18th Birthday & Happy Valentines Day

Valentines days is also my daughters birthday and this year she is eighteen - where have all the years gone!

This card was designed using MTC software and cut on my ecraft.  It uses an image from Bugaboo that has been coloured using my pro markers and flex markers.  The papers all come from my bargain DCVW Madly in Love paper stack

This card is being entered into the following challenges:

Speedy Fox - Shaped Cards

Catch the Bug - Photo inspiration

 This card is my DH valentines card the image and sentiment is another one from Bugaboo and I only just got this one after winning one of the Catch the Bug challenges. I have coloured him with my pro markers.  The heart paper at the bottom was a sample of wall paper from our local B&Q's store that was trimmed to size using my woodware scalloped blade.  Ribbon is left over from my sisters wedding invites which I finally finished yesterday.  The hearts have been cut out of the DCVW Madly in Love paper stash and the red and cream card is from my core-dinations pad.  Inside the card I used a brought SVG of the word LOVE and mounted it inside.

This card is for the following challenges 

Cards for Men - Love and Valentine

Pollycraft - Red, Pink and Cream

Sketch and Stash - The sketch I have followed

Thanks for looking

x Nicky x

WOYWW - 140

Its Wednesday so that means its time for WOYWW - if you have managed to miss this bit of the week then pop over to the headmistress of the desks Julia HERE

There is no a lot happening on my desk this week as I have either been busy working or making my sisters invites - all the day time one are done - see the pile on my desk and under my ATG are all the evening ones

I have the ribbon on my desk ready to cut to length.  I have cut and printed everything and am just putting it all together - should be finished by the weekend

I thought I would show you what an OCD crafter I really am right in front of me is a large drawer and it used to house my 12 x 12 papers and oddments but I went to the Craft Show at Glow in Bluewater at the weekend and I brought a new storage container for my 12 x 12. So now my oddments drawer can be more organised and easier to grab bit - I know lots of you work from box but that way doesn't work for me.

(sorry for poor photo but taken late Tuesday evening)

This is the new storage that fits perfectly at the back of my desk not being a person with long legs this is fine and my big shot fits nicely on top - see told you I was a neat freak

Not sure if you can see the dividers have labels on telling me which colours are where and yes they match the order of my colours in my A4 card drawers 

Finally here is Stanley not really sure what to make of the snow we have had this week and as it has turned to ice he likes even less

Keep Save and Warm and Have a Great Wednesday

x Nicky x

Christmas Bear

This card uses a digi image from Pollycraft, I have coloured him using a mixture of pro and flex markers.  I then cut the image out using my X-Cut oval scalloped dies in the big shot and the sentiment.  I used Brilliance Pearlized ink to edge them.  The flower came from a craft show at Glow Bluewater yesterday and the buttons are from my stash, as is the bow. The background paper came free in a magazine I was given by a friend. Although it doesn't show well in the photo I have finished the card with a bit a glitter glue.

This card is for the following challenges:

ABC - Christmas Challenge - B is for Bears, Buttons and Bows

Pollycraft - Favourite Things - Bears and Christmas

My Time to Craft - A is for Adorable

Simon Says - Animal Antics

Cute Card Thursday - Buttons and Bows

Sketch Saturday - Sketch I have followed for the card

Thanks for looking

x Nicky x

WOYWW - 139

Its Wednesday and that means one thing its time to pop over to Julias blog Stamping Ground and have a look around some great crafty desks join in the fun HERE for Whats on Your Workdesk Wednesday.

My desk is more like normal now organised and how I like it, I cannot craft in a mess and enjoy tidy things and yes as I finish with something I put it away - strange in the crafty world lol.  This week on the top of my desk you can see some cards I made at the weekend, a couple I made with the use of my ecraft my new love to see more about my views of  the ecraft click HERE.  I am in full flow of making the wedding invites you can see a finished one stood up on the left, I designed the shape in my MTC software and then used the ecraft to cut out all the templates.  After I had cut them I used low tack tape to out the aperture back in so I could feed them through my printer to put the words and the swirls on them.  I am using my scor-it to fold the sides and bottom, the my ATG gun to seal the edges together, the inside has already been printed and cut on my woodware cutter, and a hole punch for the ribbon - which I will buy on a trip to Maidstone on Saturday.  On the pull out table on the right hand side is my paper and card for the invites and my stack or core-dinations card, that I used on the cards.  Plus a couple of images to colour when I get bored of the invites. 

Hope you all have a great Wednesday now go off and look at more exciting desk with Julias

x Nicky x

True Love

This card uses a digi image from Mo's Digital Pencil I have coloured the image using my pro markers and flex markers.  The patterned paper came in a 6x6 Forever friends paper pad my daughter brought me, the rest of the paper is from core-dinations paper packs I brought from The Range.  The ribbon is from my stash cannot remember where I brought it, the stars where in the bargain bin at Hobby Craft ages ago. The sentiment says

'Nobody knows true love until you have been loved by a dog'

This card is for the following challenges

Sketch Saturday - Sketch I have followed

Mo's Digital Pencil - All my Favourite Things - Dogs, pink and purple

Secret Crafter - Ribbon - pink stitched ribbon

I love Promarkers - Purple and Pink

Thanks for looking

x Nicky x

Craftwell - Ecraft - In My Opinion

I dont normally do this - one because I am not great at putting words down onto paper - but as my hubby says I make up for that by the amount I talk.  I thought I would share my experience of Craftwell Ecraft Cutter as it may help some others out there.

It was my birthday in December as as my family knew I was after an ecraft everyone gave me birthday money (early) so I could keep an eye on a certain auction site and go for it if one should came up, as there was no way I could afford a new one.

At the beginning of December I purchased a sky blue ecraft with firmware 1.01.  I made some projects things turned out ok, but I did ruin a lot of paper and card while trying to get nice cuts.  I knew from forums that this was a problem other users had experience and that although I had used a Craftrobo that the ecraft was a new learning curve.  I continued to practice and got ok results nothing special so I thought maybe this is not the machine for me.   I put it back on the auction site and sold it, the person who brought it also did not get on with it and asked it I would take it back and refund her money, I agreed so received the Blue Menace back!

Now I really do not like to be beaten so started doing some searching on the internet, found lots of people saying they too could not get it to work efficiently, tried the ecraft site and although there was some hints and tips and videos nothing I had not tried.

The I stumbled across Purple Paper Paradise Blog found HERE. Denise who runs the blog is amazing and the saviour of my Blue Menace.  She has some wonderful videos telling you how to set the paper up and what pressure you should have the blade at, how and when to use a stabilizer card etc etc

So with all this information to hand I had a weekend away looking after my friends house so took my PC and ecraft and went to play.

I was a little worried at first but following Denise's instructions I cut out the branchy tree that is on the included SD card from Core-dinations card stock, and it cut fine, I could feel a little flutter in my heart of excitement so went on to cut some frames and other images from the card - all cut fine.

Then onto the big test - using Make The Cut (MTC) I designed the sleeves for my sisters wedding invites, did a practice cut on a piece of cream 240g card and it cut fine.  I have now cut all the sleeves out and just need to fold them and put the invitation inside. Brilliant! Love is growing for the machine

I then thought I would try some words to go on to cards so I played safe with a bold rockwell font and cut out a simple sentiment of LOVE and it worked fine so did the mat, then today I cut a slimmer more curvy font crazy girl blond and again it cut lovely first attempt and with no sticky mat nothing tore when I removed it from the machine.

I now have renamed by Blue Menace the Blue Miracle because I had given up on him and sent him away he returned home and we tried again and now I love it. I still have my craftrobo or Robo Cop as mum calls it and he will still be used but now I have two machines to enjoy.

Having heard so much bad stuff about the ecraft I thought I would share and let you know I think - which is it is a great machine.

So if like me you had given up or not sure about it pop over to Denise's blog have a look at her videos and see if it help you to.

x Nicky x

Warmest Wishes

This card uses a digi image from Pollycraft, I love this one as she always looks so cosy holding her mug - which I think is full of hot chocolate.  She is coloured using my pro markers. The four circles have been cut on my ecraft, as has the sentiment the font I used was Crazy Girl Blond - I love the name of some of the fonts lol.  The brown ribbon holding the charm is from a box of smellies that I got for my birthday, and the heart charm was also off a pressie that I got for Christmas.  The card is finished with some square gems.  If you wanted the sentiment to download is it available HERE, I know its a simple one again but so many people have shared things with me that I thought it was time to return some of the inspiration.

This card is for the following challenges

Pollycraft - Warm it Up - this image always make me feel cosy

Passion for Promarkers - Recycle something - Ribbon and Charm

My Time to Craft - Favourite Embellishments - Gems

Inspirational Card Sketches - The sketch I have followed

Tuesday Throwdown - So Charming - heart charm

Cute Card Thursday - You're a Gem - my square gems

Speedy Fox - 4 layers or more - lots of layers

Thanks for looking

x Nicky x

Love Hearts - with free SVG file

This is a very clean and simple card, The tumbling hearts I designed and cut them on the ecraft using the Make the Cut software.  I then mounted them onto a red core-dinations  mat.  The sentiment was again done in Make the Cut using Rockwell Extra Bold font and then adding a shadow. Again this was cut on the ecraft using the red core-dinations card for the shadow and the same 250g card stock as the base card.

I know it is very simple but if you would like the cutting SVG  file is can be downloaded HERE

I am entering the card into the following challenges

Less is More - the sketch the card is based on
Simon Says - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking

x Nicky  x

Top Three at Bugaboo

Wow what a nice surprise I was chosen as one of the top three in last weeks bugaboo challenge, Thank you so much - now I get to chose two images from the store to add to my collection 

Check out Bugaboo the images in the store HERE they are great fun 

WOYWW - A Mess

Well its another Wednesday so that means its time to pop over to the Queen of the Desks and have hope around the globe seeing what every one has been up to.  Unfortunately my desk is just as I left it Sunday evening, after a great afternoon of crafting.  Work has been so busy that by the time I get home, done all the boring stuff the evening is nearly gone.  Never mind I can hear the next weekend calling!  My desk has the wedding invite my sister has decided to go with although she wants the image that is under the corner scissors.  You can see that I have started to organise my cutting files by printing them off so I can see what I have easily, the new flex markers are still waiting for me to order another CD case so I can sort them the same as my pro markers. The packs of 6x6 core-dinations are in the middle of desk, I seem to use this on everything at the moment. Finally my note book that I write all my challenges and projects people want me to do for them.  Do pop to Julia's as there are many talented crafters desk to see, they will inspire you, make you have a wish list, amaze you with talent, make you realize that you are not the only tidy/messy crafter, but best off its fun to visit like minded people.

The picture below is where Stanley sits while I am crafting, he has finally stopped standing next to me and moving everything on my desk, having come from kennels everything is a new experience, which keeps things interesting

  

Hope everyone has a great week 

x Nicky x