'Tis The Season and Christmas Is Coming - Hello Bluebird

Hello!  I'm delighted to be finally sharing with you a couple of projects today to preview the big new and very wonderful Hello Bluebird release which you can buy October 12th!

My first card today combines the 'Tis The Season sentiment stamp set with the wonderful Christmas Is Coming stamp set.



For this card I richly ink blended my background using Distress Inks in Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves and Chipped Sapphire, I blended away to nothing at the bottom to give the appearance of snow and then took a little Distress Ink in Picket Fence to further soften where the colour finishes  and to give the appearance that the wind is whipping up the snow from the surface.



I splashed and blotted the background with water.  Then I mixed a little white acrylic paint with a tiny spritz of water and using a small paint brush I splattered on the snow.  I sometimes went for big blobs and other times for small to build depth ... I wanted a real blizzard!  I then put my dried panel in my Misti and using Versamark Ink, I stamped the sentiment and then heat embossed in white.  I repeated this process in order to really make the sentiment stand out on the busy background and it looks even more raised and brighter white for doing that.

Finally, on Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped my images with Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil and watercolour painted them all with my Kuretake Zigs.  I didn't have the dies yet and so I fussy cut the images and adhered them with dimensional foam tape.  Using a Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen I hand dotted in the snow all over my characters.  The finishing touch was the application of a little subtle Stickles glitter here and there.



My second card today will be revealed this afternoon on Instagram and here on my blog so stay tuned for that!

Thanks for stopping by,

Nicky x

Meowy Woofmus - Mama Elephant

Hello Friends!

I'm back with a sweet card using an older but much loved stamp set from Mama Elephant called Meowy Woofmus, maybe some of you have this stamp set, although quite frankly, you could insert any of the Mama Elephant cuties into such a scene!



I started by taking an A2 panel of Bristol Smooth cardstock.  I ink blended it very softly with Distress Inks in Tattered Rose and Squeezed Lemonade.   I then hand applied the 'snow' affect using a Uniball Signo White gel pen.  Next, I die cut the panel using Framed Tags - Union Square and then die cut it one more time using Basic Rectangles - Creative Cuts.     At the top of the main panel I stamped the sentiment from Jingle Greetings using Versamark Ink and then heat embossed in gold.



I die cut the snowy 'hills', trimmed to size and applied them layered into the back of the opening in the panel.  I then lined up the negative cut with the background colour on it behind the opening, found the correct position for it on the card base and adhered it down.   Since the two 'hills' unlevelled things, I added strips of cardstock to match the depth of the hills around the upper part of the opening.  With that done I was then able to apply my Scotch dimensional foam tape and apply the panel to the base making sure to align it perfectly with the negative cut.

On more Bristol Smooth, I stamped my little characters with Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil.  I watercolour painted them with Kuretake Zigs and then die cut and applied them into the scene with their cheeks highlighted with a Uniball Signo White gel pen.



The final touch was the application of 3 mini wooden star embellishments.

Hope you enjoyed the card .... many more to come, be sure to sign up to my blog so you don't miss anything!

Nicky x

Autumn Gatherings - Hello Bluebird Stamps

Hi everybody, I'm back with another card for Hello Bluebird Stamps.   For this card I've called on several of their stamp and die sets.  The thing with Hello Bluebird is how seamlessly everything works together from past and present releases and this will go forward so you can build a collection and draw from everything constantly.



This card started with the creation of the plaid background using the Plaid Background Stamp.  I stamped it in pale grey and then applied the panel (slightly trimmed up) to the card base.  Next I die cut the Halloween Tree Die from grey cardstock.  The pretty leaves for the trees are from the Gallery Frame 3 Die and were ink blended, as were the pumpkins.  The grassy banks are from the Grassy Knoll Die Set and these were also ink blended.  Finally the 'thanks'  sentiment was die cut three times in grey and deep orange cardstock from the Gallery Frame 2 Die Set and adhered together slightly offset so the grey shows as a shadow behind the orange.



I decided on an arrangement for all my die cuts and ink blended components and then adhered them into the scene layered up on varying amounts of dimensional foam tape to build depth.  

On some Bristol Smooth cardstock I  stamped my fox from the Autumn Gatherings stamp set together with the scarf (which is among various items of clothing you can dress the critters up in) and the acorn to give him something to hold.  I watercolour painted these using my Kuretake Zigs and then I die cut the images, assembled them and applied them into the scene using more foam tape.



The final touch was to highlight some areas with a Uniball Signo white gel pen and then I sourced a few toning mixed sequins and tucked them here and there just to add a sweet little twinkling accent.

I do appreciate you stopping by to read about this card.  Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section - I'm very happy to try and help you!

Until the next time, happy crafting

Nicky x

So Many Snowmen - Mama Elephant

Hello everyone!



I'm so excited that in a few days I'll be participating in the huge Mama Elephant new release Blog Hop Stampede.  It got me feeling in the mood to create more cards by going back 1 year and playing with the much loved 'So Many Snowmen' stamp set.



I stamped the large image onto Bristol Smooth cardstock and then afterwards to some masking paper which I fussy cut out and layered over the original image to protect it.  I ink blended the cheerful sky with Distress Ink in Peacock Feathers to a subtle ombré affect.  Once dry and with the mask still in place I layered on Nuvo Glitter Paste and allowed it to dry before removing the mask.



Working with the colour of the sky I'd created I used colours that I felt went well together and watercolour painted the sweet snowmen using my Kuretake Zigs and then I highlighted  their pink blushing cheeks with a Uniball Signo White Gel pen.

The finishing touch was to stamp and heat emboss the sentiment onto a strip of black cardstock and then I die cut several snowflakes from 'Stitched Flakes' by Simon Says Stamp and applied them.

I hope you enjoyed the card tutorial and are feeling inspired.  Thanks for stopping by!

Nicky x

What DO Bears Do In The Woods?

Hi, I'm back again with a fairly involved birthday card using entirely Mama Elephant stamps and dies (with the exception of the sequins by Pretty Pink Posh).  This card answers the age old question about what bears get up to in the woods ...... well, they party!!!!!  I don't know what you all are thinking!!!

I'm such a fan of the Hillside Cover Die from Mama Elephant since you can use it to form so many fun backgrounds.  When I purchased it I had this basic design in my head, whereby I'd cut out portions with my craft knife and form a forest scene.  First of all I made two A2 panels of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock.  The first was softly ink blended using distress inks to form ground and sky.  The second was ink blended in an ombré of green distress ink around the frame portion.   Then I watercolour painted the trunks of the trees and distressed everything with some water splashes that I left a minute then blotted dry with a paper towel.

For the bushy tree tops I made 3 die cuts of the smaller cloud die from Cloud Nine by Mama Elephant.  I ombré ink blended each piece then distressed it and attached them to the Hillside Cover die cut with Ranger Multi Medium Matte, layering one over the other and then I trimmed the top and side edges to align with the A2 form.  This whole piece was then attached to the background panel lifted up on Scotch dimensional foam tape.  Everything was then adhered to the 110lb Neenah cardstock base.

Next I tackled the family of bears which were stamped with Ranger Archival Black Ink then watercolour painted using my Zigs.  They were die cut and highlighted with Uniball Signo White and 3 bears were each given a party hat which I snipped off one of the little chick stamps from Party Pals (Mama Elephant).  (No animals were harmed in the making of this card).

At this point I stamped the sentiment and attached it with foam tape and then I love to add those final little touches that just elevate a card and take it to the next level.  With this card I attached a few crystal clear sequins as I previously mentioned but I also used a silver gel pen and added some tiny dots of glint into the background.

This is my favourite type of card to make, I love them to look like they were taken from a favourite children's storybook .  I do hope you like it and are inspired to go and create for yourself.  Enjoy your weekend.

Nicky x

Birthday Cuteness Care Of Mama Elephant

My card today starts just as 99% of my cards start, with a strong card base of 110lb solar white cardstock from Neenah.  It is a remarkable day indeed if I use anything other than this, you might say I'm stuck in my ways, but you know what .... it just works, at least it does for me in more ways than one!  I then die cut a panel of Strathmore Bristol Smooth which is my go-to watercolour cardstock and also my favourite for ink blending.  The die cut uses Cloud Nine by Mama Elephant and it was then ink blended to a soft ombré finish then distressed with water splashes that I let sit a minute then blotted dry and then added paint splatters in a shade darker than the blended base colour.



The sweet cloud is from Cloud Nine also and I added the cheerful rosy cheeks using watercolour paint in the form of Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers.  I then stamped the Page Huggers from Mama Elephant onto yet more Strathmore Bristol Smooth, I then watercolour painted them and highlighted portions and then die cut and adhered each into position with Scotch dimensional foam tape and later added their party hats.  Each animal holds an ice cream cone and I adorned their hats with mini pompoms to add some fun dimension.  The sentiment was stamped and there's a further one inside wishing a happy birthday.  What would I do without my crystal clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh to add that final and very necessary twinkle?  If I could only have one style/colour of sequin this would be IT!



This was a relatively quick card to create and I hope you enjoy it.  Until the next time, have a wonderful day and happy crafting!

Nicky x

Hello! I'm A Blogger!

Hello everybody, this is my very first blog post, so a warm welcome to my blog.  Many of you will be familiar with me already either from cards on Instagram, Pinterest or Facebook and maybe one or two of you are customers from my Etsy Shop (all associated links are to the right hand side for easy clicking through to each site).

I am a card maker and this is what this blog will be dedicated to although I am interested in many types of design and other activities such as cooking, gardening, photography and interior design to name a few.  I think my Pinterest profile speaks volumes about me!  I am married, I have two beautiful grown daughters and two beloved and over indulged Pugs.  I was born and raised in the UK where my family still reside but in the past couple of years I became a US citizen and I've actually been living here since 1988.  I currently call Texas home but not for too much longer.

I have been making cards for 3 years.  The first year I was learning the craft and finding my style, 2 years ago I started my Instagram account dedicated to card making  and was quickly found by Vanessa at Butterfly Reflections Ink who gave me my first Design Team position.  Subsequently I was invited to join the Design Teams for Pretty Pink Posh, Avery Elle and Create A Smile Stamps and I remain with them to this day and who knows what other exciting possibilities lie ahead.  I am focussed on making the highest quality cards I can from the best materials available, my cards feel substantial and are usually very dimensional.  I strongly favour pastel shades and I love sweet little characters so I'm constantly sourcing stamps that go well with my style.

So here I am starting a blog.  I've recently been encouraged to do this despite never previously showing much inclination, however I am going to give this my best shot.   I don't believe all my cards will get blogged here (there again, I reserve my right to change my mind about that)!  What I can say is that Instagram is where all my cards are and if you want to view all my cards in the one place then I recommend my Instagram or my Nicky Noo Cards board on Pinterest.  With this blog I can write a little about my process and items used.  I hope you will follow along.

It is likely that I'll add features and gadgets to this blog as time goes on and I familiarise myself with everything.  In the meantime I want to thank you for stopping by and learning just a little bit about me.

Nicky