odd that July went so fast, but yet it feels like I waited forever to see the release of everyone's projects.  But today is the day!  If you haven't been over to check out the scrappy challenge blog and forum, you are missing out!  Hop over to http://www.morepaperthanshoes.blogspot.com/ to see everyone's gorgeous creations for the August Challenge.  Get a little inspiration, and then create something of your own for the challenge.  And who knows, you might even win a little prize just for sharing! 

  On that note, here is what I created for the challenge. 

Again, the theme was: Vintage Paris, Acrylic Paint, Crackle Medium, Metal and Fabric.

When I think of  Paris, I think of it's strong influences on the art, and fashion world.  I think of all the beautiful architecture, and the boom of the industrial age.  I wanted to capture all of those things in my collage. 

I wanted to mix a little Art Nouveau with Art Deco.  Add a little steampunk with a style all my own. 

The collage was created on a wooden sign measuring 6 1/2" x 13".  The sign said, Evening in Paris.  And was completely black. 

To begin, I painted over the words I didn't want in my collage, with black paint.  I then applied the crackle medium.  Taping off my areas for the  background was a little tricky, only because pulling the tape off had a tendency to pull the dried layer of crackle medium off.  Once my background was created and dry, I stamped script with Staz On using a Hero Arts Stamp( Old Letter Writing).   For the bottom of the sign, I used a plastic screen from Tattered angels and scraped gel medium over top.  I then would lift the screen and repeated until I got the desired pattern.  Once the gel medium was dry I colored it using some Glimmer Mists. I think it created a really cool swirl effect, that reminds me of the old European style. 

For my metal I chose to use thin wire to create spirals extending off of the grunge board flourishes.  And for my fabric, I used some Claudine Hellmuth sticky back canvas for the hot air balloon.  Other items used:

Clip art, Graphic 45 pp, Colored pencils, Distress inks, Tim Holtz Masks, Melissa Fracis fleur de lis, Rubons

Stamps: Stampers Anonymous, Inkadinkadoo, Hero Arts

Don't forget coming up in the next few weeks I will be releasing some card kits for purchase RIGHT HERE!!

So check back soon.  Off to go lay down and rest.  Came down with something Friday and have felt like a zombie since.  Thanks goodness for days off! 

Nicki Chicky