PRODUCT REVIEW - KANBAN....

Hello lovelies,

 

I hope you are all keeping well and had a lovely week-end.

 

My product review today is all about

 

KANBAN

 

I absolutely love using the Kanban ranges. Why do I like Kanban?

 

I'm about to share with you all what I love about

 

KANBAN

 

There are so many gorgeous kits available for all styles and people's tastes. Now I know some people are not a lover of kits but let me tell you why I like them!

 

I like to think of myself as an all round crafter....I love to make cards and do altered art projects. I love getting inky and messy....BUT....sometimes I just want to sit and make some lovely cards without all the clean up afterwards...this is what I like to call my 'Clean' Crafting.  So, when I want to do this the Kanban products come in as there is so much choice and you can make a quick project that looks fab too. Now don't get me wrong, you can still do what I call 'messy' craft with these too, but if time is short and you need a fantastic speedy card, then Kanban is for you.

 

Lots of gorgeous designs to choose from, you can find something for everyone. Also there are some lovely stamps too. In my crafty stash of Kanban I have...

 

~ Mono Shabby Chic

~ Frou Frou Collection

~ Retail Fashion Collection

~ Selection of Duo mirri card and film

~ Couture Sentiments

~ Fashion Craft Toppers

~ Back ground card

~ Classic Butterflies

~ Ladies fashion

~ Local past times

~ Rose Garden

~ Birthday Celebration

~ Love & Romance

~ Bella Collection

~ Christmas toppers

 

My list of collections I have are just a small selection of what are available to buy.

Here are a few cards I have just made today...

 

 

 

 

 

These are only a few ideas, there are so many possibilities using the Kanban range.

 

Checkout the KANBAN WEBSITE  to see more ideas and the fabulous selection of products available.

 

Don't forget too if you do love Kanban there is something exciting tomorrow...

Sugar Buttons by Kathryn and in conjunction with Kanban Crafts is launched as a Pick Of The Day on Ideal World at 9.00 pm on Tuesday 30th October.

 

You need never be stuck for that quick, beautiful card again.

 

Thanks for stopping by today, looking forward to your next visit,

 

Happy Crafting,

 

lots of love

NJ XXX

 

 

 

 

 



Docrafts Creativity Club Downloads....

Hello lovelies,

 

I have made a card using todays

 

'Fly A Kite'

 

Creativity Club Downloads

 

and I have teamed this with today's Creativity Club

 

'Daily Sketch 113'

 

Designed by Emma Collins.

 

The downloads are available if you are a member of the

 

DOCRAFTS CREATIVITY CLUB 

 

As a member of the club you will receive free downloads, lots of project ideas, special club offers, 15% discount in the on-line shop, Creativity TV Projects and much more too!

 

If you are not a member of this fantastic club then click the link above to see where you can join! You could also be in with a chance of winning a 6 month membership to the Creativity Club, all you have to do is become a follower of my blog....as simple as that!

 

Here is the card I have made...

 

 

When I saw this weeks papers to download, I just knew I wanted to make a 'New Home' card.

 

Thanks for visiting today and I look forward to your next visit,

 

Have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX



PRODUCT REVIEW - HOUGIE BOARD

Hello my lovelies!

 

Welcome to my

 

'PRODUCT REVIEW'

 

My review this week is the

 

HOUGIE BOARD

 

I am going to answer why

 

'Everyone needs a Hougie'.

 

Over the years I have bought many score boards, used them maybe a couple of times and then hidden them away to just collect dust!

 

After seeing the fab Kay Rutter at the GNPE in Harrogate, she explained to me how the Hougie works. I was also shown the

 

EVERYONE NEEDS A HOUGIE PROJECT BOOK

 

and I was sold there and then! Especially as it comes in pink too, which not only is my favourite colour but every sale of the pink Hougie, a donation is made to the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign.

 

So, what is all the fuss about HOUGIE ?

 

Let me tell you.......

 

Hougie boards make the prep work quick and easy giving you more time to decorate your projects.

 

You can create fancy card folds,gift  boxes, envelopes, special effects and much much more!

 

You can create many different card shapes including different stepper cards, tri-fold shutter cards, Diamond shaped cards to name just a few. You can also use the score lines to embellish your projects, make also favour boxes and wedge boxes too. You can add inks, ribbons and many other embellishments to your projects.

 

Another fantastic selling point for me is the fact that you can so easily make Rosette flowers using the score lines on the board, these are so simple to make, and teamed with a decorative edge using the boards score lines, you can create a quick, simple, yet very effective card like the one I have made here to show you. I have inked the edges so as to emphasise the embossing for my review, you don't need to do this though, it still shows up lovely if you leave it plain.

 

 

If you struggle to measure accurately, then the Hougie is for you. All the measures are done for you. Centimetres and 1/2 centimetres on one side, inches and 1/2 inches on the other side. If your project tells you to score at 6cm, all you do is turn the board to the centimetre side and score on the 6th score line. So easy!

 

The board comes with the

 

HOUGIE SCORE TOOL

 

which has been designed to bend so that it relieves some of the pressure on your card. What I also like about the score tool is the length of it. It fits easily into your hand, so you can control it easily when scoring your card and the point is'nt too thick. This also means that the point sits very easily into the score line channels. It is also very comfortable to hold, which I think is important to know, especially if someone has dexterity problems. I sometimes get pain in my hands due to my day job, with this score tool, even when I have my pain I find it very easy and comfortable to use.

 

A recommendation in the project book is to mark your Hougie with a permanent black marker pen, down the centre channel. This is your 'marker' channel.

At first I thought 'oh it's so pretty, I don't want to mark it with a black line'....

BUT......This is an ABSOLUTE MUST!

It helps you when you are doing projects that require you to work blind when scoring.

 

Now, have you heard about

 

THE HOUGIE TRICK ......

 

well believe me when I tell you...it's genius, so simple and works brilliantly!

It makes your card folding so easy and you will wonder why you haven't done it before.

To see more about the  HOUGIE TRICK click HERE

 

I really recommend you buy the EVERYONE NEEDS A HOUGIE PROJECT BOOK. It is a great guide with fab projects inside. You can also get other project books including a WEDDING & PARTY IDEAS PROJECT BOOK .

 

Now, you might be thinking, 'yeah yeah...another score board to add to my collection...BUT...

this one is the BEES KNEES!!!

 

It does what the label says and much more, just think with Christmas coming up you could make your Christmas favour boxes, gift boxes, decorations and much, much more.

 

Not only can you work well with the project books but you can also play around with your own ideas too.

 

I can honestly say I am a convert to the scoring board now I have been introduced to the

 

HOUGIE BOARD!

 

Here is a Tri-fold shutter card I have made, which was so easy to do...

 

 

So my findings from using my Hougie Board, score tool and project book...

 

VALUE FOR MONEY ~ EXCELLENT AND WORTH EVERY PENNY!

 

EASE OF USE ~ SUITABLE FOR ALL CRAFTER'S BEGINNERS - EXPERIENCED

 

WOULD I RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND? ~ ABSOLUTELY YES!

 

A fabulous addition to my evergrowing crafting tool kit!

 

I hope you have enjoyed reading my review on the brilliant

 

HOUGIE BOARD

 

thanks for stopping by and I look forward to sharing my next review with you shortly!

 

Have fun and happy 'HOUGIE...ING...LOL...

 

lots of love

NJ XXX

 

 

 

 



My Craft Room.....Tidy Up.....Again....

Hello lovelies,

 

  I hope you are enjoying the week-end whatever you may all be doing.

 

I just thought I would share with you my latest photos of my

 

'Craft Room Tidy Up'

 

this has been on going for a while as I have been waiting for my lovely hubby to move all of his cd's and dvd collections out of my craft room! LOL

 

Finally, he got round to it and now I have extra shelf space which I have easily filled lol. I have had yet another tidy up and now I can get ultra creative lol and mega organised!

 

Hope you enjoy the tour....hehehehe....

 

 

So now you can see where I spend many hours creating away. I absolutely love being in my craft room. I think it looks tidy anyway...for now!LOL

 

Thanks for popping by today,

 

have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX



Sweet Gingerbread, Today's Post at Studio 12...

Hello lovelies,

 

Today is my turn to post over at the fabulous

 

STUDIO 12 AT POLKADOODLES BLOG 

 

I have made a Christmas card using a sweet gingerbread character from the

 

STUDIO 12 PICKNIX COLLECTION 2 - GINGERBREAD TWIST 

 

I absolutely love this cd, so many gorgeous, scrummy images to use and lots of lush backing papers and digis too!

 

I wanted to give my card a distressed feel so I tore the edges and inked with Distress Inks....

 

 

I love the gingerbread characters!

 

Also have you seen the fantastic new dvd by Nikky?

 

COLOUR THERAPY WITH NIKKY DVD

 

It is fantastic, Nikky shows you how to colour sepia tones, hair and skin tones and much more!

 

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my card today,

look forward to your next visit!

 

Have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX

 



Polkadoodles design team card....

Hello lovelies,

 

Yes it is Friday, which means another fantastic challenge over at the fabulous

 

POLKADOODLES CHALLENGE BLOG

 

As the nights are drawing in and the mornings are getting colder, we have a great theme which is

 

'AUTUMN'

 

So we want to see lots of autumn colours on your project!

 

October and November for me means I have lots of birthday's coming up. So, I decided to decorate a box I had to make a nice autumnal birthday box and I also made a matching card. I have used the POLKADOODLES SUNDAE OF SEASONS CD 

 

 

We would love to see your Autumnal creations for this challenge so hop over to the challenge blog to see the rest of the design team creations!

 

Have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX



Docrafts Creativity Club Downloads....

Hello lovelies,

 

I wanted to share with you three cards that I have made using the fabulous free downloads that are avaible to you if you are a member of the

 

DOCRAFTS CREATIVITY CLUB 

 

As a member of this club, you get exclusive access to the Creativity TV where you can watch gorgeous projects being demonstrated. You can also get daily sketches, beautiful papers to download, 15% off in the on-line shop, and exclusive club offers which are not to be missed!

 

If you are not a member of the club yet and you would like to join, click the link above and see where you can join in the fun!

 

The downloads I have used for my cards are the

 

'Pockets and Patches' Orange...

 

and I have teamed them with Papermania Kraft card blanks ..........

 

 

I love this collection, it looks fab used with the Kraft card.

 

The Docrafts Creativity Club has lots of downloadable collections which you can get by being a member of this fantastic, value for money club!

 

Thanks for hopping by today and I look forward to your next visit!

 

Have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX



Guest spot.....

Hello lovelies,

 

I forgot to tell you all that I have been a guest blogger today for the

 

DOCRAFTS CREATIVITY BLOG

 

I made a card for this too which you can see when you click on the link above.

 

Hope you enjoy,

 

thanks for looking,

 

happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX

Product Review - Splodgeaway....

Happy Monday lovelies,

 

Well my exciting news is I am going to do product reviews on my blog and Facebook page. It might not sound exciting, but I think it is because it will give me a chance to share with you my view on some fab crafting goodies that I love to use and also why I love to use them!

 

How many times have we been undecided about do we need it, whats so good about it, is it worth the money!

 

Well here on my blog is your chance to see....so for my very first product review...

 

The lovely Tom from

 

SPLODGE AWAY 

 

has agreed to me reviewing the

 

SPLODGE AWAY MAT

 

This mat is available in different sizes.

 

Demonstrator ~ 26" x 16"

 

XL ~ 11.7" x 16.5"

 

Maxi ~ 12" x 12"

 

Pocket 8" x 8"

 

I have the Maxi size which is perfect to sit on my desk and it also travels well too. I was able to put it into my wheelable craft tote when I went to the GNPE in Harrogate and used it there.

 

Why is it so good?.........no ink wastage, ease of use, does not ruffle up as you swirl your ink blending tool's around and easy to clean.

 

The Splodge Away Polymer Resin Blending Mat is created from a special resin formula that makes blending inks so easy. No more splodges and smudges!

 

The special ink blending technology lets water based inks bind to the surface which allows smooth blushered ink distribution on your blending tool.  

 

I watched Tom when he was on Create and Craft TV and he said if you were to put the mat under a microscope it would look like sphagetti junction, which means this is why the ink sits into the mat rather than on top. As you know when using your inks on some smooth surfaces it pools into blobs and is quite wet so smudges can occur very easily. With the Splodgeaway I find the ink is distributed more evenly, and when you dab your pad onto the mat it is fab for running your brayer over and making your own backgrounds. I use my ink blending tool's and gently swirl ink around the edges of the card and the blending tool just glides.

Now I am certainly no expert on this, but the reason for my review is to see a crafter's take on a product you may have wondered about yourselves.

If I have some ink left on the mat, I spritz it with water and lay card over the top which then gives a lovely background effect.

 

If you have used water based inks on your mat all you need to do to clean it is wipe with a damp tissue. I spritz mine with a little water, wipe clean and then wipe dry.

 

If you have used alcohol ink, oil or solvent based inks or pigments you can clean your mat with thinners or spirits. The Splodge Away mat is solvent resistant which allows you to clean it with these.

 

Value for money....excellent value. If you were to get this, I would say it will become an essential part of your crafting tool kit as it is mine now!

 

I have also found I love the

 

 SPLODGE-A-MASK

 

These are so easy to use and give great effects too.

 

I have made a card to show you using the

 

HOLLY THE LOT MASK

 

and I used my

 

SPLODGE AWAY MAT

 

to ink all the edges.

 

I haven't embellished the card too much as I wanted to show you the effect of the mask without too much distraction with embellishment's.

 

 

Such a simple card, but looks pretty with the mask detail. I have just used Distress inks Peeled Paint and Worn Lipstick.

 

To see lots of inspiration from the Splodge Away Design Team here is the

 

SPLODGE AWAY BLOG

 

I hope you have enjoyed my first review for this brilliant product.

 

Hopefully I have helped you decide if you want this mat...I think you NEED this!

 

Have fun,

happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX

 

 



DOCRAFTS CREATIVITY CLUB - SKETCH 100

Hello lovelies,

 

I wanted to share with  you a card I have just made this afternoon using today's daily sketch from the

 

DOCRAFTS CREATIVITY CLUB

 

The daily sketches are available free to download if you are a member of the club. If you have'nt joined yet then just click on the link above to see where you can join!

 

The Creativity Club is a fabulous club, you can watch Creativity TV, see exclusive step by step projects, download gorgeous free papers and sketches, get 15% off orders in the online shop and receive exclusive club offers and much more!

 

I have used today's daily sketch  by Emma Collins..which is Daily Sketch 100

 

I have used it with some Boofle paper, cardstock sticker and Glitteration stickers, all of these are from the recent goody bag for September 2012.

 

 

If you would like to be in with a chance of winning a 6 month membership to this fabulous club, just check the details above this post and follow my blog to be in with a chance of winning!

 

If you want to join this fantastic club now, just click HERE

 

Thanks for stopping by, hop back soon for some more projects!

 

Have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX

 

 

 



Joanna Sheen Autumn Blog Hop.......

Hello lovelies,

 

I wanted to share with you that the Joanna Sheen Challenge Blog  is having a blog hop!

 

The blog hop is a hop with a twist as the design team have created projects with just one Joanna Sheen House Mouse  image

 

The image is House Mouse Juggling Leaves from the Joanna Sheen 'Tumble' rubber stamp sheet!

 

The papers used are from the SummerTime Designs Freebie Kit "Falling For Fall"

which you can download HERE

 

 

The *STAR* Prize for the blog hop is this fantastic set of all 4 Autumn House Mouse Stamps!

 

 

There is a twist.....and the twist is....

 

the Joanna Sheen Challenge Blog is showcasing other crafter's cards using the same image and papers too. I was one of the lucky crafter's who had the fantastic opportunity to take part in this and play with this gorgeous image and the gorgeous papers.

 

Here is my creation.....

 

 

I love this image, it is so cute and playful, I love the way the little mouse is juggling the leaves!

 

Also the Joanna Sheen design team are each giving you the chance to win some gorgeous ribbons, hop over to the blog to see how you can be in with a chance of taking part.

 

JOANNA SHEEN BLOG HOP

 

I had fun making my card.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Polkadoodles Challenge......

Hello lovelies,

 

Well the weeks are just flying by wow weeeee it will be Christmas before we know it!

 

So, as it is Friday we have another fabulous challenge over at the

 

POLKADOODLES CHALLENGE BLOG

 

the theme this week is

 

'Wings and Things'

 

I chose to use butterflies as they are one of my favourite things. I have used the POLKADOODLES SUNDAE OF SEASONS CD I wanted to create a different and unusual shape for my card so I made it 3d. I hope you like it!

 

 

I look forward to seeing your creations for this challenge.

 

Don't forget this week-end is also the GNPE in Harrogate at the Showground. I will be working on the Polkadoodles stand, so please stop by and say hello. I am so excited and look forward to seeing you.

 

Have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX



I Heart Christmas.....Studio 12 Post.....

Hello lovelies,

 

It is my turn to post today over at the fabulous

 

STUDIO 12 AT POLKADOODLES BLOG

 

I decided I would go for something quite simple so I chose to make a very quick Christmas card!

 

I have used the PICKNIX COLLECTION 2 - GINGERBREAD TWIST and kept the embellishment simple using only twine!

 

 

I love the ticket greeting, its really cool!

 

Have you seen the fantastic new dvd brought to you by our very own Nikky?

 

COLOUR THERAPY WITH NIKKY DVD

 

Click the link above to see what the excitement is all about and to order your copy!

 

Also, don't forget that Polkadoodles will be at the GNPE in Harrogate this week-end

Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th

 

GNPE HARROGATE

 

It will be a fantastic fun filled week-end and I hope you stop by and say hello, I will be working on the Polkadoodles stand. Let me tell you I am beyond excited, lol. I look forward to seeing you there!

 

Have a fantastic week-end,

have fun and happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX

 

 

 



Flat Friends Challenge Blog - 1st Challenge...

Hello lovelies,

 

Wooo Hoooo.....

 

the day has finally arrived, an exciting day as it is the very first challenge for the

 

FLAT FRIENDS CHALLENGE BLOG

 

We have a fabulous first challenge, the theme for this one is

 

'Tic Tac Toe'

 

Hop over to the blog by clicking the link above and you will see the Tic Tac Toe board, you have to choose the 3 elements you wish to use, either diagonally, across, up and down and so on.

 

For my card I chose to work diagonally.

 

Buttons ~ Pastels or Pinks ~ Rectangles

 

Here is my card .....

 

I coloured my image with Letraset Promarkers in shades....

 

Skin: Almond ~ Putty ~ Dusky Pink

Hair: Warm Grey 1 ~ Cocoa ~ Raw Sienna ~ Burnt Umber ~ Satin

Clothes: Rose Pink ~ Cerise ~ Fushia Pink ~ Plum ~ Pink Carnation ~ Mulberry

Lights & Buckle: Metallic Markers...Red ~ Silver ~ Pink

Outline: Warm Grey 1

 

The decorative paper that I have used is from the POLKADOODLES PRETTY SWEET CD

 

The Flat Friends Images are available to buy at POLKADOODLES

 

The Flat Friends challenges will be run monthly and the lucky winner will receive some Flat Friends Digis!

 

Myself and the rest of the design team look forward to seeing your creations!

 

Have fun,

happy crafting,

lots of love

NJ XXX