My Polkadoodles Design Team Card........

Hello lovelies,

Wow the week's are whizzing by, Friday again! Which of course means that we have another fantastic challenge waiting for you over at the

Polkadoodles Challenge Blog

We have a  fantastic theme, one of my favourites...

'Fairies and Fantasy'.

I love Fairies, they are one of my favourite things. I also love butterflies too so I just could'nt resist adding a few of these to my card. For my card I have used an 8x8 card blank and made an aperture using a Spellbinder's Nestabilitie. I have used the All Around & Everwhere CD and also the Sundae of Seasons CD. For my sparkle I have used sparkly flowers that I already had in my crafty stash, and I have also used Diamond Stickles too. I have finished with Dew Drops.

I loved making this card, aperture cards are so easy to make and you can make any shape aperture you wish!

Don't forget to also check out the

Studio 12 Blog

and follow what myself and the rest of the Design Team are making. We have daily projects so don't forget to check them out!

Hop over to the Polkadoodles Challenge to see what the rest of the Design Team have made for their

'Fairies and Fantasy' theme!

Have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX



23rd June Studio 12 at Polkadoodles...

Hello lovelies,

a very happy Saturday from me.

I just wanted to remind you all that there is another post

over at

Studio 12

and today's post is by

yours truly! LOL

So hop over and take a look, and while you are there have a look at all the other fabulous projects from the fantastic Studio 12 Design Team.

I just know you will love them!

Have a great week-end,

Have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX

Magnolia Cards Coloured Five Ways...

Hello my lovelies,

I have been a busy little bee over the last week with my crafting. Some of it has been design team work and then the rest of my craftiness has been playing with my Magnolia stamps and pens and pencils!LOL

I coloured the images last week and I have finally managed to finish making the cards today. I decided I wanted to have a play around with all my pens and pencils, so I decided to use different makes for each image. After doing this I have finally decided which my definite favourite colouring mediums are...there are two! That's my indecisive streak hahaha!

Anyway, let's make a start of showing you my colouring experiment's....go make yourself a coffee, grab a bar of choccie and sit back and relax...here goes.............

CARD 1...

Colouring medium used...Faber Castell Polychromo Pencils and Daler Rowney Low Odour Thinners ...

Shades used: Raw Umber ~ Dark Naples Ochre ~ Dark Chrome Yellow ~ Cadmium Orange ~ Dark Cadmium Orange ~ Cadmium Yellow ~ Light Yellow Green ~ Cream ~ Light Green ~ Leaf Green ~ Earth Green Yellowish ~ Light Ultramarine ~ Warm Grey 2 ~ Dark Red ~ Rose Carmine ~ Burnt Ochre.

I stamped the images using the masking technique to make it look like she is sat on the flower. I absolutely love colouring with my polychromo pencils. It does seem to take a bit longer than normal, as I like to blend the pencils with paper stumps and the Low Odour Thinners. I think though that the results are defintely worth the time it takes. It is like therapy too...very relaxing!LOL

Here's a close up of the colouring...

Here is the finished card...

CARD 2

Colouring medium used...Letraset Flexmarker's

Shades used: Blush ~ Rose Peach ~ Tea Rose ~ Light Fawn ~ Nutmeg ~ Sandstone ~ Cappuccinno ~ Buttercup ~ Blue Grey 1 ~Glacier Blue ~ Dove Grey ~ Sea Mist ~ Honeydew ~ Duck Egg ~ Firebrick

I have been using Flexmarker's since I got bought them from my husband as a Christmas Present. I was a lucky girl...he bought me every colour that was out at the time! Bless him! These are lovely to work with, the colour just flows so smoothly and they are very easy to blend with. A pleasure to use, with I think great results. You can also use them with your Promarker's too.

Here is the close up...

Here is the finished card...

CARD 3

Colouring medium used...Kuretake Zig Brushables

Shades used: Cool Cucumber ~ Platinum ~ Apricot ~ Pure Red ~ Pure Yellow ~ Powder Blue ~ Pure Orange ~ Baby Pink ~ Fawn

I have had these for a while and swap between using these and the flexmarker's. I like using these two and again they flow nicely and blend very well.

Here's a close up...

Here is the finished card...

CARD 4

Colouring medium used...Letraset Promarker's

Shades used: Cyan ~ Indigo Blue ~ Pastel Blue ~ Pastel Green ~ Henna ~ Pastel Pink ~  Tan ~ Honeycomb ~ Pastel Beige ~ Denim Blue ~ Cool Grey 4 ~ Cocktail Pink ~ Rose Pink ~ Cardinal Red

I don't have all of the colour's in the Promarker's. So I had to work with the small amount that I have. Again these are good to work with and you can use them also with the Flexmarker's. I still think I could have blended better, but as they say...practice makes perfect!

Here's a close up...

Here is the finished card...

and finally...

CARD 5

Colouring medium used...Whispers Strokes Pens

I am not able to tell you the names of the colours used as they are not listed on the pens for some reason.

I found that I did'nt blend my colours as well with these as the others, but then I just think that is down to my colouring!LOL

Here's a close up...

Here is the finished card...

I by no means claim to be an expert on colouring at all, I just absolutely love doing it! I wanted to experiment and see which I liked doing the most...so I have to say that my favourite's are the Polychromo Pencil's and the Flexmarker's...but the Zig Brushables come very close to them too!

I think it is important to remember that colouring should be fun and enjoyable, and to use the different mediums that are right for you. I have also coloured with distress inks before now using fine paint brushes. It's a case of what you fancy using at the time!LOL

I hope you have enjoyed my little experiment, I certainly enjoyed colouring and making the cards!

Thank you for taking the time to read and I do really appreciate all your comments...

have fun and happy colouring,

lots of love

NJ XXX



Day two Studio 12 at Polkadoodles

Hello lovelies,

Woooo Hoooooo......

I am so excited to tell you that it is day two at the fabulous

Studio 12 at Polkadoodles

It is my turn to show you a crafty make this time, each day, a Studio 12 Design Team Member will show you a fabulous crafty make!

Make sure you follow us to see what exciting crafty things we are making.

I have posted one of my favourite Altered Art Items that I have made using the fabulous

Picknix Collection

I just know you are going to love Studio 12, we have lots of exciting things ahead...make sure you don't miss out!

Click on the link above to see my post for today.....

thanks for looking and a very happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX

Polkadoodles DT Card for this week's Challenge..

Hello lovelies,

It's that time again for another fantastic challenge over at the

Polkadoodles Challenge Blog

The theme for this week is

'Summer Scene'

We would like to see a Summery Scene on your projects.

For my Summer Scene I have made a card using the fabulous new Studio 12 Picknix Collection. I absolutely love using this collection, there are so many fantastic crafty creations you can make! I wanted to depict a Summer Fete for my scene, so I thought using the Lemonade Stall and the bunting was just perfect for this.

I hope you like my card, we would love to see your entries for the challenge so hop over and take a look at what the rest of the design team have made for inspiration!

Also, don't forget that their is a

Polkadoodles Design Team Call

and also a

Studio 12 at Polkadoodles Design Team Call

Click on the links above to find out about these amazing opportunities.

Till next time..lol....

Have fun and a very happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX



Design Team Call for Polkadoodles......

Hello lovelies....

More exciting news...

Polkadoodles

is having a

Design Team Call....

this is a separate call to the

Studio 12 call!

How exciting is all of this...wooo hoooo......

click on the link above to read the requirements and if you feel you can commit to them, then apply!

Polkadoodles is a fantastic team with lots of exciting times ahead!

Make sure you read the requirement's very carefully, and good luck...

happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX

Design Team Call for Studio 12 at Polkadoodles...

Hello my lovelies,

well do I have exciting news for you.

I wanted to share with you all that there is a Design Team Call for

Studio 12 at Polkadoodles

Click on the link above to read the Design Team Call requirements.

If you think that you can commit and that this is for you apply now!

Exciting times are coming your way....Wooooo Hoooooo!!!!!!!

Happy Crafting and Good luck,

lots of love

NJ XXX



Altered Art Sample for Polkadoodles Shows on Create & Craft TV..

Hello again my lovelies,

well as promised earlier here is my last sample that I made using the gorgeous

Studio 12 Picknix Collection from Polkadoodles

that was launched by Nikky Hall and Rosemary Merry on the Polkadoodles shows on Create & Craft TV today.

I made this altered art item with something that I have also had for a very long time, again as soon as I saw the Sewing kit I just knew what I would make with it so....

I have altered this...........

to this .....

The ingredients you need to make my altered art ribbon reel ornament are...

Wooden Ribbon Reel / Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint Vintage Photo and Tarnished Brass/ Distress Inks Vintage Photo and Tea Dye/ Fat Quarter's cut into 5 strips using different designs/ Cotton reel embellishment's/ DMC thread/ DMC in red and aida fabric to cross stitch on/ Sakura gelly roll pen Silver Star to colour the thimble/ Vintage Buttons/Mini tape measure/Wooden skewer/narrow gingham ribbon

and of course the fabulous Picknix Collection...

How to make it....

Paint one half of the ribbon reel with the Vintage Photo Crackle Paint, let it dry. When dry paint the other half with the Tarnished Brass Crackle Paint, let dry. Snap the wooden skewer to size and insert into the hole in the middle of the reel using pinflair to secure, this is the support for the mannequin, print two from the All Sewn Up kit for the back and front and cut out, ink the mannequin before attaching using the Distress Inks.

Select your chosen embellishments, print them out and fussy cut them all and ink the edges using the Distress Inks. Colour the thimble with the Sakura pen to give a metallic sheen.

Following the pattern from the printed out cross stitch heart, cross stitch a heart to match. Trim the fabric to a square and pull the edges so it looks frayed.

Using Pinflair glue begin to attach the fabric strips. Wrap DMC thread around the cotton reel embellishments. Glue each embellishment of your choice from the kit all around the reel as shown. Adding other embellishments such as the cotton reels and vintage buttons.

Attach the cross stitched heart to the front, wrap the tape measure around the mannequin as shown. Finally add the word art and sentiment to the front. 

All the way around the reel....

You can easily adapt this to embellishments of your choice and the colours you prefer. I absolutely loved making this, I feel it would be the perfect gift for a sewing friend!

You see, it is possible to make lots of gorgeous projects using the fantastic

Studio 12 Picknix Collection

I hope you have enjoyed looking at my Altered Art project for my Polkadoodles Sample. Treat yourself to the collection, I know you will just love love love it!

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings and look at my crafty make's. I really do appreciate it, and love to share my ideas with you all.

Have fun and a very happy crafting,

with lots of love from me,

NJ XXXXX

Polkadoodles Samples for Create & Craft TV

Hello lovelies,

I hope that you are all having a lovely week-end!

I thought I would share with you my samples that I made for the

Polkadoodles shows that were on Create & Craft TV today,

to launch the new and fabulous

Studio 12 Picknix Collection

I just know that you will all love this collection, I have loved working with it. I made 5 samples for the shows.

My favourite sample I will show you on a separate post as I want to actually show you step by step how I made it, also its my favourite one of the bunch, even if I do say so myself! LOL

I absolutely love doing altered art, so I wanted to show that not only can you make cards and scrapbook pages, you can also do altered art projects!

Here I have used a bingo board that I bought for a pound. I have painted it using acrylic paints. I masked an area off so that I could paint that area using blackboard paint. I wanted to use the Garden kit for this, and make it a gardener's notice board and jotter block. Once the paint had dried I glued a jotter to the base, and then cut the tree house from the kit to fit over the front of it for a cover. I printed out various flowers and embellishments from the kit, inked the edges with distress inks and glued around the board as shown. Finally I embellished with a bee, ladybird and frog charms and tied chalk and a pencil to string and attached this at the top.

For my next sample I chose to use a mini rolling pin and wooden spoon that I have had for a long time. I always intended altering them somehow but never really got around to it. When I got the chance to work with the Picknix collection and saw the baking kit, I knew this was the perfect time to use them. I painted them both with acrylic paint. I then printed out embellishments from the kit and carefully cut them out. I then used the decopatch technique to stick them to the rolling pin and spoon, using a mix of copydex glue and water and painting this mix over the embellies. Once they had dried thoroughly I then used a Matt Silk glaze to finish. I wrote some recipes onto the journalling cards from the kit, put these into plastic wallets and attached these to the spoon with book rings. I used bakers twine to attach the rolling pin at the bottom. You then turn over the recipes using this.

As I said earlier my favourite sample I will show you in another post.

I also chose to make two cards from the kit as well, heres what I made...

I hope that you have enjoyed seeing my samples and if you have bought the Picknix Collection I just know you will absolutely love it!

It sold out on Create & Craft very quickly but don't forget it is still available to buy on the

Polkadoodles Website

order yours now, its a fantastic price, excellent value.

Thanks for looking at my samples I really appreciate it,

have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX

Polkadoodles and Rosemary Merry...Exciting....

Hello lovelies,

I hope that you are all keeping well. I hope everyone managed to enjoy the Jubilee week-end whatever you were doing. I had a very busy time with family staying.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to remind you all about the fantastic, exciting news that Polkadoodles is back on our screens on Saturday 9th June at noon and 4 pm.

You will be able to see the fabulously talented Nikky appearing with the fabulously talented Rosemary Merry who has joined the Polkadoodles fantastic team.

Not only is that news exciting in itself, but Polkadoodles is launching a new range called Studio 12.

Studio 12 is still part of Polkadoodles but will be incorporating a slightly different feel which we think will appeal to everyone, including scrapbookers and anyone who loves altered media in any way. We are very excited to be able to offer some diversity in what we do, but don't worry, good old Polkadoodles is not going anywhere and die-hard fans need not worry! In fact, we just see it as a natural development which we've been wanting to do for some time! So if you are someone who loves messing about with anything digital in papercrafting you are just going to adore this range as it's very much all about hybrid papercrafting!

I have to say you will all absolutely love Studio 12. I have had the great pleasure of working with it this past week to make samples for the shows. Let me just say it is absolutely gorgeous and I loved working with it.

I won't reveal my makes just yet, until after the shows so watch this space!

To give you a little taster of what's to come though, have a little peek here

Polkadoodles

I am sure you will love it just as much as I do!

So don't forget to watch Nikky and Rosemary on Create & Craft TV on Saturday at noon and 4pm. If you are going out hit the record button, you really won't want to miss this exciting new launch!

Have fun and a very happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXXXX



My DT Card for Emma's Crafty Challenge

Hello lovelies,

Well it's the 1st of June, wow where does the time fly?

As it's the first of the month that means we have another fantastic challenge over at

Emma's Crafty Challenge

The theme is a favourite of mine...

'Sketch'

We want you to use the following sketch for your card...

For my card I have used the Boofle Digital Designer CD. The great thing about sketches is you can play around with moving things slightly like I have done, such as the three dots, I chose to use a sentiment!

This challenge is sponsored by Gems Designs who are offering a prize of a £15 voucher for the overall winner, plus a discount code for every entry!

So lets see those entries using the sketch above, it's always interesting to see how people use sketches!

Have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX



My Design Team card for Polkadoodles...

Hello lovelies,

Wow the weeks do sure fly by lol especially when your having fun, and what could be  more fun than joining in the fantastic challenges over at the

Polkadoodles Challenge Blog

We have a wonderful theme for a wonderful occasion.....

'Diamond Jubilee'

The Queen will be celebrating her Diamond Jubilee on the 5th June

so we would like you to use Regal colours and lots of bling!

Here's my 'Royal' card....

I have used the crown image and backing papers from the Polkadoodles Love & Cherish CD the crown is coloured using Promarkers in Ruby and Yellow. I also used a gold pen to give a metallic look to the crown. I have used Spellbinders labels to matt the crown onto. I wanted to give a Regal feel so used a luxurious ribbon and embellished with jewels, a filigree button and an ornate key. I typed the text and matted onto a decorative background paper from the cd.

I hope you like my

'Diamond Jubilee' card!

Whatever you may be doing for the bank holiday I hope you have a lovely time helping the Queen celebrate such a special occassion!

Have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX